Chapter Twenty-Six
The people in the meeting window collectively froze for a second.
You Congxi didn't notice, because everyone was looking at her settings, and now her computer screen was displaying her silly behavior of standing up to answer questions from every angle.
The meeting was eerily quiet; she even suspected she had slept until the end of the meeting.
With a flick of the mouse, several faces, laughing maniacally like zombies, were revealed.
You Congxi: "..."
She took a deep breath and braced herself against the table. She had stood up too suddenly and hadn't had enough oxygen, which was why she only realized now that she had been tricked by Shen Yue.
She slowly sat down amidst an eerie silence and a swaying smile, her gaze shifting slightly upwards before she paused.
The expected person was nowhere to be seen; in their place stood a round, chubby honey jar doll proudly in the center of the podium.
Thinking of the little bear with beady eyes by her bedside, You Congxi's eyebrows twitched.
That bastard.
The system displayed that the ban had been lifted, and the next second, a chaotic cacophony of laughter and chatter burst forth from the speakers.
You Congxi listened expressionlessly with his arms crossed, pondering how these three people managed to create the effect of three thousand ducks quacking at the same time.
She stared coldly at the honey jar doll, deciding to throw that damn bear into the trash can downstairs in a bit.
Oh, and that pile of junk in the drawer, let it all go with it.
After glancing at the time, You Congxi realized that the discussion on both sides of the assignment had been nearly completed. He moved his finger and moved the cursor to the exit button.
"Holy crap!" He Qi exclaimed, "Brother, what happened to you?! You've turned into a gas cylinder?!"
The gas cylinder moved twice, and a finger appeared out of thin air, giving He Qizheng the middle finger.
Qu Qi was speechless: "Idiot, that's a honey jar."
Then, she exclaimed excitedly, "Holy crap! The honey jar can even give you the middle finger by itself, that's amazing!"
Yin Zixuan looked at the two large hands that were vaguely visible behind the honey jar, and then at the two people arguing about whether the doll was a gas pipe or a honey jar, and sighed softly.
You Congxi was equally speechless and choked with emotion.
It's said that birds of a feather flock together, and this group successfully made her doubt her own true intelligence.
He Qizheng yelled, "Zhen Qiao, you're still arguing with me! Look, even this gas cylinder is bowing and apologizing to me!"
Following the sound, You Congxi saw two toy hands, shaped like drumsticks, being held by two large, well-defined hands, folded together and swaying up and down.
The screen flickered, the background of the podium vanished abruptly, and the face that You Congxi had blacklisted appeared above the honey jar.
Qu Qi: "Oh my god, the honey jar has turned into a person!"
He Qizheng has always been good at pretending to be stupid. Upon hearing this, he and Qu Qi put on a two-person act, mocking their good brother, the gas cylinder, for making a living person.
Yin Zixuan couldn't take it anymore and told them to stop acting like mentally challenged children, which resulted in her being attacked by the two of them.
Amidst this chaotic scene, You Congxi and Shen Yue's smiling eyes met, and he opened his mouth to say something.
"......"
Unable to argue with these two unreasonable people, Yin Zixuan picked up the water glass beside her, took a sip, and then paused when she glanced at the corner of the screen.
"Want to swim in the Congxi River?"
"......"
You Congxi looked at the screen that had returned to the homepage and rubbed his burning ears.
I couldn't help but think of the half-empty water bottle in the corner of Shen Yue's desk.
Depend on.
He actually kept it.
She leaned back; she had rubbed too hard, and her ears started to feel slightly hot again.
The unspoken words of Shen Yue echoed in her ears.
If she wasn't mistaken, what that young master just said seemed to be—
Buzz.
The phone on the table vibrated.
As You Congxi's hand slipped, a uniquely youthful, husky, and magnetic voice emanated from the speaker, exceptionally clear in the empty and quiet room.
He said,
"Little Fish, I know I was wrong."
-
Before we knew it, the monthly exams were approaching. The schedule for the monthly exams at No. 1 Middle School was always tight, and the exams would be over by the afternoon of the second day, which was usually a little earlier than the usual dismissal time.
