Chapter 41 One morning is enough for many things to happen…

"Brother Changhua..." Ning Yao called out softly.

But there were just too many people around, and the noise was so loud that Ning Yao's soft whispers were drowned out by the clamor of voices before they could reach Wen Changhua's ears.

Ning Yao pursed her lips, unsure whether to call him again.

She wanted to disembark, but if she told Wen Changhua the truth, he definitely wouldn't agree. However, if she didn't tell him and secretly ran away alone…

That's not a good idea either.

Just then, the ship's horn sounded, reminding everyone that it would depart in a quarter of an hour and urging those boarding to hurry. Ning Yao's heart tightened; time was running out, and she had to make a decision quickly.

"Fine!" Ning Yao steeled her resolve. She bent down, crouched low, and planned to slip through the crowd and sneak off the boat.

Less than three seconds.

Ning Yao then disappeared from Wen Changhua's sight.

At that moment, Wen Changhua was explaining things to Chen Yun, only occasionally turning his head to look at Ning Yao's figure beside him. Unexpectedly, when he turned his head again, she had disappeared without a trace.

He felt a chill run down his spine, and his dark, square face instantly turned several shades pale.

"Ning Yao!" Wen Changhua couldn't care less about anything else and shouted loudly.

The sound was so loud that it startled everyone around, and many people looked in the direction of the sound.

But Wen Changhua couldn't care less and continued to call out, "Ning Yao!"

Even Chen Yun, who was standing next to him, knew the seriousness of the situation and called out, "Ning Yao!" As he spoke, he tried to squeeze into the crowd, but Wen Changhua grabbed his wrist in a flash.

One voice was rugged, the other delicate; two voices rang out one after the other, rising and falling in turn.

The news quickly reached Ning Yao's ears.

She was already standing at the foot of the boat. Turning around, she tilted her head back, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted, "I'm here!"

Wen Changhua vaguely heard a familiar voice, and looking in that direction, he saw that Ning Yao had already disembarked and was standing on the shore.

"!!! Are you crazy?!" Wen Changhua instantly exploded, gripping the deck railing tightly. "Do you even know what you're doing?!"

"You...you come back here!" His voice was loud. He already looked fierce, and with his fierce expression at the moment, people around him couldn't help but keep their distance, creating a small space around him.

Ning Yao wasn't intimidated by him. She felt embarrassed and waved to him, saying, "I can protect myself. I'll go back to Shanghai later."

After saying that, he turned and ran.

Like a small fish swimming through the crowd, it quickly disappeared from Wen Changhua's sight.

Wen Changhua: "..." He gripped Chen Yun tightly with his right hand, "I thought you were a tough nut to crack, but I didn't expect that little girl to be such a worry too."

Only Chen Yun looked in the direction Ning Yao had disappeared, a look of envy on his face.

Ning Yao didn't really know where to go; she'd never been to Beijing before.

Standing on the side of an unfamiliar street, watching people hurrying by, I felt a strange sense of absurdity.

She actually ran away alone, without even taking her luggage. The only valuable thing she had was the small bag of silver that Ning Yiwen had given her before she boarded the ship.

She squeezed the small bag of money, mustered her courage, and turned to enter a small teahouse on the street.

The teahouse was small, with only seven or eight tables inside, and about half of them were occupied at the moment.

Ning Yao found a corner where she could see out the window and sat down, then raised her hand to beckon someone.

"Miss, what kind of tea would you like to drink?" The waiter, seeing that Ning Yao was unfamiliar with him, couldn't help but explain, "Our storyteller will be here soon, and we won't let you sit down without ordering tea."

Ning Yao nodded in understanding, ordered the cheapest chrysanthemum tea, and casually asked, "What have you storytellers been talking about lately?"

The waiter was used to this kind of question from customers and casually replied, "He might tell you a story, or he might talk about current events, depending on the gentleman's mood."

Ning Yao nodded to indicate that she understood, then turned to ask, "Are there many people from Beijing who go to Shanghai?"

