Chapter 81

Lao Buyu went to the utility room to look for Wei Shu and talked to him alone.

After their chat, Lao Buyu didn’t tell Shen Cui what they talked about. The next day, he mysteriously ran off to Qingzhu Academy.

He was gone all morning and when he came back at noon, he saw Shen Cui waiting for him, and he said, “It’s settled!”

Shen Cui asked, “What’s settled?”

This matter was serious, not just a game of pretend. The ease with which it was resolved made her worry instead.

Shen Cui urged him to speak faster.

Lao Buyu then recounted the whole situation to her.

The transfer to another academy that Shen Cui had suggested yesterday was actually a tricky matter. Even if both Cuimei and Qingzhu agreed, it would damage Wei Shu’s reputation if it got out. It wasn’t common for someone to switch academies right after passing a county exam. A simple twist could turn it into Wei Shu showing off after his success, looking down on others.

Yesterday, Lao Buyu didn’t discuss this with Wei Shu. Instead, he asked him if he didn’t want to return to Qingzhu for a short while.

After receiving an affirmative response, he went to find his senior today.

As if expecting him not to stay put, Ling Qingming was waiting for him, and the doorkeeper led him straight to him.

With no one else present, Lao Buyu closed the door behind him as he entered.

Normally, their meetings were somewhat tense, but today Ling Qingming didn’t scowl at him. He seemed quite content, making tea leisurely, without a trace of the anger he had shown the day before when Wei Shu had defied him.

Without looking away from his teacup, Ling Qingming asked directly, “Are you here because of Wei Shu?”

Lao Buyu didn’t beat around the bush either. He found a seat and sat down bluntly, saying yes, and then asked directly, “Are you going to give up on Wei Shu?”

Then Ling Qingming picked up his teacup and slowly sipped his tea, leaving Lao Buyu hanging for a while before he said, “Although Wei Shu’s performance in the academy is not outstanding, he is still my legitimate student. Right now, all he wants is to study elsewhere. Where does the talk of giving up come from? You should understand, a gentleman doesn’t deprive others of what they enjoy.”

Lao Buyu retorted directly, “If you really care about him, value him, why would I make this trip?”

“Then what do you mean? Do you want me to let him go, to have him become your disciple instead? I don’t mind, but you should see what others say about him.”

Though his words sounded indifferent, they had to be understood in reverse. Ling Qingming didn’t actually want to let Wei Shu go. Even though Wei Shu’s second place in the county exam was achieved through extraordinary effort, his real ability was far from that of Song Yao.

But extraordinary effort was still effort. Last year, there was a triple victory, and this year Qingzhu Academy took the first and second place in the county exam, which was quite a glory.

Wei Shu was just a step away from success. Who would be foolish enough to kick him out of their own academy at this critical moment?

“I don’t mean that either. I just want Wei Shu to stay at Cuimei for a while. When he wants to come back by himself, he can return.”

“So, it’s just that. It’s a hassle for you, Junior Brother, to make this trip.” Ling Qingming smiled ambiguously.

“But I have conditions…”

Ling Qingming pretended not to understand. “During Wei Shu’s time away from Qingzhu, he went to study at your place. Naturally, I trust you. But if we’re going to talk conditions, shouldn’t you discuss them with Wei Shu himself?”

Lao Buyu’s temper flared up, saying, “Cut the crap!”

“You do indeed favor Song Yao more, but Song Yao is too jealous. It’s not appropriate for you to favor Song Yao over Wei Shu at this time, as you won’t have time to mentor Wei Shu. If Wei Shu continues to stay here, there’s a chance these two might become enemies. So, I agreed to Wei Shu resigning voluntarily, knowing he’d probably come to Cuimei anyway.”

At this point, Ling Qingming decided to speak frankly, “It’s not that I knew in advance. It’s just that some students told me Wei Shu has been getting closer to Cuimei, even giving advice to people from your academy during the academy’s competition. Before the county exam, some even saw your academy regularly sending him things… But your immediate visit today confirmed my suspicions.”

