Ch 16: How To Be A Good Lackey

“Not that much of a pity,” Shao Ye said. He still didn’t really like that outfit.

“Then what will you wear?” Xi Guanming asked with concern.

Shao Ye scratched his head. “A wizard robe, probably. Our class monitor said the other witches will wear white, and I’ll wear black.”

“Not bad,” Xi Guanming said with a smile. “Then leave that outfit with me for now.”

Shao Ye nodded, not finding anything strange about that. As he was about to leave, he noticed Xi Guanming still sitting there reading and asked one more question, “President, aren’t you going to class today?”

“I’ll go in a bit,” Xi Guanming replied.

When Shao Ye arrived at the classroom, the bell hadn’t rung yet. The class monitor was complaining with the others about the notice the school had issued that morning. Translated on Hololo novels. They all suspected the neighboring class got jealous of their brilliant idea and secretly reported them to the administration.

Shao Ye listened for a couple of sentences without much interest, pulled out his English textbook, and after reading half a page, started yawning. He rested his head on the desk, eyelids drooping, and fell asleep again.

His schedule was packed today. For the upcoming sports meet, Shao Ye had signed up for three events: sprinting, relay, and shot put. During the only PE class in the afternoon, he needed to finalize the relay order with his classmates and get some guidance from the teacher on his shot put technique to see if he could improve. At night, he still had to go to the gym’s empty classroom to rehearse the play.

And not just today. Until the arts festival and sports meet were over, his life would be this full every day.

Shao Ye was playing a taciturn, sinister, vengeful yet deeply devoted-in-love witch. He didn’t have many lines. Aside from delivering a curse at the princess’s birthday banquet, he had a mid-plot Shakespearean-style romantic confession with the princess, after which he fell into a deep sleep.

The latter half of the story focused on the princess’s growth arc. Shao Ye just had to lie on stage pretending to sleep until the princess found her true love. Then, controlled by students backstage, a patch of green grass would sprout from his head, and his role would be over. The props team would then wheel him off the stage on a cart.

Shao Ye’s acting couldn’t be described as brilliant—it could only be described as complete garbage. His best acting came when he was lying on stage pretending to sleep. The class monitor objectively commented that it was truly a loss to the world of roasting that Shao Ye hadn’t entered the entertainment industry.

The girl playing the princess initially felt a bit guilty about the witch’s ending, but after rehearsing two scenes with Shao Ye, she no longer felt that way.

Not adding a couple more shovelfuls of dirt to his grave was already her kindness.

When the curse took effect and the witch collapsed, the relief on the princess’s face didn’t look like acting at all, making it hard not to suspect the whole thing was her scheme.

Despite all the stumbling, they managed to rehearse the entire play. Students from the neighboring class sneaked over to scout them out, only to end up laughing themselves into collapse at the sight of the grass-growing witch.

On Friday evening, Shao Ye skipped class early and went to the oak grove in the north of the campus. Si Xu and the others hadn’t arrived yet. To prevent the three of them from denying the outcome after the fight, he hung several cameras on the branches to record everything. If they later went back on their word and kept bothering Jiang Yan, he would release the footage and let them “shine” in front of the entire school.

When Si Xu and the other two arrived and saw Shao Ye jogging in place with an eager expression, they all showed the exact same look of confusion.

Seeing him reminded Si Xu of the frustration he’d been bottling up recently. He asked coldly, “What are you doing here? Don’t you know we’ve claimed this place tonight?”

Shao Ye replied righteously, “To fight with you guys.”

Zong Xingze frowned and asked, “Did Xi Guanming send you?”

“No,” Shao Ye said.

The president didn’t even know about this yet. He wanted to give him a big surprise.

Because Shao Ye had been sticking close to Jiang Yan recently, Jin Feng had some understanding of him and asked, “So are you also trying to pursue Jiang Yan?”

Shao Ye looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m not.”

“Then what exactly are you doing here!” Si Xu snapped.

“To fight, obviously. Didn’t we agree that whoever wins, the others have to stop pursuing Jiang Yan?”

Who agreed to that?!

