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Chapter 190: The Students Went on Strike
Good times are always fleeting. Before long, it was already one-thirty. Zhao Pingchuan stood up and said to Zhang Qiu, "Brother Qiu, we should head to school now."
Wang Zhengxiang lay on the sofa, spitting out sunflower seed shells while shouting, "Oh come on, it's rare for us all to be together, and Yao Yu is here too. Let's hang out a bit longer."
"I think you just don't want to leave this cozy spot. Hurry up; if we're late again, it'll be a problem."
"Listen to Zhao Pingchuan; let's all go to class. We can gather again on May Day. Yao Yu can come over then, right?" Qiu Wan looked at Yao Yu.
Yao Yu readily agreed, "Sure, I'll listen to Brother Qiu."
"Alright, alright, let's hurry and get to class," Zhang Qiu urged.
Wang Zhengxiang reluctantly clung to the sofa until Gao Zhi forcibly pulled him up. Jiang Xue grabbed Zhang Qiu's hand, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she lightly laughed, "I'm leaving now."
Zhang Qiu wrapped his arms around Jiang Xue's waist and said, "I'll walk you out."
Zhang Qiu, Yang Yu, and Rui Rui accompanied everyone to the bar entrance. As they stepped outside, a wave of heat hit them. Wang Zhengxiang complained repeatedly, "Can I stay a bit longer? You all won't let me; look at this scorching weather."
Zhao Pingchuan laughed and said, "No matter how long you stay, it'll still be hot. The classroom doesn't have air conditioning; if you get too comfortable in the bar, you won't want to leave at all."
"I actually don't want to leave."
Zhang Qiu replied, "That's easy; just make a mistake like I do and reflect on it. You'll have air conditioning and drinks—how about that?"
"Then I'll just stay warm," Wang Zhengxiang said sulkily, and everyone burst into laughter.
Jiang Xue looked at Rui Rui, who was seeing them off, and leaned over to Zhang Qiu's ear, saying, "While I'm not around, don't sneak off to flirt."
"If that's what you mean, can I flirt openly then?"
"You dare." Jiang Xue said as she reached for Zhang Qiu's waist, causing Zhang Qiu to quickly back away. Jiang Xue laughed, "I trust you. I'm leaving now."
Zhang Qiu nodded, and after everyone had walked a distance away, he shouted, "Take good care of your sister-in-law!"
"Got it!"
With their departure, only Zhang Qiu, Yang Yu, and Rui Rui remained. The scorching sun continued to pour its energy onto the earth. Zhang Qiu felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him; he yawned and asked Rui Rui, "Is there anywhere to rest?"
"Sure, you can rest in Biao Ge's office."
"But that's Biao Ge's office; it wouldn't be right for me to take it."
Rui Rui chuckled, "You're really strange. What's wrong with that? The whole second floor has only Biao Ge's office that can see what's happening downstairs. If you're not going to stay there, where else do you want to go?"
Zhang Qiu thought about it and decided to head upstairs. Yang Yu followed behind him, with Rui Rui trailing as well. Zhang Qiu paused and asked, "I'm not drinking anymore; don't you have to work on the first floor?"
"Nope." Rui Rui pointed toward the front desk where a hot girl dressed provocatively was already standing. Although she looked sexy, she was nowhere near as charming as Rui Rui.
"Hey, what exactly is your background? Why does Biao Ge value you so much?" Rui Rui bluntly followed Zhang Qiu into the office.
Zhang Qiu wanted to have a private chat with Yang Yu, but since Rui Rui barged in, he had no choice but to say, "I'm a new disciple of Biao Ge, here to check things out."
Rui Rui shook her head in disbelief, repeatedly saying, "Doesn't seem like it, doesn't seem like it."
Zhang Qiu was speechless. "What do I seem like then? We really are here to check things out. You heard Biao Ge; is there anything wrong?"
Rui Rui pointed towards the window and said, "Those down there are the ones checking things out. As soon as you guys arrived, Biao Ge was drinking with you and left the office for your gathering. How does that look like a disciple?"
"We really are disciples. If you don't believe me, ask Biao Ge."
"Hmph, whatever." Rui Rui pouted and directly sat next to Zhang Qiu, pulling one of his arms close to her and asking, "That girl from earlier, is she your girlfriend?"
Zhang Qiu pulled his arm away and shifted to the side before saying, "Yes, she is my girlfriend."
Rui Rui was not pleased with Zhang Qiu's distance and huffed, "Why are you avoiding me? In the lobby on the first floor, I said I was your girlfriend, and you didn't deny it."
"That was just to get the drunkard to leave quickly."
"I don't care; you didn't deny it. So many people saw it. If you go back on your word, I won't be able to face anyone." Rui Rui seemed determined as she lowered her head and covered her eyes, starting to sob.
Zhang Qiu felt frustrated watching her; it was like hitting a punch into cotton—there was no outlet for his energy. "Are you crying?" Rui Rui kept her head down, her golden wavy hair falling over her eyes, obscuring everything.
