Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 240 - 240 237 Mu Jiawens Reminder (Second Update)

Chapter 240: Chapter 237 Mu Jiawen’s Reminder (Second Update) Chapter 240: Chapter 237 Mu Jiawen’s Reminder (Second Update) After dinner, Tang An went to the classroom to see the painting, and the art teachers along with a few colleagues followed out of curiosity.

A few young teachers pushed open the door and entered.

“Is this… the Chinese zodiac?”

The art teacher stared intently at the dragon in the center riding the clouds and mist, dumbfounded for quite a while before pointing at the painting and asking Tang An, “Was this painted by a student from your class? Who? Who painted it?”

He seriously suspected that Tang An had lured one of their fine arts students into the physics department.

Tang An and the other teachers were all from the physical sciences, and frankly, they didn’t really understand painting. But even if they didn’t get it, being able to portray the Chinese zodiac with such lifelike precision and with a distinctive, strong national style… If they couldn’t recognize the quality of this painting, they would be fools.

Tang An gazed at the painting in silence.

He thought to himself, it’s no wonder she’s the daughter of Master Mu. Even though she didn’t grow up by Master Mu’s side, her talent had not been buried.

“Old Tang, I’m asking you, who painted this?”

“Why do you ask when there’s a signature and seal right here?”

Another teacher pointed to the two characters “Xiaosi” at the bottom right corner and said, “The signature is Xiaosi, and the seal is… Mu Jiawen?”

The art teacher lamented, “Why would such a talented individual choose the physics department? What’s so good about studying physics? It’s all just a bunch of baldies.”

The other physics department teachers watched him expressionlessly, but the art teacher was oblivious, his gaze and attention fully on the twelve paintings.

Another teacher asked Tang An, “Did Professor Li call you because he wanted these paintings?”

Tang An snapped back to the conversation and immediately shook his head, saying, “How could we give them to him? These paintings were made by Mu Jiawen for the class to decorate the classroom.”

They couldn’t be given away, absolutely not. His new house was being renovated, and it still lacked any decent paintings for decoration.

“Old Tang, it’s a waste to keep these paintings in your classroom. How about this, I’ll trade you with other paintings? Just come with me, and you can choose any painting from my collection.”

The art teacher reluctantly shifted his gaze away from the paintings and said to Tang An, “Just having them as decorations in your classroom is a waste, but if they were in our department, the significance wouldn’t end there…”

The art teacher was interrupted by the ringing of Tang An’s cell phone. Tang An wasn’t in a hurry to answer it and said to the other teachers accompanying him, “Well then, now that you’ve seen the paintings, you all head back first. I’ve got two parents coming, I’m busy with that.”

“Old Tang…” The art teacher wanted to continue the previous conversation, but the continuous ringing of Tang An’s phone reminded him that now was not a good time to discuss the matter, so he could only sigh and leave with the other teachers.

The caller wasn’t Xia Shi’s parents, but Hao Tong’s counselor, Teacher Liu.

“Teacher Liu…”

“Hello, Tang Teacher, this is Hao Tong.”

Tang An paused, then asked, “Have your parents arrived?”

“…My dad’s workplace is particularly busy at the end of the year, and he can’t easily take leave. My mom will arrive tomorrow. But Tang Teacher, I don’t agree with Xia Shi’s parents’ demands. There’s no way I can have my mom apologize to them. Why should she? Just because they have money? Can they bully people just because they’re rich?”

The voice on the other end began to choke up a bit and then the phone was passed to Teacher Liu.

“Teacher Tang, Hao Tong is willing to apologize to Xia Shi, but she does not agree to have her mother apologize to Xia Shi’s parents. I also find this demand unreasonable. Whether it’s quarreling or fighting, it takes two hands to clap. Hao Tong is at fault, but isn’t Xia Shi also to blame? Yes, breaking her violin was wrong, and Hao Tong can’t afford the compensation. But they shouldn’t humiliate her parents just because they don’t have money, right? This is Beijing University, a place where reason prevails. If we really want to get strict about it, it was Xia Shi who started with the verbal provocation, so how should we account for that?”