Si Xu couldn’t help swearing. “And you’re still saying Xi Guanming didn’t send you!”

Shao Ye answered honestly, “He really didn’t.”

Unfortunately, none of the three seemed to believe him. Zong Xingze thoughtfully took out his phone and sent a message, while Jin Feng’s gaze carried a hint of caution.

Si Xu sneered. “Don’t think just because you’re Xi Guanming’s guy that I won’t touch you. Even if Xi Guanming were here today, I’d still beat you!”

Shao Ye impatiently urged, “Why so much nonsense? Are you fighting or not? I still have rehearsal later!”

“You’re asking for death!” Si Xu was the first to charge.

Zong Xingze and Jin Feng exchanged a glance and joined the fray. Without needing to say it, all three chose to target Shao Ye first. Only by knocking this idiot out could they settle things among themselves.

Unfortunately, the outcome didn’t quite match their expectations. Although they had all learned combat, whether in strength or technique, they were inferior to Shao Ye. Especially Zong Xingze, who barely exerted himself at all and mostly just coasted.

Shao Ye had expected a one-versus-three fight to take longer and had even considered asking the class monitor for leave that night. He hadn’t expected to deal with them so easily.

“Remember this. Stay away from Jiang Yan from now on. Don’t make our president unhappy. If you make him unhappy, you make me unhappy. And then—hmph—I’ll make you regret it,” Shao Ye declared, tossing out what he thought was a very cool threat before running excitedly all the way from the oak grove to the office building.

He pushed open the office door and called out, “President! President!”

Xi Guanming looked up from a pile of books. Seeing Shao Ye grinning brightly at the doorway, covered in leaves and dirt as if he had just rolled around somewhere, he removed his glasses and asked, “What are you doing here? Don’t you have rehearsal later?”

Shao Ye rushed straight to the desk, his face full of excitement. “President, I have huge good news for you!”

Xi Guanming hadn’t yet realized the gravity of the situation. Translated on Hololo novels. With his fingers interlaced before his chest and a faint smile on his face, he asked curiously, “What good news?”

Shao Ye immediately said, “I just fought Si Xu, Zong Xingze, and Jin Feng in the oak grove. I won.”

Xi Guanming: “……”

The smile on his face gradually froze. He looked at Shao Ye and didn’t speak for a long while.

Shao Ye bared his white teeth, eyes sparkling as he looked at Xi Guanming, clearly waiting for praise.

The office fell into silence. Autumn wind slipped in through the half-open window, rustling the broad leaves of a potted plant on the sill. Their elongated shadows stretched all the way to Xi Guanming’s wrist. After waiting for Shao Ye to continue and hearing nothing, he finally asked, “Let me guess… does this good news come with some bad news as well?”

“Bad news?” Shao Ye thought about it carefully, then said uncertainly, “If there is bad news… Zong Xingze ran off halfway through the fight, and I didn’t catch him. Does that count?”

Xi Guanming took a deep breath, raised a hand to his forehead, and said softly, “…That’s pretty bad.”

Shao Ye didn’t quite understand what was bad about it, but since the president said it was bad, there must be a problem. So he suggested quietly, “Then, President, should I go find him and beat him up again?”

Xi Guanming lowered his hand. “First tell me, how did you end up fighting them?”

Shao Ye then recounted everything in detail. It started with the agreement Si Xu and the others made at the dance, and in the end, all three of them were defeated by Shao Ye.

“They definitely won’t dare to bother Jiang Yan again. I even have a video here. President, do you want to see it?” Shao Ye asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together.

As he listened, Xi Guanming was also searching for something on his phone. When Shao Ye finished speaking, he put the phone down, screen facing the table.

He lifted his head and carefully looked over Shao Ye’s face. His eyes were bright, his nose high, and he was still smiling. Xi Guanming couldn’t find even the slightest trace of lingering fear on that face. He stood up, walked around the desk, and came to stand in front of Shao Ye.

“Shao Ye,” he called.

His expression was serious, his voice low, and his gaze fixed directly on Shao Ye. His eyes were so deep they seemed like a bottomless well.

