Chapter 48 Academic Credit Threat

Lin Qianfan frowned slightly. "Credit deduction?"

"Exactly! Military training is a mandatory course. If you fail, your credits will be deducted, and it might even affect your graduation!"

Teacher Wu's tone was cold and unyielding. "Think it through yourself."

With that, Teacher Wu hung up the phone directly, leaving Lin Qianfan no chance to explain.

Lin Qianfan gripped his phone, his brows tightly knitted. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

His grandfather held old-fashioned ideas and simply wanted his grandson to get into university to save face for him and make Lin Qianfan's father regret his actions.

Deducting credits? Affecting graduation? This was clearly a blatant threat directed right at him.

The next day, on the military training drill ground.

Lin Qianfan's figure reappeared in the formation. Standing in the back row, he wore an indifferent expression, but inside, his emotions were a swirling mixture of complicated feelings.

"Lin Qianfan, you finally deigned to show up after all these days?" The instructor walked up to him, his tone laced with a hint of sarcasm. "What, are you finally done busying yourself with your shop?"

"Instructor, I'm back." Lin Qianfan met his gaze directly, his tone entirely devoid of ripples.

"I hope your performance from now on won't disappoint me again." The instructor let out a cold snort and turned away.

Lin Qianfan stood in place. To him, this military training was nothing more than a temporary compromise, but in order to avoid having his credits deducted, he had no other choice.

The days of military training passed one by one, quickly drawing to a close.

During the final review performance on the last day, the class Lin Qianfan belonged to performed squarely in the middle, with no major highlights, yet without making any glaring mistakes.

"Lin Qianfan, consider yourself passed this time." The instructor patted him on the shoulder after it ended, offering a reluctant nod of approval. "Let's hope I don't have to worry about you anymore in the future."

Lin Qianfan nodded without saying much.

Once the military training concluded, he returned to the dormitory, stripped off his sweat-drenched training uniform, and collapsed entirely onto his bed.

Lin Qianfan recalled that it had been a very long time since he and his high school roommates had last sat down together for a proper chat.

Ever since the start of university, everyone had been busy adapting to their new environments. Although they occasionally chatted in the group text, nobody had found the time to meet up.

"What time? Where?" Lin Qianfan's voice sounded level, but inwardly, he had already agreed.

"Seven o'clock, at the barbecue restaurant by the back gate of the school. Yongpan booked it." Ge Yangchen spoke while adjusting his headphones, adding, "Dawei said he's also bringing his university roommates along. I heard they're from the Northeast and can really hold their liquor."

Lin Qianfan nodded and casually slipped his phone into his pocket.

Pulling out his phone, Lin Qianfan navigated to Xia Ruo's chat window and quickly typed out a message: "There's a high school gathering tonight, Yongpan and the others are all going. Do you want to come along?"

Not long after the message was sent, Xia Ruo replied: "Sure, what time?"

"Seven o'clock, at the barbecue restaurant by the school's back gate. I'll come pick you up."

"Alright, see you tonight then."

Lin Qianfan put down his phone and looked up to see his roommate Ge Yangchen tinkering with the headphone equipment on his desk.

Nearby, Ji Ming was sitting in his chair, deeply engrossed in a mobile game, leaving the dormitory exceptionally quiet.

At seven o'clock in the evening, at the entrance of the barbecue restaurant.

Lin Qianfan arrived with Xia Ruo. The moment they pushed open the door to the private dining room, the savory aroma of charcoal fire rushed over them.

Accompanied by Xiao Yang's voice: "Qianfan, Xia Ruo, over here!"

Four people were already seated inside: Xiao Yang, Dawei, Yongpan, and another high school roommate, Zhao Cheng.

Having arrived early, they had already ordered their food, and the table was covered with various skewers and bottles of beer.

"Oh, Xia Ruo came too!" Dawei slapped the table and stood up, a look of pleasant surprise on his face.

"Well, this gathering just got a lot more high-class if even Xia Ruo could be invited."

"Stop flattering us," Xia Ruo replied with a smile, then pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Aren't we all old acquaintances? What's so strange about me coming to a gathering?"

Xiao Yang chimed in, "You were the goddess of our class in high school. Having you here now brings a lot of honor to a bunch of rough guys like us."

Lin Qianfan smiled beside her, pulling out a chair to sit next to Xia Ruo.

He casually picked up the menu to flip through it: "Is this enough food? If not, let's order some more."

"It's plenty, plenty. We already ordered a huge pile earlier, probably won't even finish it," Zhao Cheng waved his hand dismissively.

As the group was chatting animatedly, Dawei's voice suddenly captured everyone's attention.

"You guys know what? The guys in my university dorm are all from the Northeast. Hanging out with them every day, even my speech has an accent now."

"No way, really?" Xiao Yang looked at Dawei curiously. "What kind of accent? Give us a couple of lines to hear."

Dawei cleared his throat and imitated his roommate's intonation, "Oh man, this stuff really hits the spot!"

In an instant, laughter erupted throughout the private room.

Zhao Cheng slapped the table in amusement, "Dawei, you've completely been led astray, haven't you?"

Holding his beer mug, Yongpan laughed so hard he was running out of breath, "Dawei, how long has university even been in session, and you've already picked up a Northeastern accent?"

"By next semester when you come back, are you going to turn into a full-blown northerner?"

"Can't help it, those guys in the dorm chatter away every day. Being immersed in it, it's hard not to pick it up."

Dawei chuckled as well, raising his glass. "Alright, stop laughing, let's drink! We're not stopping tonight until we're drunk!"

Lin Qianfan shook his head, raised his own glass to clink with theirs, and took a sip.

Glancing at Xia Ruo, he noticed she was looking down, using her chopsticks to pick at the skewers, appearing somewhat detached from their banter.

"Eat more." Lin Qianfan slid a plate of freshly grilled mutton skewers over to her.

"Thank you," Xia Ruo said softly, looking up at him with a faint smile in her eyes.

The gathering lasted until past nine in the evening.

When the group emerged from the barbecue restaurant, Yongpan and Zhao Cheng were both a little dizzy from the alcohol, leaving Xiao Yang in charge of supporting them as they walked.

Lin Qianfan walked at the very back, accompanying Xia Ruo as they strolled slowly back toward the school.

Along the way, Xia Ruo suddenly spoke up, "Actually, I kind of envy you guys."

"Envy us?" Lin Qianfan turned his head to look at her with a hint of puzzlement.

Xia Ruo nodded. "You all get along so well. No matter when you gather together, you can always chat so happily."

"You're the same, you're part of our group too," Lin Qianfan said calmly.

Xia Ruo did not respond, merely lowering her head with a quiet smile.

However, after that day, Xia Ruo rarely appeared again.

At first, Lin Qianfan assumed she simply had a temporary matter to attend to, but days passed and she was nowhere to be seen even in class. An uneasy feeling began to stir within him.

"Xia Ruo asked for leave," the head teacher mentioned casually in the office, just as Lin Qianfan was walking past.

Lin Qianfan paused his steps and asked, "Teacher, why did she ask for leave?"

The head teacher looked up at him, tone casual, "Probably something came up at home. Since you two get along well, you can just ask her yourself."

Lin Qianfan nodded and turned away, only to find that his messages to Xia Ruo still remained unanswered, causing his brows to furrow even more tightly.

A few days later, Xu Qian suddenly appeared before Lin Qianfan.

"Lin Qianfan, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Lin Qianfan stopped in his tracks and looked at her.

"It's about Xia Ruo." Xu Qian's tone carried a strange undertone. "Do you know why she hasn't been coming to school lately?"