Chapter 102 - 101: Fighting, Luring Changying with a Food Trap
Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Fighting, Luring Changying with a Food Trap
A bottle flew through the crowd, grazing their ears before landing with pinpoint accuracy into the trash can.
All voices came to an abrupt halt.
The lead boy turned pale. His ears were ringing, and his legs felt weak. If that bottle had been off by even an inch, it would have blown his head off in an instant.
Shi Changying, still holding her long staff, said mildly, "My hand slipped."
Lu Mi stared blankly for a second before bursting into applause. "As expected of Yingying! That slip went so high and far!"
With a flick of her wrist, Shi Changying raised the long staff. The wind howled as it struck out. The boy squeezed his eyes shut in terror, but after a few seconds, the anticipated pain never came.
The staff stopped right in front of his eyes. Shi Changying jutted her chin. "Does this dance studio have your class’s name written on it?"
The boy stared at the tip of the staff hovering so close to him, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Shi Changying grew a bit impatient. "I’m asking you a question."
He finally managed to speak. "N-no."
"Why is there a piano in the dance studio? Is there no piano room?" Shi Changying’s hand remained perfectly steady. "Or are you all illiterate and can’t read the signs?"
The boy opened his mouth, his face flushed bright red. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t refute her at all.
There were three dance studios in total. The other two were private studios for the two art classes, leaving this as the only public one, which was rarely used. As a result, it had become Xu Shuyu’s private piano room—an unspoken rule everyone had accepted.
The students who were close to Xu Shuyu already had a poor impression of Shi Changying. She had only been at No. 1 High School for a few days, yet she had already caused an uproar due to her conflict with Meng Shuyan. Her name was infamous.
Through Meng Shuyan’s intentional or unintentional hints, they also knew that although Shi Changying had been taken back to the Xu family with her father, her situation there was far from ideal. They loved watching the spectacle of a genius falling from grace, just as much as they loved seeing how a pheasant could never turn into a golden phoenix no matter how hard it tried. Such dramatic contrasts were always discussed with great relish.
"A dance studio is a place for dancing," Shi Changying said. "Move it."
The vice-class monitor immediately rolled up his sleeves, preparing to help a few other classmates move the piano to a proper piano room.
"No!" The lead boy snapped back to his senses, blurting out angrily. "You’re not allowed to touch Shuyu’s piano! It’s very precious! If you break it, you won’t be able to afford the compensation!"
"What are you arguing about in the middle of the day?" The Vice Principal had heard the commotion and hurried over. "Don’t you have your own things to do? This is the arts building. Art requires quiet. Is this proper behavior?"
The moment he arrived, all the chatter died down.
"Vice Principal, they were the ones who tried to steal Shuyu’s practice spot first, and now they want to move her piano," the boy complained indignantly. "This piano is worth hundreds of thousands. What if they bump into it or damage it while dancing here?"
The Vice Principal didn’t answer. His eyes were glued to his long, straight staff in Shi Changying’s hands. "The Principal asked me for that, and I didn’t even give it to him," he mumbled blankly.
Lu Mi immediately took a step back, pushing Song Qingmu in front of her as a human shield.
Heartbroken over his precious staff, the Vice Principal let out a long breath. Only then did he glance at the room sign, looking perplexed. "Why is there a piano in the dance studio?"
"No one uses the dance studio, so Shuyu’s piano was placed here," the boy stammered. "Vice Principal, Shuyu has been using it for over two years now."
"If you wanted to convert the dance studio into a piano room, why didn’t you report it?" the Vice Principal asked. "It’s not that you aren’t allowed to change it, but there should be a proper procedure, right?"
The students of Class 1, Grade 12 were rendered speechless. They truly had no official permission.
"I’ll have professionals move the piano away in a bit. You guys can pick a different practice room, but remember to report it," the Vice Principal continued. "The dance studio is a place for dancing, understand?"
"Understood." The boy pursed his lips and left with his classmates.
The Vice Principal wiped the sweat from his brow. He had originally wanted to let Master Xie Lin witness the excellence of No. 1 High School’s students, but he hadn’t expected him to witness a squabble instead. This was not good!
Xie Qingshi stood in the background, his gaze fixed solely on Shi Changying. She was the only person in his eyes; even the sunlight seemed to lose its color in this moment. He realized that she was still alive, that she too had come to this future era. It was simply... wonderful.
The Vice Principal glanced at Shi Changying, who was still holding his long staff. "Student Changying, this staff..."
Shi Changying handed it over to him, casually performing a clean sword-sheathing flourish midway.
The Vice Principal was dumbfounded. "Wait, how did you do that just now?" He really wanted to learn!
Shi Changying shoved the staff into his hands and yawned. "Class is about to start." Shoving her hands into her pockets, she slowly strolled away.
"Hey!" The Vice Principal stood there holding the staff, completely at a loss.
The dance studio soon emptied out, and peace returned to the arts building.
After hiding the staff in an even more secretive spot, the Vice Principal apologized profusely to Xie Qingshi. "Mr. Xie, I apologize for making you watch such a joke."
Xie Qingshi’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. "It’s fine."
Seeing that he genuinely didn’t mind, the Vice Principal breathed a sigh of relief. "Please, right this way."
This Master Xie Lin was certainly much easier to please than Pei Xuan!
**
On the way back to the classroom, Song Qingmu fumed, "That was too much! They were clearly looking for trouble. Keeping a piano in the dance studio is against the rules to begin with."
"Rules are forged with fists," Shi Changying replied coolly.
Song Qingmu was still angry. "I’m going to complain to the Young Master!"
Shi Changying returned to her seat and continued with her classes.
As soon as the afternoon classes ended, she received two messages.
[Good Samaritan No. 2]: [Image]
[Good Samaritan No. 2]: I’m at the South Gate.
The image showed a wide variety of delicious food. Shi Changying immediately grabbed her phone and headed out.
"Eh, why did Senior Sister leave by herself?" Song Qingmu paused in surprise. "Isn’t she eating dinner with us?"
Lu Mi stroked her chin in thought for a moment before saying with a solemn expression, "Someone might have lured Yingying away using a food stratagem!"
Song Qingmu was speechless. Though there was no such thing among the Thirty-Six Stratagems, it seemed that was indeed the only tactic that would work on Shi Changying.
"What if it’s a bad guy?" Song Qingmu worried. "Old Bei said Senior Sister hasn’t been in Jianghuai for long. She’s unfamiliar with the place and the people, so we need to take good care of her."
Shaoyuan looked up with a faint smile. "What if it’s a good Samaritan?"
"Huh?" Song Qingmu was completely baffled. "Of course there are good Samaritans, but if it’s a bad person, things will be terrible. We can’t afford to take that chance."
Shaoyuan tapped his fingers lightly against the desk and suddenly stood up.
Behind him, Song Qingmu called out, "Young Master, where are you going?"
Meanwhile, in a secluded corner by the campus’s South Gate, Shi Changying had already begun enjoying her feast.
Xie Qingshi sat beside her, simply watching her eat. She ate quickly and with great enjoyment, looking exactly like a typical high school student of this era—so youthful, vibrant, and beautiful that it felt somewhat surreal.
Shi Changying’s senses were very sharp. She looked up and paused slightly when she noticed Xie Qingshi quietly watching her with tears streaming down his face. "What’s wrong with you?"