Chapter 81: You Doing This Makes Me Wide Awake

Wei Suo was taken aback. He thought, "How am I supposed to respond to that?" So he changed the subject and asked about something else he was interested in: "By the way, what color stockings was Principal Jiang wearing today?"

Jiang Luofu's perfectly round and straight legs, shimmering with a crystalline luster, appeared in Zu'an's mind. He subconsciously replied, "Flesh-colored."

Wei Suo swallowed hard. "Ah, she truly is the goddess of my heart. I really envy you; it's only been a few days, and you've already had close contact with her twice. I haven't even had one chance."

Zu'an couldn't help but laugh. "You haven't even met her, and you're so obsessed?"

"You wouldn't understand," Wei Suo said with a lovesick expression. "Distance creates beauty. Once, by chance, I caught a fleeting glimpse of Principal Jiang and was captivated by her mature charm. Since then, my heart and soul have been completely lost to her."

Zu'an scoffed inwardly. "Lost your heart and soul, my foot! I know your heart's lost, but your body? You're dreaming!"

"By the way, who's that teacher? He's so arrogant," Zu'an asked, seizing the opportunity to get information.

Wei Suo truly lived up to his reputation as a little intelligence expert, immediately replying, "His name is Yang Wei. He's the Household Registrar of Mingyue City, responsible for agricultural and tax matters in the city, and he also serves as the academy's arithmetic teacher."

"Oh, he teaches math," Zu'an said thoughtfully.

"Zu'an, get to the back and stand!" Just then, Yang Wei's roar echoed from the podium.

The sound was like a sudden clap of thunder. Many students who had just been startled awake and fallen back asleep were jolted again, nearly losing control of their bladders.

"What on earth is going on? Can't a person get some peaceful sleep around here?"

Everyone curiously looked at Zu'an, wondering what terrible thing he had done to provoke the teacher so much. At this point, many even began to admire him; since he had enrolled, the school hadn't had a peaceful day, and now, in such a short time, he had managed to infuriate a teacher twice.

Zu'an frowned. He had long sensed the man's deep animosity towards him, but he hadn't expected it to erupt so quickly.

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me tell you to go stand at the back?" Yang Wei had already descended from the podium and was waiting for him with a grim expression.

Zu'an secretly sneered. Not a single point of Rage value had been contributed, clearly indicating that this furious display was just an act for show. He calmly replied, "May I ask, Teacher, why are you punishing me?"

"You weren't paying attention in class and were whispering with a classmate. As a teacher, shouldn't I punish you?" Yang Wei said with an arrogant expression. This was the benefit of his status; a teacher could easily find a reason to punish a student, and others couldn't find fault with it.

Moreover, the fellow hadn't been listening anyway, which saved him the trouble of fabricating a charge.

Zu'an frowned. The Yellow Class was made up of the worst students in the school; how many of them actually paid attention in class? From his observation just now, a third were sleeping, a third were secretly chatting, and a few in the back were even more outrageous, secretly playing cards.

Yet, he ignored all that and came straight for me. Zu'an knew he and Wei Suo had been talking without looking away, precisely to avoid giving him an excuse, but Yang Wei still found a pretext.

Since he was so blatantly and shamelessly targeting him, Zu'an saw no reason not to be equally shameless.

"I don't understand that," Zu'an said calmly. "I've been listening attentively the whole time and haven't spoken to anyone. Do you have any proof that I was whispering and not paying attention, Teacher?"

Yang Wei's breath caught. He had originally thought it would be easy to deal with a student: just find any excuse to punish him, then use it as a pretext to expel him from school. That way, without the academy's protection during the day, those influential figures would find it much easier to deal with him.

But to his surprise, the other party immediately contradicted him. In this world, the academy held a special status, and respect for teachers was paramount. Such direct defiance of a teacher was virtually unheard of in the academy's history.

However, instead of being surprised, he was secretly pleased. He had been racking his brain for a reason to expel Zu'an from school, as he was just a regular teacher; while punishing students was fine, he didn't have the authority to expel anyone.

But if the other party openly clashed too severely with a teacher, it would be a logical reason to remove him from the academy.

"I clearly saw you and the person next to you chatting unrestrainedly just now. Could that be false?" Yang Wei snorted.

Zu'an asked, intrigued, "If you saw us chatting, then you should have told both of us to stand up at the same time. Why did you only call out to me? Teacher, you're not deliberately targeting me, are you?"

Yang Wei hastily explained, "I didn't know this student's name at the moment, which is why I only called out to you."

Zu'an immediately smiled. "That's truly strange. I didn't introduce myself when I came in, and I've only been at the school for a few days. This is also my first time in your class, yet you clearly know my name. It's hard not to conclude that you're deliberately targeting me."

At these words, everyone in the class looked at him differently. They weren't foolish; this matter indeed seemed a bit strange.

Although most didn't particularly like Zu'an, they also didn't have much affection for teachers in general, especially Yang Wei, this greasy, gaunt middle-aged man who possessed no charisma whatsoever.

If it were true that the teacher was deliberately targeting a student, then everyone would feel unsafe in the future.

Noticing everyone's gazes, Yang Wei also felt quite uncomfortable. He quickly said, "Who in Mingyue City doesn't know of Zu'an's great name now? You clashed with a fifth-rank senior at the academy, and outside, you won 7.5 million taels at the gambling den. How could I not know?"

