Chapter 28 A Show of Force

The security guard called the teaching assistant listed on the registration form.

"Strange..." He glanced at his phone and muttered, "Why can't I get through?"

Having no other option, he contacted the registration office again, saying that there was a student who had come to register on his own at the entrance.

While reporting to his superior, the security guard kept glancing suspiciously at Xin Que.

Since the academy was established, some students have been tricked into coming by their parents, some have been forcibly brought in by their families, and some have even been arrested by their instructors.

I've never seen anyone come alone with their own luggage.

He saw that the woman was probably an adult and wasn't wearing any expensive clothes, so he probably thought this was some kind of summer camp.

It must have been tricked by the family members.

They probably thought it was some kind of nice place.

He chuckled inwardly to himself, but didn't show it on his face.

Xin Que waited calmly at the door.

The small business owner who assigned her the order was very generous, giving her a deposit of one million yuan right away.

The goal is simple: to get rid of the college's principal.

She had done some preliminary research on the school before she came.

This private academy, established eight years ago, has been known for its brutal, militaristic management style, but it has also been plagued by scandals.

However, many parents still come here because of its reputation to send their disobedient children to this school for reform.

Even those like her, who were sent here after they had reached adulthood, are not uncommon.

Xin Que saw the new teaching assistant leading two instructors walking briskly towards her from the teaching building, revealing a gentle and polite smile.

"Hello." She extended her hand to the teaching assistant.

The teaching assistant looked at Xin Que with a questioning gaze, examining her closely. "You're Xin Que?"

Xin Que nodded.

"I'll take you to your dorm later and get you a bed." The teaching assistant gradually relaxed when he saw that Xin Que was not wary and showed no signs of resistance.

The academy gates slowly closed.

High walls and electric fences firmly enclosed the four-sided college, with three buildings standing on three sides, their gloomy decor creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

“It’s not like outside where you have family who spoil you without limits,” the teaching assistant’s voice became forceful. “Your father has already signed a waiver of liability. You’d better put away your spoiled princess attitude from home to avoid causing us trouble.”

"It will save me from making things difficult for myself."

Contrary to what the others had expected, Xin Que did not show any panic. Instead, she nodded calmly and said, "Okay."

She gave a meaningful smile. "I've always been good at this kind of obedience training."

When the teaching assistant heard Xin Que's seemingly calm speech, he assumed that Xin Que was pretending to be profound and deliberately trying to mislead them.

The teaching assistants and instructors scoffed at it.

Upon entering the dark and damp dormitory building, Xin Que was led by the teaching assistant to a four-person room.

Xin Que glanced at the cold-toned paint in the corridor, which gave the impression of a prison.

Pushing open the heavy iron door, the teaching assistant gestured with his chin towards the inside, "You'll be staying in this room. Basic necessities will be provided to you this afternoon."

Xin Que responded and then tossed her handbag onto the empty upper bunk.

She pulled over a small stool and sat down, then looked around the dormitory.

A brightly lit camera, still in operation, monitors the cramped dormitory room from a corner of the wall.

Xin Que's expression remained unchanged, and she quickly looked away.

The three girls lay huddled on the bed, motionless and like zombies, completely unresponsive to Xin Que's arrival.

She glanced at the label on the bed.

The youngest is only 12 years old.

The oldest among them are still those who have just entered university.

Xin Que got up and strolled around the floor again.

There are no toilets in the dormitory; everyone here goes to the public toilet at the end of the corridor to use the restroom.

In addition to public toilets and dormitories, there are several iron doors on each floor without windows.

"Remodeling room?" Xin Que took in the words and turned to leave.

The dormitory building was quiet, lifeless and devoid of any human presence.

However, when Xin Que returned to the dormitory, she saw the small windows of the iron doors of the other dormitories, and there were students inside.

She was the only one wandering around the entire floor.

In the long corridor where you could hear a pin drop, even Xin Que's deliberately lowered footsteps sounded somewhat distinct.

Not long after I got back to the dormitory, a series of urgent ringing bells rang outside the building.

Soon, a commotion broke out in the corridor.

Xin Que's three roommates also hurriedly got up and dressed, as if some monster was chasing them. They put on their so-called uniforms in a minute or two and ran out the door.

Xin Que glanced up at her handbag, which she had casually tossed onto the upper bunk, and then turned and left the dormitory with her roommates.

Squeezing through the crowded people toward the stairwell, Xin Que's T-shirt and cargo pants stood out conspicuously among the uniforms of the crowd.

Xin Que and the instructor supervising the trainees as they descended the stairs at the entrance of the building locked eyes.

Two burly, menacing-looking men brandished stun batons and yelled at the trainees, "Haven't you eaten yet?"

"Hurry up! Stop dawdling!"

The instructor's gaze lingered on Xin Que in the crowd.

Like hunters eyeing new prey, the two of them simultaneously revealed a strange smile.

Xin Que seemed completely oblivious to the two men's malice, and calmly blended into the crowd as she walked downstairs.

In less than five minutes, the entire dormitory building was emptied.

Rows and rows of students stood at attention on the parade ground.

"You!" The instructor in charge of this area raised his stun baton and pointed it at Xin Que. "Get out here!"

Xin Que strolled out from among a group of uniformed students with an air of nonchalance. "You called me?"

The instructor frowned, his demeanor suddenly becoming sharp and intimidating. "If I don't call you, who should I call?"

Why aren't you wearing a uniform?

Xin Que spread her hands, "I only reported for duty this morning, and the teaching assistant told me that I would receive it at noon."

The instructor sneered, "Can't you just go get it yourself? What excuse are you making?"

"Are you legless? Can't you go find someone to get it yourself? You expect others to bring it to you? Do you really think you're still that pampered young lady from your family?"

“You,” the man looked at Xin Que with the contempt of an ant, “disobeying the instructor and talking back without permission, you are punished by squatting for two hours.”

Xin Que frowned. "What if I don't squat?"

The man was not at all surprised by Xin Que's troublesome nature. How many people who came here were obedient from the start?

"Then let's go into the reformatory." He didn't care at all, and turned to call out to the few instructors who had been eyeing him from under the shade of the tree, "There's a new troublemaker here."

"Make sure to repair the house properly."

The playground was completely silent.

"Wait!" Xin Que protested loudly, "Who gave you the right to inflict corporal punishment without authorization?"

"Where's the homeroom teacher? Where's the teaching assistant?" she shouted. "That's not what you said when you collected the money!"

A middle-aged woman with a stern face emerged from under the shade of a tree. "I'm your homeroom teacher. What, you think you can challenge the academy's rules so soon after you arrive?"

"Hurry up and gag this woman and get her away," she urged the instructor impatiently, turning back to chant a Buddhist prayer. "Morning classes are about to start, it wouldn't be good to offend Buddha."