Chapter 105: You May Look But Don’t Laugh!
Translator: Pika
“What the hell? He’s too shameless!”
“This is ridiculous!”
“I curse those who spread the stench of love in public to premature deaths!”
...
A commotion broke out in the classroom. Were it not for the fact that Zu An was a teacher, they would have surely drowned him in their saliva by now.
Interestingly, at odds with the fury and looks of envy coming from the male students, the female students had their eyes twinkling in excitement.
“Waa, how cool! If only I had such a domineering boyfriend too!”
“This is the kind of situation that I’ve only seen in the romance novels I have read!”
“If someone were to protect me like that too, I think that I just might faint from bliss.”
...
Chu Chuyan, with her sharp ears, could hear the whisperings loud and clear. A faint tinge of red had started spreading on her fair cheeks. She couldn’t comprehend what was going on here at all. I only haven’t been to the academy for a few days. How in the world did Zu An manage to become a teacher in the academy?
Her first thought was that everyone in the classroom was colluding together to fool her, but she immediately refuted that line of thought. Zu An didn’t have the connections to make the prodigies of the Sky class do his bidding, especially not Shi Kun.
Then, she remembered the bizarre look in her younger sister’s eyes yesterday, which looked almost as if she was going to laugh out loud but was desperately holding it in. From the looks of it, it would seem that she already knew about this matter but was intentionally concealing it.
That damned lass! She actually colluded with an outsider to prank her older sister. But... is Zu An really considered an outsider?
Zu An looked at the Rage points flowing in, and he felt that his students were simply too cute. I’ll give them a higher grade for their arithmetic scores later on... Well, except for a few people, that is. Heh, I’m that petty of a person!
Seeing that Chu Chuyan wasn’t responding at all, Zu An smiled and asked, “Why? Are you having difficulties with the question?”
“The answer is 2.” Chu Chuyan’s face was as red as an apple.
She had never expected things to turn out like that, but again, the earlier question was indeed beyond her ability to answer. She might be able to think of the answer if she was given more time to ruminate over it, but answering it on the spot was clearly impossible. Rather than to be sent out of the classroom and punished for getting the wrong answer, she would rather grab onto the Zu An’s helping line.
“That’s right. As expected of the number one prodigy of the Sky class. Alright, you may sit back down,” complimented Zu An.
Chu Chuyan usually kept her head up high regardless of the situation. Be it her background or her capability, she had the confidence to uphold her pride before anyone else. But at this very moment, her face was lowered all the way down. It was simply too awkward!
This fellow must be doing it on purpose! Even when other people are giving leeway, they would do it secretly so as to not get caught. Yet, this fellow goes around flaunting it as if he’s afraid that others wouldn’t know about it!
As compared to Chu Chuyan’s overflowing embarrassment, Shi Kun felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. “The question you have posed is unfair!”
You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for +711 Rage!
Zu An shot a glance at him and asked, “Are you the teacher or am I the teacher?”
Shi Kun glared at Zu An coldly as he exclaimed, “If you are the teacher, you shouldn’t show such blatant favoritism!”
Zu An shrugged calmly. “Since you know that I’m the teacher, you should also know that it’s my right to choose the question I want to ask. The questions I come up with on the spot are random. You only have your own luck to blame if you got a more difficult question.”
The other students were rendered speechless. How does this fellow spout such blatant lies without feeling embarrassed at all? We can all see that you’re siding with your wife here, alright?
Shi Kun still wanted to protest against this matter, but Zu An cut him off. “As your teacher, I feel obliged to teach you a life lesson too. The concept of fairness doesn’t exist in this world. Let’s take young master Shi for example, you were born with a golden spoon in your mouth. You had the best teachers to build up your foundation from a young age, and you never had any lack of cultivation resources. In comparison, commoners struggle just to make a living. Do you know how much hard work they have to put in just to obtain a single ki stone? As such, even if their aptitude is on par with you, they still end up lagging behind you. Are you going to stand up for them and say that it’s unfair then?”
“You...” Shi Kun was unable to refute Zu An’s words.
The students in the classroom nodded in agreement. Most of them thought that Zu An had only become an arithmetic teacher out of his shamelessness and luck, so they looked down on him. Yet, who could have thought that he would actually be able to speak of such deep words?
Indeed, true fairness never existed in this world. Whatever semblance of fairness that could be seen on the surface were just stability measures implemented by the ruling class to placate the less privileged.
Most of the students in the Sky class came from prominent backgrounds, but there were also ordinary civilians amongst them too. They related deeply with Zu An’s words. It was luck that they were born with superior cultivation aptitude, but nevertheless, they still had to work harder than anyone else just to keep up with those who were privileged to have a strong backing. All of their experiences made them cognizant of just how unfair the world was.
Chu Chuyan also raised her head then to look at the towering figure standing on the podium. For a moment, she found herself dazed. Is this the same man I know of? Had I been too busy with the clan’s affairs that I ended up neglecting him, not even trying to understand who he is as a person?
However, the infuriated Shi Kun wasn’t willing to let things rest like that. “You’re just forcing your twisted logic here. We can find any teacher here, and I’m certain that they’ll agree that the questions you have asked are biased!”
Zu An shrugged. “Yes, I’m indeed intentionally siding with Chu Chuyan. What do you intend to do about that? If I don’t side with my own wife, who else should I be siding with? You? It’s not as if you’re my sugarbaby. Even if I’m looking for a sugarbaby, Xie Xiu over there looks much better than you!”