Since making a pledge with Tang Miaosong, Shen Yue has been incredibly well-behaved for the past two weeks. As the other teachers in the office would say, he has undergone a complete transformation, turning from a troublesome devil into a docile little lamb.
Not only was Shen Yue's name no longer present at the weekly criticism sessions, but Lu Botao also stopped dragging him to the corridor to stand as punishment whenever he patrolled the classrooms. He no longer slept in class, didn't fight after class, and even the brawls in the alleys were no longer a thing of the past.
Lu Botao specifically praised Tang Miaosong for her effective management at the meeting, and after the meeting, he called her to his office to discuss the speech by the outstanding student representative next Monday.
Lu Botao took a sip of tea, spat the tea leaves back into the cup with two "pui" sounds, and sighed, "Then it's settled..."
"Director!" There was a rapid knock on the office door. Lu Botao looked over and saw the homeroom teacher of Class 6 next door exclaim in a panic, "There's blood!"
He Qi was blinded by the sight of red: "Damn it! You guys brought knives! Are you trying to cheat me?!"
Shen Yue pulled Wen Hu aside, dodging the oncoming cold blade. "Damn it."
A bunch of creatures were lying on the ground beside him. Shen Yue stared at the crew-cut man who suddenly pulled a folding knife out of his pocket, his tone flat: "Are you fucking looking for death?"
Wen Hu, who had just stood still, stared at the crew-cut man's face with bloodshot eyes, as if he were looking at an enemy from several lifetimes ago.
Shen Yue had set a rule: no knives in fights. The crew-cut guy was new this month, so naturally he didn't take this pretty boy seriously, let alone follow any of those ridiculous rules.
Flathead didn't notice Wen Hu's gaze; his eyes were only on this pretentious rich kid. He grinned, twirled the knife in his hand, and suddenly lunged forward, his strength unrestrained: "I've been looking for you, you bastard!"
What a load of bull! The Xinghai District bully is a bunch of useless trash. No wonder that pretty boy can rule the place like this.
Shen Yue narrowly dodged, seized the opportunity to kick him in the waist, and the flat-headed man staggered a few steps before turning around to fight him before Shen Yue's next kick arrived.
He Qizheng and Wen Hu were held back by a few small fry, but they were not in great danger. Shen Yue withdrew his gaze and ducked to avoid the blade coming from the flat-headed man.
He raised his hand to try and restrain the crew-cut man's wrist, and in that instant, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye—
"Shen Yue! Stop it, all of you!"
Taking advantage of the young man's brief moment of hesitation, the crew-cut man slashed hard, making a soft sound as if skin was being torn. Without lingering, he waved his hand, signaling his remaining henchmen to run away.
Shen Yue barely managed to look up, his face turning cold. Then, amidst He Qi's anxious exclamation, he swiftly grabbed Wen Hu's foot, preventing him from chasing after them: "Damn it! Shen Yue!"
"If you can't handle it, don't even think about it."
He Qizheng was utterly speechless: "...I'm fucking impressed!"
Wen Hu was trapped in place, panting heavily like a broken bellows.
He Qi thought he had used too much force during the fight, so he reached out and patted his back to help him catch his breath.
Lu Botao finally arrived, albeit late, and his old heart nearly stopped beating when the knife slashed across Chen Yue's face.
This is right next to a school! If anything happens to the students, Lu Botao's decades-long teaching career will be over!
He was panting heavily, his hands supporting his knees, followed by Tang Miaosong and the homeroom teacher of Class 6.
Shen Yue tore a piece of fabric from the hem of his shirt and pressed it against the bleeding spot on his face. Ignoring the two people who were giving him death stares, he pressed his wound and solemnly looked in the direction where a certain figure had disappeared.
"......"
Even as he stood in the office listening to Lu Botao's scathing reprimand, Shen Yue was still recalling the fleeting glimpse of that figure.
That can't be right. You should have been home by now if you were in Congxi.
The bleeding on Shen Yue's face had stopped. He lowered his head, seemingly repenting for his mistakes, but in reality, he hadn't heard a single word Lu Botao said.
Lu Botao's throat was dry from talking, so he took a breath, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip.
