Chapter 41 Problem Student

Before dawn had even broken, Bai Yuze was already awake.

He turned off the chattering alarm clock. Ever since the last mishap, he had changed his ringtone.

Stepping outside and heading toward the Xunyang River, he could spot a few elderly people dressed in loose white silk traditional suits practicing Tai Chi under the willow trees, accompanied by the lingering, gentle sounds of traditional music playing from nearby.

The willows swayed gracefully, stirred by a gentle breeze.

Bai Yuze withdrew his gaze and began to jog along the stone railing.

After running for about half an hour, he could feel the cells all over his body starting to buzz with vitality.

Arriving at the familiar commercial street, he exchanged greetings with various store owners he knew well.

Bai Yuze stopped in front of a steamed bun shop.

"Good morning, Teacher Bai. I'm very happy to be simple."

An elderly voice came from behind him. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, yet he could not recall having any foreign friends.

Bai Yuze turned around to find a kind-looking old grandmother standing behind him, holding a bag of fresh vegetables.

"Grandma Tan, good morning."

Bai Yuze truly had not expected that this seventy-something-year-old grandmother would actually start learning English for the sake of her grandson.

This genuinely made him feel both humbled and full of admiration.

"Teacher Bai, you have no idea."

The middle-aged uncle, busy sweeping the dust from the entrance of his shop, chuckled when he saw Bai Yuze's astonished expression.

"This old lady goes out for a stroll every morning now, and no matter where she walks, she speaks foreign lingo. After hearing it for so long, even the rest of us have picked up a few phrases. With the world the way it is these days, who knows what good learning foreign lingo is going to do her anyway."

"Go on with you, what do you know? You can never have too many skills, and learning extra things never hurts. There is no end to learning."

Grandma Tan did not mind the teasing at all; instead, she looked at Bai Yuze with a bright, beaming smile.

"Xiao Ze, do you think what I'm saying makes sense?"

"Grandma Tan is entirely right."

How could Bai Yuze dare to dampen Grandma Tan's enthusiasm? They say that once a person finds a goal in life, they can grow significantly younger.

Now, it seemed that was truly not false. With the radiant energy the old woman exuded today, she looked at least a dozen years younger.

Bidding farewell to the enthusiastic uncle and auntie, Bai Yuze found his hands holding a few more bright, fresh fruits. Carrying the basket of small steamed buns that his younger sister loved, he hummed a little tune and began his walk back.

Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught sight of a short, middle-aged man. The man had a gloomy expression, wore a dark hemp-colored coat, and was tightly clutching something round and bulging against his chest as he darted out from a narrow alley.

The two brushed past each other, and the middle-aged man hurried out of sight.

When passing by the alley earlier, Bai Yuze hadn't paid much attention.

Seeing the other person's stealthy behavior now, something was most likely happening inside that alley.

Should he go, or should he not?

Never mind, let's go take a look.

What if he could pull off a classic hero-saving-the-damsel trope?

Aren't those the classic plots found in novels?

Following the alley inward, he found piles of garbage stacking up like mountains. The ground looked damp and soggy, though it was impossible to tell whether it was water or some other liquid. Originally, he thought it would only take a few dozen steps to reach the end, but once inside, he realized there were actually four or five other alley entrances branching off.

Well, well, who would have thought such a place existed here?

Bai Yuze's mood grew faintly excited; the joy of exploring the unknown is something one cannot fully explain to outsiders.

The Abyssal Qi here was several times more concentrated than outside. In a video game, this would definitely count as a monster-respawning zone. Following the path where the energy felt the thickest, the foul stench of the alley gradually became masked by a heavy perfume scent as he ventured deeper.

Looking at the flickering neon lights along the street, Bai Yuze paused for a moment.

Well, well, could this be the legendary red-light district?

Wait, this street somehow felt vaguely familiar.

Bai Yuze racked his brains, but simply couldn't remember when he had ever been to such a place.

"Tsk tsk, stop trying to remember. If it weren't for me, this would be the very place where you almost turned into a cream puff."

"Sigh, what a pity..."

Who knew what the Abyssal Sprite Butterfly residing in his mind was lamenting about.

"Hmph hmph, keep nagging and I'll turn you into a cream puff right now," Bai Yuze retorted with a cold snort.

Silence hung in his mind for a moment.

The Abyssal Sprite then chimed in, sounding rather embarrassed: "W-well, doing it in a place like this isn't very appropriate. I haven't even mentally prepared myself yet. But if it's with you, I suppose it's not entirely out of the question~"

Bai Yuze: "..."

However, the situation unfolding right before his eyes was clearly not the time to exact revenge on a smart-mouthed sprite.

Not far from him, a young girl wearing the school uniform of Qiuyuan No. 1 High School looked somewhat disheveled, her eyes red and swollen as if she had already been crying.

A blond youth with somewhat pale skin, wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, was holding a small knife pressed against the girl's neck, his arm tightly locking her in place to prevent her from struggling.

With the knife pressed against her, the girl's face was deathly pale, and her whole body trembled, too terrified to make a single movement.

A few tears fell onto the ground, making her look exceptionally pitiful. Unfortunately, this group of young delinquents did not seem to appreciate her beauty, as they fiercely barked at her: "What are you crying for? We're only taking money, not ravishing you. Hand over the cash."

"B-but I was already robbed just a moment ago. I don't have anything left on me..."

"Then go home and get the money. We don't need much, three or four hundred will do."

