Study Monster Cultivation System

Chapter 149 - 148 You guys are bullies

After Hu Zengwu and Shen Yiyun left, without any proctors present, many took the opportunity to leave their experiment stations to either sneak a peek or discuss experimental techniques.

Ou Xingzhuo adjusted his glasses while surveying the rather chaotic scene, "Well, those cheating now are basically not worth befriending."

Wu Shu, looking at a few individuals darting around, sighed and said, "Just ask us and it would have been fine. Why go through all this trouble?"

"Naive," Ou Xingzhuo chuckled. "Getting close to us now is akin to opposing Hu Zengwu outright. I guess no one will dare to talk to us after this."

Wu Shu cursed with a smile, "Then why did you rush to board the sinking ship?"

"Don’t flatter yourself," Ou Xingzhuo said seriously as he adjusted his glasses again. "I only stand on the side of justice. I’ve been observing. In total, one hour, and Hu Zengwu stood behind you for at least twenty minutes. He also frequently passed by you and Li Zheng. If it were an operational examination, he should examine each person equally, right?

But he spent half his energy on you, clearly targeting you intentionally, which is unjust."

"That long?" Wu Shu exclaimed, "I didn’t even notice... Anyway, why are you always looking this way?"

"Don’t overthink it; I was just paying attention to the teacher’s movements... and secondly," Ou Xingzhuo continued, "waiting for the final grades to decide who enters the special class is acceptable to me, but the problem is, Li Zheng and I directly entered the special class without being assessed on our experimental operations.

Your yields are not lower than ours, yet only you have to wait for deductions, which is a clear case of discrimination. Thirdly, Li Zheng has already given up on the special class. If I go alone, it would seem like I have no loyalty."

Li Zheng looked at his righteous expression, somewhat disbelieving: "Do you consider all this before doing anything?"

"Standard procedure," said Ou Xingzhuo, before stuffing his shirt back into his trousers.

"Ignore him," Wu Shu scoffed. "He’s just overanalyzing, all those thoughts are after the fact."

Ou Xingzhuo’s face tightened at those words, followed by a cold snicker: "Ah, the ship of friendship capsizes so easily."

"..."

"..."

Li Zheng and Wu Shu gave him two cold stares.

"Not... Not funny?" Ou Xingzhuo faltered, "Isn’t this what you guys usually like?"

Just then, Shen Yiyun suddenly leaned in, her brows slightly furrowed by the somewhat chaotic scene.

"Students who haven’t finished the experiment shouldn’t be whispering to each other."

A few individuals who were wandering around then returned to their own stations.

Then, Shen Yiyun waved to Li Zheng, "Li Zheng, come over for a moment."

When the upperclassman calls, one must go. Li Zheng put down his manga and followed her out.

Once Li Zheng was far enough away, Ou Xingzhuo, scratching his chin, remarked, "Weird, in any case, our crimes seem heavier, right?"

"It’s different, Li Zheng hasn’t signed a contract yet," Wu Shu pondered for a moment with pursed lips. "Let’s both go out and apologize to Teacher Hu later, sincerely."

"Hm? Giving in so soon?"

"The core of the contract is the national deciding results; we don’t care, but if Teacher Hu deliberately blocks Li Zheng from going, he would be at a great disadvantage," Wu Shu nodded. "That’s settled then, let’s diffuse Teacher Hu’s anger."

Ou Xingzhuo hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded, "Understood. If Li Zheng apologizes, I will too."

...

In the corridor, Shen Yiyun, although just having felt secretly pleased, also spoke to Li Zheng with words echoing Wu Shu’s sentiment.

In the end, she just sighed.

"Teacher Hu truly doesn’t have that much authority, but the national decision is too important for you. It’s unnecessary to create difficulties for yourself. I suggest you still go and apologize, and it would be best to bring Wu Shu and Ou Xing Zhuo along."

Li Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "Senior sister, when you spoke these words, I deeply reflected on my actions. I indeed did something wrong."

