Chapter 8
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Chapter 8: A Teacher’s Concern
Until the end of Physical Education class, Wang Hai completely ignored Zhang Yu, treating him as if he were invisible. He offered no further guidance or instruction.
Following Wang Hai’s lead, the other students instinctively avoided Zhang Yu, creating an invisible no-man’s-land around him.
“That Old Wang… How can he be so petty,” Zhang Yu muttered.
But there was nothing he could do about it now. He simply lay back down on the ground to continue resting.
Before long, class was dismissed, and everyone began heading to the cafeteria.
After the crowd had dispersed, Zhou Tianyi walked over to Zhang Yu and gave him a thumbs-up. “Brave Warrior, have you bought your accident insurance yet?”
Zhang Yu slowly got to his feet and brushed off his pants. “What’s there to be afraid of? Once my cultivation improves and my grades soar, plenty of teachers will be eager to protect me.”
He confidently glanced at the Feather Book in his palm. His Physical Strength had already increased from 0.83 to 0.84.
And this progress was without any enhancers, medication, or dietary supplementation. The improvement came solely from practicing the Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening.
He figured that as the level of his Thirty-Six Forms of Body Strengthening continued to improve, the rate of his physical strength gains would also accelerate.
Just thinking about it, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel once again at his own terrifying potential.
Watching Zhang Yu suddenly break into a confident grin, Zhou Tianyi asked curiously, “Did you find a new supplier for medicine? Don’t forget your brother if you get your hands on something good.”
Zhang Yu clenched his fist and smiled faintly. “Kid, I’m talking about natural body refining!”
Outside the training room, Bai Zhenzhen was flushed from her intense body refinement session. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and her entire body radiated heat.
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 horde marching to the cafeteria. Arriving late, they could see a long line of students stretching from the cafeteria entrance at a distance.
However, as members of the Demonstration Class, Zhang Yu and his companions had priority access and could bypass the queue through the VIP channel.
The three of them strode into the cafeteria under the varied gazes of students from other classes.
How could one describe the feeling?
If Zhang Yu were to describe it, it would be like an Inner Sect Prodigy in a novel slowly entering the Immortal Gathering Pavilion for a meal, all under the gazes of outer sect disciples who were either envious, jealous, or convinced they could take their place.
As soon as they entered the cafeteria, Bai Zhenzhen announced, “I’m having a dietary supplementation today. I’m going to eat on the second floor.”
Dietary supplementation involved cooking ingredients rich in immortal cultivation elements with various medicines. This method effectively enhanced one’s physical constitution, replenished the body’s reserves after intense training, and boosted the efficiency of body refinement and Breathing Technique practice.
Dietary supplementation offered countless benefits for the Path to Immortality. The only reason Zhang Yu was not partaking was because it was too expensive. Utterly, ridiculously expensive.
A single meal costs at least several hundred, and dishes with rare ingredients could easily cost several thousand. Even in the past, when he had money from his huge loan, Zhang Yu could not bear to eat like this every day, let alone now.
Watching Bai Zhenzhen walk alone to the second floor, Zhang Yu sensed another divide between the cafeteria’s two floors, much like the separation between those inside the cafeteria and those in the queue outside.
But a doubt crept into Zhang Yu’s mind. Isn’t A-Zhen broke? How can she afford to eat on the second floor?
Shortly after lunch, Zhang Yu, who was taking his afternoon nap, was summoned to the teacher’s office.
A middle-aged man sipping tea glanced at Zhang Yu, who stood before his desk. “Teacher Wang Hai told me about what happened,” he said.
The man was Su Haifeng, the homeroom teacher of the Demonstration Class and also the Dean of the first-year class.
He looked at Zhang Yu with disappointment and said, “Do you remember what you told me during your interview?”
When the original Zhang Yu had interviewed for Songyang High School, Su Haifeng had been the lead interviewer sitting in the middle.
Hearing Su Haifeng’s words, Zhang Yu paused, slightly stunned. Although he had absorbed the original’s memories, many details were not instantly accessible.
Su Haifeng sighed. “I still remember you saying you wanted to get into a prestigious university.”
