By the time the physical education class ended, Wang Hai hadn’t paid any attention to Zhang Yu, treating him as if he were invisible.
He didn’t offer any guidance or instruction to Zhang Yu either.
Following Wang Hai’s lead, the other students also subconsciously avoided Zhang Yu, as if an invisible no-man’s-land had formed around him.
“This old Wang… why is he so petty?” Zhang Yu thought to himself.
But since things had already come to this, Zhang Yu didn’t have any other options.
He simply lay quietly on the ground, continuing to rest.
Soon, the class ended, and everyone hurried off to the cafeteria.
Zhou Tianyi stayed behind and walked over to Zhang Yu, giving him a thumbs up. “Brave warrior, did you buy accident insurance yet?”
Zhang Yu slowly got up, patted his pants, and said, “What’s there to fear? Once my cultivation improves and my grades skyrocket, plenty of teachers will protect me.”
He confidently glanced at the feather script in his palm.
His physical strength had already increased from 0.83 to 0.84.
This was without any injections, medicine, or special dietary supplements—just through practicing the Thirty-Six Body Strengthening Techniques.
He imagined that as the level of the Thirty-Six Body Strengthening Techniques continued to rise, the progress of his physical strength would accelerate even faster.
Just thinking about this, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel at his own terrifying potential.
Zhou Tianyi, standing beside him, looked at Zhang Yu’s suddenly confident expression and asked curiously, “Did you find a new source for those performance-enhancing drugs? Don’t forget your buddy if you’ve got something good.”
Zhang Yu clenched his fist and smiled. “Kid, I’m cultivating naturally!”
Outside the training room, Bai Zhenzhen, who had just finished an intense training session, was flushed, sweat dripping from her forehead, and steam rising from her body.
Knock, knock, knock!
She knocked on the door and said calmly, “Zhang Yu, are you done showing off? I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”
The three of them quickly joined the crowd heading to the cafeteria.
From a distance, they could see a long line of students waiting outside the cafeteria doors.
However, as members of the elite class, Zhang Yu and his friends had the privilege of entering the cafeteria through a VIP channel, bypassing the line.
Under the mixed gazes of students from other classes, the three of them walked into the cafeteria.
If Zhang Yu had to describe the feeling, it was like the inner sect prodigies in novels walking into a prestigious restaurant under the envious, jealous, or ambitious stares of the outer sect disciples.
Once inside, Bai Zhenzhen said, “I’m doing a dietary supplement today, so I’m eating on the second floor.”
Dietary supplements involved cooking ingredients infused with immortal elements and various medicinal herbs.
These meals effectively enhanced one’s physique, replenished the body after intense training, and improved the efficiency of both physical cultivation and breathing techniques.
In short, dietary supplements were incredibly beneficial for immortal cultivation.
The only reason Zhang Yu wasn’t eating them was that they were too expensive—way too expensive.
A single meal could cost hundreds, and for more precious ingredients, thousands were common.
Even when Zhang Yu had access to a large loan, he couldn’t afford to eat them every day, let alone now.
Watching Bai Zhenzhen head up to the second floor alone, Zhang Yu felt that the second floor of the cafeteria was another world, just like the line outside the cafeteria compared to the inside.
But a doubt crept into his mind: “Didn’t Zhenzhen say she was out of money? How can she afford to eat on the second floor?”
…
Not long after lunch, Zhang Yu was called to the teacher’s office during his midday break.
A middle-aged man sipped tea while glancing at Zhang Yu, who stood in front of his desk. “Teacher Wang Hai told me about what happened.”
The man’s name was Su Haifeng.
He was not only the homeroom teacher of the elite class but also the grade director for the first year.
With a disappointed look, Su Haifeng said, “Do you remember what you told me during the interview?”
During Zhang Yu’s interview for Songyang High School, Su Haifeng had been one of the interviewers.
Hearing this, Zhang Yu was momentarily stunned.
Although he had merged with the memories of his original body, many details weren’t immediately recallable.
