Part 2
Yu Songwei nodded, “Since you’ve returned safely from the Investigation Bureau, and that spy is wanted across the interstellar domain, forget about this matter completely from now on. Teach and do your scientific research well. Your mom and I don’t object to you constantly staying in the lab, but remember to take good care of your health, don’t get too tired.”
Yu Shi nodded obediently, seemingly as compliant as always.
After staying at home for a week, he went to NDU.
He specifically picked a class time. The entire school was quiet and peaceful; occasional sounds of lectures came from the teaching buildings, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the road.
Early autumn had arrived, and the temperature was gradually dropping. The sycamore leaves were dyed rattan yellow. The setting sun sank in the west, and the sunset glow blanketed the sports field.
Yu Shi watched the training ground from afar for a while. The Command Class was training their physical stamina there. Their slogans were shouted in perfect unison, possessing a vitality and youthful vigor that seemed to shake the clouds.
He stood there for a moment before walking towards the principal’s office in the administration building.
Seeing him come in, Tang Jiadong revealed an expected expression and personally brewed a pot of good tea for him.
Yu Shi didn’t touch the teacup. Instead, he handed over a written report, “Principal Tang, although I will no longer hold a post at NDU, as a dispatched employee, I should still submit a situation report. This is my work summary for this period, along with a complete explanation regarding the unexpected incidents. Thank you for your school’s Summer Training invitation. I have gained a lot during this time.”
Tang Jiadong held his teacup, not taking the report, staring at him with tightly knit brows.
Seeing this, Yu Shi placed the report on the desk.
Just as he was about to get up and leave, Tang Jiadong spoke, “Wait.”
He took out a stack of papers from the drawer and placed it in front of Yu Shi. “Look at this first before you say anything.”
Confused, Yu Shi flipped it open, and immediately froze. It was a joint petition from the students requesting him to stay on as an honorary professor. The signature section was densely packed with the names of all the students in the Command Class.
Tang Jiadong said helplessly, “This bunch of students collectively requested you to stay. It seems you indeed get along very well with them.”
“So many things have happened since you came. Originally, I also felt there was no need for you to continue your tenure, but a few days ago, Zhao Yi brought people to see me, saying they need you very much.”
He pointed at the papers: “These are the materials they put together, including the theses that received your guidance, the weapon improvements you proposed, and the daily attendance sheets for leading training. They did it very seriously, heh, even more seriously than their final assignments.”
Yu Shi gazed at the copies, all his words blocking in his throat.
“These kids like you and hope you can stay,” Tang Jiadong watched him. “According to the regulations for honorary professors, you only need to come to teach once a week. It won’t affect your work at the Third Institute. What do you think?”
“I…” A rare look of hesitation appeared on Yu Shi’s face. “Let me think about it.”
He hadn’t expected these students to jointly ask him to stay; this wasn’t in his plans.
Tang Jiadong said, “Then consider it carefully. NDU’s way of educating people is slightly different from other schools. We value the spirit of passing the torch more. Being able to gain the recognition of all your students is a teacher’s highest honor.”
Yu Shi didn’t go to the sports field to see them. His family’s car was waiting for him at the school gate.
After getting in the car, the driver handed him a communicator. “Young Master, Madam prepared this for you. Your previous card is inside.”
Yu Shi opened the new communicator. After turning it on, countless messages popped up, the class group chat lagging his screen with its volume.
[Zhao Yi: @Yu Shi Ahhhhh I heard you’re back!]
[Ye Bingyang: @Yu Shi Teacher Little Fish, welcome home!]
[Xu Bohan: Woo hoo hoo Master, are you okay? I missed you to death.]
[Xu Ze: @Yu Shi Welcome Little Fish home!]
…
Below was a series of welcomes.
[Zhang Meng: Ying ying ying, why is Instructor Yu ignoring us?]
[Xu Bohan: His communicator is probably broken, it’s fine, he’ll see it once he gets a new one! If anyone has something to say, just @ him directly in the group.]
