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Chapter 114: Battle 105 - Xie Wendong causing trouble (Subscribe!)_1
After buying the stocks, Sun Chao drove Tang Qing back to school. It was break time, and many students were gathered at the entrance, chatting and stretching their legs.
Su Ziwang stood at the staircase entrance, looking nervously at the climbing students. When asked, he brushed the questions aside offhandedly.
As Tang Qing started going upstairs, Su Ziwang, who had been waiting for a while, hurriedly walked over. Tang Qing stopped and frowned at the approaching Su Ziwang. He waited for Su Ziwang to speak. Despite some time having passed since the incident, and despite Su Ziwang making efforts to show deference, Tang Qing didn’t have any favorable feelings towards him.
"Tang Qing, during the last class break, Xie Wendong asked the class teacher to move his seat again, behind Wang Yan. I think the teacher would most likely agree considering his attitude." Su Ziwang reported softly. He had done a lot of thinking recently. He had been making efforts to make it up to Tang Qing, such as doing all of Tang Qing’s cleaning chores, but Tang Qing didn’t seem to appreciate it much.
He reflected on his actions and concluded that he was too fearful of Tang Qing to actively build a good rapport. He realized he hadn’t had the opportunity till today when he learned about Xie Wendong’s actions. He came running to report it, trying to leave a good impression and get on better terms with Tang Qing.
"What? Why did the class teacher suddenly agree?" Tang Qing inquired with furrowed brows. When Xie Wendong wanted to switch places before, he was directly refused by Shen Mei. His repeated attempts to sit near Wang Yan were turned down. Shen Mei even sternly warned Xie Wendong. It was surprising that Shen Mei had now consented. Surely, there must be a story behind it.
"I’m not sure. The incident took place suddenly and I didn’t have time to inquire about it. Tang Qing, I assure you that I no longer harbor any inappropriate feelings towards Wang Yan. I hope you can forgive my past mistakes and give me a chance to reform. You can command me in whatever way you want in the future. I’ll be at your beck and call, no matter what." Su Ziwang stated his purpose. He had matured through this experience. What was the use of saving face? If he needed to mend a relationship, he needed to be proactive. Why be fearful and look weak?
"Well, I appreciate your timely information about this matter. As for the rest, to be honest, you’re not fit to mix with me. Understood?" Tang Qing retorted bluntly. He was not a person to forgive someone because of a few words, let alone consider them his own. Su Ziwang had left a bad impression on him. Even though he might have done the same in Su Ziwang’s shoes, given that the latter had no advantages, this didn’t mean he agreed with his actions.
"Right, right. You’re absolutely correct, Tang Qing. From now on, I’ll behave better and I won’t bully anyone again." Su Ziwang said hastily, with care.
"I’ll judge based on your actions in the future. To tell you the truth, I don’t trust you." said Tang Qing.
To truly understand a person, one has to pierce through their innermost defenses. Even though Tang Qing wasn’t planning on recruiting any followers, if Su Ziwang could prove himself, he could be of use. He might handle a lot of things that Tang Qing wasn’t comfortable doing himself. It could turn out quite nicely.
Su Ziwang felt his confidence bruised, but it fueled his desire to prove himself. With firm conviction and determination, he said, "Fine, I will definitely make you believe in my sincerity and determination."
"Okay, I’m waiting." Tang Qing said blandly.
Instead of returning to the classroom, Tang Qing descended the stairs and headed to class teacher Shen Mei’s office. The office was empty, except for Shen Mei, who was engrossed in her paperwork.
"Knock knock."
"Come in."
Shen Mei didn’t look up and continued to write. Tang Qing approached her and got straight to the point, "Miss Shen, I would like to know if Xie Wendong is moving his seat behind Wang Yan."
On seeing that it was Tang Qing, Shen Mei beamed. He was now a hot favorite within the school, being the top student and the hopeful future valedictorian. She had heard rumors about him being scouted by other schools, but they were discouraged by their principal’s stature. Shen Mei had anticipated Tang Qing’s visit, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. "Yes, why?" she asked.
"I don’t agree." Tang Qing stated flatly.
Such a statement from a student questioning a teacher’s decision was almost insubordinate. If any other student had dared to say something like that, Shen Mei would’ve scolded them on the spot. But coming from Tang Qing, it seemed quite natural. She even found his candor appealing.
"Why?" Shen Mei asked, with a playful smile.
"I don’t like that person. I think you know about my relationship with Xie Wendong, and you probably know his intention behind changing the seat too." Tang Qing pointed out the root of the matter directly. It was unlikely that Shen Mei couldn’t see through this. There was no need to beat around the bush.
Seeing Tang Qing speaking his mind, Shen Mei found him endearing. Students ought to be straightforward in expressing their likes and dislikes. She didn’t want the school to become a place of political scheming. She wanted her students to be dignified, neither humble nor arrogant, and be forthright.
"This time, the vice principal approved it. I couldn’t refuse." Shen Mei came out clean and presented the reason.