Hearing Zu An calling her as his wife, Chu Chuyan, for the first time in her life, felt cherished and cared for. Over the years, it had always been her holding the fort for the Chu clan, shelttering it from storms. It felt weird to be on the receiving end, but it warmed her heart.
But what did that fellow mean by sugarbaby?
Meanwhile, Xie Xiu was intending to enjoy the show quietly by the sideline. As someone from King Qi’s faction, he was more than delighted to see Shi Kun from the empress’ faction getting embarrassed in public. Besides, the two clans had been vying over the Chu clan, so he would be more than delighted to see an escalation in conflict between the two.
Yet, who could have thought that Zu An would suddenly call his name? And furthermore, sugarbaby?
His face immediately turned as red as an apple. His feminine appearance had always been a thorn in his heart, and no one had dared to speak about it in his presence before. Yet, when Zu An mentioned it right before the class, he oddly found himself not being as angry as he thought he would. It just felt a little awkward and embarrassing.
I guess this fellow has always been too crass that anything he says just feels normal at this point, that’s why I don’t feel too mad about his remark.
“But still, he really is a weirdo!” Xie Xiu might not be particularly angry about it, but he felt that there was a need to return the favor in the future.
Meanwhile, Wu Qing’s eyes widened in astonishment. It can’t be that Big brother Xie Xiu has rejected me because he’s in a relationship with this fellow?
Several images of two bodies pressed tightly against one another surfaced in her mind, causing her to shudder uncontrollably. Unable to bear the notion of it, she shot a piercing glare at Zu An. This hateful fellow actually wants to steal my man, huh?!
The star of the show, Shi Kun, looked as if someone had forced shit down his throat. Due to his beautiful appearance, there were people who had secretly called im a ‘boy toy’ behind his back jokingly, and he would always make sure to dig those people out and send them to the maker.
Yet, he was actually being told that he was beneath Xie Xiu even as a boy toy? For some reason, that remark made him even more infuriated? Are you saying that I’m less charming than him?!
For someone who had always taken pride in his appearance, he couldn’t accept this!
“Zu An, you better not go too far! I might not be able to touch you in the academy, but outside, I have plenty of ways to make you die a horrible death!”
Shi Kun had never thought that he would hate a person so much. It had always been his creed to exact vengeance against anyone who dared to stand against him right away, so he had hardly any enemies around. Zu An was the only one who was still prancing around him after so long.
To make things worse, Zu An’s identity did make it a lot trickier to deal with him, even if he were to pull the connections of the Shi clan too.
Thinking up to this point, Shi Kun couldn’t help but begrudge Snow for her incompetence. Why didn’t you get rid of this disgusting man earlier? If only you have succeeded, I wouldn’t have to go through this public humiliation!
Shi Kun’s threat made Chu Chuyan’s face turn cold. However, before she could say anything at all, Zu An had already begun shouting in agitation, “Everyone, you must bear witness to this! That fellow said with his own mouth that he would kill me. If anything happens to me in the future, the murderer must be no other than him!”
All of the students in the classroom were pretty much numb to Zu An’s shamelessness by now. They could only direct looks of sympathy toward Shi Kun.
Shi Kun felt incredibly stifled. The anger must have really gone to his head for him to actually make such a careless remark in public.
Then, Zu An’s expression changed back to that of a stern teacher once more, and he said authoritatively, “Shi Kun, you have talked back to your teacher multiple times over the course of the lesson. Going by the academy rules, I punish you to stand at the center of the field till noon.”
“You’re punishing me?” It was so ridiculous that Shi Kun began laughing instead. “What can you do about me if I refuse to go?”
With his background, he could easily study at the best academies in the capital. He couldn’t care less about his candidature in a mere Brightmoon Academy.
“If you refuse, I’ll report the matter to the academy. Of course, with your background, I reckon that the academy wouldn’t expel you. However, you need not think about entering the Ursae Dungeon this time around.
Zu An was curious as to why Shi Kun would suddenly appear here. Given his background as the offspring of one of the prominent ducal clans in the capital, there was no reason for him to travel all the way here just to attend Brightmoon Academy.
Initially, he thought that Shi Kun was here for Chu Chuyan, but to go so far for a woman, even if Shi Kun was truly a devoted man, it was unlikely that the elders of the Shi clan would allow him to fool around like this.
It was then he recalled the news about the Ursae Dungeon opening in advance, and the timing of Shi Kun’s arrival seemed far too exact for it to just be a coincidence.
And just as Zu An expected, Shi Kun’s smile cracked upon hearing the remark. He had indeed come to Brightmoon City for the Ursae Dungeon, namely because he received reliable intelligence that an Evanescent Lotus would be blooming very soon in the dungeon. One must know that even a single leaf from it could raise one’s cultivation by a step. It was hard to resist such great temptation.
He would really be foolish if he lost this opportunity over a mere squabble with someone of the lowest level.
So, he took a deep breath and harrumphed, “I just have to stand on the field, right? Fine! I’ll report today’s affairs to the academy as well. I believe that the academy won’t condone your wilful actions either!”
“Here, wear this notice around your neck.” Zu An suddenly pulled a wooden notice out of nowhere and passed it over to Shi Kun.
Shi Kun was taken aback for a moment. He took a look at the words on the wooden notice, and he nearly fainted from anger.
“I, Shi Kun, have been punished to stand here for talking back to my teacher. You may look, but please do not laugh.”