Ch 6: How To Be A Good Lackey (QT)

Shao Ye nodded repeatedly, echoing Xi Guanming’s words. “They deliberately caused trouble while you weren’t here, President. That just shows they don’t respect you at all. You have to punish them severely! Oh, and I also saw some student council members involved. They’ll definitely be expelled from the council this time, right?”

Shao Ye felt secretly pleased. This counted as merit, didn’t it? Maybe they could open a small back door for him and let him into the student council. He really wanted to devote himself wholeheartedly to serving the president.

But Xi Guanming said, “That’s not something I can decide alone. It still requires a vote from the school committee.”

Shao Ye blinked, confused. “But didn’t the principal just say you would handle it?”

Xi Guanming smiled. “The principal was just saying that. There’s no way he would actually ignore it. My role is mainly to investigate the cause and process of the incident.”

Shao Ye let out an “oh.” The president really worked hard.

Xi Guanming put away the paper and pen on the desk, then looked up at Shao Ye. “By the way, Shao Ye, why are you here so late?”

Caught off guard, Shao Ye couldn’t answer immediately. He couldn’t exactly say that he had slept too well during evening class, worried he wouldn’t be able to sleep later, so he skipped the rest and went to the gym to burn off energy.

He gave an awkward chuckle, his brain spinning rapidly, but like a fan without blades, it made no wind no matter how fast it turned.

“Uh… well…”

Seeing he couldn’t answer, Xi Guanming asked again, “And why are you dressed like this? Why aren’t you in uniform? Where is it?”

“In the equipment room next door,” Shao Ye said guiltily.

“Don’t do that again,” Xi Guanming said, standing up to leave.

“Yes, President.”

In the dim corridor, the ceiling lights flicked on one after another with each step. Shao Ye followed behind Xi Guanming and asked curiously, “President, why didn’t you answer your phone when I called?”

“I left my phone in the office,” Xi Guanming replied.

“Then I’ll go get it for you.”

“No need. I’ll get it myself. I also need to enter the list into the computer.”

“Then I’ll go with you, President,” Shao Ye said, not missing a single opportunity to ingratiate himself.

“Go with me for what?” Xi Guanming asked.

“It’s already dark outside. The other student council members have probably all gone back to their dorms. I’ll walk you back, and see if there’s anything I can help you with.”

“I’m not—” Xi Guanming started, then for some reason stopped midway. He glanced at Shao Ye and said, “Fine. Do as you like.”

Shao Ye happily followed him to the office. Xi Guanming didn’t actually need his help, so he sat obediently on the sofa outside, holding a cup of water with both hands, eyes wide as he curiously looked around.

So this was where the president worked. He wondered when he would be able to enter here openly.

No, wait, he wasn’t sneaking in today either!

Compared to before, when he could only watch the president from afar, this was already a qualitative leap. As long as he kept working hard, one day he would win the president over, or the president would win him over.

Shao Ye amused himself with this thought for quite a while before turning his attention to Xi Guanming, who was working seriously. Translated on Hololo novels. A laptop sat before him, and his long fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard. The tapping sound filled the room.

The large-scale fight that had barely begun before being suppressed by two mops ultimately had no further consequences beyond disciplinary action for those involved. Those who were to be expelled were expelled, those who were to receive demerits received them. Xi Guanming handled everything within a single morning, showing no leniency. The results were submitted to the school committee and approved immediately.

To prevent such incidents from happening again, the student council organized half a month of ideological lectures, determined to drill compliance with school rules into every student at Golden Laburnum. The old principal sat on the podium, repeating over and over that this was Golden Laburnum Academy, not a championship arena, and before throwing a punch, students should think about their identity, their parents, and their future.

The students below yawned endlessly, some even discussing in group chats how to fight without being caught by the school.

That Friday, an important political figure came to give a speech at Golden Laburnum. The student council had been preparing the welcome ceremony for half a month. Jiang Yan would speak on stage as the student representative.

In the office, Xi Guanming sat in front of his computer, silently watching the surveillance footage on the screen.

The speech went smoothly from start to finish, with no incidents at all. Not long ago, the principal had even sent him a message praising his preparation.

Standing across from him, Shao Ye said proudly, “This morning, when I was running on the field, I saw that guy Zhao He acting suspiciously. So I followed him secretly and found out he planned to make Jiang Yan embarrass herself on stage.”

Even if the president no longer liked Jiang Yan, this event was organized by the student council. Causing trouble here would be like slapping his boss in the face. And Zhao He was one of Si Xu’s people. No matter what, Shao Ye couldn’t let him succeed.

“Luckily I discovered their plan in time and stopped it before it could happen,” Shao Ye said, pausing before adding with flattery, “When I caught him, he was pretty unwilling to accept it and asked what right I had. I said it was you who sent me, President, and he immediately behaved.”

After hearing Shao Ye’s report, and just as the speech in the surveillance footage ended, Xi Guanming reached out and closed the laptop. He picked up the cup beside him, only to find it empty. Shao Ye quickly noticed and immediately took the cup to refill it to the brim.

Xi Guanming accepted the cup but only set it aside. “Shao Ye, you’ve done very well. The student council should commend students like you.”

“Then can I join the student council?” Shao Ye asked eagerly.

Xi Guanming smiled. “Let’s wait a bit. I’ll discuss it with the other student council members.”

