Chapter 424: Chapter 413: The Best Teacher
Xuanyuan Junrui is popular at school primarily because of his powerful family background and his good looks, so he has always been cool, handsome and arrogant. No one expected that someone like him would apologize to Liu Tong today.
Liu Tong faced exclusion upon entering the school mainly because he was a commoner, but it was Xuanyuan Junrui who first expressed his disgust towards him. This led to a multitude of followers and sycophants bullying Liu Tong. Although Xuanyuan Junrui was not the one who bullied Liu Tong the most or was the most severe, it was he who started it and he who motivated others.
What started with him now ends with him. With Xuanyuan Junrui being the first to apologize, the other students no longer hesitated and one by one approached Liu Tong.
"I’m sorry, Liu Tong!"
"My apologies, I was immature back then."
"I know it’s late to say sorry now, and I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I still need to say it: I’m sorry!"
"I heard this language learning device is quite good for studying English, please take it as my way of apologizing."
After placing the item down, the student ran off as if afraid of Liu Tong’s rejection. The other students who came to apologize gritted their teeth and glared at him. Aren’t they brothers? Why didn’t he mention he had a gift ready? Wouldn’t that make the others feel insincere for coming empty-handed to apologize?
Liu Tong looked at the gift on the table with mixed feelings. He didn’t want to forgive those who had bullied him, but seeing their sincere expressions weighted heavily on his heart.
Forget it, what’s the big deal in saying "it’s okay"? After all, they have realized their mistakes. If I don’t forgive them, won’t they feel unhappy like how I did before? Besides, I’m fine now, aren’t I?
After coming to terms with his feelings, the three words were not so difficult to say anymore. Liu Tong looked at everyone with a calm gaze, and at the moment when everyone was extremely anxious, he slightly smiled and said: "It’s okay."
It was then that everyone realized how attractive Liu Tong looked when he smiled. Over the past six months, he had grown considerably taller, his cheeks had become rosier and fairer, his features delicate, and his short hair was refreshing. He looked every part the good student.
Li Manyu and Zhao Shanshan watched the scene in confusion, unable to understand why everyone was apologizing to Liu Tong.
"Ouyang, what is happening here?" Li Manyu asked blankly.
Several girls looked at Li Manyu with animosity, feeling that she was once again trying to allure their Prince Ouyang. What to do? They intended to teach her a lesson, but were afraid their impulsiveness might turn into bullying.
She was getting off easy, who asked for them to be so soft-hearted? They hoped that Prince Ouyang would become more discerning and see through the true face of this woman. A group of girls thought bitterly, feeling that they had never been so aggrieved before.
"It’s nothing, it doesn’t concern you," Ouyang Yanming said indifferently.
"But..." Li Manyu wanted to say more, but Ouyang Yanming had already left the classroom on his own.
Seeing Li Manyu’s disappointed expression, the girls felt a surge of joy within. Thankfully, their Prince Ouyang had a clear mind and knew Li Manyu had ulterior motives. Yes, that’s how it should be; hopefully, he would ignore her from now on.
Li Manyu clenched her teeth, not understanding why Ouyang Yanming’s attitude towards her had suddenly turned so cold.
Actually, she should be happy. It was for her own good that Ouyang Yanming deliberately treated her coldly. He was aware of his own popularity at school, and he knew what those crazy girls might do. So, to prevent her from ending up like the former Liu Tong, he decided he’d better maintain some distance from her. Moreover, his initial kindness to her was merely due to her name, and after all, she was not the real Lin Xiaoman. If he got too close to her, what would happen if Xiaoman misunderstood one day?
Unbeknownst to her, Li Manyu’s life trajectory was quietly changing. Originally, she was destined to be bullied at school, and then she would persistently tangle with Xuanyuan Junrui and Ouyang Yanming due to her tenacious character. But now, Xuanyuan Junrui was indifferent toward her, and Ouyang Yanming wanted nothing to do with her. It seemed the other girls also lost the urge to make a move against her. Could she still end up with Xuanyuan Junrui in this life as in her past life?
These were things Ye Qiu neither knew nor wanted to concern himself with. If Li Manyu and Xuanyuan Junrui were truly meant for each other, he believed that fate would bring them together.
Ye Qiu felt a hint of satisfaction when he learned that Xuanyuan Junrui and other classmates had taken the initiative to apologize to Liu Tong. Although Liu Tong had forgiven them, Ye Qiu still felt they hadn’t deserved it. Therefore, the next day, he posted a notice on the school’s bulletin board, reserving the main road of the school. If any students felt they had done something wrong in the past, they should take the initiative to clean it up.
Every day, the main road was crowded with students, and for these rich young masters and misses, taking the initiative to clean would be a shameful act. But Ye Qiu had just published a book about school bullying, and today there was this notice. It was obvious who it was intended for—those who had bullied their classmates.
To go, or not to go? Some looked to others as if seeking an answer, but in the end, Xuanyuan Junrui led by example. Silently, he picked up a broom from the janitor’s closet.
"I’ll join you," said Ouyang Yanming, removing his headphones and also picking up a broom.
"You don’t have to do this."
Ouyang Yanming smiled: "Although I didn’t lift a finger, I also didn’t stop you, did I? That’s tantamount to condoning your behavior, which was also wrong."
Alright then, if the school’s two Princes were ready to lose face by taking action themselves, what were they afraid of? It was just cleaning up, nothing serious.
"Tch!" Sima Kai sneered contemptuously, finding them ridiculous. It was just a civilian student, after all. What did it matter if they had bullied him? Cleaning themselves? They shouldn’t demean themselves.
But then again, they had already declined to take over their family businesses, so in the future, they probably wouldn’t be much different from ordinary civilians. What a waste of so many years - he had thought that once they took over the family affairs, it would help in his own struggle for inheritance. It seemed he had misjudged them.
No, since these two couldn’t be of help to him, he shouldn’t waste any more time here. His band of good brothers had been making some significant moves recently!
"Hey, Sima..." Watching Sima Kai’s proud solitary figure walking away, Ouyang Yanming called out.
"Forget it, Ouyang. Sima and us are different," Xuanyuan Junrui’s expression remained cold, but there was something more in his eyes. He was playful, but not ignorant. Since they had different pursuits, it was not a bad thing to go separate ways. Hopefully, Sima Kai would get what he wanted in the end!
"I just think Sima is too aggressive."
"I heard his father has brought back two illegitimate children again. He’s probably getting anxious."
"If possible, let’s try to help him in the future."
"Mhm."