Chapter 30: The Old Library
“Hey… you…”
After class, Song Chi didn’t even pack his things before impatiently following Shi Huaibai. Just as his hand was about to touch the strap of Shi Huaibai’s school bag, Shi Huaibai suddenly turned back and gave a light glare with his peach-blossom eyes.
Song Chi’s hand froze in mid-air. He retracted it resentfully, then scratched his hair, pretending to shrug casually. Pursing his lips, not knowing what to do, such a big bulky guy shrank his head like a little mouse afraid of the light, secretly following where Shi Huaibai couldn’t see.
Shi Huaibai couldn’t tolerate it anymore. He twisted his whole body around, extended his index finger, and pointed fiercely at Song Chi’s nose: “First, I am not called Hey!”
System: [……]
Compared to Long Aotian quotes,
This was still acceptable.
Shi Huaibai: “Call me Shi Huaibai.”
The System nodded in satisfaction: [Correct!]
Very good, very normal!
Song Chi’s mouth opened and closed again, the words coming out half a beat slow: “Huai… Huaibai.”
“Silence!” Shi Huaibai walked away resolutely: “Do not call me by my name directly. The significance behind this name is too heavy, you cannot bear it!”
System: [Bro…]
The Host was still too… unpredictable.
“Shi Huaibai!!!” After a long silence, Song Chi finally recovered, even getting a bit angry.
What did Shi Huaibai mean? Just didn’t want to pay attention to him, huh.
From childhood to adulthood, he had never experienced such treatment.
Shi Huaibai turned back impatiently and glared at him again. Song Chi’s head, which was originally steaming with anger, instantly extinguished. He stammered: “Sigh… Eh, that, that…”
“S… Sor…” The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Song Chi suddenly swallowed them. Finally, he asked stiffly: “Um, after being kicked out by the one surnamed Jiang, where do you live now? Do you need… I mean, didn’t I lose to you once before?”
Shi Huaibai retorted: “It’s twice.”
Counting the classical music completion this time,
Song Chi got a C, while he got a genuine A+.
Song Chi: “……”
Seeing Shi Huaibai about to leave again, Song Chi was quick with his eyes and hands, spreading his arms to block Shi Huaibai: “I mean, didn’t I promise to serve you tea and water for a week? You… you can order me around now. Doesn’t the scholarship get issued exactly one week from now?”
Every year near the end of the term at Abbeville Academy was when various scholarships were awarded. Yesterday, the list of proposed scholarship recipients was released. Unsurprisingly, Shi Huaibai would get the highest scholarship of 100,000 yuan and countless honors.
100,000 yuan was insignificant to Jiang Xinian or Song Chi, but for the current Shi Huaibai, it was timely rain that could solve urgent needs and serve as a transition for his future life.
More importantly: Last time, Jiang Xinian struck first and pulled Shi Huaibai away. This time, he had to seize the opportunity; slow hands get nothing.
“You have to know, the one surnamed Jiang has quite some prestige in this broken place. Although everyone jokes on the forum, in reality, no one knows what conflict you have with Jiang Xinian. No one will rashly help you. But I can protect you… I can protect you! Just change serving tea and water for a week to protecting you for a week.” Song Chi chattered on, speaking to himself: “What do you think?”
There was no answer from the other side for a long time. Song Chi looked up; Shi Huaibai had long since vanished without a trace, gone to who knows where.
Song Chi: “……”
Bastard!
The gold digger is quite picky!
Where exactly was he inferior to Jiang Xinian?
Why could Jiang Xinian do it?
But he couldn’t!
The System huffed and puffed on its short legs, taking a long time to catch up with Shi Huaibai.
The Academy’s Big Ben struck again. Students coming to class in twos and threes occasionally peeked out of the corners of their eyes at Shi Huaibai, who was walking against the flow of people.
Those gazes—suspicion, sympathy, contempt, disgust, greed… mixed with countless emotions, then turning countless emotions into endless silence.
The situation was basically no different from what Song Chi said.
No, actually, it was a bit more serious.
The Old Library at Abbeville had independent study rooms, and the rent for these study rooms was exorbitant.
Jiang Xinian paid the fee for a personal study room every month but never came.
Thus, to demonstrate his doting on Shi Huaibai, this study room was filled with Shi Huaibai’s things.
Shi Huaibai had separated from Jiang Xinian, so naturally, there was no reason to leave his things there.
He wanted to take all his books away.
The flower beds of the Old Library were full of photinia flowers. He really didn’t understand why this flower, which had a strong, choking, and disgusting smell in the rain, was so popular with various colleges.
The second floor was composed of large and small personal study rooms. Within each small room, the thin walls were snow-white. The upper part of the walls was actually empty, merely using the wall surface as a screen, so the soundproofing wasn’t good.
Thanks to the high monthly rent, the second floor of the Old Library was sparsely populated and inherently quiet.
