Teacher Chen saw the laughter from the students below and noticed something was off. She turned her head to look at Cheng Yue, who was squatting beside her, and couldn’t help but laugh too.
Her initial impression of Cheng Yue was of a serious-looking kid who didn’t smile much. He was tall, wearing a black baseball cap, and looked pretty cool. She had thought he would be hard to manage, but it turned out he was actually quite…
“Alright, alright.” Teacher Chen waved her hand to quiet down the laughter.
“Stop laughing about my height! Cheng Yue, go ahead and introduce yourself.”
Seeing her hand drop, Cheng Yue stood up straight and became nervous again, facing the sea of eyes below. His introduction came out very formal, “My name is Cheng Yue. Hello, everyone.”
The classroom erupted in laughter again.
Just as Teacher Chen was about to ask if Cheng Yue had anything else to say, she noticed that he was sweating profusely on his forehead.
Realizing that Cheng Yue was genuinely nervous, she decided not to make him speak any further. After showing him to his seat and reminding everyone to get along well, she returned to her office.
Cheng Yue was indeed nervous. When he was anxious, his face often went expressionless, which made him look intimidating. But those who knew him well would understand that he was actually a softie who was easy to deal with.
However, a female classmate sitting next to him seemed scared by his demeanor. She looked like she wanted to speak but was too shy, her face turning red, and she ended up saying nothing.
The bell for the first class rang soon. Cheng Yue wasn’t used to sitting so properly and silently in class, especially since he had woken up early that day.
As a result, he fell asleep on his desk during the lesson.
In his drowsy state, he heard someone calling his name and felt a gentle nudge on his arm.
Cheng Yue, still half-asleep, reacted impatiently by hitting the desk.
The classroom went silent instantly.
Jiang Gezi, sitting next to Cheng Yue, looked troubled. He glanced at the bewildered math teacher and then at the new student who was peacefully asleep on the desk, feeling a bit anxious for him.
“Cheng Yue… Cheng Yue… Wake up,” Jiang Gezi nudged him again.
As Cheng Yue’s brow furrowed, Jiang Gezi instinctively moved his chair away in fear.
“Stand up!” The teacher, fuming, said with his beard bristling. “Sleeping on your first day here! Do you know what you did wrong?”
Cheng Yue was startled awake by the shout. As he raised his hand to rub his eyes, he saw the teacher’s terrified expression as he quickly took several steps back.
Cheng Yue was taken aback by the situation and froze, forgetting to rub his eyes.
The teacher was practicing his lightness skill.
“You… you…” The teacher, trembling and pointing at Cheng Yue, tried to maintain a stern tone. “Do you know what you…”
Before the teacher could finish, Cheng Yue looked around at the silent classroom, frowning. Feeling embarrassed for falling asleep and disrespecting the teacher, especially since he was an older man, Cheng Yue immediately stood up and sincerely apologized, “I’m sorry.”
As soon as Cheng Yue finished speaking, the classroom was even quieter than before.
The math teacher’s next words were stuck in his throat, neither able to be spoken nor swallowed.
The teacher, feeling frustrated by the new generation’s tactics, continued with the lesson while holding back his emotions.
Cheng Yue stood through two math classes. As he sighed and was about to sit down when the teacher, glaring with his beard up, left the classroom, he was suddenly surrounded by four or five boys.
“Bro, you’re so cool! Awesome!”
“I’ve never seen Old Huang shut his mouth like that! Where are you from?”
“Can you kick a shuttlecock? Let’s play!”
“Kick… what?” Cheng Yue, confused and rubbing his ear, looked at the tall boys around him, wondering if he had misheard.
Wasn’t it usually soccer?
“Kick the shuttlecock!” Chen Zong, who was a head taller, said cheerfully, then turned to Jiang Gezi and shouted, “Gezi! Bring over my unbeatable big shuttlecock! Let me show the new student how it’s done!”
Meanwhile, Ji Xu was slowly pushing his documents across the table to Luo Fengxing.
Luo Fengxing, without glancing at the documents, touched the jade ring on his thumb and said slowly, “It must have taken quite a bit of effort to dig up things from a few years ago.”
“Thank you for your concern,” Ji Xu smiled and replied, “Just happened to come across it. The mother and son are doing okay, but their family feels incomplete without one person. How have you been these past two years, Young Master Luo?”
