Rebirth Of Chen An

Chapter 174: The Unexpected New Teacher

Translator: Flying Lines

Whether it was in kindergarten or university, hardly any students liked PE classes. It was especially true for a major university like this one; students skipped PE whenever they could, and they tended to select classes that seemed easy and fun, and avoided those that looked tough and tiring, such as Fitness.
I

t was only after classes like Basketball, Badminton, Swimming and other hot subjects had all been filled up that students had to take this one for the credits.
So as usual, students trooped into the Fitness classroom a few minutes before the class. When they saw the stranger in the gym, they thought he was for another class, so hardly anyone paid him any attention.
The few girls in the class crowded together and chatted.
“I swear I’m gonna take basketball next semester! So many good-looking boys in that class! And the teacher, he is super cool!”
“I hope it’s that easy. Every time the course selection system opens up, those who live off campus get there first. With the terrible internet access we get on campus, we only get the left-overs.”
“Wait a moment. I remember there’s a handsome one in our class too. Remember that Chen Yang? I happened to see him the other day, OMG! I’m going to drool!”
“Phew. When I saw that Swimming was all filled up, and saw Chen Yang’s name in the Fitness list, I signed up. Then what? Haven’t seen him since the start of the semester!”
As the girls chattered, the bell rang. Still, the dozen students were scattered across the place, casting an occasional glance at the door to see if the teacher showed up.
And they continued to chat when he didn’t.
“There are altogether 36 students for this class. I will do a roll-call now.”
The voice came from the stranger and students glanced towards the man, who had been there for some time. Sitting on the SPINNING, Chen An smiled at the students and said: “Sorry I forgot the self-introduction part. From now on I’m your teacher for this class.”
“Where’s our teacher, Mr. Qian?” Someone asked in a small voice.
Mr. Qian was the former teacher for the Fitness class. He was easygoing, and closed an eye for students’ occasional absence, and seldom did a roll-call. He knew students had little interest and usually let them work out by themselves after a few words.
“Mr. Qian is otherwise occupied. By the way, Chen is my surname, so you can call me Mr. Chen.” As he spoke, he held the students’ register in hand, and among the 36 names, one was “Chen Yang”. Only it seemed Chen Yang was not here today.
Chen An sniffed. The young man had told him he was not skipping classes, turned out he wasn’t here for once.
The man looked up and cast a chilling glance at the students, who felt daggers going straight to their hearts, as he said: “line up now!”
“Yes!”
Scared by Chen An’s demeanor, the students quickly stood up from their seats, and lined up in front of him. They were anxious and curious at the same time, and wondered why they had a new teacher all of a sudden, and how the amiable-looking man can speak in such a frightening way.
“Sorry!”
Just as Chen An was about to get his first day as a teacher rolling by an attendance check, several students late for the class came to a halt at the door. Panting heavily from their run, they did not notice the change of their teacher.
Chen An glanced at the students. His eyes lit up as they met one of the girls. The Old Fox lifted the corner of his mouth and asked: “You lot left your watches at home? Or did you sprain an ankle?”
The unfamiliar voice made the students look towards him, and when the girl saw who it was, her eyes widened. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.
“Uncle Chen?” Wang Li, who had been Chen An’s housekeeper for some time, was totally flabbergasted.
She knew that Chen An flew back from the US a week ago. In her eyes, a man like Chen An must be preoccupied with affairs of international importance, go out with a dozen or so bodyguards, and make business deals worth millions of dollars. What was he doing in a university gym dressed in sportswear?
She cast another glance at Chen An, his clothes, shoes and the sport watch on his wrist, and made a mental comment: even if in a gym, Uncle Chen had to be dressed in luxury brands, not caring how much at odds they were with the humble surroundings.
“Chen is my family name, so you can call me Mr. Chen. It’s my first day teaching here. But I think it’s not very polite to be late, right?” Though it was already late autumn, Chen An brandished a warm smile pleasant like the spring breeze.
Wang Li, however, felt so cold that she nearly shuddered.
