CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 37: I HAD NO CHOICE BEFORE, BUT NOW, I WANT TO BE A STUDENT

"A whole... COUGH, over a week? You... Xiao Zhang, you really are a martial arts prodigy."

Director Wang almost choked on Zhang Beixing’s words. He fumbled for words for a moment before finally managing to get the sentence out.

And after he said that, he was lost for words, and the car fell into silence.

The silence stretched on, lasting until they drove onto campus. After they parked and the three of them got out of the car, Director Wang, intending to take Zhang Beixing to the Security Department to file a report, gave a tug but found he couldn’t move him.

So he turned his head and saw Zhang Beixing and Liu Yi standing there like statues, looking at each other, neither uttering a word.

Somewhat puzzled, Director Wang looked at Zhang Beixing and urged, "Xiao Zhang, let’s go. We’re back at the school. Aren’t you coming with me to the Security Department to write the report?"

"I’m telling you, you’ve done a great service this time. All we need to do is finish the report and submit it. A promotion and raise will be easily within reach, and the school might even give you a bonus! Come on, come on, don’t just stand there!"

Hearing his words, Zhang Beixing finally reacted. But it wasn’t to follow Director Wang. Instead, he glanced at Liu Yi.

Seeing Liu Yi with his arms crossed, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, Zhang Beixing couldn’t hold back any longer. "Do we really have to do this? Give me a chance."

"What chance? Weren’t you the one who chose this?" Liu Yi asked, a look of someone relishing the drama plastered on his face.

Seeing the two of them like this, Director Wang was completely baffled.

He was just about to ask Zhang Beixing what exactly was going on when he saw Zhang Beixing turn his head with a long face, take a deep breath as if he’d made a momentous decision, and say to Director Wang, "I’m sorry, Director Wang. I had no choice before, but now, I want to be a student!"

"???"

Director Wang was stunned. He stared blankly at Zhang Beixing, somewhat at a loss.

What is this situation? What does he mean he had no choice, and now he wants to be a student? Does he think he’s filming "Infernal Affairs" or something?

"Xiao Zhang, what... what are you talking about?"

"What student? Aren’t you a security guard for our school? You’re even wearing the uniform! Don’t joke with me like this. Let’s hurry back, get the paperwork done, and you’ll get your promotion and raise."

"And then there’s the school’s bonus on top of that, you..."

Director Wang was speaking, but halfway through, he found himself trailing off.

Because at this moment, he too realized something was amiss.

It was that Zhang Beixing... damn it, he actually wasn’t a security guard!

Previously, Director Wang had always thought that a talent had finally emerged from the security team he managed, someone he should definitely nurture. Consequently, he hadn’t paid close attention to Zhang Beixing.

But now, with Zhang Beixing creating such a scene, he suddenly realized that things weren’t quite right!

"What exactly is going on here?" Director Wang asked.

Seeing his confusion, Liu Yi stopped playing dumb and began to explain. Zhang Beixing chimed in from the side, adding details.

Once they had explained the whole story, including why Zhang Beixing was wearing the security uniform, Director Wang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

So that’s it! He had been wondering how a young, handsome lad could have joined their Security Department without him having any impression of it.

Then there were Zhang Beixing’s clothes. Zhang Beixing had claimed he had just started the job, yet his uniform was already faded. Director Wang had initially thought it was a quality issue with the uniform.

It turned out the issue was with the person himself.

"Teacher Liu, that’s not very honest of you," Director Wang said. "I was wondering why you were so quiet ever since we got in the car. So you knew Xiao Zhang’s identity all along but kept quiet, just waiting to watch me and Xiao Zhang make fools of ourselves, huh?"

"But Xiao Zhang, you really went to great lengths just to avoid a school disciplinary action. You..."

"Sigh, I don’t even know what to say anymore!" Director Wang exclaimed, expressing his utter speechlessness.

Seeing that Director Wang didn’t intend to pursue the matter, Zhang Beixing breathed a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed. As soon as he relaxed, his mind whirred with new ideas.

So, looking at Director Wang, he spread his hands and said, "Director Wang, I had no choice. Just think about it: a young man, only twenty-one, gets a disciplinary mark on his record just for helping someone. Think of the psychological damage that does to a young man! He just didn’t want that mark on his record. What’s so wrong about that?"

"Yes, yes, you’re not wrong. It’s the world that’s wrong, is that it?" Director Wang scoffed good-naturedly.

Then he looked at Zhang Beixing and said, "Although you impersonating a security guard was indeed a bit out of line, considering it’s your first offense and you didn’t use that identity to do anything malicious, I’ll let bygones be bygones. Just don’t let it happen again."

"Unless... unless you genuinely come to work as a security guard!"

"To be honest, I think you have the potential to be a good security guard. Why not consider it? Think about taking a position here after you graduate."

"If you come, you’ll start as a security team leader with a monthly salary of eight thousand. All you’ll have to do is sit in the office every day. It’s very relaxed!"

"There’s a saying online—what was it again? Ah, ’The ultimate destination of all professions is to become a security guard.’ Look at you! You’ll be a security team leader at twenty. That’s reaching the goal in one fell swoop, skipping forty years of detours!"

"In a couple of years, when I retire, the position of Head of Security could be yours. Wielding so much power at such a young age... How about it? Tempted?"

Listening to Director Wang’s pitch, Zhang Beixing waved his hands repeatedly, indicating he was too young to bite off such a big piece of the pie.

This made Director Wang bristle in mock anger, sputtering about teaching Zhang Beixing a lesson.

In the end, however, he didn’t actually do anything to Zhang Beixing. He just took him to the Security Department, had him write a report, and then let him go.

「...」

After leaving the Security Department, Zhang Beixing wanted to find Liu Yi to get some feedback on his Yue Family Linked Fists.

But he discovered that Liu Yi had already left while he was writing the report.

He felt a pang of regret.

But this regret didn’t last long. Zhang Beixing quickly recovered.

He hurried back to his dorm, turned on his computer, and transferred the surveillance video from his USB drive.

Zhang Beixing watched the video, a sense of self-admiration growing with each viewing. Increasingly pleased, he logged onto Douyin, selected the video, and began to edit the title.

Online Drama! College Student’s Private Video Leaked! In the Classroom, One Guy vs. Five, No Sweat! College Life Good? College Life IS GOOD! Deleting Soon, Watch Fast! #Dance #InsanelyCool #HuaguoMartialArts #MartialArtsAssociation #CangzhouMaFamilySplittingFist #Unrivaled.

He put together a title packed with trending keywords and an almost comical number of @mentions and hashtags.

Zhang Beixing reviewed it once, found no issues, and then, brimming with confidence, hit the upload button.

He clearly remembered that under the martial arts practice video he’d posted yesterday, many people in the comments had questioned him, saying his moves were all for show, just flashy nonsense. It got to the point where, when he asked for suggestions, he didn’t get any useful feedback. Well, today I’m going to let you all see if your Bro Zhang really knows his stuff. Of course, showing off is secondary. My main goal is to use this to gain more followers, so I can get better suggestions from netizens and earn more ’upgrade points.’