FI CH40: Taking the Initiative 

The message was sent, and the other side seemed to ponder for a few seconds.

[Ling]: What position?
[Su-wakes-up-naturally]: A death-defying killer.
[Ling]: …

Lin Su waited for a few minutes without a reply. Just as he was about to make up some more nonsense, a new message popped up: He will report for duty tomorrow.

His fingertip paused on the screen.
Lin Su was gratified: Very good.
[Su-wakes-up-naturally]: Thoughtful of you, Xiao He. [heart]

He sent the message, closed his phone, and returned to the classroom.

…

He said he would report for duty the next day.
Lin Su had originally thought there would be some procedure to follow.
But the next morning, as soon as he arrived at the school gate, he saw the butler in a security guard uniform, standing ramrod straight in the dim morning light.
Passing students cast glances at him in twos and threes.

Lin Su paused his steps and met the butler’s gaze.
The other person looked over, his lips moving.
Just then, Chen You glided into the school gate and called out to Lin Su, “Hey! Wait for me.”

Lin Su averted his gaze and nodded at him as if nothing was wrong.
As the two were walking through the gate, a ventriloquist’s voice suddenly came: “Your lunch, I’ll give you…”

Lin Su, “…”

Chen You turned his head. “?”

Lin Su took a quick step away. “We’re going to be late.”

Chen You was still looking around. “Huh? But I thought I heard something just now. Was someone talking? That security guard uncle?”

Lin Su said softly, “You heard wrong.”

Xuenima floated over: [What does he think ventriloquism is? Encrypted communication?]

“A joke, probably.”
Lin Su and Chen You quickly arrived at the classroom.
It wasn’t self-study time yet, and the classroom was bustling with students handing in homework and chatting idly:
“Tian Xiaoyun from Class 3 took a leave of absence today. The one who was almost called by the ‘big boss’ to tour the school yesterday.”
“She must have been scared. It was pretty scary.”
“Hey, did you see the new security guard uncle?”
“I saw him! He’s kind of… old-handsome. But standing there, he always gives off the feeling like he’s about to serve food.”
“…”

Lin Su walked back to his seat without a sideways glance.

…

After reporting in, classes officially began.
During the remedial period, it was mostly main subjects. The morning passed somewhat slowly.
Lin Su had Xuenima suspended in front of him, projecting skits. He occasionally let out a few small “heh heh…” sounds. By the time he had caught up on skits from eight years ago, the morning classes finally ended.
The class dispersed in a rush, flooding towards the cafeteria.

Just as he was getting up to follow, he turned his head and saw a figure carrying a lunchbox, darting towards the school building as lightly as a swallow.

Lin Su, “…”
He had a bad feeling in his gut.

Xuenima was perched at the window: [Will he appear at the door, stand tall and straight, and call out to you, “Mr. Lin, your imperial meal”?]

Lin Su decisively went out the door and downstairs.
He had just exited the main hall when he ran into the butler.
Fortunately, the cafeteria was behind the school building, so there was almost no one outside the main entrance at this time.

The butler was a little surprised to see him come out, then announced, “Today’s lunch is dried shrimp with shredded bean curd and stir-fried eggplant.”

Xuenima couldn’t help but say: [He has completely taken the shape of a beast of burden.]

Lin Su automatically ignored it and took the lunchbox. “Don’t come to the classroom in the future.” He paused. “Deliver it to the rooftop.”

“I don’t need to follow you all the time?”

He shook his head. “You’re a security guard, not a bodyguard.”

“…”
The butler left in a daze, a low murmur drifting back: “It’s actually an ordinary and decent job, and I even get a salary. This is heaven…”

The person and the spirit watched his retreating back.
Xuenima remarked: [He has walked half his life, yet returns just as naive.]

Lin Su: “A good mentality determines one’s life.”

Three days passed like this.
At noon, Lin Su enjoyed his imperial meal on the rooftop as usual.
The butler stood to the side holding a teacup. Xuenima, unable to sneak any food, floated to the edge of the rooftop to watch the scene below.

