NOVPUB
Chapter 493: Chapter 483: More Than Enough to Fail, Not Enough to Succeed
Mr. Yoshida, under the guidance of Vice Principal Tao, smoothly found his way to the laboratory building and located Shen Yunfang’s classroom. However, upon seeing the teacher conducting the class inside, Vice Principal Tao promptly withdrew his head.
"Mr. Yoshida, I think it would be better to wait for the class to end before calling the person out. It’s not good to disrupt the students," Vice Principal Tao struggled to maintain his composure, not daring to provoke the temper of Teacher Cai.
The group had just left the principal’s office at the end of a previous class, but the Agricultural University campus was not small, and by the time they arrived at the laboratory building, classes had already begun.
Although Mr. Yoshida was unsatisfied, he knew he could only rely on Vice Principal Tao, so he suppressed his temper and showed understanding.
Seeing Mr. Yoshida nod, Vice Principal Tao immediately put on a smile and said, "There are still more than twenty minutes to go before the class ends. Mr. Yoshida, why not come to my office to rest for a while, have some tea or something?" He glanced at his wristwatch, noting there were about twenty-five minutes left until the class ended.
Mr. Yoshida also felt a bit foolish standing outside the classroom, so he agreed. However, he couldn’t help but remind Vice Principal Tao to be mindful of the time and not to miss the end of the class.
No sooner had the group returned to the office building and barely warmed their seats than Vice Principal Tao said it was time to go.
Mr. Yoshida was very angry, but in order to intercept Shen Yunfang, he had to endure his temper and follow Vice Principal Tao back to the laboratory building.
By the time the three of them had reached the second floor of the laboratory building, the bell signaling the end of class rang. Vice Principal Tao smiled and said, "Look, we’ve timed it perfectly."
As students started to leave the classroom heading downstairs, they gave surprised looks to those going upstairs at this time.
Since there were a lot of students coming down from upstairs, it was quite a struggle for Vice Principal Tao and his group to go up. He seemed to comfort himself by saying, "Let’s walk slowly. With luck, we might not need to climb to the fifth floor to see Student Shen Yunfang."
Mr. Yoshida pursed his lips and said nothing, feeling rather uncomfortable about being observed with a bruised face, but for the sake of his dignity, he strove to remain calm, telling himself that the marks on his face were a testament to his bravery, something to be proud of.
However, when the three of them had climbed to the fifth floor with difficulty, they still didn’t see Shen Yunfang.
When they reached the entrance of the classroom, Vice Principal Tao peeked inside to find only a few students scattered around; Shen Yunfang, the person they were looking for, was no longer there.
Unable to resist, Mr. Yoshida also looked up to check and of course, noticed that Shen Yunfang was absent.
"Mr. Yoshida, please don’t worry. I’ll ask around; we’ll definitely find Student Shen Yunfang," assured Vice Principal Tao, wiping the sweat from his forehead while looking back at the displeased Mr. Yoshida.
Even though Mr. Yoshida was irritated, he still managed to restrain himself, nodding and urging him to ask quickly.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where Student Shen Yunfang has gone?" Vice Principal Tao asked the student on the edge of the group.
The approached student looked back at the group. He recognized Vice Principal Tao and also knew who the man with the bruised face was; after all, the morning’s commotion was widely talked about, and the news had already spread throughout the class.
"She went home, of course. School’s over, where else would she go?" The male student obediently answered the question, but his tone came off as somewhat aggressive. It wasn’t intentional; that’s just how he normally spoke.
Vice Principal Tao was somewhat at a loss for words. Did this student not know he was the principal? What a way to talk.
"Vice Principal Tao, what exactly is going on?" Mr. Yoshida had already learned from the interpreter what the male student had said.
"Haha, I forgot Shen Yunfang is a day student. She goes home for lunch after school," Vice Principal Tao quickly resumed his smile and explained to Mr. Yoshida. But he soon realized something wasn’t right, "Wait a minute, that can’t be right. We just came up from downstairs and we didn’t see Shen Yunfang going down."
"There are two staircases in this building. The one in front is closer to the cafeteria, so students generally use that one after class. There’s another staircase at the back, which leads right to the bike shed; Shen Yunfang usually takes that one to go downstairs," the male student clarified for them, "Are we done here? I need to go eat." He slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out the door.
"Oh no, this is my mistake for not understanding the situation clearly, such an oversight! Mr. Yoshida, what do you suggest we do now?" Vice Principal Tao was inwardly distressed, but he kept a smile on his face.
Mr. Yoshida’s response was to turn and walk away; he had no desire to deal with this bungling fool any longer.
"Actually, Mr. Yoshida, we could wait for Shen Yunfang at the school gate before the afternoon classes start. She will definitely have to come for her classes," Vice Principal Tao called after him.
The interpreter diligently followed behind Mr. Yoshida, translating for him.
A twitch flickered at the corner of Mr. Yoshida’s mouth. Thinking about the old gatekeeper who played with the Golden Cudgel made his whole body ache, so he unwittingly quickened his pace towards the school gate. 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Seeing Mr. Yoshida ignore him and start walking away, Vice Principal Tao stopped at the stairs and shouted from behind, "Take care, Mr. Yoshida! We warmly welcome you to visit again."
Mr. Yoshida suddenly halted, stiffly standing there, and turning his head, he said to the interpreter, "Tell him to escort us out of the school gate."
So Vice Principal Tao followed the two of them all the way, safely ushering them past the Agricultural University gatekeeper’s office and out of the Agricultural University gate before he turned back.
Shen Yunfang was utterly unaware of the drama that had taken place at the school after she left. So when she saw that car near the intersection in the afternoon, she thought the gatekeeper had shown mercy. She felt that someone should’ve given Mr. Yoshida such a beating that he’d be unable to fend for himself and stop showing off.
Mr. Yoshida, in his determination to win over Shen Yunfang, had resorted to extreme measures. Over the course of a month, he had provided private car rides, launched flower offensives, and caused quite a stir in the residential area and the school. As a result, he had been hauled to the police station several times.
Of course, it had been Shen Yunfang who reported him, claiming she was being stalked and that the person harbored ill intentions towards her. She wasn’t filing a false report; indeed these days, because of her rejection, Mr. Yoshida had been driving his car, flauntingly trailing her bicycle, in clear view of everyone.
Shen Yunfang had connections in the police force, so the stalking, suspicious Mr. Yoshida was quickly apprehended by several officers and taken to the police station for questioning.
In the end, Mr. Yoshida was released without charges, but the deserved lecture was delivered to the little Japanese man through the mouth of the interpreter. After a few such instances, Mr. Yoshida learned his lesson and stopped following Shen Yunfang to school. Instead, he sent many small gifts to her through Vice Principal Tao.
And small gifts they truly were—nothing more than a hair clip or a brooch. Shen Yunfang wasn’t oblivious to worldly goods; it wasn’t that she considered the items beneath her— even if they had been valuable, she wouldn’t have accepted them. She was wealthy.
