"No pain, no gain. Over the next four years, your teacher will be right here with you. If you have any questions—whether about your studies or daily life—feel free to come to me. Strictly speaking, you are my very first batch of students, so please don't hesitate. I will do everything in my power to help you through whatever puzzles you."
"Thank you, Teacher Gao."
"Excuse me, Teacher Gao, are you married?"
Standing on the podium, Gao Yuliang took just ten minutes of profound knowledge and unique insights to demonstrate his immense erudition.
No one could question his excellence. Back in 1996, he had been handpicked by his former university alumnus and current Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary, Liang Qunfeng. By 2011, he had risen to become the third-in-command of Handong—and he had achieved all this in a mere fifteen years.
Both men relied on Liang Qunfeng: one was an alumnus, the other a son-in-law. One took fifteen years, the other twenty. One became a vice-ministerial official, the other a department-level chief. One was the teacher, the other the student.
Outshined at every turn, it felt almost like a suppression of bloodlines.
Recalling the past, Qi Tongwei felt grateful to Gao Yuliang. Yet, proud and aloof as he was, how could he ever content himself with remaining forever a student listening to his teacher's lectures?
Qi Tongwei quietly wiped away his tears. When he raised his head again, his gaze burned with intense fighting spirit.
"Let the past blow away with the wind, Teacher Gao. This time, I will undoubtedly advance into the ministry before you do!"
The classroom atmosphere buzzed with warmth.
On the podium, Gao Yuliang checked the time and pressed his hands downward.
"Classmates, actually, before class began—or to be precise, right when the school leadership appointed me as the head teacher of Class One—my very first thought was what an immense honor it was."
"Then I thought to myself: I must quickly ask the school leadership for the students' biographical files. I needed to do my homework, at the very least memorizing everyone's names. Otherwise, I would be utterly derelict in my duties as a teacher."
His humorous words echoed through the classroom, followed by a ripple of cheerful laughter.
Gao Yuliang pressed his hands down again. "Now, let's begin roll call. Once we finish, I have an important announcement to make."
"Chen Yang."
"Chen Qingquan."
"Xiao Gangyu."
There were sixty-eight students in Class One, but the only ones worthy of note were Chen Qingquan, who loved studying foreign languages, and that petty hustler Xiao Gangyu.
If corruption had a contempt chain, Chen Qingquan was a breath of fresh air; the man simply adored studying foreign languages, ladling out of a massive communal pot all by himself.
As for Xiao Gangyu, he was an absolute mudslide—cowardly yet greedy for petty gains, always taking the Zhonghua cigarettes people gave him and reselling them to Boss Liu Xingjian to pocket the price difference.
Sometimes Qi Tongwei couldn't help wondering where the hell things had gone wrong, and why the Handa Clique produced such an endless parade of oddballs.
"Qi Tongwei."
"Present!"
Qi Tongwei instinctively stood up, his upper body leaning slightly forward in a posture of respectful listening.
Well, a bit sycophantic perhaps, but it was a habit maintained for thirty-four years that couldn't be shaken off overnight.
"No need to be nervous, sit down," Gao Yuliang smiled.
Nervous? Are you kidding me? Was I nervous? Did any of you see me looking nervous?
Living life over again, Qi Tongwei had already resolved that this time he would never grovel. If he was going to do something, he would be a fine cadre backed by the people, crushing all his opponents with an overwhelming momentum.
Qi Tongwei remembered a time when Gao Yuliang had pointed right in his face and cursed him as Zhao Ruilong's lackey.
Back then, Qi Tongwei was already serving as the head of the Provincial Public Security Department, riding high on success—right before someone drenched him in a basin of sulfuric acid.
God only knew how much psychological trauma that experience had inflicted on him.
Oh my god!
Qi Tongwei had endured diarrhea at Shanshui Manor a full seven times to vent his anger, cursing Gao Yuliang—his leader, teacher, and brother-in-law all at once—for three solid hours.
