Chapter 66
Upon hearing the words "can leave right now," Liang Ran instinctively sat up straight, alert and on guard.
Wasn’t this the same trap as the "if you don't want to attend the class, just leave" situation? Fearing that Yu He might misunderstand, he hurriedly reached out to pull him back.
Unfortunately, human reactions take time. By the time he subconsciously tried to stop Yu He, he had already left his seat under Director Liu’s fierce glare.
Liang Ran frowned, thinking to himself that a man would die for a confidante; after all, Yu He was his brother.
The next second, Liang Ran stood up as well.
Wang Guangbin looked at Yu He with admiration, like looking at a warrior, and then followed suit, standing up from his seat.
The classroom, already quiet, fell into a few seconds of profound silence.
Yu He and the others walked down from the last row, facing the astonishment of their classmates and the fury of Director Liu.
All eyes in the room were focused on these three.
At this moment, they were like free-spirited knights, brave warriors daring to stand up against authority and power.
He was also the fool who added fuel to the fire when Director Liu was angry.
Director Liu's hair was standing on end: "What are you three doing standing up? Are you trying to rebel?!"
Yu He casually descended the steps, not even lifting his eyelids. His thin lips slightly moved as he uttered two words: "Going home."
Going home.
Going home!
Going home!!!
These two words were like a drop of cold water into a hot oil pan, instantly causing an uproar in the entire classroom.
No one could understand the profound nostalgia behind the words "going home" better than the people of Hua Country.
This is almost a cultural gene ingrained in every Hua Country citizen’s marrow. During the Spring Festival travel rush, the population movement in Hua Country can reach as high as 4.7 billion people. How massive and magnificent is this migration? What kind of spiritual strength and belief is supporting it?
The centripetal force inherited through generations is even more resilient than words carved in stone.
There is no call deeper than the call to go home, and no group more easily swayed than college students.
With just one sentence, Yu He instantly ignited all the homesickness in the hearts of his classmates.
Some of their parents were just outside the school gate, some were waiting at the station to pick them up, and some had already prepared dinner and even sent numerous photos.
After a brief uproar, a girl sitting in the front row grabbed her already packed backpack and stood up from her seat.
Her action of standing up was like blowing the charge horn, and the students in the classroom became agitated, unable to sit still any longer.
The class bell had already rung long ago; what was stopping them from going home now!
With over a hundred and forty people sitting down, the classroom didn't seem crowded or chaotic, but as soon as they all rose up, the scene became something Director Liu couldn’t control.
Throughout history, the power of students has always been formidable. When these young people set their minds to do something, they follow their hearts.
They are even willing to face death!
“I’d like to see who dares to leave!” Director Liu bellowed, positioning himself in front of the classroom door.
But it was already too late. He was just one person, with only two hands; how could he stop these students, eager to go home?
The crowd surged past him. He tried to grab one person and then another, realizing he couldn't stop them. Deciding to catch the ringleader instead, he fought his way through the crowd and grabbed Yu He, who was making a video of the commotion on his phone.
Yu He: "......"
Director Liu pointed accusatorily, moving from Yu He to Liang Ran and then to Wang Guangbin: "You! You! You! None of you are leaving. You're coming to the office with me!"
Yu He never really liked male teachers. Firstly, male teachers generally didn't like him either. Especially some middle-aged men had a hard-to-describe scent about them. It wasn’t a stench, but a greasy, meaty human smell that tormented Yu He, who had a sensitive sense of smell. Female teachers were much better; they hardly wore perfume, and their clothes just smelled of laundry detergent and sunshine, a scent that reminded Yu He of his mother.
Unfortunately for Yu He, Director Liu was exactly the kind of middle-aged man he disliked, with that greasy, meaty human scent. Already feeling a bit nauseous from drinking too much milk, this pungent smell made him feel even worse.
Yu He was strong, and with a twist of his wrist, he freed himself from Director Liu’s grasp: “I want to go home.”
