Making Trouble (Bonus Chapter 3)

The hatch of the Simulation slowly opened, letting in a flood of light.

Yun Jingheng opened his eyes, sat up, and moved his neck, his joints making a slight cracking sound.

He stepped out of the cabin, stood in the center of the Simulation chamber, hands in his pockets, and waited.

A group of people were watching him.

Cai Yue'er stood at the door, arms crossed.

The two exchanged a glance.

Yun Jingheng smiled at her, but Cai Yue'er remained expressionless.

They looked at each other again.

Yun Jingheng shifted his gaze to the ceiling.

Cai Yue'er stared at him without saying a word.

Yun Jingheng pretended not to see it and looked down at the tips of his shoes.

When did I buy these shoes?

Xu Xiaoyan's hatch opened, and she sat up inside. She glanced at Yun Jingheng, then at Cai Yue'er, and walked out with her head down, standing next to Yun Jingheng.

Xie Xie's hatch opened, and he jumped out. He stumbled when he landed, but steadied himself by holding onto the bulkhead.

He glanced at Cai Yue'er, shrank back, and walked to stand next to Yun Jingheng.

Gu Yue opened the hatch, walked up to Xie Xie, pushed him aside, and stood next to Yun Jingheng.

Tang Wulin was the last to open his hatch. He stepped out, scratched his head, looked at the four people, then at Cai Yue'er, and stood next to Xie Xie.

Five people stood in a row in front of Cai Yue'er.

Cai Yue'er looked at them, and they looked at Cai Yue'er.

No one spoke.

A cool breeze blew through the corridor and slipped in through the cracks in the door.

"Who came out last?" Cai Yue'er asked.

Tang Wulin raised his hand, "Me."

Cai Yue'er looked at him, "And you?"

She looked at Gu Yue, "Second to last."

Cai Yue'er then looked at Xie Xie.

Xie Xie scratched his head. "Third to last."

Cai Yue'er took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and said, word by word.

"Squad leader: Tang Wulin. Deputy squad leaders: Gu Yue and Xie Xie."

She paused. "Now, everyone go back to the classroom and choose the forging, manufacturing, design, and repair committee members." She turned and left.

The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor, much faster than usual, as if they were angry, or perhaps rushing somewhere.

Xie Xie looked at Yun Jingheng, his face as droopy as a wilted eggplant.

"You run so fast, you really screwed me over..."

Yun Jingheng blinked, looking completely innocent. "In the world of martial arts, speed is the only thing that can't be broken."

Xie Xie's lips twitched. "You run fast, why don't you take the vice class monitor with you?"

Yun Jingheng thought for a moment, "There are two vice squad leaders, I can't take them with me."

Xie Xie glanced at Gu Yue Gu Yue, whose expression was somewhat excited.

He didn't understand at all.

He glanced at Tang Wulin again, Tang Wulin was scratching his head with an expression that said, "I don't know what's going on either."

Xie Xie a deep breath and resigned himself to his fate.

Wu Zhangkong stood in the corridor, arms crossed, his expression cold.

He glanced at the five people, turned and walked towards the classroom. "Follow me."

Five people followed.

The corridor was quiet, and sunlight streamed in through the windows, casting dappled patterns on the floor.

Xie Xie was still muttering, "Vice class monitor, I've never even been a class officer before, and I'm being made vice class monitor right away..."

Tang Wulin patted him on the shoulder, "It's okay, I've never even been a class monitor."

Xie Xie glanced at him. "You're the class monitor now."

Tang Wulin paused for a moment, then said, "... You don't have to say anything."

The classroom was so quiet you could hear the wind outside the window.

Cai Yue'er walked into the classroom with a stack of files in her hand, walked to the podium, and placed the files on the table.

Her gaze swept across the entire class, lingered briefly on Yun Jingheng, and then looked away.

She opened the file, her voice calm, "Next, we will elect the forging committee, manufacturing committee, design committee, and maintenance committee. Each person can apply for multiple positions, and I will make the final decision."

She looked up at the whole class, "Who wants to sign up?"

The classroom fell silent for a moment.

Yang Nianxia raised her hand, "I'm signing up to be a forging committee member."

Cai Yue'er nodded. "Who else?"

Tang Wulin raised his hand, "Me."

Cai Yue'er nodded. "Is there anything else?"

Gu Yue raised her hand, "Design Committee Member."

Cai Yue'er nodded. "Is there anything else?"

