Unfortunately, in the end, Director Fu still couldn't get his wish to execute the little bastard.
Anyway, after repeated interrogations, he let Huai Shi off the hook for the sake of the Astronomical Society's face, but before he left, he warned repeatedly, "Remember, stay away from my daughter."
"Sure, sure."
Huai Shi nodded like a bobbing garlic clove, smiling stiffly as he watched Director Fu walk away.
Right after the school opening ceremony ended, Huai Shi was cornered by a Teenage Girl at the classroom door, who then pulled him aside and reached into his pocket for his phone: "Old Pal, hurry up, give me a lift... I'm about to drop to Bronze, and my gamer goddess persona is about to collapse."
"Miss Fu, don't do this—"
Huai Shi weakly pushed her hand away, his face blushing: "I've turned over a new leaf."
"Don't worry, if I don't pay, it doesn't count as soliciting."
No longer the pure and lovely girl she was in her dear daddy's presence, Fu Yi, once the mask of the innocent rabbit was shed, was back in the driver's seat, skillfully taking the wheel, "Get me back to Diamond. How about I take care of your attendance for the next two weeks? The student council is cracking down on this. You don't want to be reported, do you?"
Huai Shi rolled his eyes.
Although he was an art student, the school still had requirements for class time. Without Fu Yi's help, it would indeed be tough for Huai Shi to manage.
But thinking back on Director Fu's expression before leaving, Huai Shi couldn't help but shrink back.
If your dad knew that you were secretly playing live stream mobile games in the art studio during evening self-study and that I was an accomplice, would he send the muscly guys from the Sublimators Suppression Troops straight after me?
And don't all your fans know how bad you are at games? Whenever it's my turn to play, aren't they all spamming the chat with welcoming messages for substitute gaming bro?
"Alright, I'll talk to you later, just don't run away..."
Seeing the homeroom teacher approaching the classroom for a class meeting, Fu Yi quickly slipped inside. Before leaving, she clasped her hands and made a pleading gesture, batting her eyelashes and sticking out her tongue playfully.
She'd already been so sneaky in private, but when she maliciously acted cute, she was truly more slippery than anyone.
Huai Shi rolled his eyes again, feeling not the slightest bit of inner turmoil, and even felt the urge to run.
How could he not want to run?
If he didn't run now, Director Fu would send him straight to the East Suburb Crematorium!
Maybe he'd even have to pitch in to buy his own coffin!
So, while the class meeting was only halfway through, Huai Shi saw the teacher get distracted and decisively seized the opportunity to escape.
But just as he stepped out the door, he heard the sound of Fu Yi, the class president, angrily slamming the desk inside the classroom: "Teacher, that son of a gun Huai Shi ran off again!"
Alright, both you father and daughter are leaders. I can't afford to offend, I can't afford to offend...
Then he ran even faster.
.
As far as I remember, the school has always been pretty laid-back in managing art students.
```
It might have something to do with the consistently poor college entrance rates—besides recruiting a large number of repeat students every year, the school often showed preferential treatment to art and sports students, who had a noticeably easier time getting accepted into colleges.
As long as the number on the banner hanging at the school entrance after the national college entrance exam results came out looked good, nothing else really mattered.
Moreover, Huai Shi, who had always been a decent student, never caused any trouble; his cello grades were outstanding, and after he promised to buckle down on academic subjects next term, the Academic Affairs Office issued a certificate with little hesitation, granting him the privileges of an art and sports student—wandering about during class, aimlessly straying whenever he pleases, and vanishing the moment duties like being the day's monitor came up...
In the eyes of other students, who studied until they bled for the college entrance exam, such creatures were no better than stray dogs in a schoolyard...
Even Huai Shi didn't expect it to be so easy to get that certification.
Usually, one needed a guarantee and a signature from a studio or music room teacher to be let go, so why did it seem like they were so eager to shove this certificate into his hand?
What he didn't realize was that a middle-aged man watching him intently through surveillance cameras couldn't wait for him to roll the hell out of the classroom—the further away from his precious daughter, the better.
One could say, a middle-aged uncle armed and ready with sniper warnings was indeed terrifying.