The waiter was surprised that Ning Yao would ask this. He looked around and saw that there were no new customers yet, so he stood and chatted with Ning Yao for a few more minutes.

"Many! Definitely many. Anyway, I see several people coming from Shanghai every day." After saying that, he smiled and said, "Isn't Miss also from Shanghai?"

Ning Yao's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't show it on her face. She just smiled calmly and said, "Everyone can tell that I have a Shanghai accent."

"Too."

Ning Yao waved, gesturing for the waiter to come closer. "I wonder if the current events your storytellers talk about include the Jianghe Daily?"

The waiter's face instantly tensed up, and he quickly waved his hands, "I dare not say, I dare not say."

As they were talking, another customer arrived, and the waiter quickly said, "The chrysanthemum tea will be served shortly, please wait a moment, Miss."

Ning Yao nodded, signaling him to leave.

He bit his lower lip and began to think, his fingernails unconsciously picking at the table.

It seems that in Beijing, the topic of the Jianghe Daily has become something that cannot even be mentioned.

What about Shanghai? The control measures in Shanghai...

Ning Yao carefully recalled the past few days. When she went out, she didn't seem to have heard any news about the Jianghe Daily. That's right. Since the Jianghe Daily published the entire "Communist Manifesto" for half a month in June, there haven't been any new articles. In Shanghai, the discussion is more about the articles themselves, and not much about the newspaper itself.

It's already September, and the Jianghe Daily has been almost completely silent for two months. If Ning Yao hadn't overheard it by chance at the dock, she would never have guessed that Brother Ning was actually preparing to send her abroad because something might happen to her.

Thinking of this, Ning Yao sneered inwardly.

Now that the proposal has been made, they are now engaged. As future husband and wife, how could they abandon each other when disaster strikes?

They only report good news and not bad news. When something goes wrong, they hide it from her and even send her away... How can anyone be so despicable!

Ning Yao gritted her teeth and thought bitterly.

That's why she's sitting here now, not planning to make a phone call to Shanghai.

She was holding her breath in anger!

Unfortunately, Ning Yao didn't know that a lot could happen in just one morning.

*

A few days ago.

School.

Ever since the Jianghe Daily published that article, people in Beijing have been saying that the Jianghe Daily spread improper remarks and that its intentions are despicable.

However, this claim is subject to much debate and controversy, yet strangely, the Jianghe Daily has managed to survive amidst this oscillation between the two sides.

However, Yuan Shikai in Beijing had already made new plans, and at that time, the "Communist Manifesto" published by the Jianghe Daily became a thorn in his side.

Ning Yiwen, being a reborn person, naturally knew this as well. However, he hadn't expected them to start targeting the Jianghe Daily in September.

Beijing will be the first to be hit!

Ning Yiwen, who was far away in Shanghai, immediately received the news.

They then discussed with Old Chen the idea of ​​sending the people beside them away first.

That day, the two talked about this matter for a long time in Old Chen's house until they reached a preliminary solution.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Ning Yiwen stepped out of Old Chen's house, a voice roared, "I knew it! So that's why my report hadn't yielded any results. You were all accomplices!"

The newcomer had thick eyebrows and large eyes, but the distance between his eyebrows and eyes was very close, giving him a fierce look. He was Liu Yu, who had been knocked down to fourth place by Ning Yiwen in the debate competition.

Old Chen naturally recognized him. Liu Yu had been visiting frequently lately, which had become quite annoying. His face immediately darkened. "Liu Yu! How dare you speak to me like that!"

Liu Yu was now desperate. He pointed his index finger at Ning Yiwen and Old Chen, saying, "You two are definitely up to something! I'm going to report you to the principal!"

Old Chen frowned: "Liu Yu, that's enough! That's enough! Focus on your studies, improve yourself, and stop blaming others for your problems."

Liu Yu, indignant, pointed at Ning Yiwen and said, "Old Chen, I admit that my knowledge is not as good as his. But that doesn't mean I'm inferior to his sister who has only been in school for a few years! Can't any of you see this favoritism in public?"

Old Chen opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a voice came from behind him.

