“Who?!”
“Ouch, that hurts like hell!”
“Which blind fool did that? Damn, that really hurt, young master!”
…
The group of people who had fallen in front were cursing and swearing as they clutched their waists and struggled to stand up from the ground.
As for those who had avoided the disaster, they also stopped their discussions, staring dumbfounded in the direction of the culprit. They had seen everything just now—clear as day.
It was Li Qinyuan who had moved his foot!
But—
What just happened to make this Seventh Young Master Li so displeased?
No one knew.
Everyone was bewildered.
Among all these people—
The two sitting directly in front of Li Qinyuan had fallen the hardest.
They had been chatting so animatedly that they weren’t paying any attention at all. With no time to react and no buffer, when the table fell, their chins and faces smacked right against the tabletop. Now, half of their faces were either red or bruised, looking utterly miserable.
One of them, surnamed Liu, was known for his fiery temper.
Right now, he was groaning in pain, holding his waist with one hand and covering his face with the other. As soon as he stood up, he snapped with a vicious tone, “Who did that?! Are you looking for death? Didn’t you see there were people in front?!”
As he spoke, he turned around, completely oblivious to the desperate glances from several of his usual close friends across from him.
The moment Liu Yuan turned around, he heard a very faint “Me” from behind.
Oh?
Quite bold, huh!
Liu Yuan, with his short fuse, nearly exploded on the spot. But just as he was about to lash out, his classmate beside him tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “It was Li Qi.”
Huh?
Liu Yuan froze. It took him a second to process the words, and when he finally realized what they meant, his face instantly turned pale. The lips that had been so arrogant moments ago were now trembling slightly. He swallowed hard and cautiously turned to look at Li Qinyuan.
But Li Qinyuan wasn’t even looking at him.
He sat leisurely in his chair, holding a tea cup in his hand. He was even in the mood to blow at the tea foam. After taking a sip, he finally seemed to have some spare time, lifting his eyelids slightly to glance at Liu Yuan before smiling and asking, “Got a problem?”
“…No.”
The little tyrant Liu Yuan was like a mouse seeing a cat. He didn’t even dare to make eye contact with Li Qinyuan.
Even if he had a problem with someone, it definitely wouldn’t be with Li Qinyuan! That guy was a complete lunatic—he fought like he didn’t care for his life and wasn’t afraid of death himself.
A few years ago—
There was this young master from an aristocratic family in the capital who had somehow offended this Seventh Young Master Li. He got beaten up on the spot, right there in public, with no attempt to hide it. By the time Li Qinyuan was done, there wasn’t a single uninjured patch of skin left on that guy’s face or body.
Later, that family went to the Duke of Wei’s Mansion to demand an explanation.
The Duke of Wei was also a ruthless man. He didn’t show any favoritism at all. Before the officials from the Capital Prefecture could even arrive to take Li Qinyuan into custody, he personally ordered the military rods to be used, giving Li Qinyuan a harsh fifty strikes.
That noble young master had been beaten terribly.
But Li Qinyuan was in an even worse state. And yet, he didn’t utter a single sound the entire time. In the end, it was actually the family who had come looking for trouble that first said, “Forget it.”
From then on, everyone knew that this Seventh Young Master Li of the Duke of Wei’s household was a ruthless man. It was best to avoid provoking him whenever possible.
No—
Not just avoid. Never provoke him at all!
Liu Yuan had a fiery temper, but he wasn’t stupid. His family background couldn’t compare to Li Qinyuan’s, and in a fight, he wouldn’t stand a chance either. Most importantly, he valued his life. But Li Qinyuan? He didn’t.
So he backed down.
Without another word, he turned around, lowered the hand covering his face, and began cleaning up his overturned desk.
Seeing him like this, who else would dare to speak?
The usually noisy Buzhi Study Hall was now so silent that the only sounds left were the movements of tables and chairs being put back into place.
It was Fu Xian who finally snapped back to his senses first. He looked at Li Qinyuan, his expression dazed, and asked in a low voice, “Qilang, what happened just now?”
“Nothing.”
Li Qinyuan set down the tea cup in his hand, his tone indifferent and lazy. “My foot was just itching.”
Fu Xian didn’t believe a word of it.
They had grown up together since childhood. The outside world always said that Qilang was fierce and ruthless, but in truth, over all these years, there had only been that one time—when he truly lost control. But even that was because the fool had crossed his bottom line.
