Chapter 55: Beloved Disciple

“Oh no, oh no! This monthly exam is so hard! Who came up with the last two math problems? I didn’t answer a single one!”

Zheng Fa read his book, listening to Wang Chen beside and behind him groan while clutching his head.

He glanced around the classroom; after the exam, the atmosphere was dull, many faces looked grim, as if everyone felt they’d failed.

“Zheng Fa, how did you do on the exam?” Wang Chen poked Zheng Fa’s arm and asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t check answers.”

Not checking answers after the exam was Zheng Fa’s habit.

But he felt he’d done reasonably well.

The test was a bit difficult, but he believed he’d done better than before—on one hand, the math paper that made Wang Chen suffer and wail now felt average to him, thanks to the tutoring from Old White and Tang Lingwumin.

In fact, he even had time to review his paper twice after finishing.

On the other hand, since he’d mastered the Spirit Crane Body, his memory and reaction speed had both improved further; he likely made progress in other subjects too.

Wang Chen knew his habit and nodded, then suddenly said: “Zheng Fa, you’re in deep trouble. Old Chen is definitely coming for you.”

“Coming for me?”

“He’s held off for three days—that’s already a record.”

“A record?”

“The record for anyone who lingers over Tang Lingwumin being crushed within two days—had it not been for the monthly exam, he’d have called you to his office long ago.”

Wang Chen spoke with absolute certainty; he always acted especially professional about such matters.

Zheng Fa shook his head; he only met Tang Lingwumin at school, and he’d never intended to hide anything.

Let Old Chen see—it’s fine.

As for physical contact… Zheng Fa truly had no ulterior motives.

Whether the Spirit Crane Body could be cultivated in the modern world mattered greatly to him—it determined the value of what he’d learned in the Xuanwei Realm within this world.

From Tang Lingwumin’s experiments, his qi could help her cultivate the Spirit Crane Body—or rather, half of it: modern conditions meant Tang Lingwumin couldn’t sense the strange forces in the void, but her body still underwent similar changes.

His qi was too weak to replace the entire Xuanwei Realm’s environment.

With his qi as aid, Tang Lingwumin’s cultivation speed was far slower than his own in the Xuanwei Realm—perhaps dozens or hundreds of sessions wouldn’t equal one of Zheng Fa’s sessions there.

But the fact that he could make someone cultivate it was his unique advantage in this world.

The modern world was far from a place where mastering a little of the Spirit Crane Body allowed one to act recklessly; using knowledge from the Xuanwei Realm to attract people like Old White and learn what he needed was how he could maximize his advantage of crossing between worlds.

“If Old Chen comes for you, just admit your mistake and say you’ll never date Tang Lingwumin again,” Wang Chen kept offering advice.

“I’m not dating Tang Lingwumin,” Zheng Fa corrected.

“You’re so cold even I, your brother, can’t stand it—you’ve already touched her and you don’t want to take responsibility?” Wang Chen’s eyes showed contempt: “Besides, Old Chen saw everything clearly!”

Date Tang Lingwumin?

Zheng Fa didn’t think he had such intentions.

As for Tang Lingwumin…

If the way she looked at him counted as first love, then the way she looked at milk tea counted as undying devotion.

In Tang Lingwumin’s eyes, he was probably Zheng—Milk Tea Supply Pack—Beauty Clinic Saint—Not-So-Bright-Brain Fa.

Zheng Fa believed he had nothing to hide.

Seeing Zheng Fa’s calm expression, Wang Chen interpreted it as a dead pig unafraid of boiling water: “I’m telling you, you think Old Chen isn’t coming for you because he’s tolerating you? I’ll bet you—he’s waiting for the monthly exam results. If you so much as slip a little, he’ll settle old and new accounts together. The longer he waits, the bigger the punishment he’ll give you!”

…

The day after the joint monthly exam ended, rumors about the results spread through the class.

“Did you hear? Tang Lingwumin must’ve taken first place again in our class.”

Wang Chen told Zheng Fa the gossip he’d heard.

“Isn’t she always first?” Zheng Fa wasn’t surprised.

“You don’t get it—if she takes first again, she’s Old Chen’s beloved disciple, his lifeline. Think about what kind of fate awaits you, the one who’s laid hands on his precious treasure—he’ll scold you to death!”

Zheng Fa glanced sideways at Wang Chen, frowning slightly: “I feel like you’re actually looking forward to Old Chen yelling at me?”

“I’m treating you like a brother,” Wang Chen said earnestly.

“Hm?”

“I just want you to get yelled at,” Wang Chen gritted his teeth: “But the other guys? They want to kill you.”

As the two chatted, a series of footsteps approached outside the classroom, accompanied by Old Chen’s voice.

Wang Chen quickly sat back in his seat and picked up a book, pretending to read.

It was indeed Old Chen—but he wasn’t alone; two or three middle-aged men followed behind him.

The man in the center of the group looked familiar—he often sat in the middle of the stage during student assemblies.

All of them wore bright, cheerful expressions.

“Who is the student who ranked first in this exam, Tang Lingwumin?”

The middle-aged man asked.

“Tang Lingwumin!” Old Chen called out. Tang Lingwumin stepped out of the classroom, and Old Chen pulled her to his side: “Principal, this is Tang Lingwumin.”

The principal hadn’t expected Tang Lingwumin to have such an outstanding face; he glanced at her several times: “I’ve heard there’s a beautiful girl in your class with excellent grades, but I didn’t expect her to be this beautiful.”

As Old Chen’s most frequently used medal of honor, Tang Lingwumin wore just the right amount of bashfulness, clearly accustomed to being pulled aside for display.

The principal didn’t wait for her reply; he merely nodded and smiled: “You ranked first in the entire school’s senior class—and among all senior students across several schools! You’ve brought honor to Qing Shui Middle School!”

Zheng Fa and the others understood why these men had come specifically to see Tang Lingwumin.

Being class first wasn’t important—it was about crushing rival schools underfoot!

The principal lavished praise on Tang Lingwumin, then seemed to remember something: “I noticed on the top ten list there’s another name—Zheng Fa? Also from your class?”

Zheng Fa saw Old Chen waving at him; he stood and walked over. Old Chen’s smile toward him today was unusually warm.

“This is Zheng Fa.”

The principal nodded at him, looking slightly puzzled: “I don’t recall seeing this name on the top ten list before?”

“Yes, this student’s entrance score wasn’t great, but he’s studied hard and has been improving steadily,” Old Chen praised.

“Oh?” The principal asked with interest: “If he’s improved so much, he must have some good study methods. Zheng Fa, how do you usually study?”

Zheng Fa looked at Tang Lingwumin; sweat immediately broke out on Old Chen’s bald head: “This… Principal, he usually studies together with Tang Lingwumin, helping each other improve.”

“Good at learning from high-performing classmates? That’s a great method! This kind of case is perfect for ordinary students to emulate. Why not have Zheng Fa speak at Monday’s assembly, sharing his methods with the whole school?”

“That’s not… I mean, this method is a bit unusual—others probably can’t learn it, can’t learn it,” Old Chen stammered.

The principal looked disappointed but didn’t press Old Chen further; he merely encouraged: “Then you must still urge them to keep supporting each other, pushing forward together!”

Old Chen’s smile suddenly took on a toothache expression.

He didn’t seem at all eager to urge them.

Inside the classroom, Wang Chen stared blankly and murmured to his seatmate: “I feel like Zheng Fa’s also become Old Chen’s beloved disciple?”

“No need to feel—look at Old Chen’s smile, how sweet is it?”

“He’s not yelling at him anymore?”

“Yelling? He’s praising him! It’s so nauseating.”