Chapter 181: Old Lin Is Here, Say Goodbye to Him
"Your television station owes me an explanation, don’t you think?"
"Letting a demon beast sneak into your interview team?"
"And to interview our Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar, of all people? Thank God nothing happened!"
"If something had actually happened, could your station have taken responsibility?"
"He’s the Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar for the entire district! The major Martial Arts Universities in the New District are all watching him!"
"The Martial Arts Alliance might even have their eye on him already. Can you bear that kind of responsibility?"
「In the principal’s office.」
Principal Qu was on the phone, chewing out the station director.
The reason he had the confidence to do so...
...was because his school had produced the district’s Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar.
The title of Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar for the entire district carried far more weight than that of a regular college entrance exam champion.
Not only would they be watched by the major Martial Arts Universities in the New District,
but also by various other departments in the New District.
Organizations like the Martial Arts Alliance, the Demon Hunting Bureau, and the Town Martial Department would all be monitoring the champion scholar’s movements.
They would pay special attention to which university he chose to apply to.
And that didn’t even begin to cover the impact in the Old District.
A single district-wide Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar was enough to bring glory to everyone at the school, from the principal and teachers down to the janitors and security guards.
However, during the interview,
a demon beast had infiltrated the group.
The incident could be treated as either minor or major. If it were blown up, the station director, the editor-in-chief, and the reporter in charge of this interview would all face severe punishment.
It was a good thing nothing had gone wrong. If the Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar had been harmed by the demon beast,
the entire school would have been unable to escape the blame...
How could Principal Qu not be furious? Even the station director was apologizing profusely over the phone.
He didn’t dare say another word. The matter was too serious.
"Fine, I’ll be waiting for your explanation... No, that’s not right. You should be giving an explanation to Student Lin Yi!"
"That’s all. Fine. Mm, I’m hanging up now!"
After Principal Qu hung up the phone,
he turned to look at the others in his office.
Aside from homeroom teacher Liu Song, who had rushed over as soon as he got the news,
Lin Yi, the reporter, an assistant, and the school’s directors were also there.
Even the school’s Martial Arts instructor had come to the office.
The moment Principal Qu saw Lin Yi,
his previously furious expression immediately softened into a warm smile.
He hurried over and said with a laugh, "Student Lin Yi, you weren’t frightened just now, were you?"
"This interview was certainly an accident, but thankfully, nothing happened!"
"By the way, by taking first place in the entire district for this Martial Arts Examination, you’ve brought great honor to our Xinghai Third Middle School!"
"After some discussion, the school has decided to grant you a special cultivation scholarship!"
"We were originally planning to give it to you after the interview, but who would have thought such an accident would occur!"
"The scholarship fund isn’t a huge amount, only one million, but we hope that once you get to university in the New District, you will continue to shine and forge a bright future for yourself..."
After Principal Qu finished speaking,
he picked up a bank card from his desk.
Just as he was about to hand it to Lin Yi, Principal Qu quickly shot a meaningful look at the directors around him.
At first, they didn’t understand.
Not until the TV reporter understood Principal Qu’s intention.
The reporter quickly took out a phone to take photos and record a video.
Seeing this, the directors finally caught on.
They all followed suit, taking out their phones to film.
Lin Yi smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Principal Qu. Thank you, teachers and directors. I will definitely continue to work hard!"
After speaking, he took the bank card,
and stuffed it right into his pocket.
Principal Qu exchanged a few more pleasantries before the filming finally ended.
’After all, since I’ve taken the school’s money, I have to cooperate with their PR.’
Once it was over, Lin Yi said with a smile, "Principal Qu, may I leave now?"
"Hm? Ah... Of course. If you have something to do, you may leave!"
Principal Qu nodded amiably.
And so, Liu Song led Lin Yi out of the principal’s office.
The main reason for returning to school today was to check the results of the Martial Arts Examination.
The other was to fill out their university application forms.
Now that both things were done, all that was left was to wait for university acceptance letters.
Normally, the acceptance letters would arrive within a week.
If they were quick, it could be as soon as three to five days.
Martial Arts candidates didn’t have winter or summer breaks. After receiving their acceptance letters,
the university would mail their New District access pass along with it.
Admitted students would immediately pack their bags and head to the New District with their families to register.
From then on, they would leave the Old District, possibly for the rest of their lives.