[Xu Bohan: I’ll go first, @Yu Shi Master, I’ve missed you so much while you were away. I earnestly supervised their studying, furiously scribbling and revising theses at night, and I have good news! That article of mine from the first half of the year has been published! /Starry eyes/]
[Zhao Yi: @Yu Shi Instructor Yu, well, I got full marks on all my recent assessments, and I submitted an application to the Falcon Regiment at the beginning of the month. I don’t know if it will pass this time, hope Instructor Yu blesses me /Praying/]
[Xu Bohan: @Zhao Yi Are you crazy! My master is alive and well, what do you mean bless you.]
[Zhao Yi: That’s not what I meant! It’s praying for the God of Exams to possess me! /Sticking tongue out/]
[Ye Bingyang: @Yu Shi I also have good news! My thesis has been published too. Thank you, Teacher Little Fish, for helping me revise it day and night, and for recommending me to the journal. Thanks a lot! I want to see you soon!]
[Nie Zhen: @Yu Shi Teacher Little Fish, I improved by five places in the end-of-month assessment compared to last time! The methods you taught are indeed effective. I love you /hehe/]
[Han Po: … /Eye roll/]
[Li Yang: @Yu Shi Little Yu, come back soon, we’ve prepared a surprise party for you /hehe/]
[Xu Bohan: @Li Yang ?]
[Qi Huan: Brother Yang, what are you doing? It’s a surprise ahhhhhh!]
[Zhao Yi: @Li Yang Brother, have you drunk too much???]
[Li Yang: Ahhhh what to do, I can’t recall it!]
…
The driver asked, “Young Master, are you alright?”
Yu Shi took a deep breath, smiled, and said, “I’m fine.”
Feeling both amused and sentimental, he continued scrolling down and saw the latest few messages.
[Ye Bingyang: Wait, did Brother Ren not get his communicator either? Why is he so quiet?]
[Zhao Yi: He seems to have encountered some trouble over there, he’s currently at the Falcon Regiment headquarters.]
[Han Po: Yo, what trouble? Is he getting expelled?]
[Zhao Yi: @Han Po You’re asking for a beating with that foul mouth, aren’t you?]
[Han Po: @Zhao Yi Come hit your daddy if you have the guts, you trash.]
[Li Yang: Stop arguing, can’t you guys just be quiet.]
Yu Shi called Yu Songwei, asking, “Dad, did the visitation order I asked you to apply for get approved?”
Only then did Yu Songwei remember, “I was so busy I forgot, wait a moment, let me check.”
After a while, he said, “It wasn’t approved. Xiaoshi, is that prisoner your student? The Falcon Regiment’s review process is very strict. I feel that if we apply again, it might still be rejected.”
“Dad, he’s not a prisoner,” Yu Shi said helplessly. “He was implicated because he tried to save me. I must find a way to see him.”
Yu Songwei thought for a moment, “I have an old superior who has connections in the Falcon Regiment. Shall I ask him for you?”
Yu Shi urged, “Ask him right now, I want to do it quickly.”
“It’s rare to see you so anxious, is your relationship with him very good?” Yu Songwei asked in surprise.
Yu Shi said, “Comrades of life and death.”
It should probably be considered so.
“Alright, let’s do this: you go home first. I’ll ask him if he’s free tomorrow, and we’ll go to the sanatorium to talk to him in person.”
The next morning, Yu Shi got into Yu Songwei’s car and arrived at the Retired Cadres Hot Spring Sanatorium.
There was a poplar forest around it, and a winding cobblestone path led to a secluded area. The environment was beautiful. When the road sign flashed by, Yu Shi felt a subtle sense of familiarity.
It was as if he had seen such scenery somewhere before.
Harboring strange thoughts, he followed the butler up the steps to a sanatorium that looked like a palace, decorated so gorgeously that it didn’t look like a place for the elderly to live.
They arrived at a suite on the second floor. From far away, they heard a nurse’s scream.
“Old Chief! How could you hide champagne under the bed? My goodness, so many empty bottles, a full five bottles! Do you think champagne isn’t alcohol?!”
The father and son looked at each other, the corner of Yu Songwei’s mouth twitching.
A wheelchair ejected from inside. Yu Songwei hurriedly shielded Yu Shi, only to see Xie Junyan controlling the wheelchair to speed outwards, shouting at them in his spare time: “Songwei, bring your son to the reception room!”
In the blink of an eye, the old man along with the wheelchair disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Yu Shi: “…”
What on earth just flew past.
Recommended Reads
