Chapter 19: The Party
Chapter 19: The Party
A few guys had bought a huge pile of alcohol, beer, white liquor, foreign spirits, red wine…
In the end, everyone ended up completely drunk.
Ling Yi even forgot how he ended up in bed.
Waking up in the morning, he found that all those people were nowhere to be seen.
He carefully checked himself over and found nothing unusual, which made him sigh in relief and relax.
Coming out to the living room, he saw that the coffee table, which had been a total mess last night, was now clean and tidy.
Those guys like Zhang Lei definitely weren’t that diligent. It was almost certainly Luo Xue who had cleaned up.
A note was left on the clean coffee table. The handwriting was neat and elegant, giving a very comfortable feeling, though it was overly simple—
“We’re off, see you next time. Zhang Lei says we must have the Golden Fine-Scale Fish next time!”
Ling Yi had already understood the actual situation while drinking last night.
Out of the seventeen classmates, the eldest, He Qin, the seventh, Sun Pengfei, and the eighth, Zhang Lei, had directly gone to the Northern Black Tortoise Legion, one of the Great Qin’s four major legions.
The second, Yan Zhongliang, the third, Xiao Ming, the eleventh brother, Meng Zhensheng, and the twelfth, Huo Chang, had gone to the Southern Vermilion Bird Legion, also one of the four major legions.
The fourth, Qiu Zhu, and the fifth, Liu Haiyan, went to the Western Tiger Roar Legion, one of the four major legions. The sixth, Wang Ze, and the tenth, Luo Yong, went to the Eastern Divine Dragon Legion, one of the four major legions.
There were six girls in total, jokingly called the Six Golden Flowers by everyone.
Arranged by age, the eldest sister, Sun Xiao, the second sister, Feng Jun, and the third sister, Zhuo Jinglan, had entered the Military Headquarters’ X Division. This division was quite powerful, but also very dangerous, mainly responsible for assassinations…
The fourth sister, Chen Ke, entered the military logistics department, responsible for resource allocation… Of course, for now, she was just an ordinary junior officer.
The fifth sister, Jian Ying, the one who helped Luo Xue create the fake video at the press conference, entered the Military Headquarters’ information security department.
As for Luo Xue, she hadn’t joined the Military Headquarters for now, because she still hadn’t completed her studies.
Actually, these people all hoped that Ling Yi would “come out of seclusion.” The outside world’s understanding of Ling Yi was limited; they only knew he was a genius student that Zongwu Academy might see only once in decades.
But these classmates were the ones who truly understood him!
They all knew that behind Ninth Brother’s lazy appearance lay incredibly terrifying energy.
Playing mind games wasn’t Ling Yi’s strong suit, but that didn’t mean his intelligence was inferior to theirs; it was just that everyone had different areas of expertise.
Not long after He Qin, Luo Xue, and the others left, Ling Yi’s class group chat became active.
Zhuo Jinglan, one of the Six Golden Flowers, directly posted a message—”Everyone, go check the official Zongwu Academy website!”
Then Jian Ying directly posted a screenshot. What the screenshot showed was a notice from Zongwu Academy about revoking the previous punishment against Ling Yi.
The wording was sincere, the attitude earnest. It said that due to the unauthorized actions of Leng Mingda and others, Ling Yi’s reputation had suffered great harm, and they deeply apologized…
Reading through it, it could be interpreted as: some leaders of Zongwu Academy, like Leng Mingda, harbored long-term dissatisfaction with Principal Shen Xiaowu, which drove them to lose their minds. After Principal Shen’s death, they turned their spears toward Ling Yi, Principal Shen’s adoptive son. Taking advantage of the academy’s chaotic period, they committed unforgivable mistakes.
Now, the Grand Principal Zhao Tianping had rectified the situation, clearing Ling Yi’s name.
They also apologized to the students of the Champion Class and sincerely welcomed them back to campus to attend the graduation ceremony and receive their diplomas…
Then Jian Ying posted a second screenshot, detailing the disciplinary actions against Leng Mingda and others—removal from all administrative positions, expulsion from Zongwu Academy, and reservation of the right to pursue legal action against them.
