Chapter 39 Undercurrent
The advanced training program that Yunyao enrolled in boasts a strong faculty, consisting of top professors from various renowned universities in the central city.
The training program offered a wide range of courses, and the professors' teaching style was as insightful, easy to understand, and humorous as is typical of higher education institutions. This immediately reminded Yun Yao of her grandmother, who was a Chinese professor. This familiar and warm style, along with the pure atmosphere of the campus, made Yun Yao look forward to the program.
The composition of the students in this training program is somewhat complex. Due to the high entry requirements, the students are not ordinary people; they vary in age and background. Although they don't know each other's backgrounds, they are all polite to one another, since no one knows what kind of powerful connections any student might have.
Yun Yao was a striking figure in the class, given her youth, beauty, and extraordinary presence. Those who were interested put in the effort to inquire couldn't find out anything, which made those who were eager to make a move more cautious. Someone whose background was impossible for everyone to trace was probably someone of considerable importance.
Of course, most people in this class are reserved about their status and disdain making any moves. They only interact with people of their own social class to expand their social circles. As for someone like Yun Yao, whose background they don't know, they are more cautious and observe.
Therefore, Yun Yao's days in the training program were relatively peaceful; he only needed to focus on learning more. This training program was aimed at self-improvement, not just obtaining a degree, which aligned well with Yun Yao's goals.
The lady also secretly assigned people to protect Yunyao, help him with some problems, and pick him up and drop him off at Muxiyuan on time. It can be said that although he had more opportunities to go out and study, apart from the school library and some required class outdoor activities, Yunyao did not have much freedom.
That day, just after class ended, four or five classmates came to Yun Yao's desk and invited him to have dinner together. Yun Yao wanted to refuse, but considering that he would be classmates with them for the next two years, he didn't want to make things too awkward, so he agreed. He explained the situation to his wife privately and received her permission before going out with them.
The dinner was held at the most famous five-star hotel in the city center, and none of these students were short of money. However, during the meal, Yun Yao could see that the group was obviously flattering one of the men, who looked to be in his thirties, surnamed Ji, with an ordinary appearance but a very imposing presence.
However, since Yun Yao was by the side of the madam, she usually saw no ordinary people, so she didn't think that this Mr. Ji was anything special.
Mr. Ji, the center of attention in the class, always appeared aloof and arrogant, only showing anger and disdain when facing a younger, introverted man. As a result, the other students largely ignored the introverted man.
Listening to the conversation among the people at the table, Yun Yao learned that the two men were at odds, mainly because their families had deep conflicts. Now, Mr. Ji's family held a higher status, so they were very rude to the introverted man from the rival family.
More than an hour had passed since the dinner party started, and seeing that they wanted to continue, Yun Yao politely said she had to go home. Mr. Ji seemed surprised that Yun Yao dared to be so disrespectful. He considered himself the highest-ranking person there and was somewhat displeased. His two classmates tried to persuade Yun Yao to stay a little longer. Yun Yao insisted on leaving, and Mr. Ji's face darkened. But before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door of the private room.
Before anyone could open the door, the person arrogantly pushed it open. Xu Zhi's nonchalant face appeared outside.
He coldly glanced around the private room, and only when he saw Yun Yao did his eyes light up. He smiled and said, "Yun Yao, I've come to take you back."
"Hey, who are you? Why are you pushing the door open like that..." The people in the private room were all talking at once, dissatisfied with the person who had suddenly barged in.
Mr. Ji, who had been sitting in the center with a cold expression, stood up in surprise. "Young Master Xu, what brings you here?"
Xu Zhi ignored him and went straight to Yun Yao. "Shall we go?"
At this moment, Mr. Ji pushed aside the people on both sides and walked over, smiling at Xu Zhi: "Young Master Xu, it's been a long time. Do you still remember me? I am the third son of the Ji family."
Xu Zhi glanced at him coldly, then his peripheral vision caught sight of the introverted man in the corner, and he sneered, "Ji Laosan, how come you're classmates with the Wang family?"
Mr. Ji looked a little embarrassed and said in a low voice, "Who would have thought? The Wang family is in such a state, yet they still managed to squeeze people in."
Yun Yao was just starting to enjoy watching these people play dumb when Xu Zhi suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her out. "Alright, we've seen enough. Let's go."
Before closing the door, Xu Zhi turned back to the bewildered Mr. Ji and casually said, "You guys have fun, I'm taking my Yunyao back first."
Once outside the private room, Yun Yao broke free from Xu Zhi's grasp. He glanced at Xu Zhi with a slight frown as he walked, and asked, "Second Young Master, what are you doing here?"
Xu Zhi laughed and said, "This is fate. I was also in this restaurant today, and I saw the people your wife sent downstairs waiting for me."
He looked at Yun Yao with bright, almond-shaped eyes and said, "How about I take you home today? I've already spoken to those people."
Seeing this, Yun Yao had no choice but to nod. In the car, Yun Yao couldn't help but ask, "Second Young Master, do you know Mr. Ji from my class?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi frowned in surprise and said, "Mr. Ji? You call him that? Ha, what kind of 'Mr.' is he! Does he even deserve to be called that? You've never called me that before!"