He had long heard that this fellow was sharp-tongued, but he hadn't expected him to be so formidable; he had almost fallen into a trap himself. Thinking of this, he secretly became wary. He needed to be more careful and avoid repeating the Silver Hook Casino's mistakes.

Zu'an nodded. "Even if you know me, I literally didn't talk to anyone just now. Don't falsely accuse me."

"Nonsense! I saw with my own eyes you talking to your deskmate. Could I, a teacher, possibly accuse you falsely?" Yang Wei had originally been quite pleased that he didn't have to fabricate a charge, but he hadn't expected the other party to lie through his teeth.

"You can't be so sure," Zu'an replied. "There are all kinds of people in this world." Since the other party was clearly targeting him, Zu'an naturally saw no need to be polite. "You say my deskmate and I were talking in class, but do you have any proof? Otherwise, I could accuse you of slander."

Rage value from Yang Wei: 666!

Yang Wei almost fainted from anger. He had always been successful, even when fabricating charges, but he never expected that today, after genuinely catching someone in the act, he couldn't deal with it.

What kind of evidence could there be for something like this? There were no recordings or anything; it was just one person's word against another's.

"You want proof, do you?" Yang Wei was unwilling to give up. He glared directly at Wei Suo, who was standing nearby. "Tell me, were you talking to him just now?"

Wei Suo blinked. "No, Teacher."

Zu'an secretly gave him a thumbs-up. He had originally planned to give Wei Suo a subtle hint, but he hadn't expected the guy to be so quick on the uptake. Indeed, he lived up to his name; he had a promising future.

"I..." Yang Wei almost couldn't catch his breath. How truly the human heart had degenerated! Students nowadays were worse generation after generation.

However, he had come prepared and wouldn't be stumped by such a minor issue. This fellow could only boast with his tongue; he would soon show him that the older ginger is spicier.

"Hmph, I have another way to prove what I said," Yang Wei said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "You just claimed you were listening attentively. So, do you understand everything I just taught?"

Many students on the side felt this was unreasonable. Arithmetic was already a difficult subject; even listening attentively didn't guarantee complete understanding. Wasn't he clearly trying to trick him?

Someone was about to speak up in his defense, as there was never a shortage of hot-blooded youth among students, but Zu'an promptly agreed. "The things you taught are so simple, of course I understand them."

While cultivation in this world was indeed miraculous, other fields were clearly far behind his own era. What a joke; as a university student who had endured the trials of college entrance exams, the arithmetic problems of this era were simply a dimensional reduction attack.

Hearing him say that, Yang Wei couldn't help but be overjoyed. "You avoid the road to heaven but barge into the gates of hell!" Fearing Zu'an might back out, he immediately said, "This is the first time I've met such an arrogant student. How about this: I'll give you twenty questions. If you can answer any one... er, no, if you can answer three correctly, I'll consider that you weren't lying and were indeed listening attentively. How does that sound?"

He was even confident that Zu'an wouldn't be able to answer a single one, but recalling the incident at Silver Hook Casino, he decided to play it safe. Perhaps Zu'an might get one right by sheer luck, like a blind cat catching a dead mouse, but there was absolutely no way he could answer three correctly.

Wei Suo's face instantly filled with worry. Yang Wei's classes were notoriously difficult. Previous subjects like legal statutes could be memorized, and students could at least get some points by writing down a few answers. But arithmetic was either right or wrong. Once, when Yang Wei made the questions slightly harder, no one in the class passed. This time, deliberately targeting Zu'an, the questions would surely be the hardest. Not to mention the Yellow Class, probably even students in the Heaven Class would struggle with them.

Just as he was about to warn Zu'an, the latter agreed nonchalantly. "Okay, no problem. But what if I answer them all correctly?"

"Answer them all correctly?" Yang Wei burst out laughing as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "If you can answer them all correctly, I'll resign from the academy immediately, and you can take my place as the arithmetic teacher!"

Zu'an's eyes lit up. "Then it's a deal!"

"It's a deal!" Yang Wei sneered inwardly. Was this fellow an idiot? Did he think his questions were that easy? Yang Wei had immersed himself in arithmetic for decades and served as the Household Registrar, combining theory with practice. No one, not just in Mingyue City but in the entire prefecture, could surpass his mastery.

This guy's confidence likely came from seeing his previous test papers. But on normal days, he always made the easiest exams. This time, he would unleash his true capabilities and show him the terror of arithmetic!

"What if you can't answer three questions correctly then?" Yang Wei asked, glancing at him provocatively.

"Since the teacher is betting his position at the school, I naturally have no choice but to match it," Zu'an said calmly. "If I can't answer three questions correctly, then I'll also leave the school."

Yang Wei was instantly delighted. He had just been thinking exactly this, and Zu'an had walked right into the trap. He couldn't be blamed now.

Sensing the tense atmosphere between the two, the entire Yellow Class immediately erupted in excitement. People everywhere loved to watch drama unfold, and besides, few students in the Yellow Class were truly intent on studying. What class could be as interesting as a gamble like this?

So those who were sleeping stopped, and those who were playing cards stopped, all gathering around.