Translator: Pika
Shi Kun’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. In truth, being punished to stand on the field was really nothing much. He was used to being in the center of attention anyway. Someone of his appearance would naturally be in the center of attention no matter where he went. With his sharp wits, he could easily turn the punishment into a fan meeting.
He was only so infuriated because he found the idea of doing Zu An’s bidding humiliating.
However, if he had to wear this wooden notice around him, the nature of the punishment changed. It would make it as if he was a pet that was displayed in public for everyone to see.
“What do you mean by this?” Shi Kun glared at Zu An angrily.
You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for +444 Rage!
“I’m doing this out of consideration of your reputation,” replied Zu An with a smile. “Just imagine how humiliating about if the Sixth Young Master of the Shi clan were to be mocked by a crowd! That’s why I specially prepared this wooden notice to remind them not to laugh. It’s a show of goodwill on my part.”
Goodwill, my head!
Shi Kun felt that he was really going insane. It was then that he was reminded of another problem here. “Wait a moment, when did you prepare the token? It can’t be that you were planning to deal with me right from the start?”
Zu An shrugged calmly. “I was just preparing for it in case the need arises. Who could have known that you would be so cooperative? With how proactive you were, I’d feel embarrassed if I don’t bring this out.”
“...” Shi Kun.
You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for +813 Rage!
The students in the classroom waited patiently, thinking that Shi Kun would blow up on Zu An. If so, Chu Chuyan would have to step forward to protect Zu An. Perhaps, the upper echelons of the academy might even be alarmed.
Yup, this is much more interesting than attending Yang Wei’s lessons. Come, bring us another dozen of such teachers!
Chu Chuyan was also keeping a close eye on the situation. If Shi Kun were to make a move, Zu An would be in grave danger. She was prepared to step in and protect Zu An if the need arises.
Unexpectedly, Shi Kun took a deep breath before revealing an amicable smile. “Yes, I was indeed too rash to earlier that I unintentionally talked back to you. It’s only right for me to be punished. Rules have to be upheld in order to ensure discipline in the academy.”
Saying those words, he grabbed the wooden notice and walked out of the classroom calmly. His movements were so elegant that he felt like an enlightened sage for a moment there.
The eyes of a few female students in the class immediately began to twinkle.
“Waa, how cool!”
“Young master Shi is truly refined like a true gentleman.”
“He must have lost his cool for a moment after meeting his love rival.”
“I never knew he was so sentimental. I’m getting more and more fond of him.”
...
Zu An was surprised. He thought that Shi Kun would fight back violently, and he had a countermeasure for that too. Unexpectedly, the latter surrendered just like that.
Is he backing down in order to protect his reputation before his fangirls? That doesn’t make sense though.
By this moment, Shi Kun had already walked out of the classroom, and the smile on his face immediately vanished without a trace. It was replaced with coldness.
Hmph, I got careless earlier on. I shouldn’t have left such words behind. If something happens to that fellow, the suspicion would be on me. No matter how angry I am now, I have to remain a composed exterior so that I can at least shirk off responsibility if others question me in the future.
He had already made up his mind that he would make that disgusting fellow vanish from the face of the world.
Naturally, he wouldn’t foolishly follow Zu An’s and hang the wooden notice around his neck. While making his way to the field, he casually swiped his hand over the notice and erased the words on it. He tucked the wooden notice under his arms casually, and it gave him a cool impression.
It was then that a figure suddenly appeared beside him. It was the old man who had been following him all this while. “Young master, should I make a move and kill that little bastard?”
Shi Kun waved his hand and replied, “There’s no rush. If he dies right after having a conflict with us, the suspicion will be on us. The Chu clan’s strength shouldn’t be underestimated. If our actions push them toward King Qi’s side, we would have made a huge loss.”
“But that bastard actually dared to treat you in such a manner. Even I feel angry just by watching it!” the old man harrumphed. He had seen and heard everything that happened earlier in the classroom clearly..
