Chapter 78: Establishing Authority

Chapter 78: Establishing Authority

Teaching turned out to be easier than Yan Feng'an had imagined. Although many students at Mingzheng Academy came from wealthy families, once they entered his classroom, most of them were quite disciplined and respectful of him as their teacher.

Only Lin Hongwen, his former classmate, remained a persistent thorn in his side.

Yan Feng'an had been well aware of his bad habits back when they studied at the academy together. When Lin Hongwen had signed up, he had thumped his chest and said with a big grin, "Brother Yan, don't go easy on me just because we're close. I genuinely want to study."

At the time, Yan Feng'an had thought Lin Hongwen had turned over a new leaf, just like Lu Xiuyuan. But once classes officially began, he understood the saying: "A leopard can't change its spots."

After moving Lin Hongwen's seat against the wall, he toed the line for a few days. Then he fell back into his old habits. When Zhou Wentian beside him wouldn't talk, he slipped notes to the people around him—either inviting them to play after school or making plans to grab a bite somewhere.

The other students were somewhat afraid of Yan Feng'an as their teacher. Even when they received notes, they didn't dare respond. They'd dodge Yan Feng'an's eyes while nudging the notes back with their feet.

Yan Feng'an definitely noticed the rustling in the back rows. When he occasionally turned around, he'd see everyone sitting up straight, all putting on a show of paying attention.

He had a pretty good idea what was going on, but since he hadn't caught them red-handed, he let it go.

Not only did Lin Hongwen talk under his breath during class, he also showed up later than everyone else in the morning. When he pushed open the door, he didn't even bother to knock or announce himself, flashing a grin at Yan Feng'an and saying, "Teacher Yan, sorry I'm late. I overslept."

Yan Feng'an shot him a look, not angry, just saying, "Next time, come earlier. From now on, if you show up late without asking ahead of time, you won't be let in."

Lin Hongwen said "okay" and swaggered back to his seat, winking at the classmates who were staring at him.

The other students saw it all, kept their mouths shut, but filed it away in their heads.

When class let out, a few students were grumbling as they walked out of the alley, "Teacher Yan really lets Lin Hongwen get away with everything. Anyone else would've been sent outside to stand."

Another lowered his voice and said, "He's the teacher's old classmate, so of course it's different."

"Not just classmates—they're buddies. And his family runs a silk shop, so the teacher's gotta give him some face."

Manager Zhao's kid snorted, "So what if his family runs a silk shop? Mine runs a money shop. The teacher made all these rules, but Lin Hongwen breaks them and gets nothing. That's totally unfair."

"The world's not exactly fair," his cousin advised. "Don't copy Lin Hongwen. The teacher might let him off, but that doesn't mean he'll let you off."

Young Master Zhao rolled his eyes. "I'm not dumb."

Word somehow got back to Lin Hongwen, and he only got smugger. He and Brother Yan were tight—how could anyone else measure up?

The next day during break, a few students were huddled together talking about the classics Yan Feng'an had gone over. Lin Hongwen rested his chin on his hand, showing off, "You don't know this, but back at the academy, Brother Yan used to give me private lessons. On holidays, he'd even come into town and eat with us."

Someone laughed along to play along and said, "No wonder the teacher treats you special. You two must be tight."

Lin Hongwen grinned. "Of course. He's gotta give me that much face."

Yan Feng'an was just about to step into the classroom when he heard that. His face didn't change, but inside, he let out a cold laugh.

So Lin Hongwen knew he was being given face, yet he kept pushing and pushing, making everyone else uncomfortable. If he didn't take this chance to teach the guy a lesson, how could he ever talk about fairness?

Yan Feng'an pulled himself together and walked in. As he handed back the graded tests, he said, "A lot of you didn't even write your essays in the right direction. Today, write a short essay on 'A gentleman is not a vessel.' You've got three days."

On the third day, everyone else had turned in their work, but Lin Hongwen's desk was completely empty.

The good thing about studying in the city was that it made it easy for these rich kids to have fun. Every day after class, he'd go off to the pleasure quarters to have a good time, and by the time he remembered the assignment, it was way too late to write it.

When Yan Feng'an came up to him asking for the assignment, Lin Hongwen pressed his hands together and put on a sycophantic smile, "Brother Yan, Teacher Yan, I'm really sorry. I forgot to do it. Can I turn it in later?"

Yan Feng'an said, "Don't bother."

Young Master Zhao shot his cousin a look, pursing his lips. His cousin shook his head, signaling him to stay quiet.

Lin Hongwen hadn't expected Yan Feng'an to be so easy on him. He quickly said, "I'll do it, I will. I promise I'll turn it in before class ends this afternoon."

"You might not have gotten what I meant," Yan Feng'an said sternly. "You don't need to make up today's assignment. In fact, you don't need to do any of my assignments from now on."

Lin Hongwen slowly realized something was off. The smile on his face disappeared. "Why?"

