Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Back to School

Translator: GravityTales  Editor: GravityTales

Once gamblers lost, they would lose their reason, and lose their money to the bottomless pit. Even if their families’ fortune were a lot to begin with, they were usually unable to suppress the urge to throw everything on the table. Tang Xiu even had once witnessed a gambler sell his children and wife after the gambler lost his family’s fortune.

“Jia Ruidao still has yet to bet his life, hasn’t he? So he’s still lucky. I already know about your Master and disciples’ matter. So if you have no other matters, you can leave now.” He said.

Gong Dalong’s complexion was dull as he was dumbfounded. He had never thought that Tang Xiu would point him to the door even though he had listened to the whole story. What was his meaning? Refusing to help them?

“Master Tang, you …”

Tang Xiu interrupted him and spoke, “Could it be that my words were not clear enough? I really can’t do anything about this matter. Even though I sympathize with your problems, I have no way and ability to help you out.”

Gong Dalong asked with a difficult to bear expression, “Why? My Master said your gambling technique has to be more powerful than his. If there is somebody to teach you and train you a little bit, your gambling skill will far surpass my Master’s.”

Tang Xiu replied with a smile, “I’ll have to rectify some points of yours. Firstly, I have no interest in gambling, not even the slightest interest to even train myself for it. Secondly, a professional gambler’s life is just like waiting to shoot birds all day long but finally getting downed after getting pecked by the wild goose. Gamblers like you should have been mentally prepared for getting bankrupt and losing your families’ fortune. Thirdly, I’m going to have the College Entrance Test within a month. Let alone to have a leave of absence from my school, if my Mother knew about, there’s no way I have a just reason to explain myself to her.”

Gong Dalong’s complexion was anxious, he walked straight in front of Tang Xiu as he knelt and begged, “Master Tang, I beg of you. Please help my Master! As long you are willing to help us, not only will I offer all the wealth my family has, I will obey your every word just like the way I treat my own parents. I will promptly be there if you ever call me to serve you!”

“…”

Looking at Gong Dalong, Tang Xiu suddenly recalled his old servant in the Immortal World. In order to pay a debt of gratitude, his old servant had always been following him with unbending loyalty and devotion. But after he had fallen to a scheme schemed and suffered, he didn’t know about him anymore.

Gong Dalong begged once again, “Master Tang, you spoke about the matter at your school and your Mother, right? I’ll take care about that, and I give you my word that it won’t give you any problems.”

Tang Xiu was startled and asked with a confused expression, “You can take care of it?”

Gong Dalong replied confidently, “Yes I can. If I can’t do it, I won’t disturb you anymore.”

Tang Xiu got up and spoke, “That being the case, then I’ll be waiting.”

Gong Dalong was overjoyed. He also had the thoughts that he must put in some effort to obtain Tang Xiu’s promise to help. But he didn’t expect that Tang Xiu would easily agree. A deep feeling of gratitude was suddenly bred in his heart. However, looking at Tang Xiu’s expression as he was seeing him out, he immediately spoke, “Master Tang, please wait for my news! It’s already quite late, I’ll leave and won’t disturb you any longer.”

“Take care!”

Tang Xiu calmly nodded.

The bustling and noisy night in Beijing…

A white was moving in the traffic. Kang Xia was listening to the melodious light music in the driver seat. Her mind was wandering as she thought of something.

“Ring Ring Ring…”

Her cell phone rang abruptly, interrupting her train of thought…

Whilst putting on a Bluetooth earphone, she spoke, “Kang Xia speaking.”

“The information about Tang Xiu has been sent to your e-mail. But since you only gave me a little information, I have to filter out the data, and got 2 possible persons who meet your criteria.”

“Good!”

Kang Xia took off the earphone as she turned the steering wheel to turn right at the front intersection. After steering for 100 meters, she stopped at the roadside and immediately took a laptop from the front passenger seat and quickly opened her e-mail to read the incoming mail silently.

