Chapter 27

Shang Yan followed behind Li Shijie out of the classroom, and as soon as the door closed behind them, the class couldn’t contain its excitement.

“Wow, Su Miao Miao, you’re so daring—” Qi Wenyue exclaimed dramatically.

“You even dare to stroke the tiger’s whiskers, are you trying to ascend to the heavens??”

Suo Miao Miao turned back, puzzled.

“What tiger’s whiskers?”

Qi Wenyue replied, “Of course it’s Brother Yan. You dare to wake him up? Among the teachers, except for the head teacher and the Chinese teacher, no one dares to manage him!”

Su Miao Miao thought for a moment, frowning.

“This isn’t good.”

Qi Wenyue chuckled, “Hah, you’ve been in the class for over a week now. You must have heard about Brother Yan’s grades. How can they manage him?”

Su Miao Miao shook his head. “It’s bad for his routine.”

“Alright.”

“I noticed you were chatting with him for quite a while before the last class. Did you find out why he didn’t come for the flag-raising ceremony?”

Su Miao Miao hesitated and nodded slightly.

Qi Wenyue’s eyes lit up. Leaning closer, she asked, “Why?”

Su Miao Miao reached out and brought the light gray thermos cup on the corner of the table in front of her, giving it a gentle shake.

“Because of milk.”

Qi Wenyue looked puzzled.

“He said he had to go to many places before he could buy it.”

After a pause, Qi Wenyue, still surprised, managed to speak, “So Shang Yan… went through all that trouble… just to buy you a cup of milk?”

Su Miao Miao: “It was hot too, and it took some time.”

Qi Wenyue turned to Liao Lanxin, feigning tears, “Liao Liao, what a touching master-disciple relationship— I wish I had such a mentor!”

Liao Lanxin flipped a page of her book without expression.

“Forget it.”

“Why?”

“You’re not pretty or cute.”

Qi Wenyue: “…”

“Let’s break up!”

While Su Miao Miao listened to Qi Wenyue’s banter, her gaze shifted anxiously towards the front door of the classroom.

—

Su Miao Miao wondered why the homeroom teacher called Shang Yan out…

As she thought, the biology teacher entered through the front door carrying a stack of test papers, walking up to the podium.

The noise in the classroom seemed to pause as all eyes nervously followed the stack of papers in the biology teacher’s arms.

“The results of last Thursday’s biology test are out.”

The biology teacher, with a stern face, slammed the papers on the desk.

“With the scores you all got, you can barely feed yourselves, and yet you have the nerve to make a racket?”

The entire class fell silent.

The biology teacher, almost fifty years old, was known for her short temper and was often jokingly referred to by students as “that menopausal teacher.”

Students in the class rarely dared to provoke her.

“Biology class representative,” the biology teacher called out sternly. “Come up and distribute these papers.”

The biology class representative hurriedly ran to the front of the classroom without delay. Taking the papers, he enlisted a few classmates nearby to help distribute them throughout the room.

However, most students were not in the mood to assist at this moment—They nervously watched the biology teacher’s thin stack of papers that had not yet been handed out. Su Miao Miao, experiencing her first classroom test, naturally didn’t understand the customs and was completely puzzled by the eerie silence.

She could only hear Qi Wenyue muttering anxiously behind her—”Oh no, oh no, Teacher Gai will definitely use someone as an example again. May the radiance of your top student status bless me… God, Amen, Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Queen Mother of the West… Please don’t let me be in there…”

Su Miao Miao: “—?”

She understood things like God and Buddha, but what was the custom of praying to the Queen Mother of the West?

“Alright, you all understand the rules. Those called by name, come up and get your papers.”

After the biology teacher finished speaking, she indeed held onto that stack of papers and began calling out names one by one. As the first few students went up to receive their papers and were scolded severely, the students anxiously watched the class representative distributing papers, praying that their papers would quickly reach their hands.

