33: Chapter 33 The School Beauty's Care

The gates of Jianghai No. 3 Middle School remained as mottled as ever, but there seemed to be a different scent in the air today.

It was the sweet, metallic tang of fermented money.

“Student Lin Fan, morning!”

The security guard, who usually only looked at people through his nostrils, now stood as straight as a poker, his military salute more standard than the flag-raising ceremony. His wrinkled old face was piled with a smile that bordered on sycophantic.

Lin Fan didn't stop, merely nodding slightly.

Reality.

It was far too realistic.

A few days ago, he was the F-Rank Trash everyone avoided; today, he had become 'Boss Lin,' someone even the security guard had to look up to.

As he walked onto campus, this eerie atmosphere grew even more intense.

The originally noisy corridor fell silent the moment he appeared. Passing students stopped in their tracks, their gazes sticking to him like glue.

There was envy, jealousy, and even more so, a kind of awe that made them want to approach but not dare to.

A few bold girls even hid behind pillars, holding up their phones to take secret photos, the camera flashes blindingly bright.

He pushed open the back door of Class 12-2.

The originally rowdy sounds of morning study came to an abrupt halt.

Dozens of pairs of eyes were pinned on him simultaneously, as if looking at an alien who had just stepped off a UFO.

Lin Fan walked toward his seat.

His previously bare desk was now piled high with various 'heartfelt' breakfasts and pink envelopes, forming a small mountain. Even his habitually wobbly chair had been carefully wiped until it shone.

Several snobbish boys who usually orbited around Wang Teng were busy working around his desk with rags. Seeing Lin Fan approach, they immediately flashed fawning smiles.

“Brother Fan, you’re here! We’ve wiped the desk clean for you, not a speck of dust!”

“Brother Fan, these are pan-fried buns my family made, they're still hot!”

Lin Fan glanced at the breakfast items, then at Zhang Hao nearby, who looked like he was about to drool.

“Fatty, these are for you.”

“Got it! Many thanks, Godfather!”

Zhang Hao pounced on the food without a shred of dignity, using both hands to stuff buns into his mouth while mumbling incoherently, “Brother Fan, just leave this kind of manual labor to me from now on. I, Zhang Hao, might not have other skills, but I have a great appetite!”

As he ate, he used his fan-like large hands to block several boys trying to cozy up to Lin Fan. “Go, go, go, don't disturb Brother Fan's quiet cultivation. If you want to buy a blind box, go line up. Don't try to use the back door here.”

This fatty had certainly mastered the art of 'the fox borrowing the tiger's terror' without a teacher.

Lin Fan sat down and activated the Eye of True Sight.

His vision was instantly digitized.

Inside the classroom, dozens of data panels hovered over people's heads.

[Jealousy Value: 89% (The desire to kill someone cannot be hidden in one's eyes)]

[Admiration Value: 75% (A potential high-quality leek)]

[Fear Value: 60% (Afraid of retaliation)]

Looking at those luck auras that were either turning black or red, Lin Fan found it quite amusing.

It's all business.

“Bang!”

A loud noise broke the classroom's peace.

A chair in the front row was kicked aside; it was the seat that originally belonged to Wang Teng's number one lackey.

A petite figure rushed over with a faint, pleasant fragrance and plopped down in that seat. She turned around, resting her chin on her hands, her large eyes blinking as she stared at Lin Fan.

Chu Yaoyao.

This little princess of the Chu family was wearing a black Gothic Lolita outfit today, making her look even more quirky and mischievous.

“Lin Fan, Lin Fan, you're amazing!”

She completely ignored the shocked gazes around her, her voice as crisp as a lark's. “That bottle of Wind Spirit Source Fluid from yesterday—I took it home to show my grandfather. The old man almost pulled his beard off! He said that kind of purity isn't even in the family treasury!”

“Now all those old fogies in the family are asking me what exactly the 'god and demon blind box' is all about.”

Chu Yaoyao leaned closer, her exquisite little face almost touching Lin Fan's nose. “Hey, Shrewd Merchant, I'm your long-term VIP client from now on. If you have any good stuff, remember to save it for me first. This young lady isn't short on cash!”

