Chapter 35: A Peach Blossom Calamity Can Be Diverted

Previous Chapter ∇ Table of Content ∇ Next Chapter

Chapter 35: A Peach Blossom Calamity Can Be Diverted

The redness between Yu Shenliu’s eyebrows was not particularly pronounced, so it was unlikely to indicate a major turn in his fortune. Its pale color ruled out many possibilities, such as a major stroke of fortune or bloodshed. Red mixed with black did not necessarily mean that something good would turn bad. It could instead mean that black was the dominant color, with the red indicating what kind of state the black represented. Taking into account the width of the area between his eyebrows as well, everything pointed to a peach blossom calamity. If someone else with some skill had examined him, most of them would probably have reached the same conclusion.

However, Chen Yuan had noticed one detail: that patch of red was far too faint and insubstantial. If it were a peach blossom calamity in the usual sense, it would not look this insubstantial. Thinking about it another way, he realized that this was probably a peach blossom calamity in a different sense.

The key was something Yu Shenliu had said before asking Chen Yuan to read his face. He had said that he felt something was not quite right. Whether or not Yu Shenliu had simply made that up, words themselves possessed a certain power once spoken. Wasn’t there a saying that “a word can become a prophecy”? Somewhere deep in his subconscious, Yu Shenliu had already sensed something about what was to come, which was why he had happened to say those words while casually making up an excuse. And generally speaking, whatever could influence someone’s subconscious in this way would not be a peach blossom calamity in the ordinary sense.

The red was faint, yet connected to a peach blossom calamity. Then all he had to do was interpret it another way. After Chen Yuan asked whether Zhuowen Academy had a lot of flowers and trees, he was basically certain what sort of “peach blossom calamity” Yu Shenliu was going to encounter.

Actually, he was looking forward to seeing what kind of expression Yu Shenliu would have when he came back that day, purely for the sake of a little mischief. Would he tell him?

Yu Shenliu had no idea what Chen Yuan was thinking. Early the next morning, he went to work with a nervous feeling in his heart. Thinking about the “peach blossom calamity” he was supposed to encounter that day sent chills down his back, and he was filled with the urge to skip work and avoid the inspection altogether. But that was obviously impossible, so Mayor Yu could only grit his teeth and go through with it while maintaining his usual composure.

Since Chen Yuan had asked him about Zhuowen Academy the previous day, Yu Shenliu had a pretty good idea of where this so-called peach blossom calamity was likely to occur. Zhuowen Academy was the main stop on his inspection schedule. He visited several other academies first, leaving Zhuowen Academy until last as the highlight of the day.

Even so, Yu Shenliu still felt uneasy. The idea of this peach blossom calamity had left him suspicious of everything around him. Even his own secretary suddenly seemed rather suspicious to him.

The car stopped in the square outside Zhuowen Academy, and Yu Shenliu got out.

“Mayor Yu, welcome, welcome!” A group of Zhuowen Academy’s administrators came forward to greet him, their faces beaming with smiles. After all, Yu Shenliu was now their direct superior.

As he chatted with the academy administrators, Yu Shenliu appeared attentive, but his mind was still elsewhere. His gaze kept sweeping unconsciously across his surroundings, trying to avoid the person who might bring about his peach blossom calamity. Little did he know that Chen Yuan had simply been messing with him. There was no such person in the first place.

After touring the teaching building and laboratory building with the academy administrators, Yu Shenliu’s initially restless mood gradually eased. Just as Chen Yuan usually behaved, there were things about fate that people could not change, but they could decide how to face them. As long as he remained firm in his own resolve, even if he really did encounter some peach blossom calamity, could it truly affect him?

Once his mind settled, he naturally had the leisure to appreciate the scenery around him. Zhuowen Academy certainly lived up to its reputation as a garden academy. The trees and plants were lush and flourishing, the flowers of the season were in full bloom, and the fresh green grass and delicate blossoms were simply lovely.

Almost unconsciously, Yu Shenliu thought that Chen Yuan would definitely like a place like this. He had always liked flowers, trees, and such natural scenery. With that thought in mind, he turned to the principal of Zhuowen Academy and remarked, “The grounds at Zhuowen Academy are beautiful.”

The principal, who had already been feeling uneasy because Yu Shenliu seemed uninterested in the inspection and was responding rather perfunctorily, immediately brightened. He quickly chimed in, “Oh, not at all. It’s all thanks to those who came before us, who planted the trees so those who came after could enjoy the shade. We planted a great many trees and flowers when the academy was first established. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have so much beautiful scenery here today. Even some of those unassuming trees will bloom when the season comes. In short, there are flowers blooming here all year round.”

“Hm?” Yu Shenliu glanced at the trees beside them and curled his lips. “Those trees are all flowering trees?”

“That’s right! We have cherry blossoms, wintersweet, pear blossoms, peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, and pagoda trees. We have a great many varieties!” The principal sounded rather proud as he spoke. The academy’s grounds had been passed down and maintained from one generation to the next, but he had contributed his share as well. “And students’ parents are constantly donating plants and trees to us, which is why our academy has such an increasingly rich variety of flowers and greenery.”

Hearing this, Yu Shenliu sneered inwardly but put on an unconcerned expression. “When students’ parents donate things like these, you have to give their children some preferential treatment when it comes to admission too, right?”

He had known about the trick behind this for a long time. Private schools were different from public ones. They could set their own tuition and other fees, which made it easier to make money. However, Huaxia was strict about this and did not allow them to charge excessive fees, so schemes like Zhuowen Academy’s had emerged, using donations of flowers and trees as a pretext for collecting money. Put plainly, it was just selling one thing under the guise of another. Parents were practically willing to do anything to get their children into a good school.