Upon hearing this, Tang Qing fell into contemplation. Clearly, the issue wasn’t with Shen Mei. She didn’t agree with changing the seat in the first place, but she couldn’t resist the pressure of the vice principal.
Hehe.
So be it, switch then! 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
However, Tang Qing immediately thought of a countermeasure, that won’t bother Shen Mei and yet would rid him of the ’fly’. He said with a smile, "Miss Shen, if the seat has to be changed, I suggest moving both Wang Yan and me to another location. It won’t bother you and you can give an explanation to the vice principal. What do you think?"
"Haha, that’s a good idea. Let’s go with that. Where would you like to sit?" Shen Mei asked, feigning glee. Of course, she was pretending. She wasn’t stupid. She had already thought of this solution. She was waiting for Tang Qing to bring it up voluntarily. If he turned out to be too dense to figure it out, she’d nudge him. Clearly, Tang Qing’s intelligence didn’t disappoint her. He immediately came up with a solution that worked for everyone.
"Uh... let’s switch with Li Kai’s group." Tang Qing suggested after giving it some thought. The exact location to switch to wasn’t important. The main goal was to distance himself from Xie Wendong. If Xie Wendong kept pestering him, he would definitely take matters into his own hands. Plus, Shen Mei was on his side. Xie Wendong couldn’t pose any major threat.
"Sure thing." Shen Mei agreed, nodding.
Seeing that his objective has been achieved and it’s time for class, Tang Qing returned to the classroom.
As expected, after another class, Xie Wendong, who was too impatient, switched seats with Wang Yan’s back-row mate. Grinning triumphantly at Tang Qing with Wang Yan absent because she went to the toilet, he strutted over and smugly declared:
"I’ve switched back again. What can you do to me?"
What an idiot!
Tang Qing didn’t even bother to turn his head or reply, keeping his head down and reading a collection of Lu Xun’s works. He thought talking any more to the idiot behind him would be a waste of breath.
Seeing Tang Qing completely ignoring him, Xie Wendong was momentarily flustered. The nearby classmates heard it too and were full of ridicule and hatred for Xie Wendong, who had forced a girl they’ve been sitting with for over a year to move away and replaced her with a boy, which irked everyone. Unable to vent their frustrations at the feared son of an official, they held their tongues.
Su Ziwang, who was sitting across from Xie Wendong, watched everything unfold with disdain. A toad wanting the meat of a swan, a pipe dream! He has the audacity to mess with Tang Qing, he must be seeking trouble.
"You... Tang Qing, you just wait!" Being disregarded, Xie Wendong squeezed these words out before reluctantly returning to his seat; his face was full of spite.
Before long, Wang Yan returned. She noticed that her fellow classmate in the back row had switched seats with Xie Wendong; she quickly connected the dots. Seeing the beaming face of Xie Wendong, she could not help but shudder, her face turned cold in an instant.
The girl following closely behind Wang Yan also caught sight of Xie Wendong’s smirk, and felt sick to her stomach.
Can you be any more nauseating with your smirk?
Do you understand what it means to keep a low profile?
Do you have to be so smug about it?
Like Wang Yan would have any interest in you, that’s ridiculous. Even I despise you. What difference does it make if you have a powerful dad? You just make me sick.
When Wang Yan returned to her desk, Tang Qing noticed her gloomy mood. He let out a slight chuckle, jotting down a few words on his notebook and passed it over to Wang Yan. Sure enough, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she read the note, her previous grim expression now vanished.
Of course, Xie Wendong with no clue of what just happened, fantasized about properly expressing himself and trying to engage Wang Yan more in conversation. He was confident that playing hard-to-get would eventually win her over. As for Tang Qing, he was just a poor kid. Not to mention Wang Yan wouldn’t agree with him, let alone her family. When the time comes, he just needs to flex his dad’s power and crushing Tang Qing will be a piece of cake.
During the entire class, Xie Wendong was lost in his own world; he didn’t pay attention to anything else.
He felt like he was going to win over the beauty in the end.
He was certainly going to be the final winner.
The lewd smirk that subconsciously appeared on his face got him called out by the biology teacher several times throughout the class.
But, just as Xie Wendong was about to enjoy his victory, the class was over.
The class teacher had already discussed the seat arrangements with those two students during the break in the previous class. Of course, they dared not refuse. They weren’t stupid. They felt the tense situation between the class teacher, Tang Qing, and Xie Wendong. They didn’t dare express any opinions.
Indeed, seeing Tang Qing and Wang Yan switching to different seats, Xie Wendong’s smile froze on his face.
He couldn’t accept it for a while.
What just happened?
Was he... played?
Xie Wendong’s smile turned into a grimace.
Indeed, he was tricked. The class teacher and Tang Qing both slapped him in the face, and it left him with his nose out of joint.
PS: I apologize for the delay. If you can’t put up with my irregular updates, I suggest reading just before bedtime when the two Chapters for the day should be out.
Many thanks to the reader ’Surviving for Books’ for the rewards, to Ba La Di La Da and ☆﹎Dan Bo.o for the monthly tickets, and also to the readers who voted for me. Thanks for your support!
