"I didn’t..." Liu Ruming began to say she hadn’t hugged him, then realized her arms were tightly wrapped around Lin Tian’s neck.
Her face turned red, and she quickly let go and stepped back, only to realize she had lost one of her high heels.
"Your shoe is over there," Lin Tian pointed to the side of the stairs, reminding her.
Liu Ruming tiptoed over, put on her high heel, and then breathed a sigh of relief. However, Lin Tian noticed that her black stockings were covered in a lot of dust. Liu Ruming tried to bend down to wipe them several times, but felt too embarrassed.
"Your book," Lin Tian said, picking up a book by his feet and handing it to her.
There were two more books a few steps away, and Lin Tian started to pick them up. But Liu Ruming said, "Lin Tian, let me do it."
Lin Tian knew she was trying to break the awkward atmosphere, so he let her. She walked forward and bent over to pick up the books. It was a normal act, but Lin Tian was right behind Liu Ruming. When she bent down, her skirt tightened and the stance was a bit awkward.
Damn it, this posture is really testing my stability, and I’m known for my poor stability. Is this inviting me to commit a crime?, Lin Tian thought, howling internally. Does Liu Ruming have no caution at all?
Thankfully, Liu Ruming picked up the books quickly. She straightened her back and picked up another one.
That was close, almost made a fool of myself, Lin Tian breathed a sigh of relief. It’s too thrilling to be doing this in broad daylight.
"Lin Tian, thank you. If it weren’t for your timely rescue, I’d be teaching with an injury for the next few days," Liu Ruming said with a light smile after she finished picking up the books.
"Teacher Ru Meng, there’s no need to be polite. Saving a beauty is every boy’s dream," Lin Tian shamelessly declared himself a hero and cleverly complimented Liu Ruming as a beauty.
A woman, no matter how beautiful, needs compliments, especially when the one praising her is a handsome young man, and doing it so subtly. As expected, Liu Ruming revealed a charming smile, one that was uniquely elegant and friendly, with an enchanting charm of a teacher at the podium.
"You should still call me Teacher Liu, the name Teacher Ru Meng is a bit too intimate," Liu Ruming said with a smile, holding the books against her chest.
"Alright, Teacher Ru Meng, oh, no, Teacher Liu, I should be going if there’s nothing else," Lin Tian nodded and said.
"Wait a moment, I need to talk to you about something," Liu Ruming called out.
Lin Tian turned around and said curiously, "What is it? It’s almost time for class, Teacher Liu, maybe keep it brief."
Liu Ruming looked at Lin Tian in surprise. This student isn’t intimidated by his teacher’s status, nor swayed by her beauty. What kind of student is this? She was amazed, even more so when recalling how he had managed to come to her rescue from such a distance.
"Teacher Ru Meng?" Lin Tian prompted.
"Oh, right," Liu Ruming snapped back to reality, not noticing Lin Tian’s incorrect address, and continued, "I’ve heard about your excellent performance in English and that you scored full marks last time, including your high level of spoken English. I’m thinking of setting up an English corner and want you to be the group leader. You could share study methods and practice speaking. What do you think?"
"An English corner?" Lin Tian was puzzled and said, "The college entrance exam is approaching, and everyone is buried in revision. Setting up an English corner now might not attract any students who are willing—or have the time—to participate, and the effectiveness of it is still an unknown."
"Lin Tian, we shouldn’t limit our learning of any language to just exams. The ultimate goal of learning a foreign language is for communication. I arrived here a bit late. If I had arrived a year earlier, the English corner would have been established long ago," Liu Ruming said with a hint of regret.
But she quickly added, "However, now is a golden opportunity. I’ve heard about your influence in school. With you involved, the implementation of the English corner will be much more effective. If you graduate, where else can I find someone as influential as you?"
"Teacher Liu, can I take that as you flattering me?" Lin Tian said, laughing at her comment.
Liu Ruming was taken aback by his boldness to joke like that, but she laughed soon after, realizing that it was only someone bold who could inspire more students to join the English corner.
"Hehe, you can think of it that way," Liu Ruming said with a smile.
"But I think one English corner is too scattered, somewhat unorganized and undisciplined, and relying on just my efforts alone is limited. I need more people to take the lead, to make it standardized, and to carry it on. If we are going to do it, let’s do it big, not just my own English corner. I have a proposal."
"Do it big?" Liu Ruming echoed Lin Tian’s words, then felt the phrase was a bit crass and blushed a bit.
Lin Tian felt quite pleased to hear a beautiful teacher say such a phrase—it almost felt like pulling an angel down to the mortal world.
"We should establish an English Association. The English corner will be organized by the association, and the association will ensure this activity continues even years after we’re not here anymore. It could even host more spectacular events. What do you think?" Lin Tian said.
He said that aloud, but in his heart, Lin Tian harbored his own thoughts. This way, he could be a hands-off manager. Otherwise, he’d have to deal with organizing the English corner with a bunch of people every day, practically confiscating his free time—what a miserable thing that would be.
They say laziness fosters invention, and Lin Tian truly felt the truth in that statement at that moment.
"An association? That sounds more like a university thing. Our school doesn’t have any clubs or associations yet. If we manage to establish this English Association, it would be a pioneering feat," Liu Ruming said excitedly.
A pioneering feat—why does that sound so familiar? Lin Tian was momentarily puzzled. Then he recalled that Principal Yan had said the same thing before.
"But the principal definitely won’t approve. There’s no precedent for this, and it might be difficult to manage," Liu Ruming said, her excitement fading a bit.
The sole purpose of high school is the college entrance exam, and school leaders definitely won’t approve the establishment of any association. In the eyes of these leaders, any activity not serving the college entrance exam is considered misguided and a distraction.
It could affect the school’s advancement rate and the leaders’ performance, and who would want to take that risk?
The so-called "comprehensive development in morals, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor" is nothing in the leaders’ eyes. Advancement rate comes first, performance comes first, all else aside.
Lin Tian, of course, was aware of all these facts, and Teacher Ru Meng’s concerns were valid. She wanted to develop students’ capabilities comprehensively, but without the leadership’s understanding and support, it would all be in vain.
"Teacher Ru Meng, don’t be discouraged. Since I proposed establishing the association, I have a way to get through the school leaders," Lin Tian said with a confident smile.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