Chapter 4 - Strawberry Flavored Scholar Gong (4): Life is like a play, it all relies on acting~

Before arriving at the hospital, Gou Liang received an explanation for the malfunction of the system's tracking function in regard to the target.

The answer was as he expected.

The mainframe was still unable to give a solution, only saying that the Bureau had received this problem and would make improvements to the system's tracking function. They would quickly upgrade the system and they asked him to wait patiently.

When Gou Liang heard this, he wasn't as annoyed as the system had thought he would be. He wrinkled his brows and became quiet instead.

He realized a problem, a very big problem ↓↓

Maybe it wasn't that the BOSS was deliberately withholding information on the fragments, but that the higher-ups also didn't know much. What he could confirm was that the systems created specifically for retrieving the fragments were currently only semi-finished products. In the future, there would still be countless "malfunctions" waiting for him.

Thinking up to here, Gou Liang immediately felt a headache coming.

—My bosses, can't you guys be a bit more reliable! ( ＿ ＿)ノ｜

[System: M-master, are you alright?] The master being so quiet made it feel even more scared. Don't you think so TAT

[Gou Liang breathed in deeply and squeezed out a smile: I'm fine, I was just thinking about what to do next.]

[The system forced a smile: Then you continue, you continue.]

Gou Liang didn't lie to the System: he was really worried about this matter.

No predecessors had successfully retrieved a fragment before. As for the strategies to clear the mission, there was no such thing as using other people's experiences as a reference. Also, no one had ever reported that the systems' function was useless against the target. From what he could see, Gou Liang could at least come down to two definite conclusions.

One, Shi Yu was indeed the fragment holder of this world.

Two, the so-called "Experience and Strategy Forum" didn't have any value; he was the pioneer that had truly triggered the mission for real.

This identity was practically waving the 'you will be met with a miserable life' flag. The first person to eat crab didn't have a good ending. He had never thought about achieving the first kill in this shitty server! However, no matter how depressed he felt, since he had found the mission target, for the sake of the 10Wmission bonus, Gou Liang would make an all-out effort. He would tread through water and fire, he would take chestnuts from fire—uh, the more he thought about it the more unnerved he felt, stop, stop.

Fortunately, the Bureau wasn't heartless to the point of letting him enter a foreign land blindly. The mission details stated that the system will be constantly calculating two parameters that will help him complete the missions. In this completely headless situation, Gou Liang finally had a clue to follow.

The two parameters were: Target's favorability value and the mission completion rate.

The mission completion rate was self-explanatory: it measured how much of the fragment has been retrieved; every 10% increase of the mission completion he would be rewarded with 6000 points.

The favorability value referred to the acceptance value of the target's soul in regard to the mission undertaker. The favorability value was directly proportional to the mission completion rate.

The values were taken from the target's soul and calculated to reflect the soul intimacy value and calculation errors would deviate no more than ±0.00001. Favorability value ranged from -100 to +100. A negative number indicated hate and rejection of the mission undertaker's soul while a positive number represented like and acceptance of the mission undertaker's soul. Zero meant that the target had no opinion on the mission undertaker; a soul wouldn't interact with someone that they held 0 favorability value towards.

Generally speaking, 1-20 favorability value meant a good impression, 21-40 meant that the good impression deepened, 41-60 meant ordinary friendship, 61-80 meant close friendship, 81-90 meant love and 91-100 meant deep love.

Favorability value is an important pointer that helps complete the mission—the fragment that had integrated with the target's soul needed to be retrieved with the condition that the target's soul remained unharmed. In order to do so, the mission undertaker had to be completely accepted by the target's soul.

In theory, the favourability value had to be over 60 in order to be considered trustworthy by the target. After the target opened his soul up to the mission undertaker, the latter's soul force would be able to enter the target's soul and retrieve the fragment.

As for the exact method to retrieve the fragment from the target's soul, this was a question that even the Mainframe didn't have an answer for.

What Gou Liang needed to do and the only thing that he could do was clear. First, he would need to figure out why that smileyface.jpg bastard of a target gave him a -5 favorability value and use all methods to fix it. Afterward, he also had to prevent the loss of any more points while striving to brush the target's favorability value to the max.