Although it still wasn’t a definite answer, it at least gave Shao Ye some hope. From the bottom of his heart, he said, “President, you’re really great.”

Meeting his sincere gaze, the smile on Xi Guanming’s lips deepened. “This is all the result of your own hard work, Shao Ye.”

The little version of Shao Ye inside his heart started dancing on the spot. What was this? This was truly that effort is rewarded. Hard work really did pay off.

With no classes in the afternoon, Xi Guanming was busy in meetings, and Shao Ye had nothing else to do. After eating, he went to the top floor of the gym to swim.

He had just changed into his swim trunks and stepped out of the locker room when someone shared his location in a group chat.

They still hadn’t settled the score with him over what happened that night in the gym.

Putting aside how he had held them in place for over half an hour with two mops, just the fact that he recorded a video and posted it was enough to make him pay.

Even though Shao Ye didn’t have that many contacts on his messaging app, maybe four or five hundred, over three hundred people had liked it. Those people then shared it across various group chats, spreading it from ten to a hundred, until by dawn the next day, everyone at Golden Laburnum knew exactly how they had fought and how they had been subdued. They had completely lost face.

Then there was what happened with Zhao He today. If they didn’t deal with Shao Ye, it would be impossible to vent their anger. This time, they had learned their lesson. They hired someone to disable the surveillance cameras in the area, stationed lookouts at the entrances, and arranged for warnings if anyone approached, ensuring they could escape quickly if needed.

When planning their revenge, someone even suggested grabbing a mop from the restroom. Translated on Hololo novels. But considering that once used, it might not distinguish between friend and foe, they reluctantly abandoned the idea.

After Shao Ye swam two full laps to his heart’s content and returned to the starting point, he saw that the entire pool area had been cleared. More than a dozen boys stood at the edge, glaring at him.

He took off his goggles, glanced at them, and asked, “Looking for a fight?”

“To beat you,” someone replied.

Shao Ye let out a snort. Gripping the pool edge with both hands, he pushed himself up in one motion and landed on the ground. Rolling his wrists, he said, “Then let’s go.”

If he couldn’t win, he’d figure out how to run later. Begging now wouldn’t help anyway.

These people didn’t bother with any rules. The moment he finished speaking, more than a dozen of them rushed forward. They had come here specifically to make him suffer.

But they hadn’t expected that even with so many people, they still couldn’t do much to him. These weren’t amateurs either. Among them were practitioners of Shaolin kung fu, taekwondo, judo, and more. Yet in fighting Shao Ye, they actually found themselves at a disadvantage.

In the end, the fight concluded with all of them fleeing in disarray.

Shao Ye wasn’t in great shape either. There had simply been too many of them. The fight had been exhausting.

Breathing heavily, almost unable to catch his breath, he fell backward onto the marble floor once they were gone, limbs spread wide. Closing his eyes, he planned to take a short nap right there.

Not long after, he heard footsteps approaching. The sound came closer and closer until—

A cold leather shoe stepped onto his chest.

Who the hell is that? Can’t you watch where you’re walking?

Shao Ye cursed inwardly. He exhaled, opened his eyes in annoyance, about to start yelling—only to instantly change expression the moment he saw who it was. The gloomy face that looked like someone owed him millions transformed smoothly into a flattering smile, so seamless even a master of face-changing would admire it.

Shao Ye looked down at the shoe, then back up at Xi Guanming. Xi Guanming was looking toward the pool, and from this angle, Shao Ye could only see the sharp line of his jaw.

In a small voice, he said, “President… you’re stepping on me.”

…

Author’s note:

[Sisters! I think I finally understand the president’s joy]

I used to think the president was crazy. Well, I still do. But this is honestly so fun. Gym fight, cafeteria fight, even the mayor got slapped twice today, and then another brawl. He’s single-handedly turned a campus romance into an action movie.

: That many fights? What happened?

: Didn’t you watch the stream? In the gym fight, the nobles got beaten badly, so they weren’t convinced. They thought the president was favoring the poorer students, so they deliberately caused trouble in the cafeteria and fought again. Then on Friday, when the mayor came and Jiang Yan was giving her speech, a drone dropped eggs. It missed and hit the audience instead, and then another fight broke out

: In stream No. 3, an egg hit the mayor’s head

: Wow, amazing

: I heard the first world was intentionally set as a simple school setting to help the volunteers adapt to Neverland

: “Simple,” sure

: I haven’t watched much, mostly No. 6. I like his chest

: That’s fair. Other than No. 6’s stream, everyone else is fighting

: No. 6 fought today too. Not as big, but still satisfying to watch

: What does No. 6 even do in real life? Why is he so good at fighting

: Ahhh he’s so handsome! I forgive him for being dumb!

: President: I do not forgive

: It all started on that ordinary night. After No. 6 saved Jiang Yan, the gears of fate began to turn…

: Probably won’t turn for long. The president is about to deal with him

: The fact that the president has tolerated him this long is already impressive

: No way he can keep tolerating him. Haven’t you seen even someone as composed as the president can’t keep it up around him anymore? I bet No. 6 is gone within two weeks

: Then why are people in the shipping threads screaming

: No. 6 just got stepped on by the president, why are they so excited

: I don’t even want to know

: Can the camera move down a bit? Where exactly is the president stepping on him?!

: With that tone No. 6 just used… I’m afraid to imagine

: I’m not, hehe

: Alright, now I get why they’re excited

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