Seeing this, no one in the group rushed to cheer for victory, because all of this had been within their expectations.
He Qin: “Zhao is ruthless enough, cutting off the lizard’s tail to save its own skin, shifting blame to survive.”
Zhang Lei: “Still a bit of a pity. We couldn’t take Zhao down along with them.”
Yan Zhongliang: “What are you thinking? Zhao holds a very high administrative rank. The people backing him would definitely protect him at all costs. Actually, we didn’t win this battle either. After all, Vice Principals Zhang and Meng and those people can’t come back.”
At this point, Luo Xue asked in the group: “What do you all think about the graduation ceremony?”
“What do we think? We look at it with our eyes?”
“How else could we look? Unless there are extremely special reasons preventing us from attending, we have to go back. Otherwise, this matter will definitely be exploited by those with ulterior motives.” Eldest brother He Qin said maturely and steadily: “Their response this time was excellent. A sincere apology gives the outside world an impression of admitting mistakes and correcting them. If we refuse to attend, we’ll definitely be portrayed as aggressive and disrespectful to our alma mater.”
“Right, not only do we have to go back and attend, we have to go back very conspicuously.” Eldest sister Sun Xiao said.
“We must attend. Just as they drove the Class Monitor away back then, that’s how we should return now! I heard that Liang Shanming and Yang Tie and some others performed wonderfully the day the Class Monitor left. Good, I plan to go back and properly teach them how to behave.” Third brother Xiao Ming said.
“Oh right, where’s the Class Monitor?”
“Class Monitor, come out. Let’s discuss how to return in a grand and glorious way!”
“Hurry up, Class Monitor, come out and take charge!”
Everyone in the group was shouting and making noise.
Ling Yi looked at the messages in the group, rubbed his head, threw himself onto the bed, and lay there, spacing out.
Then, his phone sent consecutive messages again—his personal account was unfrozen, his credit record was restored to normal, and the three hundred million debt… was also directly canceled.
Undoubtedly, this was good news for him.
But he didn’t feel particularly happy.
Those people could turn clouds into rain at will, arbitrarily manipulating others’ destinies, easily affecting people’s entire lives.
Even if they occasionally messed up… like this time, it was just a matter of issuing a notice, then casually pushing out a few scapegoats, and the matter was over.
If you kept making a fuss, then you were being ungrateful!
They held the power of discourse, controlling the fates of countless people.
The truth was often what they wanted you to see, not what you hoped to see!
And this victory would definitely completely stir up that group’s desire to kill him, along with his close, sibling-like classmates.
Ling Yi understood all these reasons perfectly well.
So now, the only path left before him was to rise up.
If he couldn’t rise, forget about living a peaceful life—even his little life might not be safe!
Just like Luo Xue had said to him half-jokingly—the mission entrusted by the times, you can’t escape it!
Thinking this, Ling Yi picked up his phone and replied with one word in the group: “Go.”
…
On the square of the Spring City City Guard Army base, Ling Yi had just finished instructing a group in martial arts and was sitting on a bench to rest.
Gu Tong walked over from the side and said with a smile, “Congratulations, junior brother!”
After speaking, he sat down next to Ling Yi and said casually, “Get ready tonight, come with me to a party.”
Ling Yi refused without even thinking: “Not going.”
Gu Tong was taken aback and asked, “Why?”
Ling Yi said, “Not interested. I’d rather use that time to go back and lie down for a bit.”
Gu Tong looked speechless: “How did a person like you break through to the Second Order level at fourteen?”
Ling Yi thought for a moment: “Maybe talent?”
Gu Tong: “…”
Then he looked at Ling Yi and said seriously, “Given the current situation, it’ll be hard for you to leave Spring City for a while. So with your status, it’s necessary to get to know more people.”
Ling Yi said with a bitter smile, “Senior brother, I understand your good intentions, but I really don’t like that kind of socializing. I have stranger conversation anxiety.”