With some understanding of the situation, Huai Shi shook his head and sighed, feeling his privacy had been infringed upon, but looking up at the cameras swinging 180 degrees to track his every move, and thinking of the numerous determined men behind their long guns and short cannons... he let it go.
After all, being watched wouldn't make him lose a chunk of flesh.
Anyway, if he had something to deal with, he'd just skip class; if not, he'd basically stay in the music room. Thanks to Huai Shi's consistently excellent cello performance and his collection of awards from various competitions, the school did grant him some leeway.
For instance, a relatively spacious individual compartment in the music room, where he didn't have to queue up and wait like everyone else.
After all, he was the only one in the school who played the cello.
Once he cleaned the summer dust from his room, Huai Shi opened his cello case and began deftly... caressing the fish.
Practicing the cello in the music room?
That didn't happen!
Right above his compartment were the teachers' offices with top-notch Wi-Fi speed—streaming videos was always smooth, unlike the irregular and risky broadband poached by Raven.
He first habitually browsed the local news—just some fluff pieces like "Full Sparrow Banquet Becomes A Hit in Xinhai, Tables Booked Solid" and occasionally interspersed with bad news like the recent tomb robbers in the city, stealing from public cemeteries.
He closed it after a few minutes.
Thinking of killing time, he simply launched the "Silent Crown" client; it had been a long time since he logged in. After downloading a significant update, a pop-up appeared.
[Limited Time Event: Dark World·Dragon's Labyrinth!
With the expedition team's exploration, the mysterious Kingdom of Xiematai begins to reveal the tip of an eerie iceberg from the Dark World.
What mysteries lie hidden in the thousand-year-old dead realm, and what treasures are buried within the disaster-stricken ruins?]
[Heaven Earth Power·Divine Power at Will—Catastrophe·White Emperor's Son (SSR) has been added to the limited card pool...]
Another massive update out of the blue, with hundreds of thousands of words in original story content and enough stones for three "Ten in a row" card pulls. The drop list also featured numerous valuable items easily obtained... The developers must've lost their minds to be this generous.
Too bad the SSR drop rate in this game was abysmally low, and Huai Shi, who was too stingy to spend real money yet desperate to get an SSR, had only one out of the thirty or so SSRs that had been released by the game. It was a bonus from the "African" medal given by the official, a clone hero named Yan Qingge with a cool title, 'Either I am secure · The cloud color is me', but unfortunately, he was a support class with damage output so weak that he was only good for delivering 'food' in high-tier matches.
It had to be said, the newly released Miss was darn attractive, and with a design that seemed to be a sporty yet absent-minded teenage girl, she gathered heaps of praise. It even gave Huai Shi a fleeting desire to spend real money.
Holding onto a sliver of hope, he pulled a "Ten in a row", and then saw nothing but blue skies and white clouds... Well, a hundred stones gone, gifted to that swindler Xear.
```
Before the game was shut off, there was a loud "bang" as the door got kicked open and a petite figure walked in, gracefully sat down on the small couch opposite Huai Shi:
"Hurry, I'll boost your rank!"
It was Fu Yi.
This place was practically becoming her base. She even moved this small couch here from the student council. In the corner, there was a big power strip where all her handheld gaming consoles were plugged in, so she could charge them anytime.
If the TV wasn't such a hassle to move, she probably would've brought two home consoles as well.
Huai Shi rolled his eyes, "Did you skip class again?"
"You skipping class counts as skipping. Me, the student council secretary skipping class, does that count as skipping?"
Fu Yi gave him a sideways glance, "Besides, I'm heading off to closed training in the art studio next week. It's fine to leave early. Isn't it better to rank up now rather than waste time?"
Without waiting for Huai Shi's reaction, she smoothly started up the game, pulled Huai Shi into her team, and began dual ranking.
Following the dwindling popularity of the King of the Dark Zone mode in "chicken-eating" games, "Silent Crown", this broken game, launched a MOBA-type strife mode, starting another round of happily swindling skins.
Fu Yi's skills were actually not bad. After all, she's a live streamer with a not-so-low popularity. Besides relying on her looks, her gameplay is passable. But she's always overconfident, liking to show off and insist on playing ADC, often botching ninety out of ten games. By some fluke, the show was quite entertaining, and she fooled quite a few with their donations.
