Chapter 21
Chapter 21: Aren’t You Too Generous
Panda Novel
“Joy puts heart into a man. You do look especially refreshed today.” On the way to the class the next day, Cao Ronghua commented while studying Hao Ren.
“Going out with a rich girl gave him a different aura.” Rubbing his chin, Zhou Liren told Zhao Jiayi and others while gazing at Hao Ren.
“He has a light elegance in every movement.” Zhao Jiayi joked.
They had been teasing him, but Hao Ren did feel his aura had changed ever since he made the breakthrough last night.
It seemed he had merged with nature. Although he couldn’t absorb the essence of nature yet, he had a faint feeling that he himself was the nature.
He had this feeling after he had just reached the first level of the basic cultivation technique, but he was not a true cultivator yet. No wonder Zhao Yanzi’s Third Uncle regarded mortals with disdain. Hao Ren reflected while he savored the changes in his body.
The four of them were on their way to class when they met some of the girls from their class who had just come out of the cafeteria after breakfast. Glancing at Hao Ren, Xie Yujia was about to pass them to take a front seat in the classroom. Struck by a feeling of strangeness, she looked back at Hao Ren again.
“Weird. He is wearing the same clothes as yesterday. How come I find his presence different…” Xie Yujia was a little baffled, thinking it a result of her imagination. Shaking her head, she swung her leg over her bicycle and rode toward the Academic Building.
“Xie Yujia looked at you twice. Have you two been seeing each other?” Zhou Liren asked Hao Ren with a wink.
Hao Ren snorted, “How is that possible…”
In his heart, Xue Yujia was not only the Class President but the most popular girl in the class as well. She was too out of reach for him.
Besides, he was an engaged man now.
They strolled carelessly into the Academic Building just when the class began. Taking a window seat with fresher air, Hao Ren dug out his study materials and began to prepare for his tutoring session.
“Why didn’t you answer my message yesterday?” In the middle of class, Hao Ren received a text message from Xue Yujia.
Surprised, he looked up and met Xue Yujia’s gaze. He wondered why the diligently note-taking Class President would send him a message during the class…
Hurriedly, he looked down and answered her message, “You mean about the long-distance run? I got it.”
“You are the only participant in our class, and only six have been selected in our whole major to enter the games. I hope you won’t disappoint me.” She sent another text message.
All of a sudden, Hao Ren felt layers of pressure. The biannual Athletic Games in East Ocean University was a competition held among all the students, regardless of age. The most athletic students selected from the tens of thousands of students in the university would compete with one another. It was a big show.
“Got it,” Hao Ren answered the text message. He had been a renowned long-distance runner in high school, but he had never entered any provincial level competitions and didn’t gain points for it during his university entrance examination.
Xue Yujia had high hopes for him, but he was not so confident with himself. Although he was fast, he had spent almost all his time playing video games after he entered university. It had been a long time since the last time he had put any real efforts into practice.
Thinking that was the end of the text conversation, he was surprised when Xue Yujia sent him another, saying, “Did you get a haircut yesterday? How come I feel like you look different today?”
“No, I didn’t,” Hao Ren answered the text message.
Then Xie Yujia stopped messaging him. Hao Ren wondered if he had sounded too aloof. But soon, he was immersed in middle school English practice questions.
In the evening, Hao Ren again took the bus to Zhao Yanzi’s home. No longer a stranger, Hao Ren was not as reserved as last time. However, he still remained silent on topics about their family.
After dinner, Zhao Hongyu declined Hao Ren’s offer to clean the table for her and asked him to tutor Zhao Yanzi. Reluctantly, Zhao Yanzi followed Hao Ren up to the second floor.
After a day’s thought, Hao Ren had decided to tutor Zhao Yanzi according to the different knowledge points. Today’s quiz focused on the most common topic in the middle school English course, the tenses.
Time ticked on, and Zhao Yanzi racked her brains and finally finished the quiz.
“Uncle, are you sure you are really good at it?” With her chin propped up in her palm, she spun a ball-point pen with the other hand and watched Hao Ren mark her paper earnestly.
She had changed out of her school uniform into a short T-shirt with a kitten pattern and a red plaid skirt. Like a candy, the loose combination oozed the sweetness of a teenage girl.