Shortly after…

A somewhat strange expression emerged from her face. She immediately tossed aside the information about the man called Tang Xiu who had a timber logging business. But the second one… how could it turn out to be a high schooler?

“Once a genius and turned idiot after getting into a car accident?”

Kang Xia’s eyebrows tightly wrinkled. An expression full of thoughts flashed from her eyes. Had it been not for this note, she could have been thrown the idea inside her heart. After a moment, she put the laptop back onto the passenger seat and decided that she must personally go to Star City.

Kang Xia redialed the number which called her a moment ago, and then spoke, “Andy, help me book a plane ticket to Star City, and schedule it in advance for the morning flight tomorrow.”

“No problem!”

A sensual voice replied, but she then asked curiously after hesitating for a moment, “Boss, what do you wanna do in Star City? Could it be that you want to see that Tang Xiu?”

Kang Xia’s lips bent, as a curving smile emerged whilst she replied with a happy expression, “Didn’t you feel bored for having no struggles recently? I think I can smell a trace of an opportunity. If this trip to Star City is successful, you’ll get the credit. And you are about to start your job again.”

“Good Lord!”

The sensual voice was pleasantly surprised.

As the common saying goes, early planning was the key to success, and the ideas for the day came in the morning.

The bright and beautiful sunrise was illuminating the earth, sending a warm and genial feeling to the world. After having been gone for quite a long time, Tang Xiu finally rushed to school.

He strode into Class 10 and saw that the students were gathered together at one place, and were gossiping in the usual messy and chaotic classroom. Yuan Chuling was quietly sitting in his seat, reading the textbook in his hands.

“What the…? Has this kid’s nature changed?”

With such a whisper in his heart, Tang Xiu strode toward his seat.

The moment Tang Xiu entered the classroom, the previously noisy and chaotic classroom suddenly turned quiet. Almost all students were aware of Tang Xiu’s arrival the moment he got there as their eyes tightly stared at him.

“What the fuck? That guy is truly bold and reckless! He even dares to attend the class today. Could it be that he doesn’t fear to be lectured by Teacher Han?” Voices suddenly broke out and immediately incited the clamors.

“That’s right! Teacher Han’s mood is way too damn bad the last few days. Even if she was in the class, her eyes were always staring at Tang Xiu’s seat. I bet that Teacher Han really wishes to kick that bastard out of the class, right?”

“Man, he’s always been damn rampant! But now he’s way too fucking arrogant! It’s as though he just comes back and cares for nothing else. It will be really annoying if Teacher Han doesn’t lecture that bastard severely!”

“What a shitty rat, shit! A complete mess and rotten to the bone bastard! He’s really making my blood turn upside down. How come this bastard can enter our class, huh? If I were Teacher Han, I would have used a broom and swept him out directly!”

“What an ignorant and good for nothing bastard!”

“…”

With his keen hearing ability, Tang Xiu was able to clearly hear every curse thrown at him by his classmates. But he simply ignored them.

Besides, it was a common occurrence to him. Even if he said anything, it would only be useless.

It was just like the famous words of wisdom, _Even if the world were slandering me, bullying me, disgracing me, laughing at me, ignoring me, taking light of me, loathing me, and lying to me_ , _the way to handle it was simply to endure them. Let them be, leave them be, avoid them, tolerate them, respect them, and finally ignore them. Just wait a few years later and then meet them again._

Also, Tang Xiu liked the other saying that bickering with an idiot would only make yourself an idiot. He clearly did not want himself to become an idiot, so he might as well ignore them completely.

“Eldest Brother, you’ve come!”

Yuan Chuling finally realized that Tang Xiu had arrived as he quickly stood up with an excited expression.

Tang Xiu had never thought that Yuan Chuling would react so much, even giving him such a loud and powerful pat on his shoulder. He motioned him to sit down and then sat on his own seat. However, the thing that puzzled him was that Cheng Yannan, who sat in front him, then turned around and spoke in a low voice, which could only be heard by three of them, “Tang Xiu, were those human organ traffickers killed by you?”

