Chapter 192 - 190: What?! The Homeroom Teacher Himself Is Offering a Toast

Chapter 192: Chapter 190: What?! The Homeroom Teacher Himself Is Offering a Toast

Jiang Xia was deeply moved as he listened to Teacher Wang’s words.

It wasn’t because they would all be going their separate ways, rarely to meet again.

Instead, it was because in his previous life, he had never gone back to his high school to visit Old Wang. Yet, after his rebirth, he had become his student once more. It was a perfect example of the saying, "What a small world."

The students followed Teacher Wang’s lead and raised their glasses. The earlier melancholy was quickly replaced by joy amidst cries of "Happy Graduation!"

The round tables slowly filled with dishes. Students began to eat and drink. More often than not, they would go up in twos and threes to toast their homeroom teacher. But this was inevitably followed by him calling them out for something or other—dating, playing on their phones in class, pulling all-nighters at internet cafes, sneaking cigarettes, and all sorts of other shenanigans.

As their homeroom teacher, he saw everything. He just usually turned a blind eye. As long as no one made any major mistakes, he rarely called anyone out by name during class meetings.

Now that Teacher Wang was exposing their embarrassing stories, some students jeered while others blushed, but they all grinned. By choosing to reveal these things now, their homeroom teacher clearly had no intention of settling old scores.

In the end, they had already graduated from high school. The homeroom teacher’s mission was complete. Though he was still a teacher, he was no longer *their* teacher.

Jiang Xia and Wang Ming were in a corner, wolfing down food like there was no tomorrow. They watched the others play drinking games, down shots, and holler, showing no intention of joining in.

’His past life had already proven it. No matter how nice the words spoken at the dinner table are now, people who aren’t going to stay in touch just won’t. After a while, you’ll even forget what most of them look like.’

"Everyone’s toasting the teacher. Aren’t you two going?" Chen Yao asked, glancing at Jiang Xia.

"Let’s eat first. We can worry about the toasts later," Jiang Xia said, continuing to focus on his food. ’What’s the point of showing off how much you can drink right now? The food is way better.’

’I’ll wait until the other students have gotten Teacher Wang good and drunk. Then I’ll casually go over, offer a toast, and properly thank him for his guidance. That will be my mission for tonight, accomplished.’

More than half an hour passed quietly. Jiang Xia hadn’t even touched his rice; he had focused solely on the main dishes, devouring nearly every single one like a storm.

He let out a satisfied burp and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Just as he was about to go find Teacher Wang for a toast, he saw the man himself walking over, glass in hand, his face flushed red.

"I’m talking to you three," Teacher Wang said with a smile. "I’ve seen you eating since the moment you sat down, and you’re still at it. Is the food here really that good?" His face showed he was a bit tipsy, but his speech was still clear.

The three of them immediately put down their chopsticks and stood up. Teacher Wang gestured for them to sit, chuckling. "Sit, sit. What are you standing for? Everyone sit down. I’ll sit, too."

He casually took a seat that belonged to some other student, picked up his chopsticks, and used the other end to try a piece of white radish from the beef stew. "The flavor really is quite good," he commented.

From the start of the dinner until now, he had only eaten a few bites of food. The rest of the time, he was constantly drinking. One group of students would leave, and another would arrive. Even the girls would come up to reluctantly thank him for his teaching.

"Teacher Wang, as everyone knows, the free stuff always tastes the best," Jiang Xia said with a grin.

Teacher Wang paused for a second, then Chen Yao explained, "Teacher Wang, the class fund is paying for tonight’s dinner."

"You little rascal... Well, if you put it that way, free stuff really does taste great."

He looked at the three students before him, his gaze filled with immense pride. To have two students from a single class get into Qingbei and one into the Central Academy of Fine Arts was something he would never have dared to dream of before.

As their homeroom teacher sat down, the eyes of the other students followed, gathering on Jiang Xia, Wang Ming, and Chen Yao. ’Just how good must their scores be,’ they all wondered, ’for the homeroom teacher to come over and toast them personally?’

Wang Ming was a known quantity; many had already heard at the hotel entrance that he had received his acceptance letter from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. But Jiang Xia and Chen Yao had always had the best grades in the class. Thinking about it, it was possible they had gotten acceptance letters from the two top universities.

"Wang Ming, you did very well on the exam this time," Teacher Wang began. "The Central Academy of Fine Arts is one of the best art schools in the country. The talented people who graduate from there become elites in all sorts of industries. You’ve really made your teacher proud this time, hahaha."

Teacher Wang wanted to give him a friendly pat on the shoulder, but considering Chen Yao was sitting right next to him, he thought better of it. Instead, he just raised his glass to drink with him.

"It’s all because you and the other teachers taught me so well," Wang Ming said, a little embarrassed, as he clinked his glass against his teacher’s. "I completely overperformed on the college entrance exam."

"What do you mean, overperformed? If you didn’t have the skill in the first place, there’d be nothing to ’overperform’ with!"

"Er... You’re right. Thank you so much for your guidance these past few years, Teacher Wang."

"You kid."

Teacher Wang shook his head gently, his eyes crinkling with a smile. "I know that you and Jiang Xia used to sneak off to the internet cafe all the time. Thankfully, you got your act together quickly, and your grades improved steadily in the last few months. When you get to college, remember to keep that same drive. Don’t you dare slack off."

"Yes, Teacher Wang."

The two of them tilted their heads back and downed the beer in their glasses in one go.

Teacher Wang’s face instantly grew redder. He frowned for a long moment before his expression relaxed. He then refilled his glass with beer and turned his gaze to a female student he was particularly proud of.

"Chen Yao, in my memory, you’ve always been the quiet, introverted type of girl who doesn’t talk much. But you’re pragmatic and incredibly hardworking. You’ve always had this fierce, unyielding spirit. Someone like you will succeed no matter what you do. Still, getting into Peking University is an amazing achievement! Your teacher congratulates you."

Hearing this, the other students looked utterly shocked. No matter where you are, the two words "Peking University" carry a lot of weight. No wonder Teacher Wang had personally come over with a glass in hand. After all, many teachers might go their entire careers without ever teaching such a student.

Teacher Wang raised his glass and clinked it with Chen Yao’s. She blushed, which highlighted the faint freckles on her face, giving her a unique kind of beauty.

"Thank you, Teacher Wang. You’ve already had a lot to drink today. Maybe you should drink a little less," she said.

"It’s fine. This little bit of alcohol is nothing. I’ll finish my glass," Teacher Wang said with a laugh. "Work hard when you get to university, and come back to visit me when you have time."

"Okay."

After finishing his second glass, it was Jiang Xia’s turn. He pursed his lips. "Teacher Wang, why don’t you eat some food first? It’s still early, there’s no rush."

Seeing the understanding smile on Jiang Xia’s face, Teacher Wang let out a drunken hiccup. He took a deep, sharp breath to suppress the churning alcohol in his stomach.

"Alright, then. I’ll go to the restroom first. When I get back, we’ll have a good, long chat."