Chapter 296

Page 106: Going to See Your Grandfather

Because Zhao Zhao triggered an alarm, a fully armed patrol team rushed out from the security camp at the foot of the mountain. Tsk, no wonder they are the elite of Bìyáng Girls’ School, responding so quickly in less than a minute.

“Over here! It must be that damn monkey sneaking up again!”

The person leading the cursing was Li Qiuluo. Although she was far away, her high ponytail was easily recognizable. Moreover, her lines sounded more like those of bandits rather than soldiers.

“Hurry up, girls! The new equipment we got should be put to good use!”

Oh? They seem to have brought some new gear.

Although Zhao Zhao couldn’t see what was happening down the mountain, he still shouted at Lù Lí, “It’s bad, the security people must have come. Lí, you guys go first! Hide your backpacks, that’s our hope! Don’t take them out!”

Oh, so your hope is the girls’ school uniforms?

“What about you, Brother Zhao?”

Holding onto the top of the mountain with one hand and raising his thumb with the other, Zhao Zhao had a carefree smile on his face.

“I’ll probably get caught, but I’m used to it. At most, I’ll just have to write ten thousand-word self-reflections… Hurry up, or it will be too late!”

As he said this, he checked his footing and prepared to climb down the cliff.

Descending the cliff was more difficult than climbing up. In his panic, he missed a step and almost fell off the cliff, causing quite a scare.

Seeing this, Grandma called out to him.

“You foolish boy over there, don’t even think about escaping. If you fall, it would be dangerous, wouldn’t it?”

Grandma slowly crossed the railing and stood on the edge of the cliff in front of Zhao Zhao.

Naturally, this triggered another alarm.

Lù Lí shouted at her, “Senior Sister! What are you doing? Senior Sister!”

“I’m covering for you, just crouch down a bit.”

Grandma’s actions were unexpected.

I thought she would make Zhao Zhao surrender and then have Li Qiuluo send him to the zoo, but instead, she covered for him.

Zhao Zhao looked up briefly and quickly lowered his head… From where Grandma stood, it was easy for Zhao Zhao to see her skirt, strictly speaking, it was my body.

I swear, if he dares to look up again, I’ll poke out his dog eyes and kick him down the mountain with his pompadour hairstyle. I will definitely do that.

“Thank you, Senior Sister!”

Lù Lí whispered her thanks, but Grandma waved her hand.

“It’s not a big deal, and she is the principal after all.”

“Yeah, but I don’t believe that!”

“I really… never mind.”

Giving up on explaining, Grandma looked up the stone path. The security team led by Li Qiuluo had arrived, and upon seeing that it wasn’t a red-haired gorilla invasion, they were momentarily stunned.

“Tsk, it wasn’t a primate invasion after all.”

From her tone, Li Qiuluo seemed disappointed.

She put something back on her waist—probably a grenade based on its shape.

She blew the whistle hanging around her neck and shouted across the railing, “Student, do not cross the barrier! Come back immediately!”

At this point, Zhao Zhao had already hidden below the cliff, trying to shrink his figure against the wall. If Li Qiuluo didn’t cross the barrier, she wouldn’t see him. So Grandma obediently returned to the other side.

Li Qiulro took out a small notebook and pen, questioning formally, “Cough, cough, which class are you two from? It’s during class hours, sneaking out means getting into trouble, right?”

“I’m not a student. I came to inspect the school. Please lead me, student.”

“Inspect?”

Li Qiulro raised an eyebrow, then seemed to recall something and turned to confirm with the team behind her, “That girl, Hǎitáng, mentioned at noon… Is she the one?”

One of the team members glanced at their phone.

“Yes, she is the agent sent by Principal Huángfǔ. Grandma is unwell and cannot move, so she had to send a trusted person… But I didn’t expect her to be so young, even wearing the school uniform doesn’t feel out of place.”

“Uh, Agent Miss, I apologize for any rudeness earlier.”

Li Qiulro scratched her head awkwardly. Grandma’s identity was more complicated than expected, and she couldn’t ignore her unauthorized crossing of the barrier, especially since it triggered an alarm.

Grandma shook her head, “You don’t need to apologize. Actually, I intended to trigger the alarm.”

Li Qiulro slapped her palm in realization.

“Oh! You were testing our security team’s response speed?”

“Exactly. You did well, and I will report this to Grandma Yùehuá.”

“Thank you, Agent Miss!”

Grandma said this, and Li Qiulro seemed pleased. She then volunteered, “If you need a guide within the school, even if you don’t seek help from regular students, our security team, or rather, I personally can assist, and we can do it better!”

Considering only her career advancement, the security team behind her gave her a disdainful look.

Li Qiulro was indeed quite fond of flattering others. She had also been submissive to Lǐnhuā before, could it be that she wanted a promotion?

…Alright, who wouldn’t want that?

But she ended up receiving a cold shoulder. Grandma straightforwardly declined her offer.

“No need, having this student accompany me is enough. You can take your team back.”

“Uh, yes… But please don’t cross the barrier again. There are red-haired gorillas in the forest opposite, sometimes they climb up, it’s very dangerous!”

“Okay, thank you for the warning.”