The hearts of all the boys in class shattered into pieces.

That was Chu Yaoyao!

One of the two great school beauties of Jianghai No. 1 Middle School and a notorious little devil, she was actually taking the initiative to be Lin Fan's 'client'?

Did Lin Fan save the galaxy in his past life?

Before everyone could recover from the shock...

Another wave of cool, ethereal fragrance drifted over.

Su Qingxue, holding a stack of books, stopped quietly in front of Lin Fan's desk.

She was wearing a simple school uniform today, yet it still couldn't hide her cold and otherworldly temperament. Unlike Chu Yaoyao's passionate exuberance, she was like an iceberg that people didn't dare look at directly.

“Here.”

Su Qingxue placed a thick notebook on Lin Fan's desk.

It was her own handwriting, densely packed with annotations.

“These are the key points of martial arts theory I've organized, along with some techniques for force application in actual combat.”

Su Qingxue's voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached every corner. “The Grand Competition is coming up. Wang Teng... won't let things go easily. This will be useful for you.”

After saying that, she gave Lin Fan a deep look, a flicker of complexity passing through her beautiful eyes that even she hadn't noticed.

Last night, when she saw Chu Yaoyao pull the Wind Spirit Source Fluid, she had actually felt a strange... competitive urge?

It wasn't for the treasure.

Rather, she felt that this 'Shrewd Merchant' who only cared about money shouldn't be monopolized by Chu Yaoyao alone.

“Good luck with the Grand Competition.”

Su Qingxue left those five words and turned back to her seat.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Immediately after, the entire classroom exploded.

“Holy crap! Surrounded by both school beauties? This is too ridiculous!”

“A rich Lolita on the left and a cold goddess on the right—this is the peak of life!”

“Lin Fan, draw your sword! I want to duel you!!”

Countless murderous gazes instantly focused on Lin Fan. If looks could kill, Lin Fan would have been cut into a thousand pieces by now.

Lin Fan calmly tucked away the notes.

How was this a battlefield of jealousy?

This was clearly two Super VIP customers fighting for priority purchasing rights.

As a merchant, he welcomed this kind of healthy competition.

“Ahem!”

On the podium, the homeroom teacher, Old Li, coughed heavily twice and walked in with a dark expression.

Seeing the pile of unfinished breakfast on Lin Fan's desk, Old Li's mouth twitched, but in the end, he said nothing.

If it were before, he would have long ago served him with a face full of chalk dust.

But now...

Even the principal had specifically instructed him to 'take care' of this Student Lin.

“Quiet, everyone!”

Old Li tapped the blackboard. “Let's talk business. There are three days left until the School-wide Grand Competition. I don't think I need to explain the importance of this competition, right?”

“This isn't just an internal ranking for our school; it's the qualifying match for Jianghai City to select seed players for the provincial Heavenly Pride Training Camp!”

Heavenly Pride Training Camp.

As soon as those four words came out, the restless class instantly quieted down.

Desire appeared in everyone's eyes.

That was the ticket to China's top martial arts universities. As long as one could enter the training camp, even if they were ultimately eliminated, they would be a hot commodity sought after by various families upon leaving.

“This year's rewards are also more generous than in previous years.”

Old Li gave Lin Fan a pointed look. “First place gets a 500,000 yuan bonus! Plus a C-Rank martial skill, and most importantly, a one-time opportunity to enter the 'Gravity Cultivation Room'!”

A 500,000 bonus?

Lin Fan yawned.

That wasn't even as much as he made in two days of selling blind boxes.

A C-Rank martial skill?

With his system's hundredfold return, he didn't lack martial skills; what the system dropped was at least A-Rank at the start.

Trash.

It was all trash.

Only the spot for the Heavenly Pride Training Camp made Lin Fan's eyes flicker slightly.

The ticket to China's top universities.

That meant stronger martial artists, wealthier second-generation elites, and... higher-level leeks.

Jianghai City was too small.

