Chapter 51: Six Months Later

Chapter 51: Half a Year Later

"Master Chen! Someone's talking out of turn in class again!"

Chen Shuoan was leaning by the window eating breakfast when he heard this. He rubbed his forehead in exasperation and quickly stopped the breathless child running toward him. "Come here, tell me all about it—who's disrupting class discipline this time?"

Zheng Zihan's eyes darted around, and he swallowed hard as he looked at the bowl of wontons in Chen Shuoan's hand, trying to recall. "It's Xie Gu and Li Ganghai. They made the teacher so mad he couldn't even calm them down."

Chen Shuoan smirked and cracked his knuckles.

"Those two little punks again."

Then he set the wontons on the windowsill and headed into the study with Zheng Zihan.

Before he even stepped inside, he could hear the noise coming from inside threatening to lift the roof off the entire school.

Chen Shuoan stormed in, thinking to himself that some kids were just hopeless.

He swept his robes aside and strode in—the room fell silent instantly.

"Your class is the loudest in the whole school!"

The students sat there in dead silence.

Chen Shuoan picked up the warning ruler from the desk, looking all serious, and spoke slowly. "Who was causing the most trouble in Teacher Liu's class a minute ago?"

A bunch of little kids started chattering and pointing at each other.

Nobody dared to stand up.

"Nobody's fessing up? Fine."

A smile tugged at the corner of Chen Shuoan's lips. He waved over Zheng Zihan, who was standing outside, to come in and sit down.

"If you don't own up now, the consequences will be severe once I catch you." He paced slowly among the students with his hands behind his back, trying to scare them with his words.

Xie Gu was the first to admit it. "I'm sorry. I'm the one who talked back to Teacher Liu in class."

Chen Shuoan nodded in satisfaction. "Good kid. Who else?"

Li Ganghai stood up slowly, mumbling, "Master Chen, it was me too."

"You two have done this before." Chen Shuoan put on a stern face, trying to look like a proper teacher. "You're always quick to apologize, but you never actually change."

Li Ganghai, who had a short fuse, couldn't help defending himself. "Xie Gu started it!"

"That's a lie! You threw the first punch!"

Seeing these two rivals about to start another shouting match, Chen Shuoan cut them off. "Enough!"

"You two come to my office after class." He squinted at the boys, who were puffing their chests out like little roosters, and said slowly, "Right now, move your seats up to the front of the class—one on each side."

Li Ganghai shot Xie Gu a dirty look, and Xie Gu shot one right back.

Chen Shuoan deliberately coughed twice. "Move them now, my two bodyguards."

I've officially become the person I used to hate.

Chen Shuoan picked up his wontons from the windowsill again and ate them cheerfully, looking totally happy.

One on each side, up on the podium—let's see you two try to argue now.

This feeling was way too satisfying. No wonder his teachers back in school loved doing this.

Chen Shuoan's lips were red from the spice as he grinned to himself.

He'd been running this school for six months now, and it'd been six months since he left the palace.

During these six months, Qin Zhonglian had resigned from his post at the capital's patrol unit and sneaked off to Shuobei alone, determined to make something of himself.

Zhang Chenggong and Li Wei, who had known each other since childhood and trusted each other completely, had partnered up and gone to Jiangnan to start an escort agency business.

Zheng Yuanzhi was still at home mooching off his family, waiting to make a splash in the exams a few months away.

And little Zheng Zihan was Zheng Yuanzhi's nephew.

At first, Zheng Yuanzhi had little faith in his buddy's teaching abilities, but later Zheng Zihan pitched a fit demanding to come to his school.

Surprised, he asked, "What kind of magic do you have?"

Chen Shuoan gave a sheepish grin. "No magic—just charisma."

————

He still couldn't help sneaking a look before school let out.

Good. Those two kids were sitting up front, looking super well-behaved.

Chen Shuoan grinned, feeling his decision was spot on.

He turned his head and suddenly came face to face with Zheng Yuanzhi's handsome face up close, letting out a startled yelp.

Zheng Yuanzhi stepped back upon seeing the frightened look on his face, smiled slightly, and dangled the bag he was carrying in front of him. "It's getting hot, so I brought you some cold rice balls."

Chen Shuoan lit up and patted his shoulder heartily. "You came all this way—you shouldn't have."

Zheng Yuanzhi ignored him and peeked into the study, looking puzzled by the seating arrangement. "Teacher, why isn't Zihan sitting up front?"

Chen Shuoan was speechless.

Do you think the front is some kind of VIP section?

He felt a headache coming on. Seeing that school was out, he called over Xie Gu and Li Ganghai as they rushed out and led them into his study.

He gave them a good talking-to, resolved the conflict between them, and watched the two kids crying in each other's arms, chuckling softly.

The two boys, now friends again, shouted at Chen Shuoan, "Goodbye, Master Chen!"

Then they headed home, holding hands.

Zheng Yuanzhi carried Zheng Zihan into the room and, watching him pack up, asked, "Are you coming to our place for dinner tonight?"

Zheng Zihan hopped down with a laugh—the little guy, who barely came up to Chen Shuoan's waist—and clung tightly to his leg. "Yes! Master Chen is coming to Grandpa's place for dinner tonight!"

Chen Shuoan picked up the child, stuffed a few ice rice balls into his mouth, and shook his head at Zheng Yuanzhi. "No, I have something to do later. I need to go to the post office to send a letter."

Zheng Yuanzhi's posture stiffened slightly, his smile fading as confusion and disbelief crept into his voice.

"You're sending another one? You haven't gotten a single reply back, have you?"

Chen Shuoan smiled faintly, then murmured softly, "Right, His Highness is probably very busy."

He gently rocked Zheng Zihan in his arms, making the child giggle: "It's fine if I just write to him; he doesn't need to reply."

Zheng Yuanzhi's long brows furrowed tightly, his lips parted as if to speak, but in the end, he said nothing more.

Zheng Zihan ate several sweet ice balls in a row, his little mouth cold from the chill, his bright black eyes fixed intently on Chen Shuoan. Then, with a smack, he planted a kiss on Chen Shuoan's fair cheek: "Master Chen is the most handsome person in the world! When I grow up, I'm going to marry Master Chen!"

Chen Shuoan laughed helplessly, wiping the soybean paste and saliva the child had left on his face: "Oh, you can't do that!"

He kicked Zheng Yuanzhi, who stood nearby, on the shin, scolding with a smile: "Would you mind wrangling your nephew?"

Zheng Yuanzhi burst into laughter, taking Zheng Zihan, who was clinging to Chen Shuoan, into his arms, and teased, "You're so young, and already thinking about marrying a wife—and a male wife at that?"

"Not bad, kid." Chen Shuoan let out a low chuckle at his remark, playfully pinching Zheng Zihan's chubby cheeks.

Zheng Zihan shyly buried his face in his uncle's chest, then lifted it again to rub his cheek against Chen Shuoan's hand, mumbling, "Master can pinch if he wants to."

Zheng Yuanzhi snorted, giving him a playful forehead flick: "What nonsense! Say 'Goodbye, Master.'"

Zheng Zihan obediently said goodbye to him.

Chen Shuoan watched their gradually fading figures, then came back to himself.

In the hazy yellow light of the setting sun, he opened the drawer, inadvertently stirring up a small puff of dust.

He pulled out the envelope lying inside the drawer, tucked it carefully into his sleeve, and turned to leave.

The afterglow of the sunset bathed the streets and alleys. As Chen Shuoan walked through them, all he felt was the oppressive summer breeze.