Chapter 69: Resignation

Today was Li Nianlong's day to return to school, and it was also the day he had decided to formally resign.

Before leaving, Nalan Ruyue thoughtfully adjusted his collar for him, stepped back to take a look, and smiled with satisfaction, gesturing with her hands: "Big brother is so handsome."

"How can I attract a sister-in-law for you if I'm not handsome?" Li Nianlong was in good spirits and joked casually.

However, Nalan Ruyue's expression subtly changed, and her smile stiffened. Li Nianlong, who was preoccupied with thoughts on how to resign at school, didn't notice Nalan Ruyue's subtle shift.

"I'm off," Li Nianlong said, rolling down the car window as he stood at the door.

Nalan Ruyue stood at the entrance, waving with a smile as she watched him drive away.

Once he was gone, worry replaced the smile on Nalan Ruyue's face. She returned to the house and flopped onto the sofa.

"How can I attract a sister-in-law for you if I'm not handsome?"

Those words echoed in her mind like a curse, continuously causing distress.

She turned over, her right hand's back resting against her forehead, staring blankly at the white ceiling.

Big brother... will marry a woman someday... What should I do?

...

Tianfu No. 3 High School was about a fifteen-minute drive from Li Nianlong's home. Although its academic performance was mediocre, the school's scale and location were quite favorable, situated in the southwestern part of the city center with excellent transportation links, rarely experiencing traffic congestion. The school had undergone reconstruction a few years ago, featuring scenic hills, water bodies, rows of greenery, chirping birds, and fragrant flowers, resembling a park.

Such an environment greatly benefited students' learning. However, due to weak teaching staff and students' general preference for martial arts over academics, the school's graduation rate remained low. Despite this, even though Tianfu No. 3 High School wasn't a sports academy, its students' physical fitness was not inferior to elite athletes from sports academies. In the various sports events hosted by Tianfu High School annually, Tianfu No. 3 usually ranked second only to the sports academy.

Of course, the school's ranking in sports had little to do with physical education teachers like Li Nianlong. At best, he would lead students in some physical activities during class, such as running, long jumps, and playing ball games, unlike sports academy students who focused primarily on specialized sports without the pressure of academic subjects.

Driving to the school gate, Li Nianlong called out to the guardhouse, "Uncle Wang! Open the gates, we've got guests!"

"Damn it, this is a school, not a nightclub! What guests are you welcoming!" A retired old man in his sixties emerged, standing just over five feet tall, thin and small, dressed in a plain white shirt and blue pants. Seeing Li Nianlong, he grinned and scolded, "I wondered who had the guts to shout like that. It's you again, you rascal."

Li Nianlong chuckled, "Uncle Wang, after two months, you're still as fit as ever!"

"Absolutely. Don't underestimate me just because I'm old. I practice Tai Chi every day, and I've got plenty of vitality. Living to a hundred and twenty won't be a problem," Uncle Wang boasted as he opened the school gates.

Li Nianlong drove in, laughing, "Then keep practicing, I'll go ahead."

"For heaven's sake, what time is it to practice? Get lost! Seeing your face irritates me."

Li Nianlong chuckled and drove off.

Li Nianlong was among the early arrivals. Entering the school conference room, only four or five teachers were casually chatting, all of them veteran educators in their forties or older. As they aged, their sleep quality worsened, so perhaps they couldn't sleep and had nothing better to do, which explained their early arrival. Li Nianlong, being in his twenties, had little in common with these older teachers. After exchanging brief greetings, he found an empty seat and started reading a novel on his phone.

As time went by, more and more people filled the conference room. Two young female teachers sat beside Li Nianlong. They had joined the teaching team around the same time as Li Nianlong, fresh graduates from teachers' college, roughly his age, and quite attractive. Both harbored secret crushes on Li Nianlong, hoping to someday marry him.

However, Li Nianlong had high standards, and their looks weren't enough to pique his interest, let alone lead to any romantic developments.

But the girls of Tianfu were like chili peppers – they had made up their minds that as long as Li Nianlong wasn't married, they wouldn't give up. Sitting on either side of him, they secretly competed to draw more of his attention to themselves.