Su Haifeng sighed. “I remember you said you wanted to get into a top university.”
“In physical education class, you don’t buy medicine, don’t get injections, and even lie on the ground slacking off. You even talked back to the teacher. Is this the attitude of someone who wants to get into a top university?”
Listening to the criticism, Zhang Yu didn’t know how to explain.
He couldn’t very well say that he was too poor and useless to afford medicine or injections, and that he was slacking off in PE because his potential had been awakened.
Feeling Zhang Yu’s silence, Su Haifeng sighed again. “Zhang Yu, your performance over the past three months has been good. I know you’re a good kid.”
“Has something happened at home recently?”
Zhang Yu looked at him in surprise, feeling the genuine concern in the teacher’s eyes.
He couldn’t believe it. “There’s actually a teacher in this crazy school who cares about students?” He thought for a moment and then said softly, “Well, I’ve had some conflicts at home.”
“I’ll try to sort it out and get back on track soon.”
Although he felt the teacher’s concern, Zhang Yu could only brush it off for now.
Once his grades improved in the future, he wouldn’t need to explain these difficult-to-explain things.
Su Haifeng frowned, seemingly dissatisfied. “Why are you afraid to tell your teacher?”
“Is your family having financial difficulties?”
“The debt collection agencies have already called the school.”
“What?” Zhang Yu’s head snapped up. “They called you?”
Su Haifeng nodded gravely. “If they hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have known you owed so much money. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Zhang Yu: “I…”
He really hadn’t thought that telling the school would do any good, especially given the culture at Songyang High School.
He figured it would only make things worse.
But Su Haifeng let out a long sigh and looked at Zhang Yu with a kind expression. “I know the school can be strict sometimes, and you’re afraid to tell us when something happens.”
“But you have to understand that we’re your teachers. How could we not help our own students?”
With that, he pulled a document from his drawer and handed it to Zhang Yu.
“This is a financial aid application I specially prepared for you. Go ahead and sign it.”
Zhang Yu took the document, feeling touched. “Teacher, thank you.”
He realized he had misjudged the teachers at this school.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Although there are unreliable people like Wang Hai, there are also kind-hearted elders like Teacher Su.”
Su Haifeng smiled and waved his hand, handing Zhang Yu a pen. “Go ahead and sign.”
Zhang Yu lowered his head and quickly scanned the document, then froze in place.
Su Haifeng chuckled. “What’s wrong? Sign it quickly. I’ll submit it before I leave work.”
Zhang Yu’s voice was low. “Teacher, this seems to be a debt restructuring contract? Did you get the wrong document?”
Su Haifeng smiled. “The reason poor students are poor is because of debt, right? Restructuring the debt helps the poor students. That’s what the financial aid plan is.”
Zhang Yu looked at the contract.
Essentially, it bundled all his debts together, and the school would lend him money to pay them off.
From then on, his creditor would be the school.
Zhang Yu quickly estimated the total debt after restructuring.
After all the various fees, interest, principal, and other charges, it seemed to have ballooned to over a million.
“What debt restructuring! This is just borrowing more to pay off old debts!”
He roared inwardly, “Even the homeroom teacher is in the loan business?”
“Is this how it’s going to be? Are there no normal teachers in this damn school?”
Suppressing his anger, Zhang Yu took a deep breath and said, “Teacher, I think I’ll pass. I’ll pay off the debt myself.”
Su Haifeng urged him kindly, “How can a kid like you pay off such a large sum? Just sign it. The school will take care of it for you.”
“Don’t worry, the school’s repayment plan is very flexible.”
Zhang Yu: “No, teacher, really, I don’t need it.”
After repeatedly refusing, Zhang Yu simply tossed the contract aside and ran out of the office.
Watching his retreating figure, Su Haifeng picked up his teacup and gently blew on it.
A moment later, he picked up his vibrating phone and said, “He refused.”
“Yes, I’ll try again later.”
“Don’t worry. Poor people… they’ll eventually crack under the pressure of debt collectors and come to borrow.”
(End of Chapter)