Chapter 20: Truly Worth Learning From

“Chinese class? Nothing much to say. The whole class will have self-study—stay quiet and don’t disturb me while I rest.”

Soon, the second period arrived, and as agreed during the break, all the teachers had been switched.

Su Yi’s Chinese teacher was replaced by a slightly chubby, roguish little guy. Five minutes after the bell rang, he sauntered into the classroom, leisurely picking his teeth with a toothpick.

Without greeting anyone, he immediately declared it to be self-study time and then flopped down on the podium, snoring loudly, showing utter indifference.

The students had never seen anything like this before, but they didn’t pay it much mind. Having self-study was a good thing, especially for a subject like Chinese, where no one could solve a single reading comprehension question anyway.

If all future Chinese classes were like this, they wouldn’t be upset—they might even secretly rejoice.

But soon, the laughter died down.

The chubby man had barely been asleep for three minutes before he fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

How did everyone know it was three minutes? Because at that moment, he began to snore.

The sound was as loud as thunder, echoing sharply throughout the silent classroom. It was piercing, like a power drill scraping against a steel wall, unbearably penetrating—even covering one’s ears was futile.

Some of the more mischievous boys couldn’t hold back their laughter upon hearing it.

Those who were earnest about their self-study suffered terribly; just as they tried to concentrate on a few problems, their focus was completely derailed by the drilling noise.

They all rolled their eyes and pretended to read seriously but clenched their pens tightly, wishing they could yank the snoring man off the podium immediately.

Even Loli Xi, who was quietly hidden away, couldn’t help but rest her chin on her hand and glance sideways at the snoring chubby man, silently thinking:

“Training on Blue Star is so harsh. Not only are they forced to stay still in small rooms to build endurance, but now they even use sonic weapons to sharpen the will.”

She looked up at Su Yi, whose expression was unruffled and unaffected, and praised inwardly:

“As expected, the commander is outstanding wherever he goes.”

However, Su Yi, who had been doodling on his workbook and tackling a complex physics problem for two minutes, was not as composed as the girl imagined.

His problem-solving was just a façade; in truth, his mind was racing.

Of course, Su Yi wasn’t thinking about the snoring chubby man on the podium.

He had seen too many eccentrics, lunatics, and mentally unstable people—these were a dime a dozen in the wasteland.

His main concern was the increasing radiation levels at the school. With such high concentrations, Blue Star’s detection instruments should have gone off long ago. Why hadn’t they evacuated?

It had been two days since the explosion. Even if the Blue Star government was slow to respond, they should have issued some warning by now. If this continued, some superpowered individuals might truly emerge.

Just as Su Yi was worrying about this, an angry, high-pitched female voice filled the hallway outside the classroom:

“Cheng, what are you doing?”

The chubby man shuddered and suddenly sat upright, groggy, shouting, “Who called me?”

Before he could fully gather his wits, Meng Xi strode in, her long legs clad in black stockings, her face lined with exasperation. She grabbed his ear and dragged him roughly toward the door.

Soon, muffled screams came from outside.

“I told you to teach, and you’re sleeping?”

“Sleeping is bad enough, but snoring? I could hear you all the way downstairs!”

“Ah Xi, let me explain... I’m just so tired...”

“Nonsense! Get back to class and focus!”

The students were dumbfounded by the commotion. None of them had imagined their new, beautiful homeroom teacher would be so violent. They gasped in shock.

But the surprise didn’t last long. After a few minutes, the chubby man returned to the classroom, trotting back with a swollen black eye that looked like a panda’s.

“Ha ha ha—”

“Ha ha ha—”

“Ha ha ha—”

Laughter erupted throughout the room as the students mercilessly mocked him. The chubby man, a little annoyed, called out in a whiny voice:

“What are you laughing at? I accidentally tumbled down the stairs just now.”

His explanation only made the laughter louder.

Tumbled down the stairs?

Who would believe that?

Do they think high school students are toddlers?

Would a fall down the stairs leave a fistprint on your face?

Still, Teacher Meng Xi had indeed been rough—his injuries looked painful. This new batch of teachers was certainly fierce…

“Enough!” Cheng Sanli shouted, silencing the chaos. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Cheng Sanli—‘li’ as in ‘stand,’ not the scheming strategist from the Three Kingdoms. I’ll be your Chinese teacher from now on.”

“Ouch—this hurts like hell...” Cheng Sanli murmured, clutching his swollen cheek. His wide-open mouth from earlier had only intensified the pain.

“Teacher Cheng, are we going to start class now?” a boy raised his hand.

“Class? What class? There’s nothing to teach. Keep studying on your own!”

Cheng Sanli still looked utterly impatient, like a pig that’s not afraid of boiling water, completely ignoring Teacher Meng Xi’s earlier scolding and the punch to his face.

But this time he didn’t fall asleep. Instead, he crossed his legs, leaned against the blackboard, and lazily scrolled on his phone.

“This guy…”

The students were speechless.

However, the new teacher’s antics added a bit of unexpected fun to their dull school days.

Only Loli Xi looked at Cheng Sanli’s bruised face in shock, her impression of high school as a training base growing ever more terrifying.

Do instructors really get beaten like this if they mess up?

She increasingly admired Su Yi, who, despite having already reached Sequence Two among the Swordbearers and could easily dominate the wasteland, still came here to improve himself as an ordinary trainee.

Such diligence was truly worthy of emulation.

“Help keep an eye on him for me. I’ll take a short rest...” Su Yi suddenly nudged her with his elbow, writing on a piece of paper.

“Keep an eye on him?”

Loli Xi looked puzzled, but without saying a word, Su Yi guessed what she was thinking.

“I’ll sleep too. When the bell rings, poke me.”

With the high radiation levels, Su Yi’s body was rapidly absorbing energy. He needed a brief sleep to process it.

During this time, his senses would dull; he couldn’t remain as alert as usual.

This was a perfect opportunity—why not sleep during such a class?

Grateful to receive a direct task, Loli Xi nodded eagerly.

The warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting a comforting glow on the desk. Su Yi rested his head on the table and soon slipped into sleep.

Loli Xi leaned over her desk, her gaze fixed tightly on Su Yi’s handsome sleeping face, imprinting the sunlight-illuminated features deeply in her mind.

“As expected of the commander—calm and composed even under harsh punishment, knowing exactly when to seize the moment to rest.”

Truly worthy of learning from...

With that thought, the girl’s eyes scanned the classroom, determined to fulfill her duty with all her might.