Ch. 287 - Fixed Price, One Billion, Send the Money

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"Why are you running, kid?!"

Liu Feng's mouth twitched. And the way Chen Shu ran — the guy looked like a career criminal.

"Stop!"

A minute later, Liu Feng finally got Chen Shu under control.

Just as he was about to speak, the space in front of him tore open, and a pair of intelligent eyes stared him down.

"Holy crap, what the hell?!"

Liu Feng jumped back in alarm, retreating several steps.

Seeing Chen Shu about to bolt again, he lunged forward and pinned him down.

Liu Feng furrowed his brow. "Why are you running, kid? I'm Liu Feng, a professor at Huaxia Academy!"

Chen Shu looked at the man's menacing appearance and muttered, "You sure you're a professor? You look more like a criminal to me..."

"Cut the crap, kid!"

Liu Feng stroked his chin and got straight to the point. "Be my student!"

"Huh? What?"

Liu Feng cracked a grin. "All freshmen can choose a professor as their advisor. I think you've got potential — you're my kind of guy!"

"You've heard my story?"

Chen Shu raised an eyebrow, then added, "My eyes aren't exactly brimming with stories, are they?"

"..."

Liu Feng cleared his throat. "I watched your gaokao video. Gave you full marks, too. Pretty decent of me, right?"

His gaze shifted — and landed on Li Shan and the others still standing there. He barked:

"You three, get lost! Getting strung up and beaten by a freshman — you're an embarrassment to me!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The three scurried off, practically tripping over themselves. The looks they shot Chen Shu were full of gratitude.

"Well... being your student isn't entirely out of the question..."

Chen Shu breathed an inward sigh of relief. If this guy wasn't an enemy, then he had nothing to fear.

"It's just that I've been a little short on cash lately..."

Chen Shu rubbed his hands together, his eyes practically glowing.

"Fixed price. One billion. Send the money.[1]"

"??"

Liu Feng's eyes went wide. He looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was the first time anyone had ever dared demand money from him.

He pointed at himself. "One billion? I give you?"

Chen Shu nodded calmly. Since the guy wanted him as a student this badly, naturally he'd use the opportunity to squeeze out some cash.

"Teacher, taking on a disciple comes with a Disciple Acceptance Fee. One billion — perfectly reasonable!"

"Heh... heh..."

Liu Feng looked Chen Shu up and down. "I've only ever heard of an Apprenticeship Fee. Since when does a Disciple Acceptance Fee exist?"

Chen Shu replied, "That's because you don't know me. If you knew me, you'd have heard of it long ago."

"Kid, you have no idea who I am?"

A dangerous glint flashed in Liu Feng's eyes. His Gold-rank aura spread outward, enough to make anyone's spirit tremble.

Chen Shu remained completely unruffled. The Nanjiang Bandit's psychological fortitude was no joke. He stared right back — even raised an eyebrow.

"Chen Pi!"

Just then, a voice rang out.

Fang Si came running over. She'd spotted Liu Feng and Chen Shu from a distance, and a thread of worry had crept in.

Had Chen Shu already managed to provoke Professor Liu Feng?

"Professor Liu!"

Fang Si ran up and subtly positioned herself in front of Chen Shu.

"Little Fang Si? This guy's a friend of yours?"

Liu Feng raised an eyebrow. The earlier menace faded right back.

Fang Si spoke up. "Professor Liu, he's my little brother. Did he offend you? I'll apologize on his behalf!"

"Not at all. Your brother's pretty impressive!"

Liu Feng chuckled. The fact that Chen Shu wasn't the slightest bit afraid of him only made him more determined to take the kid on as a student.

"Kid, if your enrollment performance is good enough... the Disciple Acceptance Fee isn't off the table!"

Liu Feng nodded, clapped Chen Shu on the shoulder, and turned to leave.

"Disciple Acceptance Fee?"

Fang Si turned to look at him, completely mystified.