The air in the room seemed to freeze along with his steps. Even the leaves of the plant by the window curled slightly. Under his gaze, Shao Ye couldn’t help but feel nervous, his voice dropping. “What’s wrong, President?”

Xi Guanming reached out and gently brushed away half a fallen leaf from Shao Ye’s left shoulder. Translated on Hololo novels. His fingers slid down, beginning to straighten his collar, and he asked unhurriedly, “You really don’t listen, do you? Didn’t I tell you not to get involved in Jiang Yan’s matters again? What kind of punishment do you think you deserve?”

“I still have to be punished?” Shao Ye’s cheerful face immediately crumpled. That didn’t seem right. He had created such a good opportunity for the president. Shouldn’t he be praised instead?

He asked cautiously, “President, are you not happy?”

Why?

Xi Guanming didn’t answer. His slender fingers toyed with the buttons of Shao Ye’s shirt. Through the gaps between the buttons, the honey-colored skin beneath could be seen.

He said slowly, “Shao Ye, with this, you’ve offended Si Xu, Zong Xingze, and Jin Feng all at once. Are you planning not to stay at the academy anymore?”

“No,” Shao Ye said.

“Then how did you dare?” Xi Guanming asked, lifting one of his shirt buttons with his finger.

Without hesitation, Shao Ye replied, “I knew you’d protect me.”

Xi Guanming paused. He hadn’t expected such an answer from Shao Ye.

No attempt to hide it at all.

Xi Guanming laughed.

That somewhat cold and gloomy face seemed to return to spring in an instant.

He didn’t want to admit that he was pleased by such a bold and foolish statement, but at that moment, a sense of joy and satisfaction flooded his chest.

He lowered his hand, savoring Shao Ye’s words, and couldn’t help but laugh again. Then he said, “Alright. Go back to the dorm and wait for me. Before I get there, you’re not allowed to leave.”

“President, aren’t you going to punish me?” Shao Ye asked with a pitiful expression, blinking.

“Of course I will,” Xi Guanming said with a smile.

He just needed to think carefully about how to punish him in this situation.

---

Author’s note:

[Great news! The president finally can’t hold back and is going to deal with No. 6. No. 6 is definitely done for this time.]

I’ve never seen the president look this scary before.

: Gotta say, No. 6 really has a talent for getting himself into trouble, offending all of the academy’s F4 at once.

: Did you hear that, CP fans? The president said he’s going to punish No. 6!

: Even if the president doesn’t act, Si Xu and the others won’t let him off.

: I said long ago that shipping the president leads to no good end! They didn’t believe it!

: Don’t worry, CP fans don’t care whether the real people live or die. Even if No. 6 is gone, they’ll keep shipping.

: Scary.

: Why do I feel like the president is about to do something big? I just caught a glimpse of his phone screen. Let me try to reconstruct it with some tech.

: Hurry up, let me see!

: No. 6 is definitely finished. I bet my roommate 50 bucks on it. Thanks to the president.

: Did you see the survival prediction curve made by that expert? No. 6 is already dropping to the bottom.

: I told you the micro-expression expert wouldn’t be wrong.

: If nothing unexpected happens, No. 6 will be out tomorrow.

: After watching No. 6 for so long, I kind of feel reluctant.

: My reconstruction isn’t very clear, just a few words.

: Show us quickly!

: “Punishment”

: Wow!

: “Binding”

: Wow!

: “Restraint”

: Wow wow wow!

: No. 6 really can’t escape this time.

: Wait, why does this feel kind of weird?

: What’s weird about it? Those of us who kill people all the time know the president did nothing wrong.

: It says “split”… I can’t see clearly.

: “Dismemberment,” maybe? Is the president really that bloody and violent?

: He’s held back too long, maybe he’s gone crazy.

: Understandable. I’d lose it too if I were him.

: Idiot, it says “leg spreader.”

: ????

: What’s that for?

: Delete that quickly! Don’t let the CP fans see it!!!!!

: Wait, you guys who “kill people all the time” also use leg spreaders?

≽^•⩊•^≼

Next