No.40: Xu Tui Really Wasn't Being Arrogant

"I say, Brother Yuan, are you all right? Want me to take you to the hospital?"

Yuan Shu glared coldly at Chai Xiao. "Get lost. This has nothing to do with you. Don't go looking for trouble."

Chai Xiao's smile turned awkward.

"Brother Yuan, there's no point making a big deal out of this. How about we call it a bit of horseplay that got out of hand?

We can make a big issue small, and a small issue disappear."

"Make a big issue small, and a small issue disappear?"

Yuan Shu glanced coldly at Xu Tui, then said to Chai Xiao, "I understand what you mean. We're all classmates, and I don't want to ruin anyone's future either.

But if we're going to settle this, there has to be some kind of explanation."

Yuan Shu's tone had softened a little.

"Brother Yuan, you're a reasonable man."

Chai Xiao gave Yuan Shu a thumbs-up. "Tell me, how do you want to settle this?"

"I won't bother with the vulgar business of making him kneel and kowtow.

Right here, he can bow and apologize to each of the four of us.

Then he can pay each of us a hundred thousand in medical expenses, and we'll call it even.

If the Discipline Department comes, I'll deal with them.

At most, they'll scold us to our faces."

Before he could finish, Chai Xiao's expression darkened, though he still managed a smile.

"Brother Yuan, do me a favor and let him apologize to all four of you together. How about a hundred thousand in medical expenses total?"

"Do you think I, Yuan Shu, need his hundred thousand?"

"What I want is respect."

"And your favor, Chai Xiao, isn't worth much."

With each sentence, Yuan Shu jabbed Chai Xiao in the chest, practically taunting him.

"I've laid out the terms. Whether you accept them is up to you."

Yuan Shu directed his final words at Xu Tui.

Chai Xiao looked upset and embarrassed.

Still, he didn't turn on Yuan Shu. He made one last attempt. "Yuan Shu, we're all classmates. About what happened today—"

"Brother Chai, it's all right."

Xu Tui suddenly stepped forward and put an arm around Chai Xiao's shoulder.

Putting aside his gossiping, Chai Xiao was a decent, honest guy.

They'd only known each other for half a day, yet Chai Xiao had done this much for Xu Tui. That was already more than he could've asked for.

"Brother, a wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him."

"Brother Chai, I'll handle this myself. Thanks, really."

Xu Tui walked past Chai Xiao and up to Yuan Shu.

Chai Xiao's lips moved, but in the end, he sighed and said nothing.

Hopefully, this wouldn't end in the worst possible way.

Huaxia Gene Evolution University was the highest-ranking university in the Huaxia Region, and it handled matters fairly.

"Yuan Shu, look, we're all classmates. Why don't we each give a little? If this ends up with the Discipline Department, none of us will benefit." Xu Tui looked at Yuan Shu.

"Is that what you call an apology?"

Yuan Shu sneered. "Hey, you guys, ever seen anyone make such an arrogant apology?"

Xu Tui's expression turned cold.

"This isn't an apology."

"Yuan Shu, the Discipline Department is already here. Do whatever you want.

But don't say I didn't give you a chance." Xu Tui sneered.

"Heh, you've got some nerve, kid.

You chose this path yourself. Don't regret it!" Yuan Shu sneered and looked toward the Discipline Department staff.

"I'll say the same to you, Yuan Shu. You chose your own path. Don't regret it either!" Xu Tui said.

Xu Tui had genuinely been trying to talk him down.

He could tell Yuan Shu wasn't a bad person at heart. He was just like plenty of young people—arrogant, concerned with saving face, and eager to show off. The real problem was that Ma Zixu, the black-faced guy, had been egging him on.

Without Ma Zixu's enthusiastic meddling, this clash wouldn't have happened today.

Still, if Yuan Shu kept hanging around Ma Zixu, Xu Tui was certain he'd get into serious trouble sooner or later.

Nearby, Chai Xiao was starting to feel lost.

