Chapter 137: Hummer Smashes BMW!

"Are these not worn this way?" Qin Luo held the gloves up in front of him and looked at them carefully, genuinely discovering two extra parts that resembled fingers.

Wang Jiujiu pulled the gloves off Qin Luo's hands, helped him put them on properly herself, and said with a smile, "That's how they go."

"Thank you," Qin Luo said. Having a female student personally put gloves on him in front of other students made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

If this scene were captured by some busybody and posted online, it would probably trigger yet another eye-catching teacher-student romance scandal.

"What are you being so polite for? It's not like it's any trouble anyway." Wang Jiujiu shrugged nonchalantly, wearing a sweet smile.

In fact, in order to knit these gloves well, her fingers had been pricked all over. Some things looked simple yet were extremely difficult to do. As a first-time crafter of needlework, Wang Jiujiu deeply understood the meaning of that phrase.

"You guys go ahead and busy yourselves with your own matters. I'm going to the office for a moment," Qin Luo waved at the two of them and turned to walk toward the office.

On the very first day of the new department head's tenure, he had slipped away during the faculty dinner. He had also asked for leave from yesterday's class; if people started gossiping idly, Director Xiong might think he had a personal grievance against him.

Qin Luo was not afraid of trouble, but he didn't want to provoke it either. His current workload was already far too heavy.

By the time Qin Luo walked out of earshot, the smile on Xiaohua's face vanished as well. She said to Wang Jiujiu, "Sister Jiujiu, is doing all this really worth it?"

"I haven't thought about whether it's worth it or not. I wanted to do it, so I did," Wang Jiujiu sighed and said.

"I heard that Teacher Qin has a very close relationship with Lin Huanxi from the School of Biological Engineering, and Teacher Qin is even living at Lin Huanxi's house right now. With you putting in this much effort... can you possibly succeed?" Xiaohua said with some concern. As Wang Jiujiu's best friend, she naturally hoped her friend would win the heart of the handsome man.

Wang Jiujiu turned her head to look at Xiaohua, pinched her chubby little cheek, and said, "Xiaohua, if you don't put in the effort, how will you ever know if you can succeed? I am trying my absolute best to make myself the best I can be. However, I am also prepared for failure."

Hearing Wang Jiujiu say this, Xiaohua knew she was determined to crash into the southern wall without any regrets. Her own persuasion was completely useless. So, she smiled to comfort her, "I believe Sister Jiujiu will definitely capture him effortlessly. You're like a tank—no matter how sturdy the fortress is, it can't withstand your bombardment."

"My mom said. If I can't capture him, she'll send people to kidnap him and force him to become our matrilocal son-in-law," Wang Jiujiu joked with Xiaohua with a smile.

When Qin Luo arrived at the office, only a few teachers were present. The rest either had no classes that morning or stayed in the classrooms after class and simply didn't return.

University professors were not like elementary or high school teachers; with only a handful of classes a week and no need to be responsible for students' test scores, they enjoyed a great deal of leisure.

The moment Xiaomin saw Qin Luo enter, she immediately greeted him warmly and said with a smile, "Teacher Qin, don't forget what you promised."

"What I promised?" Qin Luo thought for a moment before he remembered that he had agreed to have dinner with Xiaomin's classmates this evening. In other words, Qin Luo was going to meet his fans and host a miniature fan dinner gathering.

"I'm afraid tonight won't work," Qin Luo said with some difficulty. He still had to go provide acupuncture and massage for the Dragon King this afternoon, and he had no idea when he would be able to return.

"Hehe, it doesn't matter. I know Teacher Qin is a busy man of high status. We can reschedule whenever you have time," Xiaomin said understandingly with a smile.

"Xiaomin, I'm truly sorry. How about this: once I have some free time in the next couple of days, I'll call you and treat your friends to dinner as an apology. How does that sound?" Qin Luo said. He didn't have many friends in the office; Xiaomin was simply the one he was closest to. Therefore, he didn't want to let her down either.

