Chapter 37: Trouble
Chapter 37: Trouble
In the morning, Su Chunfeng gave greeting cards to most of his classmates. During the break, he went together with his classmates to give cards to their teachers.
They couldn’t miss any teacher who had taught them.
After the third class ended, Su Chunfeng went out alone to deliver the last card—to Wang Qimin.
On the office door hung a thick army-green cotton curtain. White steam puffed out from the chimney extending below the eave.
“Excuse me!” Su Chunfeng said softly at the doorway.
Inside, Wang Qimin looked up from the book he was reading at his desk, pushed up his glasses, and said with pleasant surprise, “Su Chunfeng, come on in…” Responding, he got up and walked toward the door.
The door was open. Su Chunfeng lifted the curtain and stepped inside, but he stopped and stood about a step inside the door—he knew Wang Qimin had stood up to close the door, so by standing in that spot, he could block Wang Qimin’s seemingly casual attempt to close it.
“Teacher Wang, happy New Year.”
Su Chunfeng handed the card to Wang Qimin.
Hoping to have Su Chunfeng sit and chat, Wang Qimin had no choice but to take the card first, saying, “Good, good, happy New Year to you too.”
“Goodbye, teacher.”
Su Chunfeng turned and walked out.
“Hey, hey…” Wang Qimin was stunned. He hurried to the doorway but stopped, gazing blankly at Su Chunfeng’s figure retreating into the distance.
Now, Wang Qimin’s heart was full of frustration and confusion—teenagers around fifteen or sixteen were full of curiosity and wild imagination; how could the mysterious esoteric techniques fail to tempt Su Chunfeng? But the reality was, Su Chunfeng simply wasn’t interested, and he didn’t give Wang Qimin the chance to perform those techniques in front of him. This really didn’t make sense, but Su Chunfeng’s excuse that he feared a beating from his father was somewhat plausible.
What worried Wang Qimin most was, what if the reason Su Chunfeng refused was that he had already been taken as a disciple by another mage, thus politely declining his sincerity?
If this guess was true, then who was his teacher?
Had he told his teacher that a teacher at school named Wang Qimin wanted to take him as a disciple and teach him esoteric techniques? Had he told his teacher… that an old, sleazy-looking, sloppily dressed mage named Gong Hu personally came to school to find him and investigate the matter of esoteric techniques harming people in Hetang Village?
Meanwhile, Su Chunfeng had already wandered back to the classroom. But as soon as he reached his desk, Wang Haifei said, “Teacher Xiao wants you to go to her office.”
“Oh, okay.” Su Chunfeng nodded, turned around, and went back out.
Nearby, Zhang Lifei, who was discussing the New Year’s dance performance with a few other girls, turned her head upon hearing this. Pouting with displeasure, she said, “Hmph, what can she possibly want from Su Chunfeng every single day?”
“You…” Wang Haifei couldn’t help but smile, thinking Lifei was even getting jealous of a teacher, was that necessary?
Zhang Lifei leaned in and whispered, “Haifei, look, our Teacher Xiao is so pretty, and she’s only a few years older than us. What if she likes Su Chunfeng?”
“If she likes him, then she likes him.” Wang Haifei blushed, suddenly feeling a bit worried too.
“Aren’t you jealous?”
“Stop it, you’re the jealous one!”
Zhang Lifei tilted her head and whispered playfully into Wang Haifei’s ear, “I actually am jealous of Xiao Qian… But I don’t mind at all that Su Chunfeng likes you, we’re good friends. But if Su Chunfeng dares to like Teacher Xiao Qian, hmph, if I find out, I’ll definitely have it out with him!”
Wang Haifei looked at Zhang Lifei in astonishment. “You, what nonsense are you spouting?”
“Hey, Haifei, are you reluctant to share liking Su Chunfeng with me?” Zhang Lifei pouted, looking disappointed. “We’re good friends, don’t be so stingy, okay?”
“I…”
“Alright, alright, I’m off to rehearse the program.” Zhang Lifei turned and skipped out of the classroom with the other girls rehearsing the dance.
Wang Haifei sat at her desk, dazed, her thoughts wandering.
Could this sort of thing really be shared?
By then, Su Chunfeng had already arrived at Xiao Qian’s office. He called out “Excuse me!” and the door soon opened.
“Come in.” Xiao Qian’s voice came from inside.
Su Chunfeng lifted the curtain and entered, gently closing the door behind him out of habit—to keep the warmth inside.
In the office, Xiao Qian, her long hair loose and casual, wore dark blue jeans, black high-heeled shoes, and a white turtleneck sweater. Even in winter’s thick clothing, her slender, curvaceous figure was evident. Smiling, she picked up a brand-new notebook with a blue cover from her desk and handed it to Su Chunfeng. “Su Chunfeng, it’s not polite to receive without giving in return… This is my New Year’s gift to you. Study hard from now on, okay?”
“Ah?” Su Chunfeng quickly shook his head. “Teacher Xiao, this… this isn’t right.”
“Take it!” Xiao Qian forced it into his hands. “Teachers usually don’t give students New Year’s gifts in return, but I consider you a friend. Friends can give each other gifts, right?”
Su Chunfeng looked embarrassed. “Then… then I’m getting the better deal? A greeting card only costs eight cents.”
“Little brat!” Xiao Qian gave him a light flick on the forehead. “I heard from Teacher Li Jichun that you didn’t sign up for a performance in the New Year’s gala, but for the class New Year’s party, you have to do something, right?”
