Songyang High School.
In the cafeteria during lunchtime.
Zhao Tianxing hesitated as he held his tray.
The school seemed calm on the surface, as if nothing had changed.
But in reality, the conflict that had erupted on the training grounds yesterday had already spread throughout the entire school.
Almost every student knew about Zhang Yu from Class 1 of the first year, who had defected to Bailong High School, clashing with Zhou Chechen, the vice president of the student council, and several second-year seniors.
Based on Zhao Tianxing's observations and summaries from various student groups, most students had a simple opinion about the situation.
The loyalists of Songyang High believed: Isn't this just a traitor? A class traitor? For personal gain, he sided with Bailong High, a true Songyang betrayer! He should be expelled!
Jealous students speculated: First Li Xuelian, then Zhang Pianpian.
Why does Zhang Yu keep attracting wealthy women? We strongly suspect he didn’t finish his surgery properly.
The school should investigate him thoroughly.
Anger, jealousy… and hidden envy eventually turned into outright malice.
Most students who feared trouble didn’t dare to get close to Zhang Yu, afraid of being implicated by the student council and the loyalists of Songyang High.
Zhao Tianxing was no different.
He was also afraid that getting too close to Zhang Yu would make him a target.
After all, bullying wasn’t unheard of at Songyang High.
Zhao Tianxing had heard about Shuang Youpeng from the previous year, who had topped the monthly exams in his first year, making waves.
But after entering his second year, as his grades began to lag behind those of the wealthier students, he started to face humiliation.
He was forbidden from doing homework, taking medicine, exercising, or staying up late.
He was even forced to eat fried chicken, fries, beer, and desserts every day, watching his belly grow and his muscles disappear.
He was made to watch videos, read novels, and play games daily, watching his grades plummet and feeling his determination to cultivate slowly erode.
It wasn’t until he completely surrendered that Zhou Chechen finally let him go.
Just thinking about this process made Zhao Tianxing feel suffocated.
So when Zhang Yu invited him to eat together today, Zhao Tianxing panicked and said he had something to do and would be late to the cafeteria.
With this hesitation in mind, Zhao Tianxing got his food, held his tray, and when he saw Zhang Yu looking his way, he instinctively avoided eye contact.
This avoidance made Zhao Tianxing feel a pang of regret.
"Sigh, I guess I can’t be friends with Zhang Yu anymore."
He wandered aimlessly in the cafeteria for a few steps, then couldn’t help but glance at Zhang Yu’s table.
When he saw Bai Zhenzhen and Qian Shen sitting down next to Zhang Yu, a hint of envy flashed in Zhao Tianxing’s eyes.
"Bai Zhenzhen and Qian Shen… why are they so bold? Aren’t they afraid at all?"
"I wish I could be like them, doing whatever I want without worrying."
Although Zhao Tianxing always overthought things, he didn’t like this trait about himself.
He wished he could stop overanalyzing and caring so much about what others thought, but he just couldn’t.
At this moment, Zhao Tianxing instinctively gripped his tray, wanting to walk over to Zhang Yu’s table, but he felt like all the students around him were watching him, as if sitting next to Zhang Yu would make him an outcast.
Of course, this was just his imagination.
With so many people in the cafeteria, hardly anyone was paying attention to him.
Zhao Tianxing watched as Zhang Yu chatted happily with Qian Shen and Bai Zhenzhen, and a sense of longing crept into his eyes.
After returning home yesterday, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Zhang Yu had stood his ground against Zhou Chechen without backing down.
He admired Zhang Yu for being able to do that and desperately wished he could face pressure with the same calm and composure.
Just as Zhao Tianxing was hesitating, he suddenly saw Zhang Yu wave at him.
"Old Zhao! Over here!"
Zhao Tianxing was slightly stunned.
"Does Zhang Yu think I didn’t see him earlier?"
He gritted his teeth and quickly walked over to sit next to Zhang Yu.
At this moment, he felt like the entire cafeteria was watching him.
He just wanted to sit down quickly and have Zhang Yu stop calling him.
This time, he wasn’t wrong.
Many people were indeed watching Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, Qian Shen, and him.
But at this moment, Zhao Tianxing felt like he was being brave, perhaps even as cool as Zhang Yu had been yesterday.
He was wrong.
To most students, Zhao Tianxing looked like a clown, someone who had also been marked as untouchable.
As soon as Zhao Tianxing sat down, Zhang Yu received a reply from Zhang Pianpian.
Zhang Yu had just sent Zhang Pianpian a message: "Sis, I have a classmate who loves studying and wants to add you as a friend."
Zhang Pianpian: "What’s his score?"
Zhang Yu: "His highest was around 620."
Zhang Pianpian: "Too low. Not adding."
Zhang Yu: "Huh?"
Zhang Yu thought to himself, "My sister is really discriminatory when it comes to scores."
He suddenly remembered the calls Zhang Pianpian used to make to him back when he hadn’t even scored 600. In her eyes, he must have been nothing more than human trash… no wonder she was so blunt.
But thinking about the environment at Bailong High, Zhang Yu felt that it made sense for the top student there to act this way.
Looking up at Qian Shen, who was full of anticipation, Zhang Yu awkwardly said, "She… she said your score of 620 is too low. She won’t add you."
Qian Shen was momentarily stunned, then blushed and reminded Zhang Yu not to forget the extra 6 points.
"My highest was 626!"
But after saying this, Qian Shen lowered his head, his eyes dimming.
Zhang Yu felt like Qian Shen was thinking a lot in that moment, and finally, Qian Shen nodded and said, "My score is indeed too low."
Then Qian Shen looked up again, his face full of admiration.
"As expected of someone with a 699 score. The way she chooses friends is so classy."
"Please tell her that I will study hard, improve my score, and add her as a friend."