“So, I have a condition,” Lao Buyu gritted his teeth, “I will mentor Wei Shu carefully from now on, with no holding back. If he doesn’t perform well, blame it on me not teaching him properly, and I’ll accept punishment from the master myself. But there’s one thing: if others ask about Wei Shu’s background, you remain his official mentor, but you should also mention he spent some time at our academy. You’re Qingzhu in the forefront, we’re Cuimei behind… When he wants to come back after passing the provincial exam, you can’t blame him for this, nor should you judge him differently because he’s become close to us at Cuimei. Similarly, I won’t tell him about this matter to protect your image in his eyes, and I’ll even help cover for you.”

As they were senior and junior from the same school, it wouldn’t be strange if the senior couldn’t handle it and the junior helped out. It would be seen as their school’s camaraderie, a nice story to tell.

Ling Qingming agreed readily.

After the discussion, Lao Buyu didn’t linger. However, as he reached the door, he paused and couldn’t help but ask, “Senior, what if you’ve miscalculated? What if Wei Shu didn’t go to our place to simply found some random place to study? Aren’t you worried about affecting his future exams?”

Without waiting for Ling Qingming’s response, Lao Buyu continued, “You might think that if there isn’t a better option, he’ll definitely come back. But if he doesn’t, isn’t that abandoning him?”

With that said, he left Qingzhu Academy and returned to his own.

Having listened to everything, Shen Cui’s mind felt even more tangled. She began to untangle her thoughts, “So, from the beginning, Headmaster of Qingzhu wasn’t trying to drive away Wei Shu. He had already heard that Wei Shu was getting close to our academy and wanted to test it. And since Song Yao indeed made it hard for him to mentor Wei Shu, and there was that conflict, he just took advantage of the situation. He not only pacified Song Yao, the top scorer of the county exam, but also killed two birds with one stone by sending Wei Shu, the second place, here for you to mentor. He also took this opportunity to see how close Wei Shu really is to our academy.”

Lao Buyu nodded in agreement.

“Then you went to find him, not to arrange his transfer, but to promise to mentor Wei Shu carefully in the future. But you also demanded that when Wei Shu succeeds in the future, our academy must also share the credit openly?”

Lao Buyu nodded again.

“Then there’s only one thing I don’t understand: why did he have to do it this way?”

Wei Shu might not disrespect him as a mentor just because of this small conflict, but wouldn’t he feel uncomfortable? Yesterday, when he came over, Mu Er Pang and Wei Xi specially talked to him to comfort him. His mood did improve slightly, but it was still barely at passing percentage!

When he first entered Qingzhu Academy, it was out of admiration for Ling Qingming. How could he feel good when he discovered that the Headmaster he respected was so biased?

“Thinking about it, if others ask, he probably would say that in the world of officials, there’s not much fairness and justice. If one can’t handle even a small setback, how will they face the future challenges?”

This sounded exactly like something Ling Qingming would say, seemingly very reasonable. Not to mention other Qingzhu students, even Wei Shu himself, would probably think that maybe the Headmaster was trying to toughen him up?

But even if Ling Qingming could cover it up with lofty principles afterward, the damage to Wei Shu’s psyche was already done. However, no matter what, Shen Cui felt that Ling Qingming’s handling of this matter was wrong.

Shen Cui disagreed, saying, “Because there’s already plenty of injustice in the world, that’s why those who act as mentors should strive to uphold this hard-earned fairness and justice wherever they can, shouldn’t they

Their daily behavior might seem unreliable to outsiders—one was carefree, and the other acted impulsively—but their teaching philosophies were very much in line.

So it wasn’t surprising that Lao Buyu asked Shen Cui not to inquire first. This matter was far more complicated than Shen Cui thought.