Shi Huaibai stacked his mountain of books. Just as he lifted them, he touched a handful of moisture.
The paper, soaked in water, became increasingly heavy and cold.
Which bastard did this?
Suddenly, the sound of abrupt footsteps came from the originally sparsely populated second floor.
Shi Huaibai immediately turned his hand on the door handle. The lock moved freely, but the handle on the outer door seemed blocked by something, preventing the lock from turning all the way.
Shi Huaibai thought, It should be a broom.
Outside, two strange voices began to discuss.
One voice sounded softer, even carrying a tremor of fear: “Is this really okay?”
The other voice was more domineering: “What are you afraid of? He can’t see us anyway.”
The System thought deeply: See, although I didn’t know why the Host’s bizarre actions worked before, this is still a Noble Academy after all.
The stories of special admission students in Noble Academies all start with bullying.
After Jiang Xinian drove Shi Huaibai away, only then could Shi Huaibai truly feel what a real Noble Academy is.
The operation of being locked in a dark room—Shi Huaibai had experienced it during the banquet. The difference was, this time there was no Jiang Xinian around Shi Huaibai.
Jiang Xinian kicking Shi Huaibai out and stripping him of everything—what was this if not an authorization: an authorization agreeing to let malicious people beat Shi Huaibai back to his original form.
Not everyone is like Chen Xin, who looks like he’s bullying Shi Huaibai but is actually soft-hearted.
There are still many idiots in the world who want to rely on helping Jiang Xinian “revenge” Shi Huaibai to gain Jiang Xinian’s favor.
Suddenly, the sound of water lightly tapping against plastic came from outside the door. Shi Huaibai looked up vigilantly. A medium-sized black trash can suddenly popped up over the hollow wall. The trash can hadn’t been washed clean and was full of water, about to pour over Shi Huaibai’s head and face.
Splash…
A burst of triumphant laughter came from outside the door.
Followed by scrambling footsteps.
Shi Huaibai was soaked through.
The System touched his head with heartache: [Host, I told you it’s better to stay obediently by Jiang Xinian’s side. Although you are powerful, it is easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark. Now you’ve been bullied and don’t even know who did it…]
Before it finished speaking, the System was thrown out by Shi Huaibai. Its facial features twisted from the stimulation, and a voice only the System could hear exploded.
Shi Huaibai: [Go see who did it for me.]
The System’s eyes cried into shaking plumeria shapes: [Host, you bully me, you are just bullying me!]
Shi Huaibai was already kicking the door: [From now on, you are my eyes!]
System: [Who cares to be your eyes?]
Just using the excuse that no one can see the System to bully the System!
The System squinted its eyes hard here and indeed saw two figures, and two clear faces. However, the System was also a visitor to this world; apart from the main characters’ names, it knew nothing else.
Normal students of the Noble Academy had wealthy families, and their food, clothing, housing, and transportation were more exquisite than special admission students. A significant difference was that while wearing the same uniform, normal students’ were ironed and crisp, but special admission students, besides studying, also worked part-time jobs on campus for “work-study.” For convenience, they often didn’t wear the uniform jacket, and the uniforms were also more worn.
After the System confirmed those two were also special admission students…
Suddenly, another set of abrupt footsteps came from outside the door, a bit heavy and powerful.
Song Chi, dressed in a basketball vest, sneakers, and shorts, exuded an air completely incompatible with the library.
Shi Huaibai made no sound, just frantically twisted the door handle.
If he wanted to, he could have kicked the door open from the start, but this door was very expensive. This study room belonged to Jiang Xinian after all. Relying on the relationship between him and Jiang Xinian, he couldn’t break things here.
So he could only try to displace the broom stuck on the outer door by twisting the handle.
So troublesome!
Just as Shi Huaibai yawned, the door handle in his hand suddenly twisted to the end.
Click~ The door opened.
Shi Huaibai pushed the door, the gap gradually widening, and Song Chi’s figure suddenly crashed into his line of sight.
Song Chi didn’t expect the one locked in here to be Shi Huaibai either.
Shi Huaibai was soaked through. His ink-black hair stuck stickily to his forehead. His skin was snowy white; black was black and white was white, beautiful and pitiful. His lip color was very pale, looking like a little figure sculpted from snow, not crying or making a fuss, just shrinking back.
“F*ck!” Song Chi wiped his face, his expression turning dark: “Who did this?”
He wanted to take off his jacket to put on Shi Huaibai, only to discover he was wearing only a thin, loose basketball vest.
So Song Chi could only ask clumsily: “Cold?”
Slap… A crisp sound.
Shi Huaibai slapped Song Chi hard.
Song Chi was stunned.
What?
Why hit me?
Almost as if burned, Song Chi threw the broom that had just been stuck on the door handle onto the ground. Face red and neck thick, shaking his head left and right rapidly: “It… It wasn’t me who locked you in, nor was it me who poured the water.”
