His Foothold in the Library Was Gone

The librarian's face was set like a slab of plaster. Without making a single unnecessary movement, he merely tipped his chin in one direction.

"Come with me."

Wang Xiaoliang's heart sank. He followed silently behind the librarian, the drinks in his backpack clinking softly with each step. Right now, the sound seemed especially grating.

The librarian did not take him to an office. Instead, he walked straight through the lobby, out of the Library, and toward the Administration Building.

Wang Xiaoliang's heart sank further with every step.

Wouldn't this cut off his income? Delivering drinks to the Library did not earn much, but it was steady, the customers were easy to deal with, and he barely needed to say a word.

One delivery run a day covered his meals. If he was banned from doing it, the loss would be considerable.

The air-conditioning was blasting in the Student Affairs Office. A male teacher wearing glasses, who looked to be in his thirties, sat behind a desk, idly scrolling through his phone.

"Teacher Sun." The librarian knocked on the door.

The man addressed as Teacher Sun looked up and adjusted his glasses. Seeing the librarian and Wang Xiaoliang behind him, he put down his phone.

"Master Zhang, what's the matter?"

The librarian pointed at Wang Xiaoliang and said in a businesslike tone, "Someone reported that this student, Wang Xiaoliang, has been selling drinks in the Library for some time, seriously disrupting the reading environment. I've brought him here for the Student Affairs Office to deal with."

With that, Master Zhang turned and left, leaving Wang Xiaoliang alone to face judgment.

Wang Xiaoliang silently cursed every last inch of the "fucking idiot" who had reported him.

Teacher Sun's gaze settled on Wang Xiaoliang, scrutinizing and displeased.

"Wang Xiaoliang, is it? Which school are you in?"

Wang Xiaoliang answered honestly.

Teacher Sun picked up a pen and began filling out a form, criticizing him as he wrote without even raising his head.

"You've got some nerve. What do you think the Library is? Your family's convenience store?"

Wang Xiaoliang lowered his head and tried to explain. "Sir, I really didn't disturb anyone. I took orders beforehand on WeChat, then delivered the drinks directly to their seats. It took less than a minute, and I was very quiet."

Teacher Sun stopped writing and gave a cold laugh.

"Didn't disturb anyone? Is that what this is about? It's about the nature of what you did! The university has rules and regulations. The Library is a place to study, not a place for you to do business. If every student behaved like you, with you selling drinks today, someone else selling snacks tomorrow, and another person selling breakfast wraps the day after, would it still be a library? We might as well turn it into a market!"

The barrage of rhetorical questions battered Wang Xiaoliang into keeping his head down.

He knew that at a time like this, any defense would be futile. In the face of rules, his so-called "human consideration" and "flexibility" were worthless.

The real issue was that those rules were controlled by people.

"Tell me." Teacher Sun tapped the desk with his pen. "How much money have you made in total, from the beginning until now?"

Here it comes.

Wang Xiaoliang's heart clenched. This was the crucial question. Once he gave a specific amount, the next step would very likely be, "All illicit earnings must be surrendered." Months of hard work would go down the drain.

I absolutely can't tell him.

Wang Xiaoliang chose silence. He lowered his head even further, adopting a shamelessly stubborn stance that said, "I was wrong, I'll accept the punishment, but don't talk to me about money."

His silence clearly infuriated Teacher Sun.

"What? Nothing to say? Have you gone mute?"

"You think keeping quiet will get you out of this? I'm telling you, Wang Xiaoliang, at best, this is a disciplinary violation. At worst, it's disruption of public order! Even putting a demerit on your record would be letting you off lightly!"

Teacher Sun's voice grew louder and louder. The relatively peaceful atmosphere in the office instantly turned hostile.

Wang Xiaoliang still said nothing. His only strategy now was to wait it out. As long as he did not admit to a specific amount, there was nothing the other man could do. At most, he would have to write a self-criticism and receive a public reprimand. If he admitted it, though, he would lose real money.

Just as the two reached a deadlock and the air seemed about to freeze solid, the office door opened.

A neatly dressed, middle-aged female teacher walked in. She looked somewhat surprised by the scene, especially Teacher Sun's face, which was red with anger.

"Sun, what's going on? Why are you so angry this early in the morning?"

Seeing her, Teacher Sun reined in his temper a little, but still pointed irritably at Wang Xiaoliang. "Ask him! He's been selling things in the Library, and he still refuses to repent!"

The female teacher followed Teacher Sun's pointing finger and looked at Wang Xiaoliang.

After studying him closely for a moment, her casual expression suddenly changed, revealing surprise and recognition.

"Oh!" she exclaimed softly. "I've finally found you!"

Both Wang Xiaoliang and Teacher Sun froze.

The female teacher hurried over to Wang Xiaoliang, delight on her face.

"You're the student who helped save someone outside the Library that day, aren't you? Yes, it was you!"

