Chapter 2831 - 1052: Rules
April 12, Tuesday.
Early in the morning, Zheng Qing felt a bit uneasy, always feeling that there was something he overlooked on last night’s trip to the Cat Fruit Tree. This feeling peaked as he tore off today’s old calendar.
Because he accidentally only tore off half of the calendar.
In the eyes of many old-school wizards, this is considered extremely unlucky, comparable to encountering a black dog in the morning.
But no matter how much he recalled, that unease was like fishing for the moon in the water, never graspable.
Until before the Magic Text class in the afternoon.
Zheng Qing entered the classroom, and as he passed the first row, he happened to overhear Li Meng chatting with Jiang Yu.
"——Su Ya told me, after getting up this morning, there was a big cleanup in the mansion. Zheng Zha’s grey, dusty dog, possibly called Fur Bean or Furry Bean, was caught by her young lady and washed inside and out for an hour, almost washing off its skin. After washing, it was hung up in the small garden to ’dry,’ and it has been hung for several hours now..."
She was speaking excitedly, gesturing with her hands and feet.
Completely unaware that Zheng Qing had been standing nearby listening with a gloomy face for quite some time.
"She hung up Furry Bean?" At this point, Zheng Qing finally remembered that he might have accidentally sold out his dog last night, which made him both angry and nervous.
You should know, ever since Zheng Qing arranged for Furry Bean to be a guard for Dong Dong, Su Shijun had whispered in his ear more than once about wanting to get rid of this dog to prevent any harm to her daughter.
Frightening Furry Bean to the point it developed a stress response, often disappearing without a trace whenever she appeared.
It’s imaginable that the few words Su Ya used like ’caught and washed for an hour’ and ’hung in the small garden’ must hide a frantic chase behind them.
If not for the Magic Text class starting soon, Zheng Qing would have loved to pin eight Armor Horse Charms on his legs and speed to Greenhill Mansion, hoping Furry Bean’s fur bell hasn’t been removed yet.
"Is it because it reported you?" Jiang Yu evidently also recalled some unnoticed memory from last night with the White Jade Cat, his expression becoming a bit strange.
Zheng Qing’s eyebrows knotted together.
Li Meng glanced at him, suddenly interjecting: "——If you want to save that dog, you better be quick. It’s just because Su Ya has a pretty good relationship with it, um..."
She realized it late, and closed her mouth.
Zheng Qing also realized that the conversation was mostly meant for him, and he could even be sure Su Ya directed her to do so—in a way, this probably counts as mutual help among lower-ranked canine species—dog helps dog.
"This isn’t a problem a paper crane can solve."
Jiang Yu tapped on the letter paper on the table, shaking his head slightly: "The longer a family has been around, the stricter the rules... Such leaks of the master’s secrets are indeed easy to catch out... The problem is, if she considers you family, she shouldn’t touch Furry Bean."
"Family members shouldn’t let servants gossip among the masters either." Li Meng objectively added a slightly silly remark from the side.
Then immediately received a piercing look from her older cousin.
Frightening her enough to bury her head in the Magic Text handouts before her.
Zheng Qing sighed: "——I’ll send the Black Gem Cat over to take a look first, if it can let it down, let it down first, as for the rest..."
He paused and formally added: "...I will get to the bottom of this."
Implying he would seek justice for Furry Bean.
...
...
Originally Zheng Qing planned to head to Greenhill Mansion immediately after the Magic Text class to deal with Furry Bean’s troubles. But plans changed as Professor Montreya stopped him after class.
"Don’t leave yet, let’s have a brief chat." The Magic Text professor signaled the young warlock passing by the podium to wait a moment, as he was explaining today’s class difficulties to a witch.
The professor’s words were evidently more important than personal affairs.
Especially since Professor Montreya was also the vice dean of Edge Academy, and Zheng Qing was an assistant there, making him a dual leader.
Zheng Qing, feeling somewhat anxious, stayed in front of the podium, checking the time nearly every five seconds. Jiang Yu not far away gave him a helpless gesture.
Until the last student with a question was sent off.
The professor finally noticed the fidgeting warlock, slightly surprised: "What’s up, is there anything else?"
"Um," the young man hesitated for a moment before coming up with a suitable excuse: "I have another class in the afternoon... there’s only half an hour in between."
His wording was very careful.
Others might not understand, but as a Big Wizard, Professor Montreya understood immediately.
"Oh, that class on Talisman Foot Ciphertext? Don’t worry, on the way to class today, I already spoke to Professor Yan, I might take a few minutes of your time."
Speaking, the professor had already stepped down from the podium, holding his handout in one arm and wrapping the other around the young assistant’s shoulder, leading him out of the classroom while saying: "——But don’t worry, just a quick chat about that project, it won’t take too much of your time."
Originally feeling a bit uneasy with Professor Montreya’s touch, Zheng Qing’s body gradually relaxed upon hearing ’that project’ mentioned.
How strange.
Why does everyone want to talk to me about this project?
Do I seem greatly involved with that project?
The young man muttered inwardly, following Professor Montreya, out of the teaching building and into an empty pavilion in the nearby garden, then watched the professor raise a semi-transparent barrier.
"There’s no one around, feel free to speak your mind." Professor Montreya was evidently not used to this kind of speech, awkwardly forcing a friendly smile.
To Zheng Qing, accustomed to his serious demeanor, this was quite uncomfortable.
"I don’t have... I mean, I don’t know..." he stuttered, feeling a plethora of questions mark his forehead.
Professor Montreya remained silent for a few seconds.
"I’ve heard some news, are you planning to withdraw from the Edge Academy project?" he asked directly, his blue-gray eyes staring straight at Zheng Qing.
Zheng Qing blinked, inwardly cursing.
Darn, why is something vague that I discussed with Old Yao just yesterday already known today? He’s not even figured out how to avoid the next experiment yet—since the last ’fitness’ assessment, because the data was too ’neat,’ Alex said the project team might let him reassess, Zheng Qing was planning to diplomatically refuse during the second assessment.
But unexpectedly, before the project team’s notice arrived, the attention of a concerned party did.
"No final decision has been made yet, Professor."
The young man could only stiffen his resolve and vaguely respond: "You know, there’s less than a month left till finals, I need to prepare for graduation exams, thesis defense... Also, there’s a lot of work as an assistant..."