29 – He Cheated

Chapter 29: He Cheated

A few days later, Huzhou Medical University.

Xie Qingcheng’s professor’s office.

“Professor Xie, I was wrong! I was really wrong! I had no conscience! I’m not even human! I betrayed your trust and let down the expectations of the Party and the state. I will never skip another lecture again, waaaaah…!”

Sitting at his desk, Xie Qingcheng drew a line through a name on the list with the tip of his fountain pen, speaking to the student without even looking up.

“Right. You may leave.”

The male student left, snot and tears streaming down his face.

There are countless ways to handle problem children. Take this male student majoring in clinical medicine, for example; he had marched in with great confidence only to leave in a sobbing mess. Before leaving, he had even bowed repeatedly to Xie Qingcheng, tearfully vowing to snap out of it, be born anew, and never miss Professor Xie’s lectures again.

Xie Qingcheng closed his laptop and clasped his hands in front of him.

These male students with problematic study habits had all left, swearing they would correct their behavior. This meant that He Yu visit our sitewould only be able to beat him if [stolen content]he could persuade all the female students on the list.

Confident of victory, he sat back in his office chair with a proud posture. Then, he began to calmly ponder how he should “train” this naive honor student who had lost the bet.

As he was idly thinking through various options, his phone suddenly rang.

“Hello.”

Professor Xie, it’s me.

The caller was a first-year female student from the Department of Forensic Medicine.

This student was an honor student every bit as exceptional as He Yu. Her name was on He Yu’s list, but in reality, she was one of the most diligent among Xie Qingcheng’s students.

She was a special guest that Xie Qingcheng had intentionally included on the list.

A cold woman who invested far more in the study of rigor mortis and the process of corpse decomposition than in luxury bags. There was a separate reason why she was exempt from attending major lectures: her self-study progress had surpassed the pace of the lectures.

Boasting both a brilliant mind and great beauty, she struggled to socialize with her peers due to her haughty personality. However, while she ignored her classmates and let other professors’ words go in one ear and out the other, she sincerely respected Xie Qingcheng.

To begin with, Xie Qingcheng’s outstanding professional knowledge had stimulated this honor student’s spirit of growth. Furthermore, the fact that she received Xie Qingcheng’s help [stolen content]when the school rejected her application for independent study played a Read on Read BL Novelspart. The honor student felt grateful toward Xie Qingcheng, who had taken her side, arguing that it was right to teach students according to their actual ability.

Professor Xie. That student named He Yu came to see me.

“Whatever he said.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t tell me to study harder. He said the professor sent him as a psychological counselor and asked if I’d like to have a cup of coffee tomorrow.

“Go ahead. Ignore him, no matter how he tries to persuade you.”

Yes. I’ll help you see this through to the end.

The female student continued.

By the way, Professor Xie. That student is from Huzhou University, right? He’s not from our medical school, so how did you meet him? Is he a family member?

“He’s the son of an acquaintance,” Xie Qingcheng replied.

“I received some help from his father in the past, and since his son was having some issues, I decided to educate him for a while.”

In any case, it was the truth. If it weren’t for He Jiwei, he would [Read on Read BL Novels]never have meddled unauthorized copyin He Yu’s life for this long.

Ah.

The female student stopped there.

I understand. I’ll handle it so you won’t be disappointed, so please don’t worry. I have to get back to my studies now. I’ll hang up.

After finishing the call, Xie Qingcheng tucked his phone into his pocket, gathered his textbooks, and returned to the faculty dormitory.

Of course, Xie Qingcheng knew well that He Yu was no ordinary person, so he watched the atmosphere with cold eyes. Soon, within two days, the girls who had been neglecting their studies began returning to the lectures one by one. By Thursday, eleven students—excluding the honor student—had seen the light and returned to their seats in the classroom.

The honor student was the final runner.

On Thursday afternoon, the honor student came to seek advice, clutching her incorrect-answer notebook. After finishing the problem-solving session, Xie Qingcheng asked:

“Did He Yu come to see you?”

“Yes,” replied the girl, whose hair was tied up neatly in a single ponytail.

“He visited me twice a week. Each time, we had afternoon tea together.”

Having said this, the girl hesitated—a rare sight—and added:

“But… he didn’t even mention things like unauthorized absences. He just kept saying we should take walks together and share our innermost feelings.”