Gu Tong looked at him in surprise: “You’re kidding, right?”
Ling Yi said, “Really not kidding. I don’t know what to say when I meet strangers, and I’m especially afraid of the atmosphere suddenly becoming awkward.”
“It’s fine, I’ll be there,” Gu Tong comforted, then looked at Ling Yi. “Wait, that’s not right. When we first met, you didn’t seem bad at talking? Also, you started tutoring students in your sophomore year. How did you overcome your stranger anxiety then? And I see you here, acting completely normal. Ling Yi, you punk, aren’t you just fooling me?”
Ling Yi said, “Not at all. Maybe senior brother, you seem quite approachable.”
“Isn’t it because I’m handsome?” Gu Tong asked.
“You’re not as good-looking as me,” Ling Yi said with a serious face.
“…”
Gu Tong felt like not talking to him anymore. He stood up and said, “Anyway, you have to come with me. Oh, and there will be lots of beauties there!”
After saying that, he left directly.
That night, seeing Ling Yi dressed normally, Gu Tong nodded in satisfaction and asked, “What made you change your mind? The beauties?”
Ling Yi gave him an annoyed look: “It’s because I was afraid you’d keep nagging me!”
“Let’s go!” Gu Tong acted as if he hadn’t heard.
The party was held at a large private club in Spring City. The attendees were local gentry and celebrities of Spring City. Of course, such occasions would definitely not be lacking in various socialites and beauties.
When they arrived, many luxury cars were already parked at the entrance.
In comparison, the imposing military off-road vehicle driven by Gu Tong seemed very out of place.
When Ling Yi, who was 1.85 meters tall with a handsome and valiant appearance, and Gu Tong, who was 1.8 meters tall and equally handsome, got out of the car, many curious glances were immediately cast their way.
Some people were whispering among themselves.
Gu Tong, in civilian clothes, exuded a mature and charming aura. Facing the curious looks around him, he maintained a proper smile.
Ling Yi seemed quite normal on the outside, but actually, he was feeling a bit nervous inside.
In the past, he had met many important figures with his Adoptive Father, but an occasion like this? In all his years, it was truly his first time.
After all, the Old Principal’s age and status made it impossible for him to appear in such places.
He himself was quite lazy, and everyone around him knew he had zero interest in such occasions, so for all these years, no one had opened this door to a new world for him.
Ling Yi didn’t really like what lay behind this door.
As a martial arts practitioner, he could clearly sense a flow of hypocrisy in the air.
At that moment, Gu Tong whispered beside him, “Don’t find it boring, and don’t scorn the hypocrisy. This is the world of adults. Let me also tell you a truth you can slowly ponder… Friends—lifelong comrades-in-arms are naturally good, but not everyone is that fortunate. Fair-weather friends aren’t necessarily bad.”
As Gu Tong said this, he waved his hand toward someone not far away, then said to Ling Yi, “Go walk around on your own for now. I need to go deal with a friend over there. If you really don’t want to talk, just find a quiet corner to sit and eat. Don’t worry, the places I bring you to won’t have any cliché incidents like young masters picking fights.”
After saying that, he left Ling Yi there and walked directly toward a long-legged beauty in the direction he had just waved.
Ling Yi secretly curled his lip, picked up a plate, casually took some cold appetizers, and found an unoccupied corner to sit down.
A cold, clear voice came from his mind: “You’re absolutely nothing!”
Ling Yi had gotten somewhat used to this guy popping up suddenly from time to time over the past few days and wasn’t flustered at all.
“You really don’t plan to cultivate? That Third Order Crystal Core contains a lot of Spiritual Energy!”
“I already said, whoever begs for mercy first is a grandson.” Ling Yi replied flatly.
“Grandfather, let’s cultivate…” The thought in his mind suddenly became incredibly sweet and sticky, drawn out, like a cute little girl acting spoiled.
Following the usual script, Ling Yi should have just spat out a mouthful of water right then.
However, that didn’t happen.
He replied expressionlessly, “Are you out of your mind?”