Gu Chen was no stranger to Chen Jiaheng. The homeroom teacher of Class 03 was a teacher in name, but in truth he devoted himself to currying favor with Jiang Yu and was nothing like a role model. How could he not know Jiang Yu's true level? He even had the nerve to say "top hundred," when all he did was clean up Jiang Yu's messes. Seeing how agitated Chen Jiaheng was, Gu Chen raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "I'm the one who hit him. If he has a problem, let him come at me! Tell him to call the police. Does he dare?"
Chen Jiaheng flew into a rage. Pointing at Gu Chen, he rolled up his sleeve. "Gu Chen, you're utterly lawless!" he said through gritted teeth. "For what you've done, even a disciplinary demerit would be too light. I'll have the school expel you!"
"Shut up!"
A muffled grunt sounded, and Wen Xinbai appeared with a dark expression. "Teacher Chen, Principal Wen is still here. It's not your place to expel anyone!"
"I'm disciplining a student, who the fuck..." Before Chen Jiaheng could finish, he saw Wen Xinbai's dark expression and shuddered. "Principal Wen, why are you here?"
"Teacher Song, Student Gu, and I were in the middle of a discussion," Wen Xinbai said angrily. "Did you just say you wanted to expel Student Gu? Who gave you that authority?"
Only then did Chen Jiaheng realize that Wen Xinbai was present too. He forced out a faint smile. "No, no, I meant to leave it to the school to handle."
Wen Xinbai rebuked him. "Get out first. I'll handle it myself."
Chen Jiaheng had come looking for trouble and hoping to curry favor with the Jiang Family while he was at it. Unwilling to leave so easily, he hurriedly said, "Vice Principal, I just explained the situation, so I'm sure you heard. Jiang Yu has been sent to the hospital. This kid must be severely punished. He has no regard for the school rules!"
"Can't you understand what I'm saying?" Wen Xinbai's face darkened, and his tone grew harsher. "Expel a genius like Student Gu? Who gave you that authority? Even if we expelled you, we couldn't expel Student Gu!"
"Huh?" Chen Jiaheng was stunned. How had an academic dunce like Gu Chen become a genius? But he didn't dare ask more, so he could only give an embarrassed smile. "All right, all right, I'll leave it to the administration." He then turned and left.
Wen Xinbai looked at Gu Chen. "You want to withdraw because you hit someone?"
Gu Chen shook his head. "No."
"It's normal for students to have friction, but fighting is absolutely forbidden at school," Wen Xinbai said solemnly.
Gu Chen grinned. "Does that mean I can take action outside school?"
Wen Xinbai was taken aback. The answer was unexpected. But on second thought, geniuses were bound to have quirks. With proper guidance, he was still a child worth teaching. He smiled wryly. "I won't interfere in your other affairs, but I absolutely won't agree to you withdrawing!"
Gu Chen said, "If you won't agree, then I'll simply stop coming to school."
Seeing how determined Gu Chen was, Wen Xinbai could only look helplessly at Song Qianhan.
Song Qianhan thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Gu Chen, you know the midterm exam is tomorrow, right? If your overall results put you in the top ten in the entire grade, I'll agree. But it'll be a leave of absence, not a withdrawal, and you'll still have to come back for the graduation exam! If you can't do it or won't agree, then don't bring this up again!"
"The exam?" Gu Chen frowned and thought for a while. "All right, I'll do as you say, Teacher."
Song Qianhan's expression eased a little. "All right, go back to class for now."
After Gu Chen left, Wen Xinbai said excitedly, "Old Song, you're being foolish! How can you let a mathematical genius like him leave?"
Song Qianhan remained calm and unhurried. "His grades have always been middling. Even if he suddenly awakened to his mathematical talent, he's no good at the other subjects. If he hadn't solved the Poincaré Conjecture, I wouldn't have given him special treatment either. He isn't even in the top ten of his class. Getting into the top ten in the entire grade is easier said than done!"
"Brilliant! What a brilliant move!" Wen Xinbai's eyes lit up. "Then it's settled. I'll come watch him take the exam tomorrow too. I'll head back now. I want to send this solution to my old friends."
"All right."
Gu Chen skipped the evening self-study session that followed and left school directly.
In the taxi, Gu Chen received a text from an unfamiliar number in Shangjing. It read:
"Brother Gu Chen, I only just got my phone back from my mom. I miss you so much."
A bitter smile touched Gu Chen's lips when he saw the message. He put his phone back in his pocket without replying and turned to look out the window, his mind filled with thoughts.
The taxi soon arrived at Heavenly Brocade Garden, a mid-to-upper-end residential complex in Zhou City. After coming to Zhou City, his father had used part of his savings to buy a four-bedroom home with two living rooms here. He had used the rest to start a business, opening a logistics company.
Back here once more, Gu Chen looked around, composed himself, and prepared to go inside.
He opened the door, and the familiar scene made his heart tremble slightly. Then he saw Uncle Liu making tea in the living room. He was around sixty, dressed in coarse clothes and linen trousers, making tea as he wiped the tea utensils.
Seeing Gu Chen, Uncle Liu called out, "Young Master."
"Uncle Liu." Gu Chen's heart warmed at the sight of him.
Uncle Liu was an old servant who had followed his father from Shangjing and had been with him for nearly twenty years. When his father was expelled from the family, he had given Uncle Liu a sum of severance pay, but Uncle Liu had refused to take it no matter what and insisted on coming to Zhou City to continue serving the father and son. After all these events erupted in his previous life, his father had gone to Shangjing to seek help. Uncle Liu had gone with him, only to be beaten to death by members of the Gu Family.
Gu Chen held this loyal old servant in great respect. He asked, "Where's my father?"
"The master is still out entertaining. He hasn't come back." Uncle Liu glanced at the clock on the wall and asked, "Young Master, you're back so early today? Shall I cook you some noodles?"
"No need." Gu Chen waved a hand. "Uncle Liu, get some rest. Who did my father go out with?"
"I think it was a banquet held by the Treasure Gathering Studio. The master went with Boss Xu Zhongwen."
The Treasure Gathering Studio? Xu Zhongwen?
Hearing those two names, Gu Chen's face darkened, and his heart jolted!
He had nearly forgotten that there was another important matter today!
Gu Chen, who had been about to sit down, immediately pushed himself up from the sofa. "I'm going out for a bit."
Before Uncle Liu had a chance to ask, Gu Chen had already left the house!