Xie Qingcheng frowned slightly.

It’s already Thursday and he hasn’t even brought up the main point?

The one-week deadline ends in three days. What on earth is he planning…?

While he was lost in thought, the honor student cleared her throat lightly.

“Professor Xie.”

“Hmm?”

He looked up and gazed at the girl calmly, without much thought.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

Xie Qingcheng picked up the fountain pen he had used to correct the answers.

However, he had to put the pen down again at the girl’s next sentence.

It was a question completely unrelated to academics.

“By any chance, is that He Yu student in Class 1001 of the Directing Department at Huzhou University?”

True to his reputation as a rigid, feudal old fogey, Xie Qingcheng failed to understand what the girl was thinking even though she asked so bluntly. He frowned and scanned the haughty girl standing there clutching her notebook. Why on earth is she asking this?

Despite thinking so, Xie Qingcheng nodded reluctantly.

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“It’s nothing.”

The honor student answered [unauthorized copy]curtly unauthorized copyand opened her notebook to distract the [unauthorized copy]professor’s attention.

“Professor Xie. I’ve organized some questions regarding your major for this week. I know it’s a hassle, but I’d be grateful if you could add annotations to these as well.”

Time passed, and Sunday arrived in the blink of an eye.

Xie Qingcheng received a message from the honor student.

[Professor Xie, do you have time this evening? I’ve been thinking all day and realized something. Would it be alright if I came to see you?]

At 6:30 PM that evening, Xie Qingcheng arrived in front of his office as promised.

His office was at the very end of the hallway on the 5th floor of the lecture building. As he walked down the long corridor, he didn’t recognize the female student leaning against the railing at all.

Even as he stood before his office door and took out his key to open it, he ignored the girl standing nearby. Even when she called out, “Professor Xie,” instead of looking at her, he simply searched the area for a female student wearing a tacky printed T-shirt and jeans.

“…Professor Xie, I’m right here.”

Only then did Xie Qingcheng turn around.

“…”

A moment later, he instinctively stepped backward and—thump—hit the back of his head against the aluminum security door. Gasping at the throbbing pain, he clutched the back of his head and narrowed his eyes.

“Professor! Are you okay?”

“…I’m fine.”

Hitting the back of his head was fine. The problem was that the girl in front of him did not look “fine” at all.

The honor student looked completely different from her usual self.

Her trademark ponytail was undone, replaced by a voluminous hairstyle dried at a salon. Glamorous makeup and a pure white see-through dress. Slender legs that looked as if they were carved from jade. The look was finished with black wedge heels. The silver buckles of the wedge heels highlighted her slender ankles and light pink pedicure.

After checking her up and down several times, he concluded that this student was the genuine article, not a fake.

Suddenly, his head throbbed more. An uneasy premonition began to creep up.

Sure enough, the female student revealed the reason for her visit with a blunt statement.

“Professor Xie. I came to tell you something today. Actually, I [Read on Read BL Novels]went out with He Yu once more today. This time, he unauthorized copytold me to return to the classroom and attend the lectures. And he also told me about the bet he made with you.”

“…”

“Professor Xie. I sincerely respect you, but I believe it’s not quite right for someone who is such a role model to play underhanded tricks by targeting someone else’s pain.”

Xie Qingcheng’s hand, which had been about to open the office door with the key, stopped dead.

“…Whatever He Yu said.”

“He told me everything. That he failed while trying to confess to someone he likes, and that the professor gave him a difficult challenge to discipline him.”

Xie Qingcheng gripped his bangs with his slender, bony fingers and irritably ruffled his perfectly combed hair. Because of this, a few strands of jet-black hair fell down.

Behind the ink-colored hair obscuring his vision, he glared at the girl with his cold, sharp peach blossom eyes, clicked his tongue, and looked away.

“It’s not such a simple matter.”

After a short silence, he spoke again.

“…Forget it, just leave.”

However, the female student merely stared at him, her eyes sparkling with the stubbornness typical of an honor student.

“I hope you can consider He Yu’s feelings as well. Please don’t torment him at a time like this. I believe this matter is your fault, Professor. I hope you apologize to He Yu when you have the chance.”

“…”

That bastard He Yu, did he use his blood bone ability?

Xie Qingcheng’s expression grew significantly colder. A sharp gaze pierced through his disheveled bangs.

“I told you to leave. Did you not understand?”