This first step in the thousand-mile journey was in fact the most difficult to cross.

The road ahead of him was long, but Gou Liang remained optimistic. No matter what, being able to find a target with such a high match in this short period of time, they were already extremely lucky.

Be satisfied with what one had. The rest could be figured out slowly.

*

Before the parents arrived, the school had arranged for all the students to be examined and treated for injuries. The four students who had fainted were sent to the Emergency Room.

The Headmaster's worry wasn't unfounded:

Due to YuLe City High's high fees and rigorous school ethics, it was a focal point for the ordinary citizens with sons and daughters to raise. Not long after the hospital had received this group of special patients, news of it had already reached the outside world.

The Headmaster was scolded black and blue by the Department of Education who called to inquire about the situation and the safety of the students. The Head of Education bitterly resented the students who had caused trouble—the Vice Principal was about to retire and he was hoping for a promotion! This was a critical period of time for him, but something this big happened, how could he not be angry?

[The System trembled with fear: Master, are you sure that you're alright?]

Afterall, Gou Liang had first used the gold type ability prop and then used the bad luck talisman on those four people, causing them to be targeted by the crowd, resulting in the four people being heavily injured. This was already a serious OOC behavior. If someone detected this and concluded that Gou Liang wasn't Qi Cheng, then they would have to say goodbye to the target with a high match rate of 99.9%!

[Gou Liang smiled: They won't know that it's me who did it. No grievances, no debt, so don't worry. Even if they die right now, I wouldn't need to take responsibility for it.]

System: …You meant that as long as your spirit coins won't get deducted, the rest doesn't matter right, right? I have already seen through you my dear master.

[How could Gou Liang not know what the system was implying, his eye twitched: Aren't you too idle right now? I still haven't received the refund, ne. Any later, then don't blame be for being heartless.]

[System: ∑(っ°Д °;)っMaster, calm down. I'll tell them to hurry it up!]

As Gou Liang and the System fought over points, parents finally began to arrive successively in turns. The Ye couple was among them.

The Headmaster had the hospital clear out a large room and the students who had already been examined and were waiting for their results were gathered there.

The police had already rushed over but in the face of the emotionally unstable students, they were unable to carry out their work and could only stand off to the side. The Headmaster waited by the Emergency Room door. The Head of Education's heart was filled with worries. On one hand, he talked to the police with a smile and on the other, he glared at this bunch of disappointing students—if not for the fact that they were already hurt and that they were in front of the police, he really wished to give them a slap each and whip them to death.

With great difficulty, the Head of Education managed to send the police away, asking them to come back after the students and parents' state of mind had been appeased.

Since the situation had already come to this point, the school was extremely passive, aiming to drag things out—it was best to give the parents some time to negotiate a solution in private—this was the best way.

Turning his head back, the Head of Education gave the students an even uglier look. Although he was unable to tear their limbs apart to vent his anger, he didn't have to be polite with his mouth. Especially since he held 'evidence' against Gou Liang, Gou Liang became the target for him to concentrate his firepower on.

When the Ye couple had hurriedly arrived, they heard the Head of Education cursing: "…I have never seen a student as shameless as you! It's a lifelong disgrace for us to be your teachers! At your age you're not working hard at your studies but instead you want to form a messy relationship a male student and it's actually Student Zhan, Zhan Yongzhe! Qi Cheng, ah, Qi Cheng, is your brain broken? Look at yourself. Which part of you can compare to Student Zhan? Your grades are trash, your appearance is sloppy and you have no manners. There's really nothing worth mentioning about you—ai, you two are Qi Cheng's parents, ba?"

Madam Ye – Cheng Li's expression was exceedingly unsightly.

Just now the Head of Education had been talking very frankly. The sentence about 'Qi Cheng having a messy relationship with a male student' was like a bolt of lightning striking her out of a clear sky! She subconsciously looked at the man by her side. She didn't see anger on his face but her heart was restless. She looked at Gou Liang hatefully.