Yan Feng'an turned and walked toward the lectern. Standing behind the desk, he announced to all the students, "Because from now on, you're not my student anymore. So of course you don't need to do assignments."

"Wait... Brother Yan, what are you talking about..." Lin Hongwen hurried forward, explaining anxiously, "I only skipped one assignment. You can't be serious about this, right?"

"One? No, I've tolerated you many times." Yan Feng'an decided to be direct with him. "I told you before: in this school, there's only one relationship between us—I am the teacher, and you are the student. If you can't accept that, then don't come to my school. What did you promise me back then, and what have you done since? I held back from punishing you because I wanted to see when you'd come to your senses and change. Instead, you've only escalated, challenging my authority as a teacher again and again. Did you really think I would indulge you forever?"

"I didn't!" Lin Hongwen instinctively defended himself. "I never meant to challenge you."

"Whether you did or not, you know yourself." Yan Feng'an shook his head at him. "Lin Hongwen, you've truly disappointed me."

Those words froze Lin Hongwen in place. He tried to argue, but Yan Feng'an continued, "You think I'm too young to be your teacher? Well, I think you're beyond teaching. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come to Mingzheng Academy anymore. Please inform your father to come by the school when he has time—I'll refund the full tuition."

His tone remained calm throughout, without harsh words, yet not a single student in the hall dared to breathe loudly.

Young Master Zhao had expected Teacher Yan to slap Lin Hongwen's palms or make him stand outside as punishment. He never imagined the punishment would be this severe—expelling him outright.

Good heavens, if he were expelled from school, his father would probably break his legs when he got home.

He glanced at his cousin, who was even more timid than him. The cousin was currently burying his head in his book, pretending to study, desperately trying to make himself invisible for fear that the teacher's anger might accidentally spill over onto him.

Someone secretly glanced at Lin Hongwen's face. The usually grinning young man now looked pale, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

After a long moment, he gritted his teeth and forced out, "Fine, I won't come. Who cares anyway."

His words were tough, but he couldn't bring himself to meet Yan Feng'an's eyes.

He wanted to say that they were friends, that Yan Feng'an was being too heartless. He wanted to say that he had helped Yan Feng'an so much in the past, and this was how he repaid him.

But he hadn't lost his senses. He knew that saying such things now would truly destroy their friendship.

His face flushed red and pale by turns. Lin Hongwen said stubbornly, "I didn't want to study under you anyway."

He returned to his seat, hastily stuffed his things into his book bag, and walked out of the lecture hall without looking back.

Yan Feng'an stood at the lectern and addressed the remaining students, "As I said before, I treat all students equally. This school doesn't run on connections—only on merit. I hope everyone will take Lin Hongwen as a lesson."

The students answered in unison, "Yes."

After school, Lu Xiuyuan didn't leave right away. Once the others had gone, he approached Yan Feng'an and hesitated before speaking, "Teacher, are you really expelling him?"

Yan Feng'an asked in return, "What do you think?"

Lu Xiuyuan paused. "He really has been too undisciplined. He deserves to be taught a lesson. But..." He trailed off, as if searching for the right words. "It's right that you punish him, but if he's truly expelled, it won't just embarrass him—it'll embarrass his father too. Uncle Lin may seem mild-mannered, but he hits hard when he's angry..."

He struggled to find the right way to phrase it. Although he and Lin Hongwen were always bickering, he didn't want to see him humiliated. He wanted to plead for him but didn't know how.

Yan Feng'an saw his troubled expression and smiled. "Compared to before, you've really grown a lot. Unfortunately, Brother Lin is still that same carefree, irresponsible fellow. He can't sit still, and if I forced him to stay, it would be bad for everyone. Don't worry—we'll still be friends privately. It's just that he truly can't continue at the school."

With it put that way, Lu Xiuyuan couldn't very well plead for him any further.

When he got home, Lin Hongwen was sitting in his family's main hall with a long face, his mother comforting him nearby.

He didn't dare go back to his own place, so he came running over to hide out at mine instead.

As soon as he saw Lu Xiuyuan enter, Lin Hongwen jumped up to greet him: "What did he say? Is Yan really going to kick me out of the academy?"

Lu Xiuyuan shot him a glare: "You think I'm joking? He said you two are still friends in private, but you're done at the academy."

Lin Hongwen burst into tears. "How could he do this? Yan's being way too cold-blooded."

Madam Lu also scolded him: "He busted his butt to start this academy, and instead of helping him earn respect as his friend, you went and screwed him over. If I were him, I'd kick you out too."

"Auntie Lu! Even you're ganging up on me." Lin Hongwen sniffled, grabbed Lu Xiuyuan's sleeve to wipe his face, and got kicked off in disgust.

"Serves you right, you idiot." Lu Xiuyuan didn't even glance at him, yanking his sleeve back.

Lin Hongwen pleaded: "I already said I messed up, and you're all still on my case. If my dad finds out, he'll kill me, and that'd be getting off easy. Auntie Lu, please, you gotta help me figure something out."

