As expected, upon hearing Xie Tao's words, Ning Zhu's anger surged. He threw his wig on the ground and rushed forward, grabbing Xie Tao's collar.
A battle between the two was about to erupt. Yan Chi grabbed Xie Tao's arm, which was poised to strike, and turned to soothe Ning Zhu, his movements dizzying with worry. "Don't hit him! Can you listen to me for a bit?"
"He hit me first, and he even cursed at me!" Ning Zhu cried out, his face flushed with anger, his voice hoarse as he accused Yan Chi, like a child who had suffered a great injustice and was misunderstood by an adult. "Teacher Xiao Chi!!"
Xie Tao said sarcastically, "Oh, little brat, you've learned to tattle now. Say a few more words, and Teacher Xiao Chi will hold you in his arms and comfort you, saying 'Baby, don't cry.'"
Ning Zhu, unable to win the argument, nearly had a stroke from anger. Pointing at Xie Tao, his fingers trembling, he stammered, "You, you..."
"Say less, both of you." Yan Chi covered Xie Tao's unforgiving mouth, soothing Ning Zhu, "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll handle it."
The other students were watching the commotion. Mingcai reminded Ning Zhu, "Be careful, don't hit Teacher Chi."
Sethia, with his pigtails, ran over, lifting his skirt, picked up Ning Zhu's wig from the ground, and dusted it off, "We'll need it tomorrow, don't get it dirty."
Feng Wang called to Ning Zhu, "If you hadn't removed your makeup, I would have arrived first."
Lian Deng's three little pets, seeing the pretty dress, jumped out of the cardboard box and clung to Xingluo. Xingluo screamed upon seeing them, terrified, and ran around screaming, "Teacher Xiao Chi, save me!!"
Lian Deng immediately chased after him, "He's afraid of you! Get off him!"
In his panic, Lian Deng stepped on Feng Wang's dress and knocked over Li Huai, who had come to help.
"Ahhhhh—Teacher Xiao Chi!!"
Chaos erupted in the dressing room.
Yan Chi: "..."
Help!! Someone save him?!
Yan Chi was at his wit's end. Faced with this chaotic scene, he was overwhelmed. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he shouted, "Stop it, all of you!"
An invisible binding force stabilized each student, who stared wide-eyed in shock.
What...what's going on?
Yan Chi, his face cold, moved all the unrelated people to the other side, helped Li Huai up, and then tore the little monsters off Xingluo and threw them back into the box, returning them to Lian Deng.
Lian Deng smacked each little monster on the head, "Disobedient!"
The little monsters lowered their heads.
Shen Mingsu, who had just entered, sensed this force and, looking at the group of students standing obediently together, raised an eyebrow with amusement, "What's going on? How did you manage to anger Teacher Chi?"
The students gave him a resentful look but remained silent.
Yan Chi ignored him and went straight to Xie Tao and Ning Zhu, explaining the situation in a few words, "...So Ning Zhu really isn't a pervert."
Ning Zhu snorted, arrogantly raising his chin, waiting for Xie Tao to apologize.
Xie Tao hadn't expected that he had actually interacted with Ning Zhu and even accidentally hit him, but he struggled to recall, and only had a few vague memories of that dream.
“Then it must be my fault.” Xie Tao wasn’t the type to be unreasonable; he knew how irrational he was in his dreams, so he immediately and readily apologized to Ning Zhu.
Ning Zhu couldn’t help but smile, reminding him, “You insulted me twice and even slapped me.”
Xie Tao: “Then I’ll apologize again, and you can hit me back?”
Ning Zhu glanced at his clean face but didn’t actually hit him. He put his hands down, intending to put them in his pockets, but his hands brushed against his skirt.
He was a little embarrassed, glancing around to make sure no one noticed, and immediately walked casually to Yan Chi’s side, “…Never mind, I’ll let it slide since you’re Teacher Chi’s friend.”
But after thinking about it, he was still unsatisfied, “Do you know how to remove makeup? Help me remove mine.”
Xie Tao pointed to himself, “Are you sure you want me to do it?”
Ning Zhu thought he had to subdue him properly to make up for his recent frustration, and he gave a resounding “Yes.”
Xie Tao, wary of him causing trouble, cautiously said, "Let me make it clear beforehand, I've never helped anyone remove makeup before. I have no experience in this area. If I don't do it well or hurt you, it's not because I'm intentionally retaliating."
"I'm not that petty," Ning Zhu said, sitting in the chair like a grandpa, his skirt still on, haughty like a princess.
Xie Tao, mimicking Ding Yang's method of removing Mingcai's makeup, awkwardly applied makeup remover to a cotton pad and focused intently on wiping the makeup off his face.
Yan Chi, seeing that they had finally cleared up the misunderstanding, breathed a sigh of relief and went to deal with the other classmates' matters.
He first approached Feng Wang and Li Huai. "You two fell on stage, are you hurt?"
"It's alright, teacher." Li Huai showed Yan Chi his arms and legs, then lowered his head dejectedly. "I'm not hurt, but we might drag the performance down."