Su Miao Miao took the opportunity to turn back and curiously asked, “Did Teacher Gai leave the papers for the student with the worst grades in the class?”

Qi Wenyue, who hadn’t received her paper yet, entered a petrified state and looked at her without emotion.

“You’re too naive… Anyone can be singled out, regardless of their rank or grades, as long as they make what she considers a minor mistake… My desk partner once twisted my thigh last time, wondering if the bruise is still there…”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

Su Miao Miao: “Doesn’t she spare anyone?”

Qi Wenyue gritted her teeth. “Absolutely not! Even top students like my desk partner have been scolded! But if anyone claims they haven’t been scolded and won’t be scolded, that’s probably—”

Before she could finish, the front door of the classroom swung open, and Shang Yan, with a languid expression after Li Shijie’s “education,” walked in.

Qi Wenyue pointed her finger.

“There, he’s here.”

Su Miao Miao: “?”

Qi Wenyue: “Your master is a real weirdo when it comes to science… Uh… Sorry, forget what I just said. Basically, he’s the only one who hasn’t been scolded before and probably never will be.”

Thinking about this person who slept every day, Su Miao Miao looked over in amazement.

Shang Yan was walking past the podium with droopy eyelids, seemingly oblivious to the students being scolded and the tense atmosphere in the classroom.

He even yawned in the middle, looking like he hadn’t fully woken up.

“Shang Yan.”

On the podium, the biology teacher saw him and couldn’t help asking, “Why weren’t you at school last Wednesday?”

“…”

Shang Yan, with an irritated look due to sleepiness, paused but then spoke lazily.

“…I went to participate in a competition in Province T.”

“I see.”

The biology teacher rifled through her teaching materials and pulled out a blank sheet of paper.

“This is the test paper from last Wednesday’s class. Take it back… It shouldn’t be difficult for you. There are two questions circled in blue. Just do those two.”

“Okay.”

Shang Yan took the paper, his voice still husky as if he hadn’t fully woken up.

“…Thank you, teacher.”

The biology teacher’s stern face softened a bit, showing a slight smile before and after this sentence throughout the entire class period.

Qi Wenyue, standing behind Su Miao Miao, rested his head on his hands and sighed numbly, “The treatment of a study god is truly enviable for us ordinary mortals.”

Comparing the despondent look of the student who had slinked off to the side after being scolded with the more composed appearance of Shang Yan, Suo Miao Miao nodded with lingering fear.

The biology teacher shook a new sheet of paper in her hand, her smile fading from her face—”Su Miao Miao.”

“…”

Su Miao Miao was stunned.

Qi Wenyue: “Oh my god!”

Meanwhile, Shang Yan, who had already passed the podium, also stopped in his tracks.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

In front of him, a girl stared blankly at the podium, with a bewildered expression as if wondering who she was, where she was, and what she was supposed to do.

The imposing manner in which the biology teacher scolded the students…

Could scare a child into tears.

Shang Yan furrowed his brow slightly.

Much of the weariness faded from his face.

Before Su Miao Miao could stand up from her desk, Shang Yan turned and walked back to the front of the classroom.

The biology teacher looked up, about to begin her scolding, but suddenly paused.

“Shang Yan… Do you need something else?”

“This paper belongs to my desk partner. I’ll take it for her.”

The biology teacher looked puzzled. “But on this paper—”

“I’ll tutor her.”

Shang Yan’s response was succinct.

The biology teacher had no doubt about Shang Yan’s abilities. After thinking for a moment, she nodded in agreement.

She handed the test paper over.

“Your desk partner’s foundational knowledge in the first part is okay, but the later part, especially the new content from last month, is a mess. We have midterms next month, and her current performance won’t cut it.”

“…”

Looking at the red score on the paper, Shang Yan couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. After pausing for a moment, he turned back and glanced at the girl, curling his lips slightly.

