Chapter 85: Principal Xie’s Punishment
Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
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Knock, knock.
Chu Feng stood at the door of the principal’s office, a gentle night breeze brushing against his pant legs.
“Come in.”
Xie Shiyu’s voice came from inside.
Chu Feng thought for a moment and rebuttoned his open collar.
Click—
He turned the doorknob and walked in.
“Principal, you wanted to see me?”
***
Principal Xie’s office was spacious, lavishly furnished with a milk almond-colored cashmere carpet. In the center of the room stood a long mahogany conference table.
Principal Xie sat at the head of the table, flanked by six school board members on each side, making a total of thirteen people.
Chu Feng was taken aback. He had thought it would be a one-on-one meeting with the principal, not a serious, late-night assembly with the entire board.
The office was eerily silent. The white walls reflected the mahogany table and the twelve stern faces. Chu Feng forced a smile to lighten the mood.
“Is something wrong?”
Principal Xie sat at the far end of the long table. He wore a brown-gray pinstriped suit and a pair of glasses that softened his sharp features, giving him an air of scholarly elegance.
Without explaining, Xie Shiyu simply smiled faintly and gestured with his hand.
“Sit.”
A sense of dread washed over Chu Feng.
This version of Principal Xie was modeled after the 26-year-old successful Xie Shiyu from real life. In business, Xie Shiyu sometimes wore glasses to soften his sharp features and appear more approachable.
To outsiders, the glasses made him seem gentle and scholarly, but to Chu Feng, this guise was more dangerous. The straightforward Xie, whether the school bully or the CEO, was actually easier to deal with.
The only available seat was the central one opposite the principal, forcing Chu Feng to face him directly across the long table, with the board members on either side staring intently at him.
Feeling the pressure of countless eyes on his back, Chu Feng had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit down.
This seat was extremely awkward.
As soon as he sat down, he was forced to make eye contact with Principal Xie across the long conference table, while the various Xie Shiyus on either side of the table stared at him intently.
It felt like a trial.
“Teacher Chu, teaching seniors must be tiring, right?” Principal Xie asked with a caring smile.
“…It’s manageable.”
Chu Feng kept his response brief to avoid saying too much. He noticed a thick file on the table to Xie Shiyu’s right.
A sudden realization hit him. Earlier, he had asked the intern Xie Shiyu why he was still at school so late, and the intern had replied meaningfully.
“[Organizing some materials.]”
“The seniors’ grades have improved recently,” said Secretary Xie on the left side of the table.
“Indeed. Teacher Chu, could you share your teaching methods? It would be beneficial for all of us,” added Head Teacher Xie from the right side.
Their words hinted at something ominous. Chu Feng didn’t really have any special teaching methods; he just rewarded students based on their performance. Top students received private tutoring sessions that sometimes lasted all night, and occasionally, he would offer group rewards regardless of rankings.
None of this could be openly admitted.
Chu Feng remained silent, waiting to see what Principal Xie would say. Here, the principal was the real decision-maker.
Principal Xie sat at the far end of the table, the distance between them seeming vast. With his glasses on, his expression was harder to read. He spoke kindly.
“The students’ progress is gratifying. Teacher Chu, you’ve worked hard recently.”
Chu Feng’s heart skipped a beat.
At first glance, this sentence seemed perfectly fine, as if it were praising him for his good work. However, if the work were truly well done, the principal, as a leader, could directly commend his subordinate for the excellent aspects of his work and encourage continued effort. But what Principal Xie said was:
“You’ve worked hard”—
The underlying meaning, worth pondering.
Whoosh—
Rustle—
Principal Xie reached for the file on his right.
Chu Feng’s anxiety grew. He wanted to know what was in that file.
Principal Xie seemed to sense his curiosity. He leisurely untied the string around the file and spoke casually.
“I’ve heard, Teacher Chu, that you’ve been offering extracurricular tutoring?”
***
Chu Feng froze.
Crash—
The sound of shuffling paper broke the silence in the office. Principal Xie suddenly emptied a large stack of… photos from the file folder!
Chu Feng’s heart pounded like a drum.
To be precise, it was a thick pile of rectangular paper. Xie Shiyu handled them like a deck of cards, holding the photos in his hand. Chu Feng couldn’t see the faces of the photos, only their pristine white backs.
—-But he knew all too well what disgraceful scenes were on the other side.
