Chapter 11

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Chapter 11: Are All Teachers Monsters These Days?

As soon as Su Li stepped into the classroom, she immediately sensed the shift—the previously noisy room fell silent in an instant.

Of course, the silence didn’t last long. Within moments, chatter and murmurs picked back up. After all, Su Li had already become a hot topic during the opening ceremony. Many students were hoping she would end up teaching their class.

Never mind her qualifications—her cuteness alone was enough. Watching such a teacher in class was already a treat, wasn’t it?

Su Li looked around the classroom, scanning the mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces. She could still name most of them, but after five years, there were definitely a few students whose names she could no longer recall right away.

The most eye-catching among them was, of course, Shen Qingxia.

From the moment Su Li walked into the room, Shen Qingxia’s gaze had locked onto her—intense and burning. There was no way Su Li could ignore it.

She gave a wry smile inwardly. After all, before her rebirth, her first meeting with Shen Qingxia had been completely different.

Back then, Shen Qingxia had been cold and indifferent, never paying attention to anyone or anything that didn’t concern her. Though she shared the same classroom as everyone else, she seemed to exist in a different world entirely.

It was precisely this aloofness that had piqued Su Li’s curiosity. What could a girl like that be thinking about all the time?

But now…

Pushing aside those thoughts, Su Li brought her focus back to the classroom. She cleared her throat lightly and said, “Everyone, could we quiet down for a moment?”

Whether it was due to her cuteness or some inherent teacherly authority, the classroom immediately went silent again. Even more quickly than when the homeroom teacher, Li Yitong, had tried to quiet them. Su Li figured it was probably the cuteness.

From the hallway, Li Yitong watched in surprise. She clearly remembered what Su Li’s first class had been like in the previous timeline—no one had taken him seriously. As a new teacher and not even the homeroom teacher, he had struggled to command any respect.

Back then, it had taken Li Yitong’s intervention to finally get the rowdy students to calm down.

But in this world, Su Li’s words alone had done the trick?

Interesting. This is getting more and more interesting. I wonder what kind of person this Su Li will grow into…

Su Li herself was a bit surprised too, but her experience as a teacher quickly kicked in. She smoothly picked up a piece of chalk and wrote her name on the blackboard.

She almost wrote her old name by mistake, but luckily caught herself in time. That would’ve been a disaster.

“My name is Su Li, and I’ll be your Chinese teacher from now on. Please don’t forget it.”

“Teacher, there’s no way I’ll forget your name!”

“Yeah, yeah! Teacher, are you really older than us?”

…

As the class began to stir again, Su Li cleared her throat and said with mock sternness, “Alright, don’t get too excited. I know I look like I’m about your age, but I’m actually already twenty-five!”

She emphasized the “twenty-five,” making it very clear. This was important—a key point, something the students should mentally underline and possibly even jot down, because yes, it would be on the test.

Many of the students looked at her in disbelief. She clearly looked even younger than most of them—and yet she claimed to be twenty-five? Were all teachers these days monsters or something?

Among the surprised students was Li Zi. Her expression didn’t change much, but if someone observed closely, they would catch a fleeting flash of shock and disbelief deep in her eyes.

Su Li. That name had been buried in her heart for who knew how long.

She had thought she’d never have to remember that person again. But after her rebirth, she encountered a girl with the exact same name and age as him.

Though one was a “girl” and the other was a “boy”…

Looking at the girlish, youthful figure before her, Li Zi couldn’t help but wonder—Is this really the person I remember? No matter how she looked, there was nothing similar between the two… except the name.

If she remembered correctly, this person had even come to her restaurant to eat yesterday. She had taken note of her on purpose.

Could this be fate?

She lowered her gaze, eyes drifting across the woodgrain of her desk, unfocused. No matter what connection this world’s Su Li might have to the one she remembered, Li Zi had no intention of getting involved.

Rebirth—something that only happened in novels. She was determined to make the most of this second chance and live a life that was hers alone—without that person.

“Ahem. Now that I’ve finished introducing myself, it’s time for me to get to know all of you. I’ll just take attendance and ask each of you to give a casual self-introduction, alright?”

One by one, familiar names rolled off Su Li’s tongue. From each student’s self-introduction, she could already get a sense of their personalities. Honestly, she remembered most of them even without the introductions—the roll call was just to refresh her memory and awaken the dormant memories from five years ago.

While she could recall bits and pieces, the details had grown hazy.

As she listened to the students introduce themselves, memories started to bubble up—names, stories, moments all resurfaced in her mind.

So many things happened back when I taught these kids, Su Li thought with a touch of nostalgia. I wonder how things will change now that I’ve been reborn…

She wasn’t quite sure.

The class period was forty-five minutes long. Not too long, but not particularly short either. After the introductions, the bell rang soon enough.

Right on cue, Su Li wrapped up her remarks exactly thirty seconds before the bell, determined never to run overtime unless absolutely necessary.

After all, as a former student herself, she knew exactly how much students hated when teachers went over time.

She wouldn’t be that kind of teacher. At least, she hoped not.

As the bell rang and class ended, Su Li tidied up her teaching materials, preparing to leave the classroom.

But just as she was about to walk out the door, she suddenly realized—

she was surrounded.

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