“During Physical Education, you refused to buy medicine or get enhancers. You even lay on the ground slacking off and talked back to the teacher. Is this the attitude of someone who wants to get into a prestigious university?”
Listening to the criticism, Zhang Yu was momentarily at a loss for how to explain himself. He could not very well say he was unable to afford medicine or enhancers because he was poor and useless, or that he had only treated his Physical Education class casually because his potential had been unlocked.
Sensing Zhang Yu’s silence, Su Haifeng sighed again and said, “Zhang Yu, your performance over the past three months has been excellent. I know you’re a good kid.”
“Has something happened at home recently?”
Zhang Yu looked up in surprise, feeling the genuine concern in Su Haifeng’s eyes. He could hardly believe it. “There are actually teachers in this insane school who care about their students?”
After a moment’s thought, he whispered, “Yes, I had a bit of a conflict with my family.”
“I’ll do my best to sort myself out and get back on track quickly.”
Though he felt the teacher’s concern, Zhang Yu could only offer a perfunctory answer for now. He figured that once his grades improved, he would no longer need to explain these difficult matters to his teacher.
Su Haifeng, however, frowned as if dissatisfied and said, annoyed, “What is there that you can’t tell your teacher?”
“Is it that your family’s financial situation has run into problems recently?”
“The loan platform’s debt collection calls have reached the school.”
“What?” Zhang Yu’s head snapped up. “Did they call you, Teacher?”
Su Haifeng nodded solemnly. “If they had not called me, I would not have known you owed so much money. Why did you never tell me?”
Zhang Yu stammered, “I…”
He truly had not considered what good it would do to tell the school. Given the general atmosphere at Songyang High School, he had assumed that revealing his situation would only make it worse.
But Su Haifeng sighed deeply, his gaze softening with fatherly compassion as he looked at Zhang Yu. “I know the school can be strict sometimes. You might have been afraid to tell us when something went wrong.”
“But you must remember that we are 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 poverty relief program I specifically applied for on your behalf. Please sign it right away.”
Zhang Yu reached out to take the document, looking at Su Haifeng with gratitude welling in his eyes. “Thank you, Teacher.”
He realized he had been wrong about the teachers at this school again.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, Even though there’s an unreliable guy like Wang Hai, there are also kindhearted elders like Teacher Su.
Su Haifeng smiled and waved his hand, handing over the pen. “Hurry up and sign.”
Zhang Yu lowered his head, his eyes scanning the document. Then he froze in place.
Su Haifeng chuckled. “What’s wrong? Hurry and sign it. I will try to submit it for you before I leave work.”
Zhang Yu’s voice was low. “Teacher, this looks like a debt restructuring contract. Did you give me the wrong document?”
Su Haifeng chuckled again. “Are poor students poor for any reason other than being in debt? By restructuring their debt, are we not helping them? That is what the poverty relief program is all about.”
Zhang Yu examined the contract’s contents. It detailed how all his debts would be consolidated and that the school would lend him a sum of money to repay them. From then on, his creditor would be the school.
He did a quick calculation of the restructured debt. After a mess of various charges were applied, including the principal interest, processing fees, and even predatory upfront deductions, the total seemed to have ballooned to over a million yuan.
What debt restructuring? This is just borrowing more money to pay off old debts!
He roared inwardly, Even the homeroom teacher is a loan shark, huh?
So this is how they operate, is it? Are there no normal teachers left in this godforsaken school?
Suppressing his anger, Zhang Yu exhaled and said, “Teacher, I have thought it over, and I think I will pass. I can repay this money myself.”
Su Haifeng coaxed him, “How can a child like you repay such a large sum? Just sign the contract. The school will shoulder this burden for you.”
“Do not worry, the school’s installment plan is very flexible.”
“No, Teacher. Really, I do not need it,” Zhang Yu insisted.
After refusing several times, Zhang Yu simply tossed the contract aside and fled the office.
Watching his retreating figure, Su Haifeng raised his teacup and gently blew on it.
A moment later, he picked up his vibrating phone and said, “He refused.”
“Hmm, I will try again in a little while.”
“Don’t worry. The Poor… they eventually break under the pressure from the debt collection companies. They always come begging for a loan in the end.”
