Chapter 156: Lamentable Intelligence

Judging from Huang Guolun's words, it was clear that he had no desire to shoulder that kind of psychological pressure at this stage. He wanted nothing to do with any fertile woman right now, lest he ruin others' lives as well as his own.

Zhao Yan deeply understood Huang Guolun's state of mind. If she were in his shoes, she would absolute refuse to drag anyone else down with her and would keep her distance from the opposite sex.

Since Huang Guolun was so resolute, there was no need for her to shamelessly cling to him and insist on pursuing a relationship.

She would simply treat him as a close friend, just like before, and stay by his side.

This matter was simply too cruel for Huang Guolun. During this period, he undoubtedly needed the support and companionship of friends. She was willing to stay by his side unwaveringly, through thick and thin, to help him uncover the truth behind this cruel riddle.

If it ultimately turned out to be a false alarm, she would then see if there was still an opportunity to continue things with Huang Guolun.

However, if it proved that Huang Guolun's destiny was truly this cruel, Zhao Yan could only offer him her silent blessings, with no need for any further idle thoughts.

"Sigh!"

Tossing and turning in bed that night, unable to sleep a wink, Zhao Yan's heart was tangled in knots. Was the heavens really this cruel (fair)? After granting Huang Guolun so much, why strip him of the simplest form of happiness?

The world was truly not as wonderful as people imagined.

Carrying an exceptionally complex mood, Zhao Yan probably did not drift off to sleep until two or three in the morning.

Huang Guolun was in no better shape.

He and his older brother were the ultimate victims of this curse.

Huang Guokun still knew nothing about this matter and could still manage a sound sleep.

Huang Guolun, however, could truly no longer find peace.

Although he had made things clear to Zhao Yan, cutting off any possibility of hurting someone in the future, the people he had hurt in the past remained like daggers plunged into his heart, causing him pain as agonizing as having his flesh carved and his intestines twisted.

Chen Jia's passing was already enough to plunge Huang Guolun into a living hell.

If he were to discover now that he was the one who caused Chen Jia's death, that fact would kick him straight into the Avici Hell, devastating his inner world and leaving him with not a moment of peace for all eternity.

Let alone whether he could ever find a suitable other half in the future; if this proved to be true, he would likely sink deep into the quagmire of the past, unable to find liberation for the rest of his life.

Huang Guolun truly feared such a thing happening, yet he urgently wanted to know the answer.

This contradictory state of mind left him beyond words.

That night, he deliberately kept himself awake through sheer insomnia.

It was four or five in the morning before he managed to drift into a hazy, brief slumber.

In a rare exception the next morning, he did not take care of Huang Tao; Grandma Zhou took over the entire routine of attending to her.

The old lady even accompanied Huang Tao all the way to kindergarten, while Huang Guolun remained huddled in bed.

"What is wrong with you? Why haven't you gotten up yet?"

After returning home from dropping off Huang Tao at kindergarten, seeing that Huang Guolun was still in bed, Grandma Zhou anxiously knocked on his bedroom door and finally roused him.

As soon as he emerged from the bedroom, Huang Guolun revealed a haggard face with deep-set eye sockets, giving Grandma Zhou a severe start.

"What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Why do you look so listless?" Grandma Zhou reached out to test the temperature of his forehead.

"I don't have a fever." Huang Guolun forced himself to perk up and asked Grandma Zhou, "Did you take Taozi to kindergarten?"

"What do you think? Look at the time, no matter how much I called, you wouldn't get up. Even Bai Yao went to school by herself."

Huang Guolun was startled: "Xiaobai went by herself?"

"If I waited for you, she definitely would have been late!" After offering the habitual complaint, seeing her son's rather decadent state, Grandma Zhou asked with renewed concern, "Are you really not feeling well? If you're uncomfortable, just take a day off and rest properly at home today."

"I caught a bit of a draft last night, my neck hurts a bit, but it's nothing serious. I'll still go to work."

Staying home alone on leave to let his mind run wild would be even harder to bear. Huang Guolun would rather fill his time with work; that way, he would feel more grounded.

He took a shower, washing away the exhaustion that clung to his body.

Listening to some uplifting music during breakfast, Huang Guolun forcefully hypnotized himself into a working state, pushing all those messy thoughts aside for now.

It was nearly eight o'clock by the time he stepped out of Zixing Mansion.

As usual, he parked his car in Zhongsheng Hutong and then strolled leisurely toward the school.

At this hour, there were long since no Experimental High School students left on the streets.

Yet, as luck would have it, he ran right into Zhang Liang, who was late once again.

This time, Zhang Liang came chasing after Huang Guolun from behind.

As if wanting to give Huang Guolun a surprise, after catching up, Zhang Liang leaped in front of him and greeted him with a silly grin: "Morning, Teacher Huang!"

Zhang Liang's sudden bound startled Huang Guolun.

However, he had no intention of scolding Zhang Liang.

In a complex life, being able to encounter a few simple-minded, brawny, single-track students like Zhang Liang could also be considered a stroke of luck.

"What's going on with you? Why are you late again today? Don't tell me you went home to change your pants again." Huang Guolun forced his spirits up and joked with Zhang Liang.

"How did you know? Did you see what happened to me on the bus today?"

Huang Guolun was baffled and asked as they walked, "What happened to you this time?"

