Ch 14: How To Be A Good Lackey

Shao Ye went back to his own dorm to grab some clothes. The empty room was left with only Xi Guanming again.

He got up and walked into the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror as water rushed noisily from the tap. Xi Guanming lowered his gaze to his left hand. Between his fingers lingered a faint trace of red wine scent. For some reason, he suddenly felt like having a glass of red wine. He should prepare a bottle in advance.

Aside from the brief period when he had just enrolled and still cared a bit about his image, Shao Ye hardly ever wore proper sleepwear. In the dorm, he usually just wore a tank top and shorts, and sometimes not even the tank. But he thought he should at least be a bit presentable in front of the president, so he deliberately picked out a longer tank top with a less open neckline.

When Xi Guanming applied medicine to his back, Shao Ye swore confidently, “President, don’t worry. If that person dares to show up tonight, I’ll definitely catch him and beat him until he’s begging on the ground.”

As a result, less than ten minutes after the lights went out, Xi Guanming heard faint snoring from the bed beside him.

“Shao Ye?” he called once. As expected, there was no response.

Xi Guanming chuckled softly. What he had said earlier about not sleeping well at night wasn’t entirely a lie. He suffered from serious insomnia, rarely sleeping more than three or four hours a night, and even then he woke easily. But this had been his normal state for years.

Now that there was another person in the room, it didn’t seem much different. Besides, before this, Shao Ye had already stayed in the office building’s rest room.

After an unknown amount of time, Xi Guanming heard someone running down the hallway in leather shoes. The dance in the auditorium must have ended. He picked up his phone from the bedside and checked the time. It was already past midnight. A burst of laughter echoed from the hallway, but quickly faded. Shao Ye on the next bed let out a small sound, scratched his stomach, and continued sleeping soundly.

The phone screen went dark. Xi Guanming got out of bed and walked over to Shao Ye’s bedside. Pale moonlight draped over him. His eyes were closed, long lashes casting faint shadows. His soft lips were slightly parted. Perhaps feeling warm, he had rolled his tank top up to below his chest, and kicked the blanket aside. He lay sprawled in a loose “starfish” position, completely unguarded.

Shao Ye smacked his lips, as if tasting something delicious in a dream. Xi Guanming watched him quietly for a long time, then leaned down, his hand once again settling on Shao Ye’s chest.

If he woke up at this moment and saw him here, how would he react? Would he shout and run out of the room, or would he ask what he was doing, then obediently offer his chest again?

The latter seemed more likely. How boring. Xi Guanming thought so, yet couldn’t help the slight upward curve of his lips.

Still, no matter how much he kneaded his chest, Shao Ye slept on, completely unmoving.

Xi Guanming: “……”

And this was the one who said he’d help catch the “third person” in the room?

Even if three more people came in, he probably wouldn’t wake up.

Xi Guanming smiled silently, picked up the blanket from the side, and draped it over Shao Ye’s stomach, then returned to his own bed. Looking at Shao Ye, still oblivious, he suddenly felt that having two beds in this room was a bit crowded.

The next morning, when Shao Ye woke up, Xi Guanming had just come out of the bathroom after a shower. Shao Ye yawned and said, “President, I didn’t hear a single thing last night. I think that person must’ve known I was here, so they didn’t dare come.”

With how deeply he slept, hearing anything would’ve been a miracle. Xi Guanming didn’t expose him, just gave a soft “Mm” and said, “Maybe.”

Shao Ye continued, “Then I’ll stay here for a few more days. Even if I can’t catch him, I’ll scare him off for good.”

Xi Guanming smiled. “Thank you for your trouble, Shao Ye.”

After washing up, Shao Ye went to class. It wasn’t until after lunch that he finally had some free time. He was just about to go find out whether anything had happened between Jiang Yan and Si Xu at the dance, but before he could, Xi Guanming summoned him to the office building to sort documents.

Xi Guanming sat behind his desk and asked, “Are you still going to the gym at night?”

Shao Ye sat on the floor, arranging documents in chronological order as instructed, sighing as he replied, “Not these days. Our whole class has evening rehearsals for Sleeping Beauty.”

“Why Sleeping Beauty?” Xi Guanming asked casually.

Shao Ye explained, “Because Cinderella has two stepsisters, Snow White has seven dwarfs, The Wild Swans has eleven brothers, and Sleeping Beauty has thirteen witches.”

The school required more than half the class to participate in the arts festival performance, so the class monitor had tried to assign as many roles as possible.

Xi Guanming picked up his gold-rimmed glasses from the desk and put them on, then commented, “Then you should be doing Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

Shao Ye seriously considered it, then shook his head. “…We don’t have that many people.”

“What role are you playing? The prince?” Xi Guanming asked while signing his name on a document.

“I’m playing the witch.”

Xi Guanming’s pen paused. He looked up. “Which one?”

Shao Ye made a fierce expression at him. “The most evil one.”

Not only was Xi Guanming not intimidated, he found it rather adorable. He chuckled. If that were the case, when Shao Ye went on stage, the audience would probably wonder why a witch like that even needed to curse the princess. He could just grab her outright, and the other twelve witches wouldn’t be able to stop him.

In fact, Shao Ye wasn’t even the one who cursed the princess. To make the story more original, the class monitor had completely rewritten Sleeping Beauty. The evil witch became an evil wizard, who cursed the princess at her birthday banquet so that her future lover would die at the moment they loved each other most. But by a twist of fate, the princess fell in love with the wizard instead. The wizard fell into a deep sleep, and when the other twelve witches learned of this, they happily traveled across the land to find the princess a new marriage partner. In the end, they chose a prince from afar, and from then on, the princess and the prince lived happily ever after.