“Mr. Chen! It will never happen again!” Wang Li made a deep bow in apology, which shocked those standing by her: was this strictly necessary?
Chen An chuckled and stood up: “I’m usually a nice person, but I think some discipline is warranted. Absence or arriving late will not be tolerated in my class. This is our first day, so I will go easy on you.”
Students standing at the door was secretly relieved upon hearing it, and thought they would be let off the hook. Only Wang Li knew it was unlike Chen An to let them go.
As it happened, Chen An added quickly: “the facilities in this gym are old. I’ve asked the university for new equipment. Those of you who are late, you can carry the old ones out and get the new ones in.”
He then picked up a piece of paper from aside, and said: “you need to place these facilities exactly like pictured here, understood?”
Two trucks pulled up outside the gym. It was clear that one class period wouldn’t be enough to get all the old facilities out and the new ones in.
A nerdy looking boy with glasses raised his hand: “Mr. Chen, what if we can’t finish before the end of the class?”
“Then you will end the class when you finish.” The Old Fox smiled.
With a self-important look, the nerd stated in a solemn voice: “sorry Mr. Chen, but I’m competing in an international math contest next month. I’m already wasting a lot of time coming to this class, so please end the class on schedule.”
Wang Li shut her eyes in despair: the nerd was dead.
“Oooh, you’re wasting your time coming to PE?” The Old Fox put on a fake smile and walked slowly towards the nerd. As he approached, the nerd was rooted to the spot, and swallowed nervously.
Chen An looked him over, his glance sharp like razor: “look at yourself, in your twenties, but thin like a beanpole. People might think you’re still going to kindergarten, and it’s probably true in the sense that you still haven’t progressed past holding hands with a girl.”
“Want to know why I know? Because no girl likes a boy that can be easily blown off his feet and probably needs protection from her. Good grades can’t help you there. Not only girls, when you step out of school, your co-workers will find you unpleasant, and your boss will regard you as ignorable.”
Chen An gently patted the boy who was by now flushed, and continued, “little friend, choose your words carefully when you speak to me. Do you expect me to let your pass this course? Without the credits, you won’t be able to graduate. And without a degree, what kind of a job can you get?”
“You, you are threatening me!” The nerd had never been spoken to in this way before; shocked by what he heard, he blubbered after a moment.
Chen An’s expression turned cold and sharp, “yes, I am threatening you. If it was before, instead of standing here talking to me, you would be lying on the ground.”
“What are you waiting for? Move your ass!” The Old Fox gave the nerd a kick. The boy, thin as a beanpole, uttered a cry and fell to the ground. Angry and humiliated, tears welled up in his eyes.
“How can you hit a student!” a tall and thin boy jumped out, rushed to the nerd and supported him up. He asked in concern, “Are you okay?”
The boy looked more anxious than if he was hit himself.
“You’re a pampered lot. I’m not hitting him; I’m teaching him a lesson.” Chen An announced. It was much more moderate than the ‘lessons’ that he gave Lu Feng before.
“It’s simply wrong to hit people! I’m going to tell the principal!” The tall boy was indignant and tried to drag the nerd away with him as he spoke.
“Don’t! Don’t!” Wang Li rushed before them and tried to interfere. She was not worried about Chen An; she was worried about these two!
“Let me teach you a lesson today. It’s called ‘how the self-important idiot got his ass kicked by reality’.” Chen An turned from the now trembling students to the angry young man, and smirked: “go to the principal if you want. But I promise you no one would help you, even if you went to the Interpol.”
“You show your teacher no respect, and yet want to be respected in return? Are you dumb, or really think yourself the master of the world?” Chen An pointed outside, “run around the playground 20 times, and do not stop until you finish. You can leave now if you want to, but believe me when I say this: no matter what good grades you usually get, you’re not getting the credits for this course if you go. And without them you can’t graduate. You can try if you doubt what I say.”
Chen An then turned to the other students: “and all of you, go help carry the facilities. Tell those who are absent today, that they’d better come for the next class if they still want to graduate.”
“Okay. Problem?” Chen An smiled sweetly at them.