Time slowly passed.
The office was silent, occupied only by Gu Jiaojiao and the two students staring at each other.
Back then, a single teacher taught several classes, so there was no such thing as a break. Grading papers had to be done during the lunch hour or after school.
The school's facilities were poor and the principal's budget was limited. The entire school had nine classes but only eight teachers. Including her, the new teaching assistant, and another teacher who was on leave, there were just ten in total.
Because she was new and another teacher was out, the two first-year classes were combined for instruction.
That's just how things were in those days.
Five minutes passed. The two boys being punished, who had initially wanted to laugh, now felt awkward.
After another two minutes, they simply grew numb. They felt like they could count every last pimple and pore on the other's face.
