Chapter 204: Spatial Lock

A group of students had gathered at the back door of the classroom.

Some were laughing and joking, curious to see what state their parents were in during class. Others wore tense expressions, afraid their old man would rummage around the desk and dig up some secret.

Without exception, they were all parents attending the meeting, having come specifically to spy on their own old man.

Don't listen to what you shouldn't, don't ask what you shouldn't.

Chen Yunyun squeezed into the crowd, watching her own mother at her seat with a nervous gaze.

Yunmu Town was some distance from the county seat, so her parents had driven over together. Her father was wandering around downstairs, while her mother—my lord—was sitting peacefully in the classroom.

Just thinking of her own fidgety father, Chen Yunyun couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. She hoped he'd behave and not do anything embarrassing at school.

Suddenly, her shoulder was patted.

"Did your parents come?"

Chen Yunyun's body tensed instinctively, then relaxed.

"You scared me."

Jiang Nian found it a bit baffling—it was just a pat on the shoulder, not like he'd hit her pulse gate, was it?

A female warrior is too rare, let me see your badge.

"Why do you look so guilty?"

"W-who's guilty!" Chen Yunyun was indeed a little guilty, but not of being a thief—just a bit nervous, unsure whether to introduce him later.

Good friend? She had plenty of friends, but her best friend was Wang Yuhe.

Then what did Jiang Nian count as?

"Let me see, both your parents came?" Jiang Nian asked curiously, simultaneously tiptoeing to peek inside. "Your mom looks so young, did Auntie have a puppy love?"

Looking young is the highest compliment to a parent—if you exaggerate and add that Auntie looks under thirty, that'll land her old man in prison.

Starting life over, the old man is an Urban Dragon King.

Holy crap, why is it a Shogi Dragon King?

"Pfft! Don't talk nonsense." Chen Yunyun's face reddened slightly.

At an event like a parent meeting, the term "puppy love" was taboo. Just hearing it made one tremble, and Chen Yunyun was now feeling a bit guilty.

She hadn't had a puppy love, but she was thinking about it a little.

"My parents did marry quite early, but it was legal back then. My grandparents married even earlier, but the older cousins on my uncles' side didn't do as well in school as me."

"Impressive, a family tradition, that's what it is." Jiang Nian brushed it off casually.

Chatting with Chen Yunyun was pretty fun—pleasant to look at was one thing. Another was that Chen Yunyun had almost no abstract talent about her, perfectly normal.

In a basket-case class like Class Three, Jiang Nian liked chatting with normal people.

Bliss.

Chen Yunyun couldn't deny it, and was even wondering if puppy love really was hereditary.

"Your parents really aren't coming?"

"Nope, pure free-range parenting." Jiang Nian didn't mind. "I don't want them to come either, the school always loves doing cringey inspirational education stuff."

Hearing that, Chen Yunyun suddenly remembered the letter she'd written to her parents last night.

"You're talking about that essay, right? I wrote one too."

"What did you write?" he asked curiously.

"Not telling you."

"Fine, people having secrets is normal, I get it." Jiang Nian said solemnly. "I'll go in later to pour your mom some tea, then tell her that piece of paper needs to be turned in."

"Ah!!" Chen Yunyun was nearly driven to death by him, shrieking, "H-how can you do that!"

It's hard for a person to be this despicable.

Jiang Nian found it hard to say.

Basketball court.

A dirt-yellow basketball cut through the morning light, tracing a parabola in the air.

With a bang, it clanged off the rim.

Sun Zhicheng clicked his tongue, his face the picture of calm.

"Off target."

Lin Dong scratched his head, not quite understanding why Sun Zhicheng played basketball like he was filming an idol drama. They'd been at it for over two hours, his underwear soaked through with sweat.

He looked around, figuring no one had patronized this corner.

"A-Cheng, take a break."

"No, you rest." Sun Zhicheng stood proud and upright, his palm turning over into a fist, and said lightly, "I'm still far from my limit, I want to push it."

"Aight, Sakuragi." Lin Dong bounced.

He didn't know what had gotten into Sun Zhicheng, but it didn't affect his own workout.

He'd just gotten his hands on some money, afraid of earning it only to die before spending it.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man walked over.

"Young man, may I join in?"

Lin Dong sized up the middle-aged man—he didn't look that old. At first glance he was quite pleasant, so he didn't refuse.

"Sure, I'm done playing."

Since the Gao San parent meetings were being held in the morning, all basketball courts near the teaching building were off-limits. Anyone caught playing there would be chased off by security.

The court Lin Dong played on was tucked in a corner, near the faculty apartments, so it had been spared.

"Thanks." The middle-aged man thanked him politely, then joined the court, playing pickup with Sun Zhicheng—dribbling once and then shooting at the hoop.

Sun Zhicheng's face was expressionless, completely immersed in one's own world.

He played basketball for two hours straight under the morning sun, drenched in sweat. This sense of fulfillment fascinated him, and his horizons expanded along with it.

He had recently been studying "The Wolf Way," and gained much from it.

Even wolves understand patience; in solitude and loneliness, one must learn to endure. Always honing oneself, conserving strength, waiting for a full-scale explosion.

