novelOn the Topic of 101 Ways to Threaten Someone: (1)
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Translated by Eve
Edited by Karasunofight
3. On the Topic of 101 Ways to Threaten Someone: Part 1
As soon as he knocked, the door opened. When Allen saw Xie He, he revealed a gentle smile, "So, Teacher Su has arrived. Please, come in."
Xie He entered and handed over the clothing in his arms, smiling, "Thank you."
The corner of Allen's mouth raised, and his blue eyes were packed with profound meaning, "Teacher, you're too polite. You've thanked me so many times...."
Xie He flushed at his gaze and stammered, "En. Then I—I will return first...."
He hastily turned around, but discovered there was a man kneeling in the corner, his back to him. Xie He's eyes widened in shock, and he looked back at Allen, puzzled. What on Earth had happened?!
Allen immediately let out a distressed expression, "Ai, I had also just returned to this scene. I haven't had the chance to ask him about it yet before you had arrived...."
Xie He stared at Allen with a grave expression. He then headed to the student's side and asked, "Student, what's the matter?" Worry reflected in his eyes. When he got closer, he discovered that the student was unexpectedly one of his! It seemed like his name was... Xu Wenhao. Since his grades were so good, Xie He had a very good impression of him.
Xu Wenhao gritted his teeth and didn't say a word, face extremely red.
Xie He reached out, wanting to pull him up. He would not put up with seeing his student be humiliated like this!
Only, before he even made contact with him, his shoulder was firmly pressed down. Allen stood behind him and slowly spoke, "Teacher Su, if you want what's best for him, then you shouldn't meddle."
Xie He turned his head around and looked at Allen with a bit of skepticism. This man who seemed so gentle and considerate... how could he bully and humiliate his classmate like this?! Could it be that he misjudged him? Xie He spoke unhappily, "I'm his teacher. I will not ignore such a thing!"
Allen sighed helplessly, and a hurt expression bled from his eyes, "Could it be that you think that I'm bullying my classmates?"
Xie He's face showed that he completely thought that this is what was happening!
Allen laughed bitterly and spoke to Xu Wenhao, "You tell Teacher Su yourself, whether or not someone is forcing you."
Xu Wenhao's face was completely red. He took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm doing this voluntarily. No one is forcing me. This has nothing to do with Allen."
Xie He promptly said, "No need to be afraid! If you tell the truth, Teacher will be able to help you!"
Xu Wenhao suddenly glared at him fiercely, his tone bad, "I don't need you meddling in my business!"
When Xie He was stared at with this sort of expression, the goodwill that filled his heart felt like it was hit by a bucket of cold water. He stood frozen in place, expression blank.
Allen saw his opportunity and grabbed onto Xie He's wrist, forcibly hauling him outside of the room. At this moment, Xie He realized that the man who seemed gentle and soft was unexpectedly powerful. His strength rendered the teacher unable to resist, and he had no choice but to let himself be pulled outside to a corner of the corridor.
Allen thrust a palm against the wall, blocking Xie He from escaping and pressed close, "Teacher Su, can't you listen to my explanation first?"
Xie He, who was kabedon'ed, felt that this kind of Allen was too oppressive. However, he still summoned up his courage and glared at him, "No matter what the reason is, doing this kind of thing isn't right! You shouldn't bully your classmates!"
Allen thought, I've never thought about bullying my classmates—I've only ever wanted to bully you. However, he showed a hurt expression on his face, "Teacher, do you think I'm that kind of person? Before you've even gotten to the bottom of things, you're indiscriminately blaming me based on what it appears to be on the surface."
"Could it be that this isn't the case?" Xie He's eyes widened.
"Of course not, " Allen shook his head, "The person he owes money isn't me."
"Then... are your other roommates the ones bullying him?" Xie He's tone eased up quite a bit. Although Allen hadn't done this, he was still extremely angry.
Allen sighed, "Xu Wenhao owes Sun Zeyang money, but can't pay it back. So, Sun Zeyang gave him two choices: one, he returns the money within a month or two, for every hour he kneels, a thousand yuan will be deducted from his debt. He chose the second option."
"How could Sun Zeyang do such a thing!" Xie He felt even more resentful upon hearing this, "Classmates should help out and care for one another! How could they do such a thing over a bit of money!"