Yan Chi comforted him, "Nobody's being dragged down, everyone's on the same level."
Except for Ahui and Shen Chang Le, who danced somewhat decently, the others were equally awful.
Sethia was quite optimistic, "It's okay, Li Huai, it's just embarrassing, it's not a big deal."
His words only made things worse. Yan Chi immediately thought of his even worse performance than Li Huai and Feng Wang, and turned his attention to him, "I haven't even talked to you yet! What's going on between you and Tan Mo? For five minutes straight, it was either him chasing you or you chasing him."
They turned a perfectly good waltz into a race, completely disregarding their dance partner.
Sethia lowered his head shyly. "Sorry, Teacher Xiao Chi, I was just too engrossed."
Then, while dancing, he realized his dance partner was gone.
Yan Chi: "..."
Ah...so tiring.
A pair of large hands massaged his shoulders, and Shen Mingsu pushed him towards the door. "These kids know what they're doing, don't worry too much about them. Let's go home."
"Did Zhinan go back?"
"Yes, he went back."
Yan Chi saw Xie Tao still wiping Ning Zhu's face, reminding him not to forget to come home for lunch. Xie Tao agreed, and Yan Chi left the dressing room with Shen Mingsu.
Just as Yan Chi stepped out of the dressing room, he heard Ning Zhu shout, "Xie Tao, you got makeup remover in my eyes! Teacher Xiao Chi, come back quickly, look at him!!!"
Xie Tao's voice was broken, "I told you I really don't know how to remove makeup!"
"You did it on purpose."
"I didn't mean to."
"Teacher Xiao Chi!!!"
"..." Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Teacher Xiao Chi ran away without looking back.
But just as he turned the corner, Yan Chi bumped into the director, as if he had hit a piece of iron. The pain made his head spin, and he saw golden lights before his eyes, taking a step back.
Fortunately, Shen Mingsu caught Yan Chi around the waist in time and pulled him into his arms, preventing him from falling to the ground in a sorry state.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Xiaochi." The director, who was also the one who was bumped, remained as steady as a mountain. He watched as Yan Chi's fair forehead gradually turned red. He paused, subconsciously looked at Shen Mingsu, and spoke first, "I have important business to discuss with you."
Yan Chi readily agreed, "Then I'll go first."
"No need." Shen Mingsu pulled him back, glanced at the bump on his forehead, and said to the director, "Speak quickly."
The director quickly replied, "The player system only sent five players this time. One was killed on the spot by Mingcai. Excluding Xie Tao and Ding Yang, there are only two players left. That's too few."
Shen Mingsu: "How many more players do you need?"
"After the opening ceremony performance tomorrow morning, thirty more players will be enough." The director had already calculated it. "Then we'll distribute them to the various classes."
"Okay."
Yan Chi listened to their conversation, surprised. Thirty more players? Wouldn't that be too many? This worry was voiced by Yan Chi on their way home. "Do you need me to disable the players' system space?"
"No need," Shen Mingsu said, playing with his hand. "Stop using your idealistic methods."
After witnessing Yan Qingyuan's despair and pain, Shen Mingsu's heart remained heavy. He worried that Yan Chi would also lose control of his abilities and end up like Yan Qingyuan.
Yan Chi, aware of his concerns, smiled at him. "It's okay, I can control myself."
Shen Mingsu: "...Yeah, I believe you."
He looked at the students throughout the campus and ruffled Yan Chi's hair. "Not yet. Our students aren't little lambs that need constant teacher protection."
Yan Chi's abilities should be saved for the most crucial moment.
That night in the student dormitory, Xin Xia and Grandpa Liu were assigned to the same apartment, sharing a guest room on the first floor. The teacher settled them there and then left without further mention, as if they had been forgotten.
Besides the two of them, two second-year students lived upstairs, each keeping to themselves.
The old man casually tossed his cane to the ground, lay down on the large bed, and sighed, "This is life! If I could die here, I could die in peace."
The viewers in the live stream deeply agreed.
[Yes, yes, this is what life should be like. No need to constantly be on the verge of death, no need to worry about never waking up again in your sleep.]
[It seems Yunzhou isn't as dangerous as rumored. These NPCs are actually quite friendly.]
[By the way, what happened to those two players who were taken away by the NPCs? Are they still alive?]
[Their live stream was black, but it wasn't turned off, so they should be fine.]
[…]
Xin Xia surveyed the room, not missing a single corner. Their door wasn't locked; it would be easy for his roommate to sneak in and steal something. While checking, he casually remarked, "You sound quite energetic; you're probably not going to die anytime soon."
The old man chuckled and said, "I heard the kids here saying there's an opening ceremony for the sports meet tomorrow. Young man, why don't you come with this old man to watch the excitement?"
Xin Xia didn't even turn his head. "Grandpa, you're so old; you should rest."
"I can't miss it because I'm old!" The old man's attitude towards life was more cheerful than most young people's. "Life is short, so of course we should enjoy it while we can."
