"This is indeed very serious," Hai Shen said as he rose from the ground with an elegant posture, a mild smile adorning his face, "Then why are you telling me? Doesnât Uncle already know?"
"This... I... I..." The junior staff member scratched his head, struggling to find the words. Hai Shen had no interest in standing around listening to his nonsense; he grabbed his clothes and was about to leave when the junior staff member quickly followed.
"Captain, please wait for me. Your uncle said you should handle this matter, as itâs inconvenient for him to come forward."
Hai Shen stopped in his tracks, a flash of impatience crossing his eyes. His uncle, the President, couldnât use his power to suppress others, so he was letting his nephew do it? No one would believe that; it was merely because he feared he couldnât suppress Shen Feihu himself, and wanted to use his motherâs name as a pretext.
"Captain!" The junior staff member looked at him pitifully, fearing he would disagree.
"Alright! I got it. You can go back!"
"Yes, Captain!"
*******
Sheng Ning returned to the troupe at noon, dropped off his luggage at the dormitory, and went straight to the General Union office to report his return. On the way, he happened to see Teacher Qiu Bai, who was in such a hurry that he didnât even have time to greet her.
Qiu Bai, clutching a thick English original, was walking briskly along the path of the General Union Song and Dance Troupe. Almost running, she arrived at Yang Wenyingâs office and kicked the door open without knocking.
Yang Wenying looked up from the documents she was writing, unsurprised to see Qiu Bai. Instead, her tone was indifferent, "Why so angry? Do you need to go to the infirmary for some antipyretic medicine?"
"Yang Wenying, are you crazy?" Qiu Bai slammed the book onto the desk, creating a loud clang, "Iâm here to see if youâre seriously mentally ill."
Yang Wenying swatted away her hand, "No, Iâm perfectly fine!"
"Youâre fine, yet you dare to injure Hai Lanâs ankle?" Qiu Bai could hardly believe that Yang Wenying could do such a thing. When she first heard about it, she thought it must have been someone elseâs fault. She didnât believe it until she had asked those who were present and confirmed it was true.
"What kind of person is Hai Lan? Youâre not oblivious to her background, how could you dare?"
"Itâs precisely because of her background that I dared. If it was just an ordinary person, I would have cared for them properly," Yang Wenying slammed her pen on the desk, crossed her arms, and leaned back in her chair, looking emotionlessly at Qiu Bai. "Qiu Bai, isnât this your doing? I didnât want Hai Lan initially, but you insisted on recruiting her specially to the General Union. And what happened? Sheâs been nothing but a troublemaker, throwing the whole General Union Song and Dance Troupe into chaos, a complete mess. If she thinks I wouldnât dare touch her because of her background, sheâs too naive!"
"But you canât do this," Qiu Bai gasped for breath, trying to persuade her calmly, "She is your person after all, and if the Hai Family pursues this, you could be taken to the General Unionâs court."
"Iâm just facilitating her, isnât it a good thing? She said her ankle injury was severe, that she couldnât be confined, so I facilitated her," Yang Wenying said nonchalantly with a smile, turning her head just in time to see Sheng Ning at the doorway, waving at her.
Sheng Ning, from afar, heard the argument insideâan argument he knew was meant to be secret. He thought about turning around and leaving but was spotted just in time. He gave an awkward smile and braced himself to enter.
"Insane, insane... everyoneâs insane!" Qiu Bai shook her head, "I donât care anymore, I wonât stop your recklessness."
"Reporting!" Sheng Ning walked to the door, stood at attention, greeted, and shouted loudly.