This time—
Fu Xian recalled that brief moment earlier when he caught sight of Qilang’s slightly furrowed brows and his thin lips pressed tightly together, exuding a violent aura.
Could it be because of… Little Chili Pepper?
The thought had barely formed when he instinctively shuddered and pushed it down.
Impossible.
Qilang didn’t even know that Little Chili Pepper… But if it wasn’t because of this, then what else could it be?
Before Fu Xian could figure it out, a voice suddenly rang out from outside.
“What’s going on here?”
“Sir Pan.”
As soon as someone saw him enter, they immediately stood up to greet him.
Pan Shu nodded at the greeting before sweeping his gaze over the scattered brushes and papers still on the floor. Some people were still moving slowly, with their desks yet to be lifted back up. He frowned and asked again, “What exactly happened?”
Still, no one spoke.
But several people cast quick, furtive glances in Li Qinyuan’s direction.
The moment Pan Shu saw their expressions, he immediately knew what had happened. He slammed the stack of documents in his hand onto the desk and gritted his teeth as he glared at Li Qinyuan. “It’s you again!”
Li Qinyuan raised an eyebrow, seemingly unsurprised by Pan Shu’s anger. He didn’t even bother to explain himself. Instead, he met Pan Shu’s gaze with a look of cold arrogance, as if to say, Yeah, it’s me—so what?
Pan Shu hated this attitude of his the most. Seeing it now, his expression darkened even further, and he gritted his teeth as he ordered, “Get out!”
“Sir Pan!”
Qi Xu, who was usually the most afraid of the teachers, was the first to stand up this time. His lips were pursed high in dissatisfaction, and he protested, “You didn’t even ask what happened—why are you making Qilang leave?”
Pan Shu glanced at him and sneered. “What do I need to ask? Wasn’t all of this caused by him? The injuries on Liu Yuan and the others’ faces—weren’t those his doing?”
Qi Xu’s face turned pale. He didn’t know how to argue against that, but he stubbornly gritted his teeth and said, “Qilang must have had a reason for doing it.”
“Reason?”
Pan Shu seemed to find this ridiculous. He shot Li Qinyuan a look and, without even giving him a chance to respond, continued, “What reason could Young Master Li Seventh have for bullying others?”
His face grew darker, his voice even heavier, filled with the disappointment of someone lamenting wasted potential.
“With someone like you, what use will you be after you leave the academy? Even if you receive a hereditary title, you’ll just waste your days away. It’s a disgrace to our Luming Academy’s name!”
Pan Shu’s words were far too excessive.
Qi Xu and Fu Xian’s expressions immediately darkened.
Fu Xian had a short temper and was ready to lash out on the spot, but Li Qinyuan remained as if nothing had happened, as though Pan Shu’s words weren’t even directed at him. He casually held onto Fu Xian’s arm, stopping him from making any further moves, all while maintaining his usual nonchalant smile.
“You’re still not leaving?” Pan Shu said in a deep voice.
“Qilang…” Fu Xian’s eyes turned red as he gritted his teeth. “Let go of me! I’m going to teach this Pan a proper lesson today! What kind of teacher behaves like this?!”
Jing Yubai also furrowed his brows and stood up, as if he intended to say something.
“Enough, it’s not a big deal,” Li Qinyuan chuckled, patting their shoulders. “I wasn’t in the mood for class anyway. I’ll head back for a nap—call me when it’s time to eat.”
As he spoke, he turned to leave. But before he even reached the door, a figure with a kind and gentle smile appeared at the entrance—Xu Fu.
Xu Fu was dressed in simple blue robes, his hands clasped behind his back as he stood at the door, smiling as he asked, “What’s going on here?”
“Headmaster.”
“Headmaster.”
Everyone except Li Qinyuan—including Pan Shu—stood up and respectfully greeted him.
Xu Fu waved his hand, not carrying any air of authority. His gaze landed on Li Qinyuan, and he smiled as he asked, “Qilang, class is in session. Where are you heading?”
Qi Xu, quick-witted as ever, immediately stood up and said, “Headmaster, Teacher Pan won’t let Qilang attend class!”
Before Pan Shu could speak—
Xu Fu had already turned to him, his expression puzzled. “Xiuyuan, what’s going on here?”
