When Qin Siyang had gone far enough, Lin Yaman asked, "Principal, you think quite highly of that lucky boy, don't you?"
"How did you tell?"
"I've never seen you reason so much with any student before. Even Duan Zhongfang never got such a long lecture from you."
Zhao Longfei took out a cigar, clipped off the end, lit it calmly, took a deep puff, and leisurely exhaled the smoke.
"Secretary Lin, what was your impression of him the first time you met?"
Holding a folder against her chest, Lin Yaman thought carefully, "Impression? Hard to say whether good or bad. When he first came in, he seemed a bit presumptuous. But as we talked, I felt he started holding himself back. How to put it, his personality's complicated, hard to read. He doesn't feel like an eighteen-year-old kid."
"Duan Zhongfang's the best student I've ever seen in our school, but he doesn't give off that kind of strange feeling."
Zhao Longfei smiled, "You're right. Qin Siyang, that boy, is different."
"At first, you called him a lucky one. Maybe you thought he just got lucky finding the Vine Core and Crimson Crystal one after another. But later, he went on to hunt down the Thunder Snow Wolf and the Corrosive Black Centipede by himself, and even got the inner leaf fragment of Titan Foxtail Grass, how do you explain that?"
"A supernaturally lucky guy," Lin Yaman replied flatly.
Zhao Longfei didn't agree with her answer, "Secretary Lin, I think you still have a bit of class bias. You see someone like Qin Siyang, just a mudfoot from the slums on the edge of the Safe Zone, and assume he's just useless muck that can't climb onto any proper stage."
Lin Yaman adjusted her glasses but said nothing.
"But don't forget, my brother and I used to be mudfoots too. We were also that useless muck that couldn't stand on any stage."
Lin Yaman immediately refuted, "No, Principal, you're different."
"There's no difference," Zhao Longfei shook his head and blew out another long ring of smoke, "Back then, it was just me, my big brother, and my little sister, relying on each other, scraping together a living doing things we couldn't let anyone see, little by little rolling a snowball. But Qin Siyang, he fought his way out of it alone, an orphan, and no one's ever managed to get any dirt on him. If you ask me, he's far more impressive than I ever was."
"Secretary Lin, you know that the Zhao Chamber of Commerce is something my brother and I have been planning for years. Making Qin Siyang vice president isn't just about those few materials he has. That boy's got that blend of righteousness and wickedness in his nature, he just might create a miracle for us. In fact, isn't his nickname 'Miracle Bro'? Hahaha!"
"As for that Duan Zhongfang you admire, he's a good student, sure, but not a good man."
Leaning back comfortably, Zhao Longfei said, "Sometimes, I even feel like that kid Qin Siyang is just like me. Maybe he's actually my own son."
At that, Lin Yaman's eyes instantly went cold, "Principal, watch your words."
Zhao Longfei hunched his neck and raised both hands in surrender, "Alright, alright, I won't say it."
"Principal, you think so highly of Qin Siyang, but do you think he can actually take in what you just told him?"
"Can he take it in?", Zhao Longfei chuckled casually, "That kid won't just take it in, he'll probably figure out something deeper from it too."
Hearing him praise Qin Siyang like that, Lin Yaman fell into thoughtful silence.
"Oh right," she said after a pause, "Principal, you didn't tell him about that thesis hearing Professor Li and the others were discussing with you, did you?"
Zhao Longfei shrugged, "What's the point? I can't help with academic stuff anyway. Professor Li will tell Little Qin himself when the time's right."
———
Walking back toward the guesthouse, Qin Siyang was thinking about Zhao Longfei's words.
With his enhanced sequence abilities, his memory had reached a near-photographic level. Every word Zhao Longfei had said was still vividly replaying in his mind.
Society. Status. Maintenance.
All of it revolved around one thing, Order.
It was the first time Qin Siyang truly realized the importance of that word.
Before, he acted like some street punk, fighting and killing when he needed to, just looking out for the people around him, thinking that was enough.
But today, Zhao Longfei had, intentionally or not, told him that as someone in charge, he needed to think further than that.
Qin Siyang frowned, "Why do I feel like that scarred old Zhao's trying to groom me, guide me along or something? Could it just be my imagination?"
Still, that was thinking too far ahead.
He hadn't even figured out how to be a proper street punk yet, no point dreaming about being some big boss or council leader.
After letting his thoughts wander for a while, he arrived at the door of Wen Shu and Xu Lanzhi's room.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
From inside came Xu Lanzhi's voice, "Who is it?"
"Granny Xu, it's me, Little Qin. I brought something for Wen Shu."
Footsteps sounded, and Wen Shu opened the door.
She looked curiously at him, "Brought something? What is it?"
"You said you wanted to read books, right? I got you a library access card."
He handed her the blue Level 3 clearance card as he spoke.
Wen Shu took the card and her eyes widened, "Level 3 clearance? Isn't that something only lecturers or associate professors at South Glory University can have?"
"You know about that?"
Wen Shu said excitedly, "Yeah! I was looking through the forums these past few days and saw that South Glory University's library is really famous. Just the number of books in their library is more than the combined total of the other eight academies."
"Qin Siyang, you're incredible! What, do you own South Glory University or something? You even got a Level 3 clearance card?"
Her words of praise were sweet as honey to his heart.
But then Wen Shu suddenly thought of something, "Wait, Qin Siyang, you didn't have to do anything dangerous to get this card, did you?"
As she spoke, she pushed the access card back toward him, "If that's the case, then I don't want it. Reading books isn't as important as staying alive."
"You're overthinking it. I'm the vice president of the Zhao Chamber of Commerce now, who could possibly order me to risk my life?"
"So what you mean is, you're choosing to risk it on your own?"
Qin Siyang smiled but didn't answer.
Wen Shu sighed, "Qin Siyang, haven't you ever heard the saying, 'A gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall'?"
Qin Siyang sighed too. He turned his ring lightly, blocking the sound of their voices so Xu Lanzhi wouldn't overhear and worry.
"Wen Shu, the wheel's already turning. It's not something you can just stop because you want to."
"Can't you at least slow it down?"
"If I hit the brakes now, I'll lose control."
Hearing that, Wen Shu bit her lip softly, worry flickering in her eyes.
"When did all this start?", she asked.
Qin Siyang shrugged with a crooked smile, "Who knows? Maybe when I awakened my sequence… or maybe that night when we killed together."
Wen Shu didn't take the joke lightly, "Then when will it stop?"
"Stop?", Qin Siyang lowered his gaze, thinking, "Good question. I haven't thought about that yet."
After a moment, he said quietly, "Maybe when everyone around me can live carefree lives."
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