CHAPTER 127: CHAPTER 127: PROMOTED TO SCHOOL BULLY

Why is he suddenly acting all arrogant?

Tang Xiaobai poked his arm, half laughing, half exasperated: "Did you put in a bad word?"

Li Mu continued to look straight ahead, expression indifferent, but finally responded: "No." Did he need to spread rumors?

"Why did brother suddenly think of renaming Ah Yuan?" Tang Xiaobai frowned.

They just paired up "Yuanxiao couple," and now Ah Yuan is getting a name change. Was it really not aimed at her?

"Maybe Xin Yi has caught the Young Master’s eye, and he’s promoting her?" Cheng Zi smirked prettily.

Tang Xiaobai furrowed her brows.

If you ignore the fact that Xin Yi was only thirteen when she met my brother, from a storyline perspective, my brother and Xin Yi do make a good pair.

But their ages don’t match, it’s still more suitable for "Yuanxiao," who are the same age.

But still, forget it—

Tang Xiaobai sighed.

She started something, only for it to be snuffed out by an invisible hand, and seemingly angering the little ancestor.

Pushing for couples is too hard!

Better focus on studies, and progress every day!

Tang Xiaobai shook her head and shrank back into the carriage.

The moment the carriage curtain fell, Li Mu glanced over.

"Second Miss—"

Tang Xiaobai raised her hand to lift the curtain but thought better of it, so she responded with a hum from behind the curtain.

"How about I change my name too?" Li Mu asked nonchalantly.

Tang Xiaobai frowned.

Why is he changing his name out of nowhere? Isn’t Ah Xiao his real name?

"What do you want to change it to?" She couldn’t help but ask.

"How about Xiao Hei?" The little ancestor muttered.

"Pfft—" Cheng Zi couldn’t help but laugh.

Tang Xiaobai raised her hand to her forehead, suppressing the embarrassment on her face, and squeezed out a word through clenched teeth: "Get lost..."

This brat dared to openly tease her...

Li Mu, listening, heard that embarrassed mumble of "get lost," and silently curved his lips...

...

The carriage, as usual, stopped beside the academy gate.

When Tang Xiaobai got out of the carriage, the handsome young boy stood there as usual, arms raised to support her, a slight smile on his lips.

Remembering his teasing earlier, Tang Xiaobai felt a little awkward and deliberately avoided his hand, trying to jump off the carriage herself.

At that moment—

"Mr. Zhang!"

A voice suddenly shouted, shockingly high and sharp, startling Tang Xiaobai enough to make her slip forward.

Mo Huan was about to catch her, but before he could move, the young girl had already fallen into the arms of the Crown Prince, so he backed off instead.

Xiao Hei, huh...

...

Gripping Li Mu’s arm, Tang Xiaobai turned to look in the direction of the shout before even stabilizing herself.

By now, many others had also been drawn by that voice.

Under the gazes of everyone, Zhang Yin stood at the academy entrance, one foot on the step, seemingly intending to enter, but clearly unable to do so.

Because next to his other foot, a person knelt, gripping his robe fiercely.

The person was wearing a blue tunic, the academy’s standard uniform.

Huntian Academy originally didn’t have such uniforms. It was Mr. Zhang who noticed many students came from poor families and dressed informally, feeling intimidated before other students, so he paid out of his pocket to order a set of uniforms for the academy students.

Now this person wore clothes gifted by Mr. Zhang, kneeling before him in a public setting, almost blackmailing him.

In this world, there’s never a shortage of ingrates.

Tang Xiaobai pushed away Li Mu’s hand and walked a few steps forward to get a clearer view of the person’s face.

She recognized him.

There were only five people in the A class, and no one in the academy didn’t know these five.

The young man before her, not yet twenty, was one of them, named Gongsun Yi from Lantian County in the Capital Prefecture.

Among the five top students of A class, three from the Capital City came from aristocratic families, and the two from outer counties had far poorer backgrounds.

The one from Xinfeng County, Tao Fen, came from a wealthy trading family, while Gongsun Yi from Lantian County was truly destitute, supposedly even borrowing money for travel expenses to the capital.

After scoring top marks in the entrance exams, the teachers saw his poverty and allowed him to stay at the academy, doing odd jobs in exchange for tuition.

In theory, the academy’s teachers treated Gongsun Yi quite well, but at this moment, Gongsun Yi knelt before Mr. Zhang, with a grief-stricken expression hinting at resentment, as if Mr. Zhang had wronged him.

Tang Xiaobai suddenly recalled the little ancestor’s words and became alert.

Could this Gongsun Yi be someone sent to cause trouble?

By now, Zhang Yin had retracted the foot he was about to place on the step and calmly grabbed the robe that was being tugged, speaking gently, "Please stand up and speak." His expression remained calm, neither embarrassed nor panicked.

But Gongsun Yi would have none of it and cried out sorrowfully, "Mr. Zhang! I beg you to have mercy and grant this student your kindness!" With that, he finally let go of Zhang Yin’s robe but then dramatically kowtowed three times.

When he looked up, his forehead was already bleeding.

The surrounding people gasped.

Tang Xiaobai was equally shocked.

Whatever he’s pleading for must be serious; no wonder Mr. Zhang wouldn’t agree.

Zhang Yin looked down at Gongsun Yi, his tone still gentle, "I, Yin, have merely read a few more books than you and am neither a temple monk nor a Buddha; kneeling to me won’t produce miracles."

Gongsun Yi suddenly raised his face, eyes full of resentment, "A letter of recommendation would be a minor effort for you, yet it determines my entire future; why will you not help me?"

Zhang Yin shook his head and said, "Stand up, and we can discuss this inside."

Gongsun Yi, however, clutched his robe corner anew, yelling, "If you don’t agree, I will continue kneeling!"

Tang Xiaobai... clenched her fist!

She quickly strode in front of Zhang Yin and Gongsun Yi, pointing a finger, "Get lost! Don’t block this lady’s way!"

Just as Gongsun Yi looked up, someone grabbed him by the collar and tossed him aside—

"Second Miss, please!" Beneath the green jade mask, the young boy’s eyes were dark as night, his tone indifferent and emotionless.

The surrounding people were all shocked, including Tang Xiaobai herself.

She’d meant that order for the ten burly guards nearby!

How did her own handsome and delicate little ancestor end up playing the role of enforcer?

And how did he manage to throw such a large "sandbag" without even blushing or gasping?

This feels entirely off-kilter!

"Second Miss?" Li Mu arched a brow, secretly pleased at her astonishment.

Tang Xiaobai snapped out of it, turning to pay respects to Zhang Yin: "Please, after you, sir!"

...

Though the scene at the academy entrance ended rather simply and roughly, the commotion it caused was only just beginning.

After being thrown by Li Mu, and then kicked by Mo Huan, Gongsun Yi lay on the ground for quite a while before Zhang Yin found two students to carry him to the medical office.

But after leaving the medical office, he knelt again at the academy entrance, determined to continue his moral coercion.

Having established herself as the reigning figure at the academy, Second Miss Tang had the attendant knock Gongsun Yi out and sent him inside before she couldn’t resist asking one of the involved parties: "What’s he asking Mr. Zhang for? What recommendation letter?"