"Don't tease Brother Qiu, he's still here," Yang Yu noticed that Rui Rui was teasing Zhang Qiu and stepped in to help diffuse the situation.
Rui Rui suddenly looked up and said, "He's still here, where?" While speaking, her eyes were scanning Zhang Qiu from top to bottom, showing no signs of tears at all. Zhang Qiu felt helpless and didn't know how to respond. Just then, the phone rang.
Zhang Qiu quickly grabbed the phone, thinking to himself that he would thank whoever it was. When he saw the caller ID, it was an unfamiliar landline number. Could it be a scam call? No matter what it was, he decided to answer it first to avoid further embarrassment.
Zhang Qiu pressed the answer button: "Hello, who is this?"
"Brother Qiu, it's me!" Gao Zhi's loud voice made Zhang Qiu pull the phone away from his ear. "Brother Qiu, something has happened at school!"
Upon hearing that something had happened, Zhang Qiu's heart sank: "Take your time, what's going on?"
"Brother Qiu, the students at our school have gone on strike!"
"What?" Zhang Qiu couldn't believe his ears. A strike? What era is this? How could there still be strikes? In Zhang Qiu's mind, strikes were memories that only existed in old Republic of China movies.
"Brother Qiu, it's true; they've gone on strike."
A surge of adrenaline rushed through Zhang Qiu as images flooded his mind—students dressed in black Zhongshan suits and blue Danilin fabric holding banners and shouting hoarsely: "We will fight to the death for our rights!" Zhang Qiu snapped back to reality and quickly asked, "Why are they striking?"
"Brother Qiu, I don't know the specific reasons either. By the time we got back to school, the strike had already started. But I heard it was because of you, so I hurried to call you."
Zhang Qiu was shocked; the strike was actually because of him? Who had the audacity to organize such a strike?
"Brother Qiu, are you still listening?"
"I'm here. Tell me, do you know who organized the strike?"
"Brother Qiu, I don't know. I've asked several people, and no one knows. They just heard about the strike and joined in. So far, it seems that almost all members of our Hall Society are participating in the strike."
Zhang Qiu felt uneasy; could this be a conspiracy? If things escalated, they could use this incident against him, providing endless excuses. Zhang Qiu quickly said, "You need to gather people and spread the word to stop the strike and resume classes immediately. We can't confront the school."
"Understood, Brother Qiu." Gao Zhi hung up and rushed to the classroom.
As Zhang Qiu listened to the silence on the line, he fell into deep thought. It was strange; who could have caused such a big incident? Fortunately, it was only the first class; if it had been any later, things could have really spiraled out of control.
Yang Yu asked from the side, "Brother Qiu, what's going on? You called for a strike; what does that mean?"
"You heard right; it's a strike. The students are striking because I was punished and sent home for reflection."
"Damn, Brother Qiu, you're amazing."
Zhang Qiu forced a smile. "This isn't amazing at all. If this isn't handled properly, it could give the school a reason to take action against our club. I'm really curious about who organized this strike."
"Damn, Brother Qiu, you're right. What should we do now?" Yang Yu realized the seriousness of the situation after Zhang Qiu's reminder.
"I've already asked Gao Zhi to notify each class to stop the strike, but now it's already class time." Zhang Qiu sighed; this was truly an unforeseen disaster.
The phone rang again. Zhang Qiu looked at Yang Yu and said, "It's the grade director's call." Qiu Wan pressed the answer button, and on the other end, Director Zhao was furious, shouting, "Zhang Qiu! What have you done this time? The school is going to punish you, isn't it? Do you even know what you've done this time?"
"Director, I just found out about this, and I've already arranged for someone to notify each class to stop the strike and not to confront the school."
"You’re just talking nonsense. This is a huge issue that has nothing to do with you. I've already looked into it; most of the troublemakers are from your Hall Society. This time, your organization can just wait to be disbanded by the school. The school will never allow such an organization to exist."
Director Zhao's tone was severe, and even through the phone, Zhang Qiu could imagine Director Zhao's furious expression. Moreover, Director Zhao brought up his biggest concern: the school was going to take action against the society. However, he truly knew nothing about all of this.
"Director Zhao, please calm down and listen to me. I really did not organize the strike. With the college entrance exams approaching, how could I do such a thing? That would be making a joke out of the future of the Senior Year students!"
Director Zhao laughed coldly, "You know it's a joke about their future? Let me tell you, Zhang Qiu, right now the entire Sophomore and Senior Year are in chaos. You need to get back to school immediately!"
The call turned into silence. Director Zhao's last words echoed in Zhang Qiu's mind: the entire Sophomore and Senior Year were in chaos.
Zhang Qiu forced himself to calm down and analyze the situation. The Senior Year strike was understandable; he had a base of support there. But what about the Sophomore Year? There weren't many lower-grade students recruited by Hall Society; how could they also be striking? Most importantly, all the core members of Hall Society were with him at noon—who could have organized a strike?
Zhang Qiu felt a growing sense of dread as he sensed a massive conspiracy looming over the entire society.
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