Chapter 75
Chapter 75: What Subject Did You Say You Were Studying?
In a bit, he’d mooch another meal off her.
He’d traveled all the way to River City. It wasn’t too much to ask for her to treat him to a meal, was it?
Professor Yuwen grew even more cheerful.
Meanwhile, the principal’s assistant, acting on orders, hurried to Senior 2 Class 1 at No. 7 High School. It was still class time.
“The principal wants you?”
Su Xue Qing looked startled. “Why now?”
“No idea. I’ll go see.”
Ye Wan Lan stood and followed the assistant out.
A few people from Class 2 across the hall caught the scene.
Sheng Song’s foot was still wrapped in bandages. His gaze was heavy, cold, and venomous.
He still didn’t know who had beaten him senseless that night. Even the Sheng Family hadn’t been able to find the culprit.
But Ye Wan Lan—he would never let her go.
He needed a better plan, something decisive. He would eliminate Ye Wan Lan for Sheng Yun Yi, once and for all.
“She’s going to the principal’s office again.”
Xue Yi Wei shook her head, mockery written all over her face. “I swear I don’t know what she’s doing all day, always running to the principal’s office.”
Even she and Su Xu Bai weren’t there every single day.
Su Xu Bai was working through a difficult physics contest problem. Without looking up, he said flatly, “Why do you care about her?”
“We got into this school on our grades. You and I didn’t rely on family background.” Xue Yi Wei forced down her anger. “Then what does she rely on?”
Her lips curled. “Men. And not just one.”
Her pride and self-respect made her unwilling to associate with someone like Ye Wan Lan.
Su Xu Bai said nothing, expression cool.
He didn’t care about Ye Wan Lan. At best, she could throw her weight around in River City. As for the Yun Jing circle? Ordinary people couldn’t even squeeze into it.
After graduation, he and Xue Yi Wei would return to Yun Jing. There was no point wasting time on irrelevant people here.
—
The assistant walked Ye Wan Lan to the principal’s office door, then left. Ye Wan Lan knocked.
Before the principal could even speak, Professor Yuwen—who had been perfectly calm a second ago—shot up like a cannonball and lunged for the door.
“She’s here!”
The door opened.
The girl wore No. 7 High School’s short-sleeved uniform and long pants. Her hair was pinned up with a single hairpin, exposing a pale, clean line of neck. With no unnecessary ornamentation, she looked like an iris quietly blooming.
For an instant, Professor Yuwen wondered if his eyesight had failed him.
That kind of beauty made him think he’d mistaken her for a celebrity.
No. Not that.
Showbiz didn’t have this kind of calm composure—this sharp, unmistakable edge. Even among Yun Jing’s noble families, people with that sort of presence were rare.
“It’s you.” Ye Wan Lan nodded. Even though it was her first time meeting him in person, she didn’t seem surprised. “Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t come to school to find me? We were supposed to eat together later.”
Professor Yuwen snapped out of it. “I was anxious!”
His eyes flashed. “What if I didn’t run over and you vanished the moment I looked away?”
“I’m a living person,” Ye Wan Lan said as she closed the door. “How would I vanish?”
Then she added, “Professor, let me introduce myself properly. Ye Wan Lan—Ye as in night, Wan Lan as in turning back the tide.”
“Great name!” Professor Yuwen shouted, delighted. “Of course. Only you are worthy of a name like that.”
Ye Wan Lan didn’t even blink. “Professor, you don’t have to flatter me so aggressively.”
He scratched the back of his head, sheepish. “I’m just too excited. I interrupted your class, didn’t I?”
“Yes. We were in history class.” Ye Wan Lan’s tone stayed calm. “But it’s fine. I got a perfect score on that quiz.”
Something clicked wrong in Professor Yuwen’s mind.
Senior 2 had already split into tracks. Why was she taking history?
Ye Wan Lan caught the question before he could ask it. “I forgot to tell you. I chose history.”
Professor Yuwen’s smile froze.
A full three minutes passed before he found his voice again. It shook with disbelief—and with a stubborn shred of hope.
“You said… what subject are you studying?”
He had to have misheard.
He must have misheard.
“History.”
Thud.
Professor Yuwen’s head knocked against the back of the chair. Since reality refused to cooperate, he chose to faint his way out of it.
“Professor Yuwen!”
The principal lurched forward and grabbed his shoulder. “Pull yourself together! Professor, pull yourself together!”
“How am I supposed to pull myself together?” Professor Yuwen slapped the principal’s hand away, furious. “I waited four damn years, and after I finally get back in touch with her, you tell me she went and studied humanities?”
The principal scratched his head. “It’s not exactly humanities. Biology and chemistry are still science, right?”
That only made it worse.
Professor Yuwen roared, “What about physics? Huh? Are you looking down on physics?!”
The principal promptly shut his mouth.
For the first time, he found himself agreeing with the history group leader: physics people were all insane. The only difference was whether they were mildly insane or catastrophically so.
