Under the playful and provocative gazes of his classmates, Yang Mingyu finally made a move.
Instead of picking up chalk and writing his name on the blackboard like other teachers, or rushing into the same old self-introduction, he simply tapped the dusty lectern three times, slowly and deliberately, with the knuckle of his index finger.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The sound wasn't loud, but in the classroom, which had quieted down out of curiosity, it was exceptionally clear.
Most of the students' attention was drawn back. They couldn't figure out what this new homeroom teacher was up to.
Wang Hao felt a loss of face when his provocation was ignored. He pouted, about to say something again.
Just then, Yang Mingyu spoke.
His voice was not loud, plain and calm, yet it carried a peculiar penetrative power that reached every corner of the classroom.
“No need to rush with self-introductions; you won't remember them anyway.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over the astonished faces below. “Before class, I'll call on a few students I know, just as… a preliminary introduction.”
“Tch—”
A chorus of disdainful jeers erupted from below.
It was the same old trick. Every new teacher liked to play the roll call game, nothing more than an attempt to establish authority and give a few troublemakers a warning.
Wang Hao scoffed, crossing his legs even higher. He was certain this new teacher would call on him, the 'early bird,' first. He had even prepared his retort, just waiting to see how the other party would embarrass himself.
However, Yang Mingyu didn't even pick up the roll book.
He simply looked around, his gaze falling precisely and directly on the most arrogant figure in the center.
“Wang Hao.”
He calmly called out the name.
Wang Hao, whose name was called, revealed a triumphant expression of “I knew it.” A few of his followers around him also chimed in, letting out a burst of strange laughter.
Wang Hao cleared his throat, just about to deliver his 'warning' in his cynical tone, but Yang Mingyu gave him no chance to speak.
Yang Mingyu’s next words echoed through the classroom.
“Stop bragging about how rich your dad is.”
As soon as these words left his mouth, the smile on Wang Hao’s face instantly froze.
Yang Mingyu’s tone remained calm, as if he was merely stating a very ordinary fact: “Remind him, next week, don't touch that chemical stock called Wanhua Group.”
“Whoosh—”
A small commotion broke out in the classroom.
“Wanhua Group? Isn't that the one with the most aggressive TV ads recently?”
“My dad even said it’s a bull stock, hitting the daily limit every day.”
“How does this teacher know Wang Hao’s dad plays the stock market?”
Wang Hao himself was stunned. His dad had indeed been dabbling in stocks recently, and was preparing to heavily invest in this so-called 'leading stock.' He had only heard his dad bragging about it at dinner yesterday. How did this new teacher know? Was he just guessing?
Yang Mingyu watched Wang Hao’s face turn from red to white, a slight curve on his lips, and continued to casually twist the knife, his voice low but every word piercing: “Otherwise, the money he was going to use to buy you a new phone this month will probably be cut in half. By then, your monthly allowance might not even be enough to cover the losses.”
Wang Hao’s bragging abruptly ceased. His arrogant face was now filled with shock and disbelief.
His dad had only just promised him a new phone yesterday, the model wasn’t even decided yet, and not a single person in the class knew! This teacher… who exactly was this teacher?!
The jeers and boos in the classroom vanished instantly without a trace.
Everyone’s eyes widened, looking at the mysterious young teacher on the podium, then at Wang Hao, who was frozen as if acupoints had been struck. A ripple of astonishment surged through everyone’s hearts.
This was no longer a simple 'warning'; this was practically 'mind reading'!
There was a moment of silence, but soon, more students' faces showed sneers and suspicion.
“He's bluffing, right? Playing a trick!”
“He must have investigated us beforehand. What's the point of all these fancy tricks?”
“Exactly, who is he trying to scare?”
The sounds of doubt and discussion rose again, even louder than before. After all, for these rebellious teenagers of sixteen or seventeen, admitting a teacher's 'magic' was much harder than questioning him.
Yang Mingyu turned a deaf ear to these discussions, as if everything was within his expectations.
His gaze calmly moved from the stunned Wang Hao to another direction in the classroom.
There sat a tall, thin boy, pretending to look out the window, but actually using his textbook to hide a martial arts novel he was secretly reading. He was Li Lei, the class monitor, a typical outwardly reserved but inwardly dramatic teenager, with average grades and an honest demeanor.
“Li Lei.” Yang Mingyu spoke again.
Li Lei stiffened, like a thief caught in the act, frantically trying to hide the novel.
“Don’t hide it.” Yang Mingyu’s voice echoed like a ghost. “Jin Yong’s 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,' the part where Xiao Feng fights at Juxian Manor, is indeed exciting.”
Li Lei’s movements froze in mid-air.
Yang Mingyu seemed to see through the thick Chinese textbook and continued: “But I suggest you read it quickly, otherwise, when you turn to page 358, your book will be ruined by ink accidentally spilled by your deskmate.”
