Chapter 5

"Never mind..." Mosen answered Luping's question without turning his head and immediately vanished like the wind, not even going to eat.

"What's going on?" Su Tang frowned. Mosen's restless appearance was clearly abnormal to everyone.

"He looks troubled," Luping nodded in agreement.

"Should we go see him again?" Su Tang was a bit worried. She had seen the aggressive Mosen many times, but this distracted and absent-minded state was something she had never seen before.

"I don't think that's necessary. Seeing me would only make him more depressed," Luping said.

"What did he want you to do at the 18th Garden?" Su Tang asked the same question again, but this time Luping didn't get a chance to answer as he was interrupted once more.

Three people blocked the path in front of Luping and Su Tang, standing apart and forming a loose encirclement.

Zhaofeng Academy did not have a uniform, but these three were dressed identically in black, with a badge embroidered on their left arms. The badge had a silver border and golden characters, which read "Ji."

The Discipline Squad!

Primarily composed of students, the Discipline Squad assisted the academy in maintaining order. Many academies had similar teams, but the Discipline Squad at Zhaofeng Academy was a somewhat awkward existence.

The academy's rules were not strict at all. Behaviors like being late, leaving early, or skipping classes, which would be strictly punished in most academies, were not even questioned at Zhaofeng Academy. The Discipline Squad had very little to do, and most students had never interacted with them.

However, Luping was not unfamiliar with the Discipline Squad. Seeing these three in front of him, he wore a very familiar look of helplessness.

"What's up, seniors?" Luping asked.

"What do you think?" The student in the middle was Xifan, a fourth-year student at Zhaofeng Academy and the current captain of the Discipline Squad. The word "again" in Luping's question made him particularly angry. Since joining the Discipline Squad in his second year, he had been keeping an eye on Luping for nearly three years.

Luping hadn't attended many classes in three years and had failed two major exams. Only Zhaofeng Academy's lenient rules could tolerate such a student. Xifan believed it was the Discipline Squad's responsibility to find a reason to expel this unpopular waste of space. Apart from failing the three major exams, there were still some other untouchable bottom lines at Zhaofeng Academy.

However, three years.

Xifan had been watching Luping for nearly three years and hadn't found a single reason to expel him. To others, Luping was just a useless waste, but Xifan couldn't even deal with a waste, which made him feel extremely frustrated.

But his time was running out. The annual major exam was approaching. If he passed, he would graduate and leave Zhaofeng Academy; if Luping failed, he would be expelled according to the rules. Either way, he would no longer be able to clear the Discipline Squad's reputation in the eyes of many.

This week, he had to find a reason to expel Luping!

Xifan took this matter more seriously than his graduation exam.

Now he finally had a chance and was staring at Luping, afraid he might run away.

Luping continued his helpless expression: "We're so familiar, just say it directly!"

"Stop trying to get close to me," Xifan sternly rebuked Luping. "Did you tamper with the pavilion in the 18th Garden?"

"Of course not," Luping said.

"Oh? Then why did someone see you going to the 18th Garden this morning? That place is rarely visited by anyone," Xifan said.

"Who saw me?" Luping asked.

"Still hoping for a lucky break?" Xifan sneered, waved his hand, and a student stepped out from the crowd.

"Xiaobao," Luping greeted the student.

The student, called Xiaobao, was taken aback. He and Luping were not familiar, and they had never spoken. He knew Luping, which was not surprising, as although Luping had a bad reputation, he was well-known at Zhaofeng Academy. However, he, Wei Bao, was just an ordinary student, and it was unexpected that Luping would recognize him and even call him by the nickname "Xiaobao."

"Do you know each other?" Xifan was also surprised.

"No," both said.

Not knowing each other, but calling by a familiar name? Xifan was puzzled but decided to let Wei Bao speak first.

"At the T-junction in the northwest area, I saw Luping coming from the east. The road to the north only leads to the 18th Garden," Wei Bao said confidently.

"This morning, you were the only one going in that direction. What do you have to say?" Xifan was more confident than ever. After watching Luping for three years, he felt he was finally close to his goal.

"Only me? I doubt it. Is your information incomplete?" Luping was puzzled.

"What do you mean?" Xifan was sure Luping was trying to wriggle out of it and sneered. He didn't mind enjoying this moment, as he had been waiting for so long.

