Ch 8: How To Be A Good Lackey (QT)

Just as Zong Xingze was about to press Xi Guanming further about Jiang Yan, he looked up and saw the faint, relaxed smile on Xi Guanming’s lips freeze in place. It was rare for him to show such an expression, and Zong Xingze immediately grew curious. Leaning in, he asked, “What’s wrong with you? What kind of expression is that?”

The next second, he looked down at the surveillance footage on the screen and let out an impressed “whoa.” “Si Xu finally couldn’t hold back and made a move?”

Seeing that Xi Guanming ignored him completely, Zong Xingze poked his arm twice and asked, “But how did you even find this guy? Someone who dares to openly go against Si Xu, you could count them on one hand in the whole school. Or did you promise him some kind of benefit?”

Adjusting the volume on his earpiece, Xi Guanming asked, “What makes you think he’s mine?”

Zong Xingze snorted with laughter. “Come on, do I even need to ‘figure it out’? The entire school already thinks he belongs to you. Everywhere he goes, all he talks about is you!”

“Have you looked into him?” Xi Guanming asked.

“Why would I bother?” Zong Xingze said. “That night in the gym, when he held two ‘halberd mops’ and dominated everyone, the story spread all over the school. For days, my feed and group chats were full of him.”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Come on, tell me how you got him on your side. I want a dog like that too. Si Xu is so annoying. I’ve wanted to deal with him for ages,” Zong Xingze complained with a grin. What he didn’t say was that, if necessary, he might even use this opportunity to trip Xi Guanming up.

“He’s not my dog,” Xi Guanming said calmly, lowering his gaze.

Zong Xingze scoffed, unconvinced. “Who are you putting on an act for? Oh right, what happened to that chessboard you left on the table outside? Why’d you stop playing?”

“I put it away,” Xi Guanming replied.

On the monitor, bronze-red leaves from the oak trees blanketed the ground. Shao Ye stood with his chin raised, looking less like someone about to be surrounded and beaten, and more like he was about to take on all of them by himself.

Si Xu didn’t actually intend to go too far. During the summer, he had been scolded at home after racing at Qianren Mountain, and even had his car keys confiscated. Translated on Hololo novels. His mother told him his behavior this semester would determine whether he got them back over winter break. So he didn’t want to make too big of a scene. After all, behind Shao Ye stood Xi Guanming, that hypocrite. Xi Guanming probably wouldn’t care what happened to Shao Ye, but he might use it as an excuse to stir trouble, which would be a headache to deal with.

Arms crossed, Si Xu stared at Shao Ye for a while before asking, “Did Xi Guanming put some kind of spell on you?”

Shao Ye looked at him with disdain. “A spell? You’re superstitious. The president relies on his personal charm.”

Si Xu: “……”

Charm, my ass.

Cursing internally, Si Xu asked again, “So you’re not letting Jiang Yan go?”

Shao Ye tilted his head, puzzled. “Isn’t the one not letting her go you?”

Honestly, wasn’t it Si Xu who chased after Jiang Yan every day? If he hadn’t been constantly trying to engineer chance encounters with her, Shao Ye wouldn’t have had to keep watch around her, cutting into his workout time.

“What I have with Jiang Yan is…” Si Xu started.

What was it, exactly?

He couldn’t say. More precisely, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. In the end, he snapped in frustration, “What exactly did Xi Guanming give you? I’ll give you double. Stay away from Jiang Yan from now on.”

“Not happening. What my boss gives me, you can’t afford,” Shao Ye replied firmly.

“What did he give you?” Si Xu pressed. As far as he knew, Xi Guanming hadn’t given Shao Ye anything at all. At least, not on the surface.

In front of the computer, Xi Guanming leaned back slightly. His narrow eyes half-lidded as he watched Shao Ye on the screen, fingers tapping lightly against the desk, his expression unreadable.

Zong Xingze, unable to hear the audio, grew impatient seeing that no fight had broken out yet. He reached out to grab Xi Guanming’s earpiece. “What are they saying? Let me listen too.”

Xi Guanming glanced at him calmly. Zong Xingze pursed his lips and withdrew his hand. “So stingy.”

On the monitor, beneath the towering oak trees, red leaves drifted in the wind. Warm autumn sunlight filtered through the branches, falling on Shao Ye like a halo of light. His voice rang out, firm and clear:

“A bright future.”

Xi Guanming had not expected that answer at all. He froze for a moment, then raised a hand to his forehead and slowly laughed.

Hearing his laughter, Zong Xingze quickly stepped back toward the wall. “What the hell, don’t laugh like that, it’s kind of scary.”

Across from Shao Ye, Si Xu was utterly speechless.

A bright… what?

What kind of future?

Probably stunned by the answer, he didn’t know what to say. He let out a dry laugh, then the more he thought about those words, the funnier they became, until he burst into loud laughter.

Shao Ye was startled. What was so funny? Had Si Xu gone crazy? Was he going to bite someone?

When Si Xu finally stopped laughing, he straightened up. The realization hit him that trying to negotiate with Shao Ye had been completely idiotic. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and ordered, “Beat him.”

At last, the group assault officially began.

Watching for a while, Zong Xingze propped his chin on his hand and commented, “This guy’s actually pretty skilled. Unfortunately, the people Si Xu brought aren’t pushovers either. He probably won’t last. Judging by Si Xu’s attitude, your little dog will likely end up in the hospital for months. He won’t be usable anymore. I suggest you find a new one soon.”

Xi Guanming said nothing. His fingers tapped casually on the keyboard, and the screen went black, reflecting only his expressionless face.

