"Teacher, I've found out."
Lin Nineteen came back from outside, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and reported in a low voice, "Many of the people who came today, it seems, were here due to a compulsory allocation by their clubs. The higher-ups in the clubs mandated they must attend and choose this course, which has led to quite a bit of resistance among the students."
Huai Shi nodded expressionlessly after hearing this. "Anything else?"
"Also..."
Lin Nineteen hesitated a bit but ultimately didn't withhold information. "In the last few days, a lot of unfavorable rumors about you have been spreading widely among many of the students' clubs; there's generally some baseless hostility. But there are other clubs that highly respect you, and conflict has arisen between the two sides.
But I think that things might not be as simple as they appear on the surface. It's very possible..."
"They are 'killing with kindness,' right?"
Huai Shi responded even more quickly than Lin Nineteen.
Even though he'd never dealt with such roundabout tactics before, after hearing Lin Nineteen's report and combining it with his own observations over the past few days, he easily saw through the malicious intent lurking behind them.
Now, among the students, those who disliked Huai Shi might not truly detest him, and conversely, those who highly regarded Huai Shi might not actually like him.
The key lay in the baseless but intractable conflict between both sides.
Without a doubt, someone wanted to escalate this matter deliberately.
As long as such a situation arises, with the encouragement of interested parties, it will continue to draw in more and more unrelated individuals. In the end, even a trivial matter can evolve into clearly divided factions, and perhaps even three or four groups.
'Birds of a feather flock together; opposites attack.'
As for the initial cause, no one would care anymore.
Regardless of which side ultimately won, the scapegoated Huai Shi would undoubtedly be the most miserable one.
Mysteriously liked by some, mysteriously despised by others.
If he won, he'd mysteriously face resistance; if he lost, he'd be criticized for no apparent reason.
Even if he never actually did anything.
He was as clear about it as if looking into a mirror—this was just the beginning.
Compulsory club allocations and similar things were merely ways to add fuel to the fire. To truly roast Huai Shi on the flames, the situation would need to be intensified even further...
Thinking this, he couldn't help but let out a scoff, casually tossing the paper into the wastebasket.
"Let's go, it's time for dinner."
"We're just going to leave it like this?" Lin Nineteen took Huai Shi's broom and trash can, looking utterly astonished.
"No need to bother."
Huai Shi waved his hand indifferently. "If I'm not mistaken, there's no need for us to go looking for someone. Someone will be coming to us very soon."
Lin Nineteen seemed to understand something, but not completely. After tidying up, he hurried to catch up with Huai Shi.
"Teacher Huai Shi, you should be careful these days."
As they passed the classroom of border law studies, they brushed past the refined main lecturer. The seemingly cultured and amiable teacher lowered his head to polish his glasses and gave a meaningful reminder:
"It's going to cool down soon."
"Thanks for the heads-up, but a little cold wind is no issue," Huai Shi replied with a smile, acknowledging the kindness between colleagues. "In Dongxia, there's a saying, 'A youngster sleeps on a cool kang, success depending on strong firepower.'
Translated into Latin, this saying somehow takes on a Zen-like quality."
The glasses-polishing teacher pondered for a moment, jotted down this Dongxian proverb in his notebook, nodded in farewell, and did not make any further attempt to hold Huai Shi up.
By the time Huai Shi reached the ground floor, he saw the middle-aged man who had been waiting for a while at the main entrance of the hall.
Even faster than he had anticipated.
"Mr. Huai Shi."
The visitor questioned with a cold voice, "Can't you leave even a single classroom for others?"
A chill confronted him head-on.