Chapter 160.1: Storm Premieres
The school leaders: “……”
Didn’t Professor Jiang say she would be an observer? How did her neutrality end up completely siding with Shen Xiu? Forget about helping to mediate—she’s even echoing Shen Xiu’s stance now.
This matter was becoming increasingly difficult to resolve. The school leaders exchanged looks, and their eyes finally landed on the counselor.
If it were anyone else, this would be easy to handle. They wouldn’t even need to intervene—the counselor could take care of it himself. But the problem was, one of the parties involved wasn’t just anyone—it was Shen Xiu.
Even more importantly, ever since Shen Xiu appeared, there hadn’t been the slightest sign of compromise. On the contrary, every word he said was laced with an unyielding finality.
Meeting the gaze of the school leaders, the counselor: “……”
He regretted it. He really shouldn’t have secretly felt pleased just now that Shen Xiu had put the school leaders on the spot. Now look—the task of offending people had fallen squarely on his own shoulders.
Though unwilling, the counselor didn’t dare defy the school leaders. Following their intent, he looked toward Ling Yuanzhen.
He spoke: “Do you have anything to say?”
While speaking, the counselor blinked rapidly at Ling Yuanzhen, desperately signaling him to show sincere remorse and apologize to Shen Xiu. Cry if he had to—do whatever it took to earn Shen Xiu’s forgiveness. It all depended on his own performance now.
Ling Yuanzhen met the counselor’s eyes and understood the message. Deep down, he was extremely reluctant, but he still said, “Shen Xiu, I’m sorry.”
Shen Xiu: “……”
Didn’t he already say he didn’t want Ling Yuanzhen’s apology?
And this was the second time—why was Ling Yuanzhen still apologizing without even looking at him?
Shen Xiu looked at Ling Yuanzhen and asked sincerely, “Do you not understand human language?”
Jiang Jinya: “……”
Before this, people online claimed that her well-behaved student Shen Xiu was actually a sharp-tongued demon king. She hadn’t believed it.
Now, she did.
Dean Zhou and the others: “……”
How utterly disrespectful! Was it really necessary to take such a double shot? All they wanted was for Xiao Hu to subtly prompt Ling Yuanzhen into one last attempt at saving face—did Shen Xiu really have to insult Ling Yuanzhen and drag them into it with a single sentence?
Counselor: “……”
His thinking was too small-minded. That line from Shen Xiu was a true masterclass in venomous speech—he had insulted the leadership without even raising his voice. The Xiuology cult members online weren’t exaggerating: there truly was nothing in this world that Shen Xiu cared about. Once Demon King Xiu got angry, he destroyed everyone equally.
As expected—after working as a counselor for so long, what kind of drama hadn’t he seen?
Still, with Shen Xiu’s biting sarcasm escalating to this level, could the school leaders even take it anymore?
Ling Yuanzhen: “?”
This kind of thing wasn’t unheard of at school. Sure, it wasn’t common, but more than 80% of similar incidents were resolved with a “let’s keep it low-key.” Though he was unhappy, under the counselor’s silent cues, Ling Yuanzhen was willing to lower himself: “Shen Xiu, I…”
Ling Yuanzhen might be able to endure Shen Xiu’s verbal barbs, but the others—who were used to being flattered and revered—couldn’t. Fearing that Shen Xiu might unleash even harsher words if Ling Yuanzhen continued, Vice Dean He interrupted coldly.
“Xiao Hu.”
Hearing his name, the counselor quickly responded, “Yes, sir?”
“We’ll proceed with the second disciplinary measure.”
The first option had been reconciliation—Shen Xiu and Ling Yuanzhen making peace, with Ling Yuanzhen kept on school probation. The second option was expulsion.
After he finished speaking, Vice Dean He turned to his colleagues. “Old Zhou, Old Qi… let’s go.”
The others nodded in agreement.
Jiang Jinya, seeing that things had gone exactly as Shen Xiu wished, quietly let out a breath of relief.
