Chapter 6

After leaving the cafeteria, Li Zhe and a few others trailed behind Shang Yan from a distance.Initially, all was quiet. But when they saw Shang Yan following three people walking ahead, turning into the main road leading to the science building, someone couldn’t hold back anymore—

“Zhe,” the boy next to Li Zhe nudged him in the lower back, “Could Brother Yan be… falling for that girl in their group?”

Li Zhe raised an eyebrow, “Nonsense.”

“Then why doesn’t he pursue Shu Wei, but instead follows that little girl?”

“Didn’t Shu Wei lie to Brother Yan yesterday, tricking him into going to the bamboo forest? It seemed like they had a pretty fierce argument because of that.”

“But even before their quarrels, I never saw Brother Yan treat Shu Wei the way he does this girl.”

“…”

Li Zhe was at a loss for words, then slightly annoyed, “Brother Yan couldn’t possibly like this girl—with her entire face hidden under a hat, too afraid to even show her face while eating, how odd.”

“That’s true.”

The others around nodded, “I guess she has a birthmark or something. I had a classmate in middle school who was like that.”

“Why would Brother Yan choose her as an apprentice?”

“Need you ask? It must’ve been at Teacher Huang’s request.”

“…”

A few murmurs of agreement helped suppress the faint sense of guilt inside Li Zhe.

He waved his hand, telling them to return to their own classes, then quickened his pace to catch up with Shang Yan.

“Brother Yan, aren’t we going back to the classroom?”

“No rush.”

“…”

That laid-back tone choked Li Zhe, and with a complicated expression, he glanced at the figure ahead on the road, his unease finally coming to a point.

“…Brother Yan, aren’t you being a bit too nice to this kid?”

“?”

“Even the school beauty Shu Wei doesn’t get this kind of treatment, and you’ve only known this little girl for a few days…”

“Two days.”

“…Ah?”

“To be exact,” Shang Yan glanced at his wristwatch, the corners of his eyes slightly lifted, “One day and four hours.”

“…”

Li Zhe’s expression twisted, “Brother Yan, you couldn’t really be thinking something about this kid, could you…”

Shang Yan paused.

After a two-second halt, he slowly turned, squinting slightly at Li Zhe:

“Are you done being a person?”

Li Zhe: “—??”

Shang Yan added the second half of the sentence: “So, you’re having thoughts about a kid who’s just one meter fifty?”

A dangerous emotion flickered in those dark eyes.

“…”

Ignoring the dubious “one meter fifty,” Li Zhe quickly shook his head like a rattle drum.

Under Shang Yan’s deadly stare, Li Zhe doubted that if he had taken two seconds longer to deny it, he would have lost his head.

Shang Yan looked away.

It took Li Zhe a few seconds to recover before he cautiously spoke again: “Then, Brother Yan, why are you so nice to this kid?”

“She’s my apprentice.”

“…” Li Zhe, “Does she acknowledge that?”

“I acknowledge it.”

Li Zhe: “…………”

Fine then.

“Then I guess all the girls in the school would want to be your second apprentice. Should I spread the word—”

“I only take one.”

Li Zhe: “…??”

Choked up for a long while, Li Zhe finally spoke resentfully, “Brother Yan, please be sure to maintain your integrity as a master.”

Shang Yan scoffed lightly.

Clearly, he disregarded this “advice.”

Arriving at the base of the Science Building, after watching Su Miao Miao afollow Luan Wenzhe and Wu Hongbo into the building, Shang Yan paused for two seconds before turning towards the academic building.

Li Zhe followed him, feeling rather sour.

“But Brother Yan, if you ask me, taking on a young apprentice is like making a wedding dress for someone else.”

“Hmm?”

Shang Yan glanced at him lazily.

“Think about it, you painstakingly plant this cabbage in the ground, watering and fertilizing it, shielding it from wind and rain—just when it finally grows into a lush big cabbage, before you can even take pride in it, a wild boar rushes in and uproots your cabbage!”

Li Zhe felt his analogy was quite apt, spreading his hands proudly—

“So what can you do, Brother Yan?”

“Want to uproot the cabbage?”

Shang Yan’s lips curled slightly, his eyes narrowing. His tongue tapped against his palate as he laughed with a raspy voice—

“Must be castrated then.”

Li Zhe: “………………”

Okay, forget I said anything.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Monday morning, 6:30 am, the gentle alarm sounded in Su Miao Miao’s new room.

Classes at No. 3 Middle School start at 7:30 am, and the drive from Wen’s home to the school takes less than fifteen minutes, so there was still time.

Su Miao Miao climbed out from under the thin blanket, put on the hoodie and jeans beside her pillow, then sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window after drawing the curtains.

A few minutes later, the freshly washed girl went downstairs.

Only the Wen family’s housemaid was in the dining room.

Stepping into the dining room, Su Miao Miao hesitated.

Noticing her reaction, the housemaid said, “Susu has already gone to school.”

Su Miao Miao was taken aback, turning to look at the craft clock opposite, “Isn’t it… at 7:30?”

Her voice was soft and gentle, tinged with confusion.

“Every Monday at No. 3 Middle School there is a flag-raising ceremony, so you need to arrive an hour early.”

After speaking, the housemaid asked curiously, “Didn’t Susu tell you?”

“…Um.”

Su Miao Miao turned back around, responding softly.

“She must have forgotten then. But I heard from Susu that you haven’t been placed in a class yet, so there’s really no rush.”

The housemaid said, placing Su Miao Miao’s breakfast in front of her—

“The driver has already returned, he can take you to school later.”