Heavens, how would Ye Chao view her now? How could she have given birth to such a shameless thing!

She really wished that she and her husband hadn't been at home today, then they wouldn't have to come here to disgrace themselves.

As Gou Liang took in her expression, he lowered his eyes and smiled coldly to himself.

Cheng Li's reaction wasn't out of his expectation. From the scene in the car that he had seen through the monitor, perhaps she really did have a little concern for the original host, but she was more afraid of the original host causing troubles and angering Ye Chao. She didn't want him to drag her down. Anyways, he didn't care about her reaction, he was more interested in Ye Chao: how he reacted would directly influence Gou Liang's next step.

Also, Gou Liang had perceived clearly…when Ye Chao was looking at the other students, his expression had changed for a split second… He knew these students, or at the very least knew that these students had something to do with Ye Hui.

This made things even more interesting.

Gou Liang was full of interest as he waited to see how things were going to develop.

The Head of Education saw that they didn't refute and immediately went to get the loose pages of the diary. He stuffed them into Ye Chao's hand. His tone this time was more restrained but was still unpleasant: "Both of you came at just the right time. Look at this. Look at what sort of things your son wrote, how is this appropriate? Ah, this is really too outrageous…"

After Ye Chao received the diary pages, he only glanced at it briefly. He interrupted him by saying: "Where's Headmaster Chen? Have him come over."

The Head of Education slowed down his talking. It seemed that these parents didn't want to talk to him and only wanted to speak with the Headmaster. He was indignant. He wanted to say something, but he soon took notice of the Ye couple's attire and imposing manner. The Head of Education sobered up slightly from his fit of rage.

He looked left and right and decided to replace the Headmaster standing outside the Emergency Room door so the other party could go and handle the parents' questions.

Headmaster Chen originally had a sea of fire churning in his heart. He inwardly complained about the 'not to be trifled with' and 'here to cause trouble' parents that the Head of Education had told him about but when he saw Ye Chao the person himself, it was like a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. In an instant he forgot about his anger.

His expression startled, the Headmaster quickly walked forward two steps and extended his hand, saying: "Mr. Ye, Madam Ye, what brings the two of you here? Student Ye Hui isn't implicated in this fight, this, the underlings must have accidentally notified you. Look at how they do things, I sincerely apologize…"

"Has Headmaster Chen been well? It's been a while since we last met."

Ye Chao shook his hand for a moment and smiled, saying: "You don't have to apologize, I'm Qi Cheng's stepfather and at the same time I am also this child's guardian. Something happened to Xiao Cheng at school. We, as parents, naturally have to come over to help you deal with it."

"It's just that I'm unclear on what happened exactly. So many students are gathered here… From what that teacher had said just now, it would appear that only Xiao Cheng is in the wrong here. But from what I know," Ye Chao shook his head and continued speaking as if he were puzzled, "he shouldn't have the ability to beat all the students in this room, ba?"

The Headmaster's expression changed.

The parents of the students who had been cursing or crying were obviously also transfixed by Ye Chao's imposing temperament. Although the expression they used to look at Gou Liang still wasn't friendly, it was already a lot less hostile.

The Headmaster watched this scene before his eyes. He coughed to clear his throat before saying with a smile: "Teacher Zhangmade a mistake in the heat of the moment. Give me some face and forgive him. He was also too worried about the student's health and safety. Sigh, Mr. Ye, Madam Ye, let's sit down and talk. Please, have a seat."

It was only when the three of them were all seated that the Headmaster carefully said: "What happened was this: Today, someone had posted the diary that Student Qi Cheng wrote onto the announcement board, which is what you are holding right now. You can have a look at its content first. Afterward, Student Qi Cheng had an argument with these students and they began to fight…"

Ye Chao wasn't willing for the school to continue holding onto this diary without letting go. He interrupted him and said: "Headmaster Chen, I'm sorry. According to what you said, from start to end Qi Cheng was a victim in this case."

"First of all, someone had violated his privacy and very obviously targeted him by doing something as humiliating as publicizing his diary. Even if Xiao Cheng's behavior afterward was somewhat inappropriate, no matter if it's in terms of morals or the law, he shouldn't be the one to take responsibility."

