Asking each homeroom teacher in the first grade would also take up a lot of time. Obviously, there is not enough time during the break between classes. So I decided to use the second physical education class in the afternoon to get this done.

Just like before, boys and girls have separate physical education classes. Although I'm not sure of the reason for this arrangement, having only boys on the playground feels a bit awkward.

"Everyone seems tired and listless in the afternoon. Come on, get your spirits up!" Suddenly, the physical education teacher appeared, his voice rough and loud, startling me out of my wandering thoughts. A sharp whistle made all the students cover their ears.

"The physical fitness of today's students is far inferior to our generation. They can't even stand straight. Always looking lethargic. With all of you like this, you're nothing but a pile of loose sand. If you are entrusted with protecting your home and country, let's not even talk about big things like that, you couldn't even protect girls."

The physical education teacher's tone was disdainful.

"Teacher, I must disagree with your statement. Who said we can't even protect girls?" one boy protested.

"Oh? Come here," the physical education teacher pointed to the boy who voiced his protest.

The boy walked over, still not convinced.

"If you want to see if a person is strong or not, you should first look at their physique. Just look at you, thin as a monkey."

"I may be thin, but I have strength," the boy showed off his biceps, his face turning red as he flexed them slightly.

"Go and do tens of thousands of push-ups, then come back and show me. I'm not trying to discourage you, but anyone here can easily knock you down."

"I don't believe it!" the boy was determined.

"Who wants to challenge him?" the physical education teacher looked at the other students. I tried to avoid his gaze, as it was the first time I had heard a teacher encouraging a fight.

The other students looked at each other, but no one dared to move.

"Looks like no one wants to step up. Alright, I'll play with you then. If you lose, you'll have to run ten laps around the field!" The physical education teacher suddenly raised his voice. The boy seemed a bit shaken, but I hoped he would back down. There was no need to argue with a middle-aged man with a beard.

"Well... fine," unexpectedly, the boy agreed. That was quite surprising.

"Nice show of manliness. But don't cry and call it pain later!"

"I will never easily admit defeat. I believe in my ability to protect girls," the boy's eyes burned with determination, making the rest of us feel ashamed.

"You have backbone, but relying too much on one's own abilities can lead to injury," the physical education teacher said, taking a step forward. Before the boy could react to the sudden attack, a strong arm supported his abdomen. In the blink of an eye, the boy was on the ground, and we didn't even know what happened, only feeling a gust of dust and someone groaning in pain.

Just now, it seemed that the physical education teacher had lifted the boy and then slammed him to the ground. The whole process was fast and powerful, leaving everyone in awe.

"What do you think? Not bad, right?" The physical education teacher looked at the boy on the ground, smiling.

"Uh..." The boy had clearly lost his fighting spirit. The result of the match was obvious: the physical education teacher had won.

"So, you all better run more and do more push-ups for me. Only if you have a strong body like mine, can you protect girls," he said proudly, flexing his developed biceps. I felt a sense of being in the presence of a tough guy.

"Don't be lazy here. Blow the whistle and start warming up!" The physical education teacher took the lead, and everyone lazily followed along.

"If anyone doesn't take it seriously, you'll have to run ten laps around the field!" The physical education teacher looked at the boy lying on the ground, whether he was really injured or just pretending. Upon hearing the teacher's words, he slowly got up and started running around the field, with a resentful look on his face.

"Do you want to run ten laps too?!" The gym teacher roared, and everyone turned their gaze towards him, continuing with their warm-up exercises.

After finishing the warm-up exercises, I felt a bit sore and tired, so I have to say, I don't really like sports.

"Free activity, gather before class ends," the gym teacher said, and then walked away by himself. He seemed quite irresponsible, but I didn't bother. It was time to get down to business. I didn't dare to slack off and quickly made my way to the third-floor teachers' office in the teaching building where I was located. Out of politeness, I knocked on the door.

"Come in," someone inside responded, so I pushed open the door. The teachers' office gave off the impression of having many desks, all cluttered with teaching plans, students' assignments, and various miscellaneous things related to studying, piled up high.

From Class A to Class F, there are six classes. Aside from Class C's homeroom teacher, I have to know the names of the other homeroom teachers for each class. So I have to gather information beforehand, which I had already asked my homeroom teacher about.