To cure Xiao Ya, to fight against that mysterious Black Snake Organization, and even to face the future Myriad Races, relying solely on the resources of Jianghai City was far from enough.

He needed a larger market.

“Lin Fan.”

Old Li suddenly called his name. “I see you were listening quite intently just now, so let me ask you a question.”

Old Li pushed up his glasses, a hint of craftiness flashing in his eyes.

While he couldn't use physical punishment, he could still take this kid down a peg. Nouveau riche often got overconfident; they needed to be knocked back to reality.

“When a Martial Apprentice is breaking through to become a Martial Artist, blood and qi flow backward to wash over the spinal dragon. If they encounter the illusion of 'Withered Wood Meeting Spring,' how should they guide it?”

The whole class was in an uproar.

This question was beyond the syllabus!

This was theoretical knowledge that would only be encountered at the Martial Master stage; it wasn't in the textbooks at all!

Su Qingxue frowned slightly, about to speak up to give him a hint.

“Simple.”

Lin Fan didn't even stand up, still leaning lazily against the back of his chair.

The Eye of True Sight scanned the textbook on the podium, and combined with his previous top-student theories, the answer surfaced instantly.

“The so-called 'Withered Wood Meeting Spring' is actually a neural hallucination caused by a Martial Apprentice's blood and qi reaching their peak and over-cleansing. At this time, one shouldn't over-focus on physical sensations, but achieve formlessness, hold fast to the Heavenly Heart Aperture, keep the primordial spirit within, and the power of blood and qi will naturally circulate, passing through the three gates, through the Niwan, crossing the Magpie Bridge, and then descending as sweet dew...”

Lin Fan spoke at a steady pace, every word incredibly precise.

“Of course, if you have money to burn, you can just pop a Heart-Clearing Pill. Forget I said anything.”

The last sentence caused the whole class to burst into laughter.

Old Li's mouth hung open, and the chalk in his hand snapped in two with a 'crack'.

This answer...

It was even more thorough than the standard answer!

Especially that tycoon's method—it was simply wicked. Was this kid really that rich now?

“Sit... sit down.”

Old Li wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “The answer was... very good.”

The bell for the end of class rang.

Lin Fan got up to go to the restroom.

Just as he walked into a stall, he heard two voices outside lowered intentionally.

“Third Brother, has everything been arranged on Young Master Wang's side?”

“Don't worry. Young Master Wang really went all out this time; I heard his family got him some Gene Medicine.”

“Shh, keep it down. Young Master Wang said he wants to turn that kid named Lin into a cripple on the arena in front of the whole school. He wants him to know the consequences of offending the Wang family.”

“Hehe, that kid is dead meat. Even if he got lucky with a blind box, can he stop Young Master Wang on drugs?”

The sound of running water followed as the two finished washing their hands and left with sinister laughs.

Inside the stall.

Lin Fan sat on the toilet lid, looking at an anonymous text message he had just received on his phone.

The number's location was encrypted.

The content was just one short sentence:

“Good goods. But be careful not to burn your hands.”

Lin Fan put away his phone and pushed the door open.

“Taking drugs?”

“Wang Teng, oh Wang Teng, why didn't you come to me? I have plenty of good stuff here.”

When school was over.

A red Ferrari was parked at the school gate; it was Chu Yaoyao's ride.

“Lin Fan, get in! This young lady will take you home!”

Chu Yaoyao rolled down the window and waved at Lin Fan, who was pushing out his little electric scooter.

“No need.”

Lin Fan waved her off and hopped onto his second-hand electric scooter, which rattled everywhere except for the bell. “I get carsick; I'm not used to luxury cars. This convertible is more comfortable and breezy.”

“You!”

Chu Yaoyao stamped her foot in anger. “Ungrateful! So many people want a ride and I don't even give them one!”

Lin Fan ignored her pouting and twisted the throttle.

“Chug, chug, chug...”

The little electric scooter wobbled as it carried the youth away into the traffic.

He didn't go home.

Instead, he went straight to the hospital. His sister's surgery was about to begin, and he had to keep watch these next two days.