"Also, although I’m at Songyang High, I’ve always admired Bailong High. I even took the entrance exam before, but I just missed it by a little…"
Zhang Yu understood.
Qian Shen was a true spiritual Bailong High student.
To him, even the air at Bailong High must smell sweeter.
With a look of disdain, Zhang Yu relayed this message to Zhang Pianpian.
Zhang Pianpian: "In the future, don’t bother forwarding messages from people with scores in the 620s. Their grades aren’t good enough to keep up with us."
Looking at Qian Shen, who was now full of determination, Zhang Yu decided not to tell him what Zhang Pianpian had said.
…
In the afternoon class.
The Chinese teacher was lecturing at the front of the classroom.
Bai Zhenzhen was practicing her mana control under the desk.
Just then, her phone vibrated softly.
She picked it up and saw a message from Mo Tianyi.
Mo Tianyi: "Bai Zhenzhen, have you and Zhang Yu defected to Zhang Pianpian at Bailong High?"
Bai Zhenzhen was slightly stunned.
She instantly understood but didn’t know how to respond.
Zhang Pianpian, the top third-year student at Bailong High, was undoubtedly seen as a representative of the wealthy in the eyes of poor students like Mo Tianyi.
And the fact that Zhang Pianpian was protecting Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu must have seemed like she had forcibly recruited them from Songyang High.
What else could it be? Bai Zhenzhen couldn’t exactly tell Mo Tianyi that Zhang Pianpian admired their talents and wanted to support them in getting into the top ten universities.
As for the sibling relationship between Zhang Yu and Zhang Pianpian, Bai Zhenzhen had promised to keep it a secret.
She wasn’t like Zhou Tianyi, who loved spreading gossip, so she couldn’t say anything.
But suddenly, she realized: Why explain?
Explaining too much would only reveal that they hadn’t signed any contracts and that they were planning to get into the top ten universities under Zhang Pianpian’s protection.
What if Mo Tianyi and their leader also wanted Zhang Pianpian to protect them? What then?
Or what if Mo Tianyi and his group, with their loose tongues, let this information slip to the wealthy students? That would only cause more trouble.
Right now, everyone thought they had been taken in by Zhang Pianpian, a wealthy student, and that they wouldn’t be aiming for the top ten universities.
That was a good thing.
If they really did get into the top ten universities later, they could repay Mo Tianyi for the tens of thousands he had invested in them.
If the opportunity arose, they could even help him get into the second level of Kunxu.
"In the end, whether it’s for me and Zhang Yu or for Mo Tianyi, the most important thing is whether we can get into the top ten universities."
"So the choice that increases our chances of getting into the top ten is the best option."
Thinking this, Bai Zhenzhen immediately replied: "Yeah, sorry. We couldn’t hold out any longer. We’ve decided not to aim for the top ten and have signed with Zhang Pianpian."
A moment later, Mo Tianyi replied: "Sigh, I don’t blame you. I’ve heard about the pressure Songyang High has been putting on you. It’s normal that you couldn’t hold out. But about our situation, I hope you and Zhang Yu can keep it a secret. Don’t tell anyone."
Bai Zhenzhen: "Don’t worry. Even though we’ve given up, we still hope you succeed. You’re the last hope for us poor students. Keep fighting!"
…
In the spirit realm.
Mo Tianyi looked at Bai Zhenzhen’s sincere reply and felt a slight relief, but a hint of regret soon followed.
Whether it was Zhang Yu’s fourth-place finish in the magic competition or Bai Zhenzhen’s previously displayed determination, Mo Tianyi had thought that these two might have a real chance of getting into the top ten universities.
But now it seemed…
"In the end, they couldn’t withstand the pressure."
He also felt a pang of regret for the money he had given to Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, which now seemed like a waste.
"I should’ve saved that money for the boss instead."
He sighed inwardly, "In the end, the one who can get into the top ten universities and help us break through this ceiling will have to be the boss…"
Just then, a line of text flashed before Mo Tianyi’s eyes: "Work has been paused for over 1 minute. Please return to your workstation immediately."
Mo Tianyi quickly snapped out of his thoughts, reopened the spirit realm connection, and resumed his work.
Unlike other high schools, students at Mangshan High’s soul cultivation program had to start internships from their first year.
Mo Tianyi’s screen quickly filled with dialog boxes.
His job today was to be a customer service representative for a tutoring agency.
Customer: "My son has already undergone sterilization surgery, but high schools won’t accept him. Now girls’ schools and soul cultivation programs are rejecting him because of his physical imperfection. What should I do?"
Mo Tianyi replied: "Girls’ schools and soul cultivation programs have lower thresholds, but they’re highly competitive every year. Physical imperfections can easily lead to rejection. But there’s still a way. You can have your son undergo a sterilization repair surgery and then reapply."
Mo Tianyi: "If that still doesn’t work, he can repeat the year and undergo another sterilization surgery. Having two sterilization surgeries on his resume is a huge plus. It shows strong determination, and he’ll definitely get accepted next year."
Mo Tianyi: "We have partnered hospitals we can recommend to you…"
Beside Mo Tianyi, over a dozen identical versions of himself were facing different dialog boxes, all working on their tasks.
These Mo Tianyis in the spirit realm were in a room about ten square meters in size, with nothing but themselves and the dialog boxes inside.
After working continuously for eighteen hours, Mo Tianyi finally got a five-minute break.
Looking at his earned wages, he quickly sent the money to the boss.
"The boss needs the money right now."
Thinking that today’s earnings could give the boss a little more hope of getting into the top ten universities, Mo Tianyi felt a sense of satisfaction and anticipation.
"You have to succeed, boss. You’re the only poor student in Songyang City who might get into the top ten."
"You’re our only hope of escaping this life…"
(End of Chapter)