Tang Xiu pretended to be confused and puzzled as he asked back, “What do you mean? I don’t get you.”

Cheng Yannan frowned and replied, “Was it not you? But my Big Sis said it was a youngster who did it. And since you’ve been gone from school for the past few days, I thought that you could be the chivalrous hero who got rid of those evils!”

Tang Xiu replied with a smile, “Haih, aren’t you reading too many Wuxia novels?”

Cheng Yannan’s face suddenly turned crimson as she quickly turned around.

Yuan Chuling cast a glance at Cheng Yannan’s back before he leaned on very close toward Tang Xiu and whispered with a grateful expression, “Eldest Brother, thank you!”

Tang Xia was startled but quickly understood in a flash as he whispered back, “Do you know about it?”

Yuan Chuling nodded and said, “Mum told me everything. I know that you’re the one who did it according to her description. Eldest Brother, I will hold onto this camaraderie deep inside my heart. If anything happens later, in any case, I will be your personal servant, you couldn’t help but rely on me.”

“Fuck it, get lost!” Tang Xiu replied back with a curse.

Along with their merry jokes, the classroom gradually quieted down as the Class 10’s teacher in charge, Han Qingwu, walked in great strides toward the classroom with a cold expression. When she saw Tang Xiu, she immediately spoke with a solemn tone, “Tang Xiu, come out.”

Tang Xiu raised his hand and traced the bridge of his nose. But seeing such a crimson flushed complexion on Han Qingwu’s face, he thought that he would soon bump into a grim future. Glancing at Yuan Chuling, who looked at him with an expression full of sympathy, he stamped on Yuan Chuling’s foot under the table, making Yuan Chuling involuntarily shout in painful voice, as he then stepped out of the classroom.

At the corridor…

Han Qingwu stared at Tang Xiu with a gloomy and steady expression. She didn’t even speak for a long time.

A minute had passed, and Tang Xiu was finally unable to bear it as he broke the silence and spoke whilst smiling, “Teacher Han, the moment you saw me, you promptly called for me. You wouldn’t have called me only to look at flowers that were growing on my face, would you?”

Having heard what he said, Han Qingwu suddenly snapped angrily, “You still have the nerve to speak with me and smile with such innocent face? And even dares to speak with such an oily mouth? Do you think I don’t have the guts… to kick and clean you up? Now tell me, why did you lie to me a few days ago? You also ditched school, even deceiving me to escort you out of school personally. This is simply an unacceptable absurdity!!!”

“…”

Tang Xiu’s head was suddenly full of heavy black lines.

Previously, he thought that Han Qingwu would be angry due to his school ditching. But never once he had ever expected that she had really taken to her heart about her escorting him out of school. But since he was in the wrong, with an awkward expression, Tang Xiu then replied with an embarrassed smile, “Ah, that was because… that was because I was really in a hurry to leave, Teacher Han. I swear that I had no time to tell you that time, but I know that what I’ve done was wrong. However, you’re a great adult with a tolerant and big heart right? You wouldn’t lower yourself to the same level as this honest and well-behaved student, would you?”

_“The hell with tolerant and having a big heart!”_

Han Qingwu glanced at Tang Xiu angrily, as she even almost spat out that curse. Since when was he an honest and well-behaved student? If he were an honest student, there was no way that there would be honest students left on Earth nowadays. What kind of damn honest student dared to brazenly ditch school? The thing that was outrageously hateful was that he even dared to deceive a teacher to escort him out of school to skip classes.

“Fine! Since you have something to say, I’ll listen to those reasons of yours and see whether you running away from school can be justified.” Han Qingwu didn’t want to let Tang Xiu go easily. She had been bitterly sullen inside for the past few days, she felt that it was necessary to push Tang Xiu to at least shed tears. Much less that the College Entrance Test was about to come, and there was not much time left. She must ensure that Tang Xiu would review his schoolwork and get good results on the College Entrance Test.

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap