Chapter 33: Operation Rescue for Wayward Youth (Part 1)

  Feng Wuqing left the classroom without paying attention to the commotion in the classroom or Zhang Peng's embarrassed face, and even skipped the roll call procedure, directly picking up his teaching materials and leaving.

  "How could this be?" Zhang Peng couldn't understand, according to normal reasoning today should be his day of triumph, how could he be so unlucky? In front of the whole class, being humiliated by Feng Wuqing was one thing! But Feng Wuqing's course was definitely going to have to be retaken, and there was no use finding anyone else! And having a record of retaking meant that next semester's three-good student, scholarship, and other honors were all gone. Even his position as president of the student union might not be kept. Because according to the student union regulations, the president was not allowed to have any failing grades!

  It's all because of that Chen Chufan! Yes, if it weren't for him, he wouldn't have been distracted today, and the subsequent events wouldn't have happened either. Zhang Peng got angrier and angrier, feeling that Chen Chufan was his nemesis, ever since Chen Chufan snatched away his first prize scholarship, he had been suppressed by him! Today, he absolutely would not accept his apology, and must make him suffer too.

  But when Zhang Peng raised his eyes, he saw Chen Chufan, Yang Tao and Meng Wei walking to the front row of the classroom, about to leave the classroom door. Where was there any intention to come and apologize to him? Enraged Zhang Peng impulsively shouted again: "Chen Chufan, stop right there!"

  Chen Chufan stopped obediently, and Yang Tao and Meng Wei, who were walking with him, also stopped. The three of them turned around and looked at Zhang Peng like they were looking at a clown.

  Zhang Peng rushed out of his seat and came before the three people.

  "Chen Chufan, Old Xiao has already told you the school's disciplinary decision regarding you, right? I'm telling you, this is what happens when you dare to provoke me! You'd better apologize to me quickly, or maybe I can forgive you one more time! Otherwise, you'll definitely be expelled from school!" Zhang Peng said with a furious expression.

  The three of them looked at each other in dismay. Did Zhang Peng really go crazy today? If Chen Chufan wanted to apologize, he wouldn't need to take the initiative to ask for it, would he? Was this a case of offering one's face to be slapped?

  "Apologize to you? Why should I apologize? Are you proud of your face or do you think you're more beautiful than others?" Chen Chufan looked at Zhang Peng in confusion, "Pfft, apologize to you! Let me tell you, Zhang Peng, even if I really got expelled from school, I wouldn't apologize to you. You're the one who's being ridiculous, blaming who now?"

  "Look at you, still not satisfied with losing face today? You dare to bark loudly here. Showing off your low IQ? I'm telling you, get out of here quickly! Otherwise, I'll beat you up!" Yang Tao also scolded along with Chen Chufan.

  "How dare you hit me? Come on, try hitting me!" Zhang Peng was getting agitated. He didn't believe that Yang Tao would still dare to touch him now that he knew Chen Chufan was going to be expelled.

  But when the sound of "bang" rang out, it shattered all his confidence.

  "Brothers and sisters, all of you have to bear witness for me! Zhang Peng asked me to punch him himself, he's the president of the student union, I didn't dare not listen to him!" Yang Tao shouted at his surrounding classmates while rubbing his somewhat sore hand.

  After Yang Taosheng showed off for a while, he looked at Zhang Peng who was already completely stunned and continued to mock: "It's really TMD cool, by the way, why didn't you say this kind of request earlier? I've been wanting to beat you up for a long time, thank you, Zhang Peng, you're really a good person. You helped Mr. Feng solve the problem of re-enrollment quota and also fulfilled my wish, you are simply a living Lei Feng in the new era!"

  Lei Feng has completely lost his mind, why does everything seem so unreal? What happened today is completely incompatible with the worldview and outlook on life he has cultivated since childhood. Is the punishment of expulsion from school not enough to scare these three people in front of him? Or do they really not care about being expelled from school?

  My face hurts, my heart hurts! Being beaten up at the entrance of a school cafeteria is one thing, but at least the onlookers were strangers. But today it happened in our history department classroom, and the ones who saw him make a fool of himself are his own classmates who always keep their heads down. How can he face them now? How can he show off in front of his classmates again?

  Thinking of this, Zhang Peng didn't dare to stay in the classroom for another minute. His originally high-flying anger was slapped away by Yang Tao's palm to a distant place. Now he is extremely clear-headed and knows what choice to make. So he even didn't take the books on his desk and slipped away from the classroom with his tail between his legs.

  The excitement is over, and people quickly dispersed. This semester's Monday morning only had these two classes, so the precious spare time cannot be wasted. Those who need to go online rush to the internet cafe, while those who need to make up for sleep rush back to their dormitory.

  Chen Chufan and the other two parted ways at the teaching building. Yang Tao said he had to rush off for Chen Chufan's affairs, while Chen Chufan was going to the music room to find Ye Siying and ask about some doubts she had while reading earlier, and Meng Wei was heading back to his dormitory to study chess.

  Ten minutes later, Yang Tao appeared in a relatively secluded public phone booth outside the school and dialed out an eleven-digit phone number with ease. In 2000, people who could use eleven-digit phone numbers were really rare to see.

  "Hey, Secretary Zhang, it's Yang Tao. Is the old man busy at home?" Yang Tao's lazy voice came from inside the phone booth.

  "Ah, it's you, I guessed it was you as soon as I saw the area code of W city. What's going on with your dad? Is it urgent? If not, it's best to call back later, Director Yang is presiding over a rather important meeting." A mature and steady voice came from the other end of the phone.

