It’s a common belief among students: the nicer the teacher, the more terrifying they are when they finally lose their temper.
Jiangg Ning making a big fuss in the main philosophy class group chat and summoning a whole bunch of students to her office was something that had only ever happened once before.
「By Landa University’s Qingyan Lake.」
Several girls, each with their own distinct charm, ambled along with books in their arms. They had only seen the message in the group chat after their class had ended.
The sunlight was fading as a cold wind swept by.
The most petite and adorable girl in the group held up her phone and asked in surprise, "What did the students who got called out do? How could they make Jiangg that mad?"
"Heh, I bet they did something that crossed one of her lines."
"A lot of the new freshmen are so clueless. Something like this happened once before, back in our freshman year. That was the first time I ever saw Jiangg Ning get truly angry." The curly-haired girl seemed to recall the scene and shivered. In a hushed voice, she added, "It was absolutely terrifying..."
"What was it? Spill the tea!" The cute girl’s head snapped around, her big eyes sparkling with sudden interest.
"It’s not really juicy gossip... A lot of people know about it, but we usually don’t bring it up. I remember it was last year, around March or April, when Jiangg gave us an assignment to write and submit a short philosophical poem."
She continued, "There was this one girl, who seemed a bit delusional, who actually used the poem to confess her feelings to Jiangg. She even wrote an eight-hundred-word essay to go with it and went around telling everyone! The poem was incredibly explicit, lewd, and violent!"
"What?!"
"It started with something like, ’To my wife, as you hold this letter, to see these words is to see me...’ I only read the first line, but it was enough to make Jiangg almost pass out from rage. She called everyone who knew about it into her office and chewed them all out, one by one. The girl who wrote it was scolded until she burst into tears."
"That’s insane! Did she get officially disciplined?"
"No, Jiangg is too soft-hearted. She just gave her a stern lecture, and then she even took the time to teach everyone about healthy views on love. She told everyone not to spread the story around, and eventually, the whole thing just blew over..."
...
"Everyone, there’s no need to be so perfunctory with me."
「In the office.」
Jiangg Ning offered a faint smile, but no matter how the students looked at it, the expression sent a chill down their spines.
Last night, while grading homework, she’d felt her head spin.
During Wednesday’s class, she had been lecturing on Parmenides, discussing certain aspects of Western philosophy. She had recited his famous short poem to the class: "Keep your thoughts from this path of inquiry, and do not let much-experienced habit force you down this road, to wield a dazed eye and a booming ear and a tongue, but judge by reason the much-contested argument."
She had given them a short assignment: to briefly write about their impression of Parmenides.
And the result?
One student was so ridiculous they wrote, "This philosopher kinda looks like my uncle from back home."
SLAP—
A thin stack of papers hit the desk with the sharp crack of a slap, making several students flinch.
Chen Yuan jumped, startled. He was standing in the very corner of the room and didn’t dare look directly at Jiangg Ning’s face. His scalp prickled with unease.
He had a natural-born fear of teachers!
Chen Yuan silently lowered his head, thinking, ’Women are terrifying... The exact same face can evoke so many different feelings. If I actually married Jiangg and her personality kept switching back and forth, wouldn’t that be like having two wives?’
"Don’t think that just because there are a lot of students, I don’t read the homework. I grade every single assignment you turn in with great care." Jiangg’s cold words once again filled the office. The students remained silent, a tacit admission that they knew their attitude was the problem. She furrowed her brow. "I pour my heart and soul into teaching. This is deeply disheartening..."
Academic matters were never to be taken lightly.
Jiangg Ning knew her course was considered an easy A, but there had to be a limit to how much students could slack off.
In the crowd, the student who had written "looks like my uncle" hung his head in shame. He took a few steps back, trying to hide behind a tall guy in front of him.
"We’re sorry, Professor Jiangg Ning... We know we were wrong," a student with a center-part haircut said dejectedly.
"We won’t write garbage on our assignments again..." another student added, shaking his head vigorously.
"Yes, I understand now. We rashly created unnecessary work for you."
More students chimed in, all sounding sincere.
Their attitudes were, at least, very good.
’She hadn’t intended to scold them too harshly. They’re college students, after all. It’s perfectly normal for them to be playful.’
She just needed to teach them that there’s a time and a place for everything.
Although she wasn’t much older than them, she wasn’t their friend. The lines between teacher and student were drawn clearly and unmistakably.
Since they all knew they were in the wrong, she decided not to press the issue.
The ice in her expression finally melted, and her features softened. Pursing her lips, she said lightly, "Alright, I’ve printed out each of your assignments. Go back and give your roommates a good read. Let them know what kind of nonsense you all wrote."
"Heh..." The students ducked their heads and went to her desk to retrieve their papers, chuckling under their breath.
"Still laughing!" Jiangg Ning had almost cracked a smile herself, but she caught it in an instant, widening her lovely eyes in a mock glare.
But anyone could tell her anger had already faded.
The students lined up to grab their "great works" and fled the office as if escaping a fire. There were only three girls in the group, and they were so ashamed they didn’t dare even glance at Jiangg Ning, their faces bright red.
They snatched their papers and scurried out with mincing steps.
Once almost everyone had left, their footsteps fading down the hall, Chen Yuan finally snapped out of it. Steeling himself, he walked over to get his assignment. As he took the two steps to her desk, he could clearly feel Jiangg Ning’s gaze.
It was boring into him.