When Su Miao Miao arrived outside the school gates of Third Middle School, the usually bustling tree-lined path was now almost devoid of students.

She got out of the car and walked alone towards the Science Building.

However, along the way, she noticed that a few latecomers, like herself, seemed to be heading in the same direction.

As she was pondering this, a girl pulled another one past her while running—

“Hurry up!”

“No… I can’t— I really… can’t run anymore…”

“We’re almost there, just push a little harder! Today, Shang Yan is giving a speech under the national flag!”

“Ah…?”

“What are you ‘ah’ about? Don’t you remember? The top student in mathematics, physics, and chemistry at the end of each school year gives a speech on learning experiences at the start of the next.”

“Isn’t Shang Yan best known for computer science? I’ve only heard the boys admiring him for that…”

“Big sis, didn’t you know? He was the top student in both physics and chemistry last semester.”

“…But with his personality, it’s unlikely he’d be up on stage giving a speech, right?”

“You’re wrong. His class advisor is the head of the chemistry department, so he really is giving that chemistry speech.”

“Oh…”

“Come on, let’s hurry—”

By the time Su Miao Miao snapped back to her surroundings, the two girls had already run far ahead.

Her pace slowed unconsciously.

Her head under the hoodie tilted slightly to one side.

First in physics and chemistry.

Shang Yan, huh…

When Su Miao Miao passed the small plaza in front of the Science Building, she finally realized why the students were heading in the same direction as her.

—The plaza in front of the Science Building was the venue for the flag-raising ceremony at Third Middle School.

The students, dressed in school uniforms, were arranged in neat formations according to their classes below the stage.

Besides the student currently delivering the speech on learning experiences, there was a line of “relay” students standing vaguely on stage.

Standing at the very back of the student formations, and due to her height, Su Miao Miao could not clearly see the situation on the stage.

However, the voice of the speaking student, amplified by the loudspeaker, clearly hovered over the plaza.

That person must be among the students waiting in the back rows. Thinking this, Su Miao Miao didn’t stop her feet and continued straight towards the main entrance of the Science Building.

Until—”Hey, you there, the student, stop!”

“…”

The voice was very close, and Su Miao Miao instinctively halted.

Before she could turn around, a middle-aged man in a shirt, suit pants, and a bit of a beer belly approached her side—

“Are you a student of Third Middle School?”

The man’s voice sounded a bit stern, seemingly a teacher from the school.

Su Miao Miao pondered her enrollment at Third Middle School for a moment, hesitated for a second: “Yes…?”

The Grade Director, Hao He, the middle-aged man now standing in front of Su Miao Miao, almost went off the rails—

“You don’t even know if you’re a student here?”

Su Miao Miao was startled.

“Where’s your uniform? Why aren’t you wearing it for the flag-raising— and why are you wearing a hat? Take that hat off!”

“…”

The girl’s figure stiffened abruptly.

Under the large hoodie, her face turned a bit pale.

Moments later, from behind the stage.

“Brother Yan!”

Li Zhe, trying to keep the noise down, hurriedly clambered up from the backstage stairs.

Standing amidst a row of nervous students preparing for their turns, the casually appearing young man furrowed his brows slightly in weariness and lifted his dark eyes—

“?”

“Brother Yan…” Li Zhe leaned on his knees and caught his breath, “The little apprentice you met last week—Director Hao has caught her. She’s right at the back, and I heard he’s forcing her to take off her hat now!”

As he spoke, the weariness in Shang Yan’s eyes receded, and he furrowed his brows, his voice hoarse.

“…At the back?”

“Yes, right there—”

“…”

Leveraging the geographical advantage of the podium and his height, Shang Yan easily spotted the teacher and student at the far end of the small square. The hat was still on.

Given Hao He’s temperament, even if he realized it was a girl, he could only hold back for another half a minute at most.

“Brother Yan, are you going to do something about it?” Li Zhe asked hesitantly. “Or should I—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Shang Yan pinch the bridge of his nose and step out from the line of relay students, heading straight for the only microphone at the center of the podium.

Meanwhile, the hosting teacher was in mid-sentence— “Next, please welcome Ji Fangyun from Class 25, Grade 11—eh… Shang Yan?”

The host’s instinctive exclamation of surprise came out clearly through the microphone.

Below the podium, the students who had been nodding off suddenly perked up as if injected with adrenaline, all heads turning and focusing on the unexpected interruption.

Not to mention the commotion among the audience, even the students on the podium were stunned, forgetting their prepared speeches.

The hosting teacher quickly regained composure, turned off the microphone, and whispered, “Shang Yan, it’s not your turn yet!”

“…”

Shang Yan raised his hand, his slender and pale knuckles resting on the microphone, but since the microphone stand was too low for his height, he had to lean down slightly.

His voice, already languid, took on an even deeper and more magnetic huskiness due to the gesture—

“Sorry. I’m feeling unwell, so I’m cutting in line.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than applause spontaneously erupted across the square.

Unperturbed, Shang Yan, with clear, dark eyes, looked towards the back of the square.Principal Hao seemed to hear the commotion and finally stopped berating the girl, turning to look towards the podium instead.”…I am Shang Yan from Class 1, Grade 11. Here’s my presentation on chemistry.”The students below quieted down.A moment later.A lazy, husky voice resonated across the square—”Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron; carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon; sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon…””……………….?”The entire venue fell into a stupefied silence.On the stage, Shang Yan casually raised his eyes.Behind the students, after a moment of stunned silence, Principal Hao snapped back to reality, puffed up like a blowfish, and strode towards the podium.Shang Yan’s gaze lowered, his dark pupils obscured.A slight smirk curved the corners of his lips.