  "It's actually no big deal, I just got into a fight at school and now it seems like the school is going to give me a penalty of expulsion or something. I'm planning to tell my old man about it so he can be mentally prepared." Yang Tao said with a smirk.

  "Impossible? Did you hurt someone or is there something else going on? How could Principal Chu possibly agree to expel you?" The middle-aged man's voice became somewhat tense. Yang Tao was admitted to Zhongbei University because he personally called Principal Chu, so Principal Chu couldn't be unaware of Yang Tao's identity! In this situation, if they still gave Yang Tao an expulsion order, then Yang Tao must have caused a huge stir! However, in just a moment, Secretary Zhang reacted and realized that Yang Tao was definitely joking with him. If Yang Tao had really gotten into big trouble, then the principal of Zhongbei University would have called first before Yang Tao even had a chance to call himself.

  "Alright, Tiantian, stop teasing Uncle Zhang. If you have something to say, just say it! Uncle Zhang's heart isn't good, he can't take your teasing." Secretary Zhang's relieved voice came from the phone again.

  "Ha, Secretary Zhang, you're indeed a seasoned veteran! Your reaction is swift, leaving me with no sense of accomplishment at all! Here's the thing, I have a brother who's in big trouble. He got into a fight with the son of one of our school's Literature Department leaders and now he's facing expulsion. So, I was wondering if you could help us out? Let me tell you, Secretary Zhang, I've vouched for my brother with confidence, so please don't brush me off!" Yang Tao spoke his mind after buttering up Secretary Zhang.

  "Why did things hit people? Was it serious? Was the other person injured?" Secretary Zhang asked after a moment of contemplation.

  "It's a long story. All I can tell you is that my brother was absolutely right! I witnessed the whole thing myself. The other side started it first! And they even slapped that good-for-nothing three times, how serious could it be?! That guy is still jumping around in class today!" Yang Tao replied.

  "Alright then. I'll give Principal Chu a call right away and see if we can work something out!" Secretary Zhang heard that the matter wasn't serious, so he agreed over the phone.

  "Uncle Zhang, please don't mention this little matter to my old man at home!" Yang Tao seemed to let out a sigh of relief after hearing Secretary Zhang agree to help. He then smiled awkwardly and said: "When I return to the capital tomorrow, I'll definitely bring you some local specialties as a gift to show my filial piety!"

  "Just don't cause any more trouble at school, and forget about the local specialties! Things are looking up, I'll give your dorm a call, you're probably usually in the dorm, right?" Secretary Zhang asked.

  "It'll be more than half an hour, I'll probably return to the dormitory in about half an hour and stay there honestly until noon. You wait for your phone call, okay?" Yang Tao said.

  "Alright, that's settled then! However, Tao Tao, you should still get a beeper, it'll be more convenient for people to reach you if something comes up!" suggested Uncle Zhang over the phone.

  "Ah, I don't want that thing! Isn't it just something my old man can use to find me anytime? I finally managed to escape the capital and be free for a few years, but if I get one of those things, won't I be making myself uncomfortable all day? Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, long-distance calls are expensive, I'll hang up first!" Yang Tao rejected Zhang Shu's suggestion and directly hung up the phone.

  Standing in the phone booth, Yang Tao thought for a moment and felt that it was still not very safe, so he picked up the phone again and dialed a number.

  "Hey, Cengceng! Look at my great memory, I still remember you don't have classes on Monday's 3rd and 4th periods, so I'm calling to check in on you!" Yangtao said with a flattering tone over the phone.

  "Hey, Xiaotao, you're quite self-aware today? Calling so early to ask about my well-being? Have you finished writing that 3,000-word self-criticism?" Li Can's voice came from the other end of the phone.

  "Hey, I haven't finished writing my self-criticism yet, but I need your help with something!" Yang Tao continued to say with a silly smile.

  "Hey, what's going on that Yang Tao and Big Hero Yang can't handle, and yet they're asking for my help? How strange! Tell me about it!" Li Can asked curiously over the phone. It's not like Yang Tao would need his help with anything, which only added to Li Can's curiosity.

  "It's not about Lao San again, didn't I tell you on the phone yesterday? Lao San slapped that student union president Zhang Peng three times. Now the school is going to expel him because of this, and I thought your brother has some connections in the Ministry of Education, why don't you call him and ask for his help?" Yang Tao said over the phone.

  "You're telling me your school is so exaggerated, right? Just three slaps and you want to expel him? Or should I say you're a coward when it comes to critical moments? You should have stopped your dad and gone up to fight yourself. Then, even if your school gave you an expulsion order, I'd be justified in making this call. After all, he's my brother-in-law, so it's only natural for me to intervene!" As soon as he heard this, Li Can started teasing Yang Tao over the phone.

  "My good brother, I've already patted my chest and promised Old Three, you have to help me out this time! At worst, when I get back to the capital, I'll sell myself to you for a night, and then you can do whatever you want with me. How about that?" Yang Tao said in a very rascal-like manner.

  "Ugh, you really think you're something special, don't talk nonsense with me! I'm not going to waste any more words on you. You made me so angry last night that I didn't sleep well, and now I'm trying to catch up on some rest! Later, I'll call my brother and tell him to let your family's third child know that when I arrive in W City, he has to treat me to a meal!" Li Can couldn't be bothered with Yang Tao, finished speaking and directly hung up the phone.

  "Ah!" Yang Tao let out a long sigh and muttered to himself: "Old Three, I've been more than kind and righteous towards you!" After finishing speaking, he hung up the phone, put his hands in his pockets, and strolled out of the telephone booth.