Disappointed, Li Qiulro led the patrol team back to camp. After they left, Grandma spoke to Zhao Zhao, who was clinging to the rock wall, “It’s safe now, you can slowly climb down.”

“Thanks! They said you’re Principal Huángfǔ’s agent? Is that true?”

“Meh, just consider it as such.”

In a sense, Grandma was indeed their agent since her real body was still in the hospital bed, hooked up to a ventilator.

Lù Lí nodded understandingly, “No wonder you introduced yourself as the principal. You have such a background.”

Zhao Zhao didn’t hurry to climb down, holding onto the cliff with his muscles.

He asked again, “Why is the principal’s agent helping us? Regardless of the reason, we violated school rules, shouldn’t you question us?”

“In the past, I would have done that.”

Grandma threw the backpack containing the school uniforms to Lù Lí and continued, “But today, I’m in a good mood and have no interest in separating couples… You kid, cherish this girlfriend who is willing to take risks for you.”

“Of course, I would even offer my heart for her!”

“Hmph, let’s hope it’s not just a promise.”

“By the way, I don’t know the agent’s name…”

“Why ask so much? You’re tired hanging on the wall. Go back to class.”

Grandma urged repeatedly, but Zhao Zhao didn’t move. Instead, he stared at Lù Lí’s backpack and chuckled, “Cough, cough, can I have that backpack?”

This big, clueless guy was really out of touch. After Grandma spared him, he still wanted these school uniforms?

“No, I know what’s inside and what you plan to do. I won’t allow it.”

Lù Lí explained beside him, “Brother Zhao, the agent agreed to renovate the boys’ school basketball court. There’s no need to sell these uniforms.”

“Really?”

Zhao Zhao looked at Grandma questioningly.

“Of course, I’ll arrange it when I return. Do you want me to write a guarantee letter and sign it?”

Zhao Zhao’s persistent pestering made Grandma impatient. Her prejudice against men ran deep, and her patience with Zhao Zhao was nearly gone.

“Oh! No need… But the principal doesn’t like males, I fear my suggestion might be rejected.”

“I’ll try my best, but if you say another word, I’ll change my mind!”

“Mmm…”

Noticing Grandma’s displeasure, Zhao Zhao began to climb down the cliff.

Lù Lí called out to him, “Brother Zhao, be careful! The security team said there are red-haired gorillas in the forest. Run if you see them!”

Zhao Zhao slipped and fell from the cliff.

————

After coming down from the artificial mountain and sending Lù Lí away, Grandma brought me to rest in the white stone pavilion on the mountain, silently gazing at the new school buildings of the girls’ school.

She showed no emotion, making it impossible to tell if she was happy or not.

“Why did Grandma help them?”

Breaking the silence, I asked, “I thought you would send them all to the disciplinary office.”

“Not necessarily. They did something foolish, but the root cause is partly my responsibility. When the old campus was divided into a boys’ high school, the infrastructure had already been used for nearly thirty years, but we thought it could still be used, so there was no renovation.”

“When Xiao Kai was studying at the boys’ school, he hardly had any good memories. The environment was terrible, the school rules were strict, and the students were under great pressure, often feeling frustrated. The unequal treatment between boys’ and girls’ dormitories was a source of this dissatisfaction.”

“The reasons I explained to that female student earlier, the boys’ high school does not receive aid funds, and I have no intention of providing them. Besides, compared to other high schools, the boys’ high school’s environment isn’t bad. Even if it’s old, it’s the original building of the girls’ school. Agreeing to renovate the gymnasium is already a concession on my part.”

Grandma completely refused to understand the boys’ plight.

I sighed, “Then let’s change the question. Do you think they are suitable for each other?”

“They both don’t seem particularly smart, so they suit each other well.”

“Huh? Is that a reason?”

“At least that foolish boy cares about his girlfriend… Much better than Cāng’ěr was.”

She rarely mentioned Grandpa on her own initiative, so I followed up, “Actually, Grandpa has never given up on you. If Rúbìfāng’s surgery couldn’t save your life, what other final measures would Grandpa have… I imagine it would cost him greatly.”

The final measure I could think of was giving up the altar and bearing the ultimate heavenly punishment to restore Grandma to her youthful appearance.

Sacrificing the last altar to save a mortal’s life, six months ago, I would have opposed it, but now I am hesitant.

Emotional and desirous gods cannot long maintain the laws set by the Heavenly Path. Even the threshold of life and death is hard to cross. Many gods were blinded by temporary gains and thus lost their eternal positions, but was that wrong?

The answer seemed less clear-cut.

“Xiaoying, once we finish resting, go see your grandfather.”

Grandma suddenly spoke, leaving me somewhat dazed.

“How did you come to terms?”

“I’m an old woman close to death. Even if the surgery succeeds, it’s just postponing the inevitable.”

“Don’t say that. Even if it’s only a year, you should fight for it.”

I don’t even have a year left, yet I don’t want to disappear. I want to live with Xiao Kai and strive for it.

“I don’t have time to hesitate anymore.”

Grandma leaned on the stone pillar of the pavilion and stood up.

“I really don’t want to see him, but resisting emotions isn’t necessarily wrong. The correct answer has always been in my heart.”

Grandma’s words were like a condemnation of those gods who fell due to emotional decisions.