Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 596: Chapter 497 Opening Ceremony_1

”Respected teachers and students...”

”In this picturesque golden autumn season... here, on behalf of the Ivory Tower, on behalf of the teaching and research office... looking back on the past year... we have achieved... looking forward to the time ahead... as the principal, I have a dream...”

”On the eve of the new academic year beginning...”

”Students, I hope...”

”Next, I will emphasize a few more points...”

Amidst a solemn atmosphere, the school’s auditorium was in the last stages of the opening ceremony. The mood could not be said to be unserious, the ceremony unsolemn, or the proceedings imprecise. The speeches on stage could certainly not be said to lack brilliance or gravity, but there was just one little issue...

In the crowd, Huai Shi looked around bewildered, watching everyone’s serious demeanor, unable to comprehend. When he looked towards the stage, he saw a giant monkey in a suit standing at the podium, seriously delivering its principal’s address.

Nibbling on a banana from time to time...

A monkey?

Monkey!

With a twitch in his eye, Huai Shi looked around, trying to find anyone who was as astonished and shocked as he was, but everyone looked utterly serious. It was as if they didn’t care in the slightest that their principal was a monkey.

Every new student watched the stage full of anticipation, listening to the guidance from the principal, lost in the wonderful speech and address. Some were even moved to tears, quietly recording with their phones. They occasionally raised their sleeves to wipe away tears, sobbing with admiration, ”That was so well spoken, truly excellent.”

What the hell is excellent about this!

This is no different from the speeches my high school principal used to give!

And do none of you care?

The principal is a monkey! A monkey! There’s a monkey in a suit up there talking to you all!

Huai Shi was so anxious his face turned green. He didn’t know if the world had suddenly taken on some punk style or if it was simply his own mind that had a problem. He opened his mouth several times, wanting to say something but stopping short, unable to comprehend just what the hell was going on in front of him. Finally, he gathered his courage, turned to Ye Su beside him, pointed blankly towards the stage, and asked in a lowered voice, ”What is... what’s going on here?”

”Hmm? The principal is a bit long-winded, yeah, totally normal.” Ye Su waved his hand nonchalantly. ”It will be fine once he gets thirsty, don’t mind it.”

”But... but...” Huai Shi felt his wits leaving him. ”He... He...”

”Next, I will introduce a new friend to everyone, a young man I have high hopes for. That is Teacher Huai Shi, who will be in charge of classical music appreciation for the coming year!!!”

On the podium, the Old Monkey beamed with excitement as it cried out, suddenly pointing towards the teacher’s seat below, where a young man with a rather foolish expression on his face was sitting. In an instant, everyone’s gaze fell upon the exceedingly young and handsome man in the crowd. Before they noticed him, he seemed to blend into the shadows, inconspicuous and ordinary. Yet once they realized he was sitting there, they could no longer ignore his presence. That mysterious charm, so radically different from everybody else, was like the Abyss with its own gravity, seemingly capturing everyone’s gaze and locking it upon himself.

Among all the astonished faces, only Huai Shi’s expression remained calm. Unperturbed.

It was as if the person speaking on the podium wasn’t me.

He hadn’t even begun to react, immersed in shock that the principal was a monkey and nobody cared!

”Come, Teacher Huai Shi, come up to the stage! Let everyone take a good look... The youth of today are truly promising, quite admirable,” the Old Monkey on the podium called out enthusiastically.

As if sleepwalking, Huai Shi ascended the podium and gazed at the principal under the spotlight.

Indeed... It was definitely a monkey.

Those shiny golden hairs, and that... emmm, bright red butt.

Why was it a monkey?

While being praised incessantly by the principal who held his hand, Huai Shi started to doubt his life. Was this a dream? Or was I still not awake?

Right, how could a hitman like me from the Astronomical Society become a teacher?

It was all a hallucination, heh, a hallucination.

Thus, amidst everyone’s stares, that calm and icy face cracked a slight smile, looking down on the fantastical mirage before him. He even casually waved to the students below the stage.

If you’re dreaming, don’t wake up!

After a round of lavish praise, Huai Shi walked down from the podium as if he were still sleepwalking, pondering how to wake up from this confounded dream. It wasn’t until the opening ceremony officially ended amid enthusiastic applause from everyone that Huai Shi failed to open his eyes in his own bed at home, as he had imagined he would.

Only then did he start to panic...

Heavens! What just happened?

Didn’t I just calmly walk up to the podium, wave to everyone, and then come back?

What in the world was going on?

”Wow, teacher, you looked super cool just now.”

After the meeting, Lin Nineteen approached, closely observing Huai Shi, who was still unwilling to get up from his seat, clueless about what had happened. ”The principal seemed to really value you, going to such lengths to build you up.”

Huai Shi looked suspiciously at Wood Cottage before him, leaving Little Nineteen startled, uncertain what he had said wrong.

”Wood Cottage, you...” Huai Shi tentatively asked, ”What do you think about the principal?”

Lin Nineteen pondered for a while and said with emotion, ”The principal? I didn’t expect him to look so young, a bit kinder than I imagined.”

Young? Kind?

How did you all see that in an old monkey?

”And his hairstyle is quite nice, though a bit grey, the style is good.” Lin Nineteen nodded and said, ”The beard is very stylish too.”

Wait, does an old monkey have hair and a beard?