Xu Tui didn't look like he had a problem in the head. He'd been steady, precise, and ruthless when he acted earlier. He seemed clever, too.

So why was he being so ridiculous now?

Could it be—

The Discipline Department at Huaxia Gene Evolution University was a sizable and powerful department.

Within the university, especially in the Extreme College, there were plenty of students with extraordinary stamina and abilities. They spent all day bursting with hormones, so it was only natural that trouble would crop up now and then.

That made the Discipline Department's role especially important.

However, the rules for new students differed from those for students already enrolled.

The Discipline Department's regular staff at Huaxia Gene Evolution University wore black uniforms. The director and deputy directors wore special badges.

The clash at the Extreme College testing site had been reported by one of the regular teachers there.

The teacher hadn't known the details, and had exaggerated a little, saying that some students might have been seriously injured.

In response, the Discipline Department sent a deputy director to lead a team and handle the incident.

The deputy director's surname was Wang. He was also one of the department's most capable officers.

When he arrived and saw that all the students involved were still standing, he breathed a sigh of relief.

If they could stand, the situation probably wasn't too serious.

But the crowd of ten thousand watching suggested the incident had had a fairly wide and damaging impact.

"These new students have no respect for the school's rules! Since so many people are watching, we'll make an example of them. They must be punished severely!"

"Every year, we get new students who think they can do whatever they want. They haven't even finished enrolling, and they're already fighting and causing trouble. Well done, you lot. Very impressive!"

Deputy Director Wang showered the students with praise as soon as he arrived.

It was hard to tell how the people involved felt about it.

But the bystanders, including Chai Xiao, were terrified and breaking out in a cold sweat.

When a Discipline Department deputy director talked like that, there was a good chance he intended to make an example of them.

"Take all of them back to the Discipline Department for questioning and separate examination."

"Retrieve the surveillance footage and reconstruct what happened."

"Randomly select twenty students and teachers who witnessed the incident to corroborate the facts!"

The Discipline Department of Huaxia Gene Evolution University modeled its conduct on the Huaxia Region's Grand Charter's legal affairs department.

When a student broke the rules, they had to be punished in a way that left them fully convinced.

Neither the people involved nor the outsiders should have anything to complain about.

Several black-uniformed officers immediately rushed over like wolves and tigers to take the five students involved into custody.

"I have E-grade intermediate authority! I'm entitled to preferential treatment."

Yuan Shu proactively showed his Personal Communication Device. "I came here to take care of something. I asked him to move aside, but he refused and provoked me. Then we got into a fight."

Deputy Director Wang didn't rush to judgment. First, he verified Yuan Shu's identity on his Personal Communication Device.

"Yuan Shu, you do indeed have E-grade intermediate authority. Under the rules, you're entitled to relative preferential treatment.

You don't need to come back for questioning. Just submit a written account of what happened."

Deputy Director Wang's handling of the matter was perfectly proper.

That was one of the privileges granted to those with high authority.

Among the students at Huaxia Gene Evolution University, Yuan Shu's E-grade intermediate authority was definitely considered high.

But the preferential treatment that came with it applied only to Yuan Shu.

The three students he'd brought along to beat up Xu Tui weren't so lucky.

The black-uniformed officers grabbed them by the arms and prepared to take them to the Discipline Department.

There was nothing Yuan Shu could do to help, even if he wanted to.

He could only glare coldly at Xu Tui.

Xu Tui was about to be taken away for questioning, too.

Two black-uniformed officers rushed up to him in an instant.

Just then, Xu Tui's Personal Communication Device projected an image.

"Teachers, I have D-grade lower authority. I should be entitled to preferential treatment too, right?"

The black-uniformed officers froze.

The students nearby and Chai Xiao froze, too.

D-grade lower authority.

Had they heard that right?

But the officers couldn't have mistaken what they saw.

The authority section on Xu Tui's projected personal information page clearly showed D-grade lower authority.

Xu Tui kept the projected image small and angled it away, out of concern for his privacy.

