“Short on money?”
Tang Weimin sighed.
Most of the students living in the Rust Belt came from relatively poor families. They really did not have the means to travel. But there was nothing to be done about it. The economy was bad, the city was in steep decline, and the whole world was in the same lousy state.
“No!”
Lu Jiuling did not want to lie. Although he did not have much money, he was not so poor that he could not afford a trip to Fan’s Ancient Town. Besides, their homeroom teacher had already said during class meeting that he would cover the tickets and accommodation.
“You are the fourth graduating class I’ve guided as homeroom teacher. I want to take everyone out on a trip. If we wait until after the gaokao, everyone will be worrying about their scores and won’t be able to enjoy themselves. If we wait until the results come out, those who did well will certainly have fun, but those who didn’t will definitely be unhappy—some of them might not even come!”
Tang Weimin looked out the window.
The wind blew past, and the plane tree leaves were a fresh green. “So it’s better to go now. One weekend, two days and one night. It won’t take much time, and it will let everyone relax one last time, ease the fatigue that’s built up over these past two years and more, and then throw themselves wholeheartedly into preparing for the gaokao.”
“I understand!”
Since his homeroom teacher had put it this way, how could he still refuse?
Then they would go.
He would just treat it as a chance to relax.
“Don’t worry about money. I can lend it to you. If you can get into a 985 university in Jinghai, that will be the best repayment you can give me!”
Tang Weimin smiled and patted Lu Jiuling on the shoulder. “Go on. There are forty-six students in the class. Not one can be missing. Otherwise, that would be my failure as homeroom teacher!”
“I won’t let you down!”
Lu Jiuling walked back to the classroom, troubled.
With his homeroom teacher being so responsible, would it really be right for him to give up on the gaokao outright?
Besides, there were only three months left. Should he keep pushing on?
But the next Divine Game would decide whether he lived or died…
After Tang Weimin watched Lu Jiuling enter the classroom, his gaze still followed him through the glass, staring until he returned to his seat. Only then did Tang Weimin turn and walk toward the office.
The corners of his eyes drooped, his expression grave.
For this two-day, one-night trip to Fan’s Ancient Town, anyone could be absent—except you, Lu Jiuling!
…
The senior-year curriculum at No. 2 High was extremely tight. Today, there had originally been a P.E. class, but the math teacher had borrowed it and given them a test paper.
The students studied in one breath until evening self-study ended. If it were any other day, most of them would have ridden home on their bicycles with exhausted faces, like weary birds returning to their nests. But today, everyone was somewhat excited, because tomorrow they were going to Fan’s Ancient Town.
As the girls left school, they chattered noisily, discussing what they ought to bring.
Lu Jiuling and Tang Lei went to the bicycle shed to get their bikes, then parted ways at the school gate.
“Brother 69, bye-bye!”
Tang Lei waved, mounted his bicycle, and pedaled furiously all the way off.
Lu Jiuling was usually like that too, wishing he could fly straight home and continue studying, reducing the time wasted on the road. But now, his state of mind was relaxed, and he even had the leisure to admire the scenery on both sides of the street.
“Sure enough, once there’s an extraordinary path like this, the pressure is much lighter.”
Lu Jiuling sighed with emotion.
For most people, studying and taking the gaokao was the only choice they had to change their lives. Switch tracks? A child from an ordinary family like Lu Jiuling could forget even thinking about it.
His parents had neither the money nor the connections.
The glow of the streetlights mixed with the moonlight and spilled over the ground, leaving behind a pale yellow sheen. When he rode to the stretch of old street with the hair salons, the tone suddenly became alluring.
The tricolored light columns inside the neon signs slowly rotated, like seductive striptease dancers endlessly swaying around poles.
Through the glass, one could see those flirtatious salon women. Most of them were dressed boldly, in short skirts, black stockings, and high heels. Their low-cut camisoles covered very little flesh.