“I can’t do anything.” Su Chunfeng looked helpless.
“Can you sing?”
“I’m tone-deaf…”
“Really?” Xiao Qian grinned widely, as if she had finally found a chance to embarrass Su Chunfeng, saying gleefully, “Then you absolutely must sing a song tomorrow night… Okay, I’ll talk to Homeroom Teacher Li. After the scheduled performances, there will be a free performance segment. You have to sing a song then! I promised Teacher Li I’d attend Class 14’s New Year’s party this time. So, student Su Chunfeng, no matter how low-key or shy you are, you have to give me, Teacher Xiao, some face, right? We’re good friends!”
Su Chunfeng grimaced. “Teacher, please don’t make me embarrass myself.”
“You must sing.”
“I…”
“I have to go out now, it’s settled. Go back to class.” Not allowing Su Chunfeng any further refusal or argument, Xiao Qian almost unreasonably pushed him out.
Just after exiting the small courtyard of the female teachers’ office, Su Chunfeng saw Li Zhichao waiting outside.
“Zhichao.”
“Hey, Chunfeng!” Li Zhichao turned and hurried over, whispering, “Have you noticed? Wang Liqiu didn’t come to class this morning…”
Su Chunfeng nodded. “That’s not strange; he often skips class.”
“You.” Li Zhichao shook his head, frowning. “That’s because after last time in the dorm, when he got a beating from Dong Chuliang for messing with you, he felt too ashamed to stay in class, so he kept skipping school. I asked around last night and this morning… Wang Liqiu bragged privately back then that he would definitely make Dong Chuliang submit!”
“So what?” Su Chunfeng smiled.
Li Zhichao said, surprised, “Chunfeng, he beat Dong Chuliang up last night! He didn’t come to school today to show off. What do you think he’s doing? He’s probably gathering people, waiting to ambush us on the way home this afternoon! Sigh, did you go find Zhao Shangang?”
“Zhao Shangang went to the county town to sell lotus roots; he’s not home.” Su Chunfeng frowned thoughtfully. “Didn’t you say Wang Liqiu got injured in last night’s fight too?”
“Just a small scrape on his face, nothing serious.” Li Zhichao said.
“Good, then Wang Liqiu won’t ambush us this afternoon or Sunday afternoon.” Su Chunfeng sighed, looking up at the gloomy sky. “Wang Liqiu cares so much about face. After beating Dong Chuliang and showing off, he’ll definitely wait until that little scrape heals before making another appearance.”
Li Zhichao stared blankly at Su Chunfeng, seeing from his expression that he seemed somewhat confident.
Was this guy really that calm?
After school ended in the afternoon…
Anxious Li Zhichao followed Su Chunfeng and a group of students riding bicycles home. Without any trouble, they smoothly left Dongwangzhuang Village.
Li Zhichao finally relaxed, but when he looked back at Su Chunfeng, he saw the guy had fallen behind. Li Zhichao quickly braked, his right foot still on the pedal and left foot on the ground, shouting back, “Chunfeng, hurry up…” He couldn’t feel completely at ease unless they were farther from Dongwangzhuang Village.
Su Chunfeng slowly rode up and stopped beside him. “Zhichao, I have something to do; I need to go to Tunbingying Village.”
“What for?” Li Zhichao asked, surprised.
“To find Dong Chuliang, I have something to say to him.” Su Chunfeng whispered.
Li Zhichao paused, then nodded vigorously. “I’ll go with you!”
“Okay.”
The two rode to a small intersection ahead, turned, and headed east toward Tunbingying Village.
But just after entering Tunbingying Village, Su Chunfeng changed his mind. He stopped, frowning deeply and shaking his head. “Forget it, let’s go back. Better to have as little contact with that kind of people as possible.”
“Huh?” Li Zhichao was dumbfounded, but Su Chunfeng was already turning his bike around and leaving.
Li Zhichao hurried to catch up. “Hey, so what should we do then?”
“Nothing!” Su Chunfeng waved a hand dismissively.
Actually, his mind was a bit messy too.
He had thought of finding Dong Chuliang, dropping Zhao Shangang’s name to embolden him, so that Dong Chuliang, already seething with anger, would quickly take revenge on Wang Liqiu. That way, with those dogs fighting each other, Dong Chuliang might just cripple Wang Liqiu. Even if not, at least Wang Liqiu would be scared enough not to mess with Su Chunfeng and Li Zhichao anytime soon.
But after thinking it over, Su Chunfeng felt it wasn’t right.
He had no good feelings toward someone like Dong Chuliang—frankly, Dong Chuliang and Wang Liqiu were two of a kind. Back during the dorm incident, if not for Zhao Shangang’s influence, Dong Chuliang wouldn’t have helped Su Chunfeng; instead, he would likely have joined Wang Liqiu in arrogantly bullying the boarding students for fun. In fact, that day, the main reason he hit Wang Liqiu was because he felt Wang Liqiu disrespected him in front of everyone.
So getting involved too much with this kind of person…
wasn’t a good thing.
If it were someone like Zhao Shangang, who was truly righteous, daring to fight and uninterested in bullying the weak, only picking tough opponents—then Su Chunfeng might consider befriending him.
As for Dong Chuliang…
Su Chunfeng simply looked down on such a petty, despicable character!