"And your so-called argument should be about these students ganging up many against one to verbally hurt Xiao Cheng, isn't that right? Even if Xiao Cheng had physical contact with them during the dispute, for things to progress to this point, I can impartially say, no matter if it's in terms of strength or number, Qi Cheng isn't the one directly responsible for this incident. This kind of thing that can be seen clearly at a glance, I shouldn't have understood wrongly, have I, Headmaster Chen?"

He had just finished speaking and the Headmaster didn't even have time to reply before the high-pitched scream of a woman sounded near them: "That Qi Cheng, is it him who hurt my son?! Have him come out—Mr. Ye, you're also here?"

Wu Yong's mother was surprised upon seeing Ye Chao, but right afterward she became even angrier: "Could it be that Xiao Hui was also hurt? My god, are there still laws in this world? How can the school have such a terrible student! Teacher Zhang, which one is the Qi Cheng you told me about? Have him come out for me! I would like to ask him how did my son offend him for him to lay such a heavy hand!"

Having heard this, how could the Headmaster not understand.

He saw Ye Chao's expression turning dark in an instant. The Headmaster looked resentfully at the Head of Education who had misguided the students' parents and tried to settle this matter by pushing the blame onto Gou Liang—this idiot, they couldn't afford to provoke Wu Yong's family but don't tell me that the Ye Family is also easy to bully?!

The Headmaster restrained his anger and pasted on a smile, hastily saying: "Madam Wu, please calm down first and I'll tell you what had happened. Teacher Zhang, there should be someone waiting outside the Emergency Room, go over and help the other parents first." As he said this, he gave Teacher Zhang a meaningful glance. The Head of Education, who realized that he had messed up, left with a face full of sweat.

Wu Yong's mother was not grateful at all and continued to yell: "Calm down, how can I calm down?"

"My son was beaten to this degree, it is unclear if he'll live or die! Our Wu family only has this one child. If something happens to him, I won't let you go! And that person called Qi Cheng, where are his parents? They raise a gay son but still don't allow other people to talk about it? What kind of parents are they to have raised this kind of pervert—"

"Madam Wu! This incident's relation to Student Qi Cheng isn't big, if we have something to say then let's say it nicely…"

The Headmaster was anxiously thinking about how to patch things up.

He had long heard that this current Madam Ye was a second wife. The two of them were a model couple. Despite the other party bringing a bonus son that was the same age as Ye Hui into the Ye family with her, her feelings with Ye Chao were still very deep. He originally didn't believe this—after all, he had never seen this rumored stepson in public —but things were unexpectedly so coincidental!

It could be seen from Mr. Ye's attitude today that he couldn't be like Teacher Zhang and push Gou Liang out to carry this pot.

Ye Chao didn't give him a chance to remedy the situation as he smiled coldly: "Madam Wu, you should watch your words. How I raise my child is none of your concern. On the contrary, I want to ask that of you. All sorts of reasons have led me to believe that it's your son who took away the diary of our family's child and publicized it! Let's not talk about how this behavior is a crime that involves violation of privacy, but afterward he had also used every means possible to humiliate Qi Cheng…Heh, our Ye Family doesn't have the habit of being slapped on the face but still offering the other cheek to be slapped!

After he finished speaking, he turned to Headmaster Chen and said: "Headmaster Chen, I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation."

"From what Madam Wu had said, it would seem that Teacher Zhang already placed the charge of severely injuring Wu Yong onto my stepson's head before the police have even come to a verdict? Your school can't even distinguish right from wrong, using only instincts and your own personal opinions to come to a conclusion?"

Madam Wu was stunned.

She thought back to how Teacher Zhang told her that this whole incident started because of a gay student who had caused trouble and had a dispute with her son. Very naturally she thought that the main culprit who harmed her son was that perverted student.

But from the looks of it now, those words were obviously biased statements that Teacher Zhang had said to curry favor with her. Her accusations were groundless.