"Mister, my dad got into a car accident last year, and all the money at home went toward his medical treatment. He's still paralyzed in bed. My mother bought me a set of new clothes and then ran away without a trace. I honestly couldn't hold on any longer, so I came here and hesitated all night, only to get robbed again early this morning, and now I've run into you guys. I really have no other way out, wuu wuu wuu!!!"

As she spoke, the girl burst into loud sobs.

Hearing this, the black-haired youth standing next to the blond man immediately gave himself a vicious slap across the face.

"I'm fu*king human trash."

"Are you fu*king retarded? Every woman who comes around here has a silver tongue, spinning tales of woe. Which one of them doesn't claim to be an orphan with both parents dead, some family member suffering from a terminal illness, drowning in massive debts, all alone and pitiful?"

The blond man shot the black-haired youth a look that suggested he was dealing with an absolute idiot, gave a cold snort, and ordered: "Pat her down!"

"I really don't have anything left."

The girl's voice trembled, carrying a distinct sob as tears continuously swirled in her eyes.

After searching for quite a while, a mushroom-haired man finally turned around and said with utter disappointment:

"Boss, she still has a phone and a cheap, fire-red ring from a street stall."

The blond man spat out a couple of times in disgust. "What a damn poor-ass, though her face is pretty pretty."

Before the blond man could make any further moves, someone gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder. Subconsciously turning his head, the blond man received a heavy punch straight to his face, followed swiftly by a joint-lock that violently twisted his arm, sending him crashing to the ground in pain.

The black-haired youth was startled by the sudden turn of events. He whipped out a dagger, blocked in front of himself, and shouted viciously: "D-don't come any closer!"

Bai Yuze paid him no mind whatsoever. He lunged straight forward, precisely grabbed the wrist holding the dagger, pulled and twisted forward, causing the latter to lose his balance and crash flat onto the ground.

"Bang..."

"Fu*k me, how can you run into a do-gooder in a dump like this? The sun must be rising from the west."

The defeated blond man clutched his wrist, glaring at the young man with venomous eyes. Suddenly looking fierce, he struggled to his feet, picked up the dropped dagger, and lunged toward the fallen girl to slash at her.

Bai Yuze narrowed his eyes. The moment the other made a move, he delivered a swift kick. The sent-flying dagger landed far away in a corner of the alley, making it impossible to retrieve even if they wanted to.

Then, amidst the terrified expression of the man, Bai Yuze stomped heavily onto the joints of his right hand and ground his heel down viciously a few times.

With a few crisp cracks, the bones were most likely broken.

The girl raised her pale little face, watching the retreating back of the handsome young man, her eyes sparkling slightly.

"Click."

The security door at home was unlocked by Bai Yuze. Bai Youqing had already gotten up and was practicing Tai Chi on the balcony. The golden sunlight spilled softly across her back, radiating youthful vitality.

"Breakfast is ready."

"Mm."

At the dining table, the two sat in silence. Bai Yuze watched as Bai Youqing ate bit by bit, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster eating. More than twenty small steamed buns were completely devoured by her into her stomach within just a few minutes.

"Brother, I'm full."

"Let's go then."

Half an hour later, Bai Yuze and Bai Youqing appeared outside the school gates.

"See you tonight. Study hard."

Bai Youqing nodded gently and walked toward her classroom with her double-strap backpack.

After taking only a few steps, the girl turned back and smiled, "Good luck, Brother. Hurry up and defeat Teacher Hoshino."

"Adults' business is none of kids' concern."

"Bleh. You're just afraid nobody will want you in the future." Bai Youqing stuck out her pink tongue with a look of utter disdain.

Seeing Bai Youqing leave, Bai Yuze headed toward his own classroom. Along the way, he ran into several students who respectfully greeted him: "Good morning, Teacher."

"Good morning." Bai Yuze nodded and walked inside.

When the morning self-study session ended, Bai Yuze stepped into the staff office. A few teachers were chatting idly, talking about everything from ancient times to the present. Without thinking twice, he joined them.

After all, who doesn't like a bit of gossip?

As for student grades, the curriculum had already been taught, and the focus now was mainly on independent review. As the head teacher, his primary responsibility was to look after their physical and mental well-being, making things much more relaxed compared to before.

Before even a few minutes of chatting had passed, Teacher Hoshino thoughtfully brought him a document.

"Teacher Xiao Bai, you still have a lot of matters to handle, so you can't rest just yet."

Bai Yuze took it and glanced over it. This document contained the student profiles of his upcoming class assigned by the school leadership, and it felt quite substantial when handed over.

"Thank you very much, Teacher Hoshino."

"You're welcome."

Amidst the teasing glances of his colleagues, Bai Yuze had no choice but to return to his own desk. He had originally planned to ask the previous head teacher for a copy, but he hadn't expected Teacher Hoshino to have already fetched it for him.

Of course, it was also possible she simply couldn't stand the sight of him slacking off.

All in all, he was still deeply grateful to Teacher Hoshino.

Opening the student files, he found that this document recorded each student's family background, special skills, hobbies, past academic records, and so on.

Although it was a regular class, students who managed to enter No. 1 High School generally had a solid foundation, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about academically. The only thing that might require his concern was the students' personal character.

With that in mind, Teacher Hoshino, who was sitting opposite him working intently, seemed to recall something and specifically raised her head to remind him: "There are two students in this class that you need to pay extra attention to."

"Who?"