CH 198

After the esteemed Dean Yan ‘died’, the major media outlets blew up, practically roping everyone in for a month-long memorial service in spirit. Anyone who hadn’t heard of him before that was sure to have by the time they were through.

Now, this dean had come back to life without any warning whatsoever. And the press… 

They didn’t just blow up, not this time. They went completely batshit crazy.

After all, everyone dies eventually. But not many could goddamn rise from the dead.

The first to lose their mind was the reporter Bens from Honeycomb Media.

When the article he wrote went live, the attention skyrocketed to fever pitch. The author himself, Bens, was still shaken with thoughts of ‘Where did I go! Who did I see! What the hell did I say!’, and his boss was on cloud nine. 

He pushed Bens to contact Yan Suizhi with great zeal, expressing his excitement and gratitude in a volume that could be heard halfway across the mountain. “Did you know, Dean Yan! We’ve never ever seen so much traffic on our website since our founding!! Hahahahahaha—”

Yan Suizhi had just returned to the city garden.

He was trying to change out of his shoes at the door, only to be cursed with a headache from the booming voice. He took off the earpiece and set it on the stand next to him, not listening to a word of the gibberish that followed.

He took his time putting on his slippers, took off his coat, hung it on a clothes rack, then unfastened the buttons on his shirt cuffs, folding them twice. Figuring it was time for the other man to catch his breath, he wore the earpiece again and said politely, “I hear you. Congratulations.”

Next to him, Gu Yan turned a wooden face over when he heard this lie.

Yan Suizhi was positively tickled by his ‘I see the nonsense you’re spouting’ look, a smile spreading at the corners of his lips.

With that smile, he told Honeycomb Media’s boss, “If that’s the case, then I advise you to employ a few more technicians on standby for emergencies.”

He wasn’t someone who liked to exert himself when speaking. Moreover, he was still recovering from serious illness, so his voice was mild, not loud enough. 

Or maybe the boss of Honeycomb Media was high as a kite and didn’t catch him at all. He went “uh-huh, uh-huh” before dissolving into laughter again, saying, “It’s really big news! No! More than big! It’s going to blow up!”

Yan Suizhi, shaken by his booming voice again, finally couldn’t restrain himself, saying politely, “…………Let it blow up, then.”

Not long after the call, Honeycomb Media literally blew up.

Blew up because of the crowd squeezing into the bandwidth. 

The second one to go mad was Bens himself.

Since Honeycomb Media’s server crashed, people who wanted to find out more started to badger him for information. Colleagues, friends, family, as well as strangers that he didn’t even know, which made him deeply regret having left his contact number online.

He didn’t last long before sending weepy-faces over text to the esteemed dean.

[My smart device has been vibrating like a massage bracelet for two whole hours. Two hours. Non-stop.] and [I was wrong. I should never have doubted your ability to break the news. I’ve never seen such craziness in my entire life.] 

After forever, the other party replied:

[You’re welcome. I’ll remember to collect the two heads on a pike that you and your little disciple owe me.]

Bens, “…”

Lfgrfs, “…………Qts jw P lcmievfv?” 

Bens couldn’t hold it in: [How are you so calm? Shouldn’t you be the person receiving the brunt of the harassment?]

Dfcr kjrc’a atf bcis bcf tjnlcu atlr atbeuta. Ktf bcfr tlvlcu lc atf rtjvbkr, abb.

Pc Vbeatmgbrr Ojk Mlgw’r qjgacfg boolmfr, atf vbbg jcv klcvbkr bo atf lccfgwbra gbbw kfgf rtea. Ktf qjgacfg, xcbkc ab wjcs jr Zg Xjb, kjr rlaalcu yftlcv tlr vfrx klat j tjcv qgfrrlcu bc tlr fjgqlfmf, bc mjii.

“Is the news accurate? Are you certain that’s all that has been mentioned?” he asked with a frown. 

“Just that. The reporter isn’t anyone famous, so I reckon it’s his first time facing such a scene. I’ve had a few people discreetly ask questions. He didn’t mention any of it, not the law firm nor the Man… big bosses. Not only did he not talk about it, the reporter was lost. He didn’t see any connection to these affairs.”

Mr Gao touched his chin in thought. “If the reporter doesn’t have skill in acting, then he might really not know.”

“What acting skills would a reporter have to speak of. Besides, I checked. That guy is a very brusque guy. If he sucks up it would come off patronising instead, it’s all written on his face.”

Mr Gao nodded slowly, tapping his fingers on the table. “…If the not-dead guy really uncovered anything and wanted to blow it up big, he would have immediately alerted the press. After all, the media attention is always highest at the outset. One would throw down a bait first to invite scrutiny, then strike while the iron is hot.” 

“Yeah, exactly. Since he isn’t saying anything, can we presume that he’s still in the dark? Or maybe he doesn’t know enough—at least, that he hasn’t worked out about us and the big bosses?”

“It’s hard to say. Let’s wait and see what happens first in the next two days.”

“Wait and see? Are you not going to deal with it? What if the dean doesn’t just sit back but does a little something?”

“What can he do? You’d draw attention to yourself if you jump out now. Don’t be rash. As for the dean… he wouldn’t be able to concern himself with much else for the next two days. Everyone has eyes on him. That keeps him safe, yes, but it also stops him from doing anything. Besides… right now, he should be getting harassed so badly that I’m sure his smart device has frozen. His hand is probably dropping off from all the communication requests he is receiving.” 

“Hahahaha, that’s for sure!”