"All right then. Thank you so much, Teacher Qin," Xiaomin said happily. With Qin Luo taking the initiative to treat them to dinner, she would naturally save more face in front of her friends.

The successor of the divine Taiyi acupuncture technique was not someone you could invite for a meal just whenever you pleased.

"Oh, right. Teacher Qin, Director Xiong said that whenever you get back, you should drop by his office. He wants to talk to you," Xiaomin said to Qin Luo with a hint of worry, as if she had suddenly remembered.

"Director Xiong is looking for me?" Qin Luo turned around to look at Teacher Zhu, who offered him a flattering, obsequious smile. Ever since Guo Renhuai was stripped of his position as department head, Teacher Zhu had kept a much lower profile in the office, speaking and acting with extreme caution as if terrified of provoking any trouble.

"Yes," Xiaomin nodded.

"Alright. I'll go take a look," Qin Luo said. If others do not offend me, I will not offend them. He had no malicious intent to go against this new department head. If the director wanted to pick bones in an egg and make trouble for him, he wasn't someone who would let himself be pushed around easily either.

He was already fully prepared for battle!

Qin Luo knocked on the door of the department head's office, and Xiong Zhichao's clear voice came from inside: "Please come in."

"Director Xiong, you were looking for me?" Qin Luo pushed the door open, entered, and asked with a smile.

"Oh, Teacher Qin. Please have a seat," seeing it was Qin Luo who entered, Xiong Zhichao put down his pen, walked over, shook hands with Qin Luo, and said, "Come. Sit down and talk. What would you like to drink?"

"No need," Qin Luo replied. This attitude felt a bit off. What on earth was he up to?

Qin Luo knew that upon their first meeting, Xiong Zhichao had given off a very cold and rigid impression. How was his attitude toward him suddenly so amiable and cordial now?

Whenever someone is overly courteous for no reason, they are either up to no good or have ulterior motives.

Even though Qin Luo said no, Xiong Zhichao still walked over and poured him a cup of warm water. Then, he sat down next to Qin Luo with a smile and said, "Has Teacher Qin been very busy lately?"

"Not really. It's just that some things came up suddenly, so I had to rush off to handle them," Qin Luo explained. Fine, time to get down to business.

"Mm. It's no problem. Capable doctors are bound to be extremely busy. If anything comes up, just give the office a call. You can call me directly, too. Do you know my phone number?"

"No, I don't," Qin Luo shook his head. Why did the situation feel increasingly strange?

"You have a cell phone, right? Tell me your number, and I'll give you a call," Xiong Zhichao took out his own phone and said to Qin Luo.

In a daze, Qin Luo rattled off his mobile number, and shortly after, the phone in his pocket rang.

Watching Qin Luo save his number, Xiong Zhichao smiled and said, "I've heard a few things about you. The successor of the Taiyi divine needles, highly skilled in medicine, with a unique teaching style deeply adored by the students. When I was transferred here to be the head of the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, President Li Yonggang had a talk with me. He specifically mentioned you, saying you were a promising talent and asking me to give you focused nurturing."

"I wanted to chat with you yesterday when I arrived, but you had things to do and left early. So I told the office clerk to have Teacher Qin come over for a chat whenever he returned. Hehe, I didn't expect the two of us to be sitting here together so soon."

Only then did Qin Luo experience a sudden flash of insight. No wonder Xiong Zhichao's attitude toward him was so affectionate—it turned out he was hand-picked and promoted by President Li Yonggang.

The former director, Guo Renhuai, was a protégé of the old president. After Guo was removed from his post due to personal conduct issues, Li Yonggang seized the opportunity to strike and placed his own trusted subordinate into this crucial position at the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

In the confrontation between the former and current old presidents, Li Yonggang had clearly gained the upper hand this time.

In Chinese culture, there was a very important lesson one had to learn: choosing a faction.

Sometimes you didn't want to get involved, but your choice not to get involved was, in itself, your factional stance.

To not support was to oppose.