Madam Lu's heart softened in the end. She knew his parents were both big on face, and if he became the first kid ever kicked out of the academy, those two would be livid.

After a moment's thought, she said: "Master Yan is real tight with his husband, so he'll probably listen to him. Tomorrow, pick up some gifts and go ask Master Yan's husband to plead your case."

"How could I forget that?" Lin Hongwen wiped his tears and scrambled out, yelling back as he ran: "Thanks, Auntie Lu! I'll go see him tomorrow."

Once he was out of sight, Madam Lu glanced at her son, and the two of them shook their heads, smiling.

Early the next morning, once the academy was in session, Lin Hongwen showed up at Rain-Listening Lane with gifts.

As he passed the shut academy gate, he hesitated for a second, then ducked his head and hurried off.

Yan Fengan had already filled Wen Xi in on what went down at the academy the day before, so when Lin Hongwen showed up, Wen Xi had a pretty good idea why he was there.

Still, he played dumb and acted surprised: "Oh? Young Master Lin, why aren't you at the academy? What brings you to our place? Something happen over there?"

The second he saw Wen Xi, Lin Hongwen started bawling: "Master Yan's husband, you've gotta help me out here."

Between sobs, he spilled the whole story of what happened at the academy yesterday. Wen Xi sighed. "Young Master Lin, don't hold it against my husband for being tough. You really crossed the line. After my husband passed the imperial exam and became a juren, this is his first time running an academy. Everyone out there is waiting to see how he does as a teacher, and you went out of your way to undermine him. That's no way to treat a friend."

After getting chewed out like that over and over, Lin Hongwen knew he'd screwed up big time. He said: "I know I messed up. Please talk to Yan for me. If I can get back into the academy, I swear I'll actually pay attention."

Wen Xi looked hesitant. "My husband comes off as mild-mannered and easy to talk to, but he's got a strong will. Once he decides something, I doubt anyone can talk him out of it."

Hearing that, Lin Hongwen's heart dropped like a stone. Wen Xi went on: "Give him a few days to cool off, and we'll talk once he's not so mad. I'll put in some good words for you."

Lin Hongwen thanked him over and over. Wen Xi said, "Go home and make up the work you missed. When the time's right, I'll bring you to see him."

"Alright, I will."

After leaving the Yan place, Lin Hongwen wandered the streets for a bit before finally dragging himself home.

With that many guys at the academy, word was bound to get out. They'd all go home and tell their folks about it like it was a joke, so there was no way to keep it quiet.

Sure enough, before long his dad came storming home furious. If his mom and Zhao Geer hadn't held him back, he probably would've beaten Lin Hongwen to a pulp.

Master Lin couldn't stomach the embarrassment of going to the academy to ask for the tuition money back. He just said coldly, "You fix the mess you made. If you actually get kicked out, don't bother coming home."

After all that drama, Lin Hongwen finally got why people who get too full of themselves end up asking for trouble. If Yan Fengan would be kind enough to let him back in, he'd turn over a new leaf and straighten up.

After three days, he couldn't take it anymore and went back to see Wen Xi.

Wen Xi could see he was way more sincere this time, so he said, "I've talked myself hoarse these past few days and finally got my husband to budge. He said if you really want to come back, first you gotta catch up on all the lessons you missed, write a self-reflection letter, and when you're back at the academy, own up to what you did in front of everyone and promise it won't happen again. If you can do all that, you're back in. Can you handle that, Young Master Lin?"

At this point, was there anything Lin Hongwen wouldn't do?

He was the one who screwed up, so writing that letter was the least he could do.

He thanked Wen Xi and headed straight home to write it. The next day, when he walked through the academy gate, the doorman let him right in.

Walking into the lecture hall, Lin Hongwen stood at the front under everyone's curious, judgmental stares. He gave Yan Fengan a respectful bow, then read his self-reflection letter out loud in front of the whole class.

When he was done, he shot Yan Fengan a nervous look. Yan Fengan scanned the students and asked, "Do you all think we should give Lin another shot?"

Lu Xiuyuan stood up. "Yesterday you taught us that even sages slip up. I think he's genuinely sorry, so why not give him another shot?"

The other students nodded along. Nobody had a real beef with Lin Hongwen, and no one wanted to see him kicked out.

With that opening, Yan Fengan went with it. "Since that's how everyone feels, Lin, you're back in class starting today. I hope you mean what you say and don't let your classmates down."

"Yes, thank you, Master. Thanks, everyone." Lin Hongwen bowed to Yan Fengan and the class, then went back to his seat.

He'd never thought much of this place before, but after all the trouble it took to get back here, Lin Hongwen's chest tightened, and he almost teared up.

Yan Fengan let out a long sigh of relief too. He'd figured Lin Hongwen would be a handful, and now that he'd been put in his place, the academy's rules were finally set.