The moment the principal heard Yu Shenliu say this, cold sweat broke out across his back. Was Mayor Yu here to settle accounts with them? Not long ago, several parents had spent a fortune donating flowers and trees in order to get their children into Zhuowen Academy. They hadn’t even finished smoothing over those accounts yet. What were they supposed to do now?

Yu Shenliu knew exactly what was going on behind the scenes, but he hadn’t brought it up because he intended to pursue the matter. On the one hand, as the saying went, water that was too clear had no fish . On the other hand, what good would it do to prohibit such excessive fees? It would only deprive many parents of the opportunity to send their children to good schools. To a certain extent, that couldn’t exactly be considered doing a good deed.

So Yu Shenliu merely gave the principal a half-smiling, half-serious glance and didn’t mention it again.

The principal, however, silently wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling that Mayor Yu was indeed a man of considerable skill and not someone to be underestimated.

After touring the academy, it was nearly lunchtime. Yu Shenliu had lunch in Zhuowen Academy’s cafeteria.

The cafeteria at Zhuowen Academy was practically like a restaurant. After all, students who could afford to attend a private school generally came from families that weren’t exactly poor, so the cafeteria was held to relatively high standards, and the food tasted quite good as well. The meal was a pleasant one for both host and guest.

With everyone fed and satisfied, the inspection was essentially over. By this point, Yu Shenliu had almost completely forgotten about the “peach blossom calamity” Chen Yuan had mentioned earlier. In a good mood, he walked out of the cafeteria and followed the others along a path through the trees toward the cars.

By the time they reached the cars, it was more or less time to say goodbye. With a smile on his face, Yu Shenliu nodded to the group of academy administrators. “Everyone, you’re doing a great job, but you still need to keep working hard.” As he said this, he couldn’t help thinking that if Chen Yuan heard him spouting such official platitudes, he would probably make fun of him.

“Of course, of course,” the principal and the others immediately replied, saying things like they welcomed Mayor Yu to come inspect them again anytime. It was all rather insincere, but this was the usual routine, and everyone understood it.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Yu Shenliu was about to get into the car.

That was when the accident happened.

Yu Shenliu’s car was parked beneath the trees by the roadside, sheltered from the direct sunlight, and everyone was standing beneath the trees as well. But just as Yu Shenliu turned to open the car door, a cluster of branches suddenly fell from above and struck him directly on the left shoulder.

Everyone froze.

Then everything descended into chaos.

“Mayor Yu, are you all right?” The deputy mayor had gotten hurt at their own academy, and the principal was frantic. How had everything gone wrong at the very end? A whole cluster of branches had just fallen out of nowhere!

Clutching his left shoulder with his right hand, Yu Shenliu looked at the branches on the ground. Despite the pain, the first thing he asked was, “Is this a peach tree?”

“It’s a peach tree,” someone immediately answered, though they had no idea what Yu Shenliu meant.

A peach blossom calamity, a peach blossom calamity… After nearly forgetting Chen Yuan’s words, they had suddenly come back to him. Even as he felt the pain, Yu Shenliu found the situation rather amusing. He wasn’t angry anymore.

Seeing everyone rushing around in a panic, he said, “It’s fine. Just an accident.” Getting hit on the shoulder by a peach tree branch was easier to deal with than a true peach blossom calamity, wasn’t it? Seeing how terrified everyone was, he almost felt sorry for them. Better to put their minds at ease.

After all the chaos, they finally determined that the strong winds and rain a few days earlier had broken quite a few branches off the peach tree. One of the broken branches had never fallen to the ground and had remained lodged there until today, when it suddenly came crashing down and happened to hit Yu Shenliu on the shoulder.

And Yu Shenliu ended up trudging off to the hospital to have his shoulder examined.

A “peach blossom calamity.” When people heard those words, of course they naturally thought of romance and matters of the heart. Who would have thought that the peach blossom calamity Chen Yuan had mentioned would turn out to be a literal peach-tree calamity?

In the car, Yu Shenliu held his phone in his right hand and used one hand to text Chen Yuan.

[The peach blossom calamity was getting hit on the shoulder by a peach tree branch?]

[“Injured?” I only saw that the disaster was related to a peach tree. Are you all right?]

[On my way to the hospital. At least now I have an excuse to take some time off.]

……

This peach blossom calamity had at least given Yu Shenliu and Chen Yuan another topic to talk about. Deep down, Yu Shenliu felt that made the whole thing worth it.

However, the driver in front suddenly said, “Mayor, there’s actually something a little strange about Zhuowen Academy. Not to mention you getting hit on the shoulder this time, but every year, several students there jump to their deaths. And there are also quite a few cases of depression.”

“Hm? What’s going on?” Yu Shenliu had become increasingly interested whenever he heard anything strange like this. After all, these matters often had something to do with Chen Yuan, and knowing more would also give him more things to talk about with Chen Yuan.

“I heard some students from the academy talking about it. They said that every year, several students jump from the Second Teaching Building at Zhuowen Academy. The top floor is the sixth floor, but every time, the students who jump do it from the fifth floor. And that’s not all. There are several subjects at Zhuowen Academy where, no matter how sunny and positive the teachers were before, after working at the academy for a while, they end up developing depression. They can never keep a teacher in those subjects for very long. Anyway, it’s strange. That peach tree branch suddenly falling like that was pretty weird too. I think there’s something wrong with Zhuowen Academy.”

The peach tree branch might not have anything to do with anything sinister, but students jumping from buildings and teachers developing depression? It sounded like there was more to this than met the eye.

Yu Shenliu fell into thought.

Previous Chapter ∇ Table of Content ∇ Next Chapter