A sophomore leader looking down on a department head seemed confusing to Xiao Lin. However, he could not afford to offend either one of them; he took a few steps back unconsciously and activated his Onlooker Mode.
Song Junlang said with a straight face, "I don't think there's any need for me to explain things to you as a department head!"
Chen Yu laughed and mumbled to himself, "You're just a cook, you're not even Silver rank. You only got to be department head with your connections. You really think you can do whatever you want?"
Chen Yu intentionally lowered his voice, but there was pin-drop silence in the quiet of the night. Some heard what he said.
The two sophomores behind Chen Yu were shocked. They looked over at Department Head Song with a weird gaze and whispered to each other, "He must be kidding! Every department head in the student union is Gold-ranked. If he isn't even Silver-ranked, that would mean he's just Bronze-ranked, wouldn't it?"
"Aren't most sophomores already Bronze? Even our year leader is Silver-ranked!"
"Shut up! Are you even allowed to talk about the department head like that? Some recruits at the Disciplinary Department you are. Apologize!" Chen Yu cut the duo short, but he did not seem all too stern about it.
Xiao Lin understood what was going on. In an academy that measured everything by strength, although Song Junlang was a department head, his strength was not greater than Chen Yu's. That was why Chen Yu did not take him seriously. However, Xiao Lin was still a little confused; Chen Yu claimed that Song Junlang had connections. Could there be descendants in Dawn Academy?
Xiao Lin looked at the silent Department Head Song with worry. Although they had just met and they did not really know each other, he had a better impression of this easy going department head than he did of Chen Yu.
But of course, most of it was due to Song Junlang protecting him, while Chen Yu was trying to arrest him.
What surprised the crowd was how calm Song Junlang remained in the face of Chen Yu's provocation. He still had a gentle, harmless smile on his face, but his words were threatening. "I'm not letting you take him away tonight! You're right; a high-ranked person is looking after me, what are you gonna do about it?"
Xiao Lin looked up silently. Two oval-shaped moons still hung in the sky.
Chen Yu growled, "Department Head Song, I know you're close to the dean, but do you think the student code is a joke? It's been the law here since Dawn Academy was founded!"
Xiao Lin was shocked. Chen Yu invoked the name of the dean in a pretty serious accusation. Xiao Lin could not help but worry.
Song Junlang smiled and replied, "I've cooked for the dean."
Chen Yu was evidently pissed. He stressed, "Even the dean himself has to follow the rules!"
Song Junlang nodded. "I understand, but I've cooked for the dean."
Chen Yu was extremely pissed. He did not know much about Song Junlang, but one thing was for sure: Department Head Song was close to the dean. It was no trivial matter that they had cooked together; this meant that Department Head Song had explored the New World with the dean. This was an unusual relationship.
Beep, beep, beep!
The magic phone in Chen Yu's pocket rang. He pulled it out and took a look before frowning. He walked to a corner and opened his phone; a virtual screen rose from it slowly.
Xiao Lin took a good look from the corner of his eye; there was a baby-faced man on the screen. He had met this man during the orientation; it seemed like he was president of the student union.
This confused and terrified Xiao Lin. He only snuck out to walk around and get some food; he did not expect to involve this many people. There was a department head, then a year leader, and now the president of the student union.
He took a glimpse at Department Head Song. This handsome department head seemed nonchalant and relaxed.
Although Chen Yu lowered his voice while talking to the student union president, the crowd could still hear quite a bit of the conversation.
"Stop this now, come back. Stop going after the freshman as well." The president was speaking; Xiao Lin had heard his voice during orientation, so he could recognize the voice immediately.
"But Department Head Song…"
"You know who's backing him."
"So what! I'm not giving in!"
The duo continued arguing. Xiao Lin was mildly shocked that the student union president chose to back off, but Chen Yu was not giving in. Their focus was also not on Xiao Lin; it was on Song Junlang.
It was getting late, and the wind was picking up. The duo's conversation became harder to hear, but Xiao Lin heard the president saying, "Just remember this, the dean and the entire academy owes Department Head Song a huge favor. No matter what he does, as long as it doesn't affect Dawn Academy's basest interests, no one can interfere!"
The conversation ended there. Chen Yu's expression was darker than ever when he returned. Since the president had said so, Chen Yu could not do anything about it anymore. Before he left, he asked, "Department Head Song, you know Xiao Lin?"
Xiao Lin was not surprised that the year leader recognized him right away. It was normal for a year leader to be able to see his information.
However, Song Junlang's expression became strange. He thought about it long and hard before asking, "Who's Xiao Lin?"
Chen Yu shivered; he walked away with gritted teeth. He felt that this Department Head, who was some high-ranked person was looking after, was more interested in causing him trouble than protecting a freshman he did not know.
"So, you're Xiao Lin." Department Head Song came to a realization moments later and stopped asking questions. To him, Xiao Lin's entrance exam results and basic attributes did not matter.
"Let's make beggar's chicken." Department Head Song was excited. That was all he cared about.
Xiao Lin was left speechless. "Are you really craving it that much?"
Song Junlang corrected him, "No, not for me, for you. Stop wasting time, let's go!"
Xiao Lin felt like Department Head Song was treating him like a lab rat. He shook his head, stopped overthinking it, and went ahead to work on making beggar's chicken.
Although the logistics department was more like a farm than anything, there were sufficient spices for cooking. Xiao Lin found some aluminium foil; he planned to do it in the simplest way: roasting a chicken in the wild. He had not learned anything more complicated than that.
Song Junlang was quick as well. Although Chen Yu insulted him for being low-ranked, handling an iron comb chicken was no problem for him. He seemed very experienced; he cleaned up the chicken in moments, and the sharp comb was completely removed as well. As ferocious as the iron comb chicken looked before its death, it was now a roast chicken for human consumption.
Xiao Lin's lips twitched as he watched Song Junlang. He thought to himself, 'could this Department Head be nothing more than a glorified cook?'