Slouching on the chair with her legs curled beneath her, she was oblivious that her posture exposed a strip of flat belly to Hao Ren.
“If you learn earnestly with me, it won’t be too difficult for you to be one of the top three in your class.” Hao Ren scrawled a big red score of 30 on the paper before returning it to her.
Ignoring her pouting lips of disapproval, Hao Ren pointed at the first question and began to explain, “Since it uses ‘yesterday’ in the first part of the sentence, you must use past tense with the verb. And the past tense of ‘say’ is ‘said’, not ‘sayed’… Hey, listen up and note this down…”
Seeing Hao Ren’s earnest face, Zhao Yanzi looked resentful. Still, she had to listen to him, and she began making notes on her notebook.
Hao Ren had seen the books in Zhao Hongyu’s studio and knew her English was excellent. He wondered how her daughter was so lousy in English.
At the end of the one-hour tutoring session, the upper end of Zhao Yanzi’s ball-point pen was almost chewed off, showing how much she resented Hao Ren.
“Ren, follow me upstairs.” Zhao Guang showed up by the door on time.
“Ok.” Putting down the papers, Hao Ren followed Zhao Guang up the small stairs into the studio.
“It seems that you have broken through level one?” Zhao Guang asked when they were inside the studio.
“It seems so. I feel that my body has been unlocked.”
“Well, good job. However, the first level is quite simple. Today I will teach you the next part.” Zhao Guang looked calm without any signs of surprise or joy.
Hao Ren sat down and listened to him patiently, wondering what realm Zhao Guang had reached. Whatever realm Zhao Guang was in, it couldn’t be low.
Hao Ren had never dreamed of flying in the sky, entering the earth, shattering the mountains, and tumbling the oceans. Saving his own life was his purpose. And if he achieved some accomplishments in his cultivation, he would be more confident in helping Zhao Yanzi survive the crisis three years later.
Of course, he knew the family of Zhao Yanzi was trying their best to help him, though strictly speaking, Zhao Yanzi had caused all this trouble. However, they would rather place their own daughter at risk than sacrificing innocent Hao Ren. That alone showed more wisdom and righteousness than most parents could ever have.
Very soon, it was nine-thirty, and Zhao Guang had explained every point of the Spirit Concentration Scroll in detail.
“You can come back at the same time tomorrow. Then you can cultivate by yourself and ask me whenever you have any questions,” glancing up at the clock, Zhao Guang instructed.
Hao Ren nodded. Walking out of the studio to the second floor, he entered Zhao Yanzi’s room and found her working hard on her homework. Not wanting to interrupt her, he gathered his tutoring materials and quietly left the room.
“I’ll drive you back,” Zhao Guang appeared at the door and offered.
“Thank you,” Hao Ren accepted.
On the way back to school, Zhao Guang asked suddenly, “Can you drive?”
“I got my license last summer, but I’m still a beginner,” Hao Ren answered.
“How about I buy you a car so you can come and go with ease. Which do you like, Chevrolet or Volkswagen?” Zhao Guang asked casually as if he was talking about a 10-yuan toy instead of a 100,000-yuan car.
“Err, it’s not necessary. I can take a taxi back in the future,” Hao Ren said in a hurry.
Zhao Guang didn’t pursue the topic. He drove Hao Ren to the dorm building in silence.
“Oh, please tell Zi that I have to participate in the Athletic Games next week and I’ll have to practice. I’ll resume the tutoring sessions next Tuesday.”
“Ok.” Zhao Guang restarted the car with a steady hand and disappeared around the corner.
“A calm father-in-law, a gentle mother-in-law, a willful young fiancée, what more will come my way?” Inhaling deeply, Hao Ren walked into the dorm building.
When he got into his dorm room, his three dormmates were still out. Apparently, they were at an internet café playing games. Opening his backpack, Hao Ren was in the process of reorganizing the tutoring materials and saw that a big pig head had been drawn on the title page of his favorite middle school English test bank.
A coarse nose, bulging eyes, droopy ears and thick lips… On the side were the words: Self-important Uncle.
Gazing at the caricature of the pig head that was drawn to look ugly but looked a bit like him, Hao Ren chuckled.
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