"Did you see me go there?" Luping suddenly asked Wei Bao.

"Yes," Wei Bao was also very confident.

"I saw you too," Luping nodded.

"Ah?" Wei Bao was taken aback, showing some unease.

"Although you were hiding, I still saw you. You were with a girl, I won't name her. When you saw me, you glanced at me and ignored me. You were busy, your mouth was only 1.7 centimeters away from the girl's right cheek, then you closed your eyes, looked blissful, and leaned in. Later, you opened your eyes?"

"I didn't!" Wei Bao quickly said without thinking.

"If you didn't open your eyes, how did you know I was going north or west at the intersection?" Luping said, making a familiar helpless expression to Xifan: "Your witness is unreliable!"

Xifan gritted his teeth. He had seen this expression too many times over the past three years, and the word "also" was particularly grating. Once again, he felt the word "incompetent" etched on his face.

Seeing Xifan's terrifying expression, Luping remained calm, but Wei Bao panicked. He realized his mistake and tried to explain to Xifan: "I... I was trying to help you!"

"Get lost!" Xifan didn't say another word. He understood Wei Bao's psychology. There were many people in the academy who looked down on Luping. The incident at the 18th Garden's pavilion was assumed by many to be Luping's doing. Xifan also thought Luping was the most likely suspect, but as a member of the Discipline Squad, he needed clear evidence to make any further judgments, not like Wei Bao, who, due to prejudice, fabricated a story. He had watched Luping for three years and achieved nothing, but even if it meant being seen as incompetent, he never considered framing Luping. This was his bottom line, something he could not tolerate as a member of the Discipline Squad.

For a second, Xifan's disgust for Wei Bao exceeded his hatred for Luping. But a second later, his hatred returned.

"I have six days left, and I'll be watching you closely," Xifan said to Luping.

"Thanks, senior," Luping smiled.

"Let's go," Xifan turned and left with the two Discipline Squad members without looking back. The other students dispersed, some with disdain, some targeting Luping, some targeting Xifan.

"Senior Xifan is really..." Su Tang didn't know what words to use. Xifan's integrity was beyond reproach, but in his pursuit of Luping, he was more prejudiced than anyone else. Over the past three years, he had interacted with Luping more than anyone except Su Tang, and the result was only more prejudice.

"At least he's about to graduate," Luping sighed.

"What did Teacher Mosen want you to do at the 18th Garden? Is the pavilion incident related to you?" Su Tang began to make very accurate associations.

"Not just us, it's related to you too," Luping said.

"Me?" Su Tang was taken aback.

"That's why I said Teacher Mosen cares about you a lot!" Luping said.

Su Tang continued to be stunned but gradually realized something, her expression becoming a mix of amusement and frustration.

"I wonder if he's given up yet..." Luping said.

Has he given up?

Mosen hadn't considered the next step yet. The pavilion incident had left him restless, but the student discussions he overheard on his way had somewhat calmed him down.

So far, there were no clues. Just now, he heard a few students confidently say it was Luping.

Mosen, of course, knew it wasn't Luping. Although he hadn't come forward to admit it, he didn't want someone to take the blame for him, even if it was Luping.

He scolded the students a bit, but they didn't feel ashamed, rather they were surprised. It seemed incomprehensible that someone would speak up for Luping. Even after leaving, they kept looking back, puzzled by Teacher Mosen's behavior.

What should he do?

Mosen scratched his head and came to the flower bed near Luping's small house. Zhaofeng Academy had 22 gardens, and this was his favorite. He always felt that the flowers and plants here had a special vitality, growing particularly well.

But as he approached, he saw someone squatting in the flower bed, dressed in green, wearing a straw hat.

"Who is it?" Mosen moved closer to see what the person was doing in the flower bed.

"It's me!" The person heard the sound, stood up, and took off the straw hat. A young man, about 17 or 18 years old, with a sun-tanned complexion, smiled at Mosen, showing white teeth.

"It's you, kid. How did you get here so fast?" Mosen was both happy and surprised.

"I was passing by anyway and was planning to visit you, then I received your letter."

"That's quite a coincidence."

"So, what trouble do you need my help with?"

"It's not really a big trouble, but I don't want to make a big fuss, so I thought you were more professional," Mosen said. His experiences today had made him realize how important professionalism was!

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