Wei Suo was taken aback. How am I supposed to carry on the conversation like this? He found something else interesting to continue with. âSpeaking of which, what color is Principal Jiangâs stocking today?â
Zu An thought about Jiang Luofuâs long and shapely legs, and he subconsciously answered, âNude-colored~â
Wei Suo swallowed. âAs expected of my goddess. Ahh, Iâm so jealous of you. You were able to meet her twice despite having just arrived a few days ago. I havenât even gotten a chance to meet her once thus far!â
Zu An burst into laughter. âYouâre so obsessed with her even though you have never met her before?â
âYou donât understand. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. From the moment I caught a glimpse of her on the street, I was captured by her charms. My heart and body belong to her,â said Wei Suo, lovestruck.
Zu An shook his head in disdain. Heart and body, my ass. As if she would be interested in your body.
âSpeaking of which, who is this teacher who keeps putting on airs?â Zu An took this opportunity to gather some information.
As expected of a true gossip master, Wei Suo immediately offered an answer. âHis name is Yang Wei, Brightmoon Cityâs Civil Affairs Administrator. Heâs in charge of collecting agricultural taxes in the city. Heâs also our arithmetic teacher.â
âOhhh, arithmetic teacher,â Zu An murmured contemplatively.
âZu An, get up and stand at the back of the classroom!â Yang Wei bellowed from the podium all of a sudden.
His voice was a peal of thunder, jolting awake the students who had just barely fallen asleep once more. Some nearly peed their pants at the scare.
What the hell are you up to? Canât a student get some proper sleep here?
Everyone turned to look at Zu An, curious to know just what dastardly deed had earned the teacherâs wrath. Some of his classmates had grown quite impressed with him. Ever since heâd enrolled in the academy a few days ago, he had crashed headlong into trouble after trouble.
It had only been several minutes since the class started, but the teacher had already shouted at him twice.
Zu An frowned. He knew that Yang Wei was hostile toward him, but he didnât expect the latter to act up so quickly.
âAre you deaf? Didnât you hear me telling you to stand at the back of the classroom?â Yang Wei stepped down from the podium to glare at Zu An with a darkened face.
Zu An sneered coldly. You arenât even offering me any Rage points. Itâs obvious that your anger is feigned. So, he replied leisurely, âIf I may ask, why are you punishing me?â
âInstead of paying attention in class, you started chatting with the classmate next to you. Tell me, should I not punish you for that?â Yang Wei said haughtily.
This was the privilege of having higher standing. If a teacher was determined to punish a student, he could easily find an excuse for it, and no one could fault him. Besides, Zu An hadnât been listening to the lesson, which spared Yang Wei the trouble of having to think of an excuse to deal with him.
Zu Anâs eyebrows shot up. The Yellow class was filled with the worst students in the academy, and hardly anyone was paying attention to the lesson. Heâd seen a third of them sleeping and another third of them chatting. There were even a couple secretly playing cards at the back of the classroom.
Instead of dealing with those clowns, he chooses to come after me insteadâ¦
Zu An had spoken to Wei Suo without looking at him earlier, to avoid giving Yang Wei a reason to flare up. However, it made no difference. Since Yang Wei was determined to get him, he could have no complaints if Zu An reacted accordingly.
âTeacher, Iâm afraid I donât understand what youâre saying. Iâve been listening intently all this while, and I havenât talked to anyone. Do you have any evidence to prove that I havenât been paying attention?â asked Zu An.
His rebuttal left Yang Wei speechless.
Dealing with a mere student was supposed to be a walk in the park. He just had to find a reason to punish him before blowing the matter up and having him expelled. Without the protection of the academy, those lords would have an easier time dealing with him.
Who would have expected Zu An to talk back to him?
Due to the significance of the academies in this world, respect for the teachers was paramount. It was unprecedented in the history of the academy for a student to talk back to a teacher.
No matterâhe could turn this situation around to his advantage. He was still struggling to find a legitimate excuse to have Zu An expelled; after all, he was just an ordinary teacher. While he could dish out punishments to students, having them expelled went beyond the scope of his authority.
However, if Zu An went against propriety and openly challenged him, it would be the perfect excuse to drive him out of the academy.
âI saw you chatting away with the person seated next to you. Are you telling me that my eyes are playing tricks on me?â Yang Wei said hotly.
Zu An countered sharply, âIf you saw the two of us chatting with one another, shouldnât you call both of us out? Why single me out? It canât be that a respected teacher is picking on one of his students, can it?â
âI donât know what that studentâs name is, thatâs why I only called you out,â Yang Wei hurriedly explained.
Zu An burst out laughing. âOh? That sure is weird. I donât recall introducing myself when I walked in earlier. Iâve only enrolled in this academy a few days ago, and this is my first lesson with you. Yet, you actually knew my name⦠Iâm positive that youâre intentionally picking on me right now.â
The other students who were watching the exchange narrowed their eyes. None of them were fools. Something weird was going on.
While none of them was fond of Zu An, they detested their teachers much more. This was especially true for scrawny middle-aged men who combed their hair into awful center-partings like Yang Wei.
If teachers were truly intentionally picking on students, any of them could be next!