Xin Xia, anxious to find Lin Heng and also planning to wander around the school, agreed, "Alright, I'll go with you."
The old man beamed instantly, "Good man, are you busy right now?"
"No, why?"
"Let's go for a walk now." The old man briskly got up, picked up his cane, and stretched. "Staying in the room is too boring. I saw a large lake scenic area on campus earlier; let's go check it out."
Xin Xia: "...Let's go."
Following their memory, they found the lake. Along the way, students in school uniforms gave them strange looks. Xin Xia secretly hid a razor blade in his hand, constantly on guard against any movement around him.
The old man, however, seemed completely unaffected by the stares, strolling leisurely as if in a garden.
Not far from them, Yan Chi sat on a bench, enjoying the breeze and relaxing. Xi Chang was still playing with a ball in the lake. Perhaps bored playing alone, Xi Chang begged Yan Chi to join him.
Yan Chi looked at the water. "But I can't go in the water."
"I know," Xi Chang tossed the ball to Yan Chi, swam a lap, and then wagged its tail expectantly. "You can throw the ball here, and I'll catch it. You can throw it far, I'm sure I can get it back."
Yan Chi felt the game sounded familiar. Seeing that Xi Chang was ready, he threw the ball with all his might.
The ball traced a perfect parabola. Xi Chang flicked its tail and dashed forward like lightning, catching the ball just before it hit the water.
Xi Chang cheered: "I caught it!"
Yan Chi, infected by his smile, laughed too, waving at him. Xi Chang happily tossed the ball to him again, then swam after it.
Shen Mingsu, watching the two happily playing with the ball, suddenly asked, "Teacher Xiao Chi, do you have any photos of yourself when you were little?"
Yan Chi tossed the ball away, turning to look at him. "I don't have any individual photos, but I do have group photos. Why are you asking?"
There are too many children in the orphanage; it's impossible to take individual photos of every child. Usually, it's just group photos.
"Our Teacher Xiao Chi is so beautiful; he must have been very cute as a child. I want to see you as a child." Shen Mingsu still fondly remembered Yan Chi's adorable, porcelain-like appearance, regretting not taking a picture at the time.
The little ball rolled to Shen Mingsu's feet. He looked up and saw Xi Chang glancing at him with a hint of fear.
Shen Mingsu picked up the ball and tossed it upwards. With a strong push, the ball flew over Xi Chang's head, hit the opposite bank, and fell back into the water.
Xi Chang: "..."
He pouted at Shen Mingsu, then wagged his tail and chased after his ball.
"Sit down, he won't be back for a while," Shen Mingsu patted the seat next to him. Yan Chi sighed and sat down beside him. Shen Mingsu stretched out his long arm, "I saw you when you were little, you were so cute."
Yan Chi: "?"
"Our little teacher is so cute, so chubby and fair-skinned." Shen Mingsu hugged Yan Chi's neck, rubbing his face against his fair skin.
Yan Chi looked down at the top of his head. "How did you see that?"
"Going back in time, one of my abilities." Shen Mingsu chuckled, kissing his eyes. "Your eyes are so beautiful too."
A faint blush rose to Yan Chi's face.
Shen Mingsu's hot breath brushed against his face, Yan Chi's curled eyelashes trembled, and he felt a light touch on his lips. He closed his eyes, and Shen Mingsu kissed him deeply.
After only a short while, Yan Chi, worried that Xi Chang might come back with the ball and see them, quickly pushed Shen Mingsu away and wiped his red lips.
"Have you seen Xi Chang?"
Yan Chi was startled by the sudden voice. He turned around and saw Lin Heng standing beside them, fishing gear beside him, gazing at the calm water.
Yan Chi, unsure how long Lin Heng had been there or if he had seen anything he shouldn't, said guiltily, "He went to retrieve the ball."
"Then he..."
"Boss! Ahhhhhh!"
The excited voice grew louder as it approached. Yan Chi saw a dark shadow flash before his eyes, and a boy wearing a baseball cap appeared beside Lin Heng. The boy gripped Lin Heng's hand tightly, looking at him as if he had found his long-lost father.
Then he saw Shen Mingsu and Yan Chi. He couldn't immediately discern Shen Mingsu's level, but knew he must be very strong. The fact that their boss hadn't contacted them for so many years was most likely related to this NPC.
Xin Xia's eyes sharpened, and he stepped in front of Lin Heng, bravely declaring, "Boss, you run first! I'll hold them off!"
Lin Heng was about to explain when a small ball hit him squarely on the shoulder. Lin Heng knew something was wrong and turned to see Xi Chang glaring at him angrily.
Xi Chang emerged from the water. Seeing that he was lightly dressed, Yan Chi took off his coat and draped it over him. Xi Chang wrapped the coat tightly around himself and walked straight behind Yan Chi and Shen Mingsu, as if to make his stance clear through his position.
Thus, a standoff inexplicably formed between the two sides.
Yan Chi: "..."
He seemed to smell the gunpowder again.
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