TSBSPAAM Chapter 34

Chapter 34: The Ancestor of Misfortune

In the evening, Shen Bumian went to the second-year mecha room and happened to see someone outside the classroom asking Qin Luzhi a question. He walked closer and heard that they were discussing mecha operations.

The weather was still very hot, and the air was stuffy, making one feel suffocated. Qin Luzhi had probably been training all afternoon, as one could see a rare sight of him sweating.

The Alpha’s bangs were slightly damp, and the evening sun shimmered with a golden light in his hair.

Qin Luzhi caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye and immediately ended the discussion. After saying goodbye to the person, he strode towards Shen Bumian.

Shen Bumian asked him where the essay was. Qin Luzhi replied, “Wait a moment,” and walked into a small cubicle next to the training room.

He opened a locker, took out the sheet of paper filled with words, and when he placed it in Shen Bumian’s hand, there wasn’t a single crease.

Shen Bumian couldn’t help but hold it carefully, thinking to himself that Qin Luzhi was truly so meticulous, even with a piece of paper.

He had thought Qin Luzhi would fold the paper and put it in his pocket, but he didn’t expect him to have specially put it in a locker. It was just a self-criticism essay, what had it done to deserve such treatment? Shen Bumian thanked Qin Luzhi on behalf of his essay.

Qin Luzhi didn’t know what was going on in Shen Bumian’s mind. He glanced into the mecha room; class was almost over. He was thinking he wanted to have dinner with Shen Bumian.

After taking the essay, Shen Bumian casually asked, “Want to go eat together?”

Qin Luzhi nodded. “I’ll be a little while longer.”

After speaking, he looked down at Shen Bumian, a light smile in his eyes.

Shen Bumian was currently reading the contents of the essay and missed Qin Luzhi’s smile. He skimmed it quickly. “Okay, I’ll wait here for you for a bit.”

Qin Luzhi went inside. It just so happened to be the last few minutes of class.

The teacher looked at the group of sweat-drenched students and didn’t insist on dismissing them right on the dot. He gathered them, picked a few people to stay behind and tidy up the mecha room, and then dismissed the class.

When Qin Luzhi came out, Shen Bumian had just finished reading. He had never written a self-criticism essay before.

Now, after reading it, he just felt that Qin Luzhi’s writing was logically tight and well-organized. He playfully punched Qin Luzhi’s shoulder. “Qin Luzhi, you wrote this pretty well. Thanks.”

He was used to interacting with Zhou Yizhou like this and didn’t feel there was anything wrong with it.

Qin Luzhi’s body stiffened, and he only felt a tingling numbness in the left arm that had been hit.

An omega’s hands were soft. He didn’t feel any pain from the light tap, only the warmth transmitting through the clothes to his arm.

His gaze unconsciously fell on Shen Bumian’s hand, his mind pondering that Shen Bumian’s hand seemed a little smaller than his.

Shen Bumian waved his hand in front of Qin Luzhi’s eyes. “Qin Luzhi? Are you listening?”

Qin Luzhi’s eyes moved. “Hmm? What did you say?”

Shen Bumian let out a long sigh. “Is my voice that unpleasant to listen to? You never listen to what I say.”

It was a low, soft voice, as if he had been greatly wronged and had fallen into self-doubt.

Hearing this, Qin Luzhi instantly became nervous. He completely forgot, how could Shen Bumian lack self-confidence? He quickly explained, “No, your voice is very nice to listen to.”

He watched as Qin Luzhi pursed his lips, seemingly wanting to say something but lacking the experience, only managing to open and close his mouth.

Shen Bumian burst out laughing and met Qin Luzhi’s serious eyes. “Just kidding with you. But… how is my voice nice to listen to?”

Only then did Qin Luzhi realize Shen Bumian was just joking, and he reverted to his usual expressionless face.

He sighed silently. Why did he always take Shen Bumian’s jokes seriously?

This time, Qin Luzhi didn’t speak again for the rest of the way. No matter how Shen Bumian tried to ask, he didn’t answer him.

Shen Bumian looked at the sparsely populated food counter, thought about going over, then paused. “Qin Luzhi, can I fold this essay? We’re about to eat. Please answer me, don’t just stay silent.”

Qin Luzhi looked down at the paper in Shen Bumian’s hand, which was still flat and uncreased. “You can.”

Qin Luzhi had finally spoken. In truth, he didn’t think it was a big deal.

After all, he had always been a man of few words. People who knew him all said he was a closed-off person who wouldn’t speak unless absolutely necessary.

But Shen Bumian didn’t see it that way. He felt that every time he spoke to Qin Luzhi, he would get a response, unlike just now on the way over, when he almost thought Qin Luzhi was angry.