Seeing Shen Cui’s puzzled expression, Lao Buyu said seriously, “Don’t get upset about this matter, Senior Brother already agreed readily, didn’t he? When you think about it, Wei Shu spent several years at Qingzhu before coming to our academy. When he succeeds in the future, we’ll benefit from it too!”

Shen Cui chuckled and glanced at him, “Don’t treat me like a child. He agreed readily because it has already been confirmed that Wei Shu is very close to us. Even if he didn’t agree, wouldn’t Wei Shu still speak well of us in public? It’s just going with the flow.”

In the end, Ling Qingming managed to pacify the mainline student, Song Yao, and focus all his energy on him, while not losing Wei Shu, who could still be useful. This way, Qingzhu Academy would still reap the greatest benefits.

As for Lao Buyu, he would have to devote more energy to mentoring Wei Shu. And if Wei Shu didn’t perform well, he would have to accept the consequences.

“Why didn’t the Master just take it over directly? What’s he after? When he was talking to me yesterday, I already figured out what he was planning.”

In this matter, Lao Buyu was actually the one at a loss. Studying is hard enough; teaching isn’t any easier.

When Shen Cui first met him, she saw him swaggering around, full of energy and spirit. But after becoming a teacher, Lao Buyu suffered from cervical spondylosis and lumbar spondylosis. His voice was often hoarse, and he had to drink a lot of tea to soothe his throat every day. It was thanks to the system’s output items and daily morning exercises that he didn’t get sick.

Now, with Wei Shu added to the mix, Lao Buyu knew he’d have to expend even more energy.

“Well, I just did it. There’s nothing much to it,” Lao Buyu scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. “I can’t just leave Wei Shu alone, can I? He’s really good.”

He muttered somewhat dejectedly, “Today, my senior brother played a better move, and he got me! Anyway, he and I are like two peas in a pod. I tricked him before, so now it’s time to repay the favor!”

The two of them had been talking for a long time already, and the three young men in the room were curious.

Lao Buyu went into the main hall and announced to Wei Shu proudly, “I scolded my senior brother properly. You know what he said? Overflowing leads to spillage, too much rigidity leads to breakage. Wei Shu, with his inflexible personality, if he’s going to take the imperial exam, won’t bending a little now help prevent problems later?”

Wei Shu looked up suddenly and asked in a trembling voice, “Did Headmaster really say that?”

“Why would I lie to you?” Lao Buyu grinned, “I scolded him properly, telling him it’s not the time to be inflexible like this. Isn’t he afraid of ruining a perfectly good person?”

Wei Shu’s emotions fluctuated, and when he thought back to what happened yesterday, he did feel that it didn’t quite match the Headmaster usual style. It seemed like there was some hidden meaning behind it—

After all, the Headmaster valued Mu Yunchuan so much, but there wasn’t such differential treatment before.

“I failed to understand the Headmaster’s intentions.”

“Oh, what intentions! I think he’s just… never mind, I won’t scold him in front of you. Anyway, he always loves to speak in riddles, letting people figure it out themselves,” Lao Buyu chuckled. “I talked to him and told him his teaching methods are terrible and they upset you. For now, just relax and stay here. Whether you want to go back after passing the provincial exam or stay here, it’s up to you. I reckon he knows he messed up and feels guilty, so things went smoothly.”

“Thank you, Master.” Wei Shu bowed respectfully, finally completely free from negative emotions and fully immersed himself in studying for the exam.

Shen Cui watched quietly from the side. Although she didn’t say much, she couldn’t help but think that when Lao Buyu said he lost, it wasn’t because Ling Qingming played a better move, but because Lao Buyu truly had the heart of a teacher.

His heart was too soft, unwilling to let his students suffer even a little, even if those students weren’t his own.

And Shen Cui didn’t believe that Ling Qingming, who treated students as mere tools for calculation, could truly win against Lao Buyu’s genuine care for his students. Only time will tell.