After Helping the Protagonist Escape From a Madman, I Became His Target [Transmigration Novel] - Chapter 26

Fang Yi watched Shen Luyang and suddenly laughed.

He had seen more than one fool lose themselves in a dream, only for their ultimate end to be so tragic it was hard to look at. However, those were all irredeemable idiots; their “deaths” were hardly a pity. He had thought Shen Luyang was just a bit simple but not stupid that he could still be saved.

He was wrong. This might be the only “smart person” among them.

Shen Luyang left with his medicine, reflecting on Fang Yi’s heavy words with a carefree smile.

Xie Weihan was sitting outside watching Fang Yi’s cockatiel. He wasn’t teasing it; he was just watching it quietly. The bird tilted its head, staring intently at his hand as it propped up his chin.

Wow, Shen Luyang thought. Even a parrot loves Teacher Xie’s hands. What a naughty bird. How does Dr. Fang raise these things?

Hearing movement, Xie Weihan turned his head. His gaze swept over Shen Luyang with careful concern. Seeing that the man looked much more energetic, he offered a warm smile. “Feeling better?”

Shen Luyang nodded and walked over. He waved at the parrot through the cage with a bright, sunny grin. “Hello! My name is Shen Luyang. Nice to meet you.”

The parrot: “= =.”

Shen Luyang turned to Xie Weihan and said with a straight face, “Look at that expression. It clearly likes me!”

Xie Weihan chuckled indulgently. “Indeed. It never looks at my face.”

Fang Yi reached his limit and emerged from the consultation room. “Get out, both of you! Stop harassing my parrot after you’ve finished harassing me!”

Shen Luyang knew when to quit and headed back to the office with Xie Weihan. As they walked in, they heard Zong Weiqing announce, “It’s settled. The monthly exams are next Monday.”

Shen Luyang sat at his desk and stowed his medicine. “Why was it only settled just now? The questions haven’t even been written yet, right?”

Zong Weiqing, who was always the one drafting the Chinese exam, rubbed her temples. “Things have been busy lately. Three days is a tight deadline, but we can finish. Looks like we’re pulling all-nighters.”

Shen Luyang was actually quite looking forward to it. He turned to Xie Weihan. “Teacher Xie, do we have to proctor?”

“Yes.” Xie Weihan looked up, guessing his thoughts with a hint of a smile. “In pairs.”

“Maybe we’ll be paired together,” Shen Luyang said with an expectant grin.

*******

The next day, fifth-period Physics.

Shen Luyang had heard the teachers with morning classes complaining about the students being restless and noisy, so he prepared himself before entering the room. The moment he walked in, the chaos died down for a few seconds before erupting into a louder “Hello, Teacher Shen! Did you have a good holiday?”

Shen Luyang greeted them one by one, leaned against the podium, and gestured for them to quiet down.

“Don’t be so enthusiastic, I’m getting shy,” he joked, hiding his face behind a stack of papers. Once the laughter died down, he lowered them with a grin. “I’ve looked over your homework and made some notes. Representative Zhan, pass these out.”

Zhan Jingmiao stood up with a crisp “OK.”

While she was distributing the papers, Shen Luyang called out a few names, looking at those students with genuine praise. “These students had the highest accuracy. That includes the final problem, which was very difficult. You all showed off your skills and solved it.”

A few students wore suppressed or blatant smiles. Zhan Jingmiao finished quickly but noticed a few papers were missing.

“Oh, right.” Shen Luyang picked up the papers he had kept for himself, his lips twitching as he struggled not to laugh. “These few students are particularly ‘representative.’ I’m going to use this case to teach you all the importance of good handwriting.”

Shen Luyang glanced toward the back row and read the first paper with a smile in his eyes. “Li Shenyu, excellent work. You were also on the praise list just now. However, in the middle of the fourth line of the last problem, you wrote the number ’13’.”

He switched to another paper. “Ding Yifan, in the second line of the same problem, for the same step, wrote an abstract art version of ’13’.”

“Now here’s the fun part.” Shen Luyang picked up the last two papers and grinned at the back row. “Come on, Peng Jun and Xiang Lei, tell me: who copied who? Or did you both copy Ding Yifan’s trap? Who told you that thing was a ‘B’?”

Xiang Lei, thick-skinned as ever, scratched the back of his head and grinned without saying a word. Peng Jun turned his head away, refusing to look at Shen Luyang. He glared at everyone who was laughing until he scared them into silence, then irritably kicked the desk.

The laughter in the classroom stopped abruptly. Brother Peng was truly formidable.

Shen Luyang tapped the podium with his knuckles, not angry at all. “What’s this? Getting moody just because we’re having a little fun?”

Peng Jun took a few deep breaths, looked at the sillily grinning Xiang Lei, and exhaled sharply through his nose. “I copied him.”

The blame hit Xiang Lei like a bolt from the blue. “Huh? What?”

“Alright then,” Shen Luyang accepted the tip-off. “Peng Jun, Xiang Lei, Ding Yifan, and Li Shenyu get an extra worksheet today. I’m doing the Q&A session tonight anyway, so you can all write it in my office.”

Xiang Lei wore a look of betrayed grievance as he looked at Peng Jun.

Peng Jun: “Heh.” He was cold-hearted and remorseless.

