Is there any way to get through this?
Zhao Yuan looked like he was being too kind, and waved his hand as if it were true: "They're about the same, about the same."
Qin Chu kicked him, which finally calmed the brat down.
It wasn't until Wednesday that Yang, having nothing to do, wanted to drag Zhao Yuan out for a team-building activity.
He sent a message to Zhao Yuan and only then learned of this shocking bad news.
Your dad: You guys are no longer under my jurisdiction, you're under my deskmates' jurisdiction.
Then Yang received a string of phone numbers.
Yang was stunned when he heard the news.
In his small head, there was only one thought: The wicked concubine has finally usurped the throne!
He usually dares to message Zhao Yuan, but even if Yang Ge had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to bother Qin Chu.
What should I say if they ask me otherwise?
Boss, congratulations on your rise to power. We're planning to throw you a welcome ceremony this week, and while we're at it, we'll also teach those bastards on the next street a lesson.
He feared that their grandson might not even be dead yet, while the grandsons on the next street had already died.
Hesitating until the weekend, Yang and his friends finally bypassed the now incredibly quiet street and went to the breakfast area downstairs from Qin Chu's building, where they bumped into Qin Chu, who was downstairs having breakfast.
"What do you want?" Qin Chu ordered a basket of steamed buns for himself as usual.
"Even if you don't invite me, I'll have something to eat?" Zhao Yuan peeked over. He had come to see Qin Chu that morning, and the two of them had gone to Zhou Sisi's place to continue studying the group plan.
"Order for yourself," Qin Chu replied to Zhao Yuan irritably, continuing to keep an eye on Yang Ge and the others.
Yang Ge is smart enough not to bring a dozen or so people with him, otherwise he would have scared the breakfast stall lady half to death.
"Um...we..."
Yang hesitated for a long time before finally explaining his purpose: "Aren't you going to give us some tasks?"
Hearing Yang Ge's words, Qin Chu was a little puzzled. He looked up and asked, "Don't you guys have your own things to do?"
Yang Ge had never been asked that question before. Everyone in the neighborhood knew they were thugs, so who would ask thugs if they had their own business?
They spent their days idly, habitually hanging out with a few buddies in the streets and alleys. Over time, this seemed to have become their main activity. Every day, they would wake up and wander around the streets, getting into fights if someone caused trouble, and otherwise passing their boring days like this.
Later, they regarded Zhao Yuan as their leader. Although Zhao Yuan hardly cared about their affairs, listening to the leader seemed to have become a habit.
After thinking for a while, Yang raised his arm with very little confidence: "Our main business is to fight for the safety of this street!"
Qin Chu: "..."
Zhao Yuan: "..."
The underlings: "..."
Qin Chu couldn't help but glance at Zhao Yuan, his eyes conveying the message: How can you tolerate such an idiot as your subordinate?
Zhao Yuan also realized he had made a mistake. He could freely transfer territory, but not his underlings. If he transferred one who wasn't quite right in the head, his intelligence as the previous leader would be questioned.
Hearing this, Qin Chu lost his appetite and immediately prepared to dismiss the group: "Go back and find something to do. I don't need you fighting."
Yang Ge, deeply concerned about the country and its people, immediately asked, "That kid Meng Bo seems to have connections with people outside. Shouldn't we make some preparations?"
Qin Chu thought Noah was right.
The thugs on that street outside seemed to be the pinnacle of fighting power in this little world. So much so that Yang and his friends used a single term for them—"the outsiders."
Qin Chu slapped away Zhao Yuan's hand as he tried to steal his steamed bun, then scoffed and said to Yang Ge, "The people outside are really here. What good will you do going up there? Are you just going to get yourselves killed?"
Zhao Yuan, who was drinking soy milk, choked on his laughter.
Yang Ge & the gang of thugs: ...
I felt insulted.
"Just let me know if you actually see it. The rest of the time, go about your own business." After giving these instructions, Qin Chu lowered his head and continued eating.
He had finished his basket of steamed buns, and when he looked up, Yang Ge and the others were still standing in front of him. The two underlings behind him had probably been watching for a while, and they even swallowed a couple of times while staring at Qin Chu's steamed buns.
Qin Chu said helplessly, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"
"This..." Yang Ge was a little at a loss. He hesitated for a while, seemingly having no plan, and looked up at Qin Chu to ask, "What do you mean by 'my own business'? Boss, can you... give us an example?"
Qin Chu: "..."
He felt like punching someone.
These idiots are so stupid.
Noah couldn't help but speak up: "Sir, what you're saying to them is useless. In the setting of this world, they are just thugs on this street. Their daily routine, etched into their programming, is to wander the streets and alleys, get into fights along the way, or exchange insults with rivals. Even if you ask them to do other things that normal people would do, they won't understand."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chu remained silent for a while.
Zhao Yuan thought he would remain silent and ignore everyone. But then he saw him raise his head and look at Brother Yang and the others.
“Many of you are the children of nearby shop owners. When your families are too busy with their own businesses, you can help out.” As he spoke, Qin Chu pointed to Zhao Yuan beside him, “He even knows how to help his family with deliveries.”
"Even if there's no business at home, you should still plan for your future. Find a job and earn some money. For example, the owner of this breakfast stall said she's looking to hire people these days, you can go and ask her."
“You’re all still quite young, you can still go to school if you have the chance, and learn whatever you want.” Qin Chu looked at the short boy who was reciting his lessons with great enthusiasm, “You can ask your parents to ask the school if you can go back to school.”
The thugs were clearly bewildered when they heard these words.
