ROT CH 37

Chapter 37: Love Is Free, So What’s the Crime?

Dean Li Fan had just finished watching the live stream, and his mood was terrible. His furrowed brows deepened as he watched a crowd of people cram into his office, further aggravating his irritation. “What’s going on here? I called Professor Han for something specific. Why are all of you tagging along? Even you, Yue Qi?”

“I… I’m just here to maintain order,” Yue Qi replied sheepishly.

“Dean,” Xue Bingsheng interjected with a determined look, “you called Professor Han, didn’t you? Is it because of what I exposed just now on the basketball court—about the inappropriate relationship between Professor Han and student Bai Chengyu?”

“This…” Dean Li looked at the group of students with visible frustration. “I still need to confirm things with the parties involved. For now, all of you, please leave.”

“Professor Han already admitted it. What’s left to confirm?” Xue Bingsheng pressed on. “And what about the midterm exam results? He still hasn’t given a clear explanation. Everyone here, except for this teacher,” he pointed to Yue Qi, “are second-year students. We’re all directly involved and have been victims of unfair exams. We have every right to stay and hear Professor Han’s explanation. I want him to account for it.”

Something so straightforward and unrelated was being twisted into such an ugly mess by Xue Bingsheng. Bai Chengyu was furious.

“My scores were earned through my own effort. They have nothing to do with Professor Han,” Bai Chengyu defended, his voice trembling with anger. “The scores aren’t exclusive. It’s not like me getting a perfect score means you can’t. Why are you coming after me when you didn’t perform well?”

“Because you don’t deserve that score,” Xue Bingsheng retorted venomously.

“Why doesn’t he deserve it?” Wang Ziheng jumped into the fray. “Young Master Bai already explained that he earned those scores through his hard work.”

“And you believe that just because he said so?” Xue Bingsheng shot back. “I don’t. If you ask me, his scores were ‘earned’ in bed.”

“You son of a b—!” Bai Chengyu was enraged, lunging at Xue Bingsheng with the intent to punch him. As a boxing champion, a single punch from him would have been devastating, but Han Junzhou quickly grabbed him by the waist, pulling him back.

Dean Li shouted, “Everyone, quiet!” His tone was firm as he continued, “If you insist on staying to hear this, then stay quiet and let me sort things out one by one.” His sharp gaze scanned the office, finally landing on Xue Bingsheng and Wang Ziheng. “If anyone interrupts me again, they will leave immediately. Do I make myself clear?”

Xue Bingsheng begrudgingly nodded.

Li Fan sighed heavily. When he brought in Han Junzhou to substitute for Professor Chen, he hadn’t anticipated this kind of mess. With a complicated expression, he turned to his former protégé, Han Junzhou. “Start from the beginning. What’s going on between you and… Bai Chengyu?” His gaze shifted questioningly to Bai Chengyu. “I remember you—you’re a member of the student council, right? I also recall hearing you’re an Alpha. But now…”

“It’s my fault,” Bai Chengyu interjected quickly. “It’s my fault for not clarifying when my classmates assumed I was an Alpha. I apologize for hiding the fact that I’m an Omega. I… I was afraid…”

“There’s no need for you to apologize,” Wang Ziheng said. “You never explicitly claimed to be an Alpha. It was us who made assumptions without asking.”

Liao Sheng and Li Wenting agreed, and even Liang Yuchan, who had been angry at Bai Chengyu earlier, nodded slightly.

Xue Bingsheng pointed at Wang Ziheng and then at the door, implying that Wang should leave for speaking out of turn.

“I didn’t interrupt Dean Li,” Wang Ziheng retorted defiantly.

As the students began to get riled up again, Yue Qi stepped in to calm them down.

Han Junzhou finally spoke, “Chengyu might be at fault for not clarifying his secondary gender when misunderstandings arose, but secondary gender is a personal matter. One doesn’t have to disclose it.”

“Chengyu has a unique physique with subtle pheromones that are hard to detect. Since they didn’t affect anyone else, why should he have been forced to reveal his secondary gender? Moreover, given his family background, hiding his secondary gender is a protective measure against malicious intentions. I think everyone can understand that.”

Han Junzhou’s explanation seemed to resonate with most of the students, except Xue Bingsheng.

“As for my relationship with Chengyu…” Han Junzhou began, offering a wry, apologetic smile to Dean Li. In the same tone he used when seeking guidance during his student years, he addressed him, “Teacher, Chengyu and I are indeed in a romantic relationship. We’ve known each other for years. When he turned eighteen, I pursued him, and just yesterday, when he turned twenty, he agreed to be with me.”

He glanced tenderly at Bai Chengyu, who looked stunned. “If you want to call this a teacher-student romance, then yes, that’s partially true. But in reality, we were acquaintances and a pursuer-and-pursued pair before the teacher-student dynamic even existed.”

“I agreed to teach this course this semester, and only after starting did I realize Chengyu was one of my students. At that point, I should have avoided any potential conflict of interest.” Han Junzhou sighed. “But a true gentleman pursues what his heart desires. I couldn’t let go. Even knowing he was my student, I chose to pursue him.”

His bold confession left Bai Chengyu blushing furiously, his heart racing as Han Junzhou candidly professed his affection in front of their classmates, Yue Qi, and Dean Li.

