Chapter 40 - 39: The School Bully Steps Down, Only Your Majesty and I Know
Chapter 40: Chapter 39: The School Bully Steps Down, Only Your Majesty and I Know
When Meng Qi’an collapsed to the ground, he hadn’t even registered what had just happened.
He must have stepped out on the wrong side of the bed today, otherwise he wouldn’t have been knocked flat by a pair of iron fists.
His dignity as the school tyrant was utterly shattered in this instant.
"You’re supposed to be the school tyrant, so why are you this weak?" Shi Changying looked down at him from above. "Get up and show me what you’ve really got."
An opponent who was too weak would only bore her.
Still sprawled on the ground, Meng Qi’an’s chest ached with fury. "You’re the one who picked a fight with me, and now you’re calling me weak?"
He was a ninth rank karate master! How was he weak? Besides, was it that he didn’t want to get up? He had clearly been hammered into the dirt and lacked the physical strength to stand!
"Whatever the excuse, you lost." Shi Changying crossed her arms. "Starting today, I am the school tyrant, and you abdicate. Understand?"
Meng Qi’an was speechless.
Who in their right mind fought over the title of school tyrant these days?! He got a clear look at Shi Changying’s excessively beautiful face, but he was in no mood to appreciate it. Right now, he was only filled with shock and bewilderment. Since when did Jianghuai High School have someone like this?
Meng Qi’an had just returned to Jianghuai. He had been too busy dragging his deadbeat cronies out to have fun to know what had happened at school this week, nor was he in the habit of browsing the campus forums.
Shi Changying raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping the area. "Do any of you have a problem with this?"
"No!" The boys shook their heads frantically, terrified that they would be the next ones lying on the ground.
Shi Changying nodded in satisfaction. She pointed at Meng Qi’an and asked, "What do you usually call him?"
If he was the school tyrant, he definitely had a title worthy of the status. She wanted them all.
One boy answered trembling, "Brother... Brother Meng?"
Shi Changying let out a soft "Oh," before adding, "My name is Shi Changying."
The boys bowed in unison. "Greetings, Senior Sister!"
Meng Qi’an hadn’t been knocked out by Shi Changying’s fists, but witnessing this scene was enough to make him faint from sheer anger. But he didn’t get the chance to pass out, because Shi Changying unexpectedly hoisted him up by his collar.
Meng Qi’an couldn’t fathom how a grown man over 1.8 meters tall could be dangled like a little chick in her hands. "Wh-what else do you want? You’re already the school tyrant!"
"Call me Senior Sister," Shi Changying said.
Meng Qi’an would rather die than submit.
Shi Changying raised her fist.
Meng Qi’an yielded instantly. "Senior Sister!"
Only then did Shi Changying let him go. She reached out to straighten her clothes, then turned and left.
"Brother... Brother Meng, so that girl wasn’t your secret admirer after all." A boy with his mouth hanging open stared blankly. "She’s a rebel here to overthrow your reign as the school tyrant!"
"What do you mean, ’that girl’?" Another boy smacked him on the back of the head. "That’s our new boss! Call her Senior Sister!"
"Right, right! Brother Meng has already been stripped of his title. We can’t call him Brother Meng anymore. Otherwise, if Senior Sister finds out, she’ll definitely beat us up."
"I hereby declare that from this day forward, Senior Sister is my idol! That punch she used to hammer Brother Meng... uh, I mean, Qi’an, was just too damn cool!"
"Yeah, I didn’t even see what happened before Qi’an was on the ground. Only someone with Senior Sister’s skills deserves to be the school tyrant."
"In the future, Brother Meng... no, Qi’an is history! Senior Sister reigns supreme!"
"W-wait! Qi’an fainted! Knocking someone out with a single punch—Senior Sister is absolutely terrifying!"
Meng Qi’an had indeed fainted. However, it wasn’t from the beating, but because he had passed out from sheer, overwhelming rage. The boys scrambled in a panic to lift Meng Qi’an up and carry him to the infirmary.
Having secured the position of school tyrant, Shi Changying was very pleased with this unexpected bonus.
By the time she finished her second practice exam, Ming Chengli had woken up.
Shi Changying pointed toward the dining room. "I saved you some dinner."
Ming Chengli was deeply moved, knowing that his daughter almost never left behind a single bite of food.
"Chengli?" Just as he sat down at the dining table, Old Madam Xu’s pleasantly surprised voice sounded from behind him. "When did you get back? Weren’t you on a business trip?"
"Oh, I just got back this afternoon." Ming Chengli wasn’t quite used to Old Madam Xu being so enthusiastic. "I fell asleep as soon as I returned, so I didn’t get to greet you."
"Chengli, Mom is so sorry." Old Madam Xu grasped his hand, her eyes red and swollen from crying as she choked on her sobs. "I had no idea you suffered so much. Why didn’t you tell me? Why do you have to keep everything bottled up inside?"
Her weeping left Ming Chengli completely bewildered and at a loss for what to do. "I..."
"Say no more. Mom knows everything." Old Madam Xu cried even harder as she pressed several bank cards into his hand. "Keep these safe."
Wiping away her tears, Old Madam Xu squeezed his hand tightly again. "Now that you’re back, the Xu family will never mistreat you again. If anything happens, remember to tell your family, alright?"
"Ah? Okay." Ming Chengli was still confused.
"Eat your food first." Old Madam Xu couldn’t hold back her tears again. "Eat well. I promise you’ll never have to eat steamed buns off the dirty ground again."
After she left, Ming Chengli finally turned his head. "Changying, what did you say to your grandmother?"
"I told her that your steamed bun was snatched away and fell onto the ground, but you picked it up and ate it anyway." Shi Changying maintained her usual lazy demeanor. "As a result, the bun was soaked in tears and tasted extremely salty."
Ming Chengli looked a bit embarrassed. "That happened so many years ago. When you asked me the other day, I was just mentioning it casually. I’ve almost forgotten how I even felt back then."
"But it’s true, isn’t it?" Shi Changying looked at him with an indifferent gaze. "Just because you’ve almost forgotten it, does it mean you never went through it?"
Ming Chengli’s hand, which was holding his chopsticks, paused.
"I despise it the most when people tell me that time heals all wounds," Shi Changying said coldly. "As if just by letting enough time pass, the suffering you’ve endured magically disappears. That’s not the credit of time; it’s because you were strong enough to survive it."
Ming Chengli didn’t say a word. He lowered his head, and tears fell one after another, dampening his collar and dropping into his bowl.
He thought to himself that the food today was just as salty, but it tasted so much better than that steamed bun from years ago.
The next day.
Xie Qingshi pushed open the window. Outside, the morning light was brilliant.
His phone began to ring. It was a private number.
After it rang a full seven times, Xie Qingshi finally answered it with a faint smile. "Young Master Pei is in a remarkably good mood. Disturbing one’s peace so early in the morning—is there something else you wish to instruct me on?"
"Your ancient zither was unearthed by archaeologists." Pei Xuan paused. "The one she bestowed upon you."
Xie Qingshi’s eyes abruptly widened in shock. "The Jiuyin Zither?"
"When the sun and moon illuminate, the seven strings move, drawing the zither’s melody across all of Jiuzhou." Pei Xuan chuckled, but his laugh was ice-cold. "The meaning behind this zither is truly one of a kind."
A long silence followed.
Pei Xuan had no intention of saying too much to his mortal enemy from the previous dynasty and was just about to end the call.
"The place where I engraved my name on that zither is different from the others," Xie Qingshi suddenly spoke up. "Because it was bestowed upon me by Your Majesty, only Your Majesty and I know that the inscription is on the inner wall of the zither’s belly."