For a fleeting moment, Xu Chuyao’s heart seemed to leap out from the White Rabbit.
She calmed herself and set aside her resentment—if it were something bad, they wouldn’t have come to her so openly.
It was probably to send her off to float around, or maybe for something like inviting Chen Ran and Marshal Wen Shengqing to the End-of-Term Party, at least presenting herself as someone with the status of a young elder.
Having realized this, she felt a little more at ease.
And seeing Principal Lü’s eager face, she figured he was here to support her.
Emmmmm, could it really be?
Xu Chuyao cradled the cold jelly in both hands and thought carefully, realizing it was indeed possible.
She’d maintained a spotless record all along, her background was perfectly clean, and there was nothing questionable about her handling of the Secret Mission—besides, Wang Li really did deserve her fate, hated by all, rightly dead.
The only thing she needed to be cautious about was the possibility of being tested.
“I understand. Then, I’ll head back now?” The girl gave a light, clear reply, “I still have exams this afternoon.”
“Go on… Take your drink with you,” Principal Lü said, “You’ve already opened it. If you don’t finish it, who are you expecting to help you out?”
Young people these days, really—open a drink, and then just leave it unfinished instead of enjoying it.
After leaving the Office Building, Xu Chuyao ran into Shen Song beneath the dormitory.
“Good afternoon. Aren’t you heading back to nap?” She casually asked, “How did your exam go this morning?”
Shen Song, who’d just waved hello to her girlfriend, froze for a moment at the question.
“Um, it was alright, I guess. Just did the questions I could.”
For example, in the multiple-choice section, even if she didn’t read the questions, she could still write ABCD.
Yes, the girl’s grades in cultural classes this term were even worse than last term. The reason was simple—last term, she’d at least attended a few classes, but this term, she’d been running around outside all the time, and barely had any time for cultural lessons.
As for this morning’s exam, the first half hour was spent daydreaming about the arrangements for the wedding banquet—although most of the guests were, as expected, ghosts, there were still a few close friends among the living.
When the time came, would the tables need to be separated, at least between those from Yangjian and Yinjiang?
Then suddenly, the proctor announced time was almost up. Since she’d already finished the questions she could answer, she casually filled in the rest and turned in her paper.
“That’s not bad. I’m sure you got quite a few right.”
“Maybe, maybe, who knows…”
“I’m off to take a nap. Still have three more exams left.”
Xu Chuyao was just about to leave when Shen Song called out to stop her: “The exams will be over by tomorrow afternoon. Are you free the day after tomorrow? I wanted to discuss something with you.”
“Not the day after tomorrow. At least not during the day, I have some things to do. I’ll let you know when I’m back.”
“Okay.”
The girl didn’t ask what it was about. They were all at school—what could possibly happen?
She went back, took a nap, woke up for the next exam, and just like that, two days passed in a flash.
She felt a little guilty about her cultural classes, but as for the other exams, she had no worries at all. After all, those were all about spiritual power—just write her name on the test and hand in a blank paper. No one at school knew she’d already reached the fourth stage, but in terms of these exams, whether it was third or fourth stage, it made no difference.
They had already surpassed all educational goals.
Then came the third day—the arrival of the End-of-Term Party.
At Shengling Academy, the End-of-Term Party in summer was different from the Graduation Ceremony. As soon as exams finished, there would be a party.
That day, everyone would eat and drink, hold a stage performance, and just relax and have fun. The Graduation Ceremony would be half a month later, combining certificate distribution and job assignments.
But that was for the fifth-year students. As a third-year, she just had to enjoy this one last day of third year.
“Oh right,” Xu Chuyao looked at the boys in the back row, “Xiao Si Nuo, did you burn that little notebook?”
It was nine in the morning—not that early, since the End-of-Term Party was about to begin. This was the assembly hall under the Comet Platform, with several thousand students already seated, waiting for the stage to open.
First, the leaders would give speeches, then the student representative group would sing a positive energy anthem. Only after all that could they move on to the fun performances everyone was waiting for.
So everyone was just waiting for the speeches to end.
“I burned it, I burned it,” Xiao Si Nuo nodded vigorously, “I had the class monitor help me. There’s not a shred left.”
“That’s good,” Xu Chuyao let out a long sigh of relief, “If it had dragged on until today, it might’ve turned into a huge problem.”
Thankfully, she’d asked the class monitor for help.
She looked around but didn’t see Yu Hong anywhere. Maybe, knowing the identities of the guests today, she’d asked for leave and didn’t attend.
Xiao Si Nuo scratched his head, “Huh? Why?”
The girl didn’t answer, only nodding toward the stage.
At that moment, Principal Lü walked up to the stage with a man. The man looked to be in his forties, his demeanor approachable, always wearing a gentle smile.
Xu Chuyao knew he was, in fact, only about ten years younger than Principal Lü. The two looked almost a generation apart, but there was nothing wrong with his appearance.
Even at this age, he still had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes—just looking at him, you could tell he was someone remarkable.
“That’s him.”
“The one in charge of your review.”
“The one I’m investigating?” Xiao Si Nuo froze slightly, “Which one?”
“The one from Liu Wen’s case.”
As soon as Xu Chuyao finished speaking, there was no reply from behind. She turned around and saw Xiao Si Nuo already frozen like a statue. He was still physically there, but his spirit seemed to have left.
“Relax, the evidence is already dealt with.”
“I-I-I-I-I can’t relax, Officer Xu,” Xiao Si Nuo’s voice was trembling, “H-h-h-how did he end up here?”
“Don’t panic, he’s not here for me—it’s just work.”