Director Liu forced a twisted smile onto his face: “Go home? You can go to the office with me first, and we’ll call your parents!”
Yu He furrowed his brows: “I don't have parents. My boyfriend is waiting for me, and I really don’t have time to waste on you. My name is Yu He. If there's an issue, we can talk about it after the holiday.”
With that, Yu He turned and walked coldly out of the classroom.
Director Liu reached for Yu He again, raising his voice in question: "Which department is your boyfriend in? Tell him to come to my office as well. Here at Fengcheng University, we value virtue and propriety. We've never had a student as insubordinate as you. I want to see who would date a troublemaker like you!"
Yu He was really annoyed as he withdrew his hand and said impatiently, “My boyfriend can’t make it here.”
Director Liu scoffed coldly: "What do you mean he can't make it? Did he break his foot or his leg? As long as he’s not dead, he should be able to come!"
Yu He suddenly turned around and punched Director Liu in the face.
In his more than twenty years of teaching, Director Liu had never been hit by a student. He was completely stunned, and he wasn't the only one; the teachers and students nearby were also frozen in place, all eyes were on Yu He.
The gaze of the crowd was like knives, making Yu He very uncomfortable. He took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the restless emotions inside.
Liang Ran felt something was wrong the moment he heard ‘broken leg’, but seeing Yu He now, full of murderous aura and staring coldly at Director Liu, even Liang Ran didn’t dare to approach rashly. He gave Wang Guangbin a look, and with their tacit understanding, Wang Guangbin immediately moved to block Liang Ran. Liang Ran took out his cellphone and quickly walked to the corridor, dialing a number.
Now, the only person who could handle Yu He was probably Mr. Fu.
＊
On the third floor of the administrative building.
"I don’t care whose child he is! If he has violated the school rules and discipline, he should be punished! Assaulting a teacher? Is this a student or a thug?"
Inside the office, Director Liu’s voice pierced through the walls: "Director Huang, is this the student from your class?"
The voice of Yu He’s academic advisor was calm and steady: "Anger damages the liver, Director Liu, don’t be impatient. The student can be taught slowly."
Director Liu roared: "Teach? I can’t teach this student. The fact that I haven’t reported this to the police is already the greatest leniency I can offer as a teacher! He must be given a demerit, a serious demerit! It should be announced to the whole school! Put it on his record!"
Outside the office, Liang Ran put his arm around Yu He’s shoulders: "It’s okay, I’m here with you, buddy."
Yu He didn’t move at all, his eyes drooping as if lost in thought.
After a surge of intense excitement, Yu He quickly fell back into a negative mood, not caring at all about demerits, announcements, or records. This state was very similar to the tiredness and annoyance he felt when he first left the Yu family.
Yu He knew that something was off with his mental state, but he had neither the desire nor the knowledge on how to adjust it.
This must be what bipolar disorder feels like.
A normal person’s mood wouldn’t roller-coaster from a peak to a trough so quickly.
Liang Ran noticed Yu He’s poor mood, dragged him into a conference room, and made him sit down, while Wang Guangbin fetched some hot water for Yu He in a paper cup.
Yu He lay sprawled across the table, listless.
Liang Ran sat beside Yu He and asked, “What’s the matter, Young Master Yu? Why so glum?”
Yu He’s pupils shifted slightly as he turned to look at Liang Ran.
His gloomy gaze landed on Liang Ran, but Liang Ran didn’t seem to mind or avoid it, only gazing back at Yu He with concern.
A tremor ran through Yu He’s chest, and he finally allowed this sliver of sunlight to penetrate his gloom.
His lips moved, as if even communicating had become an arduous task.
But Liang Ran kept his gaze fixed on him, warm and patient, providing Yu He with the courage he needed.
After a long while, Yu He said, “Brother Ran, I’m feeling agitated.”
Liang Ran’s eyes were bright as he took a toy pendant from his bag and handed it to Yu He, saying, “Here, this is a stress-relief doll. Give it a squeeze.”
