Shoved aside by Dai Yueheng, Zhou Yi struggled to save face. She gave him a cold snort and said,
"Even if you are an Inner Court disciple, I am still an Outer Court teacher. If you keep interfering with my teaching, don't blame me for getting rough with you."
As though he had heard the greatest joke in the world, Dai Yueheng spread his hands and said to Zhou Yi,
"Come on, then. Let's see just how you plan to get rough with me."
Zhou Yi glared fiercely at Dai Yueheng, who continued,
"As an Inner Court disciple, I have every right to report misconduct by Outer Court teachers. Other people might be afraid of your lover, but I'm not."
Zhou Yi frowned. Clearly, she had not expected Dai Yueheng to stand so firmly against her today. Her gaze involuntarily swept across the students of Freshman Class One.
When things departed from the ordinary, something sinister had to be lurking behind them.
Yet even after looking over the entire group, Zhou Yi could not work out who could possibly be on such close terms with Dai Yueheng.
For one thing, no one in the class had the surname Dai. For another, none possessed the White Tiger Martial Soul. No one appeared to have any connection to Dai Yueheng.
While Zhou Yi was stuck riding a tiger she could not dismount, Dai Yueheng had already lost patience. He said to her,
"Have you thought it through? If you can't figure it out, we can go to the Academic Affairs Office and give it some proper thought."
Zhou Yi's expression darkened further. If this reached Du Weilun, even if he did not seize the chance to kick her while she was down, he certainly would not take her side.
Her career had already hit its ceiling. Even becoming a senior teacher depended on Du Weilun. If Fan Yu did not still have some standing, Du Weilun would not give her the time of day.
Compared with an Inner Court disciple whose future heights were still unknown, Du Weilun would certainly not choose her.
Zhou Yi calculated all of this very clearly in her mind. She immediately turned to the Freshman Class One students behind her and said,
"For your senior's sake, I'll let this go today. Hurry back to class."
Although Zhou Yi felt she had suffered a serious loss of face, to most of Freshman Class One, apart from Huo Yuhao, a Soul Emperor was still a Soul Emperor.
In truth, the students of Freshman Class One were all rather unlucky. Their caliber certainly was not poor. Anyone who could enter Shrek Academy was, at the very least, a disciple from a family of modest standing.
Even if their families' current generation was somewhat lackluster, they still came from households that had seen something of the world.
Seeing Zhou Yi's unpleasant expression, not one of them dared laugh or joke. They formed neat lines and followed Huo Yuhao back to the Freshman Class One classroom.
With students of this caliber, any normal teacher would hardly need to expel many of them.
The total expelled over three months probably would not even match the number Zhou Yi had expelled on the first day in the original story.
Before heading upstairs, Huo Yuhao glanced at Dai Yueheng from the turn in the staircase.
Dai Yueheng was watching Huo Yuhao, and there seemed to be something more in his eyes.
Although Huo Yuhao had never seen Dai Huabin again after Dai Hao brought him to the White Tiger Military Camp, he had met Dai Yueheng several times when the latter visited Dai Hao there.
Not only did Dai Yueheng know what Huo Yuhao really looked like now, but the two of them also shared a certain understanding. Huo Yuhao had already read something in Dai Yueheng's gaze.
When classes ended at noon, Huo Yuhao left Shrek Academy and met Dai Yueheng in a private room at a teahouse in Shrek City, where he was sitting upright and sipping tea.
"All right, stop chewing peonies like an ox. Other people might not know what you're like, Dai Yueheng, but don't I? You're a warrior through and through, yet here you are drinking tea. What flavor could you possibly taste?"
After taking a seat, Huo Yuhao could not help making a jab at Dai Yueheng, who was still holding his teacup and putting on airs.
Dai Yueheng was not offended. He smiled at Huo Yuhao, set down his cup, and said,
"I asked around afterward. You fought that Zhou Yi?"
Huo Yuhao did not hide it. He nodded, then deliberately stressed,
"I did. I won. A clean win."
Dai Yueheng reached over and took Huo Yuhao's dominant hand, examining his palm as he said,
"As long as you weren't hurt. Our father asked me to tell you to keep a lower profile at Shrek Academy. Don't draw too much attention. Try not to do things like challenge your teachers again."
Huo Yuhao smiled, then said to Dai Yueheng,
"Of course I know. Life isn't easy for us old hands from the Duke's Mansion, right? Someone can suddenly die of an unexplained illness in a mansion that enormous. What couldn't happen?"
Dai Yueheng sighed, took another sip of tea, and said to Huo Yuhao,
"I'll be honest. I haven't spent all that much time with my mother. Huabin came along not long after I was born. I don't want anything to do with the mess between my mother and yours. As fellow members of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, you and I do share some blood. I can trust you more than an outsider."
Huo Yuhao smiled and said to Dai Yueheng,
"To be fair, I shouldn't bear you too much of a grudge. Even if I were to kill you, I'd just make it quick. But speaking of Shrek Academy, aside from your teachers, shouldn't the person you trust most be Dai Huabin, your younger brother born of the same mother?"
At that, Dai Yueheng smiled, set down his teacup, and pointed at the tea inside it.
"If this cup of tea I'm drinking right now were poisoned, there would be a one-in-four chance you did it, and another one-in-four chance some other enemy did it. The remaining half would be Dai Huabin."
Huo Yuhao smiled, then waved a hand and said to Dai Yueheng,
"You're giving your brother too much credit. He couldn't even get rid of me, let alone deal you a vicious blow. But there's actually something I don't quite understand. Consider this the first time—and most likely the last—that I, your younger brother, ask you, my older brother, for some guidance."
At those words, Dai Yueheng sat up straight, looked at Huo Yuhao, and asked,
"Go ahead."
Huo Yuhao tapped the table lightly with a finger and said to Dai Yueheng,
"If this question offends you, I'll apologize first. After all, I'm not an unreasonable person... Are you actually your mother's biological son? If you are, then with everything you have going for you, I truly can't understand why the Duchess is so determined to make Dai Huabin surpass you. Surely it can't be that your mother enjoys making crickets fight for fun?"
At the mention of this, Dai Yueheng gave a bitter smile, then said to Huo Yuhao,
"It's not strange that you'd wonder about that, and I wouldn't call it an offense. It's just that I really don't know how to answer you, because I don't understand exactly why either."
Huo Yuhao nodded. After a moment of silence, Dai Yueheng suddenly said,
"If I had to name something, there's only one source of friction between my mother and me..."
Before you continue