"Right?" Shen Yiyun breathed a sigh of relief. "No matter what, we still need to respect the teacher… You should hurry…"

"Not about that." Li Zheng shook his head solemnly. "At the beginning of the experiment, I wanted to help Wu Shu cheat by hinting at the tricks of the experiment. This was unfair and against discipline. Although Wu Shu didn’t accept my ’kind intentions,’ it was still ’attempted cheating.’ I am willing to confess to Teacher Hu and other leaders."

"???" Shen Yiyun was so frightened that she quickly covered Li Zheng’s mouth. "Who let you reflect so deeply? Are you afraid Teacher Hu won’t find fault with you?"

"A mistake is a mistake." Li Zheng stated calmly, "At noon, I kept pestering Wu Shu to tutor me in physics, which led to her dozing off later and getting caught by Teacher Hu. I wanted to make amends, but got carried away and made an even bigger mistake. I will learn from this and accept the consequences."

"Oh no, oh no…" Shen Yiyun waved her arms frantically. Facing Li Zheng this time, she was indeed overwhelmed. "That’s not important now. It’s making Teacher Hu lose face that’s the real mistake. How can you be so foolish at crucial moments?"

"I’m not wrong in this matter. I believe you know better than I who is wrong."

"…" Shen Yiyun was now annoyed enough to pull at her hair. "Even if there might be injustice, you shouldn’t appeal in such a manner. I naturally will try to convince Teacher Hu, or you could even talk to Teacher Hu in private. The mistake is in the attitude, the attitude! No matter what, you shouldn’t treat a teacher like that."

"I didn’t talk back, I didn’t disrespect him, nor did I engage in any theories. I merely gave up the privilege of a smaller class." Li Zheng said gravely, "Is that also not allowed?"

"Li Zheng…" Shen Yiyun clutched Li Zheng’s arm and lamented, "Stop talking about reason, okay? Do you think this is the time to talk about reason? Who benefits if you continue to be stubborn? Would Teacher Hu admit to being biased against Wu Shu because of this? Could you even force him to apologize?"

"That’s his issue. I’ll just do what I need to do." Li Zheng avoided Shen Yiyun’s gaze, speaking with slight reluctance, "From a young age, I wasn’t very clever; I only knew how to work hard. It wasn’t just one or two teachers who were biased against me—I know that feeling."

"… Stay calm, Li Zheng, don’t bring emotions into this," Shen Yiyun gritted her teeth. "At least here, you are actually the favored one. Teacher Hu originally had high hopes for you. Don’t waste this opportunity, okay?"

"Thank you, senior sister, really, thank you." Li Zheng finally looked at Shen Yiyun, his voice soft and smiling, "Previously, I was the one prejudiced against, with no one to stand up for me. Now, I’ve finally become the favored one, and I shouldn’t stand up for others. This is how people grow up, right?"

"…"

"I know, Wu Shu doesn’t need me to stand up for her. It’s just that I can’t get over this myself." Li Zheng gently pulled down Shen Yiyun’s arm. "Do I really have to apologize?"

This time, Shen Yiyun averted her gaze from Li Zheng.

"I… I… I don’t care anymore!" Shen Yiyun’s eyes reddened as she glared at Li Zheng, "One you, one Shi Yang, it’s my first time mentoring students in my life, and I got to mentor two such outstanding students, capable of going to Prague, fulfilling my dream of a lifetime in Chem Competitions! Yet you guys… you bully people… Why must you cause trouble at this time, I… I…"

As Shen Yiyun spoke, she suddenly turned away and covered her face, crying, "I can’t handle it anymore, I just can’t! You guys go die, die in the toilet, die in a cesspool!"

Li Zheng froze, his previously stern presence suddenly collapsed, becoming helpless.

"Senior sister… about this…"

"What senior sister, who is your senior sister!" Shen Yiyun removed her glasses, wiping her tears as she scolded, "Is it easy for me? Running around every day, worrying about you two. Not to mention you being so thoughtless, just take Shi Yang alone—what’s he eating so much for? Has he never seen meat before?? I’m so mad I could die... if I mentor students again I might as well not be called Shen!"