Dean Li’s expression grew increasingly serious, while Yue Qi lowered his head, staring at the trash can by the desk with a faint, bitter smile. Hearing his ex-lover recount his passionate pursuit of someone else wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience. Though Yue Qi had moved on, a small pang of pain lingered in his heart.

Xue Bingsheng broke the brief silence with a sharp accusation, “So what if you knew each other first? A teacher-student relationship is still a teacher-student relationship. Nothing you say can absolve you of this crime.”

“Crime?” Han Junzhou snapped out of his thoughts, turning to Xue Bingsheng with a calm yet perplexed expression. “What crime have I committed? The issue with so-called teacher-student relationships lies in the exploitation of the power imbalance between teacher and student to gain inappropriate benefits. Some teachers coerce students into relationships by leveraging grades, while some students seduce teachers to secure better grades. None of this improper exchange exists between Chengyu and me.

“I only started teaching this semester, and Bai Chengyu’s grades from last year were already third in his year. He didn’t need to put in any effort to gain better grades from me—he’s already outstanding on his own.”

Bai Chengyu stared at Han Junzhou, his eyes wide. Hearing the word “outstanding” made his nose tingle slightly. It was a kind of joy that came from being acknowledged—especially by someone he admired and loved.

“And as for me, I’ve been pursuing Chengyu for quite some time now—more than two years, in fact. I can assure you that throughout this period, I’ve always behaved as a gentleman, with respect and without coercion of any kind.” Han Junzhou turned to Bai Chengyu with a soft smile. “Isn’t that right?”

At that moment, Bai Chengyu exhaled deeply. There was no longer a need to deny anything. Such a wonderful man had already taken the lead, standing in front of him fearlessly and laying everything bare. What more could he say? The only thing left to do was stand by him, come what may.

Bai Chengyu took a step forward and, in front of everyone, slipped his hand into Han Junzhou’s palm, their fingers intertwining. He nodded firmly. “Yes, there was no exchange of benefits, and no coercion.” His gaze swept across the crowd, finally landing on Dean Li as he emphasized, “Han Junzhou and I are in a relationship.”

By deliberately calling him “Han Junzhou,” Bai Chengyu was making a statement. At this moment of public declaration, Han Junzhou was not his “teacher.” He was his equal, his lover—Han Junzhou.

Han Junzhou, however, was not as composed as he appeared. While he smiled gently at Bai Chengyu, inside he was riddled with anxiety. He wasn’t sure if his stubborn little leopard—Bai Chengyu—would still be ensnared by the label of “teacher-student relationship” or continue to resist. Though his words were meant to persuade everyone else, what he feared most was failing to convince his boyfriend.

So, when Bai Chengyu reached out and took his hand, Han Junzhou felt a huge wave of relief.

Seeing the anxiety finally dissipate from Bai Chengyu’s eyes, Han Junzhou relaxed and allowed a softer smile to grace his face. He was about to say something when Wang Ziheng suddenly erupted.

“Ohhh, Bai Shao!” Wang Ziheng exclaimed as if having an epiphany. “No wonder you told us ages ago that Mr. Han already had a partner!”

When he noticed Bai Chengyu’s confused expression, Wang Ziheng immediately turned to the others for confirmation. Nudging Liao Sheng with his elbow, he said, “Remember? There was that one time when we were eating in the student cafeteria, talking about how many people liked Mr. Han and wanted to be his Omega. We even asked Bai Shao if he knew any gossip about Mr. Han, and Bai Shao told us that Mr. Han already had someone.”

Liao Sheng, reminded by Wang Ziheng, nodded in agreement. “Oh, right, right. Back then, Bai Shao did say that Mr. Han had a partner. So it turns out that partner was you, huh?”

He teased Bai Chengyu but quickly felt something didn’t add up. “Wait a second—didn’t Mr. Han just say Bai Shao only agreed to be with him yesterday? Then before that…” Liao Sheng’s voice trailed off as the timelines didn’t seem to match. Did he just say something wrong?

“Then it must have been Mr. Han pursuing our Bai Shao first, while Bai Shao was holding back and hadn’t agreed yet,” Li Wenting chimed in, picking up where Liao Sheng left off, offering his explanation. “But back then, when Bai Shao heard us talking about others wanting to chase after Mr. Han, he must’ve gotten upset. That’s why he told us Mr. Han already had someone.”

As he spoke, Li Wenting couldn’t help but laugh softly toward the end. “Bai Shao was jealous back then, wasn’t he? No wonder he had such a dark expression that whole day.”

The others, too, stifled their laughter as they glanced at their usually aloof and composed class monitor, Bai Chengyu.

“Hmm? Something like that happened?” Han Junzhou looked at Bai Chengyu in mild surprise, his eyes brimming with amusement.

“Ahem…” Bai Chengyu was at a loss for words. There was no way he’d willingly admit that he had been jealous of Han Junzhou long before they got together. But under the current circumstances—especially after his earlier declaration of “We’re in a relationship”—how could he possibly yell out, Who the hell was jealous?!

Forget it, forget it. Bigger picture, bigger picture.

With his face flushed, Bai Chengyu gave a small nod and reluctantly admitted it.

The smile on Han Junzhou’s face deepened as he tightened his grip on Bai Chengyu’s hand. Addressing everyone, he said, “Chengyu and I are both single adults over the age of twenty. We’re mutually attracted and in a relationship of our own free will. What crime have we committed?”

(To Be Continued…)

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