Lin Yi returned to his classroom and said goodbye to his homeroom teacher.
Then, he started walking out of the school with Wei Nan.
"What happened just now? I saw a bunch of people running toward the conference room."
Wei Nan asked curiously as they walked across the school’s athletic field.
A demon beast had infiltrated the interview team.
Although it happened right in the school’s conference room,
Principal Qu had immediately locked down the information.
Fortunately, not many people knew about it, so it didn’t cause a major disturbance or commotion.
If the other students and the reporters outside found out,
they would surely publicize it with sensational reports.
When that happened, not only would the TV station suffer a public backlash, but the school would be in trouble too.
Therefore, the number of people who knew about the incident had been kept to an absolute minimum.
Even Wei Nan was in the dark...
Lin Yi just smiled. "It was nothing, just a minor incident. It’s been resolved!"
It wasn’t that Lin Yi wanted to hide it from Wei Nan.
The main issue was that Wei Nan had a mouth like a megaphone.
If he found out, the entire city of Xinghai would know within a day.
In any case, Third Middle School was Lin Yi’s alma mater.
It was where he had tested into a Martial Arts University. Screwing the school over right before leaving would be a pretty rotten thing to do.
So, he could only choose to keep it quiet and not let Wei Nan know.
As the two were talking, they arrived at the school’s main gate.
There were still quite a few reporters outside. To avoid being cornered by them,
Lin Yi put on a hat before walking out.
Wei Nan nonchalantly blocked the view in front of him.
The main reason this worked was that it wasn’t just the two of them leaving.
Martial Arts candidates from other classes were also heading home after filling out their application forms.
They blended into the crowd and walked out of the school.
Just as Lin Yi stepped out of the school gate, a reporter stopped him.
"Excuse me, student. Has your school’s Lin Yi come out yet?"
Hearing this, Lin Yi shook his head. "Haven’t seen him. I’m not in his class. Maybe he hasn’t come out yet!"
"Oh, I see!"
The reporter’s eyes held a look of profound intelligence.
He looked Lin Yi up and down a few times. The main issue was that all the students were wearing school uniforms.
It was hard to tell anything specific from them, so he naturally didn’t pay it too much mind.
After a moment, he smiled and nodded. "Alright, thanks!"
"You’re welcome!"
Lin Yi and Wei Nan continued walking away from the crowd.
They hadn’t gone far when they heard the reporter explaining to a colleague behind them.
"Of course he wouldn’t come out this early. He’s the Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar! He’s got to make a grand exit, right?"
"Don’t worry. With my sharp eyes, no one’s getting past me..."
Hearing the reporter’s words,
Lin Yi and Wei Nan’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.
Their pace quickened, and they hurried away.
It wasn’t until they had crossed the street from the school that the two of them couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
It would have been one thing if they hadn’t heard what that reporter said.
But the main thing was his over-the-top confidence...
After a long while, Lin Yi and Wei Nan turned back to look at the school.
Their smiles gradually faded, replaced by a hint of reluctance in their eyes.
Three years of high school life were about to come to a close here.
They hadn’t felt much before, but today, a sense of nostalgia was finally growing stronger.
"Sigh. I used to hate the idea of coming to school. I never wanted to come. The moment I walked through the gates, I’d just feel annoyed."
"Isn’t it strange? Now that the Martial Arts Examination is over, I’m actually a little sad to leave!"
Wei Nan said with a light chuckle.
Lin Yi didn’t speak, his gaze fixed on the school’s athletic field and academic building.
An indescribably complex emotion churned in his heart.
’Reluctance? Nostalgia? Sadness?’
Lin Yi himself couldn’t quite put a finger on what he was feeling.
Just then, Wei Nan nudged him lightly with his elbow.
Lin Yi glanced back at him.
He saw Wei Nan give him a look and then jut his chin forward slightly.
Lin Yi turned to look.
And a familiar figure jumped into his line of sight.
Old Lin was standing not far away, watching him with a gentle smile.
The moment he saw Old Lin,
Lin Yi’s brow furrowed slightly. Wei Nan whispered, "No matter what, he’s still your dad. We’re about to leave, so go say goodbye. I’ll wait for you over there!"
With that, Wei Nan walked off to the side.
After a long pause, Lin Yi walked over to Old Lin and said, "Old Lin, what are you doing here at school?"