Shen Bumian folded the paper in half, then in half again, and put it in his pocket before picking up his tray and walking towards the less crowded counter.

In this hot weather, he didn’t want to squeeze through crowds and wait in a long line. Qin Luzhi naturally followed him.

…

“What are you going to do now?”

Qin Luzhi glanced at his terminal. He Jing had asked him to bring back food, but he selectively ignored it.

Shen Bumian pointed to the instructors’ office building. “Hand in the essay. Teacher Gu said to give it to him tonight.”

Qin Luzhi thought of Gu Yixi’s face. “Little Dad said you can call him ‘Uncle’ in private. Just call him ‘Teacher’ in front of students.”

Shen Bumian also remembered what Gu Yixi and Qin Zui had said the last time the two families had dinner together, and he felt an indescribable awkwardness. “I’m not used to it.”

Qin Luzhi didn’t say anything more about it, just followed Shen Bumian. “I’ll go with you.”

Shen Bumian turned his head in confusion, looking at Qin Luzhi who was walking shoulder-to-shoulder with him. “I don’t think Teacher Gu is fierce. You don’t really have to come with me.”

Qin Luzhi thought of the sharp-tongued Gu Yixi, who didn’t go easy on his own students in the slightest, roasting them whenever he should. He nodded in agreement with Shen Bumian’s words, “He’s not fierce.”

Then he silently added in his heart, to you.

Shen Bumian figured the walk over would be boring anyway, and with Qin Luzhi accompanying him, they could at least talk, so he didn’t refuse again. The two of them walked and chatted.

In reality, it was mostly Shen Bumian talking, with Qin Luzhi answering him sentence by sentence.

At the entrance of the office building, they ran into the other person who had been punished. Shen Bumian later learned that his name was Liao Changfeng, also a first-year freshman, and a B-level Beta ability user.

Shen Bumian didn’t expect Liao Changfeng to greet them when he saw them, completely unlike his arrogance that morning.

Adhering to the principle of polite reciprocity, Shen Bumian casually asked him why he looked so exhausted.

Hearing this, Liao Changfeng perked up, as if he had finally found an outlet to vent. “Don’t even mention it. Today has been so unlucky.”

“What happened?”

Seeing Liao Changfeng’s expectant gaze, Shen Bumian followed his lead and asked. This question was like opening a floodgate.

“You said your ability lasted for two hours, but I endured it for four. That’s not the point, I could still tolerate it.”

“Then, the ability didn’t wear off until lunchtime. On my way to eat, I fell on flat ground! Do you think that’s the limit? No! I fell every two steps and kowtowed every five. By the time I got to the cafeteria, I was numb from the crowds.”

“So I started queuing, and naturally, I was the last one in line. Then, with every step I took, someone stepped on my foot. After waiting for almost an hour, it was finally my turn, and then, what a coincidence, they ran out of food right when it got to me!!!”

“But at that very moment, I was starving, suddenly incredibly hungry. So I ordered a large plate of white rice and went to the commissary to see if there was anything to eat with it. The store that’s never closed was closed today! So I just dry-chewed rice for lunch!”

“It took me half an hour to finish, and I choked twenty times. I feel like that was the closest I’ve ever come to death! The vending machine was broken, so I couldn’t even buy water. I got back to my dorm to find my key was missing, and my roommate was out and didn’t come back all afternoon. I fell asleep at the door!”

Then he was woken up abruptly when someone passing by dropped their luggage on his foot. The person apologized, and Liao Changfeng didn’t say anything, just resigned himself to his bad luck. So he got up, borrowed a pen and paper, and wrote his self-criticism essay.

But because he had been tormented for half the day and hadn’t slept well at noon, he was drowsy during his afternoon class, got scolded by the instructor, and was given extra training.

He didn’t finish his training for the day until everyone else had finished dinner. Exhausted, he went to get food.

The locked cafeteria struck him another blow. Dragging his weary body, he ran into Shen Bumian and Qin Luzhi here.

Shen Bumian was absolutely stunned after hearing all this! At noon, he had even gone to the commissary to buy after-meal snacks for Zhou Yizhou, and it hadn’t been closed then.

He also went to the vending machine and bought a cold drink. And hadn’t they just come from the cafeteria?

How was it closed? Liao Changfeng’s luck was just too terrible. The depth of his misfortune was so profound that even Shen Bumian didn’t know what to say to comfort him.

Liao Changfeng could tell what he was thinking just by looking at him and considerately spoke up, “You don’t have to comfort me. I seriously suspect I’ve offended someone who’s deliberately messing with me!”

Shen Bumian nodded in agreement. He felt that a person couldn’t possibly be this unlucky. He had practically reached the status of the ancestor of misfortune.

Qin Luzhi, who knew the whole truth, had not opened his mouth from beginning to end.