His smile carried a hint of coldness—”Teacher, rest assured, I will discipline her strictly.”

The entire class: “….?”

Su Miao Miao: “….”

—

Forty minutes later, the bell for the end of class rang.

The biology teacher stood at the podium and closed her lesson plan.

“Your next class is self-study, right? Take some time to revise this paper properly. Understand? Stop neglecting biology. With the integrated sciences, can you afford to skip biology?”

After some more nagging, the biology teacher turned and left the classroom.

Inside, there were sounds of lamentation.

At the front door of the classroom, several people rushed in hurriedly.

The leader, Li Zhe, looked angry. He abruptly stopped when he reached Shang Yan and Su Miao Miao’s desk.

“Brother Yan, I heard rumors spreading everywhere in the senior class that Shu Wei dumped you— Who the hell said that? Shouldn’t we find out and confront them?”

Shang Yan, rare for not being in nap mode, was using one hand to turn his pen while watching Su Miao Miao work on her biology questions.

Upon hearing this, he stopped and turned slightly, his gaze falling on the girl’s fair face with a hint of blush.

“Kid, do you mind?”

“….?”

Still dazed from her blood sugar regulation, the girl looked up at him in confusion.

Recalling the voices that had drifted into her ears, she became even more bewildered and asked cautiously, “Why would I… mind?”

Shang Yan stared at her for a moment, then chuckled softly with lowered eyes.

“In that case, I won’t bother.”

Li Zhe: “….?”

Li Zhe: “Wait… Are you just going to let them spread rumors like this? I also heard that Shu Wei was showing affection with that guy from their class this morning— Brother Yan, can you tolerate that too?”

Shang Yan smirked silently, his eyes mocking.

“Why would I need to tolerate anything?”

Li Zhe was utterly baffled.

“So, are you going to tolerate it or not?”

This time, before Shang Yan could speak, Su Miao Miao stood up.

“It’s not about tolerating or not tolerating, it’s about not needing to tolerate.”

Su Miao Miao explained softly.

“‘Only silence is the highest form of contempt, and the highest contempt is to say nothing and not even turn your eyes away.'”

After finishing her words, a faint smile appeared in the girl’s eyes.

“This is what Mr. Lu Xun said in the eighth piece of ‘Half Summer Little Collection.’ Isn’t this what you mean, Master?”

Shang Yan pointed to the test paper. “Work on the questions.”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

“This… is…”

Rarely hearing so many words from his beloved goddess, Li Zhe stood frozen in place, unable to form a complete sentence for a while.

Shang Yan glanced at him with a slightly cold gaze.

“Is there anything else?”

Li Zhe blushed for a long time, finally regaining his senses from the daze. He turned his head in a flustered manner to look at Shang Yan.

“Next self-study class, Brother Yan, are you going to… uh, the training session?”

Shang Yan lowered his eyes in thought for two seconds.

“Not going.”

As he spoke, Shang Yan stood up.

He leaned on the desk with one hand and lightly tapped the biology paper under Su Miao Miao’s eyelids.

“Bring your biology book, pen, this paper, and a notebook—come with me to the study room.”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

Li Zhe stood nearby, dumbfounded, looking around.

“Brother Yan, are you…?”

Shang Yan’s thin lips tugged lightly, his words carrying profound meaning.

“To discipline rigorously.”

Li Zhe: “….?”

Suo Maomao:”…….”

*

The study room at Sanzhong might be more appropriately referred to as a library. Among several teaching buildings, there is a standalone four-story structure. Each floor is divided into reading areas and study areas, and each floor has a substantial footprint.

Among the three grades in the school, the self-study periods for the seniors have been monopolized by various subject teachers, becoming a rarity.

The first-year students are still in a state of distraction shortly after finishing their mid-term exams, so the entire library building is mostly used by the second-year students.

Shang Yan and Su Miao Miao took the elevator up to the fourth floor.

