Neither of them spoke, and Yang Zhi immediately furrowed his brow.

Just when everyone thought the atmosphere would become even tenser and that Hong Jiang and Qu Hongqiang were bound to clash, suddenly, Hong Jiang picked up the teapot, stood up, poured Yang Zhi a cup of tea, and said with a smile, "Look at what you’re saying, would I not give you face? Old Yang, we’re old friends, as long as you say a word, I’ll absolutely show you respect."

Yang Zhi’s face turned dark.

Damn it.

You say you’re giving me face, yet you pull this stunt?

Do you even believe your own words?

...

All of this, Yang Zhi couldn’t say. It’s best not to engage with troublemakers like Hong Jiang, prone to causing trouble. The best approach? Avoid all related to him or calm it down.

Yang Zhi snorted, almost with a nasal tone, "Old Hong, I really appreciate you giving me face."

Hong Jiang immediately chuckled, "No need for such polite words between brothers. Have some tea, have some tea."

Yang Zhi, suppressing his discomfort, accepted the cup of tea.

The next second.

Hong Jiang immediately moved over to Niu Houdao, pouring tea diligently, "Old Niu, have a cup too, have a cup, this excellent Maojian, just a tad inferior to Yunwu, is a superb rarity."

Niu Houdao rolled his eyes, "No thanks, the tea you personally pour, I can’t afford to drink."

Hong Jiang made exaggerated expressions, "What nonsense are you talking about? Drink up!"

Niu Houdao raised his teacup, about to drink—

Hong Jiang laughed, "If you don’t drink now, and lose everything later, you won’t be in the mood to drink."

Niu Houdao’s hand, holding the teacup, nearly threw it at his face along with the tea.

Next.

Hong Jiang proactively went over to Qu Hongqiang, who had maintained a stern face the entire time; Hong Jiang lifted the teapot and eyed him, raising his tone, "You old scoundrel, want to drink the tea I poured myself?"

"Keep dreaming."

Qu Hongqiang: "..."

Qu Hongqiang’s hand, holding the teacup, endured it but couldn’t hold back, he slammed it onto the tea table, producing a clear clinking sound: "Hong Jiang—"

It didn’t break.

Hong Jiang stretched his neck to see, and noticing it didn’t break, realized the old man had used clever force when throwing the cup, making it look like it fell fast with high intensity, but was skillfully controlled to prevent it from breaking.

These teacups were made of top-grade white glaze, using entirely ancient crafting techniques, considered pieces of art. In today’s society, art isn’t too expensive, but these teacups and teapots... all the tea sets are unique and can’t be replaced if broken.

Yang Zhi, Niu Houdao... these people from the First Army are all fond of posing as cultured, love tea, and tea sets, and in their spare time, think of ways to invite people for tea art competitions...

Principal Qu knew these folks’ quirks and didn’t deliberately damage the belongings of the First Army people.

His restrained cup throw, to everyone else, seemed less like anger and more like a young lady having a tiff with Hong Jiang, throwing a little tantrum.

At this moment, Hong Jiang jokingly teased, "Oh? What are you doing? Don’t think that by throwing a cup, I won’t hold you accountable for the Heavenly Dog incident, I’m just giving Old Yang and Old Niu some face by not mentioning it now."

Principal Qu’s face darkened, "You—"

He almost wanted to throw another cup.

But!

Old Yang, Old Niu, and others stepped in to mediate, making it less awkward for everyone, and thinking that this matter shouldn’t be mentioned again. Principal Qu pondered for a moment and finally tolerated Hong Jiang, that old bastard.

Principal Qu held his face in silence.

Next.

Hong Jiang poured a glass of plain water in front of Principal Qu, smiled, "Here, Old Qu, let’s have a drink together, after this cup, I won’t call you a hypocrite anymore."

Principal Qu took a deep breath and didn’t accept the cup.

Then, in the next second, Hong Jiang withdrew the cup, and told Yang Zhi, Niu Houdao, and the others, "Old Yang, Old Niu, don’t say I didn’t give you face, Old Qu won’t reconcile."

Principal Qu’s face immediately turned dark, "You!"

Hong Jiang grinned foolishly and handed over the plain water again.

Principal Qu gritted his teeth and reached out to take it. Suppressing the scalding heat, he drank it all in one go.

Hong Jiang cheerfully said, "Alright, I won’t call you a hypocrite anymore, I’ll call you a downright scoundrel."

Principal Qu: "..."

Principal Qu smashed the teacup!

BANG—

This time, he couldn’t control his strength, and the cup shattered into pieces the moment it hit the ground.

The atmosphere in the tea room suddenly became awkward.

Principal Qu’s face had gone completely black.

Yang Zhi, Niu Houdao, and the others also didn’t look good, everyone looked at Principal Qu, then at the troublemaker Hong Jiang, and they felt a headache. At this moment, someone suddenly stood up and said, "Um, I suddenly feel a bit of an urgent need, I’ll excuse myself for a moment."

Once that person spoke, others immediately stood up too, "Oh, I also feel a bit urgent, let me go to the restroom."

"I’ll go too."

"Count me in."

"Include me, please."

"Wait... wait for me."

...

In an instant, the tea room, initially filled with representatives from various schools, was mostly empty, with some staying out of sheer curiosity to watch what happened next, and others, like hosts Yang Zhi and Niu Houdao, unable to leave even if they wanted to.

The atmosphere was very awkward.

Principal Qu’s face remained dark, but Hong Jiang, on the other hand, wore a constant smile, he looked down, glanced at the tea cup on the ground, and then Hong Jiang smiled at Yang Zhi, "Old Yang, don’t feel bad about your teacup, I might be poor, broke even, but I can still afford a teacup. Just consider it mine, I’ll compensate you later."

Yang Zhi, with a stern face, couldn’t hold back anymore and cursed, "Old Wang Ba, what the hell are you doing? Can’t you shut that foul mouth of yours? If you want to argue, go to the market, go to your home... why come here to ask for a scolding?"

Hong Jiang rubbed his nose, smiled, "Alright, alright, I won’t say any more."

Once again, Hong Jiang demonstrated through action what it means to be shameless and annoying.

Yang Zhi held back, didn’t throw Hong Jiang out, but said sternly, "You two, that’s enough, today we’re gathered here to watch the students compete, not for you to vent personal grievances, if you want to fight, find a place outside, don’t cause trouble here."

Principal Qu, who had been silent, his face dark, suddenly stood up and said to Yang Zhi and the others, "Sorry, I was too emotional just now, I shouldn’t have smashed that cup, nor should I have entertained Old Hong’s antics.

Blame it on me, it’s my fault, today’s event, everything we ate and drank, it’s on me."

When Principal Qu spoke, he was extremely sincere, even squatting down to clean up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground.

Seeing this, Yang Zhi and the others found it hard to say anything more.