Yun Yao had no idea what was wrong with him and said helplessly, "It's just what everyone in the class calls him."
"Hmph," Xu Zhi sneered, "Then your classmates are probably just so-so. The Ji family is already unattainable in their eyes."
Seeing that Yun Yao showed a rare interest in this topic, he continued, "This Ji family has a bit of a history with us. Ji Laosan's eldest uncle used to be one of Madam's subordinates. He was quite capable and gradually rose to prominence. However, that's about it. Don't be fooled by Ji Laosan's grand entrance; even if the entire Ji family were tied together, they wouldn't be enough to sway Madam with a single word."
Speaking of this, Xu Zhi thought of the Wang family people he had just seen there, and said with a mocking laugh, "The Ji family and the Wang family are really destined to be enemies, and they even became your classmates. These two families are like oil and water, their fortunes changing every thirty years. At first, the Wang family was more powerful and suppressed the Ji family. Now that the Wang family has chosen the wrong side, they are going downhill, while the Ji family has taken the opportunity to rise up. I think there will be a good show to watch soon, with the two families fighting to the death. There will definitely be a lot of excitement."
Yun Yao didn't understand the power struggles among these families, nor was she particularly interested in knowing, so she nodded and looked out the window without paying much attention. Outside, the clouds drifted and shifted, changing in an instant.
When Yun Yao arrived at class the next day, he found that everyone had suddenly started paying attention to him, especially Mr. Ji and a few of the most sociable classmates, who were noticeably warmer and friendlier towards him.
Yun Yao guessed it was probably because of the second young master, Xu Zhi. That Mr. Ji knew Xu Zhi and probably thought he had some connection with the Xu family. The Xu family were Madam's cousins and had considerable influence in the science and education field, so their status in this circle was obviously quite extraordinary.
Yun Yao didn't explain. He didn't change his attitude at all and continued to focus on his studies, avoiding much interaction with others.
During a break between classes, he went to the restroom and came out to find the introverted man surnamed Wang waiting for him.
The man wore glasses, his honest face was haggard, and his weak eyes were bloodshot. When he saw Yun Yao come out and look at him with a puzzled expression, he lowered his head in shame and said through gritted teeth, "Yun Yao, I, my name is Wang You. I sit at the desk next to you in class. I, I want to ask you for a favor. As long as you can help me, I'll do anything for you."
“Everyone says you must have some connection with the Xu family… I even saw Young Master Xu personally pick you up yesterday. Yun Yao, I'd like to ask you to help our Wang family make an introduction. We just want to see Young Master Xu one more time…”
The introverted man blushed after saying these few words. Yun Yao looked at his honest appearance, which was different from that of ordinary scions of noble families, and felt a little sorry for him. However, Yun Yao thought of Xu Zhi's amused attitude yesterday and assumed that he would not interfere in this matter.
So Yun Yao could only sigh and say to Wang You, "Wang You, I'm sorry, whether you believe it or not, I'm just living under someone else's roof, and I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help you."
Yun Yao himself was just an ordinary person. He came to the North against his will and did not want to get involved in any conflicts he did not understand.
Unexpectedly, after hearing his words, Wang You's eyes suddenly reddened. He stood there blankly for a while, feeling somewhat helpless. Instead of pestering Yun Yao, he awkwardly stood aside and watched Yun Yao walk away.
Yun Yao glanced back at Wang You, who stood alone in the shadows, and sighed. Even a scion of a noble family who once enjoyed the best resources became pitiful and helpless once his family lost power.
Yun Yao returned to the classroom with a heavy heart, only to find that the professor who was supposed to teach the next class had been replaced.
The professor who came this time was an elderly man with a full head of white hair. He had a southern accent and was a highly skilled teacher. But for some reason, Yun Yao felt that this professor looked somewhat familiar.
After class, the other students left one after another. Yun Yao was tidying up her desk when the old professor looked at her with some doubt for a few moments. Finally, he couldn't help but step down from the podium and ask Yun Yao, "Young student, do you... do you know Yun Qing?"
Yun Yao was stunned for a moment. Yun Qing was his maternal grandmother's name. His mother took his maternal grandmother's surname, Yun, and he also took his mother's surname.
Yun Yao looked at the old professor carefully, and his lips trembled slightly as he replied, "Yun Qing is my maternal grandmother's name. Do you...do you know my maternal grandmother?"
“Ah,” the old professor stared at Yun Yao, as if he had finally remembered, “You are Yun Qing and Jing Chen’s little grandson, right? Alas, I’m getting old and my eyesight isn’t good anymore. I just noticed that you look a bit like Yun Qing, and now I remember that I visited your maternal grandparents’ house more than ten years ago when I was still in Nanhang.
Just then, a sound came from outside the door: the fourth young master's cheerful laughter and the third young lady's voice.
Yun Yao suddenly remembered that yesterday, when the second young master saw the second young master bring Yun Yao back, the fourth young master also made a fuss about wanting to come to the school to see Yun Yao with his third sister the next day.
Yun Yao glanced at the old professor, then looked worriedly towards the door. He had just reunited with his grandmother's old friend, and his heart was still churning. He had wanted to talk more with the old professor about his grandparents, but now, the third young lady and the fourth young master were about to arrive. What should he do?
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