Che Quan stared back at Jiang Cong, brimming with icy hostility, and could not be bothered to answer.
He heard Jiang Cong say, "If my evaluation score in this instance is higher, agree to one condition of mine. How about it?"
"Get lost," Che Quan replied impatiently.
Instances, scores-he had no interest in any of it. In fact, it irritated him.
But when Che Quan heard Jiang Cong's next words, his gaze changed at once.
"If not, my life is yours. Do whatever you like with it. How's that?"
Jiang Cong spoke casually, with effortless ease, as though what he had put on the table was not his own life but some trivial object.
"Your life?" Che Quan asked darkly, making sure.
"Of course." Jiang Cong's low chuckle drifted through the cool air in the darkness.
"Fine."
Che Quan delivered that single word with force.
The wager was sealed.
Now Che Quan was even more eager to finish this idiotic instance as quickly as possible.
As soon as he left the dark room and returned to the brightly lit corridor of the school building, he headed straight back to Class (4).
He spotted Chen Yuxiang inside at once. She was talking to her deskmate, Qiao Qiao.
The two seemed to have become genuine best friends, chatting and laughing with easy intimacy.
Just then, as though sensing something, Chen Yuxiang stopped talking to Qiao Qiao and looked toward the classroom door, meeting Che Quan's gaze.
Expressionless, Che Quan signaled for her to come out.
Chen Yuxiang hurriedly got up and ran over to him.
"We can go find Ning Dantong now," Che Quan said in a low voice.
Chen Yuxiang froze at his words, clearly not understanding.
Before she could ask why or what exactly they needed to do, she saw Ning Dantong walking briskly toward them.
Ning Dantong's eyes were urgent, as though she wanted to tell them something.
But when she reached them, Ning Dantong did not stop. She merely slowed her pace and quietly said, "Meet me on the rooftop during the lunch break," before walking past them.
It was as though she had nothing to do with them.
There had to be a reason for her guarded behavior.
The atmosphere inexplicably grew a little heavy and unsettling.
Chen Yuxiang instinctively looked at Che Quan. His eyes were dark, his thoughts unreadable.
After two seconds, he told Chen Yuxiang, "Go back to class for now."
Then, without waiting for her answer, Che Quan turned and headed toward the principal's office.
Once again, he simply pushed the door open and walked in.
The principal, seated behind his desk, was caught off guard and nearly sprang out of his chair.
When he saw it was Che Quan, he felt both angry and aggrieved, but could only suppress his irritation and ask, "Che Quan, what are you here for this time? Classes have already started."
Unconcerned, Che Quan asked languidly, "Principal, what about the disciplinary action?"
The principal faltered, then blustered, "Wh-what does that have to do with you? Besides, this is a serious matter. How could we reach a decision so quickly?"
Che Quan fell silent. A faint, elusive red glimmer showed in his pitch-black pupils as he stared straight at the principal like a malevolent demon.
For no apparent reason, the principal swallowed, his expression turning uglier.
"All right, leave for now. A decision will be reached in due course."
Che Quan did not budge at those words.
His face expressionless, his beautiful eyes devoid of feeling, he stared straight at the principal until an inexplicable panic rose in the man.
The principal tried to raise his voice and order Che Quan out again, but Che Quan suddenly moved.
He did not head for the door.
Instead, he approached the coffee table in the office, bent down, and picked up the fruit knife from the fruit platter, turning it in his hand.
Che Quan said nothing more, but his entire being radiated a terrifying menace: unless he received a satisfactory answer, he would not be leaving easily.
After a long standoff, the principal could only steel himself and tell the truth. "Teacher Chang will be suspended from teaching for one week, docked three months' salary and his annual bonus, and fined one hundred thousand. He will also be removed as head of the mathematics department and demoted to an ordinary teacher, while retaining his position as Class (4)'s homeroom teacher... Miao Rouning, Yuan Zhou, and the other students who bullied their classmates will receive demerits, major demerits, three-week suspensions, or one-month suspensions according to the severity of their behavior, and will be publicly reprimanded before the entire school."
By the end, the principal could not keep his voice from trembling.
With every sentence, every word he spoke, Che Quan's expression grew more displeased and sinister.
The fruit knife in Che Quan's hand had also been unfolded, revealing its sharp edge and cold, gleaming blade.
The principal feared death.
His lips moved several times before he finally defended himself. "I know this punishment is nothing compared to what they did. But I'm considering the bigger picture!
"Think about it. Teacher Chang has been teaching for years. He knows better than anyone how to help students improve and maintain their grades. Although he did some disgraceful things, overall, when you weigh his merits against his faults, his merits still outweigh them. He's helped so many students fulfill their dreams of getting into good schools, hasn't he?
"The major exams are just around the corner. If you remove such an experienced teacher and bring in a substitute to fill the vacancy, what if it affects the students' grades and their chances of getting into school?
"So I'm doing this entirely for the students' sake. You have to understand... But you can rest assured, Che Quan. Teacher Chang has already promised me that he only went astray because of a momentary lapse in judgment. He will never do anything so beastly again. If he reoffends, he'll resign of his own accord.
"No one is perfect. There's no greater virtue than recognizing your mistakes and correcting them, right? Let's give him a chance to turn over a new leaf...
"As for Miao Rouning and her group, I looked into it and asked around. Their families spoiled them from childhood, and that's how they developed these nasty habits of bullying the weak. But considering they're still children, I gave them a stern talking-to, and I thought their attitude toward admitting their mistakes was quite good. Besides, they're about to graduate and sit entrance exams for better schools. If I expelled them now, wouldn't that ruin their futures? So you see..."
The principal went on and on, practically spraying spit everywhere.
By the end, he had convinced himself, even feeling a sense of satisfaction that he truly was looking out for everyone.
But when he stopped his "speech" and met Che Quan's dark, turbulent gaze again, he immediately shuddered.
He heard Che Quan ask something seemingly unrelated.
"Jiang Cong told you to do this, didn't he?"
Jiang Cong...
The principal was stunned. "Y-you know Jiang Cong? You know him?"
Watching the principal's enormous, genuine reaction, Che Quan understood at once. His gaze grew colder and darker. "So it was him, wasn't it? He told you to let them off lightly like this?"
If Jiang Cong had not interfered, how could a man who had clearly put the school's interests first earlier have changed his attitude so abruptly?
At the thought of Jiang Cong, Che Quan's gaze instantly turned vicious.
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