“Don’t worry, someone else will be dealing with it. It’s going to be the Clans Tournament between the Chu and Yuan clan tomorrow. Call Yuan Wendong over later at night... No, I shouldn’t make a move myself. I’ll leave it to you to think of a way to settle Yuan Wendong. Tell him to feign an accident and kill Zu An on the dueling ring tomorrow. Even at the very least, he should cripple the latter,” said Shi Kun coldly.
Over the years, there hadn’t a single person who had offended him who got away scot-free.
Soon, it was the end of class, and the students swiftly noticed Shi Kun standing on the field. Out of curiosity, they gathered around the area, intrigued as to why he was standing there. Gossip spread quickly, and it didn’t take long for them to hear that Shi Kun was being punished for talking back to his teacher in the classroom.
Many of Shi Kun’s fangirls immediately flew into a state of rage.
“That Zu An is too shameless! Isn’t he openly picking on young master Shi?”
“Indeed! Teacher like him is actually being openly biased toward his wife. He gave Chu Chuyan such a simple question only to make things hard for young master Shi. I’m going to report him for this!”
“Yes, we should report him together!”
...
Compared to the indignant female students, the male students took it much better. Ever since Shi Kun arrived, all of these women seemed to have gotten into a frenzy, which displeased them by quite a bit. Thus, they were more than glad to see Shi Kun placed in such an embarrassing position.
There were quite a few of them who wanted to take this opportunity to mock Shi Kun, but before they could get close, they were already forced to retreat by a powerful aura.
“Scram!” the old man beside Shi Kun spat coldly.
The students found themselves shuddering uncontrollably in the face of the old man, and it was only then that they were reminded of the fact that Shi Kun was someone whom they couldn’t afford to offend. So, they quickly backed off.
Over in the staff office, Disciple Master Lu De’s gazed down at the field as his eyes narrowed slightly.
I can’t gauge the extent of that old man’s strength. Are even the servants of the Shi clan that powerful? It looks like I’ve been underestimating the accumulation of the Shi clan. It’s indeed best not to get involved with those prominent clans. Hmph! It feels like trouble keeps rolling in ever since Zu An arrived at the academy!
Meanwhile, Zu An was marveling at how fast Rage points were being delivered into his account. It’s no wonder why there are so many boy bands in my previous life. Women sure don’t hold back anything for their idols!
“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law! How did my big sister react earlier during your lesson? Hurry up and tell me about it!” Chu Huanzhao dashed over to Zu An’s sight excitedly. She was initially intending on skipping class to peek at the scene with her own eyes, but she stumbled upon Lu De as soon as she walked out of the classroom. Horrified, she could only quickly returned back in and wait impatiently until the end of the class.
Nevertheless, her curiosity had been tickling her heart all this while, so she rushed out as soon as the class was over.
“How could you collude with this fellow to dupe?!” The expectant look on Chu Huanzhao’s face immediately left Chu Chuyan fuming once more. She reached out to grab her little sister by her ear.
“Hehehe, it looks like my big sister must have shown quite an interesting reaction back there!” Chu Huanzhao immediately sought refuge behind Zu An as she exclaimed excitedly.
Chu Chuyan glared at her in annoyance before slowly turning her gaze back to Zu An with intrigue in her eyes. “How did you manage to become an arithmetic teacher?”
She simply couldn’t have imagined how such a turn of affairs happened.
“I still have plenty of surprises waiting for you to uncover,” replied Zu An gleefully.
Chu Chuyan chuckled softly. “Yes, you did surprise me today. However, now that you have openly offended the Sixth Young Master of the Shi clan, you might face danger in the future.”
“What can I do when that fellow covets my wife? If I don’t teach him a lesson, he might just climb all over me!” Zu An harrumphed..
“Who’s your wife!” Chu Chuyan’s face reddened. However, as soon as those words came out of her mouth, she suddenly remembered the current relationship between the two of them and sighed deeply. It looks like I still haven’t managed to get used to my new identity.
“Anyway, you should be careful for the time being. Try to stay by my side if possible lest Shi Kun sends someone to deal with you,” reminded Chu Chuyan.
“Honey, even though you keep rejecting me, it seems like you still care about my safety,” remarked Zu An with a smile.