The teachers around, all veterans in their own right, couldn't help but shake their heads discreetly. They could clearly see the subtle dynamics between the trio. Unbeknownst to the two teachers vying for Li Nianlong's attention, he was indifferent to their advances. This doomed love triangle would, years later, merely be a humorous anecdote shared between them.

Promptly at nine o'clock, the school's ultimate boss – the principal – finally arrived.

"Everyone, please quiet down!" The principal was a middle-aged man with a large belly, standing only 1.7 meters tall but weighing over 200 pounds. His hair was graying, slightly balding, and he wore a pair of glasses, resembling the Colonel Sanders of KFC. "The meeting is about to begin!"

Teachers and administrators alike ceased their conversations, and the conference room fell silent.

The principal looked pleased and said, "Today's meeting is about our school's new semester…"

He recited the script he had been delivering for over a decade with ease, concluding with, "Do any of our teachers have questions?"

"Principal," Li Nianlong raised his hand.

Both the principal and other teachers were taken aback. The principal chuckled and asked, "Teacher Liu, what's your question?"

"Well," Li Nianlong began, "due to family reasons, I wish to resign from my position as a PE teacher. However, rest assured, Principal, until a replacement is found, I will continue to fulfill my duties. But I hope the new teacher can start as soon as possible, within a month at most. That's the longest I can hold on."

A buzz of whispers swept through the room, and the two female teachers beside Li Nianlong were utterly shocked. "Teacher Liu, are you really leaving?"

Li Nianlong nodded and looked at the principal.

The principal tapped his fingers on the table and inquired, "Would Teacher Liu care to share these family matters… if it's not too inconvenient?"

Although Li Nianlong was only a part-time PE teacher, for the past two years, he had topped the student satisfaction survey, significantly outranking the second place. Although this was partly because students enjoyed PE, Li Nianlong's ability to connect with students played a significant role, as evidenced by Lin Jie's transformation.

The principal was reluctant to lose such a teacher, especially considering the relatively low salary of a PE teacher, a mere thousand or so per month, almost negligible.

"I'm sorry, but I can't disclose that," Li Nianlong shook his head, placing his resignation letter on the table. "I request your approval, Principal."

Seeing the prepared resignation letter, the principal sighed. "Alright! The school will arrange for a replacement as soon as possible. Any other questions from the teachers?"

No one else spoke up. The principal declared, "Very well, meeting adjourned."

Teachers collected their class schedules and exchanged farewells with Li Nianlong, who was soon to depart. The two female teachers, however, surrounded him, their faces filled with reluctance. "Teacher Liu, what exactly happened at home? Can you tell us?"

Li Nianlong smiled gently at the young teachers. "Thank you for your concern, but I truly can't say." Pausing, he patted their shoulders. "There are plenty of good men out there. Both of you are young, beautiful, and have stable jobs; you won't have trouble finding a good match." With that, Li Nianlong ignore their stunned expressions and left the conference room.

It was nearly noon when the meeting ended, but Li Nianlong didn't go home. Instead, he drove straight to the construction site. Having missed work yesterday due to rain, he considered today a half-day off. The morning shift had just ended, and fellow workers were lining up for their lunch boxes. Li Nianlong, however, changed into his work clothes and picked up a shovel to get started.

The foreman and coworkers were accustomed to Li Nianlong's eccentricity. Knowing he was an oddball was enough; they didn't pry further.

Li Nianlong's Architect proficiency had reached 78% of the Master level, and with his daily progress rate of 3%, he would reach Perfection level within a week. However, with school officially starting tomorrow, his time on the construction site would be limited. Thus, he cherished every moment, determined to max out his Architect level before officially leaving school.

Motivation bred efficiency. From noon until six-thirty in the evening, six and a half hours of relentless work earned Li Nianlong another 3% proficiency, albeit at the cost of being ravenously hungry.

Sensing Li Nianlong's gaze, as famished as a wolf that hadn't eaten for days, both the foreman and coworkers tensed up.