Shi Huaibai’s expression was faint: “I know.”
Song Chi’s head became even blanker: “Then why did you slap me?”
I saved you.
Shi Huaibai gestured for the System to jump onto his shoulder. Still faint, he glanced at Song Chi lightly out of the corner of his eye: “You don’t need to pretend to be angry on my behalf. I will solve my own matters myself. Also, what you did, and what they just did, is the same.”
“Where is it the same?” Song Chi wanted to refute, but his mind was blank. He found he had nothing to say.
It was… the same.
His previous behavior was indeed bullying Shi Huaibai.
Even though his intention was to make Shi Huaibai look at him a few more times, to Shi Huaibai, what was the difference between him and others?
A gentleman is judged by his actions, not his heart. Even if Jiang Xinian harbored thoughts of using Shi Huaibai before, what he did was indeed protecting Shi Huaibai. Is that why Shi Huaibai liked Jiang Xinian more?
Shi Huaibai reached out and touched the System on his shoulder, his voice commanding without anger: [Did you see clearly who did it?]
Such childish tricks, lately, were really becoming frequent enough to be annoying.
If he sat by and watched, there would be a first time and then a second.
He just slapped Song Chi; those remaining guys should also be punished fairly and justly.
The two guys who poured water on Shi Huaibai were special admission students one grade higher than him, and also managers of the Old Library. Today was their day on duty together.
They enrolled earlier than Shi Huaibai. In their eyes: Jiang Xinian was one of the rare students at Abbeville who would smile at special admission students. The bright moon hung high, but unfortunately… this semester, the bright moon hung high but only shone on Shi Huaibai.
The seeds of jealousy took root and sprouted, gradually turning into towering trees.
Jiang Xinian drove Shi Huaibai away. The two of them whispered: The Chief is perfectly fine, how could he drive someone away? The Chief cannot have any stains, so it must be Shi Huaibai who did something unforgivable… Yes, it must be Shi Huaibai who did something wrong!
Thus, jealousy expanded relying on their imagined evidence, swallowing them up. Finally, today, their heads heated up, wanting to uphold “justice.”
“Heh…” Song Chi let out a cold laugh.
These two idiots didn’t realize how easy it was to find them. Although people came and went in the Old Library, the broom stuck on the door, the sparsely populated second floor, various motives… narrowing it down to them didn’t even take an hour.
These two special admission students lived in the White Tower dormitory area and were roommates. When Song Chi kicked open their dorm door, a group of students who loved drama had already gathered at the entrance.
As the door was kicked open, the scene that greeted them was suffocating.
The two of them were tied to chairs back-to-back, soaked through, water puddling on the floor.
Each of them had a trash can placed over their heads, trembling in fear.
Song Chi took the trash can off one of their heads.
Seeing Song Chi’s face, that special admission student shivered, trembling all over: “It was Shi Huaibai! It was Huaibai who did it!”
They had only returned to the dorm for a few minutes when Shi Huaibai came for them.
Shi Huaibai couldn’t possibly have seen their faces. In such a short time, Shi Huaibai couldn’t possibly have traced it to them, yet Shi Huaibai was certain it was them.
He counter-accused: “Everything needs evidence! What right does Shi Huaibai have to treat us like this?”
Facing death, they still wanted to stand on their moral high ground and knock Shi Huaibai hard into the abyss.
So the two of them shouted to the students watching at the door: “I wondered why the Chief would sweep Shi Huaibai out. Turns out he is this lawless and makes blood-spitting accusations! No evidence, no evidence! What right does he have!”
Song Chi suddenly clutched his stomach and started laughing, closing the dorm door.
He ruthlessly slapped the mouth that was sprouting nonsense, his eyes fierce as a hunting falcon. Roughly and cruelly, he smashed the trash can onto the other’s head.
Talk evidence?
When they suspected Shi Huaibai did something to wrong Jiang Xinian, why didn’t they talk evidence?
Hysterical screams immediately came from inside the room.
Song Chi clapped his hands, looking at the comical appearance of the two in the mess, and finally laughed: “Evidence? I never talk evidence.”
One of the people with their head covered by a trash can made a voice as quiet as a mosquito: “There are so many people around outside the dorm, Song Chi, just you wait…”
As long as this matter was posted on the forum, Song Chi was finished!
Song Chi washed his hands slowly, finally twisted the door handle, and walked out swaggering. He gave a slight smile to everyone watching at the dorm entrance:
“We must talk evidence when doing things. The door was closed just now, none of you filmed a video of me beating them, right?”
“Doing things requires evidence~” Song Chi threatened with a smile.
Author’s Note:
Congratulations to Anti-Fan Brother for being very pleasing to the eye today, although the Little Beagle solved it himself. [Okay]
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