No matter what, most of the students below didn’t recognize him. They only knew that anyone Principal Lü brought to the stage like this had to be some bigwig, probably connected to the fifth-year graduates’ job assignments half a month from now.
So, they applauded politely—after all, every student would graduate someday, so it was best to leave a good impression.
He didn’t say much himself, just stood on stage and gave a few words, the same kind of formalities as the other leaders: you are the flowers of tomorrow, the masters of the world, learning has no bounds, shoulder your responsibilities, and so on.
After that, he stepped down with Principal Lü amid a round of polite applause.
Seeing this, Xu Chuyao knew it was her turn to go over, so she stood up as well.
“Officer Xu, Officer Xu,” Xiao Si Nuo’s voice was still shaking behind her, “You’ll be alright, right?”
Xu Chuyao thought for a moment, then turned back and gave him a bright smile, “If I don’t make it out of the Office Building today, just forget about me—”
Xiao Si Nuo was about to burst into tears; “No, please don’t joke like that, Officer Xu.”
“I know, don’t worry and get on with your business.” Xu Chuyao put away her smile, “If I say there’s no problem, then there’s no problem. As long as you don’t get found out, nothing will happen!”
This time, Xiao Si Nuo didn’t say anything more. He cleared his throat and made his voice sound more normal.
“That’s right. I’ll be back soon.”
She said that, but on the way to the Office Building, Xu Chuyao still felt a bit anxious.
As expected, Principal Lü’s message came through, asking her to come up.
She arrived at the door and knocked.
“Come in.”
The principal’s office had been temporarily given to the important guest. Principal Lü was making tea for him, and beckoned her over.
“Come here, let me introduce you. This is Marshal Wen Shengqing, I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”
“Marshal Wen Shengqing?” Xu Chuyao put on an appropriately surprised expression, “The legendary one-man army?”
“Haha, you flatter me.”
Marshal Wen Shengqing let out a hearty laugh. From this close, he was even clearer than he looked on stage—overall, he was exactly as she had imagined, except for a few silver hairs showing he was no longer young.
“In truth, the Council of Pacifiers requires a majority to decide anything, and there’s an elder chairman above me. The rumors among the people aren’t entirely accurate.”
His voice was gentle. He looked at the girl and said, “But let’s not talk about me. Xu Chuyao, Principal Lü spoke very highly of you—said you’re outstanding beyond belief, and insisted I had to meet you.”
Principal Lü stood nearby, nodding and smiling, “That’s right, that’s right.”
Yes, he had recommended her. Everyone present knew this was just a pretext for summoning her.
Xu Chuyao made a polite bow and smiled shyly, “Thank you for your praise. I’ve just been lucky lately, and I feel like I’m about to reach a bottleneck.”
“You’re already at the third stage—what bottleneck could you possibly have? If you don’t even have a bottleneck, what will Principal Lü do?” Marshal Wen Shengqing said with a chuckle. “What’s even more impressive is your academic achievements—they say your grades are exceptional.”
“Absolutely,” Principal Lü replied quickly, “Xu Chuyao’s academic performance has always been first in the school, and she’s consistently ahead. Sometimes, she can even spot problems the teachers miss.”
He was completely here to praise her today, catching every cue.
Marshal Wen Shengqing nodded. “Regarding that, I saw your exam paper from this morning. There was one answer that impressed me deeply.”
As he spoke, Principal Lü turned around and fetched the paper from his desk.
Xu Chuyao immediately recalled the nonsense she’d written on her first day’s test and straightened her posture unconsciously.
“In the history section of the cultural exam, you started from the economic base and proposed the theory that directed prosperity must pass through a Great Cleanup, and you explicitly used the Dalin Model and the Roosevelt New Deal as examples. Your argument was thorough and thought-provoking. Was this truly your own opinion?” Marshal Wen Shengqing asked.
Xu Chuyao thought to herself, How could that be? She wasn’t an expert in this field; she was neither a historian nor an economist. She just saw the question and exaggerated a bit according to their usual methods—who’d have thought it would hit the mark?
“Yes,” she replied, “that’s what I really think.”
Marshal Wen Shengqing’s expression grew serious. “But have you considered that such an approach has moral problems? Isn’t it unfair to those whose assets are targeted?”
“So what? It’s everyone’s responsibility to promote the world’s development. They’re supposed to contribute—this is just their way of doing it.”
Such are the values of a passionate youth, always thinking in grand narratives. Reasonable enough, right?
Marshal Wen Shengqing was silent for a few seconds, then smiled again. “You’re still young, yet already care about the world. Principal Lü, you really have raised an outstanding student.”
Principal Lü laughed too. “Not at all, Marshal Wen. Shengling Academy has produced only one such student in all these years.”
They were all smiling—only Xu Chuyao was sweating nervously, quickly letting out a shy “oh” to pretend to be an embarrassed, innocent girl.
After that, Marshal Wen Shengqing said a few more encouraging words, then left quickly—never once mentioning the matter of the Secret Mission.
As he should not have—she wasn’t supposed to know it was a setup in the first place. All he’d said was that it was an order from above.
Leaving the Office Building, Xu Chuyao lifted her small hand and wiped the sweat from her brow. This round of questioning had made her heart pound, but in the end, she could finally relax.
The word “young” was key—they hadn’t treated her as a true threat, just asked a few questions about her ideology. Did this mean… they really intended to support her?
Thinking of this, Xu Chuyao couldn’t help but look up at the sky, pondering another question—if they truly meant to nurture her, what exactly did Marshal Wen Shengqing have in mind for her?
Surely, he didn’t plan to use her as a little assassin to clean up the Tongling Party?