“I understood. But before I go, there’s something I must confess to you. I told He Yu everything about our private agreement as well.”

“…”

“I couldn’t help it. Since He Yu revealed the truth to me, I didn’t want to deceive him. I could no longer hide the fact that you put me on the list just to beat He Yu.”

This traitorous girl finally bowed politely.

“Please understand.”

Then, she turned around and elegantly departed, her wedge heels clicking. It was the most haughty walk Xie Qingcheng had ever seen since he first met her.

Xie Qingcheng felt like his head was going to explode. Yet, he couldn’t even blame the female student. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and mutter in a low, raspy voice.

“He… Yu…”

At that moment, a shadow flickered faintly.

Soon, the sound of footsteps echoed not far in front of him.

And then—.

“Were you looking for me, Professor Xie?”

Xie Qingcheng snapped his head up, causing his hair to become even more disheveled. His gaze locked onto the direction of the voice.

The person who appeared was a tall male student wearing [stolen content]a crossbody bag with his hands shoved in his pockets. A relaxed and easy expression, beautiful eyes Read on Read BL Novelsand long eyelashes beneath a clean forehead, and a faint smile playing on his lips.

He Yu had been hiding behind a Gothic-style pillar at the end of the hallway. Neither the female student nor Xie Qingcheng had known he was there.

When the justice-seeking honor student took his side, and when Xie Qingcheng was left speechless by her words, He Yu had been leaning against that damnly huge Gothic pillar with both hands in his pockets, listening to everything.

Are you even human?

Xie Qingcheng’s face turned pale. His gaze was extremely murderous.

“You—.”

“Yeah. This isn’t my fault, is it?”

He Yu raised a hand in a gesture to be quiet. A delinquent aura, which others would never notice, emanated from his narrowed eyes.

He scanned Xie Qingcheng from top to bottom and scoffed.

“You were the one who plotted first so that I couldn’t win. Someone like me wouldn’t even qualify as cowardly compared to that.”

“…”

Since he had already lost the bet, arguing back would only make him look pathetic.

Xie Qingcheng clenched his teeth and shut his mouth.

Only after a long while did he finally manage to speak.

“What words did you use to butter up that student? Was that bizarre outfit she wore today student-like? A short sleeveless dress…!”

“What’s wrong with it?”

He Yu stepped around the pillar and stopped right in front of Xie Qingcheng. One hand was in his pocket, and the other held the strap of his crossbody bag. As the distance closed, he lowered his eyelashes and scanned Xie Qingcheng’s movements more blatantly.

“Then, what do you consider student-like attire, Professor?”

As if he intended to nail Xie Qingcheng to the door, He Yu stepped closer.

Pressing in with an overwhelming proximity, he added,

“Printed shirts, jeans, ponytails, a face without makeup? …Professor Xie.”

A sigh followed.

“Honestly, I’ve wanted to tell you this for a while, but I think you need treatment too, not just me. Your desire for control is too strong. Do you know the modern term ‘kkondae’? What era is this, that you think a woman is ‘loose’ just because she wears a sleeveless dress?”

He Yu took one more step forward. If he leaned down, their noses would almost touch.

It might have been a strange distance between two people of the opposite sex, but since both were men and neither had homosexual tendencies, it felt simply like an aggressive distance.

This aggressive message was naturally stored in Xie Qingcheng’s body without the need for any special linguistic interpretation.

Pushed by He Yu’s triumphant stride, Xie Qingcheng leaned his back against the cold door. The moment he became conscious of his posture, he felt extremely uncomfortable. Not wanting to engage in a useless argument, Xie Qingcheng raised his hand and pressed it against He Yu’s firm, broad chest.

“That’s enough, just move.”

With those words, he shoved He Yu away. Then, after rubbing his right arm, he let his arm hang down, glared at him, and walked away, bypassing He Yu’s body which had blocked him like a wall.

“…Wait a second, Xie Qingcheng.”

After he had moved about ten meters away, He Yu looked back and called him softly from behind.

Xie Qingcheng, whose complexion was already ashen, stood there gloomily before turning his head with a face pale with dread.

“What?”

He Yu held up the list he had retrieved from his bag.

“You lost this bet, Professor.”

That wasn’t all. This damn human trash put the student list back in his bag and pulled out an object wrapped in pink paper.

Looking at him with a disinterested gaze, He Yu slowly untied the ribbon and spoke.

