Taking Up a Post

Only then did Yu Xiaogang patiently explain, "Little San's father—my idol, the current Clear Sky Douluo—specifically instructed me to keep Qian Ren Shuang by my side.

That's why I said he has to take up a post."

Liu Erlong's expression changed slightly after hearing this. Thinking about how she had nearly beaten Qian Ren Shuang into storming off at the academy gates earlier, she was suddenly seized by lingering fear.

What if her impulsiveness had disrupted the Clear Sky Douluo's plans, causing Xiaogang to dislike her...

She apologized repeatedly, panic edging her voice. "I'm sorry, Xiaogang. I was too emotional. What should we do if Qian Ren Shuang doesn't come back?"

"Then I can only go beg him to come back with you." Yu Xiaogang let out a pretentious sigh and turned his head slightly, putting on an expression that said, "This is difficult, but I'll do it for you." "It may be humiliating, but I can't just leave you to beg him alone, can I?"

As Liu Erlong knew, Yu Xiaogang had always been an extremely prideful man.

Now, these words—giving up his pride for her—moved the already love-struck Liu Erlong beyond measure.

Her eyes grew hot, and she immediately grabbed Yu Xiaogang's hand, her tone as solemn as if she were taking an oath. "Don't worry, Xiaogang! No matter the cost, I'll definitely bring Qian Ren Shuang back!"

Yu Xiaogang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Liu Erlong's shining eyes, then lowered his gaze to the hand she was clutching. The corner of his lips lifted almost imperceptibly.

Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun had lost face at the restaurant and remained downcast all the way back to the academy. He walked at the back with his head lowered, kicking little stones along the road.

Dai Mubai and Oscar stayed on either side of him, comforting him sentence by sentence.

"Fatty, don't take it to heart. That bitch was only throwing her grandfather's weight around."

"Yeah, yeah. Once we get stronger, we'll make her kowtow it back to you."

Tang San walked in the middle of the group, replaying Flender's words over and over in his mind—"Before you break the rules, you'd better have enough strength to support you in breaking them."

He silently calculated: if he had possessed enough strength back at the restaurant, could he have flipped that table outright and intimidated everyone there?

Xiao Wu clung tightly to Tang San like a little tagalong, her hands behind her back as she skipped along. Every so often, she tilted her head to glance at his furrowed brows, but she did not disturb him.

Ning Rongrong walked toward the rear, holding Guilmon's tail in both arms like a thick furry pillar. As she walked, she played with the fur at its tip, winding it around her fingers.

Guilmon did not mind. His tail did not hurt anyway, so he let her do as she pleased.

Zhu Zhuqing kept an obvious distance from Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun.

She walked alone on the outermost edge of the group, neither hurried nor slow, her gaze resting on Qian Ren Shuang's back ahead.

"Brother Shuang," Zhu Zhuqing suddenly spoke after they had walked for a while, her voice soft. "What you said at the restaurant... that you couldn't guarantee you'd always stay with us. What did that mean?"

Qian Ren Shuang was momentarily taken aback by the abrupt question and turned his head. "What else could it mean? It means exactly what it says."

"I mean," Zhu Zhuqing paused, as though organizing her words, "why... would you leave us in the future?"

At her core, her way of thinking still followed the principle of submitting to the strong.

Now that the strongest person in their little group of eight had said he might leave in the future, she instinctively felt a wave of panic and reluctance.

Though she usually did not speak much, she knew perfectly well who had been backing them up.

"What's there to ask why about?" Qian Ren Shuang's tone gained a trace of impatience. "I have my own things to do too. 'All feasts must end someday.' Got it?"

Zhu Zhuqing fell silent.

Her mind had never been particularly quick, and after chewing over those words again and again, she ultimately arrived at an interpretation that chilled her to the bone: One day, he'll run away too, just like Dai Mubai abandoned me.

She remembered the man who had left her behind in the Star Luo Empire's imperial palace, and the days when she had been treated as an abandoned pawn.

Although Qian Ren Shuang had not meant that at all, Zhu Zhuqing had silently slapped a label on him in her heart—"irresponsible."

She withdrew her gaze and stopped looking at him.

By the time the group returned to the gates of Blue Tyrant Academy, Qian Ren Shuang discovered that Lu Qibin and Zhao Wuji had each taken over a guard booth and become gatekeepers.

Zhao Wuji sat in one of the booths with his legs crossed grandly, holding a cup of tea. At a glance, he really did have the air of someone declaring, "This road was built by me."

"Hey! Get over here!" When he saw everyone returning, Zhao Wuji's Savage Bear Roar rang out again, full of vigor. "I've got something to tell you!"

After approaching, Dai Mubai was the first to ask, "What is it, Teacher Zhao?"

"I'm just telling you where the teachers are serving now, and what arrangements have been made for you." Zhao Wuji set down his teacup and cleared his throat.

"Flender is now the vice principal, and Master is a gold-medal teacher for the advanced class. You lot—all of you will enter the advanced class starting tomorrow."

Unlike the original story, Liu Erlong had not thrown the position of principal to Flender, since she wanted to make sure she could take Yu Xiaogang's hand whenever salaries were handed out.

Thus, she remained the principal of Blue Tyrant Academy, firmly in control of its power.

"Qian Ren Shuang," Zhao Wuji paused, a hint of undisguised bitterness in his voice, "the seven of them are students in the advanced class, while you are the advanced class's... homeroom teacher. Xiang Ya, you'll continue serving as Qian Ren Shuang's secretary."

After saying that, Zhao Wuji raised his teacup and took a large gulp. He was bitter to the extreme: this Qian Ren Shuang had ambushed the academy's principal and even suppressed her head-on, yet he had ended up with a homeroom teacher's position instead. Was there any justice left in the world?

Originally, Liu Erlong had wanted to make Qian Ren Shuang Yu Xiaogang's teaching assistant.

However, Yu Xiaogang was afraid that Qian Ren Shuang's temper was too explosive and that he would simply walk away, ruining his idol's plan. Besides, he still remembered the taste of "Starfall" last time. If Qian Ren Shuang really stayed by his side as an assistant, his neck would suffer terribly.

That was why the position of "homeroom teacher" had ultimately fallen to Qian Ren Shuang.

"Homeroom teacher..." Oscar drew out the words. The expression on his face instantly became both solemn and ingratiating as he leaned close to Qian Ren Shuang and patted his shoulder earnestly. "Brother Shuang, don't forget the friendship we had at Shrek Academy. If you become rich and powerful, don't forget us!"