Director Lin stood outside the classroom, watching the disheveled group of little troublemakers inside. He rubbed his eyes once, then again, still unable to believe that these unruly kids were now sitting properly in their seats, listening to the teacher's "instruction."
The Principal had already eaten half of his ice cream. He patted Director Lin on the shoulder and said cheerfully, "Seems like the new teacher doesn’t need our help after all, Director Lin. Let’s head back and think about how to welcome the new visitors instead."
Xia Miao pulled out a small microphone from her bag. Initially, she thought the class was small enough that she wouldn’t need it, but she’d brought it just in case. Little did she expect these little rascals to be so out of control. After yelling at them for so long, her throat was sore, so she finally put on the microphone.
The moment she turned it on, a sharp, ear-piercing "screeeech—" rang out, a prolonged feedback noise that tortured everyone’s nerves.
The children had never experienced anything like this before. They covered their ears in agony.
Xia Miao quickly moved her phone farther away from the microphone on the podium, and the screeching stopped. She cleared her throat and tested the mic with a couple of "testing, testing" sounds.
The naive students had no idea that this terrifying noise would become the greatest shadow of their academic lives.
"Ahem, alright. Now, I’ll take attendance," Xia Miao said, flipping open the class roster. "When I call your name, raise your hand and say ‘here.’"
"Song Xiaohua."
The only girl in the class raised her hand. "Here."
"Wang Linlin."
The boy was still clutching his injured tail, sniffling quietly. Hearing his name, he hurriedly responded in a tearful voice, "Here."
"Yuan Xiaolang."
"Here." The boy was missing a tooth, and his speech came out with a lisp. The moment he opened his mouth, fresh blood gushed out again.
"Zhang Dayu."
"Here." The tentacled boy’s neck was still crooked—he’d accidentally fractured it when he fell earlier.
"Li Mumu."
"Here…" The puppet boy was the shyest, his voice barely audible.
Xia Miao looked up and called the last name. "Fang Xiaogui."
Fang Xiaogui shuddered, unsure why Xia Miao’s gaze lingered on him longer than the others. Trembling, he answered, "Here."
Xia Miao closed the roster with a sharp "snap," her stern expression making the children freeze in place.
"Good. For this lesson, we’ll get to know each other. I’ve memorized all your names. My surname is Xia, so you can call me Teacher Xia. Later, I’ll establish class rules—some things will be strictly forbidden, while others will be mandatory. Anyone who breaks the rules will be punished."
"Also, who’s the class monitor?"
The children exchanged confused glances.
Yuan Xiaolang, being the boldest, asked quietly, "What’s a class monitor?"
"It’s the leader of the class. Second only to the teacher, they’re in charge. If we compare it to a wolf pack, they’d be the alpha!"
Though the kids didn’t fully understand, the word "alpha" sparked excitement. Everyone raised their hands. "I want to be class monitor!"
"No, only I can be class monitor!" Fang Xiaogui jumped up the highest. "My teeth are the sharpest, and my knife is the sharpest! I’m the one who should be alpha!"
Yuan Xiaolang shoved Fang Xiaogui aside. "Do you even have a tail? Or fur? Can you howl at the moon? You’re not fit to be alpha!"
Song Xiaohua squeezed forward. "I’m the prettiest! I’m the class flower! I should be queen!"
Zhang Dayu stuck to Song Xiaohua’s side. "I support Xiaohua as queen!"
Wang Linlin: "I have a tail! I should be alpha!"
Li Mumu shrank in his seat, his eyes darting nervously. Too timid to fight, he whispered, "I… I also want…"
Xia Miao slammed her hand on the desk, and everyone fell silent.
"Enough. Since I’ve just started teaching you and don’t know you well yet, we’ll decide the class monitor based on tomorrow’s test results. Whoever scores highest on my exam will be considered for the role."
Class ended, and Xia Miao didn’t drag it out. She gathered her things and left the classroom.
The children immediately huddled together.
Fang Xiaogui: "I don’t think this woman’s plan to pick a class monitor is that simple. Is she trying to divide us, turn us against each other?"
Yuan Xiaolang: "You might be right. So what do we do?"
Wang Linlin: "Let’s ambush her tonight and kill her!"
Song Xiaohua: "But Teacher has that scary weapon that goes ‘screech.’ We can’t beat that."
Zhang Dayu: "Yeah, we can’t win."
Li Mumu: "I…"
His voice was too soft, and everyone ignored him.
Fang Xiaogui pulled out a knife and stabbed it into the desk, exuding menace. "Then tonight, we’ll sneak into her house and test her. Yuan Xiaolang and Wang Linlin will go in first. Then Song Xiaohua, Zhang Dayu, and Li Mumu will rush in after. We’ll tie her up while she’s asleep, and I’ll handle the rest."
Song Xiaohua’s eyes widened. "Fang Xiaogui, you just want us to capture Teacher Xia so you can steal the test paper!"
Fang Xiaogui stammered, "N-no way!"
His nervousness gave him away.
Song Xiaohua ran toward the door. "I’m telling Teacher! You’ll be disqualified!"
Fang Xiaogui grabbed her, Zhang Dayu jumped in to help Song Xiaohua, and soon, they were all in a chaotic tangle.
Outside the classroom, Xia Miao stood with her arms crossed, a smug look on her face.
If these brats dared to gang up on the new teacher, she’d let them experience how quickly friendships could shatter. That’d teach them to scheme together in the future.
The old school building showed its age—peeling paint, cracks in the walls.
Humming an off-key tune, Xia Miao walked cheerfully toward the office.
The shadows in the cracks moved in sync with her steps. Sinister eyes flickered in the darkness, watching her every move with obsessive intensity.
There were plenty of empty rooms in the school, but Xia Miao had her own small office—just enough space for one.
She closed the door, set down her books, and took a sip of still-cold Coke from her thermos, sighing in satisfaction.
Then she turned around, reached into a crack in the wall, and pulled out a long-haired head with its face hidden. She pressed her lips to his pale, venomously dark ones.
His crimson tongue slid out, cold against her warm lips, licking greedily before slipping deeper, entwining with her heat. He refused to let go until Xia Miao pushed him away several times. Reluctantly, his tongue withdrew, but not before swiping one last time at the moisture on her lips.
Xia Miao hugged his head, nuzzling it affectionately. "Fully recharged! Now I’m ready to work again!"
He lowered his gaze, his eyes curving into dark crescents, the blush around his nose making him look even more endearing.
But to any normal person, the sight of him half-hidden in the wall would only make him seem like a creepy, lurking pervert.
"It's my first official day at work—I deserve some encouragement!"
After a three-second delay, his arm wrapped around her body, his movements sluggish as he raised his hand. With black-nailed fingers, he wiped away the flecks of mud on her face and let out a sinister chuckle.
"Miaomiao, so good."
