Jiang Sui told him not to go find Wang Principal so early, but Lu Yunzhu still refused to listen.
Now, all he could do was give his past self a big slap.
Lu Yunze scolded Ah Yunzhu, “Why don’t you ever listen?”
By the time he snapped back to his senses, the two people at the desk had already separated in a hurry because of his interruption. The man beneath him, half-serious as he coughed and pulled up his pants, was none other than Wang Principal whom he was looking for.
The woman was clutching her skirt, hiding behind the Office.
“You, what’s going on? Why did you suddenly come in out of nowhere?” Wang Principal’s face was flushed red and black, like a small mountain on the verge of eruption.
“Principal, you were the one who asked me to come,” Ah Yunze explained.
It was only then that Wang Principal took a good look and realized it was actually Ah Yunzhu. He let out a deep sigh, but his tone didn’t change much:
“Why didn’t you say something before coming in?”
“I actually did say something.”
The two stared at each other, big eyes to small eyes. Lu Yunze didn’t know where to look; he couldn’t meet Wang Principal’s gaze, nor did he dare look at the woman behind.
Still, with a sidelong glance, he recognized her profile. Wasn’t she the recently famous New Teacher from the Art Department?
“What are you standing there for, get out and stand outside!”
Wang Principal had spoken, so Lu Yunze had no choice but to leave the Office in a hurry. As soon as both his feet were out, the door slammed shut behind him.
In his nearly twenty years of life, this was the first time Ah Yunzhu had ever been directly reprimanded by the School Principal, and even ordered to the Punishment Stand outside.
Thinking back on all his years as a student, Lu Yunzhu had always been a well-behaved model student who followed all the rules. Now, this was the worst trouble he’d ever gotten into at School.
Damn, how did something like this happen to me?
Lu Yunzhu scratched his head, standing outside the Office. To avoid hearing any strange, embarrassing sounds from inside, he took out his earphones.
He didn’t know how long the people inside would take to finish their business.
He’d only listened to a few songs when Chen Yunze saw a figure walking over in a leisurely, swinging manner, waving at him.
Of course, it was Jiang Sui.
“Isn’t this our dear Young Master Lu Yunze? Why are you standing out here instead of going in to report?” The little maid spotted him outside and couldn’t help but giggle. “Why are you standing here? Did you do something wrong?”
“Don’t tell me all this was in your calculations?” Chen Yunze’s lips twitched.
“Young Master, you’re too much. I clearly reminded you out of kindness—how could you suspect I set you up?” Jiang Sui shrugged. “If I wanted to teach you a lesson, Young Master, standing at the Punishment Stand would be the least of your worries.”
Chen Yunze had nothing to say to that.
Jiang Sui didn’t leave immediately, but came right up to his side to keep him company.
“What are you doing?”
“Punishment Stand duty.” Jiang Sui hung her head. “It’s too lonely for Young Master to stand here alone. If I’m by your side, isn’t that sharing hardship together?”
“Sometimes I really can’t figure out what’s going on in your head.”
Lu Yunzhu scratched his head, a faint awkward smile on his face.
‘Sharing hardship’—when did that become a thing?
Lu Yunze could’ve used his status to order her away, but after Jiang Sui finished speaking, she really did stand quietly at his side.
Rather than punishment, it felt more like a loyal servant quietly waiting behind her master, always ready for orders.
No, she always had been Ah Yunze’s person.
To be honest, standing at the Punishment Stand wasn’t so bad. With Jiang Sui beside him, Lu Yunze found it much easier to pass the time, not even needing his earphones.
If he wasn’t gazing at the sky outside the corridor, he was stealing glances at the girl beside him.
At first he stood straight, but soon started fidgeting: pacing in place with his hands behind his back, or tapping his feet, just like a little spirit who couldn’t settle down.
The stray hairs falling on her chest bounced with her every movement, her rosy cheeks hinting at a faint smile that was hard to look away from.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when finally, the door to the Office stirred.
At that very moment, Jiang Sui’s figure flashed to the corner of the corridor and vanished, hiding herself away.
So fast.
But that couldn’t be her true limit, right?
If she really went all out, Ah Yunzhu figured he wouldn’t even be able to see her movements.
The Office door opened. Wang Principal and the woman both walked out. Seeing Lu Yunze, a look of regret flashed across their faces.