However, having already memorized the moral education materials several times, they clearly understood what Qin Chu was saying. Some of them even turned their gazes toward the breakfast stall owner as Qin Chu spoke.
The cup of soy milk in Zhao Yuan's hand had gone mostly cold. He didn't move it, but instead turned his head to stare at Qin Chu.
This was the first time he had seen Qin Chu speak so much in one breath. Although his tone remained cold and flat, he spoke in great detail. His calm voice even made one involuntarily believe him and want to try it out.
Zhao Yuan thought his deskmate was a bit amazing.
She looks good when she's angry, she looks good when she's fighting, and even now, when she's giving a serious lecture, she looks quite good.
Yang and the others have already dispersed.
Noah, unusually silent for a moment, then called out to Qin Chu, "Sir..."
"I'm just worried about the possibility," Qin Chu said. "What if some of them have human consciousness?"
“Based on the data, the probability is very small,” Noah said. “It’s a thankless and inefficient undertaking. But, sir, I support you emotionally.”
Qin Chu: "..."
They spoke with such conviction, as if they had feelings for you.
Time passed day by day, and the college entrance examination was drawing ever closer.
After being beaten up by Qin Chu, Zhao Yuan's progress bar finally started to rise. However, knowing that this progress bar would eventually drop, Qin Chu remained vigilant, and the weekend study group plan continued.
Meng Bo was beaten up by Qin Chu and given a lot of moral education. I don't know how effective it was, but at least he didn't cause any more trouble near No. 1 Middle School.
As for the thugs he colluded with, Qin Chu had no interest in provoking the "ultimate power of the small world" that Noah spoke of. As long as they didn't come to him, Qin Chu had no interest in dealing with them.
Yang Ge's group gradually dispersed. Once, Qin Chu and Zhao Yuan went to a milk tea shop to buy something and were surprised to see this guy wearing a uniform and busy inside.
Life suddenly became peaceful, leaving only studying as the sole focus. With so much free time, Qin Chu couldn't resist the urge to slack off. In his spare time, he kept an eye on the other three in his group, trying to nip their occasional attempts to avoid doing anything.
These three weren't enough for Qin Chu to exert his influence; his energy would occasionally spill over into the entire class. The class atmosphere became much more disciplined, and even the homeroom teacher's gaze towards Qin Chu had softened considerably lately.
Of course, no matter how kind the teacher was, he couldn't help but remind Qin Chu, "Don't neglect your calligraphy practice lately!"
After being suppressed by Qin Chu for a month, Wang Peng and his group finally got a chance to relax and have some fun.
The coming-of-age ceremony for senior high school students is just around the corner.
The coming-of-age ceremony at No. 1 High School was nothing special; it consisted of speeches by school leaders and student representatives, followed by a cultural performance by first- and second-year high school students to encourage their seniors.
Qin Chu wasn't interested in the coming-of-age ceremony; he was even memorizing vocabulary words in his head while watching the performance. For a fleeting moment, he did think of his own coming-of-age ceremony in the real world, and surprisingly found he had no recollection of it either.
He experienced many risks that adults would never encounter in their entire lives when he was a minor, so coming-of-age ceremonies were never an important symbol for him.
Zhao Yuan took advantage of this occasion to catch up on sleep, curling up behind Qin Chu and sleeping soundly. Then, during the later cultural performance, he suddenly looked up as if from a ghost, glancing at the younger students performing on stage.
Then this guy started poking Qin Chu's back like crazy: "Hey, deskmate! Let's switch seats!"
"What's wrong with you?" Qin Chu forgot two of the three words he had just mentioned, and glared at him sideways.
Zhao Yuan persisted, "Get another one right now!"
There was no way to use force to suppress them in this situation, and the two of them sitting in the back didn't attract much attention, so Qin Chu reluctantly complied this time, and the two of them hunched over and switched seats.
Qin Chu thought Zhao Yuan would continue sleeping after changing positions, but found that the guy seemed to have changed his personality, with his back straight.
He was already quite tall, and now with his back straight, he stood like a wall in front of Qin Chu, completely blocking his view.
Qin Chu couldn't help but curse "crazy" before lowering his head to memorize his vocabulary words.
The academic representative and the sports representative sitting next to the two couldn't help but chat.
The class representative said, "That little girl who's singing on stage looks familiar."
The sports committee member said, "Yeah, the one who confessed to our class before."
The two glanced at Zhao Yuan, who was about to switch places, then looked at each other, feeling as if they had seen through everything.
Chapter 25, First Story (End)
As the last performance came to an end, all the senior high school students present couldn't help but get excited.
Even Zhou Sisi, who had just spoken on stage as a student representative, had a hint of joy on her face.
They were so excited not because the last performance was so amazing, but simply because... they had no classes this afternoon and were dismissed early!
This is so awesome!
As soon as the event ended, a group of people rushed to a restaurant outside the school to grab a table.
Qin Chu and his group were in a study group, so they naturally did things together. Several figures hurried past, but Qin Chu had no intention of grabbing a number and walked slowly behind them.
Zhao Yuan seemed to be half asleep again, wanting to lean on Qin Chu as much as possible, and didn't let go even after being kicked twice.
Zhou Sisi was a little anxious, worried that there wouldn't be any seats later, but seeing how relaxed the two of them were, she felt embarrassed to run away.
Only Wang Peng couldn't hold back any longer, jumping up and down in frustration: "Can you guys hurry up! Can you hurry up! Are you going to eat your plates in the restaurant if you keep dawdling!"