Chen Shu shrugged. "He wanted me to be his student. Obviously I'd charge for that. No problem, right?"

Fang Si's eyes bulged. She looked Chen Shu up and down, then reached out and checked under his nose.

She muttered, "Still breathing..."

"..."

Chen Shu's mouth twitched. "Is he really that scary? He seemed pretty amiable to me."

"Heh heh..."

Fang Si gave him a thumbs up. "You have truly never died before!"

"Professor Liu Feng's temper is notorious across the entire school. And you actually dared provoke him?"

Chen Shu said offhandedly, "Anyone bullies me, I'll just blow up Huaxia Academy."

"??"

Fang Si went silent for a moment, then said, "Sis recommends — when you pick an advisor, pick Professor Liu Feng!"

"Don't go wrecking the other teachers."

"..."

She shook her head. "Forget it. That's all enrollment stuff for later. Let's go find Dali first."

"The three of us haven't gotten together in ages!"

The two of them drove straight out of Huaxia Academy and headed for Capital Spirit Chef University.

When they reached the school gate, Chen Shu glanced out the car window — and happened to spot a guy with fiery red hair.

"Fang Si, who's that?"

He asked. It was the same guy who'd been driving the sports car earlier.

Fang Si turned to look. Battle intent flickered in her eyes. "Ling Chen! Just graduated. Huaxia Academy's number one genius!"

"Number one genius?"

Chen Shu rubbed his chin and sighed. "Lucky for him I hadn't enrolled yet."

"Give me a break!"

Fang Si shook her head. "He hit Silver rank in his junior year. He's probably Silver Three Stars by now."

She herself was outstandingly talented — a top-tier genius at Huaxia Academy. But some people were called monsters. There was a gap between the two.

Fang Si seemed to remember something. "He's a Dragon Guard in Capital now, actually. You might end up crossing paths."

Chen Shu was baffled. "We don't even know each other. How would we cross paths?"

"He's a soldier. You're a bandit. You'll cross paths eventually."

"..."

An hour later.

Zhang Dali was squatting outside the school gate, bored out of his mind, fiddling with the iron wok in his hands. He was clearly waiting for Chen Shu and Fang Si.

Just then, a male student with a dark expression walked straight toward him.

Bang!

Zhang Dali didn't see it coming. The wok in his hands was sent flying dozens of meters.

"Holy crap!"

The guy's eyes filled with agony. His right foot kept twitching and trembling uncontrollably.

"What the hell kind of wok is this?!"

His mouth twitched. He'd assumed it was an ordinary wok — wanted to establish dominance with a casual kick. Instead, he'd kicked solid steel.

"Classmate, you okay?"

Zhang Dali immediately stood up, his face full of apology.

Just as the guy opened his mouth to answer—

Zhang Dali swung a giant wok ladle straight at the guy's head.

The earlier question had been purely to lower his guard.

The guy clearly had bad intentions. Zhang Dali naturally struck first.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"How the hell is your head so hard?!"

Zhang Dali gripped the ladle with both hands and smashed down five or six times.

Seeing that he hadn't actually hurt the guy, he took advantage of the guy's dazed state and made a clean getaway.

The whole sequence was smooth as flowing water. Not quite Nanjiang Bandit level, but definitely channeling the spirit.

"You motherf—!"

Zhong Weixing clutched his head, unable to hold back the cries of pain.

He'd never expected to get ambushed by a goddamn ordinary person!

[1] 收徒费 vs 拜师费 (shōu tú fèi vs bài shī fèi): "Disciple Acceptance Fee" vs "Apprenticeship Fee." The traditional arrangement is 拜师费 — the student pays the teacher for the privilege of apprenticeship. Chen Shu flips this entirely, inventing 收徒费 — the teacher pays the student for the privilege of accepting them. Liu Feng's baffled "Since when?" reaction underscores how absurd this is. It's pure Bandit Logic: market demand means the seller (Chen Shu) sets the price, even when the "product" is himself.