Chapter 15: Easily Amused

At exactly 7:40, a melodious chime reminiscent of Canon in D rang out, announcing the start of class.

Class was beginning!

For Lin Yu, this was not only his very first culture lesson after being reborn, but the first class in his life he’d ever resolved to truly pay attention to.

The subject was geography, and the teacher was a young woman, Tao Bo, substituting for the regular instructor. Barely past twenty, her looks could be considered above average, but she excelled at dressing to flatter her figure—particularly her prominent chest. As a result, the boys of Class 7, Grade 3, especially enjoyed her classes.

The girls, on the other hand, were not so fond of this somewhat coquettish teacher. In a class where girls far outnumbered boys, and with few eligible boys to choose from, every halfway decent boy was a treasured object of their affection. The likes of Wang Tianming, the class’s golden boy, were especially coveted and even jokingly referred to as the “gems” of Class 7. Thus, the sophisticated and alluring geography teacher, Tao Bo, had become a subconscious rival in the eyes of many girls.

Of course, Lin Yu was oblivious to all this. With his poor grades and unremarkable background, he had long been blacklisted by most girls. Apart from Qi Yue, the only ones who didn’t dislike him were a few girls who fancied themselves mature by drinking and smoking, so he had never been the object of anyone’s admiration.

When Lin Yu finally took a good look at the geography teacher, he was genuinely startled. Not because she was particularly sexy or provocative, but because, in his previous life, this very teacher later developed a relationship with his fifth brother, Zhang Zhilong. Of course, that happened years after they graduated from high school, and their fateful encounter took place in the restroom of COCO, the most famous nightclub in Bin City.

Thinking of the amusing stories that later unfolded between this mismatched pair, Lin Yu couldn’t help but smile to himself.

At that moment, a bright piece of chalk arced over the heads of the students and struck him squarely on the face, leaving him momentarily dumbfounded.

“What’s the matter?” he stood up, annoyance in his eyes as he looked at the instigator, Teacher Tao Bo.

“You’re asking me what’s the matter?” Tao Bo slapped the desk in anger, her expression stern. “Is it that my lesson is so comical, or that I look so funny, that you can’t stop grinning like a fool?”

“Oh, so that’s it…” Her words made it clear—he’d been smiling too brightly, annoying the self-assured teacher.

Lin Yu thought to himself that he certainly couldn’t say, “Teacher, I was laughing because you’ll be my sister-in-law one day!” But just thinking of how ill-matched Tao Bo and Zhang Zhilong looked together, he couldn’t suppress another grin.

“Lin Yu’s acting up again…”

That was the general sentiment of most students in Class 7.

“This student really doesn’t take me seriously at all! I must teach him a lesson,” thought the beautiful geography teacher, Tao Bo.

“He doesn’t even pay attention in class! Is there some ulterior motive for borrowing my notes…?” mused Yang Zhilin, the class beauty, glancing back at Lin Yu, her brows drawn together in a way that called to mind Lin Daiyu’s famous melancholy. Beside her, Qi Yue, who hadn’t slept a wink the previous night, was sprawled across her desk, fast asleep.

Seeing Yang Zhilin’s displeasure, Lin Yu could only shrug helplessly and force his smile away. Noting that the teacher ignored Qi Yue’s obvious nap, he realized that Tao Bo seemed to single out the boys, likely because she was overly conscious of her own charm.

Standing on the podium, Tao Bo grew even more irritated at seeing Lin Yu immediately stifle his laughter at just a single glance from Yang Zhilin. She felt her own authority and allure had been eclipsed by a teenage girl.

Her mind quickly settled on a way to deal with Lin Yu. With a cold chuckle, she said, “So, you’re disrupting geography class because you must be very good at the subject, aren’t you?”

Respect for teachers is a virtue passed down for thousands of years in our nation. Though Lin Yu was something of a delinquent, he still harbored genuine respect for certain teachers—such as Head Teacher He Jing, or the Dean, Yang Yongming.

But faced with Tao Bo, who in his past life would call him “Third Brother,” he felt not the slightest sense of awe. Sensing her challenge, he smiled and replied, “Wu Zixu, the great minister of Wu, was learned in astronomy above and geography below, versed in both civil and military affairs. While I’m no Wu Zixu, I do know a thing or two about geography.”

With his knowledge search system in his mind, Lin Yu was confident that any question the teacher posed, he could answer with ease.

“Good, very good. Confidence is important.” Tao Bo smiled smugly, continuing, “Since you’re so confident, I trust you’ve truly mastered your geography knowledge?”

“More or less. Ordinary geography questions are no trouble for me. If you don’t believe it, go ahead and ask,” Lin Yu replied, relaxed, from his seat.

His words drew scoffs from many in the class, who saw him as a clown wasting everyone’s time.

Even Yang Zhilin shook her head, feeling Lin Yu was going too far.

The geography teacher’s smile only grew, and her tone softened. “Since you’re so confident, let’s make this simple. I’ll ask you the easiest geography question. But if you can’t answer correctly, it will prove you’re deliberately disrupting class and wasting everyone’s precious study time. I’ll have to report your behavior to the Dean for a major demerit.”

“Ask away! I’m ready,” Lin Yu replied indifferently, thinking, “How petty… Trying to give me a demerit over something so trivial. Just wait until you and my fifth brother get together; let’s see how I deal with you then.”

“Then, let the whole class be witness,” Tao Bo declared, sweeping her gaze over the students, before turning to Lin Yu. “Let me ask you: do you love your country?”

“Hmm?” Lin Yu was momentarily taken aback by the question, but he answered softly, “Though our country’s taxes are high, and certain problems are severe, one’s homeland is one’s homeland. I believe that, like me, most people, even if they feel disappointed, still deeply love their motherland.”

“That’s a very good answer!” Teacher Tao Bo applauded lightly before continuing, “But that wasn’t my question. My question is simple: since you love your country, then drawing a map of China on the blackboard shouldn’t be a problem, right? Heh. Of course, you just need to outline the general shape of the country and the rough boundaries of each province, municipality, autonomous region, and special administrative region. If you can do that, you pass.”

Draw a map of China, including all the provinces…

When they heard this, many students in Class 7 couldn’t help but think: Shameless!

The outline of the country itself is manageable; most Chinese remember it well enough to sketch in general terms. But as for the shapes of the more than twenty provinces, four municipalities, five autonomous regions, and two special administrative regions—few people in the entire nation could draw them all precisely!

Such a question was clearly meant to make things difficult.