“Professor,” Ye Wan Lan said, stepping in, “calm down. Studying history is my obsession. But whatever help you need, I’ll give it.”
Professor Yuwen looked genuinely devastated. “Physics is adorable. Physics is beautiful. Physics has infinite charm. How can anyone not love physics?”
Ye Wan Lan pressed her fingers to her temple. “Professor, let’s talk outside.”
The principal had been hoping to chat a bit more, but after witnessing the man’s brand of madness up close, he immediately opened the door and retreated.
—
In the hallway, Professor Yuwen let out a long, pained sigh. “Why are you studying history, chemistry, and biology?”
He squinted. “Grave robbing or something?”
Ye Wan Lan’s mouth twitched. “That’s not it.”
“You should be studying physics. In a year you could follow me to the Global Center for a seminar.”
“I’ll go to the Global Center,” Ye Wan Lan said faintly.
“All right. I’ll be normal.” Professor Yuwen straightened like a switch had flipped. “These past four years—what happened? Don’t tell me you really forgot me.”
“No.” Ye Wan Lan went quiet for three seconds. “Something unexpected happened. Something I couldn’t do anything about.”
Professor Yuwen’s eyes sharpened. “Even you…?”
“I made it through.” Ye Wan Lan smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m fine now. A loss can turn into a blessing. The good news is, I learned a lot of new things.”
As long as she could contribute to Shen Zhou, the pain she’d suffered before was worth nothing.
Professor Yuwen patted her shoulder. “Whenever you want to talk about it, you can.”
They spoke a little longer. The bell rang.
Ye Wan Lan checked the time and started toward the main building.
Professor Yuwen hurried after her.
Ye Wan Lan sighed. “I’m going to counseling class. What does it look like if you’re following me around?”
“You’ll definitely eat after class,” Professor Yuwen said shamelessly. “I’m just tagging along for the meal.”
Then, as if that settled everything: “Any objections? No objections.”
Physics people always had impeccable logic.
Ye Wan Lan looked at him. “Then we should eat first.”
“That’s more like it!” Professor Yuwen emphasized every word. “And I’m telling you, you look perfectly healthy. Your body is healthy, your mind is healthy, and your knowledge is healthy. You don’t need counseling at all.”
Ye Wan Lan arched a brow. “Fine. I’ll invite my friend too.”
Professor Yuwen’s face fell. “Isn’t this supposed to be our private two-person world? No—our two-person research time…”
They reached the counseling room. Ye Wan Lan knocked, and the door opened immediately.
The next second, four eyes met.
The air went still.
Rong Yu started questioning his life choices. Why was he running into Yuwen Ming Bo, that physics madman, here?
Professor Yuwen also fell silent. Why was he meeting the Rong Family’s little dummy in the barren outskirts of River City, at No. 7 High School?
“You know each other?” Ye Wan Lan asked, taking in the tension at a glance. “Great. Then eating together won’t be awkward.”
Professor Yuwen snorted. “Of course I know him. I even held him when he was born.”
Even though he studied physics, he didn’t reject mysticism. Mysticism even had a more professional name: paranormal studies.
The saying that “the end of science is mysticism” might be exaggerated, but what science could explain was science. What it couldn’t explain was simply unknown—for now.
“Uncle Yuwen,” Rong Yu said, sounding both shocked and pleased, “I never expected to run into you here. And I definitely didn’t expect you to know Classmate Ye.”
He quickly added, “But weren’t you still on a business trip at the Global Center? How did you come back so fast?”
Professor Yuwen sighed. “Little Rong, I rushed back for something. Let’s—”
“Uncle Yuwen, my dad mentioned you a few days ago,” Rong Yu cut in, brimming with enthusiasm. “When you return to Yun Jing, he wants to discuss a course with you.”
Professor Yuwen forced a polite smile. “Little Rong, when I’m back in Yun Jing, I’ll eat with your father. But right now—”
“Don’t be so polite,” Rong Yu said earnestly. “I’ll arrange a huge feast! And my grandfather’s side—”
“Rong Yu!” Professor Yuwen finally exploded. “You brat, can you let me eat first before you start talking again?”
He glared. “I just got off the plane and rushed here. I’m starving! Are you trying to starve me to death so you can inherit my papers?”
Rong Yu: “….”
Yan Ting Feng stepped out from behind him. “Senior Yuwen, I booked a restaurant. Let’s go together.”
Professor Yuwen stared. “Why are you here too? You came to River City to mess around with him as well?”
Rong Yu thought, I’m the one who got dragged here!
“We’ll eat first,” Yan Ting Feng said smoothly. “Anything else can wait.”
Professor Yuwen didn’t need to be told twice. He bolted out of the building like he was running a hundred-meter sprint.
At lunchtime, students scattered—some to the cafeteria, some off campus.
Xue Yi Wei walked beside Su Xu Bai. Her gaze suddenly locked on something.
“Xu Bai… look. Is that—”
“What is it?” Su Xu Bai turned, expression indifferent.