Chapter 16: Strange Things Happen Every Year

ad come to attack! Upon opening her eyes, Su Han’s gaze was intense. She spread out her palms, and a green precious sword appeared in her hand instantly!She was just about to stand up and go into the...Chapter 16 Strange Occurrences Year After Year

The bus arrived soon, and Hao Ren got on it, opened the window, enjoyed the city breeze, and gradually sorted out what had happened in the past few days.

Currently, he had an uncertain fiancée, entered a circle he was previously unaware of, gained some additional assignments, and acquired another identity.

During today’s meal, he forgot to ask about Zhao Guang's circle or that set of martial arts techniques. He merely interacted with the three people in Zhao Yanzi's family as her fiancé.

Zhao Yanzi's father seemed cold but was likely a very upright person; Zhao Yanzi's mother was a gentle and talented woman... This was Hao Ren’s impression of them.

Does he really have to go to their house for every meal in the future… Hao Ren felt quite confused, thought about it, then got off three stops early.

In Xinhua Bookstore, Hao Ren carefully selected some auxiliary books for middle school students and finally bought a few like "Junior High School English Question Bank" and "Compendium of Knowledge Points for Grade 8 English."

Carrying the thick three or four books out of the bookstore, he looked back at the myriad of study aids, Hao Ren couldn’t help but feel that middle school students today really do face a lot of pressure.

When waiting for the bus again, Hao Ren suddenly remembered Lincoln limousine picking him up from his dorm today. It must have caused quite a stir among his classmates; if he went back now, they would certainly pester him with questions nonstop. He was an introverted person and didn’t want to attract too much attention, so after some thought, he walked across the road and took another bus home.

The bus jolted slightly as night began to fall. Hao Ren held a pile of English study materials for middle school, still somewhat bewildered.

Drip-drip-drip… His phone suddenly rang.

"Ren! Why aren't you coming back!" When he answered the call, Zhao Jiayan’s shouting came through.

"I came back home today, what's up" Hao Ren asked knowingly.

"You小子, you've really made a splash, huh What exactly happened today that had us all fooled" Zhao Jiayin asked over the phone.

"Oh, nothing much. It was just that relative from last time, asking me to dinner at his place," Hao Ren replied nonchalantly.

"You're not fooling anyone! What about that fiancée Tell us what's going on!" Zhao Jiayin bellowed over the phone.

Hao Ren’s ears nearly popped from the loudness. He quickly moved the phone away from his ear. Although Zhao Jiayin was yelling, Hao Ren felt a bit touched; he knew that these three brothers in his dormitory were genuinely worried about him and had called to check up on him—after all, who would have bodyguard-like men escorting someone while they're being invited for dinner

"It's nothing really. I'll tell you guys when I get back this Sunday," Hao Ren said.

He was truly exasperated with Zhao Yanzi and his family; on one hand, they wanted him to keep their affairs confidential, yet on the other, they were so ostentatious in doing things that it drew attention. Hao Ren thought further: who would have guessed that they had such unusual identities Being inconspicuously conspicuous amidst society could actually attract too much attention if one was overly mysterious and low-key.

"Alright then, we'll wait for you to come back and interrogate you," Zhao Jiayin hung up the phone.

Hao Ren noticed he had several messages from classmates on his phone, some from Zhao Jiayin and others from class president Xie Yujia asking about what happened.

Sighing, Hao Ren deleted all the messages in one go and leaned against the window of the bus to take a nap. He got home around 8 or 9 PM that evening; his grandmother was surprised yet delighted by her grandson Hao Ren’s sudden return.

Seeing his grandmother's overly joyful expression, Hao Ren hesitated whether he should tell her about her “future granddaughter-in-law,” but after a few minutes of internal struggle, he ultimately decided to hold back.

He spent the weekend quietly with his grandma and waited for the school’s frenzy to subside. On Sunday evening, under the cover of night, he returned to school.

The same pile of snacks, but it no longer interests Zhao Jiayin and his group. Upon hearing that Hao Ren was back, even the guys from neighboring dormitories rushed over.

"Little guy! You've made it big, huh A Lincoln limousine came to pick you up! Even Chen Ke from the advanced class, who's said to come from a super rich family, doesn't have such a fancy entrance!" Huang Jianfeng from across the dorm patted Hao Ren on the shoulder, enviously and jealously stating.

"We heard about your fiancée! Spill it all out!" Yu Rong from the diagonally opposite dorm also loudly shouted.

"Even the girls are talking about you. They say that you're actually quite wealthy. Hehe, Wang Jia, who used to look down on you, has been praising you these past couple of days."

"Aren't you just putting on a show, deliberately causing a stir"

"Oh The little girl last time was pretty good. What was her name again"

"You! You look like such an unassuming person here in school but are quite the player outside, right"

Their comments grew increasingly absurd; Hao Ren could only feel helpless.

"Alright, alright. Don't talk nonsense anymore. It was just a joke from one of my friends. I got scared that Friday when they pulled it off. Sorry for making such a fuss. Let me treat you all to dinner!" He stood up and blocked their incessant chatter.

At the mention of dining out, these guys naturally wouldn't be polite; they pushed Hao Ren around excitedly as they left the dormitory building together.

Even though most of them had already eaten their dinners, Hao Ren couldn’t resist their enthusiasm for hot pot and could only treat them to a meal, spending more money in the process. He apologized profusely to settle things down.

A bout of reckless eating and drinking ensued. With great effort, Hao Ren finally managed to placate them all. Through these close male friends, he learned that his actions over the week had caught the attention of some senior students, both male and female. Even among his peers in other departments and classes, many disliked him because of what happened.

A big tree attracts the wind; Hao Ren didn't expect that these matters would draw attention and ill feelings from some influential figures in the school. It really pays to be humble.

After a hearty meal, this group of close friends from several neighboring dormitories, with their arms around each other's shoulders, staggered back to their dorms.

Just as they entered the dormitory area, Deputy Principal Lu Qing and some other school leaders happened to be patrolling the grounds.

The boys, who were belching out alcohol fumes and humming off-key tunes, immediately sobered up when they saw the approaching Deputy Principal—going out drinking at night certainly isn't a good thing.

Unexpectedly, despite noticing their drunken state, Deputy Principal Lu Qing merely gave them a slight smile and waved to them.

The deputy principal and his colleagues moved past them, leaving this group of boys staring blankly at each other.

"Did I see that right Did the principal wave to us" Zhou Liren, who was half-sober, hesitantly asked Zhao Jiayin.

The other boys were equally bewildered—what's going on

They had initially thought that when the principal saw them drinking outside, he might reprimand them or at least ask which department and class they belonged to. But instead, he merely waved amicably before moving past them unperturbed.

"Strange things happen every year, but this year especially," Zhou Liren sighed deeply as he said.

;o her previous abysmal performance, Zhao Yanzi's recent homework shows some progress, but upon a quick glance, there are still quite a few mistakes.The birthday party is over. Finally, an important ev...