Principal Xie scrutinized the photos for a while, then made a bland comment.
“Teacher Chu, your teaching methods are indeed… quite unique.”
He deliberately switched to another photo with a sharp rustle, the sound unusually loud in the vast office.
Chu Feng’s face flushed hot with shame. He wished he could crawl into a shell like a snail.
He thought Principal Xie would throw the entire stack in front of him, forcing him to confront his own inappropriate conduct…
But Xie Shiyu didn’t.
He looked at each photo one by one, his expression serious and meticulous, as if he were reviewing a research paper on “The Synthesis and Application of Non-Precious Metal Mixed Oxide Nanocatalysts” instead of indecent pictures of sap-covered maple trees.
The nearby board members, close to the principal, subtly turned their heads to view the photos. After glancing at a few, their expressions remained composed, their eyebrows slightly raised as they smiled knowingly.
“No wonder your students perform so well, Teacher Chu,” one remarked.’
***
Chu Feng’s shame burned hotter. Sitting at the far end of the long conference table, he felt like he was on pins and needles, unable to see what specific photos were being scrutinized.
“Teacher Chu, why is your face so red?” the teacher beside him asked, teasingly brushing Chu Feng’s ear before quickly retracting his hand.
“Is it too warm? Shall we lower the air conditioning?”
The fully automated air conditioner beeped twice and lowered the temperature by two degrees.
Chu Feng kept his head down, not daring to look at any of the Xie Shiyus. He felt like he was in a sauna, his mind buzzing with anxiety about what might happen next.
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
A strange sound made Chu Feng look up. Principal Xie was feeding the stack of photos into a machine on the left side, which looked like a currency counter.
—What is he doing?
It was a high-speed image scanner. In the next instant, beep—
The white walls of the office flashed suddenly!
All four walls projected ultra-high-definition photos!
Magnified thousands of times, the enormous, explicit images instantly filled Chu Feng’s vision.
“Teacher Chu,” Principal Xie’s voice came, calm and cold.
“Is this how you instruct your students?”
Each wall had embedded screens, showing the enlarged photos in rotation, giving every Xie Shiyu in the room a clear view of the disgraceful images.
“Turn… turn it off…”
Chu Feng’s shoulders trembled. Xie Shiyu hadn’t even touched him, yet he felt the deepest shame.
“Please, turn it off…”
“Teacher Chu,” Principal Xie continued, playing the explicit photos while speaking in the most official tone.
“The education department clearly forbids teachers from conducting extracurricular classes. Why did you still commit such a mistake?”
“I…”
“Such incidents… are truly regrettable.” Principal Xie feigned a sigh and ordered.
“Teacher Chu, we will revoke your teaching credentials. Starting tomorrow, you need not return to school.”
Principal Xie made a dismissive gesture. Chairs scraped, and the twelve board members rose, indicating their agreement with this decision, ready to leave.
Beep. A system notification popped up in front of Chu Feng.
[After your teaching credentials are revoked, you will be deemed lacking in professional ethics and barred from working in educational settings. Players will be unable to engage in teacher-student play henceforth.]
“Wait, Principal—” Chu Feng stood up, pleading.
He couldn’t lose his teaching credentials. Without them, he couldn’t interact with the senior and repeat students, and his position would be taken over by other Xie teachers, who would likely misuse their power to torment the students with grueling assignments.
“Please… please give me another chance.”
Chu Feng knew what the Xie Shiyus wanted tonight. It wasn’t about his credentials.
Sure enough, the Xie Shiyus paused and slowly resumed their seats.
Principal Xie, pretending to sigh, said.
“Teacher Chu, it’s not that we don’t want to give you a chance. We’ve discussed this extensively, and it’s… very difficult. Look at these photos. With such chaotic teacher-student relations, how can the school maintain its integrity?”
The walls continued to display the endless stream of scandalous images. Chu Feng couldn’t bear to look.
“I… it was just… rewards… I won’t do it again. Please, don’t revoke my teaching credentials.”
Principal Xie: “Are you sure it was just a reward?”
Chu Feng lowered his head and nodded slightly.
Principal Xie: “So, if there were no exams, Teacher Chu, you wouldn’t just reward students arbitrarily, right?”
Chu Feng nodded again.
“I see,” Principal Xie said, like a hunter who had cornered a fluffy wildcat. He squinted his eyes and smiled. “Then, Chu Feng, how do you explain this?”