These people were in the mindset of watching a good show, waiting for Yan Suizhi to go crazy with the bombardment.

However, in the villa where the storm should have struck the hardest, Yan Suizhi was currently lounging on the sofa, messaging Bens: [Thank you for the concern, but I don’t have such troubles.]

[Bens: What?!! How can that be??! I’m already receiving this level of harassment, so how can you be fine??! Your contact details are listed on Maze University website!] 

[Yan Suizhi: Oh.]

[Yan Suizhi: But what I’m using now is my internship contact number.]

Bens, “……………………”

Before the reporter could catch a break, Yan Suizhi sent him another message: [Right. How long is your respectable website going to take a time-out for?] 

Bens, “……………………”

Such words could anger his boss to an early grave.

He gave it a thought before replying: [Tech is on it. It should be up soon.]

[Yan Suizhi: When it is up and running again, please help me put out another article. Highlight that I am not yet legally reinstated and am still affiliated with Southcross Law Firm.] 

[Bens: Why do you want to highlight this?]

When Yan Suizhi received this message, he extended his palm to Gu Yan. “O’ distinguished lawyer, let me requisition your smart device.”

“What are you planning to do?” Knowing him well, Gu Yan asked with raised brows.

But no matter, he still slid his smart device off his little finger, placing it on Yan Suizhi’s palm. 

“It’s nothing much, Just giving some people things to be busy with.” Yan Suizhi worked his smart device with nonchalant ease. “Come here, let me requisition your finger.”

Gu Yan, about to go pour some coffee, sat next to him when he heard this, resting one hand on the sofa behind him while dutifully offering him his hand.

Yan Suizhi tapped the fingerprint authentication interface against his finger.

Beep, it was unlocked. 

“Your eye, as well.” He waved the interface that required iris authentication before Gu Yan’s face.

Beep, it was further unlocked.

These successive beeps scratched at Lawyer Gu’s heart. Or maybe it was piqued by a certain dean’s little antics, natural as can be.

He watched Yan Suizhi’s fingers briskly change the call and message settings, lifted his chin with a finger, and leaned down to kiss him. 

Yan Suizhi’s fingers hovered as he responded to the kiss, then patted his cheek. “Your teacher is doing serious business, don’t make trouble.”

At this, Gu Yan softly ran a finger over his lips, and then kissed him a little more.

Yan Suizhi had set Gu Yan’s smart device to automatically screen all communications except for a few important people. He didn’t stop at just that; he also added an automatic reply.

So, anyone who tried to contact Yan Suizhi would receive these two responses. 

Reaching ‘Dean Yan’ would prompt: This number has been cancelled.

After coming around and attempting to reach Gu Yan instead, their communication requests would be rejected, and they would receive the automatic message: Sorry, I am busy at the moment. If it’s a work-related matter, please contact Southcross Law Firm.

While fretting over the lack of means to get in touch, they would see a new article on Honeycomb Media and suddenly remember that Yan Suizhi was working at Southcross Law Firm now.

In any case, the end result was that the people at the eye of the storm would be gladly left in peace. 

And Southcross was the one that would end up on its knees, crying.

Mr Gao and a host of partners associated with the Mansons almost collapsed, caught completely unawares by the deluge of calls and emails.

Miss Fitz roasted manically, “I strongly suspect that every human being on the alliance has added Southcross to their contact list.”

Gu Yan, as Yan Suizhi’s co-conspirator by default, expressed the concern of a friend to Fitz, “Are you in office? How many calls have you received today?” 

Miss Fitz said, “No, I called in sick today. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.”

Though they eliminated avenues for harassment, Yan Suizhi’s smart device was not undisturbed.

Bens’ article went up in the morning, and around midday his smart device started to see frequent quakes.

The vibrations were notifications from a group chat called ‘Southcross Interns Gossip Squad’ with Luke and the others. Given that Yan Suizhi ghosted the group 99% of the time, it created an illusion that he wasn’t in the group at all. 

And so during lunch break, the interns who had been holding it in all morning acted like they had sniffed dope, going high on line.

An assortment of kowtowing sticker emotes and hundreds of exclamation marks spammed the screen.

The moment Yan Suizhi opened the chat, this mayhem was slung into his face, furthermore, he could vaguely glimpse god knows how many ‘Ruan Ye’ and ‘the dean’ mixed within.

He pulled the screen away from him, letting his eyes rest for a moment, then on an impulse, cut in: 

[Ladies, gentlemen. Have you forgotten that I’m still in the group?]

This one sentence successfully silenced all the little fools, as if someone hit the ‘pause’ button on this group chat, freezing instantaneously.

Having watched the whole process from the byline, Gu Yan, in good conscience, took away the dean who was enacting a ghost story, keeping his smart device and temporarily clearing a way out for these little fools.

The whole alliance seethed with excitement for the most part of the day. In the afternoon, someone else hopped onto the bandwagon, coming out to impart their wisdom. 

They questioned the authenticity of Yan Suizhi’s identity. After all, nowadays, with advancements in genetic technology, it was within the realm of possibility to ‘revive’ someone appearance-wise. Various tabloids even speculated making the perfect get-away from a crime with this technology.

In short, someone nitpicked the veracity of the news from tip to toe, then concluded by bluntly branding Yan Suizhi as a copycat.

Yan Suizhi commended the article after seeing it. “That’s quite inventive.”

Then, he leisurely got ready to leave the house. 

The first place that he was going to visit was the Probate Office.