CHAPTER 852: CHAPTER 501: ARREST IN PROGRESS_2

"Now we’re holding the award ceremony!" Wang Longlong shouted.

Ma Shicheng thanked Geng Lu and then took away the ’certificate’ she had just drawn.

The certificate depicted, in Q-version, a little person with a huge mouth wide open to the sky, with visible sound waves spreading out, accompanied by the words [8th Class First Big Mouth Competition Champion].

During the award ceremony held by Wang Longlong, amidst everyone’s applause, Pang Jiao accepted the certificate, glanced contemptuously at Tang Jing, and shouted:

"I told you I’ve got a bigger mouth, can you accept it or not?"

Tang Jing wished she could tear her apart on the spot!

...

After this incident, Pang Jiao quieted down, and Liu Chuandao breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to make progress.

Tang Jing privately told Meng Ziyun: "She disrupts everyone’s studying, am I wrong to call her out?"

Cao Kun said: "You’re not wrong."

He couldn’t understand, what’s up with Class 8, actually siding with evil!

After class.

Cao Kun found the back row, asking Wang Longlong: "Brother, doesn’t anyone in your class manage her?"

Hu Jun calmly said: "There’s a free gorilla performance, don’t you enjoy watching it?"

Cao Kun couldn’t hold back and coughed out a laugh.

Wang Longlong, seeing this brother’s sincere inquiry, explained: "She’s not like this every day, only when the language teacher requires reciting passages does she shout a few times; sigh, it’s hard to say, the world isn’t simply good or evil."

Before, Wu Xiaoqi was woken up by the noise, and as a perpetual bad student, he felt forced and actually chose to report to the teacher, only for Wang Yan Yan to claim that Pang Jiao was depressed.

Shan Qingrong found it tricky, and in the end, nothing came of it.

Cao Kun gathered the intel and went back to tell Tang Jing.

Tang Jing, petty and holding a grudge, her eyes flared with wicked fire: "Since others won’t take care of it, I will!"

...

Time is peculiar, sometimes crawling like a snail, and other times racing like a wild dog, and in a blink of an eye, a day was over.

After evening self-study ended, Chen Qian, as always, stayed in the classroom to study, and Dan Xiao stayed to read.

On his way out, Liu Chuandao.

Cui Yu suddenly said: "Brother Chuandao, didn’t you say you were going to catch a thief this morning?"

With that reminder, Liu Chuandao indeed remembered that during morning self-study, he had boasted in front of the whole class: "What Class 8 can’t do, I’ll do it!"

However, as the day went on, his anger over the stolen cigarettes had subsided a lot. He was not as furious anymore, and even mentally prepared himself to chalk it up as a loss and to take better care of his stuff going forward.

People compromise with time.

He put his cigarettes in his pocket.

Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Yanan glanced over.

Liu Chuandao suddenly remembered Jiang Yanan had something stolen, and his hero complex was revived.

"I’ll catch, I’m looking for clues now."

Cui Yu: "I wish you success beyond your expectations."

He whistled, hooked arms with Meng Gui, and walked out of the classroom.

Liu Chuandao looked left and right in the classroom, at a loss.

He returned to his seat to ponder, it was too boring, and he was so sleepy he was groggy, as if the ceiling lights had turned into two.

Until Dan Xiao also left, saying goodbye to him:

"It’s late, go home and rest early."

Liu Chuandao had a good impression of him: "You go first."

Chen Qian still stayed focused and immersed in reading.

Liu Chuandao felt waiting was not a solution, he had a sudden flash of genius and came up with a great idea.

He reached into Pang Jiao’s desk hole, fumbled around, and took out her frequently applied lipstick, placing it in the most conspicuous spot.

As long as the thief visits Class 8, they will definitely see Pang Jiao’s lipstick.

Liu Chuandao: "If it gets lost, don’t blame me!"

In this way, if the lipstick gets stolen, Pang Jiao will definitely flare up.

This move is called—borrowed knife to kill!

Liu Chuandao secretly rejoiced, ate some crisps, gulped down half a bottle of cola, burped, elegantly wiped his mouth with a tissue, and finally returned to the dorm.

...

Thursday, morning self-study.

Jiang Ning ascended the teaching building, only to see the door of Class 8’s classroom shut tightly.

He pushed the door open, Liu Chuandao was on the podium scolding: "Are you even a human? You can’t even leave tissues alone, are you sick!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and he was so angry that smoke seemed to be coming out of his ears.

Liu Chuandao came to the classroom in the morning, intending to find some amusement. After all, his cigarettes were taken yesterday, and Pang Jiao’s lipstick was revealed, but he didn’t suffer any loss.

Who would have thought that after arriving at his seat, he would find Pang Jiao’s lipstick still in place? Liu Chuandao thought the thief hadn’t come around, and he didn’t feel anything was wrong.