Right after entering the match, she instantly locked in the "Hand of God," driving her teammates crazy.
This acrobat-type late-game hero is unbeatable in swagger when it comes to late game, but is terribly weak early on. Players have more than once criticized the game's designers for this hero, saying it's too easy to target and survive to the late game is all about luck.
"So you're starting your wild plays now?"
Huai Shi sighed and reluctantly chose "Moon Chant" to support her, "Fine, can't help it if Daddy loves you."
As expected, they were on a five-game losing streak.
Not only did she successfully plummets through bronze ranking, but she also dragged down Huai Shi's rank with her. Huai Shi's performance had declined drastically. He used to hold his own, but after a month of not playing, he could only join her in double failing.
After several ranked matches, Huai Shi turned down her invitation for another game and shut off his phone.
As if it was an afterthought, Fu Yi skillfully fetched a cigarette from her stash in Huai Shi's violin case, lit one for herself, and then tossed one to Huai Shi.
With her leg propped up and smoking, she looked like a complete tough girl, nothing like the bunny-like innocence she portrayed in white clothes on her way to school in the morning. If Director Fu found out, he'd probably order Huai Shi to be executed on the spot.
Poor heaven's sake, Huai Shi only learned how to smoke by following Fu Yi.
What couldn't this old hand teach?
Huai Shi was about to speak but then stopped, helplessly waving his hand as he watched the sunlight outside the window in sorrow, looking as desolate as a forsaken lover:
"We shouldn't see each other anymore."
"What are you afraid of?"
Fu Yi laughed as if delighting in his misfortune, "Afraid he'll break your legs?"
Huai Shi was stunned.
"Has he actually hit you before?"
"He has,"
Fu Yi, holding the cigarette in her mouth, freed her hands to brush her hair behind her ears and re-tie it into a ponytail: "Last time he found a love letter in my bag, he broke the leg of the guy who confessed to me.
I hadn't even had the chance to enjoy being pursued yet, then no boy in class dared speak to me."
Huai Shi was flabbergasted: "What happened then?"
Fu Yi shrugged, "After that, my mom divorced him, citing domestic violence. I'm with my mom now, he has no control over me."
"..."
Huai Shi was stunned for a long time, then sighed with resignation: "Sorry."
Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.
Huai Shi had never been interested in others' lives, feeling curiosity just this once, only to step on a landmine.
"It's okay." Fu Yi didn't continue but didn't seem bothered either, just waving her hand, "I only told you because you asked."
"Guess I'm just unlucky then."
Huai Shi shook his head, leaned in, and gestured to Fu Yi with a hook of his hand. She rolled her eyes at him and handed over the lighter with a click.
The flame, turned up to its max, nearly set Huai Shi's hair on fire.
As she watched Huai Shi's desperate flailing, she started laughing, smugly slapping her knee in delight.
It was only in places like this, without anyone else around, that she would ever reveal the side of herself that wasn't ladylike. Otherwise, she was always proper and upright, keeping her distance from all boys and harmful substances.
Just like every parent's good daughter, every teacher's ideal student council secretary, every student's image of a class president.
I guess every family has its own set of difficult issues.
Huai Shi sighed, fiddled with a singed lock of hair on his forehead, and said no more.
If there's anything about respect that people need from each other, then keeping distance is probably the best way. Life is tough enough already, no need to be condescending and judgmental towards others' lives.
Among all the classmates, if one wanted to make friends, there were always choices better than himself. Isn't the fact that this unhealthy friendship has lasted until now due to the tacit distance they've maintained?
Of all his classmates, she was the only one Huai Shi had never envied.
During the school anniversary rehearsal, when Fu Yi smoked in front of Huai Shi, she told him.
"Because I've realized, you're nice to everyone, you talk to everyone, but I don't think you want to be popular. You must dislike everyone."
She said, "Because I feel the same way."
So, having a corner where both can grieve together is quite nice.
Birds of a feather flock together, and in some ways, people with issues aside from showing up in the same forum to buy fake medicine must also have a club for kindred spirits.
Huai Shi couldn't just kick her out just because she had a powerful father.