"You think I wanted to be that Zhao Ruilong's lackey? I had no choice at all!"
Roll call concluded, and everyone turned expectantly toward Gao Yuliang, eager to hear what important announcement he was about to make.
Chen Yang sat up especially straight, striking the pose of a model student.
What sort of matter on the first day of school could possibly warrant being described as important?
Nothing other than the election of the class monitor.
Yet looking around her, the room was filled with shifty, rat-like faces. To put it mildly, if the monitor wasn't going to be Chen Yang herself, it would be pure, unadulterated dark-room skulduggery.
And looking upward—with the deputy prosecutor-general of the Provincial Procuratorate for a father, who would dare try any shady business with her?
With all favorable conditions—heavenly timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony—aligned on her side, victory was already hers.
"The teacher has always known that the mere fact you were able to enter Handong University of Political Science and Law proves your excellence. But there is one student among you whose excellence has exceeded even the teacher's expectations."
The corners of Chen Yang's lips curled into a subtle smile, and her developing chest pushed out proudly.
"To be honest, when I received this news, I was overjoyed. One might even say I felt honored to share in the glory."
Chen Yang was bursting with excitement, thinking to herself: *Teacher, please stop praising me! You've set the tone so high, how am I supposed to interact with my classmates from now on? My dad always said that a cadre must stay grounded among the common people.*
"Classmates, I propose that we first give him a round of enthusiastic applause to thank him for bringing glory to our university."
With that, Gao Yuliang took the lead in clapping, and thunderous applause erupted across the entire classroom.
The sound of clapping was intensely gratifying. Chen Yang felt a wave of delight, her cherry-red lips slowly parting to reveal two rows of pearly white teeth.
"Alright, all of you must be wondering who the teacher is talking about. I won't keep you in suspense any longer. He is none other than..."
Chen Yang sprang straight to her feet in a flash.
"Qi Tongwei... Student Qi."
"Perhaps you aren't all aware, but just a moment ago, the university received a letter of commendation from the Municipal Public Security Bureau."
"When the school leadership handed it over to me and authorized me to read it, I felt both thrilled and terrified as I finished it."
"On one side, a student; on the other, a murderous fugitive with blood on his hands. When these two forces collide, what difference is there between an egg striking a stone?"
"Yet our Student Qi, possessing the heroic spirit of a true hero, dared to single-handedly stand up to the criminal."
"Bare-handed he entered the fray, capturing the villain entirely by himself without a thought for danger or sacrifice. Magnificent! This calls for a grand celebration."
"What kind of spirit is this? This is the successor to the new era under the leadership of the Communist Party of China! I am proud to have the privilege of mentoring such a student, and deeply honored to be Student Qi's teacher and head teacher!"
The more Gao Yuliang spoke, the more impassioned he became, wishing he could travel back to yesterday and trade places with Qi Tongwei.
Under the cadence of his dramatic speech, everyone in the classroom stared at Qi Tongwei in absolute shock, followed instantly by a tiny flicker of doubt.
Given such a perilous encounter, how come the protagonist didn't have a single scratch on him?
Was he a superhero or something?
"Student Qi, please come up to the podium and share your story with us. A mere letter of commendation is still a bit too thin. Tell everyone about the process, and what you were thinking at the time, so we can all learn from your example."
Gao Yuliang was genuinely overjoyed. Studying law enforcement existed precisely to punish evil, promote good, and harbor a fierce hatred for wrongdoers.
When people first meet, initial impressions are crucial. In their previous lifetime meeting for the very first time, Gao Yuliang's impression of him had been simple, plain, and highly ambitious.
This time, Qi Tongwei wasn't wearing those frayed yellow canvas shoes, nor a white undershirt covered in lint balls, let alone beggar's trousers patched in multiple places.
The word "plain" naturally vanished, replaced instead by the title of hero.
"Come on, everyone, let's applaud and welcome our Student Qi to come up and say a few words."