Zhang Liang chuckled and recounted the story with a sense of pride: "Remember before when I got squished on the bus and sat on a roasted sweet potato, and people thought I sat in human waste, so someone threw up a whole pair of pants all over me? Well, today was even more unlucky. I rushed over to grab a seat, didn't look at what was on it, and sat right down with a squish, and some yellow sludge squeezed out right by my leg. I thought I'd sat on another sweet potato and was totally depressed. Everyone around saw it and said I sat in crap. I was scared someone would throw up on me again, so I dug a piece out to prove to them it was sweet potato, not crap! And guess what... guess what... after I dug it out, I ended up throwing up in my own pants! Blech, blech! So gross!"

As Zhang Liang spoke, he made an exaggerated retching motion, deeply disgusting Huang Guolun.

Huang Guolun's facial features scrunched up together as he asked in disbelief, "Did you really sit in actual crap?"

"Waaaah! Teacher Huang, that's literally what happened! Tell me, isn't that depressing and unlucky? I was so disgusted I wanted to die, so I had to sprint back home to change my pants. Going back and forth like that is why I'm late."

Huang Guolun deliberately quickened his pace, refusing to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhang Liang anymore. This fellow was obsessed with feces—it was simply too disgusting! Walking alongside him, Huang Guolun feared he might have the bad luck of stepping in dog droppings himself.

Zhang Liang suddenly smiled and asked Huang Guolun, "Teacher Huang, you think my being late today is totally excusable, right?"

Huang Guolun found Zhang Liang's question rather strange. Frowning, he retorted, "Are you making up stories just to mess with me? Who on earth would take a dump on a public bus?"

Zhang Liang explained, "It's possible! What if someone couldn't hold it and let out a fart that blasted the poop right out?"

"Even if it blasted out, it would stay inside their own pants! How could it end up on the seat?!"

Having said this in exasperation, Huang Guolun immediately regretted it. Why on earth was he debating this topic with this blockhead Zhang Liang?! It was utterly revolting!

"I suppose that's true." Zhang Liang rubbed his chin in thought and consulted Huang Guolun, "Then is it possible someone pulled down their pants and took a dump on the bus?"

Huang Guolun exasperatedly replied, "Only if that person were mentally deranged!"

Zhang Liang beamed with delight: "Right! A mental patient! I'll tell Teacher Chen that!"

Huang Guolun was dumbfounded: "Tell Teacher Chen what? What are you talking about?"

Showing a sense of misguided loyalty, Zhang Liang laid his cards on the table: "I won't pull your leg—I actually just overslept today and that's why I'm late."

"Then why didn't you just tell your head teacher the truth instead of making up some wild story?! What on earth do you have packed in your head all day long?" Huang Guolun stopped just short of saying Zhang Liang's head was entirely full of excrement, completely fixated on the stuff.

Zhang Liang said bitterly, "If I told her I overslept, Teacher Chen would practically punish me to death."

Huang Guolun said speechlessly, "You make up a story, and your class's Teacher Chen won't punish you?"

"She won't!"

Zhang Liang shared his hard-earned wisdom: "Last time I was late, I told Teacher Chen I sat on a sweet potato and someone threw up on me, so I went home to change my pants. Teacher Chen listened and was super understanding, didn't say a word, and the matter just blew over. This time I plan to use the exact same prescription and say I actually sat in crap; Teacher Chen will definitely sympathize with me even more, hehe, she definitely won't punish me."

Huang Guolun was completely speechless and advised Zhang Liang, "I suggest you honestly tell the truth. Last week's incident actually happened, and there were classmates on the bus to back you up, which is why Teacher Chen let you off the hook. If you dare make up a story to fool her this time, personally, I think you're not far from having your parents called to school."

"No way! As long as you don't spill the beans to Teacher Chen, I can definitely bluff my way through again! Teacher Huang, thanks a lot—please, whatever you do, don't expose me to our class's Lao Chen."

As they entered the school gates, Zhang Liang repeatedly urged Huang Guolun not to leak his secret.

Huang Guolun had no spare time to leak such secrets. Even if he said nothing, he believed the head teacher of Class 5, Grade 2 would not let Zhang Liang off the hook anyway.

Sure enough, during the fourth period that morning, when he went to Class 5, Grade 2 for music class, Huang Guolun noticed Zhang Liang's seat was empty.

Upon inquiring, he learned that the kid had been ordered to go home and summon his parents because he had lied to his head teacher.

Their head teacher, Chen Shufen, simply could no longer tolerate Zhang Liang's level of intelligence. Before noon that day, Zhang Liang had better drag his father over because she wanted to have a serious chat with his parents regarding Zhang Liang's cognitive faculties.

As for the outcome of that conversation, Huang Guolun couldn't be bothered to ask, but Zhang Liang definitely couldn't escape a thorough beating when he got home.

Sometimes he was genuinely curious: what kind of parents could possibly raise a child like Zhang Liang?

Were those parents just as eccentric as Zhang Liang?

And yet, thinking of his own child, Huang Guolun felt too ashamed to speculate on what other people's parents might be like.

Over the next three days, Huang Guolun turned his pain into motivation and threw himself entirely into his work.

Every night when he got home, he would rehearse new material with Bai Yao, practicing late into the night before sleeping.

He needed music to fill the sorrowful and complex void in his heart.

For his special performance this weekend, he would do his best to avoid pieces that stirred up painful memories; he wanted to use upbeat music to take a journey through time, hoping music could offer him a temporary release.