“I told you not to call me that!” Chu Chuyan glared sharply at him. “I just don’t want you to come to harm because of me.”
Zu An glanced at Shi Kun at afar and smiled, “Rest assured, he probably won’t send anyone after me in the next two days. It’s going to be the Clans Tournament the day after tomorrow anyway. Since he can kill me openly on the dueling ring, there’s no reason for him to do something excessive.”
Thinking from Shi Kun’s standpoint, he would surely choose to make a move on himself during the Clans Tournament.
Chu Chuyan fell into deep thought as she realized what Zu An said made sense too. She raised her head, only to be faced with Zu An’s confident expression. At that very moment, she suddenly felt that he was very different from how she thought him out to be.
Nothing worthy of note happened afterward, and the day passed by quickly. When classes were finally over for the day, Zu An wanted to head to Shang Liuyu’s residence to return the recording seashell to her. However, looking at the two sisters standing beside him, he changed his mind.
It didn’t feel like a wise move to talk about another woman before them.
They left the academy and got onto their carriages. Under the escort of the Chu clan’s guards, they returned to the Chu Estate. Cheng Shouping had come to fetch Zu An, as usual, only to find himself abandoned outside.
Usually, I’d at least be able to walk with the young master and the second miss, but now I can only trail behind them. Ahhh, it feels like the first miss isn’t as approachable as the second miss. If only the young master married the second miss...
However, he soon thought about it from another perspective.
If the young master and the first miss get closer with one another, a day will come that he becomes officially acknowledged as the son-in-law of the Chu clan. By then, my standing will rise as well. Hmmm, if the young master marries the second miss too, will my standing rise even higher?
Cheng Shouping quickly stifled those thoughts.
You must be joking! The young master is just a little better looking and luckier than me. Other than that, there’s nothing he’s really better than me at. How could something like that possibly occur to him?
Dinnertime, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru called them over once more, hoping to talk to them about the Clans Tournament tomorrow.
Zu An couldn’t help but think of how things had changed from when he first arrived here. Back then, he could only eat his meal all alone in his room, but now, he was frequently joining them at the main table. On top of that, Chu Chuyan seemed to have smiled at him several times today.
Pui pui pui, why am I getting so happy over just a few smiles? I’d really be a good-for-nothing if I get satisfied with just this much!
Zu An eventually concluded that it was all because Chu Chuyan was too pretty. Humans were visual creatures, so it couldn’t be helped that he would succumb easily to someone as beautiful as Chu Chuyan.
But speaking of which, I’m quite good-looking too. Why doesn’t my wife drool in my presence then? This doesn’t make sense!
While Zu An was still in his daze, Chu Huanzhao had already begun chattering off about how Zu An had become an arithmetic teacher in the academy, though she did exaggerate some of the details. Honestly, she felt that she was going to blow up from bottling up such explosive gossip for so long that it felt great to vent it out.
“It really is heartening to hear that Zu An has managed to become the arithmetic teacher of Brightmoon Academy!” Chu Zhongtian smiled from the bottom of his heart. He thought that it was a pity that his son-in-law was a good-for-nothing, but it turned out that he was good-for-something after all. Needless to say, this was something worth celebrating.
Qin Wanru was surprised to hear the news too. She stared at Zu An for a while, but the images of the lackadaisical man sitting before her and a teacher of the academy simply wouldn’t overlap. It just so happened that Zu An giggled at that moment too, which somehow irked her. So, she ended up harrumphing, “To think that you would get so gleeful just because you became an arithmetic teacher! In the first place, you are just a temporary teacher who would be replaced once the royal court appoints a new teacher over. Furthermore, based on what I've heard from Huanzhao, you picked on young master Shi in class? Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself just because you have managed to grasp onto some power? You’re really a disappointment!”
Zu An could only shake his head helplessly. I sure am unlucky to get a mother-in-law who picks faults with whatever I do.
Seeing this, Chu Huanzhao couldn’t help but stand up for Zu An, “Mother, it was Shi Kun who went overboard today. You shouldn’t blame brother-in-law for this. Right now, I’m more worried that someone will try to hurt Zu An on the dueling ring tomorrow.”
😉