After that little stunt, the atmosphere was thoroughly loosened up, and it remained quiet for a while.

Shen Luyang mentioned casually, “You all know about the monthly exams. I heard internal rumors that there might be a parent-teacher meeting afterward, and they’ll be reviewing the surveillance footage. So, no cheating.”

He pointed to where he was standing with a look of mock horror. “If you’re caught cheating, they’ll drag you right here during the meeting and make you read your self-reflection in front of the whole class. Isn’t that terrifying?”

The class took a sharp breath in unison. That wasn’t just terrifying; it was incredibly humiliating!

Having finished his scare tactics, Shen Luyang returned to being the upright teacher. “Good kids who don’t want to read self-reflections should pay attention. Who knows? I might just use some original problems from a previous lecture.”

The class was restless for a few seconds before the room filled with the sound of students pulling out their notebooks. Based on their experience with Teacher Shen, the probability of this handsome teacher following through was quite high, even if he did love teasing them.

******

After class, Shen Luyang called Peng Jun out. The classmates were unfazed, giving their former “king” a collective look of sympathy.

Shen Luyang led him to a corner of the stairwell and asked in a low voice, “Have those loan sharks come looking for you again?”

The annoyance on Peng Jun’s face vanished instantly. He looked down at the floor tiles, frowning. “No. Did you write the IOU?”

“Hmm?” Shen Luyang looked at him curiously. “What IOU?”

“…” Peng Jun’s temple throbbed as he suppressed the urge to hit him. “The 800,000 I owe you.”

“Oh,” Shen Luyang slung an arm around his shoulder with a punchable “oh, right” expression. “I forgot about that pocket change. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.” He followed up smoothly, “By the way, it’s a million.”

Peng Jun jerked his head up, his breathing quickening. “Interest?”

“What interest?” Shen Luyang flicked his forehead. “The other 200,000 is for your mom’s medical bills. You’ve already borrowed 800,000; don’t refuse this little bit extra.”

Peng Jun grit his teeth, a look of painful conflict flashing across his face. 200,000 was no small sum, but his mother really did need the treatment, and he was completely tapped out. Even if Teacher Shen helped him pay off the 800,000, he’d still have to scrounge for money elsewhere to save his mother.

Shen Luyang’s expression turned serious and gentle. He looked into the boy’s eyes. “Don’t stress about the money. I’m giving you twenty years to pay it back. You can pay me a few yuan a year, or give it to me all at once in the twentieth year. I’ll give you the contract tomorrow; look it over yourself. If you don’t understand something, I’ll help you contact a lawyer. As for your mom’s doctor, I have connections there too. You’re still a kid. It’s not shameful to lean on an adult sometimes, right?”

Peng Jun clenched his fists tightly and looked away, his whole body like a bowstring pulled taut. After a long time, he managed to choke out a raspy, “Thank you.”

Shen Luyang ruffled his hair and laughed. “Go on back. Next time you have homework you don’t understand, ask me. You have my WeChat, don’t you?”

Peng Jun nodded with a muffled “mm.”

*******

In the office, the next-door chemistry teacher, Gong Wanjun, was discussing how to reach “troubled students” with the biology teacher, Jiang Nuanyu. The moment Shen Luyang walked in, all eyes turned to him.

Gong Wanjun wiped away tears and asked, “Teacher Shen, what’s your secret? I can’t handle those students in Class 20 no matter what I do.”

Shen Luyang was out of the loop. “Huh?”

Does winning a brawl count as a method?

He only understood once Zong Weiqing explained the situation. During the last period, a few “troublemaker” students in Gong Wanjun’s class had been openly provocative. They had upset her so much she cried and taught the entire lesson while weeping. Shen Luyang looked at her with newfound respect.

Zong Weiqing wiped the young Omega teacher’s tears and comforted her. “These students are high-schoolers now. The reasons behind their personalities are complex. The power of a subject teacher is limited; it’s hard to change them—”

She paused slightly when she saw Shen Luyang approaching with a Panpan bread roll to comfort Gong Wanjun. She said helplessly, “Though there are exceptions.”

Teacher Shen was the most miraculous teacher she had ever seen. Even the students who wouldn’t listen to her were now running to the office every day to learn from him. Although he still had a bit of a temper, he was always smiling; she had never actually seen him angry.

Jiang Nuanyu didn’t look at Shen Luyang but snatched the bread roll from his arms, tore it open, and took a bite. This female Alpha teacher had a natural aura; she never had to worry about discipline. She didn’t share her own experience but pointed at Shen Luyang, who was busy handing out bread.

“Look at that sunny comrade over there.”

Gong Wanjun sniffed and looked over.

Jiang Nuanyu continued, “I’ve summarized a few points from him. First, you have to find the student’s breakthrough point—their weakness. Then, take that weakness and treat them with total sincerity. Be good to them without holding back until they open up to you.”

Gong Wanjun nodded tentatively.

Jiang Nuanyu added a parting blow: “Of course, even after having a bunch of knives stuck in his back, I’ve never seen him get angry. If you don’t have that kind of psychological resilience, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

It meant laying your heart bare and gambling on whether the students would reciprocate. Students are just teenagers; their uncertainty is so high that only Shen Luyang could handle “opening up”—something that usually leads to depression when it fails—so smoothly.

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