Chapter 298: Heroes Think Alike

“Waiting for someone?” Zu’an was startled. “Who are we waiting for?”

“Xie Xiu,” Shang Liuyu slowly uttered a name.

“Xie Xiu?” Zu’an paused, then quickly realized, “So the beautiful Headmistress arranged for Xie Xiu to come along too. As expected, she’s far-sighted. With him, the process of taking over the Plum Blossom Gang will indeed be much smoother.”

Although Xie Xiu was somewhat irresponsible, he was still the City Lord's eldest son. With him present, many official matters would be much easier to handle.

Shang Liuyu shook her head, “It’s not Ruofu who arranged for Xie Xiu to go; you need to invite him.”

“I invite him?” Zu’an was stunned.

“That’s right,” Shang Liuyu smiled faintly. “The matter of the school collecting 7.5 million taels from you shouldn’t be known by outsiders, and certainly not by the Xie family. Only you can handle this, and I’ll pretend to be helping you.”

Zu’an was speechless.

She was too manipulative. The beautiful Headmistress, who loved wearing black stockings, must have a dark heart. She truly wouldn't miss any opportunity to use him.

“Are you having some difficulty?” Shang Liuyu asked considerately.

“No problem,” Zu’an shook his head. To be honest, Jiang Ruofu had already been good enough to him. Anyway, the IOU for 7.5 million taels was just a piece of waste paper in his hands, so it was better to facilitate her plans. At least Jiang Ruofu’s returns to him were substantial.

“Let’s go find Xie Xiu.” In almost an instant, Zu’an had clearly analyzed the pros and cons.

Shang Liuyu naturally had no objections. She followed him towards the Heavenly Class, feeling curious several times about the relationship between Zheng Dan and him.

Zu’an, however, always changed the subject with a joke.

Seeing he didn't want to talk about it, Shang Liuyu smiled slightly and didn't press him further.

The two arrived at the Heavenly Class. Zu’an called out Xie Xiu, and while doing so, he also observed that Chu Chuyan apparently rarely came to school.

As for Zheng Dan, she evidently hadn't returned to class either, and he didn't know where she had gone.

“Both of you… teachers, why did you call me?” When Xie Xiu came out, the word "teacher" was hard for him to utter.

After all, seeing Zu’an’s irritating demeanor, calling him "teacher" felt truly against his will.

But unfortunately, the other party had called him out of class precisely under the guise of being a teacher.

As for the teacher conducting the class, upon seeing Shang Liuyu, he was already overjoyed and paid no mind to anything else.

Shang Liuyu smiled faintly, “It’s not me who needs you, but Zu… Teacher Zu needs you.”

*Why did it feel so awkward for me to call him 'Teacher' too?*

Xie Xiu could only look at Zu’an with a pained expression, “Zu… Zu…”

Zu’an laughed heartily and directly put his arm around Xie Xiu’s shoulder, “Let’s just be informal between us. When we’re not in public, you don’t need to call me ‘teacher.’ Just call me A’Zu from now on.”

Xie Xiu gave an awkward smile, “A’Zu, what do you need me for?”

Zu’an replied, “You witnessed me winning 7.5 million taels from the Plum Blossom Gang last time, right? Mei Chaofeng wrote me an IOU then, but now that he’s dead, he naturally can’t repay it. I can only go and mortgage his properties. I happen to need some help, so I came to find you.”

“Me?” Xie Xiu had always only been interested in women and had little interest in serious matters like this, especially since this was no small affair. Just as he was about to politely decline, he suddenly saw Shang Liuyu standing beside him and couldn't help but ask curiously, “Teacher Shang, why are you with him?”

Zu’an said, “Of course, she’s coming with me to collect the debt.”

Xie Xiu’s eyes instantly widened. “Brother Zu, you are truly extraordinary! You know Teacher Shang has always been aloof and uninterested in worldly affairs, yet you managed to persuade her.”

Zu’an chuckled, “You flatter me, you flatter me. I’m just that popular.”

Xie Xiu was speechless.

He hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed. After all, even if he didn't respect Zu’an, he still had to respect Shang Liuyu.

There wasn't a single male student in the entire school who didn't like a gentle and beautiful teacher like Shang Liuyu, unless he wasn't a man.

Although Xie Xiu didn't have any particularly ardent feelings for her, being with such a great beauty was still a very pleasant experience.

As for helping Zu’an, that was merely a side matter.

“Haha, then thank you very much.” Zu’an clasped his hands, too lazy to care about his real reasons, as long as the matter was handled properly in the end.

Next, the group walked out of the school. Of course, when they left the campus, a small team also followed them. These were the professionals sent by Jiang Ruofu to genuinely liquidate and take over the Plum Blossom Gang’s properties.

After all, she knew Shang Liuyu’s personality. Persuading her to come out was already a great concession; asking her to handle such trivial matters would likely make her turn hostile.

Along the way, Xie Xiu pulled out all the stops, constantly trying to strike up a conversation with Shang Liuyu.

Although he adhered to the principle of not giving up an entire forest for one tree, Shang Liuyu was simply too beautiful, making him waver in his resolve.

So, along the way, he couldn't help but talk to her, even employing the infallible tricks he used to deceive young ladies in their boudoirs.

Unfortunately, from beginning to end, Shang Liuyu responded to him very politely, always seeming uninterested.

Noticing her attitude, Xie Xiu, being an unusual person himself, no longer pressed her and shifted his attention to Zu’an: “Brother Zu, I truly admire you more and more.”

“Admire me for what?” Zu’an, still recalling his recent interactions with Zheng Dan, answered subconsciously.

“How on earth did you persuade Teacher Shang, and before that, you also managed to handle Qiu Honglei from the Divine Immortal Pavilion? Once might be a coincidence, but several times in a row, there must be a reason.” Xie Xiu looked at him expectantly.

Zu’an wagged a finger, “You’re wrong.”

“What’s wrong?” Xie Xiu asked curiously.

“I missed mentioning some important people, for example, I also managed to handle Chu Chuyan,” Zu’an said with a triumphant expression.

This "handling" was truly a 360-degree, flawless success, so of course he was proud.

Xie Xiu was speechless.

*Brother, I know you’re amazing, but you don’t have to rub it in my face like this, do you?*

Zu’an then muttered to himself, “There’s no helping it. When a man is too excellent, these are the troubles he faces.”

Xie Xiu was speechless.

From a distance, Shang Liuyu, who had originally pricked up her ears to eavesdrop on their conversation, was also speechless.

After a long while, Xie Xiu finally recovered from his despondency. “Right, A’Zu, how exactly did you create that song, ‘Smiling Proudly in the Jianghu,’ last time?”

Zu’an smiled wryly, “I already told you I didn’t create it.”

“A’Zu, you’re too modest,” Xie Xiu exclaimed.

Zu’an was also frustrated. Why did they never believe him when he told the truth?

He could only say, “Brother Xie, are you also interested in music?”

“To be honest, I’m not interested at all,” Xie Xiu also laughed. “The only reason I learned this stuff was purely to impress women.”

Zu’an was immediately surprised and quickly grabbed his hand, “Brother, great minds think alike!”

Shang Liuyu was speechless.

“Since Brother Xie isn’t interested in music, why did you ask about it? If you want to use it to impress women, just take it and use it. Don’t be shy between brothers,” Zu’an said nonchalantly.

“It’s not for impressing women, actually,” Xie Xiu said with a wry smile, “It’s just that my sister is interested in this piece and has many questions for you.”

Mid-sentence, he suddenly paused. Just now, the other person had said that learning music was for impressing women, so wouldn't pushing his sister forward now be like leading a lamb to a tiger's mouth?

Fortunately, at that moment, Shang Liuyu also spoke up, just in time to resolve his awkwardness: “A’Zu, today I also heard some things about the ‘Smiling Proudly in the Jianghu’ piece. Didn’t you say last time that you only knew ‘Original Scenery of My Hometown’?”