She looked at Yun Jingheng, "No idea from Level 5 Soul Engineer?"

Yun Jingheng was taken aback, then slowly shook his head.

Cai Yue'er took a deep breath and said nothing.

Cai Yue'er nodded, wrote a few strokes on the file, and then closed it.

"Forging Committee Member: Tang Wulin. Manufacturing Committee Member: Luo Guixing. Design Committee Member: Gu Yue. Maintenance Committee Member: Wu Siduo."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "Next, Ms. Shen, the Teacher Wu, will give the lesson."

She turned and left.

Sea God Island, Ya Li's residence.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the wooden floor in a grid pattern.

Ya Li sat by the window, holding a book in her hand, flipping through it.

The teacup sat on the table beside him, emitting a faint steam.

She turned the page, then the page, reading very slowly, as if she were reading each word.

The door wasn't closed, and footsteps came from the corridor, hurried and quick.

Ya Li looked up and saw Cai Yue'er already standing at the door.

She was wearing a dark blue long dress, her hair pulled back, and looked as capable as usual, but her face was slightly flushed.

Ya Li put down her book and smiled.

"What's wrong? Who made Dean Cai angry?"

Cai Yue'er walked in, sat down opposite her, crossed her arms, and said, "Your son."

Ya Li's smile paused for a moment, then curved even wider. "Jing Heng? What did he do this time?"

Cai Yue'er took a deep breath. "Today's practical assessment was a virtual arena. I had them fight in Virtual Forest, and the last person standing became the class leader. Do you know what your son did?"

Ya Li shook her head.

Cai Yue'er gritted her teeth, "He was the first to quit. He tapped the quit device and ran away. He even told the others, 'You guys keep fighting, I'm leaving first.'"

Ya Li's lips curved slightly, then fell back down. "And then?"

Cai Yue'er looked at her, "Then Xu Xiaoyan ran away with him, Xie Xie ran away too. In the end, only Tang Wulin and Gu Yue were left. Gu Yue said 'Goodbye, class monitor' and ran away too. Tang Wulin was the last one to come out, looking completely bewildered."

Ya Li finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She quickly covered her mouth, but laughter leaked out through her fingers.

Cai Yue'er stared at her. "You're still laughing?" Ya Li lowered her hand, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down.

"Don't laugh, don't laugh. And then?" Cai Yue'er continued.

"Then I made Tang Wulin the class monitor, and Gu Yue and Xie Xie the vice class monitors. When we went back to the classroom to elect committee members, I asked who wanted to sign up. Several people signed up. I asked your son—'No idea, Level 5 Soul Engineer?' He shook his head at me."

Ya Li's lips curved into a smile again. "He shook his head?" Cai Yue'er nodded. "He looked completely innocent, as if I were forcing him to do something bad."

Ya Li picked up her teacup, took a sip, and used the cup to hide her uncontrollable laughter.

Cai Yue'er looked at her, "Aren't you going to do anything about it?"

Ya Li put down her teacup and thought for a moment.

"What did he say?"

Cai Yue'er was stunned for a moment. "What?" Ya Li looked at her.

"He said why not?"

Cai Yue'er recalled for a moment.

He shook his head and didn't say anything.

Ya Li laughed, "That means he doesn't want to be one. If he doesn't want to, forcing him won't work."

Cai Yue'er frowned. "But he's a student in my class, I have a responsibility—"

Ya Li interrupted her, "Yue'er, how long have you known him?"

Cai Yue'er thought for a moment, "From when he was little."

Ya Li nodded. "Then you should know that he's not uncooperative. He just doesn't want those positions."

She paused for a moment, then said, "If he wanted to be a class monitor, he would have raised his hand long ago. He doesn't even want to be the class monitor, so why would he want to be a committee member?"

Cai Yue'er paused for a moment, "But he wasted his talent. Level 5 Soul Engineer, a level six Mecha Designer, and he's just an ordinary student in the Elite Class?"

Ya Li looked at her, "Who does it bother if he's just a regular student?"

Cai Yue'er opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"Yue'er, you need to understand what it means to teach according to aptitude?"

"Haven't we all been teaching him and he's willing to do it?"

"Don't worry, he won't cause trouble."

Yun Jingheng watched Wu Zhangkong speaking eloquently on stage, lost in thought.

I've become a student in Aunt Cai's class... Should I cause some trouble?

Wouldn't that make me seem more like a child?