"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?"