Chapter 11

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Chapter 10 | 🚾 Contents 🚾 | Chapter 12

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Translator: Silvery

PR: Decadence

Still standing at the door, Yu Sheng briefly contemplates the meaning of life.

Boredom is indeed insufferable. This is especially so when there’s just him at home. Moreover, there is nothing to do.

But with all that said, the scene before his eyes is way too terrifying.

He doubts that these people are even speaking the same language as him.

Deciding that boredom’s not worth putting his life on the line, after being rooted to the spot for half a minute, Yu Sheng resolutely comes back to himself and turns to leave.

He has only just taken a step out when a silhouette comes in from outside and swiftly pulls the door close with a slam.

The heavy timber doors and its iron frame summons a gust of wind when closed shut. An abnormally loud sound is generated. It did not even sway when closing.

All rays of light are completely blocked out, and the auditorium instantly turns dark.

Yu Sheng: “……”

“Time’s up – Students, this shall be your first lesson for the day.”

The person who just entered is in his early-forties. Average-looking with a slightly balding head, he carries a portable mic with him and his voice comes from the speakers around the auditorium, resounding loudly.

“The students who arrive after this will have their right to participate retracted. In order to attain the best grades, one must first have a sense of time and self-discipline. Timeliness – That is the first decision you have all made in striving for excellence.”

He glances at Yu Sheng, patting him appreciatively on the shoulder:

“Little student, you were quite lucky.”

Yu Sheng looks up expressionlessly.

This little student is quite shy.

Having gotten used to seeing shy and taciturn, but good students, he pays it no mind. Full of smiles, he continues marching forward:

“I was invited to be your supervisor for this summer camp. Coming from H High, my name is Wan Yongming. You may call me Teacher Wan. There might be a few of you who have already heard the way our school does things…”

The students in the whole auditorium automatically fall silent with his words. Straightening in their seats without making a peep, they even position their hands on their knees obediently.

The auditorium should be able to hold a few thousand people. Yet, not a single student sits in the empty seats behind. They have settled down in neat rows, filling up the five or six rows up at the front. Their focus creates a solemn and respectful atmosphere, each one of them bears a notebook in hand, ready to note things down at a moment’s notice.

Yu Sheng remains standing at the door, seriously deliberating whether or not this is a MLM’s den.

That White Silver Substitute might very well have been their direct subordinate, cast to reel him in.

How careless of him.

Yu Sheng decides to leave this hellish place without leaving a trace behind.

H High’s Teacher Wan is still speaking. Yu Sheng listens distractedly as he ponders a way out, but he more or less gets the point.

This plain-looking and remarkable sweeping monk* is the one in-charge of H High’s Third-Years. He had personally taught over 10 of the Province’s Top-Rankers. The disciples under his tutelage have a 100% promotion rate and an above 80% chance of getting into the 100 key universities in the 21st century, as well as the universities started after 1985*. All in all, he’s got an excellent track record of teaching students.

(*looks ordinary on the surface but actually is a peerless master.

Imagine Wu-Shu / Kung Fu Master in disguise)

(*The 985 project: when the command was issued for China to focus on “Building a number of world-class universities and high-level universities.”)

He is here this time because he had been specially invited by the Summer Camp to put these students through some special training.

The students in the auditorium all turn starry eyed at hearing this. Their applause rains down thunderously. Yu Sheng remains listening from the back, but he also can’t help his little swell of respect for him.

As well as his cementing resolution to flee this goddamn place.

The speech is very animated. Hands shoot up continuously and questions are raised. The interaction on and off stage goes on without pause.

Teacher Wan is generous and forthcoming with regards as to how students should study. At this moment in time, he has already started an introduction on how to memorize flashcards while lining up for food, how to recite textbooks loudly while jogging, and the sort – He titles this, “The Art of Patching Holes eating up your Studies.”

Yu Sheng inches backwards, slowly running his eyes through the entire auditorium.

The doors at the sides are locked. It’s impossible to leave via them. The windows are all covered by thick curtains.