Luo Fengxing, after hearing Ji Xu, finally looked down at the documents. Seeing the neatly listed evidence and his son’s stupid signature, he tapped the table impatiently and said, “I didn’t get involved in that matter with Reporter Mu. I don’t know what you’re talking about; it’s all hearsay. Even though your company has been making a name for itself these past two years and you win all your lawsuits, if you stumble on this issue, it could be disastrous. Be careful.”
“Don’t worry too much about your footing. When moving forward, you’re bound to step on something,” Ji Xu said, no longer smiling.
“The children in the welfare home aren’t as big or influential as Mr. Luo’s family. Some can’t hear, some can’t speak, but that doesn’t mean no one will ever see them. I see them, so I help. If you see them too, you lend a hand. When you help, no one knows whose hand it is.”
Luo Fengxing sighed, gathered the documents to his chest, and placed a recording pen on the table, pushing it towards Ji Xu with a serious tone, “Be cautious with that reporter. Don’t take on more than you can handle and end up dragging me into trouble.”
“Who said we’re carrying the mountain?” Ji Xu took the recording pen with a smile. “Carrying the mountain is exhausting. We hire people to dig, which helps our performance.”
Luo Fengxing was taken aback. Considering the recent rumors about a new official coming, he looked at Ji Xu differently, thinking about the recording pen he had already sent out, feeling nervous.
Businesspeople were always wary of officials. If things went wrong, it could cause major upheaval in the entire area.
Tang Jing watched Luo Fengxing’s retreating figure from his booth and then walked into the club’s private room.
Upon opening the door, he saw Ji Xu calmly drinking his coffee, signaling that the matter was settled.
Tang Jing sighed with relief and said, “I was worried about you, but as long as Lawyer Ji is involved, there’s nothing that can’t be done!”
“You’re getting excited over just prying open a small opportunity,” Ji Xu set down his cup and looked at the recording pen with a grim expression.
Even the biggest bosses would find it challenging to handle this situation.
The difficulty lay in dealing with the disadvantaged children who were mentally and physically challenged.
Who would believe what mentally ill people said, especially when some couldn’t even speak?
“Alright, don’t worry,” Tang Jing saw his expression and knew what he was thinking. He comforted him, “At least we made a breakthrough. Let’s celebrate. A friend of mine just opened a new bar, and I’ve invited a few friends to hang out. We haven’t gone out in a while.”
“When did you invite them?” Ji Xu asked.
“Just now,” Tang Jing showed his phone, which was sending messages in a WeChat group.
“No, I need to pick up Cheng Yue from school.” Ji Xu checked the time and realized Cheng Yue would finish school in ten minutes.
He couldn’t take a minor child to a bar.
Tang Jing, after receiving responses from the group, said nonchalantly, “Bring the kid along.”
“No,” Ji Xu declined, just as his phone vibrated.
Looking down, Ji Xu saw a message from Cheng Yue.
[The classmates are taking me to drink milk tea. I’ll go home by myself later.]
Tang Jing glanced at the message and laughed, “The kid has good sense. Let’s go, Lawyer Ji. Kids do their thing, and we adults do ours.”
After sending the message, Cheng Yue looked at the group of boys and girls surrounding his table and added, “I don’t really like milk tea.”
“It’s fine,” Chen Zong smiled and patted his shoulder. “It’s not just about drinking milk tea.”
“What are we drinking then?” Cheng Yue was being pushed towards the school gate.
“You really…”
Chen Zong sighed with a mix of frustration and exasperation, leaning in conspiratorially, “We’re actually going to write poetry. Each person will take a turn. Think about it carefully.”
After getting into the car, Cheng Yue sent another message to Ji Xu.
[I’m on my way to drink milk tea with my classmates. They also said we’ll be writing poetry.]
Shortly after sending the message, Cheng Yue’s phone vibrated with a reply from Ji Xu.
[Be careful.]
Cheng Yue, seeing the message, nodded immediately, then realized Ji Xu couldn’t see him. He replied with a quick “Got it” and closed his eyes to catch up on sleep.
There were seven people in Cheng Yue’s group: five boys and two girls, all in school uniforms except for Cheng Yue.
In the car, Cheng Yue was with Chen Zong, his deskmate Jiang Gezi, and a shy short-haired girl.
Halfway through the ride, the other two boys and one girl started changing clothes and putting on outfits.
The process was silent, with the three of them showing no expressions, as if they were engaged in some serious business.
Cheng Yue, with his eyes closed in the front seat, was unaware.
When the driver stopped the car, Cheng Yue opened his eyes, turned around to ask if they had arrived, and was startled by the sight behind him.
The view was filled with black T-shirts, leather skirts, large gold chains, and bright red lips.