As Lin Su was eating, he suddenly heard a cry: [Damn it!]

“…” He turned his head. “?”

Xuenima craned its head: [Zhu Jian-ren is here! Downstairs.]

The urge to correct the name paused for a second.
Then Lin Su put down his lunchbox, got up, and looked down as well. “Where is Jian-ren?”

It was lunchtime.
The path behind the school building leading to the cafeteria was bustling with people. There was almost no need to search. Zhu Jianfei was standing in the middle of the path.
Opposite him was the same girl from a few days ago, Tian Xiaoyun.
They probably just happened to run into each other. Zhu Jianfei was holding his small leather bag, pointing his finger bossily.

Lin Su turned his head and told the person to put down the tea. “Downstairs.”

“?” The butler looked at the lunchbox. “Three-delicacy deboned fish…”

Lin Su had already pulled open the rooftop door. “You’re not a dog or a horse now. You’re a horse-killing assassin in the human world. Let’s go.”

The butler: ??

…

Downstairs, before they even exited the main hall.
An arrogant voice came through, “Is this the quality of you students? You bump into someone and don’t even apologize properly.”

Lin Su turned out and saw a circle of people had gathered.
Tian Xiaoyun was being scolded to the point of tears.
Another girl beside her had her arm around her and said to Zhu Jianfei, “You were the one who bumped into her first! And she already apologized…”

Zhu Jianfei shook his head. “A proper, proper apology.”

A security guard had already arrived upon hearing the commotion. He blocked him and gestured to Tian Xiaoyun with his eyes: Go, quickly.

Just as Tian Xiaoyun had taken two steps, Zhu Jianfei immediately raised his voice, “Hey, I was originally here today to discuss renovating the sports field and the library. With this attitude from you students… it makes things very difficult for me.”

Tian Xiaoyun stopped at once, trembling slightly.

The security guard said loudly, “Sir, please don’t—”

Zhu Jianfei looked at him again. “As far as I know, a security guard is just an employee. What? Can you make decisions for the school?”

The young security guard also froze.

The atmosphere became tense. Tian Xiaoyun, her face pale, moved her lips. Just as she was about to walk back, she suddenly heard a thump!
A large bucket half-filled with mopping water smashed straight towards Zhu Jianfei.

Splash!
The cool, dirty water soaked his shirt and trousers. Zhu Jianfei jumped up in shock and cursed, “What the fuck…!”

He turned his head following the sound and saw Lin Su standing at the entrance of the hall a few steps away.
Lin Su’s hands were empty. “Oops, you knocked my bucket over. You should hurry up and apologize to me.”

“…” Everyone.

“You motherfucker—”
Zhu Jianfei gritted his teeth in anger, his dirty shirt sticking to his body. He strode straight towards Lin Su. “…you little bastard, you dare to throw dirty water on me!”

Lin Su marveled, “Aren’t we a perfect match in filthiness?”

The surrounding crowd couldn’t help but let out a laugh, but they quickly suppressed it and looked over with concern.
Zhu Jianfei rushed up in a few steps.

Before he could reach out, a figure suddenly blocked his way with a swoosh. The figure was ramrod straight, with a pair of eagle-like eyes. Zhu Jianfei almost crashed into him, subconsciously taking two steps back and looking up.

The butler stood with his hands behind his back, staring at him. “You want to fight?”
The fingers behind his back made a click sound. A long-lost eagerness flashed in his eyes.

Zhu Jianfei was intimidated by this aura, then he raised a finger and pointed. “Get out of the way! Your student threw water on me. If the sports field can’t be renovated, it’s all his fault—”

Lin Su said without changing his expression, “I’m not on the construction team. What does it have to do with me?”
He finished and looked at Tian Xiaoyun beside him. “Are you?”

Tian Xiaoyun was stunned for a moment, then pressed her lips together. “No.”

