[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-21":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cultivation: I Studied Abroad in the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263747,4418,"Chapter 21: Teacher (Seeking Recommendations)","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-21",21,"\u003Cp>Looking at Zheng Fa, the curly-haired old man’s expression was hard to describe:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a mix of surprise, curiosity, and embarrassment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, he had recognized Zheng Fa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at the tree branch above Zheng Fa’s head, raised his hand to match the height above his own head, and said cautiously to Zheng Fa:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young… master? Is this kung fu?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No! I’m practicing high jump!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young master, don’t fool me—I’ve trained high jump too!” the old man said with a hint of pride: “When I was young, I won first prize in track and field at our city’s sports meet! Your movement? That’s not high jump at all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I just made it up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I get it! Young master, this is a secret art, a hidden sect!” the old man said with an expression of deep understanding: “But look at me—I trained qigong when I was young!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve got quite broad interests, old man…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Isn’t that the truth? My master back then thought I had the best talent—I just had an accident, or I’d be famous in the martial world by now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Accident?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, he got arrested for fraud.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa: “...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man stared at Zheng Fa and forced a sly, flattering smile onto his wrinkled face: “Young master, I think my master wasn’t lying when he said I had talent—could you maybe see if I’m fit to… learn your art? I’d be willing to become your disciple!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa felt numb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old man, there’s no kung fu in this world! We must believe in science!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense! Is science really so shallow? True science is about facts—if kung fu exists, then science must study kung fu!” the old man said sternly: “Aren’t I doing scientific research right now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa had to admit, the old man had a point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you plan to research it? Dissect me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s expression turned odd as he scanned Zheng Fa up and down: “I just want to try training it myself—but if you’ve got that demand, I’m not a specialist, but I can find someone to cut you up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No! You know my sect has rules—techniques aren’t passed on lightly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bah!” the old man complained: “You people are always like this—hoarding secrets, that’s why your arts are dying out!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes, yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa listened to his lecture while walking away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man, seeing Zheng Fa had no interest in further discussion, stayed put—but his gaze lingered with unmistakable reluctance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By afternoon, the classroom atmosphere grew restless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qing Shui Middle School’s senior class had no weekend off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa and his classmates got two days off every two weeks: released Friday night, returning Sunday night for evening self-study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Friday nights were the most exciting for students—many day students chose to hang out before heading home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zheng Fa! Let’s play basketball after school!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chen invited Zheng Fa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa wasn’t good at basketball, but he was tall and had strong stamina from years of farm work—he wasn’t the weakest in the class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I’ve got plans.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa glanced at Tang Lingwumin in the front row.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Plans? With who?” Wang Chen blinked—he’d never seen Zheng Fa have any close friends since childhood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following Zheng Fa’s gaze, he looked at Tang Lingwumin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tang Lingwumin!” Zheng Fa had never seen such a complex expression on Wang Chen’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you had to describe it, it was something like gritted-teeth blessing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I saw you doing nothing for days, and now you’re pulling off something this big?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...She invited me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Godfather, I want to learn this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing him call him “Godfather,” Zheng Fa knew the kid truly believed…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trust me, girls love this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the milk tea shop entrance, Wang Chen urged Zheng Fa with firm conviction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me explain again—I just want to show my gratitude.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa tried to explain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Tang Lingwumin had taken him to meet her teacher—he owed her thanks, morally and emotionally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he’d never really interacted with girls his age in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked Wang Chen, who brought him to the milk tea shop by the school gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shop was indeed popular, especially on Fridays, when many girls bought milk tea there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zheng Fa had never been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A milk tea costing over ten yuan still felt a bit extravagant to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Give me your shop’s most popular one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not knowing which was good, he told the clerk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know if it was popular, but it was clearly one of the pricier options—the 28-yuan price made him feel ripped off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Lingwumin had arranged to meet Zheng Fa near the staff housing complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa arrived first; Tang Lingwumin showed up nearly half an hour later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry, my family needed me for something,” Tang Lingwumin apologized the moment she saw Zheng Fa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine, I haven’t waited long.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa had noticed a black sedan following Tang Lingwumin from around the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew nothing about cars, but from his simple sense of aesthetics, the flashy vehicle looked expensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Lingwumin led the way; Zheng Fa held out the milk tea toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here, this is for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Lingwumin silently shot him a questioning look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just for taking me here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Lingwumin nodded, signaling she understood—but kept her hands crossed in front of her chest: “I appreciate the gesture, but I won’t take the milk tea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t drink milk tea—it’s unhealthy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa regretted it—wasting 28 yuan!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He should’ve asked Tang Lingwumin first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since she refused, he didn’t force it—he just planned to drink it himself later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qing Shui Middle School had eight teaching buildings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Lingwumin led Zheng Fa into the most remote one; as soon as they entered the hallway, she stopped and extended her hand toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa looked at her five slender fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then at the milk tea in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quietly placed the plastic bag into her palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Lingwumin didn’t move—she stood in the hallway and eagerly took a long, deep sip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Isn’t it unhealthy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you stupid? My mom’s watching from the car!” Tang Lingwumin rolled her eyes: “I don’t drink it because my mom forbids it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Got it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That hand gesture was just acting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait a sec—I’ll finish this, then we go up!” Clearly, Tang Lingwumin had plenty of experience in these battles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she happily gulped down the milk tea, she told Zheng Fa:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My competition teacher is probably a distant uncle—I know him through my mom, and she won’t let him see me drinking milk tea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is he also a teacher here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa assumed he lived at Qing Shui Middle School.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, his daughter works here—he’s retired. He used to be a university professor, and I think he was once on the Olympiad question-setting team.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sounds impressive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, my mom went through a lot to get him to agree—though he’s called a distant uncle, we barely knew each other before,” Tang Lingwumin said, pausing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa looked at her face, holding back a thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, your family is pretty powerful too.\u003C\u002Fp>",1178,"2026-06-19T19:16:02.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","79c3fe57c0e8f1ba9af3d529c97477b5c6f3e8156e9d22b12216711e05b79f82","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-22","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-20",487,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]