“What’s going on? Has 690 been possessed?”
Li Yinuo’s big eyes went round. It was one thing for Lu Jiuling to provoke Xu Shuo, but he even dared offend Zhang Shuai?
That guy was no saint. Fighting, brawling, puppy love—he’d offended again and again. If not for “my father the district chief,” Zhang Shuai would have been expelled long ago.
“I’m seeing 690 in a whole new light!”
Ke Xinyi sounded regretful. “I thought he had nothing going for him besides that face!”
Aside from people like Zhang Shuai, who got in through connections, most students at No. 2 High were top scorers. So Lu Jiuling’s grades, ranking around twentieth in the class, were nothing outstanding.
“If he’d been this manly earlier, I might have chased him myself!”
Ning Qian watched Lu Jiuling with sparkling eyes.
“Oh, please. Xu Shaowei confessed to him and didn’t even succeed!”
Li Yinuo thought Lu Jiuling was a little stupid.
He didn’t even want Xu Shaowei—did he really think he could get Jiang Shan?
In high school, having a bombshell girlfriend like Xu Shaowei would absolutely make for a beautiful memory. And what was more, Xu Shaowei had taken the initiative. If Lu Jiuling had been a little sweeter with his words, maybe he wouldn’t even have had to wait until university to unlock the “first kill” achievement.
The trio huddled together, whispering and judging Lu Jiuling.
Scrape!
Zhang Shuai suddenly stood up, leaning forward slightly as he stared at Lu Jiuling.
“Say that again if you’ve got the guts!”
Zhang Shuai’s voice was low. He had been provoked, and with the whole class present, he felt especially humiliated.
Tang Lei was still dazed.
What had gotten into his friend today?
Seeing that Lu Jiuling was about to fire back again, he quickly held him down and tried to mediate. “Enough, enough. We’re all in the same class. Don’t quarrel!”
“What the hell do you think you are?”
Zhang Shuai had never regarded a nobody like Tang Lei as a classmate.
“Are you done yet?” Xu Shaowei stood up. “Stop disturbing everyone!”
Xu Shaowei’s words were directed at Zhang Shuai. Though it sounded like she was scolding both of them, she was actually leaning toward Lu Jiuling, because if this argument continued, the one who suffered would definitely be Lu Jiuling.
As the school bully, Zhang Shuai had gone through three years of high school without ever taking a loss.
“Xu Shaowei, stay out of this!”
Zhang Shuai wasn’t going to give anyone face. Today, he had to teach Lu Jiuling a lesson, or in the future, every stray cat and dog would dare challenge him.
Baby-faced Li Jiayao looked to Jiang Shan for help.
“The homeroom teacher is here. Are you still going to make trouble?”
Jiang Shan spoke.
Everyone immediately turned their heads. Through the bus window, they saw the homeroom teacher walking out of the school carrying a large bag.
“Fuck!”
Zhang Shuai cursed. “Lu Jiuling, just you wait!”
Xu Shuo didn’t make any threats. He merely narrowed his eyes, gave Lu Jiuling a deep look, and walked toward the back of the bus.
“What’s wrong with you today?”
Tang Lei glanced worriedly toward Zhang Shuai in the rear seats, then bent down and asked Lu Jiuling in a low voice.
“If Xu Shuo hadn’t shoved me so hard and had a better attitude, I would’ve given him the seat!”
Lu Jiuling explained. “As for Zhang Shuai, trash like that isn’t even worth mentioning!”
“Just for that?”
Tang Lei was speechless. “There are only three months left of high school. Why make things so ugly?”
“Besides, if there’s a conflict, you’re definitely the one who’ll suffer!”
“Sigh!”
Tang Lei felt awful. He should have covered his friend’s mouth in time just now.
“Heh!”
Lu Jiuling laughed.
Make me suffer?
Do those two small fries even qualify?