"Debates are about more than just knowledge!"

The voice was deep and resonant, very distinctive. It was the principal's voice.

"headmaster."

Liu Yu turned around, bowed respectfully to the principal, and greeted him, "Hello, Principal."

The principal put his hands behind his back, nodded, and carefully scanned Liu Yu from head to toe, saying, "It seems you still don't know what your problem is."

Facing the principal, Liu Yu naturally dared not be presumptuous. No matter how angry he was in his heart, he could only bow respectfully and say, "I would like to hear the details."

The principal recalled the debate that day and said, "Your debate had a clear line of thought and supporting arguments, but what a debate needs more is to follow people's emotions and control the situation captivatingly."

"Captivating the soul?" Liu Yu chuckled inwardly, bending over. What kind of logic was that?

Sure enough, it was another person protecting Ning Yiwen.

Since that's the case, there's no point in saying more. Liu Yu immediately took his leave.

Before leaving, he glared at Ning Yiwen resentfully.

Ning Yiwen didn't even glance at him, only talking to the principal. The sight of the two chatting and laughing was extremely irritating to Liu Yu.

For reasons unknown, Liu Yu left the courtyard gate but did not return to his classroom. Instead, he turned and went around the main gate to a section of the courtyard wall.

This section of the wall was closest to Old Chen's house, and when people spoke in hushed tones, their voices could occasionally be heard intermittently.

"Newspaper...going abroad...teacher..."

Liu Yu frowned and pressed his ear against the wall, but he could only hear a few scattered words.

Until Ning Yiwen said something, the principal and Old Chen burst into laughter.

"He's definitely saying nice things." Liu Yu curled his lip and muttered under his breath, "Sycophant."

Unexpectedly, Old Chen said with a smile, "I knew it! This kid, he said he was a relative back then, so vague. Turns out the problem was here!"

The principal clapped his hands and laughed, "Very good, Yiwen, you are indeed insightful to send your adopted daughter-in-law to study in the new school."

Liu Yu couldn't listen to what the others were saying anymore.

Therefore, the Ning Yao he lost to wasn't even Ning Yiwen's sister; she was just a poor girl he picked up from who-knows-where.

She was Ning Yiwen's childhood sweetheart!

This is an absolute disgrace!

Liu Yu was so angry that his mouth twisted into a crook.

He walked back to the classroom angrily.

Along the way, he kept seeing his classmates glance at him, then turn around and chat and laugh with the classmates next to them.

Once or twice is one thing. But after it happened repeatedly, Liu Yu couldn't help but wonder if they were still laughing at him.

As soon as I stepped into the classroom, the students burst into laughter for some reason.

His forefoot, which hadn't yet touched the ground, paused for a moment before gently landing. Liu Yu asked, feigning nonchalance, "What are you talking about? Something so funny?"

Unexpectedly, the students showed no interest in answering him and even dispersed immediately.

Liu Yu's smile froze on his face.

He has received this kind of cold treatment far too many times since the debate competition.

At this moment, his anger towards Ning Yiwen reached its peak.

So, filled with rage, Liu Yu could no longer bear it and chose to hide a small knife in his sleeve on his way to school today.

At this moment, Ning Yiwen had just seen Ning Yao off and was walking on the street in a daze, heading towards school.

The school was approaching, and Ning Yiwen could already see the four large characters of Yumin Academy with gold trim in the distance.

Liu Yu also saw Ning Yiwen. His anger instantly overwhelmed his reason. Without a second thought, he stabbed Ning Yiwen on a busy street a short distance from the school.

By the time Ning Yiwen reacted, the knife was already pressed against his abdomen.

A sharp pain came.

Meanwhile, people sent from Beijing surrounded Yumin Public School.

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Author's Note: In late 1915, Yuan Shikai [illegible - likely a political figure or event]. In 1920, the first translated version of *The Communist Manifesto* appeared in Shanghai. Here, because the protagonist is reborn, the timeline has been moved forward. Novels require appropriate artistic embellishment; this is not intended to disrespect history.