He put Pang Jiao’s lipstick back and was about to take out a tissue to clean his hands, only to find that his newly bought tissues were missing.

Tissues are two yuan a pack, not too expensive, but it’s damn disgusting!

Liu Chuandao: "Damn it! I’m saying this right here!"

He pulled out a pack of Red Anhui Cigarettes, tossed it onto the lecturer’s desk, and cursed, "If you’ve got guts, steal my cigarettes tonight!"

"Otherwise, you’re a coward!"

Dan Xiao advised, "Don’t get worked up. Red Anhui Cigarettes aren’t cheap; no need to give them away."

Liu Chuandao: "Haha, I’m putting them out there for him to steal. I want to see just how crafty he is!"

"I’ll leave the Red Anhui Cigarettes in the desk hole tonight. If you’ve got the guts to take them, if I don’t leave them out, then I’m a coward myself." Liu Chuandao was really infuriated.

After declaring his intentions, Liu Chuandao stepped down, and the class continued with their self-study session.

In the morning, Xue Yuantong slept while Jiang Ning played games.

In the afternoon, Jiang Ning read books while Xue Yuantong played games.

During evening self-study, Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong played games together and snacked.

A beautiful day came to an end.

After evening self-study classes ended, Xue Yuantong mumbled to himself, then called Chuchu back, and the three of them played games together.

Guo Kunnan had a few more words than usual with Xin Youling today, and he felt that their relationship had reached a new breakthrough, so he happily invited Brother Ma and some others to play billiards.

Liu Chuandao didn’t linger in the classroom like yesterday; he followed the crowd outside, and Cui Yu reminded him again: "Brother Dao, why are you leaving?"

With a carefree attitude, Liu Chuandao said, "I left my cigarettes in the desk hole. Let’s see if he dares to steal them."

Leaving those words behind, he left directly.

Cui Yu couldn’t understand this guy, isn’t he just giving away money?

At night, by 11:40, all of the senior high school and repeat class students at Fourth Middle School had finished their sessions and left school.

Chen Qian finished proofreading the math test papers, took off his glasses, and rubbed his sore eyes.

After half a minute of relieving his eyes, he put on his thick glasses again.

Chen Qian switched off the ceiling fan, locked the classroom door, turned around, and saw a delicate crescent moon rising in the night sky. The hazy moonlight spilled over every inch of campus, as well as the long corridor.

All the lights went out, and the bustling campus of the day was now silent, as if he was the only person left between heaven and earth.

Chen Qian walked slowly home under the watery moonlight.

Ten minutes later, Liu Chuandao appeared at the door of Class 8 holding a black high-beam flashlight, serving both as a light and a weapon if necessary.

During the day in class, he had vowed to leave the cigarettes overnight, both as a fight over pride and setting up a plan early.

He came here to catch the thief and restore his honor!

Liu Chuandao opened the window, climbed into the classroom, and felt his way to his seat. The Red Anhui Cigarettes were still there, so he could exclude Chen Qian and their suspicion.

He moved to the corner at the back of the classroom, quietly waiting for the thief to take the bait.

In the stillness of the night, Liu Chuandao sat down with a stool.

The September night was hot, and Liu Chuandao was sweating profusely. He wiped and wiped, yet still felt hot.

His hand reached for the fan switch, ready to turn it on for some relief, but he worried about alerting the thief.

After waiting a while longer, Liu Chuandao was unbearably hot, thinking that even if the fan was on, the thief would just assume someone forgot to turn it off, so it wouldn’t be a giveaway!

Liu Chuandao enjoyed the breeze as expected.

His heart was filled with anger at the thief, and this anger gave him the adrenaline to stay up all night waiting.

Liu Chuandao was a tough guy, keeping his eyes open, waiting and waiting, as time ticked by second by second. By dawn, the campus of Fourth Middle School was still steeped in dreams, as a faint hint of purple quietly broke through the night’s darkness.

As the earth was veiled in mist, a bird’s call marked the boundary between night and day—it was morning.

With immense resilience, Liu Chuandao stayed awake all night!

But human endurance has limits; after a whole night, even a vigorous high school student was bound to feel exhausted.

Liu Chuandao felt greasy all over, his consciousness drowsy, and he felt unsteady on his feet as he walked.

"It’s five o’clock, he didn’t come." Liu Chuandao muttered to himself, "Tonight is over."

Dragging his exhausted body, Liu Chuandao climbed out of the window and headed to the dormitory.

At the dormitory, he barely had time to doze off before being awakened by the alarm clock. He washed his face, forced himself to eat breakfast despite being weary, and rushed to class.

By that time, the classroom was packed. Dong Qingfeng had brought breakfast for Jiang Yanan, and they were sharing it.

Liu Chuandao was too tired to pay attention, dragging his body to the desk to sleep.

Before sleeping, he instinctively reached for the desk hole, then immediately became wide awake. His expression changed dramatically, unable to believe it: "Where are my cigarettes?"