Li Lei subconsciously lowered his head, quickly flipping through the pages, his gaze falling on the page number.
356, 357…
His deskmate, a boisterous boy, happened to stretch at that moment, his elbow swinging out, knocking over the uncapped fountain pen ink bottle at the corner of the desk.
“Plop!”
The blue-black ink, perfectly, without deviation, spilled onto Li Lei’s open book, quickly seeping and spreading, turning the heroic words of “Though a thousand men stand against me, I shall go forth” into a blurry stain.
Li Lei looked at the ruined novel, then up at the smiling teacher on the podium, completely dumbfounded.
If exposing Wang Hao’s family matters could be explained by “prior investigation,”
Then how could this scene be explained?
This had already gone beyond the realm of coincidence!
The discussions in the classroom quieted down again. Some students’ faces began to show expressions of uncertainty and surprise. Their gazes at Yang Mingyu, from initial disdain, began to carry a hint of fear.
This teacher was too eerie!
Yang Mingyu didn’t give them much time to think.
His “roll call” continued.
His gaze, like a sharp scalpel, precisely cut open the disguises each student used to hide themselves.
“Zhang Wei, forget it, you won't have enough players for the basketball game this afternoon. Your main center deskmate will have an upset stomach from lunch and will be squatting in the restroom.”
Zhang Wei, the sports student who was gesturing basketball shots with his deskmate, suddenly froze, looking incredulously at his lively deskmate.
“And you, Liu Lili,” Yang Mingyu’s gaze shifted to the girl applying lip gloss, “that new lip gloss you bought is a defective product. This afternoon, your lips will become allergic and swell up like sausages. I advise you to wash it off now.”
The lip gloss in the hand of the girl named Liu Lili dropped to the floor with a “clack,” and she subconsciously covered her mouth.
One “prediction” after another, spoken casually by Yang Mingyu, and miraculously, each one precisely hit the “secret” of the person involved.
The entire classroom fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone held their breath, not daring to even breathe.
They felt as if they were naked, completely exposed under the teacher's gaze. Everyone's heart pounded: “Will he call on me? What does he know about me?”
Even Lin Tian, who had been engrossed in his game in the corner, couldn't help but look up from his world, frowning, and gazing at the podium with a curious expression.
Finally, Yang Mingyu’s gaze fell on the short-haired girl who had been carving the desk with a small knife, her head bowed the entire time.
The air in the classroom seemed to be sucked out at that moment.
Zhao Min.
Class 14’s toughest nut, its coldest iceberg.
An existence even older students' bullies dared not easily provoke.
Would this new teacher dare to call her name?
Everyone’s hearts were in their throats, waiting to see a true “trump card” showdown.
Yang Mingyu looked at the stubborn figure and sighed softly in his heart.
He knew that for this girl, who was extremely sensitive and had strong self-esteem, any public “prediction” could be a form of harm.
He walked down from the podium, step by step, slowly approaching Zhao Min’s desk. The entire class’s eyes followed his footsteps.
Zhao Min felt his approach, and the hand carving the desk unconsciously tightened its grip on the knife handle, veins bulging on the back of her hand, like a hedgehog ready to attack at any moment.
Yang Mingyu stopped beside her, not looking at her, but bending down, as if just looking at the carvings on her desk.
Then, in a very low voice that only two or three people nearby could hear, he said, “Zhao Min.” The girl’s shoulders trembled imperceptibly. “Last night, you took care of your mother until two or three in the morning again, didn’t you?”
“Buzz—!” Something exploded in Zhao Min’s mind. Her hand, which was carving the desk, suddenly paused! The tip of the small knife, due to the momentary loss of strength, made a long scratch on the wooden desktop.
Yang Mingyu’s voice continued to drift into her ears:
“It was hard work, but don’t bring your morning grumpiness to class; it’s not good for your health.”
After saying this, Yang Mingyu straightened up, turned, and walked back to the podium with a composed pace.
It was as if he had just gone for a stroll, doing and saying nothing.
However, Zhao Min was frozen in place as if she had been spellbound.
She slowly raised her head. This was the first time she had raised her head in class since the beginning of the school year.
Her eyes, which were always filled with frost and disdain, were now full of shock and disbelief.
She stared intently at the young teacher’s back on the podium, as if trying to bore two holes into him.
The fact that her mother was seriously ill and needed round-the-clock care was the deepest secret in her heart, and also her heaviest burden. She had never mentioned it to anyone, not even her best friend.
How did this teacher, whom she had only met once, know?
And he spoke so accurately, even the time…
At this moment, all the noise, discussions, and breathing in the entire classroom miraculously disappeared.
Everyone felt the eerie aura emanating from Zhao Min. They didn’t know what the teacher had said to her, but they could see that the most formidable “big sister” in the class was now showing an uncharacteristic expression.
The entire classroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
An atmosphere called “awe” began to spread through the chaotic classroom of Class 14.