Episode 1 recap: Lei Ming joined Minglong Experimental High School.
The story begins during the back-to-school season in Xingzhou City in 2018. Lei Ming (played by Zhang Ruo Yun) was in the park emphasizing the importance of the college entrance examination to passing parents. In fact, every high school senior wants to achieve excellent results in the exam. Lei Ming used his placard to continuously promote and motivate himself, claiming he could help idealistic children get admitted to top universities like Tsinghua and Peking University. At that moment, Lei Ming received a phone call.
Today was the unveiling ceremony for the merger of Minglong Experimental High School. Everyone was discussing whether Principal Lou, who was transitioning from being the principal to vice principal, would attend. Eventually, Principal Lou did show up. The two schools involved in the merger were vastly different in terms of education quality. Mingying School had a college admission rate of up to 98%, while Longhai School only had a 20% admission rate to second-tier universities.
At the beginning of the merger, the principal of Mingying School conducted a diagnostic test for all students and divided them into classes based on their scores. Some people in the community expressed support for this approach, while others opposed it. During a live television broadcast, Principal Lou mentioned that they were confident in sending academically weaker students to college, just as teacher Lei Lizhou had persistently done in the past, ensuring that all students were admitted to university.
Because Principal Lou reintroduced the educational philosophy of Lizhou Education on television, discussions ensued among the staff upon their return to the school. Principal Lou recommended Lei Ming, who was Lei Lizhou's only son and currently engaged in tutoring. Lei Ming also had the experience of sending children to prestigious schools, so Principal Lou believed it was highly meaningful.
Moreover, Lei Ming had already passed the recruitment exam, so he was well-qualified to work at the school. In the end, the principal decided to pursue both options simultaneously. Lei Ming wandered around the park with his recruitment advertisements, ready to promote them wherever there was an empty space. At that moment, he suddenly saw an elderly man teaching children, who turned out to be Lei Ming's father. Lei Ming's father had Alzheimer's disease and his memory remained stuck at the time when Lei Ming was still in college, which was also the reason why Lei Ming decided to come back and work at the school.
Just as Lei Ming met with a doctor in a café, he saw a girl in school uniform changing into a mini skirt in the restroom. She was also preparing for a date with a man. Lei Ming was completely distracted and couldn't focus on the doctor's explanations. His thoughts were solely on the girl. The girl's name was Cheng Yu Shan, and she asked the man if he was willing to take her back to Shanghai and help her find a job.
Upon hearing Cheng Yu Shan's words, the man started to make advances, but Cheng Yu Shan happened to find his wallet and realized that he was pretending to be from out of town on a business trip. She quickly saw through his tricks, and the man had no choice but to leave.
Lei Ming had been listening to their conversation the whole time until Cheng Yu Shan left, and he happened to see the test paper that Cheng Yu Shan had left behind on the bench. It was a math test, and she had only scored fifteen points. Despite the low score, Lei Ming was somewhat surprised to see that Cheng Yu Shan had only answered the last question and got it all correct.
Soon, it was time for the first diagnostic test after the merger of the two schools. As students from Longhai School, everyone tried to hide their cellphones on their bodies, but they would still be caught during the entrance inspection. While Lei Ming was having breakfast, he saw Li Ran and his classmates from Longhai School hiding their phones on themselves, and they even deliberately wore Mingying School uniforms to pass the inspection. However, Lei Ming noticed all these tricks, and soon Li Ran was called to the office, where the teacher publicly demanded that Li Ran hand over his cellphone.
Today was actually Lei Ming's first day at the school. He first met Principal Lou, and the other leaders had even moved Principal Lou's office to the closest location to the restroom. However, Principal Lou didn't mind and even said that he couldn't give up on the students at the school. Lei Ming also went to see Principal Gao, who asked if he had any requests. Lei Ming said that his request was to participate in tomorrow's opening ceremony.
As a teacher at Longhai School, Sang Xia (played by Huang Yao) was also scolded by the mentor teacher. After all, their class had the highest suicide rate among the students, and Sang Xia sometimes helped students evade punishment from other teachers. During meetings, Sang Xia often didn't take it seriously and would be drawing on the side.
As a result, during the meeting, Principal Gao asked Sang Xia to be the homeroom teacher and take over as a substitute teacher along with Lei Ming. Initially, Sang Xia was reluctant, but under Principal Gao's strong persuasion, Sang Xia had no choice but to accept. Soon, the opening ceremony officially began, and the different colored uniforms showed the two distinct educational philosophies.
Li Ran was called on stage to make a self-criticism, but he didn't seem to realize his mistakes and recited what seemed like a poem. The teacher quickly called him down and then called an outstanding student representative to give a speech. After the ceremony, the teacher asked the first and second-year students to go back to their classrooms, while the third-year students stayed behind. Lei Ming picked up a small tree and went to the sports field. The principal introduced Lei Ming, and Lei Ming went directly to the stage with the sapling in hand. The first thing Lei Ming did on stage was to have all the students play a game. Although nobody knew what Lei Ming was up to, they all followed along.
I enjoy TV dramas of this genre for a simple reason: I find solace in them, attempting to compensate for my helplessness in reality. This is my personal perspective, so please refrain from criticizing if you don't share the same sentiment.
During elementary school, teachers favored obedient and controlled students. In middle school, teachers appreciated students who could enhance their success rate in college admissions. In high school, when faced with conflicts between students, teachers would handle the issues based on their personal preferences, often distorting right and wrong using their authority.
In college, there was an external male teacher from a university-enterprise collaboration who said to the top-ranking academic committee member, "Actually, you should just marry a wealthy person instead of working so hard.
Unfortunately, I haven't encountered someone in each stage of my life who...
I just finished watching the first five episodes, and it's so amazing! The plot is gripping, giving this school drama a suspenseful vibe. It turns out that life is like a horror movie, and the backgrounds of each character are heart-stoppingly intense.
It feels so real that it's almost daunting to confront. The combination of the background music (BGM) and visuals is incredibly impactful! The filming is excellent, and the editing is exceptionally well done, leaving a lasting impression that's hard to shake off.
This is definitely a drama worth watching.