Chapter Twenty-Seven: Blind Fury

"Pfft—" Lin Zheng spat out the water he had just taken into his mouth. Fortunately, he sprayed it to his side; otherwise, the meal would have been ruined. Wiping his mouth, Lin Zheng asked in shock, "What did you just call that fund? A high-class 'prostitution' fund?"

"Yes!" Xiaomeng nodded with deep resentment. "Snap!" The group suddenly looked at Lin Zheng in alarm as the cup in his hand had been crushed to pieces by his grip!

"Uh! There must be a quality issue with this cup!" Lin Zheng said nonchalantly as he tossed the shattered pieces into a nearby trash bin. He turned back and asked, "What exactly is going on? Tell me about it."

"Are you talking about the fund?"

"Yes!"

"Sigh—" Lilith let out a heavy sigh and began to explain the situation regarding the fund to Lin Zheng and the others.

The Longyuan Academy did indeed have a "Young Lady Cultivation Fund." Its slogan was to cultivate noble female elites belonging to China. This somewhat comical fund was initially very popular, and many girls at Longyuan applied for it. However, the application process was rigorous: first, one’s grades had to be outstanding, and one had to possess excellent moral character; second, one had to come from a poor family background; and finally, the most important requirement, one had to be beautiful. Beneficiaries of the "Young Lady Fund" were to be treated like aristocratic young ladies, with the ultimate goal of producing a group of female elites across various industries, ensuring that foreigners would stop labeling Chinese businesspeople as mere "nouveau riche."

Unfortunately, the intention behind the fund was noble, but the reality of the Chinese bureaucracy...

Longyuan held a high status in the capital, so a fund like this naturally attracted significant attention. The first batch of young ladies cultivated was truly excellent—elegant in demeanor, talented, and beautiful, in no way inferior to the daughters of many wealthy families. But it was precisely because of this that these young ladies suffered the greatest humiliation of their lives.

Their beauty and talent were coveted by officials and their offspring. For these lecherous ghouls, conquering an elegant and talented young lady was a source of great personal achievement. To avoid offending these high-ranking officials and their children, the school administration did not hesitate to hand the young ladies over, even resorting to threats. After all, they were not truly wealthy heiresses; without any background, they were nothing more than lambs for the slaughter.

However, the young ladies, having undergone aristocratic training, were not so easily broken. Eventually, one of them, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide by jumping from a building at Longyuan. The truth behind the "Young Lady Cultivation Fund" was finally exposed to the students. Since then, no new "young ladies" had been selected, and to this day, whenever the fund was mentioned, the female students were filled with hatred. If it hadn't been for Lin Zheng, who was unaware of the details, Xiaomeng and Lilith would have likely turned hostile immediately.

"Damn it! Those scumbags!" Yang Qi cursed after hearing the story. Lin Zheng appeared calm, sipping water from a new cup, but his silent expression made the atmosphere in the private room heavy. Suddenly, Lin Zheng smiled and said, "Alright, let’s not talk about these frustrating things anymore!" With that smile, the atmosphere in the room lightened again. After all, they were just ordinary people; what could they do about powerful, high-ranking officials? It was better to keep chatting about happy things and ignore the rest.

The meal lasted until midnight. As a result of eating to their hearts' content, everyone except Lin Zheng and Yuki was stuffed. Seeing Xiaomeng holding her waist, Lin Zheng couldn't help but laugh.

"How many months along are you, Xiaomeng?" Lin Zheng teased, looking at her belly. Xiaomeng’s face turned red, and she gave him a charming glare before hanging onto him, acting spoiled: "I don't care, I can't walk anymore. You have to carry me back!"

"Carrying you back is impossible, but I can support you while you walk," Lin Zheng laughed.

"Then support me back!" Xiaomeng said happily.

"Fine! Rogue, you go back first, I'll take these three back to school!"

"Got it!" Yang Qi nodded. The group walked out of the restaurant, and upon looking outside, Yang Qi broke into a sweat—Yuki’s fan club was still there. These guys were truly dedicated. Yang Qi had always thought such people only existed in the world of anime; she never expected to find such crazy people in reality! She felt lucky to be a girl; otherwise, her life might be in danger. She hoped "Little Lin" could get out of this unscathed. With that thought, Yang Qi whistled and left the Longyuan Restaurant. As she left, the attention of the fan club shifted entirely to Lin Zheng. However, Lin Zheng was immune to their stares. He went straight to pay the bill and then left with the three girls.

It was Lin Zheng’s first time at Longyuan. Looking at the massive Dragon Gate, he was somewhat impressed. Once inside the campus, he looked around. Longyuan was touted as the number one university in the world, and the teaching environment was indeed beautiful. At a glance, Chinese-style pavilions and Western classical architecture blended surprisingly harmoniously; it seemed the original designers had put a lot of thought into it.

Lin Zheng dropped the three girls off at their dormitory. As for taking them upstairs... not to mention the hurdle of the housemother, the fan club lurking in the shadows was a major issue. After they left, Lin Zheng wandered around Longyuan with a curious look. Seeing him sightseeing, the fan club lost interest in monitoring him and went about their business. Soon, there was no one behind him. Looking back to ensure he was alone, Lin Zheng found the location of the office building using a campus map and strolled toward it.