Huai Shi’s eyes widened in astonishment, finally realizing something was amiss. ”Wait a minute, Little Nineteen, describe to me the principal’s appearance and his attire.”

”Huh?”

Although Lin Nineteen did not understand what Huai Shi meant, he still described truthfully, ”Looks to be in his early forties, grey-haired, his beard is well groomed, his glasses are quite trendy, and I think that fitted robe he’s wearing is really tasteful—you see, when you were on stage, I even took a photo.”

He opened his phone and passed the screen over.

Huai Shi was speechless.

Leaving aside the photo of myself for the moment, next to it... isn’t that still the Old Monkey?

Huai Shi, somewhat annoyed, scratched his hair, recalling what had just happened. He knew now he had been played by the principal again... That Old Turtle!

Considering the diploma and being unwittingly used as a tool, this was the third time he had been toyed with! Yet, everyone seemed to think that the principal was fostering the next generation, which made it impossible for him to vent his indignation.

With a long sigh, he could only silently chant to himself, Thirty years on the east bank of the river, thirty years on the west, attempting a psychological victory.

”Life really is full of hardships.”

He sighed deeply with great weight and patted Little Nineteen on the shoulder.

Wood Cottage was totally confused, not knowing what had happened. Seeing Huai Shi rise to his feet, Wood Cottage asked, puzzled, ”Where are you going, Teacher? Want to take the students with you? I can help.”

”To the bathroom.”

Huai Shi rolled his eyes and looked back at him. ”What, you want to hold it for me?”

Little Nineteen immediately hesitated, seeming as if he was considering it...

Huai Shi grew even more helpless, waved his hand to tell him to wait outside the auditorium, and went off, sighing deeply about his tumultuous teaching career in the Ivory Tower.

Then in the bathroom, he encountered an unexpected person.

The Vice Principal.

The Vice Principal’s attire was different from what Huai Shi had seen aboard Group Star. There were no long robes, no ancient solemnity. Instead, he wore a light-colored striped suit, looking much more approachable, though his face retained that same eternal stern calmness. A paragon of dignified comportment.

Had Huai Shi noticed him before finding his spot and turning around, their interaction would surely have been more congenial.

Now, they stood side by side in front of the urinals, eyes fixed on the white porcelain tiles ahead. The atmosphere was really rather awkward. He had originally anticipated that their first meeting might involve a covert struggle, a battle of wits, but he hadn’t expected such silence.

Soon, after two minutes, the awkward silence finally ended. The Vice Principal left first.

Huai Shi breathed a sigh of relief and then realized... I haven’t even unfastened my belt!

I’ve been standing here pointlessly this whole time!

When Huai Shi came out of the bathroom, he saw the Vice Principal waiting by the sinks. This esteemed scholar, a Pureblood, was a Fifth Stage Sublimator on The Path of the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy God’s Essence, a renowned bigwig and leader throughout the realm. Now, it seemed like he was waiting specifically for him by the door, examining Huai Shi’s appearance.

”Uh, hello, Vice Principal...” Huai Shi tentatively greeted.

The Vice Principal’s face remained stern, but he nodded slightly, then raised his hand, pointed at his own chest, and then at Huai Shi’s chest.

”...”

In silence, Huai Shi looked blankly at the other’s finger, and then at his own chest, not understanding the meaning.

But soon, it dawned on him, like the legendary Buddha’s smile upon grasping a flower. Could this be a marvelous method of heart-to-heart communication? Or perhaps the Vice Principal is giving me a hint? Telling me he doesn’t care about all the rumors, that I should understand, and that he thinks highly of me? So we must have a tacit understanding?

Then, his fantasy was shattered. The Vice Principal’s brows furrowed.

”Your tie,” he said, ”it’s crooked.”

”...”

Huai Shi only noticed when he looked down that, yes, his tie was crooked... By about half a centimeter? So he’s just that particular, huh?

After he frantically straightened it, the Vice Principal’s brows relaxed slightly. Looking at the young man before him, he suddenly asked, ”Do you know that I am the lecturer for Abyss Ecology? You will be my teaching assistant.”

Huai Shi quickly nodded. In a way, the Vice Principal was also his immediate superior—it was no wonder he was displeased with Huai Shi’s arrival. Who would want a spy shoved into their team by the principal?

”Very good.” The Vice Principal nodded and told him bluntly, ”You need not attend the Abyss Ecology class this Wednesday.”

”Huh?” Huai Shi was startled.

Is the pressure starting already? And why is he being so blunt?

Does this Vice Principal not care about appearances at all?

Before Huai Shi could brace himself to retaliate with questions, the Vice Principal continued with his instructions, ”In the meantime, prepare your lesson plan. In two weeks, you’ll be teaching the Chapter on Abyss Plant Ecology.”

”Huh?!” Huai Shi’s voice of surprise grew louder. He couldn’t handle the twist.

Heavens, is this suppression or promotion? How did I abruptly go from serving tea and grading papers to lecturing on stage?

Once he was certain that Huai Shi understood, he remained expressionless, just nodded, and advised, ”Prepare carefully. It’s a large class, don’t embarrass yourself.”

After that, he turned and left, leaving Huai Shi standing there alone, utterly bewildered.

In the silence, only The Fly King in his arms finally sighed in exasperation, ”Big brother, you’re bound to make a fool of yourself!”