“Most of the reference books and supplementary materials related to integrated science are on the fourth floor,” Shang Yan told Su Miao Miao as they exited the elevator.

“Until your integrated science scores improve, this will be your ‘home,’ you know,” he added.

Su Miao Miao replied with an indifferent “Oh.”

She disliked biology.

“Come here, let me familiarize you with the library section,” Shang Yan said, leading Su Miao Miao reluctantly forward.

Reluctantly, Su Miao Miao followed.

“This section is for physics. These shelves contain various editions and revised versions of textbooks; these three rows are guidebooks or reference books; these three rows are exercise books and various past papers…”

The two figures weaved through the towering bookshelves on the fourth floor of the library, moving in an S-shape pattern. As they walked, Shang Yan quietly introduced the distribution of books to Su Miao Miao.

After finishing the chemistry books, the two of them moved on to the biology section.

“Here—” began Shang Yan’s voice, but then the conversation of two girls came from across a row of tall double-sided bookshelves.

“Shu Wei has such a big face. Who in school doesn’t know she’s always been the one chasing after Shang Yan… How can she have the nerve to say she dumped Shang Yan herself?”

“If you can’t get it, you can only pretend to be aloof.”

“During the break last class, I saw her cuddling with that guy from their class by the stone corridor… I wonder who she was trying to impress.”

“Well, Shang Yan definitely won’t pay attention to her, so it’s pointless.”

“Haha, exactly… She used to be so arrogant, always wanting to show off her ‘relationship’ with Shang Yan to everyone. It’s disgusting to think about it.”

“Now she’s getting what she deserves.”

“Serves her right!”

“But this is because Shu Wei comes from a wealthy family; not many people dare to mess with her face-to-face at school… If it were any other ordinary girl involved with Shang Yan, she would have been ostracized and unable to attend school long ago.”

“Is it really that extreme?”

“Of course! Even last semester, someone put a dead mouse on Shu Wei’s desk!”

“Oh my—”

“…”

The two girls were deeply engrossed in gossip, completely unaware that, behind a row of bookshelves, there were two figures standing exposed in the gaps above the books on the opposite side.

Initially, Shang Yan appeared indifferent, almost aloof, but as he listened further, his expression gradually darkened with emotion.

Su Miao Miao hesitated, then whispered softly, “Master, let’s go first…”

However, on the other side of the bookshelves, someone with particularly sharp ears noticed. The two had already moved to the innermost part of the shelves, but the girl’s face changed slightly upon hearing the voices.

“Who’s there?”

Accompanied by the voice, the shadows of the two figures could be seen quickly moving around the bookshelves, about to come to this row.

This was the first row of bookshelves in the biology section, unlike the others inside the area. It was a dead-end with no exit except for the entrance where the two girls were about to enter.

Thinking about the last words of those two individuals, Shang Yan frowned. He subtly pressed down and pulled the girl into his embrace, guiding her against the bookshelf.

The young man’s voice was low and hoarse.

“Don’t move, don’t make a sound.”

Almost immediately after he said this, the entrance to this row of bookshelves opened, and the two girls entered cautiously.

Then, both of them froze simultaneously.

Right in their shared field of vision, at the corner of the bookshelf’s end, stood a figure with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long, slender legs.

The young man’s hand rested on the shelf, while his other hand seemed to be holding onto a girl’s waist, pressing her tightly against the bookshelf.

The girl’s delicate legs were pinned by his knees, leaving no room for resistance as she was confined between the shelf and his body.

He leaned forward.

His silhouette was ambiguous.

What he was doing… seemed self-evident.

The two girls stood bewildered in place.

After several seconds, one of them finally snapped out of it and exclaimed in shock, “Shang… Shang Yan?”

“…”

In front of the bookshelf, the young man straightened his slender neck.

He lifted his head and glanced sideways.

His profile was clear and sharp.

His eyes were dark, and his voice was hoarse.

“… Get lost!”