Still, this was for the best. With Li Yonggang holding real power and the head of the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine being his own person, it would be much more convenient for Qin Luo to go about things in the future.

When all was said and done, Qin Luo was also an egoist. He disliked trouble.

If Guo Renhuai had been able to support his work and hadn't constantly picked on him, he would have supported Guo Renhuai as well. Unfortunately, Guo had already been sent off to manage logistics.

"Thank you for President Li's praise, and thank you for Director Xiong's support. I will work hard," Qin Luo said with a smile.

"Why so polite? If you encounter any difficulties and need help, just say the word," Xiong Zhichao patted Qin Luo's shoulder and said cordially.

When Qin Luo left the department head's office, he was still marveling at the twists and turns of life's circumstances.

Just when you are completely unguarded, you are always wounded by a hidden arrow.

Just as you clench your fists and prepare for battle, you suddenly discover that you can no longer find your opponent.

Knowing that Lin Huanxi would drive away first after her two classes ended in the morning, Qin Luo walked directly to the school gate as soon as the fourth period finished, intending to hail a taxi back.

For some reason, not a single taxi was to be seen at the school gate today. This made Qin Luo seriously consider whether he should go get a driver's license himself.

Li Qingyang drove his brand-new BMW back and saw Qin Luo standing stupidly at the school gate waiting for a ride. Originally, he wanted to simply turn a blind eye, but on second thought, he still couldn't resist the urge to drive his car right up in front of Qin Luo.

"What? Waiting for a ride?" Li Qingyang asked with a mocking expression. In his eyes, a man who couldn't afford a car yet still wanted to woo wealthy daughters was truly pathetic.

"Yeah," Qin Luo nodded. He indeed was waiting for a ride.

"Need a lift?" Li Qingyang asked with a chuckle.

"No thanks," Qin Luo said.

"Don't worry. It's free. I won't charge you. You can try out what it feels like to ride in a BMW," Li Qingyang persuaded with 'sincerity,' wearing an expression that seemed to say he was entirely looking out for Qin Luo.

"No need. I often ride in BMWs," Qin Luo said. He had ridden in Lin Huanxi's BMW to school just this morning, after all.

"Hmph. I actually believe that. I heard you hitch a ride in Lin Huanxi's car to work every day?"

"It's not hitching a ride. She invited me to sit in it," Qin Luo said.

"Don't you feel any shame at all?" Li Qingyang said with disdain.

"Shame? Not really," Qin Luo shook his head. He didn't have a driver's license, and riding in someone else's car to work was a completely normal thing to do. Why should he feel ashamed? These people's minds really were complicated.

"Oh. Right. You're already used to being a kept man, aren't you? Let me think. First, there's that bitch Li Qingcheng. Then there's that female student in your class... and now Lin Huanxi. Not bad at all, you've got pretty high standards. They're all top-tier beauties," Li Qingyang said with a chuckle.

What he hadn't expected was that Qin Luo nodded quite seriously and said, "They are indeed top-tier. Ordinary people don't even get the chance to interact with them."

Li Qingyang nearly coughed up blood. Wasn't this guy mocking him for not having the chance to hook up with women of that caliber?

Yet, he truly had no way to refute those words, because he himself was a failed suitor who had tried and failed to pursue Li Qingcheng.

"Punk. Sooner or later, I'll let you know what I'm capable of," Li Qingyang threatened with a gloomy expression.

Qin Luo curled his lip and said mockingly, "Too bad. You're about to find out what someone else is capable of right now."

As Qin Luo spoke, a majestic-looking Hummer came barreling forward with formidable momentum. Moreover, its target was precisely Li Qingyang's BMW, as if it intended to ram it straight into two halves.

Noticing the situation, Li Qingyang hastily started his car, desperate to escape disaster.

Alas, he was still a step too slow.

Bang!

The front end of the military Hummer slammed viciously into the rear of the BMW, sending the BMW lunging forward like it had suddenly been stomped full throttle.