Tang An frowned. In fact, he also thought that Xia Shi’s parents were being unreasonable. To prevent Xia Shi from getting a major demerit for fighting, they agreed not to demand compensation from Hao Tong for the violin. But they insisted that she and her parents bow and apologize to their family of three!

What’s the difference between this and slapping someone in the face?

But if you don’t apologize, then you have to compensate for the violin, one or the other.

Choosing to apologize, Xia Shi’s mother still felt they were at a loss, after all that violin represented not just a hundred thousand yuan, but also Xia Shi’s seven years of emotions and sweat.

Although Xia Shi was from his own class, Tang An couldn’t help but curse inwardly. If it was truly seven years of emotions and sweat, why not keep it cherished at home? Why bring it to school?

“Mr. Liu, you saw how long I tried to persuade them last night, I’m out of options. Can you think of something?”

Before Teacher Liu opposite him could speak, Tang An heard Hao Tong muttering something about medical assessment of injuries, and he was stunned for a moment before understanding.

Indeed—

Hao Tong asked for Teacher Liu’s phone again, and said to Tang An, “Mr. Tang, I was hurt worse than Xia Shi that night. After you left, I went to the hospital for injury assessment. If Xia Shi’s parents insist on those two options, then I will have to take the assessment to the school leaders. I know the consequences of what I’m doing; whether I get a demerit or whatever, I can accept it. It’s just, I’m sorry to trouble you and Mr. Liu. I wanted to give you a heads up, very sorry, Mr. Tang.”

Tang An: …

Well, if Hao Tong insisted on taking matters to the school, it certainly wouldn’t be good for Tang An. However, Tang An wasn’t angry about it and didn’t dislike Hao Tong’s approach at all.

Who would hate a child willing to go to such lengths for their parents?

“I’ll pass your words along to Xia Shi’s parents. If they still insist on those two choices, then you can do as you planned. But I don’t think they will.”

Xia Shi’s parents considered his future extremely important. They would never allow his college record to have a major demerit from the school.

So in this round, Tang An was sure that Hao Tong had won.

“Who reminded you to go to the hospital for the injury assessment?” Teacher Liu asked Hao Tong from the opposite side after hanging up Tang An’s call, “Don’t tell me you thought of it yourself; I won’t believe that.”

Hao Tong bit his lip and said softly, “Well, if I tell you, you can’t tell Mr. Tang.”

Teacher Liu was surprised, “What, was it Mu Jiawen who reminded you?”

Hao Tong nodded, “After you left, Ding Yuanyuan from her dorm called ours, asking me to drop by room 303. Then Mu Jiawen suggested I should immediately get an injury assessment, especially since the injury might heal overnight. If I didn’t want to compensate for the violin, I needed solid proof. So… I found a good friend and went straight there. Now I have medical records and proof of soft tissue damage. So if it comes to school, Xia Shi’s punishment will definitely be heavier than mine.”

After all, you couldn’t even see the marks on Xia Shi’s face anymore.

Actually, Mu Jiawen thought of reminding Hao Tong thanks to Yang Dan. If Yang Dan hadn’t been scalded before, and Jiang Yan hadn’t told her to get an injury assessment at his older brother’s place, she wouldn’t have known about such things.

As for why she reminded Hao Tong?

Does disliking Xia Shi count?

….

In the end, just as Tang An had expected, although Xia Shi’s parents were angry and annoyed, they had no solution to Hao Tong’s move. After all, money and apologies were incomparable to Xia Shi’s record and future prospects.

Reluctantly, they could only let the matter go.

That night at the Physics Department’s New Year’s Eve party, Xia Shi rented a violin and performed on stage. Mu Jiawen was lost in the performance, and if she hadn’t had sunflower seeds, she might have fallen asleep.

In the end, she didn’t wait for the party to finish and left early. Jiang Yan was waiting for her outside—they had both been busy these past few days and hadn’t seen each other for three days.