stjorthotic Chapter 47 Dating
Chapter 47 Dating
"Continue to send people to search for Wang Jiu, with Zheng Mansion as the center. We must find him alive or dead."
After a long pause, Lin Xiu's cold voice rang out.
"Yes, Section Chief!"
After thinking for a moment, Officer Liang asked, "So, should we just arrest Fang Shuwen and torture him severely?"
"No need. Just send someone to keep a secret watch."
Lin Xiu's gaze darkened as he glanced at Officer Liang.
"clear."
Officer Liang quickly responded, then bowed and left.
Once the office quieted down, Lin Xiu's gaze became deep and thoughtful.
Even if the good-for-nothing son of a down-on-his-luck family managed to get into the elite class, he possessed the strength of a hundred-pound arm and the power to crack his bones.
Therefore, Wang Jiu's disappearance should not be related to him; it must have been an accident that happened to Wang Jiu himself.
Or perhaps it was Zheng Yuanpei who intervened?
After a moment's thought, he had already made up his mind.
.......
The bells of the Western-style clock tower rang.
Fang Shuwen carried her schoolbag and stepped into the gate of the public middle school.
The students passing by were either dressed in expensive suits or elegant dresses.
Those without money
Even at the very least, they would wear clean and tidy school uniforms or plain-colored dresses.
When Fang Shuwen entered the classroom, the elite class classroom was already more than half full.
Fang Shuwen walked to the third row by the window and sat down, stuffing his cloth schoolbag into the desk drawer.
The students around them gathered in twos and threes to chat.
If it weren't for the events of the past few days, Fang Shuwen would have thought he had returned to his old school days.
Just then, the classroom door was pushed open.
Zhou Changping, the dean of students, walked in carrying a stack of documents, his gaze sweeping across the entire classroom from behind his glasses.
The classroom fell silent instantly.
"I have two announcements to make today."
Zhou Changping stood on the podium, his voice not loud, but every word was clearly delivered to the ears of everyone present.
"The first thing is that, starting this week, the school will implement a new martial arts curriculum. Your elite class is the first to pilot it."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over every student present.
"The second thing is that in three months, Jiangnan Province will hold its first Middle School Martial Arts Tournament. Xikou County has two spots for the competition, which will be selected from your elite class."
As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom erupted in chaos.
"Martial Arts Tournament?"
"From the whole province? Does that mean we have to compare ourselves to students from big cities like Shanghai and Nanjing?"
"Two spots are available, and there are forty people in our class..."
The chatter rose and fell, and everyone's face wore an expression of mixed excitement and nervousness.
Zhou Changping raised his hand and gestured for silence.
"The selection rules are simple. There will be a school-wide martial arts assessment. The top two students from both the elite and regular classes will represent Xikou County in the competition."
"So don't think that getting into the elite class means you can rest easy."
He paused, his gaze lingering on Han Tieshan for a moment before sweeping over Fang Shuwen.
"Alright, let's begin the lesson."
.......
Cultural classes in the morning, martial arts classes in the afternoon.
The martial arts instructor for the elite class was not the original physical education teacher, but Chen Zhengqing, a special instructor from the Xikou County Martial Arts Academy.
A true martial arts master in the late stage of Ming Jin (明劲).
The instructor was quite good; even the popular fitness boxing style looked like advanced martial arts when explained and demonstrated.
Time flew by and it was sunset.
The school bell rang,
Fang Shuwen walked out of the school gate with his cloth schoolbag on his back, bought a bag of hot roasted chestnuts from a street vendor, put it in his pocket, and headed towards the Zhao residence.
As soon as he turned into the alley behind the Zhao residence, his pace suddenly slowed down.
Two people were standing under the old locust tree at the entrance of the alley.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, and one of the people in the sunlight was Cui Cui.
She was wearing a slightly worn floral blouse, and her hair wasn't braided as usual.
Instead, her hair was loose, with a few strands blowing in the night wind and sticking to her cheeks.
The other person's face was not visible.
But judging from his figure alone, it was indeed Li Tong.
Sure enough, Cui Cui didn't listen to his advice and continued to associate with Li Tong.
Fang Shuwen shook his head, intending to take a detour back.
You can't reason with a damned devil. Since Cui Cui won't listen to him, there's no need to get too involved.
It's not good to offer your warm welcome only to be met with indifference.
"Brother Tong!"
Cui Cui's voice came from the alley entrance, soft and sweet with a girl's shyness.
Fang Shuwen stayed close to the wall and quietly slipped into the side path.
Behind him, Li Tong's voice followed, deep and gentle, like poison coated in honey.
"Cui Cui, is what you said before true...? Master Zhao really... rewarded that boy with a hundred silver dollars?"
"Of course it's true... Xiao Fang must have had some incredible luck... He got into the elite class, and his ranking was so high."
"I got a twenty-dollar reward, he got at least a hundred. And two bolts of silk..."
"One hundred dollars?"
Li Tong's voice rose a little, then he quickly lowered it again, as if he was restraining something.
"Cui Cui, what do you mean by that kid...? He's just a gatekeeper's son, what makes him so special?"
"Who knows?"
"Cui Cui, could you arrange for Xiao Fang to meet me tomorrow?"
"Why did you ask him out?"
"It's nothing, I just want to make a friend."
Li Tong's voice rang out again, with a deliberate casualness, as if he were just asking a casual question.
"Okay, got it."
.......
the other side,
Fang Shuwen stood in the corner of the wall.
The fragmented words reached his ears.
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
It wasn't a smile; it was an expression that was hard to describe.
Cui Cui is not exactly a bad person, but she's not exactly a good one either.
She is just an ordinary person.
Seeing others recover makes me feel sad.
Seeing others suffer misfortune, I feel a pang of sympathy.
Most people in this world are like this.
Li Tong, having witnessed the other party's actions, knew that this person, relying on his appearance to abduct and traffic women, was definitely not a good person.
Why did he want Cui Cui to ask him out?
They're probably eyeing those hundred silver dollars.
After all, these days, selling two people only earns you fifty silver dollars!
Fang Shuwen straightened up from the wall and quietly pushed open the side door.
He didn't listen any further, nor did he need to.
I pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard.
The kitchen light was on, and Hu Da was squatting by the door smoking his pipe. When he saw him come in, he grinned.
"Xiao Fang, you're back? There's braised pork on the stove today. Butler Chen said he saved a bowl for you."
"Thank you, Uncle Hu."
........
One evening, before school was over.
Cui Cui, who usually never interacted with Fang Shuwen, came to his side.
"Fang Shuwen, are you free after school today?"
Fang Shuwen looked up and glanced at her.
Cui Cui had a smile on her face, but it was an unnatural smile, and she didn't dare to look him in the eye.
"What is it?"
Fang Shuwen's tone was very calm, revealing no emotion.
"I... I'd like to invite you to dinner."
Cui Cui lowered her voice even further, as if afraid of being overheard by the students around her.
"A new restaurant just opened at the west end of the street; I heard the food is pretty good. Shall we meet there after school?"
Fang Shuwen looked at her and remained silent for two seconds.
Cui Cui felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, so she lowered her head and clenched her fingers even tighter.
"OK."