Not long after, a bell rang, marking the start of first period. Moments later, a tall, broad-shouldered man in his late forties strode into the classroom.
His bald head gleamed under the fluorescent lights, and a dense beard shadowed his upper lip, giving him almost an ominous look.
As he stepped in, the class fell into an uneasy silence. Some students straightened up immediately, fixing their posture as if they were soldiers awaiting inspection. However, there were others who remained slouched and careless.
Even the loud-mouthed boy who had earlier mocked Wang Lei for introducing himself grew suddenly silent, his face serious.
Wang Lei observed this change with surprise. This kind of reaction usually meant one of two things: either the teacher was so charismatic that students respected him, or he was someone they feared. Judging by the way the air turned icy, he suspected it was the latter.
Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, Wang Lei turned forward, paying attention. Yet, he could still hear the faint murmurs of a few students at the back, too bold or foolish to care.
His seatmate, who had been lounging against the chair just moments before, sat up, eyes fixed on the front.
The teacher turned his back to the class and scrawled "Mathematics" across the blackboard in bold letters. A flicker of interest sparked in Wang Lei's eyes—math was his favourite subject.
"Yesterday, I left a question for homework," the teacher announced. "A question on differentiation. Put your books on the table. I'll come around to check who completed it."
Wang Lei felt a small jolt of fear. But then he remembered it was his first day here; he hadn't received any homework. With a sigh of relief, he leaned back, glancing around the room.
As the teacher started moving from desk to desk, Wang Lei noticed a strange pattern: few students seemed to have completed the assignment, but the teacher hardly seemed bothered.
He barely glanced at each book, passing by with a grim nod. This odd routine emboldened a few students at the back, and soon, quiet whispers turned to low laughter.
The teacher's eyes would flick over them occasionally, his face expressionless, but he offered no reprimand.
Wang Lei felt his guard drop, realizing that maybe he had misread the man. How intimidating could he be if he allowed this disrespect to go unchecked?
Then, the teacher reached the back row, where a bulky boy with a lazy grin sprawled in his chair, still muttering and nudging his seatmate.
"Where is your work?" the teacher demanded, his voice dropping into a measured tone.
The boy looked up. "Homework? Oh, didn't know there was any. It's my first day here."
The boy turned back to his friend, clearly expecting the teacher to just move along, as he had with everyone else.
But the teacher didn't budge. "What's your name?" he asked, his tone even.
"Deng Jie," the boy replied, his voice dripping with indifference.
In an instant, without a word, the teacher's fist shot out, colliding with Deng Jie's face with a sickening thud. The sound echoed through the classroom.
Blood sprayed across the desk, and Dong Jie remained frozen for a moment, his eyes wide with shock. Then, his body slumped, collapsing from the chair, hitting the floor.
The room plunged into silence. A few of the students glanced at each other with wide eyes, while others smirked as if they had found some satisfaction seeing Deng Jie knocked out with a single punch.
The teacher straightened himself as if he hadn't struck a student unconscious.
"Class representative," he said. "Have some students get a stretcher and carry this... Deng .... Jie? Deng Jie to the infirmary. " His eyes swept over him."And be sure to mark his attendance. He attended today's lesson. When he wakes up, remind him of my rules."
Without sparing another glance, the teacher strolled to the blackboard. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket, wiping the blood from his knuckles. Yet, faint blood lingered, turned to the board, and continued writing the lesson unfazed by the horror he caused.
It wasn't long a couple of students returned wheeling a stretcher into the room. Moving quickly but carefully, they hoisted Deng Jie body into it, carrying him out.
Wang Lei watcted it all, feeling cold in his chest. This wasn't a school. It felt like a prison with chalks and blackboards. Student's rights felt too distant.
Throughout the rest of the lesson, Wang Lei couldn't hear teacher's voice.
Three years, he thought his stomach twisted. He was trapped for three years.