Though she knew none of them would dare make things difficult for Shen Xiu anyway—after all, the school’s new library was being funded by K Corp. And not just that— K Corp had also donated an entire set of cutting-edge smart technology to Jinghe, equipment that wasn’t even available on the market.
Although K Corp never explicitly said so—only claiming to be enthusiastic about supporting education—it didn’t fund any other school, only Jinghe. Anyone with eyes could see this was all because of Shen Xiu.
But Jiang Jinya didn’t just see Shen Xiu as her star pupil; she regarded him half like her own child. So despite everything, she couldn’t help but worry and proactively suggested he come with her.
“Shen Xiu, come with me to the office. There’s a small issue with the coursework you submitted a few days ago.”
Hearing there was a problem with his coursework, Ling Yuanzhen was instantly tossed to the back of Shen Xiu’s mind. Now, all Shen Xiu cared about was going with the teacher: “Okay, Teacher.”
The school leaders: “……”
Was that level of protectiveness really necessary? Even the principal didn’t dare pull rank with Shen Xiu. He deliberately pushed them forward to be the scapegoats, so what could they possibly do to Shen Xiu?
Jiang Jinya gave Ling Yuanzhen a glance and sighed silently, then said to Shen Xiu, “Let’s go.”
“Mm.” Shen Xiu responded and, remembering what Jiang Jinya had said earlier, gently supported her arm. The two of them walked out of the dorm together.
Within five seconds, only Ling Yuanzhen and the counselor were left in the dorm room.
As he listened to the footsteps going down the stairs, Ling Yuanzhen’s mind was full of question marks.
“?”
That’s it? Why was this process so different from what he had expected? He hadn’t even had time to squeeze out a few tears, hadn’t gotten to perform or plead—why had they already stopped caring about him?
Finally, the panic hit Ling Yuanzhen. He turned anxiously to the counselor. “Teacher, Dean Zhou and the others…”
At this point, the counselor didn’t bother mincing words. He got straight to the point: “Pack your things. Get ready to leave.”
Ling Yuanzhen: “?”
Upon hearing this, Ling Yuanzhen’s face went pale. He swallowed hard, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. In that moment, all thoughts of calling Shen Xiu crazy or feeling resentment toward him vanished. Terrified the counselor might walk away, he hurriedly reached out to grab the counselor’s arm, spilling panicked words one after another.
“Teacher, I really know I was wrong. I already apologized to Shen Xiu just now. Please, I can’t be expelled. My parents are getting old—if they find out I got expelled, they definitely won’t be able to handle it. They might even end up in the hospital. Teacher, I’m begging you, for the sake of my parents’ poor health, please plead with the school for me. I swear, next time I really, really won’t…”
The counselor, hearing that even now Ling Yuanzhen still wasn’t sorry for what he did to Shen Xiu but only focused on pleading with the school, lost all patience. He yanked his arm out of Ling Yuanzhen’s grip and cut him off.
“Enough.”
He stared at the pale-faced Ling Yuanzhen. “If you really cared about your parents, you shouldn’t have done those things in the first place.”
“The school didn’t deny you a chance—did you forget? Last time, when Shen Xiu’s lawyer demanded a public apology with your ID, you disgraced the school. Even so, the school still gave you a second chance and let you stay under observation. You’re the one who didn’t value it.”
Ling Yuanzhen reflexively tried to argue: “I thought…”—he thought using someone else’s phone number and not his own IP would keep Shen Xiu from tracking him.
But just as the words were coming out, he realized he couldn’t say that aloud and hurriedly shut his mouth.
The counselor continued, still maintaining a surface-level tone of professionalism: “You saw it yourself—how the school leaders personally brought Shen Xiu here for your sake. But you didn’t make good use of the opportunity.”
“So whose fault is this? In the end, it’s your own. It has nothing to do with the school. If anything, the school has been shamed again because of you. Whether it’s the school or Dean Zhou and the others, they’ve already been more than generous.”
“That’s it, then. Pack your things properly. I believe in you—this will pass soon. Your life still holds many possibilities.”
