High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 338: Chapter 7: The Office Just Around the Corner_1

Time always flies quickly when you’re focused.

When the pleasing sound of the school bell rang, indicating the end of class, the students finally revealed expressions of realization.

Almost as soon as Old Yao called out the word ’dismissed’, numerous figures shot out of their seats like arrows released from a bowstring, racing towards the podium.

”Professor, I don’t quite understand this derivation...”

”Professor, can the Lorentz formula you mentioned earlier be replaced by this...”

”Professor, why does my Lee-McKay expansion always differ from your results...”

Figures of different robe colors, genders, and grades, holding similar notebooks, revealed the same, yearning gaze.

This was a gaze that teachers find hard to refuse.

Professor Yao grinned happily, but didn’t readily answer their questions.

”Zheng Qing, don’t leave yet, come here.” he beckoned, pulling the young cost student who was halfway out of the classroom back.

Zheng Qing looked confused and glanced back at his companions.

”Well, we will go first.” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and decisively turned around and left.

Xin Fat Man shrugged, arm-in-arm with Zhang Ji Xin, following behind Doctor Xiao. Zheng Qing faintly heard him muttering complaints like ’he must explain tonight...’ ’you don’t know, last time...’ and such.

The students leaving the classroom looked at him curiously, whispering to each other, avoiding his gaze as if he had some scandalous secret.

Jiang Yu posed playfully at the door, tilting her head and winking at him.

Next to her, Li Meng draped herself over Liu Fei Fei, practically hanging on the first student’s body.

”What a hassle.” the little witch grumbled, noticing Zheng Qing’s probing stare and decidedly returned it fiercely.

Zheng Qing gave a bitter smile, gestured at Jiang Yu to wait for a moment, then hastily returned to the classroom, converging next to the podium.

”Professor, did you need me?” He asked, trying to sound casual.

”Do you have any plans later?” Old Yao asked, leisurely, a teaching plan in his arms and a pipe in one hand.

Before Zheng Qing could decide how to diplomatically reply, the professor cut him off:

”Since you’re free, that’s perfect... The results of the medical examination have come from the hospital. Come with me to the office later, we need to discuss your situation.”

Saying this, he lifted his right hand, crooked the middle finger and tapped his temple.

Zheng Qing dumbfounded, didn’t know how to close his slack-jawed mouth.

Old Yao didn’t seem to notice the cost student’s great discomfort. He continued explaining the formulas on the blackboard to a few eager young wizards:

” ... we often use Taylor’s theorem in the Lee-McKay expansion... it can conveniently replace the most complicated part of this derivation... like here... and here...”

The few young wizards closed around the professor with their notebooks, craning their necks like a gaggle of geese, seemingly about to honk in approval.

Perhaps there were a few too many onlookers blocking the light.

Old Yao looked up around the room and found that the young cost student was still standing beside the lectern, neither joining the discussion nor leaving.

”You can wait at the door.” He gestured with his pipe-bearing arm, ”I’ll finish addressing their questions and then head out... a maximum of five minutes.”

The young cost student silently nodded in affirmation and obediently walked towards the classroom door.

Jiang Yu was leaning against the pillar right outside the door, engrossed in a book she held opened in her hand, seemingly unwilling to be disturbed.

Zheng Qing cleared his throat which finally caught the attention of the class monitor.

”Where is Li Meng?” He turned his head from left to right curiously, trying to locate the little devil.

”She went to the library with Fifi... she hasn’t finished Professor Emma’s homework. I reckon she’ll only return when the Book Mountain Library is about to close... at least we can enjoy some peace for a while.” Jiang Yu flicked a strand of hair behind her ears and grinned.

Zheng Qing imagined the little witch pouting, her face full of reluctance, her helplessness making him chuckle.

”I’m really sorry,” he apologized to the witch, wringing his hands, explaining, ”Old Yao... I mean, Professor Yao, just told me the medical report came out, he needs me to go to his office to discuss this... This might take long... So I won’t be able to study the law book with you today.”

”Is it about the time you fainted due to a headache?” Jiang Yu’s smile faded as she asked with worry.

Zheng Qing pulled a wry smile, nodding in agreement, his face spelling helplessness.

”Don’t worry, we still have four or five days for the law book...we can reschedule.” Jiang Yu consoled, ”But it’s not every day we get the Dean of Jiuyou Academy’s attention...”

Zheng Qing gave a grateful smile, though he didn’t say more words of thanks.

”I do as you say.” He patted his chest with reassurance, ”You set the time and place, even through mountains of knives or fire, I won’t frown!”

”Better not the mountains of knives or the sea of fire.” Jiang Yu’s eyes curved in a smirk, ”Elena would probably get even angrier.”

Zheng Qing’s face fell immediately.

...

...

As it turned out, the five minutes teachers speak of are vastly different from five minutes in the natural sense.

Even the punctual wizards are no exception.

By the time the last student seeking consultation left the classroom, the sun had already sunk behind the distant ridge. All that was left was the hints of a glorious sunset.

Fortunately, a professor is still a professor.

Old Yao took Zheng Qing down the stairs, around a corner wall, and instead of going down the stairs, across the square, into the office building and then the office, appeared in front of a red wooden door.

The familiar scene of the sparse office met his eyes once the door was pushed open.

From the room’s furnishings to the tall glass cabinet that was still tightly shut, and the piles of documents on the large mahogany desk, everything was almost exactly as it was when Zheng Qing had last left.

If anything had changed, it was only the leather chair at the desk.

One of the chairs had thrown a fit, flipping its leather cushion over to reveal its skeletal frame, faintly decorated with a few cobwebs.

But Zheng Qing didn’t pay attention to the strange chairs.

His interest was solely in his exciting journey from the classroom to the office.

”It’s amazing!” Zheng Qing marveled, praising, ”It probably took less than a hundred steps... Think about how much time you can save each day!”

”It mainly avoids a lot of unnecessary troubles ... And interruptions.” Professor Yao smiled and glanced at him, ”Like those crazy fans...I heard you’ve started selling autographs? Do I get a discount if I want one?”

”Slander! Absolutely not, sir!” Zheng Qing’s face turned beet red.

He shook his head vehemently, adamantly denying the accusation.

”No discount?!” Old Yao let out a mournful sigh, ”Such a tragedy...”

”No, that’s not what I meant!” Zheng Qing couldn’t help but raise his voice in protest.

His mind felt like it was going to explode.

”Just joking, don’t take it seriously...So, how does it feel to be a hero?” Old Yao settled into the chair behind the red desk, looking up to ask, ”Is there anything you’re not used to?”

The spacious leather chair sighed in contentment.

”There’s no...much...” Zheng Qing muttered an evasive answer to this somewhat awkward question, berating the inexplicable curiosity of others at the bottom of his heart.