Lu Jiuling hadn’t been afraid of trouble in his previous life. No matter the situation, his state of mind had always been steady as a rock. Otherwise, how could he have watched the others die miserably in the Headless Chan Monastery without so much as furrowing his brow?
Now he had even entered the Council of Gods and could become a Transcendent at any time. Naturally, he had even more confidence.
“690 is done for. Zhang Shuai is the type to repay the smallest slight. He definitely won’t let him off!”
Li Yinuo felt that Lu Jiuling was finished.
“You think Xu Shuo is a good person? That guy is quietly vicious!”
Ning Qian curled her lip. She actually hoped Lu Jiuling would beat Xu Shuo up, but that was wishful thinking.
“Stop talking about this!”
Ke Xinyi didn’t want to keep discussing such a mood-killing topic.
Xu Shuo was one thing, but someone like Zhang Shuai—why didn’t the school expel him?
Was the influence of a district-chief father really that great?
The morning sunlight passed through the bus window and fell across Lu Jiuling’s face, as if gilding him with a layer of golden radiance, making his smile appear even more carefree.
Tang Lei suddenly realized that his friend seemed a little different.
In the front row, Jiang Shan heard Lu Jiuling’s words and couldn’t help turning back to glance at him.
A strong, confident man was very charming—but only if he could solve the trouble he ran into.
Jiang Shan didn’t think Lu Jiuling could handle Zhang Shuai.
“Sigh, what even is this?”
Jiang Shan sighed. This was truly an undeserved disaster.
She was a kind-hearted girl. If Lu Jiuling was bullied by Zhang Shuai and the others because of her, leading to a school demerit or even poor performance on the college entrance exam, she would blame herself.
Jiang Shan began thinking about how to resolve this conflict when a warm voice of comfort came from the seat behind her.
“Stop sighing. This has nothing to do with you!”
Lu Jiuling didn’t want Jiang Shan to get dragged into it.
Jiang Shan turned back again.
Lu Jiuling had no interest in continuing the conversation. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Jiang Shan pressed her lips together.
He was quite handsome, and very gentle too!
Tang Weimin boarded the bus with a briefcase slung over his shoulder and a large plastic bag in hand.
“Teacher!”
“Old Ban!”
“Old Tang!”
The students greeted him in all kinds of ways.
“Have you all eaten? I’ve got ham sausages and bread here!”
Tang Weimin called out, “Xu Shuo, come hand these out!”
Hearing the homeroom teacher call his name, Xu Shuo gave a smug snort. When he passed by Lu Jiuling, he deliberately bumped him with his arm.
With three minutes left before eight, Xu Shuo reported to Tang Weimin that all forty-six students in the class were present.
Tang Weimin personally took attendance once. After confirming there were no mistakes, he told the driver to set off.
The engine of the tour bus roared as it carried everyone toward Fan Clan Ancient Town.
This ancient town was said to have a history of over a thousand years. In the beginning, it had been a village of only about a hundred households.
The entire village bore the surname Fan, all linked by blood or marriage.
Later, when a student of the clan placed first in the provincial examination, passed the imperial examination, and after several decades rose to the post of prefect, he established clan fields, built charitable estates, and founded a clan school, allowing the Fan clan to continuously produce scholars.
Anyone who achieved scholarly honors would repay the clan. From then on, the Fan clan began to flourish, and the small village developed into a large town.
After two hours of jolting along the road, the tour bus arrived at the parking lot north of Fan Clan Ancient Town.
“From here to the ancient town, it’s still three li. Either take the shuttle bus, twenty yuan per person, or walk there!”
It wasn’t that the bus driver refused to drive farther; the scenic area didn’t allow it.
“That’s way too shady, isn’t it?”
“Can’t they build the parking lot right beside the ancient town?”
“A lot of scenic spots use this model now.”
For the first time, everyone tasted the gray side of society. Feeling uncomfortable, they complained one after another, utterly speechless.
“Stop dawdling. Go to the ticket office!”
Tang Weimin called to everyone. “I already called ahead and reserved shuttle buses!”
“Yay!”
