Chapter 1: The Devil Beside Me (Part One)

  "Ding ding ding......" The bell rang as scheduled at the end of class.

  Qiao Anyu was carrying a stack of homework that was even taller than herself, and had just walked to the office door when she heard an unfamiliar male voice coming from inside. She couldn't help but stop in her tracks and listen carefully with her ear tilted to one side.

  "Teacher Lin, I'm really sorry. My son is so disappointing, always causing trouble and giving you a lot of headaches."

  "He's indeed clever, but he doesn't take learning seriously. He's always slacking off and has a very stubborn personality. He even teamed up with his deskmate, they're like two peas in a pod, chatting away like they're performing a comedy routine. They actually drove the math teacher away, and he came to me several times to complain about them. I was just about to separate them when..."

  Qiao Anyu hastily estimated that if she didn't go in, her homework would be scattered all over the floor. She held her homework against her chest with one hand and used the other to knock on the open door, indicating that she had to interrupt their conversation. Politely, she asked: "Teacher, is the homework collected?"

  The teacher and the strange uncle cast their eyes on her together.

  "Alright, it's settled then." The teacher said with a smile towards her.

  The uncle, however, kept sizing her up and down, making her feel uneasy all over. Nevertheless, she still greeted him with a big smile: "Hello, Uncle."

  The uncle obviously didn't expect this little girl to greet him, and he was taken aback for a moment before hastily replying: "Hello, hello, hello."

  Put the homework on the table, Qiao An Yu Liang was about to leave when the teacher called her again: "Yu Liang, I haven't assigned today's language class homework yet. As usual, practice writing one page, diary one article, reading notes one article, and also, copy each new word twice. Help me notify everyone. Those who don't finish their homework will be punished by copying!"

  Qiao Anyu nodded and said: "Teacher, uncle, then I'll go out first." She turned around and left the office.

  "Is this kid called Yu Liang? I think this kid is pretty good, is she a class cadre?" the mischievous kid's father asked.

  Mr. Lin's face showed a kind of pride: "Yes, class leader and study committee member, is my trusted assistant."

  "Teacher Lin, can you arrange for my son to sit at the same desk as her? My child's mother and I are often abroad, and he is taken care of by only one aunt. He doesn't have anyone who can discipline him properly. If we change his deskmate to a good one, maybe through influence, he will be led in a better direction. One hand cannot clap on its own, if he doesn't have any companions, it's also hard for him to cause trouble. What do you think, is this possible?"

  Mr. Lin's face showed a difficult expression, after all, she was his most satisfactory student, and he still had to consider it carefully. He couldn't bear to wrong her too much.

  That father was anxious, took out a red envelope that had been prepared long ago and stuffed it into the teacher's hand: "Teacher Lin, just accept it. My son is not making progress, if there is someone who sets an example beside him, often reminding him, he can also collect his temper."

  Mr. Lin thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

  "Also, Teacher Lin, if my son does something wrong at school, please go ahead and discipline him, don't show favoritism towards him. His mom and I are too far away to take care of him, so we have to rely on you to manage him."

  Just then, his cell phone rang. His talkative father apologized to Lin Laoshi and said, "Excuse me, I'll take this call."

  "Hello... oh, yeah... alright, I'll head back right away."

  Having said that, Father hastily bid farewell to Lin Laoshi and didn't even bother to take a glance at his son before rushing to the airport in a taxi.

  Mr. Lin shook his head and sighed in his heart.