“Fine, fine!” Zhu Jianfei was furious. He turned to the butler. “You won’t move, right? Can you make decisions for the school?”

The butler turned his head to look at Lin Su, awaiting instructions.

Lin Su encouraged softly, “Although you can’t make decisions for the school, you can be your own master. Whatever you want to do… just do it.”

Zhu Jianfei: “…”
The students: “…”

The butler’s eyes narrowed with excitement. “For example?”

“I’m guessing you want to throw him out.”

The person in front nodded, understanding.
The next second, a hand shot out and grabbed Zhu Jianfei’s collar, yanking him up. Two buttons popped off. Zhu Jianfei was so scared he turned pale and shouted:
“How dare you! How dare you!!”

Amidst a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd, the butler directly dragged the man away, his posture unnaturally relaxed.
Zhu Jianfei’s feet left the ground, his face turning purple.
The shouting gradually faded into the distance towards the sports field: “Ahhh! Cough cough… let me down! You damn— how dare you do this to me? I’m going to sue you, you just wait… you’ll lose everything!”

…

The voice gradually disappeared at the other end of the sports field.
The surrounding students let out a sigh of relief and looked at each other with happy smiles. A few ran up to Lin Su, their eyes shining:
“Ahhh, Lin Su, you’re so amazing!”
“That bucket of water was thrown so well! It was so satisfying to watch!”

Tian Xiaoyun also walked over and said softly, “Thank you.”

Lin Su glanced at her, his voice softening. “Don’t be afraid of him in the future. See? Throwing him out is no problem at all.”

Tian Xiaoyun nodded happily. “Mm!”

The farce was over, and the students gradually dispersed.
Lin Su also prepared to go back to the rooftop to continue his meal.
Xuenima floated beside him: [Will the butler be okay? I quite like eating pagoda meat.]

“He won’t.” Lin Su calmly walked up the stairs. “When it comes to evasion, he’s the best at it.”
“Besides…”
His expression was steady. “He doesn’t have much of a family fortune to lose.”

Xuenima had an epiphany: …Ah, right. It was confiscated before.

The incident at noon undoubtedly caused another small stir in the school.

 The forum was once again vividly broadcasting the events.
Chen You came over again with his phone, munching on melons right in front of the main character:
 

“Ehehehe… you’re super popular now. Lots of second-years and incoming freshmen on the forum are saying they’ve never been so eager to return to school.”

 He continued to scroll. “Oh, and that security guard uncle. They’re all saying he’s highly skilled and has a mysterious aura.”
He laughed out loud. “Some are even saying he’s a killer!”

“…” Lin Su: …The truth is out.

Chen You was cheerful for a while, then his smile faded as he remembered, “By the way, that Boss Zhu won’t really not renovate the school out of anger, will he? Of course, I don’t care, but what if some ignorant people blame you…”

Lin Su gave him a loving look. “Don’t worry, he won’t.”

Chen You was puzzled. “Why?”

Of course, it’s because he still wants to be considered for the philanthropic entrepreneur award.

 Lin Su didn’t explain much, just said casually, “When it comes to the matter of ‘building’, he’s always been one to see it through.”

“…”

…

Lin Su didn’t bother much with the school matters anymore.
After the afternoon classes and an evening self-study session, the evening passed. The sky outside gradually darkened.
The surrounding students packed their bags and left in twos and threes.

 Lin Su was about to pack his books and leave when his phone suddenly vibrated, and a WeiXin message popped up.

[Ling]: Wait for me in the classroom.

Xuenima came closer: [What’s wrong?]

Lin Su showed it the phone and sighed lightly. “He misses me again.”

Xuenima: […] Heh.

Then he put his books down and sat back in his seat.
He Zhenling told him to wait, but didn’t say for how long. Gradually, even the last few students who stayed behind to finish their homework left, leaving him a row of lights at the back.
Lin Su wasn’t in a hurry and watched skits with a “heh heh heh.”

After an unknown amount of time, a sound came from the door. Thump.