Finishing his well-polished combination of appeasement and blame-shifting, the counselor didn’t wait for Ling Yuanzhen to respond. Afraid of getting dragged into more drama, he quickly turned around and left in a hurry.
Ling Yuanzhen’s roommates had been told to leave earlier, but in truth, as soon as Shen Xiu and the school leaders entered the dorm, one of them slipped into the dorm room directly across the hall, joining his buddy. They kept the door cracked open just enough to spy on the situation.
To make it easier to “watch the drama,” the room had filled with a bunch of eager eavesdroppers.
When Shen Xiu’s group left, the counselor, in his hurry to escape, didn’t bother closing the dorm door. With just a corridor separating them, everyone in the room across the hall—who had been sneakily listening through the slightly open door—heard the entire conversation between the counselor and Ling Yuanzhen.
The moment the counselor left, it was like some unspoken agreement had been triggered. Dorm room doors all along the hallway—across the hall and even next door—flung open at the same time, and a crowd of students rushed out.
There were so many people that for a moment, everyone just stood around, wide-eyed and speechless.
“Holy crap, you guys were eavesdropping too?!”
“Damn, you’re savage.”
“I mean, come on—it’s Shen Xiu’s melon (gossip). He’s a celebrity. Who wouldn’t want a taste?”
“Exactly. We don’t dare get close to Shen Xiu himself, so we might as well gather around the other person involved, right?”
“Bro, chill—why are you elbowing me while talking?!”
The roommate who had been pushed out of his own dorm: “Calm down! Don’t blow up my dorm—damn it, you idiots! It’s fine to spectate, but why the hell are you climbing up onto my bed? Get the hell down!”
“Relax, relax—your dorm’s too small! We’re just trying to make space so everyone gets a view…”
In no time, the crowd of gossip-hungry students had packed into Ling Yuanzhen’s dorm, completely filling it. Those who couldn’t squeeze in were crowding at the door, craning their necks to peek inside, desperate to get the freshest bite of gossip.
Ling Yuanzhen, trapped in the center like a zoo animal on display, unable to get out: “……”
“Ling Yuanzhen, why’s your face so pale?”
“Wait—did the counselor mean… you’ve been expelled?”
“Say something, Ling Yuanzhen. Weren’t you great at spreading rumors online?”
“I’ve been wanting to say this for a while—are you blind or what? Just because you saw Shen Xiu working part-time, riding a shared bike, and eating a 50-cent steamed bun for breakfast, you actually thought he was poor and couldn’t afford to eat? One of my buddies who used to work part-time with me earning 7 yuan an hour already owns two high-end apartments.”
“Exactly. There’s nothing wrong with earning your own living. Why’d you keep pulling people into group chats to complain and stir things up?”
Everyone spoke over each other, a chaotic storm of voices, and their blatant disregard for Ling Yuanzhen’s current state gave the moment a certain cruel beauty.
Even worse, a few students were secretly recording Ling Yuanzhen with their phones.
As for Ling Yuanzhen’s fate, the school had already made its decision. The university’s official Weibo account—managed by the student council—received the go-ahead from faculty and, without delay, published a pre-written and pre-approved statement image at the scheduled time.
@JingheUniversity: Regarding the matter involving our student Ling Yuanzhen, here is the final decision. Thank you to everyone for your concern! [Image x1]
The hashtag about Ling Yuanzhen’s expulsion was still trending when Jinghe University publicly released their statement—less than an hour after everything happened. They clearly and firmly announced the decision to expel him.
This kind of incident wasn’t unprecedented.
At other universities, responses often came hours or even days later—or there’d be covert pressure to “resolve” the matter by punishing the victim instead, pushing both sides to issue a public “mutual understanding” post online.
In worse cases, schools wouldn’t respond at all. They’d just pull strings behind the scenes to remove the trending topic and sweep the matter under the rug.
But Jinghe acted faster than any other university—and made a decision that perfectly aligned with public expectations.