The night wind blew past, carrying waves of perfume.
Lu Jiuling did not know what the shop run by the proprietress who loved wearing yoga pants was called, nor did he care. He merely glanced toward Maimang Hair Salon.
Ye Shaoguang’s family ran a proper barbershop. To avoid misunderstandings and trouble, they closed every night at eight, so by now the aluminum alloy rolling security door had long since been pulled down.
After returning to Jiayuan Residential Complex, Lu Jiuling cooked a bag of instant noodles and ate it. He read novels for a while, then, once the food had settled, began working out!
Planks, sit-ups, push-ups—if he had not been worried about disturbing the people downstairs, Lu Jiuling would even have done a hundred burpees.
After exercising for an hour, Lu Jiuling went to the bathroom and took a hot shower. Then he did some more practice questions and was about to sleep when someone knocked on his door.
Knock, knock! Knock, knock!
“What does Su Xiangrong want now?”
Lu Jiuling frowned. At this hour, apart from his landlady, no one else would be looking for him.
“690, hurry up and open the door!”
Su Xiangrong’s nervous, low shout came through the door.
“What is it?”
Lu Jiuling opened the door.
“Did you hear any movement in the stairwell?”
Su Xiangrong looked upstairs.
“No.”
“You really didn’t hear anything?”
Su Xiangrong furrowed her brows. “But I think I heard footsteps!”
“Did you see anyone?”
Lu Jiuling remembered that yesterday, the landlady had said there was a thief in the building. A pair of high heels had gone missing from the shoe rack outside her door.
“No!”
Su Xiangrong had not dared to come out just now at all. She had only peeked outside through the peephole and had not seen anything.
“Did your shoes get stolen again?”
“I didn’t check. As soon as I came out, I came straight up to find you!”
Su Xiangrong urged him, “Hurry up and go take a look around the stairwell!”
“Even if there was a thief, after hearing you knock and call for me like that, they’d have run off long ago!”
Lu Jiuling did not want to waste his effort.
“What’s wrong with you going to take a look?”
Su Xiangrong was displeased. “Aren’t you worried about losing things?”
“What could I lose?”
Lu Jiuling mocked himself. I’m a poor student with just over a thousand yuan in living expenses on me in total. Oh, now I have an extra Patek Philippe. What could I possibly lose?
Those textbooks?
Even if he gave them to the thief for free, the thief would think they were too heavy to carry.
“Are you going or not? If you’re not, I’m raising your rent next month!”
Su Xiangrong’s tone turned stern.
In their previous interactions, Lu Jiuling had been a shy, introverted boy who did not even dare look her in the eye when speaking to her. So when Su Xiangrong faced Lu Jiuling, it was like facing a family-raised golden retriever. She had quite a bit of authority.
If this had been Lu Jiuling half a month ago, he definitely would have gone. But now…
“Raise it if you want!”
Lu Jiuling did not give a damn about Su Xiangrong.
If the landlady had spoken nicely, Lu Jiuling would have gone to check. But using this tone as if she were ordering him around…
Whoever loved doing it could do it!
Your Brother Lu was not some bootlicker!
“You think I wouldn’t dare, is that it? Five hundred more every month!”
Su Xiangrong was so angry her chest heaved.
It was nighttime, and she was wearing a silk nightdress with a hem that reached her thighs. Because she had been in such a hurry to get Lu Jiuling to search the stairwell, she had come out without any underwear on underneath.
Lu Jiuling was more than a head taller than Su Xiangrong. Looking down from above, he could see a deep ravine. And because the silk was smooth and clung to her body, the landlady’s curves were completely outlined. Forget the two peach-blossom points—even the contour of her navel could be faintly seen.
Lu Jiuling folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe, looking at Su Xiangrong. “You’re only raising it that little?”
“Are you insane?”
Su Xiangrong frowned. At the same time, she found it strange. Why did it feel as if this boy had changed?