Pan Shu, unafraid, replied righteously, “Li Qinyuan disregards his elders and enjoys bullying his classmates. Headmaster, this is not a one-day or two-day occurrence! Expelling him was only to ensure he doesn’t disrupt the other students.”
Xu Fu didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he looked at Li Qinyuan and asked, “Qilang, do you have anything to say?”
Li Qinyuan was just about to say “No,” when Jing Yubai spoke up first.
“Headmaster, the class was previously filled with talk about the County Princess Leping’s annulled engagement. Some students were saying extremely disgraceful things—Qilang simply couldn’t bear to hear it, so he…”
Fu Xian immediately cut in, disregarding whether the claim was true or not. “Exactly! If Liu Yuan and the others hadn’t spoken so repulsively, would Qilang have moved… his foot?”
Once he finished, Qi Xu quickly added, “Headmaster, if you don’t believe it, just ask Liu Yuan and the others—weren’t they the ones who started talking about the County Princess Leping?”
As he spoke, he shot a disdainful glance at Liu Yuan, who was now hanging his head with trembling shoulders. “I’ve never seen anyone so shameless—using a young lady’s personal matters as a joke.”
“If Confucius and Mencius knew there were people like this, they’d probably come back to life out of sheer anger!”
Qi Xu spoke so rapidly that no one had a chance to interrupt. Once he finished his tirade, he declared loudly, “Headmaster, if Qilang is to be punished for this, then shouldn’t Liu Yuan and the others be punished even more severely?!”
“You have no idea what kind of disgusting things they were saying just now. If the Duke of Ding finds out, he might march right up to our gates! It could even reach the imperial court!”
After this outburst—
Liu Yuan and the others were completely speechless.
Not only was there nothing they could say, but the facts were undeniable. Even if they did open their mouths, what excuse could they possibly make? They simply stood there, pale-faced and frozen, their lips almost as white as their skin.
Xu Fu only needed a single glance to know that the accusations were true.
He didn’t even bother questioning Liu Yuan and the others. Instead, he turned to Pan Shu, whose face had grown slightly pale, and asked in a gentle tone, “Xiuyuan, were you aware of this?”
How could Pan Shu possibly have known?
He hadn’t even considered the situation from this angle. He disliked Li Qinyuan and had always found him irritating.
“I…”
He opened his mouth, but even the simplest words felt weak and meaningless. In the end, he lowered his head, his hands falling limply to his sides, and murmured softly, “I… I didn’t know.”
Xu Fu looked at him for a long moment, then let out a quiet sigh.
However, Xu Fu did not say anything more. He simply turned to Li Qinyuan and, in a gentle voice, said, “Qilang, since the matter has been resolved, return to your seat.”
“After class, come see me.”
Before Li Qinyuan could respond, Xu Fu smiled and addressed the others. “Alright, it’s about time. Continue with your lesson… As for Liu Yuan and the rest, after school, come see me as well.”
After saying that, he turned and walked out.
Li Qinyuan looked at Xu Fu’s departing figure with some helplessness. Going to see Old Man Xu was worse than being thrown out of class by Pan Shu. The latter was just embarrassing, and he didn’t mind losing face.
But the former—
Thinking about his past experiences, he shook his head, feeling deeply annoyed.
Pan Shu’s lecture that day was a complete mess.
In the past, whenever he taught, he would take the time to scold the young masters of Buzhi Study Hall properly, and the one who bore the brunt of it was always Li Qinyuan.
But after today’s incident, his mind felt unsettled.
He had already formed an opinion of Li Qinyuan and had judged him long ago. Changing that impression was not easy. However, today… he had indeed been wrong.
He thought of the faint sigh Xu Fu had let out before leaving.
His grip on his book tightened. As a teacher, the last thing he should do was listen selectively and judge prematurely!
And today, that was exactly the mistake he had made…
When class ended—
Pan Shu, who usually left right on time, lingered today. His gaze kept shifting toward Li Qinyuan, his lips pressed together as he hesitated on whether or not to apologize to the student he had always disliked.
Whatever was going through Pan Shu’s mind, Li Qinyuan had no clue.
He had dozed off earlier, and when Fu Xian pushed him awake, he was still groggy.
“What is it?” His voice was hoarse, clearly not fully awake yet.
Fu Xian: “Class is over.”