Reaching the building, he took the elevator to the top floor—the location of the principal's office. Just as he reached the door, an angry roar reached his ears. Before he could make out the words, an elegant female voice rang out.

"What? Embarrassed and angry, so you're resorting to force? It doesn't matter, but you better be prepared to receive nothing but a corpse!"

"You... fine! Since you are so ungrateful, don't blame me for being ruthless!" The voice was frantic and exasperated. The woman immediately countered with contempt: "Who are you planning to send me to to curry favor? Hmm—let me guess, that damn fat man from the Ministry of Education? He was staring at me lecherously last time! A fine choice, indeed!"

"Don't think I wouldn't dare to do anything to you!"

"Snap—" An incredibly loud slap echoed, audible even to Lin Zheng outside the door. With a dark face, Lin Zheng kicked the office door open. "Bang!" One of the doors flew off its hinges. In the office, the principal, who looked to be in his forties, stared in shock at the person who had burst in. Beside a bookshelf, a girl with blood at the corner of her mouth glared at the principal with hatred, paying no attention to the man who had just stormed in.

"Who are you? Do you know where this is?" The middle-aged principal, having regained his senses, roared in a panic. But he was also intimidated; the presence Lin Zheng exuded was terrifying—he looked like a desperate man. He hurriedly pressed a button on his phone and shouted, "Security! Come up here immediately! Someone is causing trouble!"

"Are you Zhang Ting?" Lin Zheng picked up a business card from the desk and read the name. Hearing his name, Zhang Ting couldn't help but shiver. "I—I am Zhang Ting. What do you want?"

"A nice name, wasted on you!" Lin Zheng shook his head, making Zhang Ting’s face turn bright red with rage.

"Who the hell are you! I am a national cadre! If you dare touch me, the state won't let you off!" Zhang Ting roared, his bravado failing him. This guy was clearly a coward. After all, the principal of Longyuan was a vice-ministerial level official; that he would lose his composure like this in such a situation proved, in a way, that Lin Zheng looked quite ferocious.

"Oh? If I touch you, the state won't let me off?" Lin Zheng acted as if he had heard something hilarious, a smile spreading across his face. But to Zhang Ting, that smile was bone-chilling. Without warning, Lin Zheng threw a punch. Zhang Ting, completely unprepared, was hit square in the face, blood pouring from his nose as he shrieked in pain.

"What kind of way would they not let me off? Tell me so I can learn something!" Lin Zheng wore a smile, which at first glance looked friendly, but his actions were the complete opposite. With one hand, he grabbed Zhang Ting by the collar, and with the other, he pounded his face. In the blink of an eye, the man’s head was beaten into a bloody mess.

"Who do you think you are, daring to threaten me? I handed this school over to you, giving you billions for the Young Lady Fund every year—is this what you're supposed to do with it?!" The smiling Lin Zheng suddenly changed, roaring in a rage.

Bang—Lin Zheng stepped on Zhang Ting’s back. "I told you to cultivate young ladies, to cultivate elites who would make China proud in front of foreigners! And you? You turned the young ladies I spent so much money and effort to cultivate into your political tools! Do you know what the students call it? A high-class 'prostitution' fund! Damn it! You have no shame, but I still value my reputation! Oh?! You were afraid of those damn parasites, so you handed my young ladies over to them? Are you not afraid of me—!? Who gave you the authority to give away the young ladies I cultivated? You bastard—!"

Lin Zheng roared and stomped down again, causing Zhang Ting to vomit blood. But compared to the physical pain, Zhang Ting’s mind was on the verge of collapse. Very few people, aside from a few top leaders in the central government, knew who had founded Longyuan, and they only guessed that the person's status was incredibly high. As the first principal to take over, Zhang Ting didn't know either, but he had been warned not to mess with the school. Over the years, as he gained full control, he began to ignore those warnings, using the school as a tool for power and wealth. He had even been secretly pocketing the billions from the fund every year. He thought he had covered his tracks perfectly, believing that even if someone complained, it wouldn't reach the higher-ups. He had expected to climb the ladder of success using the school's resources. But now, the founder of the school had actually appeared! This was the end of him!

Wait! No! Zhang Ting’s collapsing mind cleared for a moment. This man was so young; how could he be the founder? Longyuan had been established six years ago. How old could this man have been then? He couldn't have had the power to build it! And he knew every single member of the capital's princeling circle; this person wasn't among them! Ah! So this guy was just a con artist!

Thinking that he had been beaten by a mere fraud, Zhang Ting grew furious.

"You piece of trash, you fraud! How dare you strike a national cadre! Just wait, you're dead!" Zhang Ting shouted, his words slurred.

Lin Zheng was so angry he laughed. At this point, this pathetic piece of trash dared to call him a fraud! Which idiot had arranged for such a brainless fool to be the principal?

"Snap—" Lin Zheng slapped him across the room. Too lazy to continue teaching this idiot a lesson, he took out his phone and made a call. At that moment, four security guards rushed in. Seeing Zhang Ting covered in blood, they were startled and hurried to help him up. Seeing the guards, Zhang Ting regained his confidence and immediately shouted, "Quick! Catch this murderous thug!" The guards were about to act, but a single phone call from Lin Zheng made them stop in their tracks—and likely saved their lives.