These auditoriums are more or less the same. The windows are 2m tall but in order to retain the focus of the projector, the bulky and opaque curtains are tightly drawn close all year round. If one even remotely brushes them, a kg worth of dust would tumble down and bury one alive.

The only viable exit is the huge door at his back. But since the auditorium is way too dark, even if he wants to slip out and feign lateness so he could have his right to participate be removed, there is no way to obscure the light that falls in.

It is impossible to leave without a trace.

Especially when this door is the sort that seems to weigh 300kg, relies on inertia to open, and creates a large gust of wind in its swinging space when it opens.

He’s all by himself. To open the door without relying on inertia, without making a sound, and without anyone noticing that small opening, then to soundlessly close the door without catching anyone’s notice. It seems like an impossible task.

The gust of wind created by the forceful slamming of that door just now remains in his mind. Yu Sheng does not move rashly, cracking his wrist as he leans back against the door. He continues devising a reliable plan for escaping.

……

Before his thoughts can bear any fruit, the 300kg doors suddenly lean backwards.

Yu Sheng’s backrest vanishes. He nearly topples on his bum. A little surprised, he raises his head.

The two doors remain closed, but they’re hardly sealed tight the way they were before. There is now a small crack between the two doors. It’s not wide, and it is far from enough to let the light pour in.

Now that he isn’t leaning against the door, that tiny little gap begins to return back to its former state.

It comes closer to him by the millisecond, looking a second away from closing up once more. Right when he can’t help but question his own weight, two faintest little raps come from the outside.

Yu Sheng’s brows shoot up.

The door is too thick. The speakers also amplify the speaker’s voice quite well. If not for his coincidental proximity in this moment, these two knocks would have been lost for sure.

He presses up close against the door again. Bracing a foot against the ground, he puts in a bit of force to help maintain that gap, rapping back twice.

The one on the outside probably hadn’t expected a response. Having originally intended to give up, he struggles against the door again at once. A couple beats later, he presses up close and tentatively asks:

“Friend, can you hear me? Can you lend me a hand?”

His voice slips through with much difficulty. Half his tone is lost and his words are blurry, but one can still more or less piece them together to get the message.

This must be the student H High’s Teacher Wan Yongming was mentioning just now. That unlucky bastard who doesn’t have a sense of time, is late for the Summer Camp’s assembly, and will have his right to participate slashed.

Lucky Little Student Yu Sheng can’t be bothered to answer. Bracing his foot on the ground again, he slams the door with the back of his elbow, signalling for him to put some bulk in it too.

In stark contrast to his reputation as a School Tyrant, the people who get to know him all know – Yu Sheng is generally happy to help out.

Since he did not come from the same Primary or Middle School as those from Central Third, they were not familiar with each other in the beginning. Adding on that one bloody battle he fought back when he first started high school, all of his classmates were in constant jitters around him and kept a respectable distance from him. Even passing a message to him required them to draw lots, play rock-paper-scissors, and even sign a death will.

Due to his Crow Mouth, Yu Sheng was quite reluctant to speak up back in the day. Having his hands full with safeguarding his 8 hours of sleep per day, he was too lazy to explain himself to anyone and thus, this misunderstanding continued till they changed classes.

It was only when Duan Lei, this brainless dunce who did not recognize the Boss Bro, recklessly ran into him and was casually pulled up by Boss Bro, then did the members of class 2-7 gradually begin to realize: This hand-pulling School Tyrant is actually quite nice.

He’s even willing to be a meat shield for napping students in class and be on a look out during self-study periods.

When two gangs are about to fight, so long as one finds him and drops him a few words, he is quite amenable and will amicably show up at the scene.

When the bunch of problem children fought and got themselves locked in the detention room, he would even help deliver some food to them. If he is in a good mood, he would even fence-vault, get them a few sets of poker cards and mahjong, and throw them in through the windows.

In the days leading up to every exam, the School Tyrant would even lazily slam his table twice whenever the handful of diligent students in their class couldn’t bear the noise volume, saying he wants to sleep and telling them to shut it if they’ve got nothing good to say; pass some paper notes if they do.