"Yujie, aren't you in PE class? Why did you come here instead of going to class?" The homeroom teacher weakly asked.

"I have something I want to ask the teacher. Didn't I ask you before? I'm here to look for those teachers. There wasn't enough time during break, so I took the opportunity during PE class," I explained quickly.

"I see... Well, Yujie, you can go and ask, and if you have any questions, you can ask me," the homeroom teacher continued correcting students' assignments. She seemed quite serious and meticulous, but her personality was a bit too gentle. She didn't have much temper and wasn't strict with the students. Sometimes, she would act a bit out of the ordinary, but mostly, she didn't make a fuss. At least this kind of teacher wasn't bad and seemed approachable.

I started dealing with my business and headed towards the desk of the homeroom teacher for Class A.

"Hello, are you the homeroom teacher for Class A?" I asked.

"Yes, I am. What can I do for you?" She seemed like a cheerful and sunny female teacher.

"I want to ask if there is a student named Alice in your class," I said.

"Hmm, I don't think so. We don't have anyone with that name in our class," she pondered for a moment before answering.

"Oh, I see..." I showed a bit of disappointment on my face.

"Why are you looking for this girl? What's the matter? She's a girl, right?" The homeroom teacher of Class A blinked and asked with a smile.

"She is a girl, but Teacher, please don't misunderstand. It's not love at first sight for me," I quickly explained.

"Then why are you looking for her?" The homeroom teacher of Class A seemed to want to put me in an awkward position.

"There are many reasons, and for a moment, I can't explain clearly," I said.

"I don't mind spending more time listening, oh." The homeroom teacher of Class A was really mischievous. I could only feel embarrassed and didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell her the truth.

"Hehe, just kidding. Keep your secrets to yourself. Don't tell anyone," she offered me a way out when she saw me embarrassed. But why did she think I had a secret?

"Teacher Chen, is there a student named Alice in your class?" The homeroom teacher of Class A took on the role of a good person, taking the initiative to help me inquire.

"No, there isn't a student with that name," she said.

"What about Teacher Wang?"

"No."

"Teacher Li...Teacher Li is not here... Okay, then..." While the homeroom teacher of Class A was searching for the next homeroom teacher, a female teacher with a solemn expression walked over.

"Teacher Wu, is this student named Alice in your class?" she asked gravely.

"Um... yes, she is in my class," Teacher Wu, the homeroom teacher of Class E, answered.

Teacher Wu wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses and seemed more like a professional teacher compared to my homeroom teacher. However, for some reason, she had a worried look on her face. I was thrilled to hear her answer.

"Why are you looking for Alice? Do you know her? No, I should ask, have you seen her before?" The homeroom teacher of Class E suddenly asked me.

"I have seen her in the school courtyard, but I only saw her and never spoke to her. I know she is a first-year student. It was quite troublesome to find out her name, but I still don't know which classroom she is in, so I came to ask each homeroom teacher," I explained.

"Can't you just use the intercom system to find someone? Wouldn't that be more convenient?" The homeroom teacher of Class A intercepted.

"I did think about that, but don't you think it's too flashy?"

"There's nothing wrong with that. Dating in school is not strictly prohibited, and besides, it's just finding someone, not necessarily dating," I said.

"But most people would think that way. A boy finding a girl..." replied the homeroom teacher of Class A.

"I see..." The homeroom teacher of Class A didn't seem to know how to respond to my statement. But it was good to end the conversation like this. If she had dug further, I wouldn't have known what to do.

"So, is she still in the class?" I asked the homeroom teacher of Class E. The teacher shook his head and said, "Alice hasn't come to school for about four or five days. I don't know what happened, and the phone number her parents left is also not in service."

"This is news to me," exclaimed the homeroom teacher of Class A, and I was even more surprised. Could it be that she overdosed on drugs and died? My heart began to feel a sense of unease.

"Alice seems to be quite introverted and not very sociable. She often stays alone and doesn't participate in group activities. She usually skips PE classes and other activities. I have talked to her and tried to encourage her to interact with her classmates, telling her that she can come to me if she has any problems. But it seems like she didn't take it to heart and remained the same."