Chapter 170: Old Partner

When Zheng Fa walked into the gymnasium, quite a few students were already seated inside.

The freshmen's seats were arranged into square formations divided by department.

He found the seating area belonging to the School of Physics, walked a bit further back, and sat down in a position towards the rear and upper section.

Beside him was a boy wearing glasses with a somewhat thin face; seeing him sit, the boy nodded at him.

During the wait for the ceremony to begin, Zheng Fa opened the smallest folder and took out his student ID and dormitory key.

Inside there was also a sheet of paper, on which his dormitory number and check-in time were written, along with dormitory rules and such.

"You're also in 308?"

Beside him, the boy with glasses suddenly asked.

"You are..."

"My name is Dai Yuan; we should be roommates."

That was indeed a bit coincidental.

"For the freshmen of our School of Physics, all boys live in Building 45; the girls' building number seems to be 48," Dai Yuan said as if he had inquired: "However, there aren't many girls."

There weren't many girls.

Within the entire square formation of the School of Physics, the proportion of girls was probably less than twenty percent, or perhaps even only ten percent.

Zheng Fa noticed that Dai Yuan's gaze kept resting on these relatively rare girls, his lips moving silently as if saying something.

As if noticing his gaze, Dai Yuan shrugged lightly and spoke: "I am searching for my possible future partner."

"..."

Zheng Fa turned his head to look at the words "Freshman Enrollment Ceremony" on the screen of the podium and couldn't help but ask a question:

"So early?"

"Statistically speaking, the Poisson distribution tells us that if a person is to date one hundred girlfriends in a lifetime, then by the thirty-seventh, the second-best choice has already appeared; from then on, whenever one better than this appears, that one is the best." Dai Yuan pushed up his glasses and spoke: "That is to say, dating around forty girlfriends yields the effect of picking one in a hundred, with very high cost-performance ratio."

"..."

"One must start early."

Zheng Fa understood.

But he was still greatly shocked.

"Biologically speaking, people who can get into here have guaranteed intelligence, which is beneficial for reproduction."

Listening to him, Zheng Fa actually felt that what he said seemed very reasonable.

"From my life planning perspective, university is the most ideal place to solve the marriage problem." Dai Yuan had an air of treating everything as a task, as if finding a girlfriend was like grinding monsters to level up.

"So right now you..."

"I am searching for target number one."

Dai Yuan's gaze carefully scanned the girls of the School of Physics, and then shifted to the students of other schools.

Zheng Fa shook his head, no longer paying attention to this person; his gaze also fell on a girl.

Tang Lingwu was turning her head to look in their direction, as if she too was looking for someone.

Seeing him, a big smile appeared on Tang Lingwu's face; Zheng Fa also smiled at her.

The ceremony at Jingcheng University had nothing particularly special about it.

The same speeches by leaders and student representatives.

The only difference was probably that the speaker was some kind of academician.

That student representative might have been on television.

Anyway, they all had titles that looked quite impressive.

But this did not prevent those in the audience from playing on their phones or chatting quietly.

Dai Yuan beside him was still searching for his prey.

Zheng Fa took out his phone and looked down at the message Bai Lao had sent in the group.

"Xiao Tian has been hospitalized; I'll go check on him first. You can come see him too when you're free later."

Zheng Fa pressed his lips together.

When he met Tian Laoshi before, she said she could still live for half a year.

But only a little over two months had passed.

Zheng Fa had not handled this matter yet, mainly because he currently had not yet condensed a talisman capable of curing illness.

It would not be good to give people false hope rashly.

But now, obviously Tian Laoshi's condition had worsened faster than estimated.

Tang Lingwu also sent him a private message.

"Shall we go together later?"

"Okay."

Even if he couldn't help much right now, it was still proper to go and take a look.

After all, Tian Laoshi had been quite enthusiastic toward both him and Tang Lingwu.

After a while, the opening ceremony finally ended.

Tang Lingwu walked toward him, and Zheng Fa also stood up.

"You know each other? I saw her smile at you several times."

Dai Yuan beside him suddenly asked as he watched Tang Lingwu walking over.

"Mm, high school classmates."

"One in a hundred."

"Ah?"

"I observed forty-two girls nearby; she is the best-looking." Dai Yuan glanced at Zheng Fa and explained, "She is one in a hundred—girls at Jingda are already one in ten thousand, and among Jingda girls, she is at least one in a hundred."

"..."

"You seem to have arrived even earlier."

Watching Dai Yuan slowly depart.

Zheng Fa was somewhat speechless.

This person's eyesight is actually quite good.

"What are you two talking about?"

Tang Lingwu also saw Dai Yuan's action and asked Zheng Fa curiously.

"He was probably complimenting your beauty."

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and said.

"Oh."

Whether it was out of habit or because she was worried about Tian Laoshi.

Tang Lingwu just said "Oh," with no further reaction.

The two took a taxi to the hospital.

But they saw Grandma Wu pushing Tian Laoshi, while Bai Lao was saying something nearby.

Seeing Zheng Fa and the other two arrive, Tian Laoshi smiled at them; although she tried hard to smile, the two could still see the haggardness on her face.

Bai Lao waved at the two and said to Grandma Wu, "Grandma, just wait here for us; we are going to get some medicine."

Grandma Wu and the other two nodded at them.