“Half a month before the start of the first year of high school is the peak period for renting rooms. If I move out now, your place will most likely sit empty for three months!”
Lu Jiuling looked at Su Xiangrong with perfect composure. “Are you sure you still want to raise the rent?”
“Won’t you find moving back and forth troublesome? Won’t it delay your studies?”
Su Xiangrong snorted coldly.
“Heh. I was indeed afraid before, but now…”
As long as your Brother Lu completed the advancement ritual, he would be a Sequence 9 Transcendent. What would the gaokao even count for?
Su Xiangrong stared into Lu Jiuling’s eyes and discovered that his expression was calm, without the slightest trace of panic. This made her feel at a loss.
What was going on?
This kid seemed to be serious.
But he was just a poor student from the countryside. Where did he get the confidence to clash with her?
Su Xiangrong could not understand it.
Although yesterday she had chatted and laughed with Lu Jiuling, and even said she would cook him a table of dishes to treat him after he got into a university in Jinghai, in essence, Su Xiangrong had been treating Lu Jiuling with the lofty attitude of someone in a higher position.
It was like raising a dog at home. When she was happy, she would bathe it and feed it a feast. But when she was unhappy, she would simply serve it with a stick—or even sell it off.
Whew!
Su Xiangrong took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and softened her tone. “You live here too. Are you willing to see a thief coming and going all the time?”
The landlady had no choice but to suppress her temper, because Lu Jiuling was right. The half month before school started was the peak rental period. If she drove Lu Jiuling away now, she basically would not find a tenant for the next three months. It would be a huge loss.
“Why don’t you just stop putting shoes in the stairwell?”
Lu Jiuling guessed that the thief was not after money, but was some pervert specifically targeting the landlady’s shoes.
“There’s no room inside my place!”
Su Xiangrong looked listless. She spent money extravagantly and liked pretty clothes and shoes. She bought several items every month, and the shoe rack in the entryway was already full.
“Just go take a look, okay?”
Su Xiangrong tugged at Lu Jiuling’s clothes. “I’ll reduce your rent by two hundred!”
“Please!”
Su Xiangrong clasped her hands together and bowed toward Lu Jiuling.
Lu Jiuling also did not want a thief wandering around near where he lived, so he came out and went upstairs first.
This residential building was the kind with six floors. Lu Jiuling quickly reached the top, but did not even see a ghost’s shadow. After that, he went back down and made a round.
He found nothing.
“I told you already. Even if there was a thief, they’d have run off long ago!”
Lu Jiuling was helpless. “Next time, if you discover someone, can you call me?”
“Oh, right!”
Su Xiangrong’s eyes lit up. She was not familiar with Lu Jiuling. Although she had added his phone number, they had never contacted each other.
Because Lu Jiuling was a student at No. 2 High. The monk could run, but the temple could not. If she wanted rent, she could just go directly to him.
“Why don’t we add each other as friends too?”
Su Xiangrong took out her phone, opened WeChat, then looked pitifully at Lu Jiuling.
She was hoping this boy would be at her beck and call in the future.
“Capacity Makes Greatness?”
After adding her as a friend, Lu Jiuling looked at Su Xiangrong’s nickname and subconsciously glanced at her large chest.
You really are confident!
Judging from the landlady’s lack of education, this nickname definitely did not mean “the sea accepts a hundred rivers; greatness lies in capacity.”
That said, the landlady really was big. Especially now—she was only wearing a silk nightdress, yet she was still upright and rounded. One could only say she was a terrifyingly gifted monster!
“If I hear anything outside again, I’ll contact you. You hurry out and catch the person!”
Su Xiangrong was satisfied now, and at ease as well. “You keep doing your practice questions. I’m going back to watch my drama!”
Ah, my little lover, do not fret; in this life, I roll up my red sleeves only for you.
Su Xiangrong hummed a little tune and went down three steps, then suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Lu Jiuling.