“Long live Teacher!”
“Long, long live!”
The students kicked up a fuss.
“Enough messing around!”
Tang Weimin smiled as he looked at his students. “If all of you can get into 985 and 211 universities, I’d be willing to spend any amount of money!”
Ten minutes later, the class split up and boarded three shuttle buses. Amid laughter and chatter, they passed beneath five archways commemorating successful imperial examinees and entered the ancient town.
“See that? The first one is the Zhuangyuan Archway. I’m having you pass beneath it so you can borrow a bit of good luck and auspicious fortune!”
Tang Weimin seized the chance to encourage everyone again.
After entering North Gate Street of the ancient town, everyone got off.
Clap, clap, clap!
Tang Weimin clapped his hands hard. Once everyone looked over, he began giving instructions.
“Don’t act alone. Don’t be greedy for petty gains. Don’t easily believe what strangers say. If you run into trouble, call me immediately!”
“Girls had better find a few boys to walk around with.”
“All right. According to the plan, you’re free to move around. At five this afternoon, gather at Zhuangyuan Tower for the class dinner!”
After Tang Weimin finished speaking, he indicated that everyone could disperse.
He knew that if he stayed here, everyone might feel restrained and unable to let loose, so he strolled off toward the Fan family compound.
He needed to scout the place in advance.
Tonight’s plan concerned his future. There absolutely could not be the slightest mistake.
At times like this, the most miserable people were the lone wolves who were usually introverted and didn’t have a single friend.
“Brother 69, let’s go!”
Tang Lei hooked an arm around Lu Jiuling’s neck, looking enviously at the boys who had already teamed up with girls.
Baby-faced Li Jiayao tugged Jiang Shan along and pleaded with her softly for a few moments. Jiang Shan sighed, then called out to Lu Jiuling, “690, want to come with us?”
Swish!
The nearby people all looked over.
Xu Shuo in particular stared at Lu Jiuling with extremely unfriendly eyes.
“W-want to come together?”
Li Jiayao’s voice was timid. She was worried Zhang Shuai would block Lu Jiuling, so she had begged Jiang Shan, hoping Jiang Shan would allow Lu Jiuling to move with them.
“Huh?”
Tang Lei froze, then was delighted, wishing he could immediately agree on his friend’s behalf.
“Thanks for the kindness, but no need!”
Lu Jiuling smiled at Li Jiayao.
He knew that it was this baby-faced girl who had a favorable impression of him who had begged Jiang Shan. Otherwise, with Jiang Shan’s aloof personality, how could she possibly care about him?
“Let’s go!”
Lu Jiuling tugged Tang Lei.
He had only come to Anzhou half a month ago, and every day had been a straight line between school and his rented room. Now he finally had a chance to familiarize himself with the outside world.
Jiang Shan watched Lu Jiuling leave so freely, without the slightest trace of reluctance, leaving her stunned.
It seemed that what 690 had said on the bus—“this has nothing to do with you”—had been sincere, not a lie meant to gain her favor.
This boy…
He had a sense of responsibility!
Fan Clan Ancient Town was very large. Because it had been developed for many years, the commercial atmosphere was strong.
On the broad streets paved with bluestone slabs, there were many shops renting out ancient costumes.
Among the female tourists coming and going, some wore hanfu, some Tang-style clothing, and some qipao, giving people the feeling of having dreamed their way back to Qinhuai.
“Do you want to rent an ancient costume? With your looks, you might attract a Painted-Skin ghost who offers herself to you!”
Tang Lei teased.
“One? Who are you looking down on?” Lu Jiuling admired the ancient buildings around him. “Fox spirits, white snakes, dragon maidens—arrange them all for me!”
After Lu Jiuling finished speaking, he inexplicably thought of that headless giant Buddha. In the divine games, there was probably a high chance of running into female ghosts like Painted-Skins, right?
If he really ran into one…
Forget it. He wouldn’t think about that. At least in reality, it was impossible to encounter one.