Wang Xiaoliang recognized her too.

She was the teacher who had accompanied the girl injured in the collision into the ambulance that day.

"Ma'am, you're..."

"My surname is Zheng." Teacher Zheng patted his shoulder, then turned to the bewildered Teacher Sun. "Sun, what did this boy do wrong?"

Teacher Sun clearly had not recovered from this dramatic turn of events. He repeated the story of Wang Xiaoliang selling drinks in the Library.

After listening, Teacher Zheng waved a hand and said lightly, "Oh, I thought it was something serious. This is hardly a big deal."

She turned to Wang Xiaoliang, her manner much gentler. "Come on, apologize to Teacher Sun, and we'll put this behind us. Just don't sell drinks in the Library again, all right?"

The sudden reversal left Wang Xiaoliang's brain momentarily short-circuited. Following Teacher Zheng's instructions instinctively, he bowed to Teacher Sun.

"Teacher Sun, I was wrong. I won't do it again."

Teacher Sun's face alternated between red and pale. He wanted to lash out, but with Teacher Zheng there, he could hardly say anything too harsh. After all, she had just praised him as a good student who had stepped up to help someone in danger. Continuing to press the matter would make him look unreasonable.

He could only wave a hand and say irritably, "Fine, fine. Get going! Write a thousand-word self-criticism and hand it in tomorrow!"

"Oh, there's no need for that." Teacher Zheng intervened on his behalf outright. "As long as he knows he was wrong, we've achieved our educational goal. Sun, do me this favor."

Teacher Sun opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words and gave a sullen grunt of agreement.

Smiling, Teacher Zheng took Wang Xiaoliang over to her workstation.

She had him sit down and personally poured him a cup of water.

"Don't be nervous." Teacher Zheng lowered her voice and leaned a little closer. "Working to support your studies is a good thing. I support you."

That single sentence flowed straight into Wang Xiaoliang's heart like a warm current.

Sometimes, warming someone's heart did not require coming to their rescue in a crisis. A single sentence was enough.

Teacher Zheng continued, "You were very calm that day, and you handled everything extremely well. You applied pressure to stop her bleeding and called an ambulance promptly. The doctor said it was fortunate that you acted early, or the blood loss could have caused serious trouble."

She paused, seemingly choosing her words.

"That injured girl's parents have considerable influence. Although they didn't openly blame the university's management, the university was still under immense pressure. That very day, it revoked all permission for food delivery workers and other outsiders to enter campus."

Only then did Wang Xiaoliang understand why food deliveries had been barred from campus, and why the university had acted with such unusual efficiency.

So that was the root of it.

"Fortunately, the girl is fine and recovering very well. Her parents are especially grateful to you. They've been asking us to find you so they can thank you in person."

Wang Xiaoliang scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

"I really didn't do much. It's all thanks to the university's regular safety education. It taught us how to handle emergencies."

The Book of Fate's instruction to say nice things flashed through his mind again.

In the past, he could never have said anything so polished and appropriate. At most, he would have said, "It was nothing. Anyone would have done it."

Sure enough, Teacher Zheng's smile widened at his words.

She nodded approvingly and took a pen and paper from her drawer. "Here, give me your phone number. I need to get back to her parents."

Wang Xiaoliang recited his phone number.

After writing it down, Teacher Zheng took out her own phone. "Let's add each other on WeChat. If you run into any difficulties, you can come straight to me."

This was an unexpected bonus. Flattered by her kindness, Wang Xiaoliang added Teacher Zheng on WeChat. Looking at the notification that she had accepted his request, he felt that today's crisis had not cost him anything after all. Instead, it had become an opportunity.

After leaving the Administration Building, Wang Xiaoliang let out a long breath.

He took out his phone. He had noticed some unread messages earlier.

Some were drink orders, and there was also a message from Wei Zijin.

[Are you there?]

Wang Xiaoliang replied: [Something came up just now. I couldn't check my phone.]

Wei Zijin's reply came almost instantly.

[Thank you.]

Just two simple words, without excessive politeness or small talk.

Wang Xiaoliang actually found that very comfortable.

[What are you thanking me for?]

[My videos are getting good traffic. The direction you pointed me in was right.]

[That's because you did a good job yourself.]

Wei Zijin did not pursue the topic. Instead, she sent another message.

[A lot of people have commented on my videos, and plenty have sent me private messages. They're all asking about the same thing.]

[They want your contact information.]

[They all have one goal: they want to ask you to do calligraphy for them.]

[If you're willing, I'll share your WeChat contact with them.]

Calligraphy?

Wang Xiaoliang froze.

A thought, like a sudden flash of lightning across a pitch-black wilderness, split through his tangled mind and illuminated an entirely new, unprecedented path.

That way of earning money with "ease and contentment" that he had been racking his brains over...

Perhaps he had finally found a breakthrough.