Chapter 69: The School's New Regulations

Zhang Shen, finding himself with nowhere to spend the night, said, “It’s so late; I’ll just go back to the old place to sleep. You all should head home too.”

Chen Rong finally breathed a sigh of relief. As he watched Zhang Shen preparing to get into the car, he wanted to remind him to be careful—after all, this was his student, and quite a remarkable one at that.

“Take care—”

“Don’t worry, old man, I’ll look after myself. I’m going home to fry a couple of eggs and cook some noodles.”

Hearing this, Chen Rong nearly coughed up blood. Where on earth had this Zhang Shen come from? His behavior was utterly unpredictable.

“Well then, let me take you two home now.”

Watching Zhang Shen swagger off alone and hail a taxi, without even the courtesy of offering it to the girls first, Ye Qiong couldn’t help but complain, “What kind of person is that? Doesn’t even know how to show a bit of chivalry.”

Wang Ying, meanwhile, was still troubled by what had happened earlier. She had never imagined that Tong Wei could harbor such vile intentions toward her.

As her close friend, Ye Qiong naturally sensed Wang Ying’s worry and said, “Don’t fret, Ying. The police just said they’re doing everything they can to catch that scoundrel Tong Wei, and the principal promised to expel him. You’ll never have to deal with someone like that again.”

Chen Rong, seeing Ye Qiong comforting Wang Ying, added, “That’s right, you don’t need to worry. From today onward, I’ll revise the school regulations: no outsiders will be allowed to enter or leave freely. Years of focusing on medical research have made me neglect administration entirely. I’m truly sorry to everyone—I bear an undeniable responsibility for this.”

“Principal, you can’t blame yourself for this.”

“Actually, I must. I remember when Tong Wei first came to the school, he only knew basic medical knowledge, nothing more. At first, I was going to reject him, but just as I was about to, I received a phone call, and that’s how he came in.”

“A mysterious phone call? Who was it?” Ye Qiong’s curiosity was piqued, so she asked Chen Rong.

Chen Rong stammered, “It was... it was…”

“Principal, who was it, really?”

After a long night, Chen Rong nearly blurted out the name of the person behind it. In his view, even if these girls knew, what could they do? Just complain and scold, nothing more. Since it wouldn’t accomplish anything, it might be better not to tell them.

“Children, what’s the use of knowing so much? Go home and get some sleep.”

Just then, a taxi pulled up. Chen Rong quickly hailed it, told the driver to head to Yuehu City Vocational Health College, and after Ye Qiong and Wang Ying got out, he finally rode home himself.

...

Who knows what time it is now, but Zhang Shen’s phone was ringing relentlessly.

Still with his eyes closed, Zhang Shen answered the call in a haze.

“Hello?”

“Zhang Shen, where are you?”

Half-asleep, Zhang Shen couldn’t place the caller. “Who are you?”

Hao Lei, hearing this, couldn’t help but curse, “It’s Hao Lei! Where are you? Get over here right now!”

“Hao Lei?”

Zhang Shen pondered—what could this woman want with him so early in the morning? But before he could ask, Hao Lei had already hung up.

He checked his phone: it was already 9:20.

“Damn, I’m going to be late!”

Even for the second class, half the period had already passed, and if it weren’t for Hao Lei’s call, Zhang Shen would still be sleeping.

He hurriedly hailed a taxi to school. All the way there, his heart bled at the thought—he’d only been in school for two days, and already spent a small fortune on taxis. Thankfully, the tuition was paid by Zheng Tiande; otherwise, he’d be bankrupt and couldn’t afford school at all.

“We’ve arrived!”

At the driver’s call, Zhang Shen found himself back at school.

At the entrance, the same familiar security guards from last night were on duty. Among them was the old man who had given him a thumbs up; Zhang Shen recognized him.

“Sir, could you open the gate for me? I overslept this morning.”

“No can do. You’re past the entry time.”

“But I really did oversleep—my homeroom teacher just called me. Otherwise, I’d still be in bed.”

“I said no, and that’s final. This morning the principal revised the rules—everyone must have their school ID to enter. If you don’t have it, your homeroom teacher needs to come and get you.”

Zhang Shen was taken aback—just one night, and now no one recognized him?

“Sir, I’m a student here. We met just last night!”

He tried to argue, but it seemed the guards were determined not to let him in.

Helpless, Zhang Shen dialed Hao Lei’s number.

“Where are you? Why aren’t you here yet?” Hao Lei, seeing it was Zhang Shen, immediately scolded him without pause.

All Zhang Shen could do was silently endure.

“Um, Teacher Hao, I’m stuck outside the school gate—I can’t get in.”

Hearing this, Hao Lei seemed to recall something. That morning, the principal had posted in the teachers’ group chat: from now on, entry and exit required a school ID, otherwise no one could come and go freely.

“Wait right there.”

Though Hao Lei meant well, Zhang Shen couldn’t help but feel a hint of menace in her words.

After a while, a graceful woman approached the gate. Zhang Shen recognized her—it was Hao Lei, coming to fetch him.

“Teacher Hao, I’m here.”

Seeing Hao Lei, Zhang Shen was visibly excited.

Hao Lei ignored him, turning instead to the security guards. “Excuse me, gentlemen, this is one of my students.”

With a teacher to vouch for him, the guards had nothing more to say. They knew this young man; if not for the new principal’s rules, they would have let Zhang Shen in ages ago.

The gate opened, and Zhang Shen bounded inside, telling the guards, “You’re very responsible—I admire that.”

Hao Lei’s face darkened at his words—how could he be so shameless?

The guards merely remained silent. Hao Lei forced a smile and turned away.

“Zhang Shen, stop right there.”

There was a note of threat in Hao Lei’s tone, and Zhang Shen felt a chill run down his spine.