Only then did Yan Qingcheng express her satisfaction, "Mm-hmm, actually, you’re not too bad. Come by my office when you’re free, and I’ll give you some extra lessons."
"Then, thank you, counselor," Zifeng nodded nonchalantly and asked, "Counselor, may I ask you something?"
"Go ahead, what is it?" Yan Qingcheng said, her pink ears glowing as she carefully admired the fine handwriting of this student whose age she still couldn’t quite determine.
"I’d like to take a look at the Archaeology Pavilion."
After spending the whole day yesterday researching in the library, he found that there was absolutely nothing worthy there to reference.
Books on a subject like archaeology are generally collected as artifacts rather than circulated.
How could they possibly be found in a library?
"What do you want to do in the Archaeology Pavilion?" Yan Qingcheng gradually lifted her elegant head, asking with curiosity.
The reason Zifeng had asked Yan Qingcheng to take him to the library was because the former principal’s son had a bit of a crush on her, and he had been sneaking peeks at her lately. Although the incident with Mu Yang had been disrupted by Zifeng, out of respect for the numerous times his father had warned her to avoid troubling this young man, she hadn’t sought out Zifeng for any issues.
"I want to look up some useful materials, which should be quite helpful for my studies," Zifeng explained.
"Hmm, true, there are indeed a lot of materials in the Archaeology Pavilion, but it seems your current level of archaeological and theoretical knowledge isn’t quite sufficient, is it? There are still many areas you don’t understand, and even if I gave you a book on archaeology, you wouldn’t be able to make head or tail of it. I think you’d better sit in class and attend lessons for a few days first," Yan Qingcheng advised earnestly.
"But, I really am in a hurry right now; could you help me, teacher?"
Hearing Zifeng’s words only made Yan Qingcheng even more skeptical. Since when did this guy become so eager to study? When did the sun start rising from the west?
"Well, it’s possible, but I can’t take you there right now," Yan Qingcheng deliberately retained a hint of mystery. The Archaeology Pavilion of Yunhai University was, after all, a national second-grade protected area for antique artifacts, and it was very difficult for someone not authorized to enter.
Even if one did enter, they would be like an illiterate there.
He had intended to sneak into the Archaeology Pavilion these few days, but Zifeng’s dilemma was that he himself wasn’t very proficient in archaeology. Even if he was given a book, he wouldn’t know where to start. It might be better to cozy up to Yan Qingcheng and perhaps learn a thing or two from her.
"Because you can’t get in right now," Yan Qingcheng blinked her beautiful eyes twice, her blushing, pretty face looked irresistibly tempting.
"Why?" Zifeng asked again, surprised.
With her status as the counselor of the Archaeology Department, getting in shouldn’t be that difficult.
"The Archaeology Pavilion is currently under strict review by the city, given that it’s a second-grade cultural relic protection area. There are many precious artifacts inside that haven’t been properly placed yet. You should be able to go in after a while."
Slowly setting the book aside, Yan Qingcheng narrowed her round eyes and parted her cherry lips, looking at him with interest and smiling, "Why? Are you so interested in archaeology now?"
"I’ve always been interested in archaeology," Zifeng put on a curious facade.
"Cut the crap! Drop it, will you? Stop trying to fool me. Just spill it; if you tell me what you’re hiding, maybe I’ll help you out."
"Counselor, what could I possibly be hiding from you? Never mind. Since I can’t get into the Archaeology Pavilion right now, I’ll go later. I’ve got something else to take care of, so I’ll be leaving first. Let’s chat when we’re both free," Zifeng said, his face breaking into a playful smile as he began to jest and head out of the office.
"Hey! You ungrateful thing!" Yan Qingcheng exclaimed, feeling a tingling itch in her teeth with frustration. What kind of person was he? After all the care she had taken with him, not only did he not show gratitude, but he even deceived his teacher...
Upon entering the Archaeology Department, Zifeng noticed there weren’t many students in the classroom today, just a handful of them sitting around idly.
These impoverished students, who lacked money, influence, and power, probably spent most of their time at school just daydreaming.
"What happened to your face?" Lin Zifeng had just sat down when he noticed Shao Huo didn’t seem as lively as usual. His face was clearly bruised and scabbed over.
It was obvious that someone had mercilessly trampled on his face with their foot.
"It’s nothing," Shao Huo dodged the question, then took out three fifty-cent coins from his pocket and placed them on Lin Zifeng’s desk, his face flushing as he said, "Bro Lin, this is for the cola you bought me yesterday."
Lin Zifeng looked at the money and frowned, asking, "What happened?"
"Nothing, here’s your money, Bro Lin." Shao Huo said, continuing to push the money toward him.
"The cola from yesterday was my treat; you don’t have to pay for it."
"Bro Lin, just take it. You’ve been so good to me, I would feel uneasy otherwise."
Although Shao Huo’s family was poor and he was particularly timid, the guy had a strong sense of self-awareness. Accepting things from others meant owing them a favor.
Financial debts were minor; the real difficulty was in repaying a personal debt.
Plus, he wasn’t someone who liked to take advantage of petty benefits.
Poor as he might be, he was certainly not poor in spirit!
"Right. If you have any trouble, come to me anytime." After accepting the money Shao Huo offered, Lin Zifeng didn’t say much more.
It was six-thirty in the evening after school, and Lin Zifeng hadn’t left yet. Seeing Shao Huo head down on his bicycle alone towards the outside of Yunhai University, Lin Zifeng followed him.
Shao Huo’s demeanor today was markedly different from the previous days. Lin Zifeng remembered that this guy was always carefree, managing to laugh no matter the time or place.
But the contrast today, along with the wound on his face, it seemed he must have faced some unbearable treatment.
It wasn’t until Shao Huo rode his bike under a bridge that he suddenly stopped, looking around, biting his lip as if struggling with something.
Finally, he clenched his teeth and rode his bicycle under the bridge.
As expected, it was dim under the bridge.
The area was littered with foul-smelling trash. As soon as his bike entered the bridge, several shirtless thugs emerged.
"Yo! Shao Huo, where do you think you’re running off to? Don’t run."
A few of them surrounded Shao Huo, with some even starting to get handsy.
Almost all of these people were the helpers Qiu Dongwei had brought in yesterday. Unable to beat Lin Zifeng, they now secretly targeted Shao Huo, no wonder Shao Huo had been in low spirits all day, it seemed these scumbags were the cause.
"Do you have any money on you?" one of the thugs asked, brash and cocky, with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, his upper body bare revealing a tiger tattoo as he shoved Shao Huo several times.
"No, not anymore." After last night’s lesson, Shao Huo had already become somewhat afraid of them.
These guys were local delinquents, far beyond what a poor student like him could handle.
"Smack!" a sharp and clear slap landed hard on Shao Huo’s face, the enormous humiliation painting his face an iron blue, his fists clenched tight, but they soon loosened. Every man has his pride, and repeated insults eventually lead to an outburst, but Shao Huo was well aware of his own circumstances. He simply couldn’t afford to provoke these scumbags.