Their expressions were actually quite calm.

Zheng Fa and the other three walked toward the pharmacy; just as they turned the corner, Tang Lingwu asked, "Grandpa Bai, how is Tian Laoshi?"

"She suddenly couldn't get up at home, said she was in pain, so we brought her to the hospital." Bai Lao sighed and said, "The doctor said the condition is deteriorating faster than expected; now even walking is difficult. She refuses further treatment, so the doctor had no choice but to prescribe some conservative treatment medicine and painkillers."

He glanced at Zheng Fa; the thought in his eyes was self-evident.

Zheng Fa shook his head slightly: "I probably still need a month's time..."

The ninth talisman requires him to be at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation to condense.

"The problem lies right here." Bai Lao sighed and said, "The doctor told me privately that the condition is deteriorating so quickly largely because she has very little will to live..."

"..."

Thinking of what Tian Laoshi said earlier, it sounded as if she didn't really want to live.

Zheng Fa was also rendered speechless.

"Grandpa Bai, I can make you a promise." Zheng Fa remained silent for a long while before speaking, "Even if Tian Laoshi is unwilling to join the nursing home, if I can help her, I will help her, without requiring any return."

Bai Lao was stunned, looking at Zheng Fa, a trace of gratitude appearing in his eyes.

He knew the biggest reason Zheng Fa made this promise was because of himself.

"... It's just, is Tian Laoshi willing to let me help?" Zheng Fa blocked the mouth he was about to speak with and continued, "Or rather, is saving her life actually a good thing for her?"

Zheng Fa's own personality certainly belongs to the type that cherishes life.

But everyone has their own pursuits.

He cannot decide for Tian Laoshi.

"On the other hand, even if we disregard Tian Laoshi's thoughts, she still has to hold on for another month." Zheng Fa said softly, "Otherwise, I am powerless; bringing the dead back to life is something I cannot do."

Bai Lao and the other two fell silent.

Given the will to live Tian Laoshi is currently displaying, whether she can hold on for this month is truly uncertain.

Tian Laoshi is unwilling to be hospitalized.

After the group retrieved the medicine, they returned to Tian Laoshi's home.

Only that when they came last time, Tian Laoshi could still walk.

This time, she could only sit in a wheelchair.

But her face was quite cheerful; she even joked with Bai Lao, saying, "Maybe I'll have some money left over."

Bai Lao twitched the corner of his mouth and said nothing.

"Take the medicine."

Grandma Wu brought a glass of water and walked over holding the newly prescribed medicine from the doctor.

"I'll take the painkillers; the rest can be skipped."

Who would have thought Tian Laoshi would say this.

Everyone's hearts sank.

Bai Lao signaled Zheng Fa and the other two with his eyes.

The two took Grandma Wu out of the room.

Only Bai Lao remained to accompany Tian Laoshi.

"Is there anything you want to say to me?" As if she understood his gaze, Tian Laoshi asked.

"You... really don't want to live, do you?"

Bai Lao didn't know where to start for a moment and asked in a stammer.

Right now, the most important thing is to solve the problem of Tian Laoshi's will to live.

"I don't want to."

"Ah?"

"All the money is gone, and treating the illness will cost a huge sum."

"... What if you don't worry about the money?"

Old Bai looked at Tang Lingwu outside the door; raising one Zheng Fa is raising, raising an extra Tian Laoshi is no big deal, right?

"Old Bai, do you know why I gave up on treatment?"

"Don't want to live?"

"... Don't want to burden my mother." Tian Laoshi sighed and said: "My death would certainly be cruel to her, but at her age, does she really need to take care of me for a few more years? I'm already in a wheelchair."

"..."

"Others have children, have spouses; I can only trouble my mother who is nearly ninety."

Old Bai's mouth trembled.

"If one must die, it's best to die cleanly."

Tian Laoshi said softly.

"... So that's why you said you don't want to live..."

"Old Bai, who doesn't want to live." Tian Laoshi spoke up: "I've just accepted my fate. One day I die early, my mother is freed one day earlier—this body of mine can do no more for her."

"... What if there is a way to save you?"

Old Bai's eyes slowly lit up; since he wants to live, it's easy to handle.

"You've started believing in that messy nonsense again?"

Tian Laoshi shot him a sideways glance and said.

"This time it's real!"

"Real, real... remember not to transfer money." Tian Laoshi waved his hand, saying with a bit of helplessness.

"..."

Seeing she really didn't believe it.

Old Bai suddenly said: "One month!"

His seriousness made Tian Laoshi pause for a moment too.

"Just hold on for another month, take your medicine properly and rest well! If it still doesn't work, after you're gone, I'll come see Auntie Wu every day!"

"Old Bai, why go to such trouble..." Tian Laoshi sighed.

"... I just want to find a suitable spouse!" Old Bai snorted.

"..."

"Are you stubborn? At my age, what am I worth." Tian Laoshi was a bit speechless: "If you can really save me, offering myself in marriage is no big deal."

"You said it!" Old Bai ran toward the door.

"Eh? Old Bai! Don't transfer money!"

"Zheng Fa, my happiness is all in your hands!"

Old Bai ran to Zheng Fa's side and said in a low voice.

"Huh?"

"The illness is for you to cure, the person for Lingwu to raise, the spouse for me!"

"..."