 He looked up and saw He Zhenling leaning against the doorframe, knocking on it with his hand. His coat was off and draped over his arm. He looked down at him.
“Got held up for a bit.”

Lin Su turned off the skit. “Something up?”

He Zhenling strode towards him with his long legs.
Before the person got close, Lin Su said helplessly, “Is there something you couldn’t have said at my residence?”

The figure stopped in front of him, and a soft laugh fell.
“I was afraid that if I said it, you’d get nervous again.”

“…”
Lin Su straightened his face and looked up. “Aren’t you going to get to the point, Xiao He?”

He Zhenling gave him a knowing glance and let him off the hook. He then pulled out a stack of papers with a rustle and placed them on the desk. Lin Su picked them up and looked. It was information about Zhu Jianfei.
He looked at He Zhenling: ?

He Zhenling said faintly, “Didn’t you say there was something you were concerned about?” He paused, then asked, “What are you concerned about?”

Lin Su swallowed the flirty words that were about to come out and flipped through the documents.
He said curtly, “Filth.”

He Zhenling’s expression flickered slightly. He looked at him and said nothing.

 The information was very complete.

 Lin Su scanned it quickly, ten lines at a time: It said that Zhu Jianfei was previously unknown and hadn’t even gotten into university. He only made his fortune after the age of 28. He was married but had no children. He was now one of the top three richest turtles in Xuncheng.

 As for the reason he insisted on proposing to donate 8 buildings to a high school—

 The previous entrepreneur who participated in the selection had donated 7 buildings, but it was to his own university.
And Zhu Jianfei hadn’t gotten into university, so his high school was the only thing he could show off.

…

The file folder was closed with a snap.

He Zhenling asked, “Do you have any plans?”

Lin Su studied him carefully. “You’ve been getting more and more proactive lately.”

He Zhenling’s lips curved into a smile, and he said softly, “Of course, it’s to prevent you from… fooling around where I can’t see you.”

The two looked at each other, one up, one down.
In the few seconds of silence, a “cough” was heard. Turning their heads, they saw the butler in his security uniform, appearing silently at the door.
“I’m on patrol.”

Lin Su sized him up: Oh, he survived.

Probably seeing that there were only the two of them in the classroom. The butler paused, then floated in and stopped at Lin Su’s desk. He nodded at He Zhenling, then asked Lin Su:
“Am I still making dinner?”

“Depends on the time. We’ll see later.”

The butler thought for a moment, seizing every second. “Then give me today’s homework first.”

Lin Su took out his homework and directly gave him the desk.

He Zhenling silently watched this skilled and natural scene: …

After getting up, Lin Su leaned against the desk.
He Zhenling withdrew his gaze from the figure whose pen was flying and turned it towards him with a meaningful look:
“You didn’t change all of the person’s eight characters to the two words ‘obey’, did you?”

The butler’s ears pricked up sensitively: ?

“You’re overthinking it again.” Lin Su gestured. “I clearly didn’t say anything.”

He Zhenling: “You just don’t take the initiative, don’t refuse, and don’t take responsibility.”

“…”
Lin Su said warmly, “Don’t worry, I won’t be like that with you.”

The pen that was rushing through the homework paused. The butler finally couldn’t take it anymore and looked up: Was he doing homework just so these two could flirt? And they were even teasing him right in front of him!

 He took a deep breath. “Sir…”

Just as he opened his mouth, a sound suddenly came from the door. Dean Li peeked out from the doorway of the half-lit classroom and looked at the three people inexplicably gathered in the classroom.

 Especially the security guard, who was hunched over a desk doing homework.
His eyes widened in shock. “…What is going on here?”

The three people in the classroom stopped at the same time.
After a moment of stagnation.
He Zhenling, for some reason, pressed his lips together and spoke before the other two:
“I was passing by and saw the security guard snatching his homework and starting to write.”

__

Author’s Note:
He Zhenling (preemptive strike): Caught red-handed.
The butler: .
Haha. 🙂

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