Allen's expression slightly chilled, and he spoke indifferently, "First off, it's not 'a bit' of money. It's fifty thousand yuan. Secondly, we've already given him a long enough extension to return the money. Lastly, isn't it only right to return the money you owe? He wasn't willing to return the money, so isn't it only right for him to pay some kind of price? You think that this is too much, but perhaps he feels that this is convenient. After all, just by kneeling, he can lessen the debt by quite a lot."
Xie He pursed his lips and didn't speak. Deep inside, he gave Allen's clear and well-organized reasoning a 'like. '
Allen lowered his head, his warm breath falling onto Xie He's face. Allen's eyes were fixed onto him, gaze profound, "Teacher Su, everyone must pay the price for their choices. Xu Wenhao is unable to repay his debt, so he chose to get on his knees to settle it. That is his choice. If you can't help him, then it'd be better for you to stay out of his business. Don't you think so?"
It became difficult for Xie He to breath. He wanted to move back and evade the other man, but Allen's hand blocked his way out. His face flushed, "First, stand farther away. Speak properly."
Allen said, "Only if you promise not to act impulsively again."
Xie He felt extremely helpless, "OK."
Only after agreeing did Allen step back. On his face, once again, hung his constant, gentle smile, and he spoke in a refined and courteous manner, "I apologize greatly for letting you see such a thing. If there's nothing else, I'll go back first to rest."
He intended to send his guest away with these words.
Xie He could not leave though. Such a thing had occurred, so as a teacher, how could he turn a blind eye to this!
He hesitated for a moment, and then spoke hesitatingly, "That... Will you first let Xu Wenhao off? The matter about repaying the debt... you guys can slowly think of another way...."
Allen shook his head, "His creditor is not me, but Sun Zeyang. I have no authority to make that decision on his behalf. Moreover... we have already given him so much time... if he still had any credibility, Sun Zeyang would not make things difficult for him."
"That..." Xie He opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but was interrupted by Allen.
He spoke apathetically, "Unless he agrees to return the money, I can't do anything about it."
Xie He stood in place helplessly. A long time later, he bit his lips and said, "Take me to see Sun Zeyang. I want to speak to him." Since Sun Zeyang was the creditor, he should be able to change things by talking with him.
Allen fell silent for a moment, then exposed an awkward expression. He nodded for quite a while, "Fine. Since it's your request... but you must promise me that you will discuss things well with him. You must not make any unreasonable demands."
It was the first time he was criticized as being unreasonable. Humiliation and anger appeared upon Xie He's face, "OK."
Allen did not return to the dorm, least of all bother to pay any attention to Xu Wenhao, who was still kneeling inside. He brought Xie He off-campus and directly into an Internet Cafe.
He went up to the third floor and pushed open the door to a private room, entering without invitation. Xie He followed after, feeling ill at ease. There were several computers within the room, but only Sun Zeyang and Li Hongxuan were inside. They seemed to be playing a video game and did not lift their heads to look at them.
Allen also did not interrupt them. He said to Xie He, "Teacher Su, sit for a while. Wait until they finish this round, OK?"
Xie He nodded and nervously sat on the sofa.
【Xie He：These fellows are quite young, but their conduct and way of handling affairs is not simple, na. Their future prospects are boundless. Smile. jpg】
【444：(⊙o⊙) Oh？】
【Xie He：Look at them. One plays the role of the villain, while the other plays the role of the hero. Their acting ability is first class, and they use a method of exerting and relaxing psychological pressure. Each of their tricks are interlocked. Tsk tsk, not bad, not bad. 】
【444：It seems like you're admiring them.... 】
【Xie He：That's right!】
【444：I suddenly discovered that the people you admire are all scum_(:3ゝ∠)_This is definitely a coincidence, right?】
【Xie He：Probably 🙂 】
Xie He waited for half an hour; his glass of water had already been finished. Only then did Sun Zeyang let go of his mouse. As if he had just noticed him, he said in a surprised tone, "Teacher Su, why did you come?"
Allen considerately answered, "Because of the matter involving Xu Wenhao."
The cordial expression on Sun Zeyang's face quickly disappeared, and his tone became cold, "Oh. Teacher Su, are you here to help him out?"
"N-no, " Xie He said at once, "I just wanted to tell you that you needn't be so rigid between classmates. Could you please extend the deadline for him once more?"
Sun Zeyang revealed a ridiculing expression, "Do you know how long he's owed me for?"