With all eyes on him, Yang Wei shifted uncomfortably. He quickly clarified, âWho in Brightmoon City hasnât heard of you, Zu An? You got into a conflict with a fifth rank senior, and you gambled in the Silverhook Casino and won seven-and-a-half million silver taels. How could I not know who you are?â
I nearly fell into his trap! Yang Wei had been duly warned of Zu Anâs sharp mouth, but he hadnât expected him to be this formidable. He reminded himself to keep his guard up, lest he got done in like Mei Chaofeng.
Zu An nodded slightly. âWell, even if you do know me, I wasnât talking earlier. As a teacher, you shouldnât slander your own students.â
âRubbish! I saw you chatting with the classmate next to you with my own eyes! Do you think that I, as a teacher, would wrong you?â Just a moment ago, Yang Wei had been pleased that he hadnât had to falsely accuse Zu An. And yet, the rascal had the nerve to start lying outright?
âThatâs hard to say. As they say, a huge jungle is home to all kinds of weird birds.â In the face of Yang Weiâs open hostility, Zu An felt no need to hold himself back. âSince you claim that I was chatting with the classmate next to me, why donât you present some evidence then? Otherwise, Iâll sue you for defamation!â
You have successfully trolled Yang Wei for 666 Rage points!
Yang Wei nearly fainted from anger. He had always been the one to fabricate false accusations against others. And yet, the one time heâd caught someone in the midst of wrongdoing, he found himself unable to mete out justice!
How the hell am I supposed to find evidence for this? Itâs not like thereâs a recorder around!
âYou have evidence, right?â
Yang Wei was unwilling to throw in the towel. He turned to Wei Suo and demanded sternly, âSpeak! Did you talk to him earlier?â
Wei Suo blinked his eyes innocently. âTeacher, I didnât.â
Zu An secretly flashed Wei Suo a thumbs-up. He had been prepared to remind him not to give him away, but the lad apparently knew how to read the room. Young lad, you have potential!
âIâ¦â Yang Wei was so angry that he had trouble even forming words. The academyâs culture is really deteriorating. Each batch of students is worse than the previous one!
Fortunately, Yang Wei had come prepared. He wouldnât trip over something as minor as this. Hah, all you have is your mouth. I shall show you the absolute difference between us!
Yang Wei took a deep, calming breath. âYou claim that you have been earnestly listening to my lesson. In that case, you should be familiar with what Iâve just taught you, right?â
Many of the other students found Yang Weiâs demand unreasonable. After all, arithmetic was not a simple subject. Even a diligent student would find it difficult to fully understand what was being taught right away. To them, it was clear as day that Yang Wei was picking on Zu An.
Some of them felt compelled to speak up for Zu Anâthey were still young and hot-blooded, after all. However, to their shock, Zu An agreed to the challenge without any hesitation. âIndeed I am. The content you are going through is too easy for me. Of course I know it.â
While this world had a mystical element of cultivation, it lagged behind Zu Anâs modern world when it came to other fields of study.
Who do you think I am? Iâm a university student who has been through the torture of the National College Entrance Examination! Your arithmetic questions are a childâs play to me!
Yang Wei was delighted. You could have chosen to back down, but your arrogance has gotten the better of you!
âThis is my first time seeing such an arrogant student! Very well, Iâll come up with twenty questions. As long as you can answer any of them correctly⦠No, I mean three of them correctly, Iâll believe that you werenât lying. How does that sound?â
He was confident that Zu An wouldnât be able to answer even one of them correctly, but the incident at the Silverhook Casino had taught him the value of being conservative. While Zu An might be able to get one right by some stroke of luck, there was no way he could answer all three correctly!
Wei Suo felt a deep sense of worry at how the situation had unfolded.
Yang Weiâs arithmetic class was notoriously difficult. When it came to other subjects, students could still get by through memorization, but the same trick didnât apply to arithmetic. In a previous test, Yang Wei had upped the difficulty of the questions, and everyone had ended up flunking it. Now that he was intentionally picking on Zu An, he was bound to set the hardest questions. It was unlikely that anyone would be able to answer any of them.
Just as Wei Suo was about to warn Zu An, the latter confidently accepted the challenge. âSure, thatâs fine by me. What if I manage to answer all of the questions correctly?â
âAnswer all of the questions correctly?â Yang Wei burst into laughter, as if he had heard the most hilarious joke in the world. âIf you can get all of them correct, Iâll resign from the academy and let you take over my position!â
Zu Anâs eyes lit up. âItâs a deal then!â
âDeal!â Yang Wei smirked, secretly wondering if Zu An was out of his mind.
Do you think that the questions I set will be easy? As a Civil Affairs Administrator handling taxes, I have been dealing with arithmetic for decades now! With my experience, I reckon thereâs no one in the entire prefecture who can surpass me in this field!
That fool must have only seen the papers I have set in the past. Let me tell you this⦠I have been dumbing down the questions for the sake of the students! I shall go all out this time and show you how terrifying arithmetic can be!
âWhat if you canât answer at least three questions correctly?â Yang Wei challenged Zu An provocatively.
âSince youâre willing to put your career in the academy on the line, itâs only fair that I do the same too. If Iâm unable to answer three questions correctly, Iâll leave the academy on my own accord,â replied Zu An.
Yang Weiâs joy was complete. Youâve jumped straight right into my trap! Since thatâs the case, you have no one to blame but yourself!
The tense standoff between teacher and student got the rest of the Yellow class riled up. No matter which world theyâre from, everyone loves a good commotion. Besides, hardly any students in the Yellow class actually cared about their studies. To them, gambling was much more fun and productive.
They crowded around, anxious for the show to start.