Yuan Shu froze, then broke into a laugh.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"D-grade lower authority?

At least make up something believable.

Plenty of teachers at our school don't even have D-grade lower authority!"

Yuan Shu said it aloud, but he felt a little uneasy.

Xu Tui didn't look deranged, and he certainly didn't seem stupid.

Why would he come up with such an obviously ridiculous lie, one that could be exposed with a quick check?

Could it actually be true?

Deputy Director Wang frowned as well.

His first thought was that it couldn't be possible.

After all these years of hard work, he'd only managed to attain E-grade advanced authority. He was still several hundred merit points short of D-grade lower authority.

How could an eighteen-year-old student possibly—

Could it be?

Under normal circumstances, there was only one possibility.

Inheritance.

At the thought, Deputy Director Wang's expression turned serious.

Could Xu Tui be a descendant of an unsung hero?

Deputy Director Wang hurriedly checked the records using the dedicated system on his Personal Communication Device.

A moment later, Deputy Director Wang was stunned.

It wasn't inherited.

But it really was D-grade lower authority.

He'd only obtained it today.

"Xu Tui does indeed have D-grade lower authority. Under the rules, he's entitled to relative preferential treatment, as well as a certain degree of absolute preferential treatment.

Xu Tui, write up an account of what happened today, sign it, and send it to the Discipline Department.

Also, keep your Personal Communication Device on. If we have any questions, we'll contact you."

The moment Deputy Director Wang finished speaking, the students around them were stunned.

Yuan Shu was just as shocked!

But for Yuan Shu, the consequences went far beyond that.

This guy was ruthless and didn't talk much, and he actually had D-grade lower authority. This was simply—

"Could he be descended from a decorated hero?"

Whatever the explanation, Yuan Shu immediately realized that he might be in real trouble.

And he'd been stupid enough to put himself in this position.

In that instant, Yuan Shu suddenly understood what Xu Tui had meant when he said, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance."

Xu Tui really hadn't been acting arrogant.

He'd genuinely been giving Yuan Shu a chance.

But Yuan Shu had let it slip by.

Yuan Shu felt a little regretful.

And more than a little stunned.

Out of more than seven thousand new students at Huaxia Gene Evolution University, he'd ended up being the one-in-seven-thousand unlucky winner.

And he'd hit a live landmine!

The kind of landmine designed to take out a tank.

A pretty powerful one.

"Student Yuan Shu, under the Huaxia Region Grand Charter and Huaxia Gene Evolution University regulations, your E-grade intermediate authority will automatically lose its relative preferential treatment if this matter involves someone with higher authority.

Please come with us to the Discipline Department for questioning!"

Deputy Director Wang spoke formally and gestured. Two black-uniformed officers immediately took hold of the stunned Yuan Shu.

"Students, I'm Wang Rutie, one of the deputy directors of this university's Discipline Department. I'd like to remind you all that,

Observe the law and obey the rules, study hard, and keep striving to improve.

Otherwise, whether it's wind or rain, the Discipline Department will be right there with you!"

"Take them away!"

With a wave of his hand, the Discipline Department's deputy director, Wang Rutie, and a group of black-clad officers escorted Yuan Shu and the other three away.

The students watching from the sidelines stared at Xu Tui in shock.

They were still F-grade nobodies.

How had this student in front of them gotten D-grade lower authority?

Some students even grabbed Xu Tui and started taking pictures, posting them to their social media on the spot.

"Caught a descendant of a national hero! Just as expected, none of the heroes' descendants are cowards!"

Chai Xiao also walked up to Xu Tui, his expression solemn.

"Brother, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I owe you an apology.

"I had no idea you were a hero's descendant. Every hero deserves our respect.

"When you have time, you have to take me to pay my respects to your uncle."

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

Xu Tui looked thoroughly exasperated. "My dad isn't dead!

"My dad is still alive and well.

"My dad's going to live to be a hundred and fifty!"

Chai Xiao was stunned.

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