What's wrong with me, a school principal, listening to students' suggestions?

The long break after the second period in the afternoon.

The news had already spread across the playground of No. 13 Middle School.

"Have you heard? The Education Bureau is inspecting our cafeteria!"

"What did they find out?"

"They found nothing! The principal prepared all the materials perfectly; not a single word could be faulted!"

"I heard Liu Jianguo's face turned green when he left!"

"The funniest thing is, those guys ate three bowls of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall before they left!"

Students gathered in twos and threes on the playground, their voices rising and falling.

Unlike the previous days, these discussions no longer contained complaints or sarcasm.

There was a subtle...pride in his tone.

Yes, pride.

In No. 13 Middle School, the worst school in the city, the word "pride" has been gone for a long time.

Zhang Yang stood under the basketball hoop on the east side of the playground, twirling a basketball in his hand, but his ears were constantly perked up.

"Brother Yang, the principal is awesome!"

The skinny monkey came closer, looking excited.

"When the education bureau came looking for trouble, we just shut them down!"

Zhang Yang remained silent.

"So, who exactly is the principal?"

"He hired a five-star chef out of his own pocket and even fed us for free. He wasn't intimidated even when the Education Bureau came." Liu Meng scratched his head. "Could he really be some kind of rich kid?"

"Who cares if he's a rich kid or not." Zhang Yang slammed the basketball to the ground, caught it again after it bounced, and said, "Anyway, the food these past few days has been absolutely fantastic."

"Why don't you go and thank the principal?" Zhao Yang urged.

"What are you thanking me for? It wasn't me who asked him to treat me." Zhang Yang retorted stubbornly.

But his gaze had already drifted towards the flagpole.

Lin Yucai was standing next to the flagpole, talking to Su Qingyan.

The sunlight shone on his face, making him look completely different from the spineless principal who had been driven to desperation by the Education Bureau on stage just a few days ago.

Zhang Yang remained silent for a long time.

He remembered something.

He studied at No. 13 Middle School for two years, during which time he had three different principals.

When the first principal arrived, he made grand promises to revitalize No. 13 Middle School, but he was transferred away by the Education Bureau after only three months.

The second principal simply gave up, spending his days drinking tea and reading newspapers in his office. After six months, he voluntarily applied for a transfer.

As for the teacher?

Those with even slightly better teaching skills all left.

They complain about low wages, poor students, and a poor school.

Those who remain are either just going through the motions or those who simply can't leave.

At No. 13 Middle School, no one ever really cared about these students.

No one has ever stood up to the education bureau on their behalf.

No one ever paid out of their own pocket just to give them a good meal.

Zhang Yang tucked the basketball under his arm and strode towards the flagpole.

The three henchmen looked at each other in bewilderment and quickly followed.

Lin Yucai was discussing the upcoming work arrangements with Su Qingyan when he caught a glimpse of Zhang Yang leading a group of people toward them, and his heart skipped a beat.

Is this kid going to cause trouble again?

Lin Yucai still vividly remembers the time he publicly confronted him on the playground.

"Principal Lin." Zhang Yang stopped three steps away.

Lin Yucai subconsciously straightened his back.

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Yang stared at him for a few seconds, his lips moving as if he were struggling with something.

then……

He bent down.

Ninety degrees.

A perfectly proper bow.

"Thank you, Principal."

The students who were playing around on the playground were all stunned.

Su Qingyan's hand hovered in mid-air, her movement of pushing up her glasses frozen.

That's flamboyant.

The school bully at No. 13 Middle School, the most unruly troublemaker in the entire school.

In the past three years, he has never yielded to any teacher.

At that moment, he bent over at a ninety-degree angle and bowed to the principal.

The skinny monkey was the first to react and bent down.

Liu Meng and Zhao Yang also lowered their heads.

Then came the students watching from the sidelines.

One, two, five, ten.

It spread out like ripples.

On the playground, more and more students walked over, bent down, and lowered their heads.

No one speaks.

But everyone is expressing the same thing in the same way.

thank you.

Thank you for treating us like human beings.

Lin Yucai stood there, his throat feeling like it was blocked by something.

He tried his best to maintain the principal's composure, but his eyes were still a little sore.

After a week in the past, I was threatened by the Education Bureau, ostracized by all the students, and treated as mentally ill by the vice principal.

He didn't feel wronged.

But at this moment, looking at these teenagers bending over on the playground...

He suddenly felt that it was all worth it.

"Get up, all of you."

His voice was a little hoarse, so he quickly cleared his throat and resumed his usual carefree tone.

"You're students, not my underlings, why are you bowing to me?"

"People who don't know better might think we're some kind of criminal gang!"

Zhang Yang straightened up, his ears turning slightly red.

"Don't get me wrong, I just thought..." He paused, "The food was quite good, I just wanted to say thank you."

After saying that, he turned and left, walking three times faster than when he came.

The skinny monkey chased after him and called out.

"Yang-ge, you're blushing..."

"Get out!"

A burst of laughter rang out on the playground.

The boys' genuine, relaxed laughter.

Su Qingyan watched all this from the side, slowly adjusting her glasses.

The eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses were slightly moist.

Lin Yucai's system panel lit up briefly in the corner of his field of vision.

[A significant increase in trust among students was detected!]

[Hidden achievement triggered: Establishing initial authority!]

[Reward: Beginner Intimidation Experience Card x1 (Single use, briefly releases an aura of suppression during a standoff, causing the opponent to feel instinctive fear for 30 seconds)]

[School Reputation: Weak → Somewhat Reputable]

Lin Yucai silently said "Received" and closed the panel.

Intimidation Experience Card?

That sounds pretty intimidating.

Keep it for now, just in case I run into Liu Jianguo again someday.

In the afternoon classes, the attendance rate at No. 13 Middle School reached a new high since the school was founded.

The absenteeism rate dropped from 30 percent to 5 percent.

As a result, several students who usually slept soundly in class actually opened their textbooks for the first time ever.

Although I looked at it for three minutes before collapsing again...

But at least it was opened, right?

Progress comes one step at a time.