Beep—
Xie Shiyu pressed a switch, and a massive holographic screen emerged in the center of the conference table, playing a lossless video in Blu-ray quality.
“At least… can’t we go somewhere else? A hotel or… home? This is the city center!”
In the video, Chu Feng saw his bare back pressed against a bus window, surrounded by three Xie Shiyus: 18-year-old school bully Xie, 19-year-old repeat student Xie, and 26-year-old bus driver Xie.
Click, click—outside the bus window, other Xie Shiyus passed by, continuously taking photos and videos…
“In broad daylight, in the busy city center, and on a bus, Teacher Chu, you treat your students like this? How can I overlook such behavior?”
Principal Xie feigned a pained expression.
“Rest assured, we won’t mention this to the students. We all work together, so let’s not make this ugly. I won’t issue a dismissal letter. Hand in your resignation tomorrow. Meeting adjourned.”
The chairs scraped back as the Xie Shiyus prepared to leave at an even faster pace this time.
“Principal!”
Chu Feng quickly got up, walking over and grabbing Xie Shiyu’s arm.
“Please don’t dismiss me.”
“Teacher Chu, what are you doing?” Principal Xie Shiyu pushed Chu Feng away lightly, playing the part of a virtuous sage.
But his hand, which had pushed Chu Feng, didn’t move away.
Chu Feng hated how this man pretended. Reluctantly, he held onto Xie Shiyu’s hand, lowered his head, revealing his slender, white swan neck to the hunter, and whispered.
“As long as you don’t dismiss me. I’ll do anything.”
***
Xie Shiyu turned around, the glasses on his nose reflecting a cold light.
“Show me your sincerity.”
Chu Feng hesitated for a moment but quickly understood what he meant.
With practiced hands, he reached for his shirt…
The buttons of his collar fell one by one, like raindrops separating from the sky.
The white shirt, like a wilting white orchid, dropped to the ground.
The cold air from the air conditioner brushed his skin, cold.
The gazes around him clung to his body, hot.
The central holographic screen played vivid videos, sparking imagination.
The white walls projected endless photos of maple trees being watered.
Chu Feng lowered his head, unsure where to look, focusing only on the soft cashmere carpet beneath his feet.
“Teacher Chu.”
He heard one of the Xie Shiyus speaking behind him, not the principal; perhaps it was Secretary Xie or Teacher Xie.
“The issue of your teaching credentials isn’t decided by the principal alone; it’s the opinion of the entire board.”
The implication was clear: even if the principal was appeased, all the other Xie Shiyus had their demands too.
Chu Feng looked at the Xie Shiyus present at the meeting.
“Thir… thirteen, that’s too many…”
“Is a full class of students too many?!”
Principal Xie tore off his mask of gentlemanly restraint, revealing his true nature, his voice dripping with jealousy.
“You spoil those kids too much! Freshly turned adults, what’s so great about them?”
He pulled Chu Feng into an embrace, kissed him harshly, and whispered.
“Are they better than me?”
Chu Feng didn’t know how to respond. He leaned against Xie Shiyu, lightly hooking his arm around his neck, and softly said.
“Love them all.”
***
The rustling of clothes, the sound of chairs being pulled in.
White shirts, black trousers, laid wilted on the soft cashmere carpet.
Knock, knock—
Principal Xie tapped the redwood table with his knuckles.
Chu Feng understood. He walked to the cold conference table but didn’t sit; he laid down.
The lights above the office were bright and harsh—
Suddenly, everything went dark.
Xie Shiyu reached out, gently covering his eyes.
“Is the light too bright? Should we dim it?”
Chu Feng shook his head. He knew Xie Shiyu had a sense of limits. Sometimes, Chu Feng felt Xie Shiyu understood his health’s boundaries better than he did. Usually, during such maple tree planting activities, most of the Xie Shiyus could only watch, unable to truly participate.
If the lights were dimmed, the other Xie Shiyus who couldn’t water the trees wouldn’t see clearly.
The office was very quiet, and it was uncertain when the real activity would start.
Chu Feng shivered slightly, feeling a bit nervous.
“…The air conditioning… is a bit cold.”
***
“My dear.”
Xie Shiyu touched Chu Feng’s soft face, whispering in his ear.
“It will warm up very soon.”
***
Warm hands, several pairs of hands, like many breezes…
Gently brushed away the night, as soft as silk.
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