Chapter 166: Causing Trouble

Half of the roast duck remained, and Zhong Yuxiu stopped reaching out. "I'm full. The rest is yours."

"Are you really full?" Yan Rushan's gaze burned brightly.

"Mhm."

"I'm not hungry. I'll save it for you; if you get hungry later, you can have a few bites to tide you over." As he spoke, he rewrapped the oiled paper and tied the string neatly. "I'll put it in your desk drawer."

Zhong Yuxiu frowned, her eyes full of displeasure. "I told you to eat it. You didn't eat much for lunch."

"Xiuxier." His thin lips curled into a smile, his chest enveloped in warmth, his heart softening. Lowering his head, his voice was deep and husky, "Feed me. Once, just once. Will you?"

Was he always this clingy?

Zhong Yuxiu pondered for a moment, picked up a piece, and stuffed it into his mouth. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Happy now?"

"Happy." Yan Rushan slowly nodded and reached out to pull her into his embrace.

"Stop messing around. It looks bad if someone sees us." Awkwardly pushing him away, she stood up and said, "Let's go. I'll walk you downstairs and check the registration desk to see how many people have arrived."

Yan Rushan pursed his thin lips, smiled faintly, and nodded, yet still handed her the oil-paper package. "Put it in the drawer."

"You eat it. If you're too embarrassed outside, take it to your office and eat it there."

"No need. I'm heading out anyway, and stopping to buy something to eat won't take much effort. You have a high metabolism and get hungry easily." He persistently pushed it toward her. "Be a good girl and keep it safe."

"Alright, fine then." She took the oil-paper package, walked to the inner side of the desk, pulled open the middle drawer to place it inside, closed it, and walked to Yan Rushan's side. The two of them headed out together. "Remember to go buy something to eat. Who knows if the state-run restaurant is still selling food at this hour."

Her nagging filled his ears. Yan Rushan not only listened patiently, but an uncontrollable sweetness welled up in his heart.

Once downstairs, Zhong Yuxiu stopped her reminders. "Remember what I told you. Don't brush it off."

A grown man's calorie expenditure was no less than hers, let alone someone who was constantly running around outside; he simply couldn't bear the thought of her going hungry.

"I remember. Don't worry." Yan Rushan raised a hand, intending to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, but seeing someone approaching nearby, he reluctantly lowered his restless hand. "I'm leaving now. I'll pick you up after class. Wait for me."

Yan Rushan walked away with brisk strides. Zhong Yuxiu watched him leave, then looked up in the direction of the approaching footsteps, seeing Professor Xun Yang hurrying down the corridor.

"Professor Zhong, I'm so glad I found you." Xun Yang's face wore a look of anxiety.

"Professor Xun, is something the matter?"

Xun Yang's expression was grim. He nodded and said, "Please come with me and take a look. There's a troublesome student in your class causing a scene at the registration desk right now. That girl was assigned an upper bunk, but she insists on having someone else's lower bunk. The reception staff don't know what to do; it's getting completely out of hand."

"It was already assigned, and she went to check it, yet she came back to cause a scene?"

"Exactly! You really encounter all sorts of people. I stayed over there for a while, and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it." How could someone who passed the exams to enter Hua University be so foolish?

Zhong Yuxiu furrowed her brows slightly. "Let's go see what nonsense she's pulling."

"Let's go."

The two walked together toward the registration desk, traversing the corridor and walking for seven or eight minutes before reaching the destination.

"Stop!"

"What are you doing? How can you hit people? What do you think you're doing?"

"We won't switch, and yet you hit us? Can you be a little reasonable?"

"Refusing to switch makes you resort to violence—what kind of behavior is this?"

A group of student cadres had gathered around, with a majority of the staff from the nearby registration desk also helping out. Seeing that the chaos had gone completely past reason, Xun Yang shouted sternly, "Stop fighting, all of you! Stop!"

All the students stopped, except for a plump middle-aged woman, a rotund young man, and two young women who refused to stop, becoming even more violent. Their victim was being grabbed by the hair and subjected to a brutal beating, tears streaming down her face.

"This is lawless! Absolutely lawless!" Xun Yang panicked. Facing parents and students like these, teachers were completely helpless.

Zhong Yuxiu's gaze turned cold. Channeling her mental energy into her hands, she stepped forward and grabbed the middle-aged woman's wrist, executing a reverse twist. A miserable scream rang out as the middle-aged woman fell backward to the ground. With a flick, she grabbed the young woman's arm, shoved her aside, and rescued the victim.

"My hand..." The middle-aged woman broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, throwing her head back and cursing loudly, "Which damned wretch dares to hit me?"

"Me." Zhong Yuxiu looked down at her with cold eyes.

"You... Who are you? How dare you meddle in my business? Do you know who I am?" The middle-aged woman's face twisted in agony, her fat cheeks squeezed together from the pain, yet she maintained a haughty demeanor. "My relative is with the Beijing Education Bureau! Watch out, or I'll make you regret this!"

Xun Yang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Professor Zhong."

"Get this injured classmate to the hospital first." Zhong Yuxiu raised a hand to cut him off. Several tufts of the girl's hair had been ripped out, and blood was seeping from her scalp, showing just how savage this mother and daughter were. It was unclear if she had sustained any internal injuries, which would make things even worse.

"Alright, alright. I'll take her away first. I'll leave this matter in Professor Zhong's hands."

With permission, Xun Yang called out to the surrounding students to help escort the victim away to the hospital.

With the victim gone, Zhong Yuxiu's gaze swept over the remaining two individuals. Pointing at the young woman, she asked the assembled students, "Which class does she belong to?"

"Comrade Zhong, I know. She's a new student in Physics Class One." The monitor of Physics Class Two, a senior student who had returned early to help out due to his stellar academic record and cadre status, stepped forward.

"Assigned to my class?" Zhong Yuxiu feigned surprise. "Hua University actually has students who act like street thugs?"

The class monitor paused, then replied, "Yes, this new female student is called Fu Hongxia. I personally handled her reception and registration. I never expected that after going to her assigned dorm, she wouldn't like the upper bunk and would insist on swapping with a classmate from Class Three. When that classmate refused, she dragged her out of the dormitory building and hauled her all the way over to me."

"I understand." Her tone cooled as she addressed the woman on the ground. "I am the head teacher of Physics Class One. My surname is Zhong, Zhong Yuxiu. If you have any issues, you can speak with me."

Fu Hongxia's mother gritted her teeth and struggled to her feet as the excruciating pain subsided slightly. Her forehead was covered in a dense layer of sweat, yet she wore a look of utter disdain, sizing Zhong Yuxiu up from head to toe with an arrogant, bossy attitude that was thoroughly repulsive.

"How old are you? A head teacher? What kind of joke is this? What is Hua University playing at, assigning someone this young to be a class advisor? Are you completely out of people?"

"Mom, I don't think she's lying." Fu Hongxia stepped forward and tugged at her mother's sleeve. "That professor just called her Professor Zhong. It must be true."

Fu Hongxia's mother had been too focused on her pain to register what others were saying. Her expression shifted slightly, but she immediately put on an arrogant front again. "True or not, a professor this young—who knows how she climbed up to that position."

"Are you implying that there are inappropriate dealings at Hua University?" Zhong Yuxiu's expression remained unchanged as she clasped her hands together with graceful poise.

The middle-aged woman hadn't expected her to take up the challenge so directly. Irritated, she snapped back, "That's exactly what I'm saying about you."