Zong Xingze frowned. “Why’d you stop watching?”

Xi Guanming stood up and walked toward the door.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Zong Xingze called.

“To find the most useful underling in the world,” Xi Guanming replied.

“?” Zong Xingze wondered if he had misheard. “What? Are you joking?”

Xi Guanming’s pale lips curved slightly, almost smiling. “You tell me.”

With that, he pushed the door open and walked out without looking back.

Zong Xingze was completely baffled by what he’d just heard. Flicking the strand of hair on his forehead, he hurried after him with a grin. “Calling someone your underling? Did your late-phase teenage cringe finally kick in?”

In the oak grove, Shao Ye was down on one knee.

He couldn’t remember how many punches he had thrown, nor how many he had taken. Translated on Hololo novels. His body was covered in cuts from branches and stones, the corner of his mouth split. He coughed, and a salty, metallic taste surged up his throat.

The people who had surrounded him weren’t in great shape either, but they still had the advantage in numbers. If this kept going, he figured he might as well dig a hole right here and bury himself. At this point, though, whether the fight stopped was no longer up to him.

Heavy breathing rose and fell in the quiet grove. One by one, the others got back on their feet, surrounding him again. Not far away, Si Xu made a gesture, and they paused.

Stepping over the carpet of fallen leaves, Si Xu walked slowly up to Shao Ye and looked down at him with a mocking smile. “I told you already. Xi Guanming doesn’t care about you at all. Look at you now, beaten into this pathetic state. Has he sent anyone to check on you?”

Shao Ye thought to himself, With how intense that fight just was, how was I supposed to notice if anyone came?

And he didn’t believe Si Xu had been paying attention to that either.

Si Xu had been bottling up frustration because of Shao Ye these past days, and now that he’d finally vented it, he recalled the ridiculous things Shao Ye had said earlier and couldn’t help laughing again.

“Xi Guanming can give you a bright future? You know what? That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year. Since you made me laugh this much, I’ll tell them to go easy on you later. At least you won’t miss your final exams this semester.”

That really wasn’t necessary.

Si Xu bent down, reaching out as if to lift Shao Ye’s chin and see what kind of despair or fear was written on his face. But then he seemed to recall how dirty Shao Ye was and withdrew his hand midair.

“How could you think Xi Guanming would care whether you live or die? If he cared even a little, he wouldn’t have let you oppose me. What do you even have to go against me? Your muscles? Or that head of yours that probably sloshes if you shake it?”

Shao Ye’s head drooped. He was completely drained, not even in the mood to speak. He almost wished Si Xu had mind-reading abilities, just so he could hear all the insults Shao Ye was hurling at him internally.

“And Xi Guanming… all he does is put on an act. Even Jiang Yan got fooled by him. Dark inside, petty and vengeful, yet always pretending to be some model student. It makes me sick just looking at him.”

“So you understand me that well, do you, Si Xu?”

The moment Si Xu finished speaking, Xi Guanming’s voice drifted in from behind him like a ghost.

Si Xu turned around to see Xi Guanming approaching in a black uniform, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

He had assumed Xi Guanming was treating Shao Ye as a disposable pawn. Yet here he was, showing up in person. What was he planning?

Meanwhile, Shao Ye, who had been kneeling there half-dead, suddenly lifted his head at the sound of Xi Guanming’s voice. A strange light burst into his dark eyes.

The miserable, battered lackey had finally seen the one who could back him up.

Xi Guanming walked over and met Shao Ye’s gaze, full of joy and smugness. He paused slightly, and an indescribable sense of pleasure rose in his chest. Somehow, it felt even better than manipulating all those conflicts across the school.

Shao Ye trusted him blindly. Translated on Hololo novels. He didn’t doubt for a second that Xi Guanming would be at a disadvantage here. After meeting his eyes, he immediately complained, “President, they started it this time too.”

Xi Guanming gave a soft “mm.” “I know.”

“How adorable,” Zong Xingze muttered from behind, rubbing his hands together as he said quietly to Xi Guanming, “President, why don’t you give him to me instead?”

Before Xi Guanming could respond, Shao Ye snapped without hesitation, “Idiot.”

…

Author’s note:

[?????? I bet all my coins on No. 6 getting eliminated today. I was just about to win. President, what are you doing?! What are you doing?!]

: Maybe No. 6 still has some value

: This isn’t about value. The president used Si Xu to get rid of No. 6, but at the last moment he changed his mind. Why why why I don’t understand

: What’s there not to understand? The president clearly loves him

: Shipping fans, please exit stage left, thank you

: Other streams are constant chaos. Only No. 6 is different. I still hope he lasts longer

: But honestly… it’s getting harder… when he said “idiot,” my brain short-circuited

: I have to say, impressive. Is No. 6 trying to offend all of Golden Laburnum’s top four? Only the basketball captain is left. The devs should add an achievement for that, with a reward of painless death

: Does No. 6 even know who he just insulted? When I heard that “idiot,” my heart dropped. That’s a prince. Show some respect and call him His Highness Xingze

: Could it be the president actually has feelings for No. 6? I’m not even shipping them, but something about his attitude feels off

: If you’re going to pretend to be neutral, at least hide your profile posts

: Wow, someone just clicked and saw “Gentle President Falls in Love: A Three-Way Drama”

: I think the president definitely has other plans. No. 6 has ruined things for him several times already. Maybe he thinks expelling him now is too easy and wants to torment him more later

: In bed, maybe?

: I’ll say it again, shipping fans, exit stage left!!!

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