“Then let it be over, stop bothering me…” Li Qinyuan muttered and was about to go back to sleep when someone pulled him up.
“Did you forget? The Headmaster told you to go see him after class.”
That woke him up completely.
Li Qinyuan cursed under his breath before getting up with a sour expression.
Ahead of him, Liu Yuan had also just stood up. He had been in pain for an entire class period and was planning to visit the academy’s infirmary to have the doctor check him—just in case there were any lasting injuries.
However, the moment he stood up, he saw Li Qinyuan walking over.
Seeing the dark expression on Li Qinyuan’s face, Liu Yuan panicked, thinking he was about to start a fight. He hurriedly took a step back, and in doing so, nearly stumbled again.
But Li Qinyuan didn’t even glance at him, just strode past with a face that screamed, I didn’t get enough sleep, don’t mess with me.
As he passed Pan Shu—
He heard him call out, “Wait a moment.”
Li Qinyuan was never in a good mood when he hadn’t had enough sleep. Though he paused, his face clearly said, Don’t bother me.
Seeing his expression, Pan Shu suddenly lost all interest in speaking further. Frowning, he snapped, “Are you here to study or to sleep?!”
Then, recalling the Headmaster’s words earlier, he let out a frustrated sigh and waved him off. “Forget it, go see the Headmaster first.”
Li Qinyuan shot him a speechless look, as if he didn’t understand what was up with this old man today.
But he couldn’t be bothered to ask. He just nodded slightly and continued walking out.
On the way to see Xu Fu, Li Qinyuan had already guessed what was coming.
“Qilang, how is your studying going lately? Are you keeping up in class? Is there any subject you’re struggling with?”
“If you’re falling behind, just let me know. I can tutor you privately.”
And then, of course, the conversation would inevitably shift toward Pan Shu.
“Xiuyuan has a quick temper, but he’s a good person. Don’t take it to heart.”
Xu Fu was just that kind of person—he worried about everything. Whether a student wanted to study or not, whether they cared about school or not, he would still put in all his effort to pull them up. He never seemed to stop to consider whether the person actually wanted his help.
Li Qinyuan had always thought—
If this were a time of chaos, Xu Fu would be the kind of official worshipped by thousands, the kind of good official who would have common folk kneeling in gratitude wherever he went.
He didn’t particularly like people like that.
He would rather have the whole world abandon him than be dragged forward by someone like this… He didn’t know why, but thinking about Xu Fu made him inevitably think of that Little Chili Pepper.
Every time she looked at him, her eyes were always filled with admiration, adoration, and joy.
At first, he had wondered—was she looking at someone else through him? But after a few interactions, he realized that she wasn’t looking at anyone else. She was looking at him.
That confused him. He couldn’t understand it.
What exactly was there to admire about him?
Was she impressed by how good he was at fighting?
He curled his lips in a smirk and let out a scoff.
The sky was vast and clear. As he walked toward Xu Fu’s study, his thoughts drifted aimlessly. He wondered how Little Chili Pepper was doing. Given how far the rumors had already spread on their side, it must have been even worse on hers.
She was such a silly thing—if she ended up arguing with someone, she’d only suffer for it.
She was probably already tearing up.
Maybe… she wouldn’t come to the academy tomorrow.
That would make sense. What girl could tolerate having her personal matters spread everywhere for people to gossip about?
That might be for the best…
Then he wouldn’t have to see her every day.
But as he thought about it, his brows furrowed again. His mind was a mess, tangled with something he couldn’t quite grasp. It was a feeling he had never experienced before—just a dull weight in his chest, an unspeakable irritation.
At that moment, a young servant happened to pass by from the other side. Li Qinyuan called out to him.
“Young Master Li, y-you need something?” The servant lowered his head and cautiously approached, speaking with a nervous stammer.
“You—”
Li Qinyuan hesitated, trying to figure out how to phrase his words. But no matter how he started, it all felt off.
After a long pause, he simply waved his hand.
“Forget it. Go.”
The servant had no idea what he had wanted, but he didn’t dare ask. He immediately bowed and retreated.
Once he was gone, Li Qinyuan kicked a small rock at his feet, sending it skidding forward.
The restlessness in his chest was something entirely unfamiliar—far more aggravating than being woken up from a nap.
With a low curse under his breath, he abruptly turned and ran off in the opposite direction.