“It’s a game intended to discipline me, but regardless, you should receive a penalty too. Otherwise, it’s no fun.”

“…”

“What’s your opinion, Professor? What would be an appropriate penalty for a professor, an adult, and someone who was once my attending physician, when they’ve broken the rules like this? How should I handle you to properly scold you?”

Even if he lost the match, he couldn’t lose his humanity, so he had no choice but to concede.

Xie Qingcheng retorted coldly.

“What do you want?”

“Unfortunately, I haven’t decided yet.”

He Yu’s tone was quite gentle.

“I’ll keep it as a debt for now and settle it all at once when I think of something later.”

“All at once?”

“Yes. Because I have a feeling you’ll keep losing in the future.”

This time, Xie Qingcheng flared up slightly.

“He Yu, know your place.”

“How would I dare.”

He said it with a smile, but at the word “dare,” he scanned Xie Qingcheng with a provocative look.

“Instead, you’d better refrain from cheating in the future. Your technique is poor, so even a little trick is immediately obvious.”

Despite saying this, his tone remained very polite.

Meanwhile, he finished tearing off the pink wrapping paper.

It was chocolate. Judging by the irregular shape, it wasn’t bought from a store but seemed to be the work of a beginner’s clumsy hands.

“You asked earlier how I buttered up that girl. Actually, it was nothing. I bought her tea twice at a cafe last time, and today we went to a handmade chocolate class together. It turns out she doesn’t have any close friends at school. Other students seem to think she’s a gloomy weirdo, but she actually has a very good personality. It’s just that not many people approach her first to hang out.”

He bit a piece of chocolate and snapped it off. The brown piece of chocolate disappeared between his clean teeth.

Then, wearing his crossbody bag, he brushed past Xie Qingcheng.

Even as their shoulders brushed, He Yu did not look at Xie Qingcheng. He simply looked straight ahead with his pretty eyes, putting the chocolate in his mouth and chewing slowly.

“It’s sweet.”

Leaving that one comment behind, the honor student walked away, showing a neat silhouette against the sunset.

At the same time.

As the sun dipped toward the western mountains, inside a villa in Huzhou.

High heels clicked against the brick floor of the terrace. The hem of a red skirt brushed against a man’s leg.

“President Duan.”

A woman, sitting close to the man, lit a cigarette for him.

“Did you get rid of everything at Liang Jicheng’s house?”

“It’s been handled cleanly.”

President Duan smirked, took the cigarette the woman offered, and took a drag. The woman tossed back her thickly permed hair and tried to kiss him. President Duan turned his head aside and pressed the tip of his nose against the crook of her neck.

“How many people did you sleep with today? I smell more than one or two.”

“I’m doing all this for you, President,” the woman said softly.

“When will you be able to handle those bastards from Huzhou University? I’m sick of sleeping with the school board members. Greasy old fucks.”

“If the board members are old fucks, isn’t President Hwang quite elderly himself? You seem to like that man quite a bit.”

The woman toyed with her hair with her fingertips.

“President Hwang may be old, but he’s young at heart. Maybe it’s because of his experience, but his manners are great. Still…”

The woman added with a coy smile, “I like you better, President Duan…”

President Duan placed a finger against her soft lips and spoke calmly.

“If you keep failing to know your place, I’ll tell President Hwang. Do you think he won’t be angry if he finds out?”

The woman stiffened for a moment, then forced a smile and said, “I was just joking, why are you taking it so seriously?”

President Duan raised his hand and stroked her hair. His gaze was utterly cold.

“Just do the job I entrusted to you. Ever since the accident at Qingkang Psychiatric Hospital, the bastards below have started stirring. For the time being, play along with those rats. As soon as the equipment our hacker bought from the US arrives, we’ll begin the operation to suppress the rats.”

He lifted the woman’s chin and scrutinized her features slowly.

He continued in a slow drawl.

“The technical side is up to the hacker, but keep in mind that the cleaning of the Huzhou rats depends on the two of you.”

The light illuminated the woman’s face. A very seductive and beautiful face.

—That was Jiang Liping, an employee of Huzhou University.

“You may use any ruthless means necessary.”

President Duan’s finger caressed her cheek.

“I know. I know how unfair it must feel to do things you hate… Once the mission is over, your time acting as a bug for those old rats will be finished too…”