After several rounds of shooting, he felt he had grown.

The middle-aged man had just finished warming up and took off his jacket. After hesitating a moment, he imitated the youths, hanging it on the basketball hoop, placing his lighter and cigarettes neatly beside it.

"Kid, let's play one-on-one."

At this, Sun Zhicheng froze, then quickly realized the man meant a duel. He smiled—here was a chance to crush a beginner.

Bam!!

A massive block sent the middle-aged man's layup flying into oblivion.

"Good shot!" Sun Zhicheng shouted.

He was utterly serious. There was a line in "The Wolf Way": Do everything with all your might. The more cruel and bloodless you are in displaying your strength, the more people will admire you.

The middle-aged man fell into a brief silence, his composure slightly cracked. But then he remembered the opponent was a young kid, and instantly relaxed—it was just basketball.

"Impressive, kid! Again, again!"

Hearing this, Sun Zhicheng smiled faintly.

"You flatter me."

After being blocked for the third time, the middle-aged man silently walked under the hoop. Click—he lit a cigarette, then used the smoke break to step off the court and rest.

After finishing the cigarette, he gave a nod and left.

Lin Dong finished resting and walked up with a bottle of mineral water.

"Ah Cheng, you made me laugh."

"What?"

"Did you have a grudge against him? You kept blocking him nonstop," Lin Dong grinned, clearly enjoying the show. "But you're seriously strong—CBA material."

Sun Zhicheng glanced at his palm and frowned slightly.

"Didn't control the power well. I'll be more careful next time."

Hearing this, Lin Dong nodded.

"True. Just strangers—what does it matter? Don't even know which student's parent he is."

Jiang Nian poured tea for Chen Yunyun's mother and asked, "Where's your husband? Didn't he come?"

The parent-teacher meeting had a ten-minute break.

The first half was over; a timeout was called.

"Thank you. He's wandering around your school," Chen Yunyun's mother smiled, her gaze passing Jiang Nian to rest on her daughter, who stood behind him, visibly flustered.

Her face was this red—something's up.

"Oh, you can invite Uncle to come have some tea," Jiang Nian poured another cup. "There are plenty of seats in class—the second half won't start for long."

"Great, thank you, handsome boy."

At this, Chen Yunyun's face turned even redder.

She thought: What on earth is my mom saying? And why call him such a weird title?

She looked up and saw her mother beaming at her.

Oh no.

"Uncle, is the tea to your taste?" Jiang Nian poured tea for Zhang Wanhai from his seat. "Uncle, why so quiet? Born to be aloof?"

Zhang Wanhai glanced at his daughter's talkative desk-mate and sighed inwardly. How did the teacher arrange seating? Could his daughter possibly focus on studying?

So far, aside from that box of drinks, he'd found no signs of anything suspicious. Maybe they were just good friends—making more friends couldn't hurt.

But this kid's face was dangerously handsome. Unreliable through and through.

He was thinking this when he suddenly saw his daughter walking over.

The boy turned naturally and said at once:

"Uncle, you're seriously hot. Dude, back in your day you must've been as handsome as Li Zi."

At this, Zhang Wanhai sat up straight.

Though this kid was a chatterbox, his taste was decent.

"Eh, not that impressive," Zhang Ningzhi felt embarrassed for her father. "Dad, this is my desk-mate, Jiang Nian."

"Uncle, hello," Jiang Nian greeted.

"Jiang Nian, huh? Good kid," Zhang Wanhai had nothing more to say. After asking two questions about whether his parents had come, he fell silent.

Zhang Ningzhi sat in Jiang Nian's seat and chatted with her father.

Jiang Nian picked up the teapot and left, wandering through the class until he spotted someone familiar.

"Uncle Sun."

"Oh, Brother Nian!" Sun Jianguo grinned. While Jiang Nian poured tea, he bragged, "Yesterday I went fishing in the wild and caught a big one—strong as hell."

"Cool. Got a photo?" Jiang Nian asked casually.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah—I posted it on Moments." Sun Jianguo opened his Moments and showed off. "Look at that size—I thought my rod was gonna snap."

Jiang Nian nodded along, then spotted the note Sun Zhicheng had written to his parents.

【I am a military officer, not good with words. I've copied out "Longzhong Dui" for you. Please read it slowly—don't let the homeroom teacher catch me not writing anything.】

"I was originally a commoner, tilling the fields in Nanyang..."

He chuckled, wandered around, and glanced at what others had written. Notes to parents were usually laid openly on desks—most were straightforward and honest.

Yao Beibei had drawn a heart on her paper with a note: Bring some grapes home.

He pulled out Yu Zhiyi's note to her parents—her parents hadn't come. She'd known yesterday this was meant for herself. He wanted to see what she'd written.

You actually looked? How shameless.

Gone.

Jiang Nian didn't care; he gathered the materials and tossed them into the trash pile.

Just as he was about to pick up the teapot and leave, he turned and came face to face with the monitor.

Li Qingrong gazed at him quietly, as if she had something to say.

He grew flustered and asked.

"Monitor, what's wrong with you?"

Li Qingrong lowered her eyes and spoke slowly.

"Your space access permission"

(End of Chapter)