“If anything comes up, contact me again.”
“Alright, I’ll head home then.”
As she passed Ah Yunzhu, the woman turned her face away and blocked his view with her hand.
But Chen Yunze’s attention wasn’t on her at all, because Wang Principal let out another stern cough.
“Principal, do you have some business with me?” Chen Yunzhu quickly tried to change the subject.
“How old are you this year?” Wang Principal asked.
“Uh, sixteen.”
“Still so young, full of energy and spirit. I really envy that.”
It was obvious Wang Principal’s hairline was receding fast.
“It’s nothing, Principal, you’re still in your prime, full of vigor—”
“Ahem.”
“I mean, a man is always young at heart!”
He almost blurted out his real thoughts. Luckily, Lu Yunzhu caught himself, or Wang Principal’s face might have turned dark right there.
“It’s good for young people to have energy, but don’t be reckless, got it?”
“I understand, I understand.”
“Since you are the chosen one, you should be even more patient than others. Otherwise, I wouldn’t believe it was you performing on stage at the School Festival.”
“Understood.”
It really wasn’t me, Lu Yunze thought to himself.
“I won’t keep you any longer, it won’t take much time anyway.”
“Alright then.”
Lu Yunze made a point of raising both hands in a surrendering gesture. He had no intention of lingering in a place where others had just finished ‘business.’
The response was satisfactory. Wang Principal took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, patted one out and handed it to him.
“Ah, I don’t smoke.”
“Really? That’s good. Smoke less, it’s healthier.”
Wang Principal lit one for himself and exhaled a puff of smoke toward the pillar.
If this was an after-event smoke, wasn’t it a bit too late? Lu Yunze thought wryly.
Wang Principal had called him here today for nothing more than to discuss the matter mentioned during the last School event.
At that time, the Principal had other matters to attend to, so couldn’t give details.
Since he brought up introducing a master to him, he clearly wasn’t joking. This meeting was for a more detailed discussion.
“Our School hasn’t seen such an art genius in ages. In the past, our students were like a hundred flowers in bloom, masters from every field would come to our School to exchange ideas. But things haven’t been as good in recent years. Your appearance gives me new hope…”
He rambled on for ages, never getting to the point. This ordeal was even more tiring than standing at the Punishment Stand.
From time to time, Lu Yunzhu would sneak glances at the corner, wondering if Jiang Sui was still hiding there.
If she was, with her gift of the gab, she could definitely help him handle Wang Principal.
After a full hour of pointless chatter, the summary was only a few words: “Work hard, I have high hopes for you.”
Not a single useful piece of information. What a waste of anticipation.
That night, at the Jin Family residence.
“What happened? The food’s gone cold, where’s Old Master?”
Faced with Li Zhiya, who had just returned, the servants had to lower their heads and answer apologetically.
“Miss, Old Master hasn’t come out for dinner tonight.”
“What? He’s not eating again?”
“Yes, we haven’t seen Old Master since this afternoon.”
Li Zhiya thought for a while, then said,
“Just reheat everything and bring it to Old Master’s Library.”
“Yes, Miss.”
The huge Jin Family mansion was now only occupied by Li Zhiya and Jin Huancheng, apart from the servants. Usually, it was just the two of them, but ever since Young Master had his accident, the place had become even quieter.
Following Li Zhiya’s instructions, the servant reheated the dishes and loaded them onto a dining cart, heading toward the Jin Family Library.
“Old Master, I’ve brought your dinner. Should I leave it at the door or bring it in?”
No response. That was strange.
Jin Huancheng was rarely unresponsive, even to servants.
But the Library door was closed. After repeating the call twice more with still no answer, the servant was left standing awkwardly at the door, unsure whether to leave or stay.
“What’s wrong?”
Li Zhiya had arrived at some point. Seeing the servant’s nervousness, she frowned.
After he explained, Li Zhiya hesitated for a couple of seconds, then ordered him to push the door open.
“Old Master, Miss asked me to bring your dinner…”
When they saw the scene inside, the servant turned pale and froze in place.
The Library was filled with the scent of blood. A motionless figure lay on the floor, a pool of blood spreading beneath.
Those eyes, not yet closed, stared in a daze that froze the servant’s expression. Soon, he collapsed to the ground.
Something major had happened.
Gender is wrong for a little bit