Chapter 512: Investigating Karen

Chapter 512: Investigating Karen

"Senior, have a seat."

The junior showed them into the courtyard and invited them to take a seat.

Yi Yanran was just about to bend down when Ji Ming grabbed her arm. "What?"

"This is filthy. Are we really supposed to sit here?" Ji Ming frowned in disgust.

"It's not dirty at all. Quit being so dramatic!"

Yi Yanran pulled away from Ji Ming and sat down, shooting him a warning glare.

Ji Ming, "???"

Yi Yanran glared at him? Now this woman dared to glare at him?

The junior turned to Ji Ming and said, "Sir, if you don't like this stool, you can sit over there instead."

He pointed to the pavilion across the way.

Ji Ming plopped himself down right next to Yi Yanran. "If she can sit here, so can I."

The junior glanced back and forth between the two before sitting opposite them. Finally having the chance to sit with his former crush, he naturally wanted to have a good long chat.

Moreover, the two shared common topics in music and talked for a long time, leaving Ji Ming out of the conversation, just sitting there idly.

When their talk turned from musical instruments to medicine, and then from medicine to astronomy, Principal Xiao finally returned.

"Xiao Ran, we have guests?" Though Principal Xiao was in his seventies, his body was still robust, and he looked full of vitality.

The junior hastily introduced them. "Grandpa, Senior Yi came to see you, and this is..."

"Ji Ming," Ji Ming drawled.

Both the junior and Principal Xiao were taken aback.

Ji Ming, the Young Master of the Ji family?

"Principal Xiao, hello," Yi Yanran greeted with a smile.

"Young Master Ji, Miss Yi, welcome! Please, make yourselves comfortable." Principal Xiao greeted them warmly, then shot a reproachful glance at his grandson. "You rascal, how could you entertain guests without even brewing tea? Go make a pot of good tea right now!"

With Yi Yanran and Ji Ming's status, their visit clearly meant they had business to discuss.

Noticing that Yi Yanran and Ji Ming seemed hesitant to get straight to the point, beating around the bush, Principal Xiao took the initiative. "What brings you here today?"

"Actually, we're here to discuss something..."

Ji Ming was about to speak when Yi Yanran cut him off with an elbow, making him shut up and glare at her.

Yi Yanran gave Principal Xiao a sheepish smile and said gently, "Principal Xiao, we're here to discuss something with you. We apologize if we're disturbing you."

"Not at all, not at all. Please, speak freely. If it weren't for your father's decisive investment, Floundeburg wouldn't be where it is today," Principal Xiao said.

Yi Yanran then came right out with it. "Well, we wanted to ask you about someone. Do you remember Karen, whom you recommended to the school back then?"

"Of course I remember," Principal Xiao replied immediately. "He was one heck of a talent. I still remember the first time I saw him rescuing crash victims on the highway. I'd never seen a seventeen-year-old stay so composed and perform such neat, effective stitches right there on the scene!"

The moment Karen was mentioned, Principal Xiao got really worked up.

"That's why I bent the rules to let him in, and he didn't disappoint me. He did an outstanding job during his time at school and was later scouted by your dad."

"So, you just happened to meet Senior Karen?" Yi Yanran asked.

Principal Xiao brushed it off. "Actually, it wasn't entirely accidental. At the time, an old friend I hadn't seen in years told me about a kid with crazy talent who he wanted to recommend to me. Turns out, on the way, we encountered a chain-reaction crash, where I witnessed Karen rescuing people. And as it turns out, Karen was the very student my old friend had recommended."

"And this old friend of yours is...?"

"You guys might know him—he's the head of the Shangguan family in Nancheng," Principal Xiao replied.

So Grandpa Shangguan was behind it!

Yi Yanran and Ji Ming exchanged glances. Yi Yanran kept digging, "Do you know more about Karen? For instance, what his relationship with Grandpa Shangguan was?"

"I really don't know. I care about skill, not where someone comes from—so I never pry into my students' backgrounds." Principal Xiao picked up on something. "Why? Has something happened to Karen?"

Yi Yanran quickly shook her head. "No, it's just... You must have seen the news about my father's accident. Now that I'm in charge of the Yi family, I want to get a read on the people who worked under my father before I can trust them with big jobs."

"I see." Principal Xiao appeared to have no suspicions. "But I'm sorry, I truly don't have any more information."

After dancing around it forever, Principal Xiao seemed to have given them his whole spiel, yet he hadn't revealed anything substantial.

It only further confirmed that Karen was connected to Grandpa Shangguan—something they had already guessed.

"You came all the way out here, and it must have been tiring. Why don't you stay the night here and enjoy the tranquility of the countryside?" Principal Xiao suggested.

Yi Yanran stood up. "We've overstayed our welcome already and don’t wish to impose further. Thank you for sharing what you know, Principal Xiao. Goodbye."

Ji Ming also expressed his thanks before following Yi Yanran out.

"He's full of it."

The moment they stepped outside, Ji Ming leaned close to Yi Yanran and whispered.

Yi Yanran looked surprised. "How do you know?"

"I've grilled enough guys to tell when someone's lying," Ji Ming said with a raised eyebrow.

Yi Yanran gave him the side-eye.

Ji Ming analyzed, "He admitted that he and Grandpa Shangguan are old friends. If we could find our way here, Grandpa Shangguan would’ve anticipated it and surely clued Principal Xiao in to keep his mouth shut."

That made sense.

"So what do we do now?"

They couldn’t exactly start waterboarding him, could they?

They were stuck.

Just as they were at a loss, someone piped up from behind the wall.

"Senior Yi, I know what to do."

Both turned in surprise to see their junior, who had been lurking in the shadows like a creeper.

"The hell? You been spying on us?" Ji Ming exclaimed.

But the junior completely ignored him and walked up to Yi Yanran. "Senior, if you want to know about Karen, I can tell you."

Well, well, well!

Ji Ming raised an eyebrow and slung an arm over the junior's shoulder. "Kid, let's hear it in the car."

And just like that, the junior was pulled into the car by Ji Ming, with Yi Yanran following closely behind.

"Alright, let's hear it. What do you know?" Ji Ming asked.

The junior shook off Ji Ming's arm and earnestly turned to Yi Yanran. "Senior, anything you want to know, I can tell you."

Yi Yanran asked, "You know Karen well?"

"Of course!" the junior said immediately. "When I was in high school, Karen came to stay at my house."

"Karen stayed at your place?" Yi Yanran was surprised.

That was something neither of them had expected.