The homeroom teacher of Class 6 had already taken his students away. Shen Yue and He Qi were taken to the office by Lu Botao for a private talk because they had repeatedly failed to correct their behavior.
Tang Miaosong glanced at the two troublemakers with a headache, her temples throbbing: "Chen Yue, what did you promise me? This is about to succeed, it's the final push, tell me what you're thinking?"
Lu Botao didn't even bother to spit out the tea foam. Hearing this, he angrily joined the attack: "To tell you the truth, your teacher Tang and I had already discussed it and agreed that you would speak as the outstanding student representative next Monday. Now—humph! Just wait to get punished and read a self-criticism!"
He Qi was completely bewildered. What outstanding student representative? What speech?
Shen Yue opened his mouth as if to say something, but the next second he was so shocked by Lu Botao's booming voice that he rubbed his ears.
"Shen Yue! What's that on your arm?!"
Upon hearing the sound, Tang Miaosong looked at Shen Yue's flamboyant arm, his pupils dilating in shock.
"you......"
"Director, this is fake, not a real tattoo," He Qizheng quickly explained for his brother, unable to suppress a smile as he spoke.
God knows how uncomfortable he was laughing when he saw Shen Yue putting this thing on his arm before the fight.
Seeing the doubt on Lu Botao's face, Shen Yue slowly took off his "tattooed arm" and held it up to the head of the teaching department.
"Reporting to the director, these are arm sleeves that my grandmother bought for me at the market."
Actually, he stole it from Xue Meiying.
Lu Botao and Tang Miaosong: "..."
Finally, the tattooed arm sleeves were confiscated, and both of them received demerits. Next Monday, they will go to the podium to read their self-criticisms along with the other classmates who were with them.
"I have to write a self-criticism again! My dad is going to skin me alive this time!" He Qi wailed as he walked next to Shen Yue.
He glanced at the absent-minded Shen Yue, then at the long bloodstain on his face, and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, what was that outstanding student speech Da Hai mentioned in the office just now?"
Shen Yue was troubled by this matter. His speech had fallen through, and the key was how to explain it to You Congxi.
And that buzz cut guy from earlier...
He briefly explained the situation to He Qizheng, then couldn't help but pick up his phone to look at the injury on his face.
Shen Yue had always cared most about his face since he was a child, and now, looking at his disfigured face in the camera, he felt like dying.
Damn it, he'll get his revenge sooner or later.
He put down his phone and remembered Wen Hu's bloodshot eyes during the chaos just now.
Is it him?
Now, Wen Hu...
He Qizheng finally understood why his brother had been so quiet for the past two weeks.
Wash your hands for love.
A lyric suddenly flashed through his mind. He cleared his throat, feeling Chen Yue's gaze drift over. He lowered his voice and put his right fist to his mouth—
"A thug who's fallen in love can't even hold a knife properly!"
Shen Yue: "..."
This tune seemed to be etched into his DNA. The moment He Qizheng sang it, it was as if he had returned to his impetuous junior high school days, where he was completely absorbed and lost all passion. His throat sounded like it was filled with the sound of a frog, and he continued singing with rapture:
"A weak person who has been moved can become more ruthless than a wolf!"
Shen Yue: "".
Shen Yue listened quietly as He Qi finished singing the entire song. He Qi licked his lips, still feeling unsatisfied, his throat slightly hoarse.
He raised his head and stared straight into Shen Yue's eyes, which were fiercer than those of a wolf.
The smugness near the exit took a detour—
"Why didn't you tell me when I asked you to go and keep order today?"
Shen Yue paused, his fist about to land on He Qizheng. After finishing his last exam, politics, he was about to take You Congxi home as usual when He Qizheng urgently stopped him, saying that Wen Hu was surrounded.
"That crew-cut guy with the knife... looks like Wang Mian."
He Qizheng was stunned: "Who? That bastard is Wang Mian?! Damn it, I'm going to his house right now and beat him up—"
He Qizheng's words ended.
Shen Yue froze in place.
You Congxi leaned against the corner wall with his arms crossed, and smiled at the two frozen figures:
"What a coincidence, you two."
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