142: Chapter 142: Too Lazy to Explain

As soon as these words were spoken, the private room fell silent.

The classmates looked at each other, memories from deep within being awakened:

In the winter of their third year of middle school, Su Han and Zhao Xiaodao wrapped themselves in the same military overcoat, claiming with flushed faces that they had a fever of 39 degrees, only for Teacher Liu to discover their palms were drenched in sweat;

Before the sports meet, Su Han "accidentally" fell into a flowerbed, tearing a large hole in the knee of his pants, while Zhao Xiaodao chimed in saying he saw a stray dog chasing him, only for the Dean of Students to find game coins they had dropped outside the wall;

Before final exams, the two of them took leave from evening self-study for three consecutive days, claiming they were going to the hospital to care for a "sick relative," only to be caught red-handed by their parents pulling an all-nighter at an internet cafe...

"It seems... there was such a thing." A boy wearing glasses pushed up his spectacles, his tone hesitant. "Back then, Teacher Liu was so angry that he made them clean the toilets for a month as punishment."

"Exactly!" another girl agreed. "They were the 'Lying Duo' of the class back then. Zhao Xiaodao would come up with the ideas, and Su Han would play along. They almost fooled the teachers every time."

Lin Ruoxue's brows furrowed slightly as she looked at Su Han, her eyes filled with a bit more uncertainty.

Although she felt in her heart that Su Han didn't seem like the type to lie about something like this, Chen Hao's words had indeed struck a chord with everyone's shared memories.

Zhao Xiaodao got anxious. "That was years ago! People change, okay? Su Han is a soldier now! Can a soldier lie?!"

"A soldier can't lie?" Chen Hao sneered. "I think he's just let your praise go to his head and wants to use the title of 'hero' to show off in front of his classmates!"

He walked up to Su Han and looked down at him. "Su Han, do you dare to show us if there are burns on your back? If there really are, I, Chen Hao, will apologize to you in public and give you a lifetime VIP membership at my gym! If not..."

"No need," Su Han suddenly spoke, his voice calm without a hint of emotion.

He looked up, meeting Chen Hao's provocative gaze, with a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips. "Whether you believe it or not is meaningless to me."

"What do you mean?" Chen Hao frowned. "Are you feeling guilty?"

"I just don't feel the need to prove anything to you," Su Han said flatly. "I didn't save people to make you believe me, nor was it for your gym's VIP membership."

"Believe it or not, the facts are the facts. As for those things in middle school..."

He looked at Zhao Xiaodao and suddenly smiled. "It really was our fault. Didn't we get punished by cleaning the toilets later anyway?"

Zhao Xiaodao was stunned for a moment, then laughed as well. "Exactly! We cleaned them better than anyone else. Teacher Liu even praised us, saying our reform through labor was very successful."

The two shared a smile, and their past embarrassments seemed to become the key to diffusing the awkwardness of the moment.

The atmosphere in the room relaxed again, and a classmate tried to smooth things over. "Hey, it's all old news. There's no need to take it so seriously. Su Han is a soldier now; he definitely wouldn't joke about something like this."

"Exactly. You can't just pretend to be a hero. If you're found out, it's no laughing matter."

Seeing that no one was siding with him, Chen Hao's expression darkened further. "Hmph, I think he just got lucky and happened to be there. With Zhao Xiaodao bragging about him, he's actually started believing he's a hero."

Su Han ignored Chen Hao's provocation and turned to Lin Ruoxue. "You said earlier that you're studying the Minor Protection Law?"

Lin Ruoxue was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, my advisor is leading a related project, and I've been organizing case studies recently."

"That's good," Su Han nodded. "This field indeed needs more attention."

The two began to chat naturally, from legal statutes to social cases, and the atmosphere gradually eased.

Left out by Su Han and Lin Ruoxue, Chen Hao's face turned pale and then flushed. His fingers gripped his wine glass so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Watching them talk so happily, his heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat's claws, filled with both anxiety and anger.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaodao secretly gave Su Han a thumbs-up and made a face at Chen Hao, making the latter so angry he almost crushed his glass.

"By the way, where's Teacher Liu?" Zhao Xiaodao looked around but didn't see their homeroom teacher.

"He said he was going to pick up Teacher Wang, the math teacher," the class monitor explained. "Teacher Wang has trouble walking, and Teacher Liu was afraid she'd get tired from the stairs, so he went to wait for her at the elevator."

Just as he spoke, the door opened, and Teacher Liu walked in supporting an elderly woman in her late fifties. It was indeed their former math teacher, Teacher Wang.

"Sorry, sorry we're late," Teacher Liu said with a smile and a wave of his hand. "Teacher Wang just finished a physical exam, and I accompanied her to pick up the report."

"Hello, Teacher Liu! Hello, Teacher Wang!" The classmates stood up one after another to greet them.

Teacher Wang squinted her eyes to look at everyone, her gaze finally landing on Su Han. Her cloudy eyes brightened. "Is this... Su Han?"

"It's me, Teacher Wang." Su Han stood up to greet her. As he bowed slightly, the wound on his back pulled, causing him to frown slightly, but he quickly concealed it.

"Good lad, you've grown so tall!" Teacher Wang smiled and patted his arm. "Back then, you always ranked last in math. I even told Teacher Liu that this boy's mind wasn't on his studies..."

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.

At this moment, Teacher Liu helped Teacher Wang sit in the seat of honor. The students stood up to greet them, and the atmosphere in the room became lively once again.

Chen Hao's eyes lit up, sensing a perfect opportunity. He immediately put on a warm smile and walked over with his wine glass.

"Teacher Liu, Teacher Wang, you've finally arrived!" He bowed slightly, his tone perfectly respectful. "We were just talking about you with the others, saying that if you two didn't show up, this reunion would lose half its meaning."

Teacher Liu smiled and waved his hand. "You're always so sweet-talked. How has your business been these past few years? I heard from your father last time that you've opened several gyms. Truly a promising young man."

"You flatter me, Teacher," Chen Hao smiled modestly, though the pride in his eyes was unmistakable. "I just learned the basics from my father and got lucky. But speaking of which, when it comes to business, I really have to thank the math you teachers taught us back then, otherwise I wouldn't even be able to balance the books."

His words both flattered the teachers and subtly showed off his career, killing two birds with one stone.