Madam Wu scolded Teacher Zhang in her mind. But just because Ye Chao was protecting his stepson, it didn't mean that she was going to give up on getting justice for her son. Thus, she still held her head high and said aggressively: "If it wasn't him then who did it? My son is half dead and is still being tended to in the Emergency Room. Tell me, who was it that injured him?!"

Headmaster Chen found it difficult to say anything and could only apologize to both sides: "Mr.Ye don't be angry just yet. We can slowly find out exactly what had happened and then have a discussion. Madam Wu, I know that right now you're very distressed and worried. All of us are feeling this way, but please calm down. No matter what, I hereby promise that the school won't let a student who had made a mistake evade responsibility, but we also won't wrongly accuse any innocent students."

Madam Wu was just opening her mouth to speak but Ye Chao had already started talking, saying: "I admire YuLe's school ethics and discipline, which is why I sent my children to attend YuLe. However, what happened today has really disappointed me."

"As it is now, the school hadn't understood the situation clearly, yet wanted to denounce a child that's not even of age yet? Xiao Cheng, this child, has been raised by my side since he was less than five years old. These past ten years, I can't say that he's outstanding but I know that he is a kind and upright child. He would never hit someone, much less take the initiative to cause trouble. This matter today, the school must give us an explanation."

Wrinkles appeared all over Headmaster Chen's face: "Mr.Ye, what you said is right!"

"It's just that although the school places heavy importance on the truth, the students' life and death should still be placed first. The situation before was really too urgent, there are still four students in the Emergency Room…However, we didn't make clear the ins and outs of the situation in a timely manner and that was a mistake on our part. How about this, I'll make a call right now and have people bring over the surveillance footage. Before then, let's hear a statement of what happened from Student Qi Cheng and then we'll discuss how to handle this matter. Can we do that?"

Gou Liang listened up to here and his heart expressed approval towards Ye Chao's unyielding style of handling things and overbearing attitude.

He was a smart person, a smart person who was capable of doing big things.

As for Madam Ye who from start to end was just a wallflower…Gou Liang clicked his tongue. He didn't even have the interest to evaluate her.

It was only now did Ye Chao retracted his overbearing aura. He turned to look at Qi Cheng and said in a warm voice: "Xiao Cheng, don't be afraid. As long as Uncle Ye is here, no one can force a groundless accusation on you. Tell Uncle what happened, who is it that bullied you?"

It was only now did Gou Liang raise his head.

There were also bruises on his face, his red and swollen eyes were helpless, full of fright and unshed tears. The eyes that looked at Ye Chao brimmed with gratitude and trust. There was also a trace of awe.

Faced with this kind of expression, even Ye Chao, who was privately infuriated with this stepson, couldn't help but stare blankly for a while.

Gou Liang opened and closed his mouth, appearing unsure of what to say.

Ye Chao revealed a smile to comfort him and said: "Xiao Cheng, there's no need to be afraid. You heard what your headmaster said. Tell us exactly what happened in detail. This matter is not your fault; your mother and I will protect you. We definitely won't let anyone bully you."

As he said this, he looked at Headmaster Cheng and Madam Wu, letting them know that what he said just now wasn't just empty words.

His meaning was clear: Even if his stepson was wrong in this matter, he would only accept a result that would not harm the Ye family reputation.

It was as if Gou Liang had finally found his backbone. The him who had originally been standing stubbornly in the same spot now hurriedly moved towards the Ye couple. However, he only took a step before timidly stopping again. The tears that he had held in collapsed all at once.

He held back his voice, unwilling to let out a sound as he cried. In between sobs he said: "Uncle Ye, Mom, I'm not a pervert, I'm not…"

The author has something to say:

Good Morning~~~

Forecast: The first round of dog food will begin in chapter 7. Dog food will be scattered left and right. Before that, it will mostly be face-slapping.

As for why the little gong is strawberry flavored, guess. Hahaha~~the answer will be especially cute~~

Translator's little corner:

KunLin: Erm so in the previous chapter where it mentioned "Head of Discipline" it actually meant "Head of Education" Dunno why I read it differently but it's fixed now.