And thus, Class 2-7 was miraculously deemed the best class at the end of the year.

Old He has always had the worst classes in all his years at Central Third. He has never brought up a top class, so he happily arranged a party for the class then merrily brought the class representative with him to collect the prize.

When the class representative who was commended carried the certificate of merit onstage, he regretfully expressed that he had not done anything, but it was taken as modesty by the Head Teacher and he showered praises on him for the next few days.

……

The Boss Bro who had helped the entire class get on the podium as the best class lacks the slightest awareness. He is currently engaged in an earnest collaboration with the guy outside, trying his best to find a way to slip out of here.

With two people collaborating from both the inside and outside, the heavy and huge doors finally budge inch by inch. At last, the newly opened gap is large enough to let someone squeeze through.

It’s not a large gap. The tiny ray of light filtering through also lands in a corner without anyone sitting, so for now, they’re still safe.

Yu Sheng doesn’t race out. Putting in a bit more bulk to hold the doors open, he ushers lowly:

“Hurry up. Get in. Help me hold it open.”

The door opens outwards so if there is no one holding it open from the inside, the moment the person on the outside releases them, they would definitely slam close again.

Yu Sheng personally doesn’t like to study, but he has always maintained a healthy respect for those studious ones.

Abiding by his motto of not disrupting others’ fervent passions for studying, while coming up with a method of seeing himself out, Yu Sheng is also helping that unlucky bastard to get in.

Working together for a long time on opposite sides of the door, the pair have more or less built up their teamwork. Following his words, the silhouette outside squeezes through the gap briskly.

Yu Sheng catches a peek of the outside when he turns his head. Ready to seize the opportunity and hightail out of here, his gaze unintentionally lands upon the person who brushed past him, and he abruptly stops.

Black Blouse is currently helping to hold the door open. Long and narrow dark eyes flicker behind the glass of his spectacles and land upon him in mild surprise.

As if he didn’t think he would be here, his originally blithe and nonchalant eyes light up. His shoulders drop:

“What a coincidence?”

Black Blouse has changed into a new Black Blouse today. There is a golden V-shape pin at his collar, his sleeves are buttoned up all nice and neat, and there is a brown paper envelope held under his elbow. His entire person seems educated and pretentious.

Keeping only one hand on the door, since he is avoiding being found out, he had lowered his voice to a whisper. Chest hunching over, he almost seems to be trapping Yu Sheng to the door.

The lingering warmth of the sun on him. His throat, bobbing lightly with his voice. The shoulders highlighted by his black blouse. The scent of rooibos tea.

……

Yu Sheng turns and leaves.

The sun outside is excruciating. There’s aircon inside, and there’s already plenty of heatwaves rolling in the gap of the door.

Yu Sheng is blindsided by the light outside. Face contorting viciously, he falters for a beat but Teacher Wan’s speech behind is already catching up:

“—just like the self-discipline we have talked about… The two students at the back. What are you doing?”

Yu Sheng can’t hold it in. He spits out a cuss under his breath, raising a hand to rub his eyes viciously.

There’s still hope if he sprints for it now. But he’s stayed in the darkness for too long. He won’t be able to see anything with how blinded he is at the moment.

Moreover, the outside’s seriously way too hot. There’s a very real threat of being cooked alive if he steps out.

The cool and refreshing air-con behind him is an unwanted balm on the soul. It extends its evil arms and offers him its embrace, not stopping for a moment in tempting him back.

Yu Sheng is stuck right at the entrance. Just when his mind’s racing to make the decision on whether to give in or break it with eyes squeezed shut for one last attempt, the person beside him raises his hand cooperatively and makes the decision for him:

“Teacher, we are going to the washroom.”

Yu Sheng: “……”

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Next Time on DTTM!

Chapter 12: <Can’t hold it in.>

Silvery: TTuTT This parallel’s going to make more sense than I intended it to.

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Chapter 10 | 🚾 Contents 🚾 | Chapter 12

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