Yu He’s dark pupils trembled slightly, and he lowered his eyes to look at the toy in Liang Ran’s hand, hesitating before reaching out.
Liang Ran pressed the toy into Yu He’s hand.
Grasping the toy, the hard and slightly cool plastic made contact with his palm. Yu He furrowed his brow, “Shouldn’t a stress-relief doll be soft?”
Liang Ran reached out to bend the little bear doll’s arm, “Look, you can pull its arms off, and even yank its head out.”
Yu He held the little bear tightly in his hand, “Don’t pull it apart.”
“Alright.” Liang Ran placed his hands on his knees and looked at Yu He, “I won’t pull it apart. If you like the little bear, you can take it home with you. Return it to me when you’re done playing with it, okay?”
Wang Guangbin slapped Liang Ran on the back, “You’re usually so generous, why are you being stingy now? If he likes the bear, just give it to him. Look at the state he’s in.”
Liang Ran turned his head and glared at Wang Guangbin, “Shut up. Why don’t you take a look at yourself? What’s wrong with Yu He? He’s just upset. Don’t create a tense atmosphere here.”
Liang Ran and Wang Guangbin started arguing again.
Yu He blinked, feeling as if the other half of his soul, which had been wandering beyond the skies, had finally landed back in reality, or as if his body, sunken in the deep sea, had just been fished out.
Everything around him, once vague and illusory, became real again.
Yu He regained his ability to think independently.
His entire logic had been chaotic just moments ago. Perhaps he really should have a talk with a psychologist.
His mood was still a bit low, but it was already much better.
Yu He stood up, “Let’s go.”
Liang Ran stood up as well, “Where to?”
Yu He replied, “Home. What’s the point in staying here, watching Principal Liu go mad?”
Liang Ran scrutinized Yu He, “You’re feeling better now?”
Yu He managed a strained smile: "I'm good now."
Liang Ran took the little bear toy from Yu He's hand: "Give me back the bear. It was a gift from my first love. I wouldn't have lent it to you if I hadn't seen you looking so pitiful just now."
Yu He: "......"
Stepping out of the classroom, the hallway had quieted down, and it was already dark outside.
Yu He pulled out his phone and checked the time, cursing the neurotic Principal Liu in his heart three times.
Fu Yunzheng was still waiting at home to go back to Yun Su with him.
Thankfully, he hadn't asked Fu Yunzheng to wait for him directly by car at the school gate.
On Friday nights, the traffic jam at the school gate was inevitable, and it would be even worse today since it's the start of a long holiday. Yu He and Fu Yunzheng had agreed that after school, Yu He would ride his motorcycle home first, and then they would drive back to Yun Su together.
Almost an hour had passed since school ended.
He wondered if Fu Yunzheng was getting anxious.
While walking towards the elevator, Yu He dialed Fu Yunzheng's number.
Just outside the principal's office, Yu He faintly heard a familiar ringtone.
A thought struck him, and he stopped in his tracks.
The door to the office opened, revealing Fu Yunzheng sitting in a wheelchair, facing Yu He, with Principal Liu nodding and bowing beside him.
Yu He turned around abruptly: "Fu Yunzheng?"
Fu Yunzheng locked eyes with Yu He: "Xiao He, I've come to take you home."
Director Liu nodded repeatedly: "Going home, going home. This is really like the flood rushing into the Dragon King Temple; I must apologize for my poor judgment. I had no idea that student Yu He was acquainted with you."
Fu Yunzheng remained silent, his face revealing no clear sign of emotion.
For a moment, no one knew what to say, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Director Liu wiped his sweat: "About that, Yu He, when the teacher said we'd call your parents, it was just a joke. How did you manage to bring Mr. Fu here... Ah, what a misunderstanding."
Yu He furrowed his brows, his gaze sweeping over the people in the office, uncertain of who had informed Fu Yunzheng.