Chapter 22: Luo Yuan… I

The family was originally in business, and Li Mingyang, coming from a two-room background, felt the thickness of the cash in his hand the moment before the result arrived.

Li Mingyang already had a vague sense of the outcome; this stack of bills was surely around 2500 yuan!

Just like that, his little vault was back to its former peak.

"You really gave it to me?"

Looking at his father's slightly flushed face, Li Mingyang asked tentatively.

He knew this old man usually liked a couple of small drinks with his meals, but if he gave him so generously now, he'd surely regret it come morning.

"What's that look? It's just a couple thousand bucks—you're my only son; if I don't give my money to you, who else would I give it to?"

"One day when I kick the bucket, won't everything I leave behind be yours, kid?"

"Take what's given to you; a real man shouldn't be so hesitant, like a woman."

Hearing that, Li Mingyang gave a slight sly smile—alright, case solved!

Probably the old man was in a decent mood today, so he drank a little extra at dinner.

The alcohol was still in his system, so his actions carried a dash of recklessness, totally unlike his usual teacherly demeanor.

Li Mingyang said he hoped such situations would happen more often; then he wouldn't have to worry about petty money during his final high school years.

Not only would it guarantee his meals and studies, but even occasional outings for a little extra would be completely fine.

Even if Li Mingyang sometimes wanted to relax and go out to play, these would be more than enough.

……

"You bastard, tell me honestly—what time did you go to sleep yesterday?"

The next day, as Li Mingyang had just come downstairs, Luo Yuan grabbed him, looking at his buddy whose face still bore dark circles.

Li Mingyang felt a bit bewildered—what kind of talk is this? Could it be that whenever he slept, it disturbed this kid's sleep?

After all, they live in two separate buildings, not the same room—when he rests should have nothing to do with this kid, right?

"What's up?"

"What's up? I never noticed before—I didn't expect you kid to have reached this level of over‑studying."

"I thought you'd at most be like me, heading to bed around eleven or twelve, but last night I drank too much water and got up once in the middle of the night."

"It's after two—almost two thirty, bro! I happened to glance out the window while in the bathroom and saw your bedroom light still on."

"Are we not even the same species? Don't you need sleep at all?"

Saying this, Luo Yuan even grew a bit hysterical; he truly admired Li Mingyang, this damaging friend.

He had thought his study talent was inferior to others, which was fine, but he never imagined that in terms of effort he would also be far behind.

No wonder the gap in their academic performance keeps widening—those who are more talented than you also work harder… How can anyone survive?

Upon hearing that, Li Yang suddenly realized—indeed, after acquiring the Deep Sleep skill, he had consistently been going to sleep around two o'clock.

Of course, sometimes he slept earlier, but if he went to bed before midnight, he'd naturally wake up around four a. m. at the latest.

In short, he gained at least an extra two and a half hours of study time each night.

But he never expected that this small change would be noticed by the guy in front of him:

"This is just the beginning, you know—when you study deeply, unique insights and changes naturally arise."

"I only discovered this skill last month; I think it might be a talent—you kid probably can't learn it."

"Look at me—my mental state now, no dark circles at all, right? Don't you feel fully energized?"

"I call this skill Deep Sleep: no matter the situation, if I want to sleep and it takes no more than three minutes, I fall asleep quickly."

"And I quickly enter deep sleep, with no dreaming at all."

"In that state, I only need about four hours of sleep to meet my daily needs."

"And now we're about to face the College Entrance Exam; having suddenly learned this skill and gained all this extra time, don't you think I should buckle down and study?"

Saying this, Li Mingyang saw Luo Yuan's expression turn odd; if he had been joking before, now his gaze was full of suspicion.

It wasn't doubt about the truth of his words, but doubt about whether the two of them were truly the same species…

After pondering for a while, Luo Yuan slowly extended his thumb, his face full of black lines.

"Alright, you're awesome! I, Luo Yuan, hereby dub you the Strongest Grind King!"