Chapter 56: Identity
Their politics teacher, Gong Fulu, was in his forties but already half bald. The students at City First Middle School had nicknamed him "Panda Man." Their dislike of him came solely from his occasional use of his authority during the last period to keep them late reciting their textbooks.
No one hated him more bitterly for this than Xue Yiyang. Once, he had been punished with recitation until seven or eight in the evening, only getting home under a darkened sky to sit at the table and eat cold food. What misery.
Perhaps Gong Fulu had borne too much of his students' misery, for he looked old before his time. Even when discussing current affairs, he put on an academic air, flicking his hair aside and widening his eyes. He could usually cut people down without a single dirty word and bring one student after another thoroughly into line. Combined with his special knack for keeping people behind to recite, this meant there was not a student at City First Middle School who did not fear him. Even the particularly tough kids wilted before him. Plenty of students in the previous year had fallen victim to him and been powerless to do anything about it.
Today, Gong Fulu spent a little less than half the period going through section two of lesson three. At City First Middle School, the teaching schedule moved far faster than at ordinary high schools. Although the school gave students plenty of time off, that time was generally intended for independent study. Besides, much of this material simply required more memorization and recitation. He only needed to highlight the key points; Gong Fulu disliked taking up class time with anything beyond them.
He preferred setting aside time to discuss current affairs. As he