Xie He didn't know what to say.
"Xu Wenhao's father is a gambling addict. In order to help his father pay off his gambling debts, he borrowed money from me several times. In addition, after half a year, he hadn't even returned two thousand out of the fifty thousand yuan I lent, " Sun Zeyang laughed, "I had never made things difficult for him. Today, the words I said to him was me venting a bit. Who'd have thought he'd take it seriously? In order to lessen his debt, he'd rather kneel. I didn't force him to do this."
Xie He did not expect this. His expression was even more awkward, "But..."
"Teacher Su, I deeply respect you as you're our teacher, which is why I'm willing to tell you this. However, my money was not brought in by a flood. I believe that I've already done enough in the name of camaraderie between classmates. If you still blindly demand that I retreat, then isn't this favouring him while discriminating against me?" Sun Zeyang said coldly, "Even if I am willing to give out money freely, I would not give it to his gambling addict of a father. I'd donate it to charity. At least then, it would help others, ne."
"S-sorry, I didn't think that it was like this, " Xie He's ears were red out of embarrassment, but when he thought of Xu Wenhao's stubborn silhouette kneeling within that room... a child—he definitely was forced into this, because he had no other choice. If one could stand, who would be willing to kneel? He hesitated for a moment, before finally speaking between gritted teeth, "Can I help him?"
No matter what, he should first help this student get out of this predicament.
Sun Zeyang raised an eyebrow, astonished, "Even if you take off the odds and ends, there still remains fifty thousand. Are you sure that you want to help him repay his debt?"
Su Yan naturally did not have that much money. His family was but an ordinary, working family. His parents were taking care of his younger brother, so even his tuition had been paid for by himself via his part-time work. He had to work hard and live frugally every month in order to send his younger brother some money for his living expenses. All of his savings only amounted to ten thousand yuan. However, he was duty-bound to help his students. So, Xie He revealed an awkward expression, "I can give you ten thousand now. The remainder... will you give me some time?"
A trace of disdain appeared within Sun Zeyang's eyes. His expression seemed to say, you don't have the money yet you still want to pretend. It couldn't be that you're planning to act dumb later?
Xie He's face turned bright red in shame. His appearance made it look like he was just itching to find a crack in the ground to drill into.
Allen noticed Xie He's distressed appearance and reached out to wrap an arm around his shoulder. He negotiated with Sun Zeyang, "Since Teacher Su has spoken, give him some face. The remaining amount can be slowly returned."
In this kind of predicament, Xie He did not notice that Allen's actions were overstepping his bounds a bit. He hung his head so low that it nearly reached his chest.
Allen stared at Xie He's side profile. His gaze fell on his earlobes that had reddened from embarrassment. They were delicate and pink like an underripe cherry. It made people want to take a bite out of it. The more he looked at it, the more enticing it became. He couldn't help but get closer and closer....
【Ding. Allen's Favorability Value +10. The current Favorability Value is 70. 】
Just as he was about to make contact with Xie He, Allen's expression darkened, and he finally stopped his approach. Right now was not the best time to act. This beautiful prey would be in the palm of his hands sooner or later.
He released his hold, "Teacher Su, you need not worry. I believe that you are a trustworthy person."
Gratefulness shone out of Xie He's eyes, "Thank you...."
"You're thanking me again, " Allen smiled, "It's but a trivial matter. Only, how do you plan on repaying the debt later? This figure is no small amount. As far as I know, your salary isn't that high."
"I—I will think of a way!" Xie He said.
"Alright. Since you've said it then... every Saturday, come return a portion of the debt to Sun Zeyang, how about that?" Allen asked.
"No problem!" At this time, Xie He naturally would not try to negotiate and promptly agreed.
Li Hongxuan, who had closed his eyes to rest and turned a blind eye to all of this, suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at Xie He in derision.
【Ding. The target, Li Hongxuan's Favorability Value -10. The current Favorability Value is -10. 】
【444：Σ(°△°###)︴What happened?! Why did the Favorability Value suddenly drop?! 】
【Xie He：It's fine. He's just sympathizing with me. What a good student 🙂 】
【444：...... 】
Eve: Oof. Can't wait for the regret and pain that will come to these students. Such trash ugh.
Kara: I wish that XH could go OOC more without penalties so that he can slap all these arrogant boys in the face! (ง•̀_•́)ง
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