After hearing the outline of the story, Shao Ye was speechless. So he was actually the Sleeping Beauty, and they weren’t even giving him a chance to be “saved.” That was way too much.

The costumes for their performance had also been decided. Most of them were fairly normal, but Shao Ye belonged to the minority—his outfit was extremely revealing. The arts committee member argued passionately that this costume fully reflected the male witch’s withdrawn and irritable personality, his out-of-place identity, and foreshadowed his tragic fate.

Shao Ye couldn’t see what kind of foreshadowing it was at all, but he was persuaded—mainly because too many people had come to convince him. Fine then. His physique was this good; letting everyone see it wouldn’t cost him anything.

After hearing this, Xi Guanming asked with interest, “What kind of outfit? Show me.”

Shao Ye handed over his phone. “I only have pictures. The actual clothes won’t be brought back until tonight.”

Xi Guanming took the phone and glanced down. The top was a black vest, somewhat like the one the Calabash Brothers wear, but with several black leather straps fastened with silver buckles across the front as decoration. The bottom was a pair of matching leather pants, along with a wizard hat.

Quite a fashionable witch. No wonder he stood out from the others. Xi Guanming’s lips curved slightly as he handed the phone back, smiling as he thoughtfully reminded him, “When you get the clothes tonight, don’t wear them right away. Take them back to your dorm and wash them first.”

“That’s not necessary, is it?” Shao Ye said. He’d probably only wear the outfit once for the arts festival and toss it afterward.

Xi Guanming, however, said seriously, “You’ll be wearing it close to your skin. It’s better to wash it.”

Seeing how much Xi Guanming cared, Shao Ye obediently nodded and gave an “oh.”

After Shao Ye finished arranging the documents, Xi Guanming somehow produced a test paper from nowhere and actually started explaining math problems to him. Shao Ye was stunned on the spot. Did being the president’s subordinate also require good grades?

“President, this…” He instinctively took a step back, trying to escape.

Xi Guanming gestured him over. “Come here. Your grades are too poor. I’ll tutor you.”

Shao Ye: “……”

It wasn’t until evening, when Xi Guanming was called away for a meeting, that Shao Ye finally escaped from that pile of math problems he couldn’t even read properly. At last, he had the chance to mingle and find out what had happened at the dance the previous night.

It turned out that Jiang Yan had attended the dance accompanied by the basketball team captain, Jin Feng. At the dance, he had gotten into a dispute with Zong Xingze and Si Xu, nearly leading to a fight. In the end, the three of them agreed to duel this Friday night in the oak grove, and the loser would have to withdraw from the competition.

Shao Ye was dumbfounded. He didn’t even have time to eat his mango pudding before slapping his thigh in shock. “Such a big deal—why didn’t anyone tell me?”

The classmate looked puzzled. What did this have to do with him? Was he planning to participate too?

Wait—who did he think he was? Did he not know his own status? How could he compare to Si Xu or Zong Xingze?

Of course Shao Ye wasn’t planning to participate himself. He asked, “Can I sign our president up too?”

“S-sign him up?” The classmate froze, then slowly said, “…Probably not.”

If that were allowed, some prankster would sign up the entire school. That would really be something to see.

“Then can someone fight in his place?” Shao Ye asked again.

The classmate: “？”

Did he think this was a ride-hailing service?

The classmate said nothing, so Shao Ye started thinking on his own. After some consideration, he decided there was probably no rule against it. Si Xu and the others hadn’t said substitutes weren’t allowed.

“Then I’ll go in his place on Friday,” Shao Ye said.

No need to tell the president—he’d just surprise him after winning.

Shao Ye happily made his decision.

Although he vaguely felt something about the logic was off. Why would they need a duel just for the right to pursue someone? Even if they won, it didn’t mean Jiang Yan would like them. And if she happened to prefer the one who lost, what then? Kill the winner?

But what did that matter? The important thing was, whatever others had, their president should have too.

Besides, something as profound as math problems would probably feel more rewarding for the president to discuss with Jiang Yan.

That afternoon in the office, every time he got a problem wrong, the president knocked him on the head. He’d practically been used as a wooden fish for the entire afternoon.

---

Author’s note:

【Honestly, watching No. 3’s stream is much more comfortable. They’re both subordinates, but some people are clearly way more capable than others】

: By “some people,” you mean?

: No. 6, who else

: What do you mean “both subordinates”! Stop forcing comparisons! Our No. 6 is a wife! (very loud)

: ……

: The president’s character is already falling apart, even the official side can’t control it. They said they’ll form a team to investigate and release results next week. I don’t even dare imagine what’ll happen to No. 6

: Judging by the president’s mental state, No. 6 might be eliminated on the spot

: Elimination would be merciful. The president will definitely torment him slowly

: Looking forward to next week’s results. I really can’t stand this perverted president anymore!!!

: When explaining problems, the president clearly looked disgusted, yet still kept teaching. He’s not perverted—he’s just being controlled by some indescribable force

: You mean the backend data got altered? What’s so “indescribable” about that? This is a school setting, not cosmic horror

: Honestly, I also think the president’s behavior today was a bit off

: That username looks familiar… are you one of their CP fans?

: Heh, it’s fallen apart so badly even the CP fans can’t ship it anymore, and the officials are still pretending

: Mm, today when No. 6 got a question wrong, the president shouldn’t have knocked his head. That’ll just make him dumber. The president shouldn’t make such a basic mistake—in that situation, a “super” would’ve been better

: ?

: ??

: ???

≽^•⩊•^≼

Thandar: Please give this novel a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on novel updates if you enjoy it so far. It’ll motivate this translator to release new chapters faster 🥲😘

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