Silence

Zhao Ning heard that and said to Su Ming with reddened eyes,

"Your father has been summoned for investigation."

"Why?"

"This outbreak of Chilami larvae started at our family's landfill. They failed to report it in time."

"No way... What about Mother? This incident is so serious."

Su Ming was speechless as well. So this disaster really did start in my family's business.

"It's fine, dear. I'll call Grandpa later."

Zhao Ning hurriedly comforted Su Ming.

"Grandpa?"

Su Ming's body instinctively trembled. A moment later, a volatile face surfaced in his mind.

For a moment, Su Ming's expression became somewhat unnatural. Grandpa was his grandfather, the current head of the Su family. His temper and personality were exceptionally volatile and overbearing.

It could be said that no one in the entire Su family, from top to bottom, wasn't afraid of him.

The last time Su Ming had seen him was three years ago, when the old man had celebrated his two-hundredth birthday. At the time, this body's owner had nearly wet himself from fright, leaving behind considerable psychological trauma.

"Exactly. As long as I tell Grandpa, there shouldn't be any problem, so don't worry."

"Mm."

Su Ming thought about it, then finally relaxed. If Grandpa was willing to intervene, there shouldn't be any issue.

"By the way, son, is your school on break now?"

Zhao Ning immediately asked.

"Yes. The school told us to go home and study on our own."

"That's great. Stay at home and don't worry, son. It isn't safe outside right now."

Zhao Ning hadn't really wanted Su Ming to go to school either. Her husband had already been taken away. If anything happened to Su Ming too, she truly wouldn't be able to go on living.

"That won't do. I still have the City Exam coming up."

Su Ming replied with a headache.

"Forget about the City Exam. Just stay home. I'll make you something delicious to calm you down. You must have been terrified yesterday, right?"

Zhao Ning pulled Su Ming toward the house.

Three days later, early in the morning.

After intermittently completing one hundred push-ups and one hundred sit-ups, Su Ming took a hot shower, changed into loose clothing, and came down the spiral staircase.

In the hall, Chen Hui saw Su Ming come down and immediately went over to ask respectfully,

"Young Master, you're up. I've prepared breakfast for you."

"Mm. Where's my mother?"

Su Ming turned and looked around the hall, but didn't see Zhao Ning.

"Madam went out very early. Before leaving, she specifically told me to prepare breakfast for you. She said you've been working too hard lately and have lost weight."

Su Ming glanced at the table full of meat and the plate of vegetables, feeling somewhat touched.

"I understand. Go on with your work."

"Yes, Young Master."

After Chen Hui finished speaking, she left.

Su Ming walked to the dining table and turned on the projection television.

He picked up his chopsticks, picked up some vegetables, and ate while watching television.

The news was playing on the television. A female reporter in a blue professional outfit stood on the street and reported,

"Dear citizens, regarding the Chilami invasion in the Thirteenth District, the Thirteenth District guards responded with overwhelming force. All Chilami have now been completely eliminated, and the district is safe. All lockdown measures have officially been lifted. Residents may now travel freely."

Watching the report, Su Ming fell into thought.

Over the past few days, he had dug out all his textbooks and review materials from the previous two years, but the results had been terrible. His efficiency was simply too low.

With the City Exam imminent, time was extremely tight. It seemed he could only seek help from Teacher Tang Yan.

With that thought, Su Ming rose and left.

A short while later, Su Ming walked along the broad road. It was deserted, and apart from patrols of soldiers, he could hardly see any pedestrians.

Most of the shops on both sides were closed, with signs announcing temporary suspension of business hanging above them. Only a few shops were still open.

It was clear from this that the situation in the Thirteenth District was still extremely tense.

Su Ming didn't care, however, and jogged toward Teacher Tang Yan's home.

More than an hour later, Su Ming arrived at the entrance to the residential compound where Teacher Tang Yan lived, panting heavily.

He was just about to go in when a familiar shout came from behind him.

"Su Ming."

Su Ming turned around in surprise. He saw Minke and Chen Tong, who also looked rather surprised, and asked,

"Why are you two here?"

"Don't look at me. I'm not with him. We just happened to run into each other."

Chen Tong snorted coldly, disdainfully distancing himself from Minke.

Minke didn't mind. He explained with a worried expression,

"We came to find Teacher Tang. With the City Exam so close, staying home to study on our own during this break won't work."

"I think so too. Let's go find the teacher."

Su Ming didn't say anything more.

The three of them entered together. They soon reached the teacher's door, and Minke stepped forward to knock.

Knock, knock~

The door quickly opened. Su Ming and the other two had just been about to greet whoever answered when they froze at the sight of the person standing there.

"Zhao Ran?"

"Monitor, you're here too? Come in."

Zhao Ran was also somewhat surprised.

Su Ming and the other two entered the house. They immediately saw more than a dozen classmates sitting in the cramped living room. The three yellow-haired students had come as well.

It was clear that not everyone in the class had given up. Quite a few were still working hard.

"You're here too? Find somewhere to sit. If there's nowhere else, just make do on the floor."

Teacher Tang Yan came out carrying a cup of water. His eye sockets were deeply sunken, and he looked utterly dispirited.

"What happened to the teacher? Why does he look even more dejected?"

Su Ming lowered his voice and asked Minke.

Minke lowered his voice as well, replying with a heavy expression,

"Yesterday, the school held a memorial service specifically to commemorate the dead. The teacher attended as one of the hosts."

"How did I not know about it? Why wasn't I notified?"

"How could they notify you? They only invited the families of the students who died. Do you know how many people from our class died?"

"How many?"

"Eleven people from our class died. The casualties across the entire school were countless. They didn't even dare release the number publicly."

Su Ming's heart jolted when he heard this. He knew the situation was bad, but he hadn't expected it to be this terrible.

"Make yourselves comfortable."

After placing the water on the table, Teacher Tang Yan sat dejectedly on the sofa.

Su Ming and the others didn't know what to say either, and the atmosphere in the room became extremely oppressive.

At that moment, Minke took a deep breath and said to Teacher Tang Yan,

"Teacher, the City Exam is almost here. The school has suspended classes and told us to study at home, but we aren't prepared at all. We can't manage by ourselves. We're still far from the Imperial Court Academy. Please help us."

"The monitor is right. Teacher, please help us."

Zhao Ran and the others followed in agreement.

"Sigh, after what happened a few days ago, I've already come to terms with it. The Imperial Court Academy, the admission slots—none of that matters anymore. What matters is staying alive. So you don't need to insist on applying to the Imperial Court Academy either."

Teacher Tang Yan sighed and raised his head to address everyone.

"."