Chapter 8

Principal Ma Jinze walked with his hands behind his back under the streetlights of the narrow path; the yellow‑toned lamps cast mottled pools of light and shadow.

The Director of Academic Affairs followed behind him.

A small cat darted past, then turned back to look at Ma Jinze, meowing twice.

Ma Jinze said: "The landscaping is not bad; from the fact that this little cat isn't afraid of people we can see that our educational inclusiveness is still strong, which is very good. Study is certainly important, but students' mindset and their attitude toward society are even more important; we should pay more attention to the growth of students' thinking."

The Director of Academic Affairs immediately said: "It's all thanks to Principal Ma's proper guidance."

Ma Jinze broke into a smile, feeling great!

"Su Manyao! I love you!"

Under the leisurely night, a sudden roar rang out! The Director of Academic Affairs' face changed dramatically.

"What's going on?" Principal Ma Jinze asked.

The Director of Academic Affairs felt numb‑headed; which bastard cooked up this mess?

"Principal Ma, please rest assured, I'll handle this right away and ferret him out!"

Principal Ma waved his hand: "That's your mistake; dragging him out for what? This is just teenage nature, proving our school's openness—pretty good!"

Principal Ma certainly knew Su Manyao; the Su family is a major patron of Modu Daxue, and given Su Manyao's figure, looks, and demeanor, it's not abnormal for students to shout a couple of lines to express their feelings, is it?

If I were two years younger, I'd also want to yell a couple of times.

But just as that thought arose, the dormitory building not far away plunged into madness within a few short seconds.

Voices rose and fell, howling!

Principal Ma froze, his face shifting through a series of changes.

He was wondering whether he had spoken too hastily just now…

If given another chance, he would want to say again, "Drag that bastard out and give him a proper education!"

The Director of Academic Affairs also stood frozen in place, staring at the principal's back of the head, unable to utter a word for a moment.

"When many are at fault, none are punished"—a single student's problem is a student problem, but a group of students' problem is no longer a student problem; it becomes his problem…

Principal Ma turned his head, furrowed his brows, and asked, "This situation is a bit abnormal; what happened?"

As the principal of a top‑ranked university like Modu Daxue, he is naturally no fool; from the surface of the issue he quickly clarified the core logic.

The Director of Instruction lowered his voice and said: "Today Teacher Su went to see a movie with her boyfriend, and someone secretly photographed them and posted the pictures on the school forum."

"Teacher Su has a boyfriend?" Principal Ma exclaimed, astonished. "Come on—open the forum and let me see."

The Director of Instruction looked at Principal Ma's gawking, melon‑eating expression, feeling a bit speechless… You're not much better than those gossip‑mongers on the forum…

But he dared not say more, and immediately pulled out his phone.

Principal Ma's curiosity flared; he grabbed his phone and started scrolling! But after just two pages, his face changed.

"Quick, this building's tilting! Hurry up and contact the administration office to delete the post!"

"For the past few days, we must fully suppress any talk about Teacher Su!"

Principal Ma Jinze issued the order on the spot! The Su family is a major patron of Modu Daxue, having donated considerable funds and teaching buildings, and each year, through its charitable foundation, it subsidizes many impoverished students at Modu Daxue.

Regardless of the motive, this is a deed of immeasurable merit; given the circumstances, if we were to let the Su family's daughter suffer injustice at Modu Daxue, she would truly deserve to die, and our conscience would not be at ease.

The Director of Academic Affairs immediately responded, picking up his phone to start contacting people.

The post hadn't been deleted before because, on the Modu Daxue forum, as long as a topic doesn't cross the red line, even insulting the principal as a petty official won't result in deletion or unfair treatment.

So, if it weren't for Principal Ma's order just now, the posts about Su Manyao would not have exceeded the forum's prohibited‑topic boundary.

…

At a hillside villa somewhere in Modu's urban area! Right now the lights are bright, the place bustling, but from the attire of the people coming and going in the courtyard, one can tell they are not guests or owners of the villa, but its private servants and staff.

To own an independent hillside villa in a non‑suburban part of Modu already shows this is no ordinary family. Indeed, this is the home of Su Manyao's parents: her father is a real‑estate tycoon, her mother a career‑oriented socialite whose main business is enjoying life and whose side line is investment and financial management.

At this moment, Su Manyao's father Su Bancheng and mother Wang Lin were having a meal.

Under the luxurious crystal chandelier, the elegant and dignified Wang Lin picked a piece of vegetable for her husband; just then her phone rang, and a glance showed it was a call from one of her close friends.

"Hello, Rongrong, what's up?"

"What?"

"Is my Manyao dating?!"

"Alright, alright, send it to me!"

…

Sitting nearby eating, Su Bancheng, who is unmatched in the business world, almost dropped his chopsticks onto the table; he quickly caught them, his eyes fixed on his wife, careful not to make a sound for fear of interrupting her call.

"Huh!"

After hanging up, Wang Lin clenched both fists, her face lighting up with the delight of a little girl!

"Honey, Manyao is dating!"

"I heard it all; what's the situation now, did they say who it is?" Su Bancheng asked anxiously.

"I don't know either; Rongrong said she'd send me the photos!"

"Ding ding ding!"—as soon as her words finished, the photos were sent over.

They were screenshots from the forum!

The couple put their heads together, their eyes fixed on those pictures.

They ignored the comments outright; first they saw the covertly taken photo.

The girl in the photo is indeed their daughter, Su Manyao.

But the boy's face cannot be seen.

"This…"

Then the two began to scan the comments; as seasoned figures in the business world, they've seen plenty of public‑opinion battles and media‑topic manipulation, so they don't care whether the remarks are good or bad.

Moreover, they believe Modu Daxue will certainly come up with a satisfactory resolution.

But on it, from beginning to end, there was no clear information about the male lead.

The two could only redirect their gaze back to the photo.

"How does this physique and clothing look like a college student to me?"

Su Bancheng looked at the photo, furrowed his brows, and said uncertainly.

Wang Lin bit her lip, looked at the photo, and also fell silent.

Because looking at the photo, indeed, no matter how you look, it looks like a college student.

College students are only eighteen to early twenty, but my daughter Su Manyao is already twenty-eight!

After a while, Wang Lin said, lacking confidence: "As long as they're dating, it's fine. My daughter is beautiful! It's not really harming those young men…"

Su Bancheng stared at the photo dumbfounded, saying nothing. What could he say? He couldn't say his daughter is an old cow eating tender grass, could he?

"How about you call and ask Manyao to see what's going on, find out who the guy is."

Wang Lin said: "Better not, she's just starting to show a little bit of an edge; don't scare her."

Su Bancheng thought that was right, but still added: "When will you call her back for a meal to feel things out?"

"Okay, tonight she's sensitive; tomorrow I'll call Manyao."

(End of chapter)