Chapter 343 : As Long as You Gather Sons Well, You Will Definitely Have No Lack of Descendants

"Lin Li, you really came to join the competition too. Scoring first in the grade for the midterms is truly amazing."

The ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍second person from another class to greet Lin Li was Yao Qiaoqiao, who arrived quite late.

"Thanks," ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Lin Li, who was currently whispering back and forth with Chen Yuying, looked up upon hearing this. After offering a somewhat perfunctory expression of gratitude, he noticed that Yao Qiaoqiao didn't have any other girls around her, so he jerked his thumb toward the back and shared Chen Tianming's information: "Tianming is in the back, you can go sit with him."

Chen ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Tianming currently owed him a kowtow; Lin Li would proactively note it down for him first.

"Chen ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Tianming came too?" Yao Qiaoqiao was somewhat surprised. She lifted her head and looked toward the back, after which she presumably spotted him and waved her hand at Chen Tianming.

It ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍looked like Chen Tianming hadn't told her in advance that he was coming.

"But ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍it's fine, I want to sit in the front. Classmate, is the seat next to you taken? If not, could you let me squeeze in to sit there? Thank you."

Yao Qiaoqiao then asked a girl in the first row. Upon receiving an answer, she sat down in the empty seat next to her.

Seeing this scene, Lin Li looked back out of curiosity toward the very back row.

Sure enough, Chen Tianming currently had his palms pressed together, bowing like a Buddhist devotee toward Zhang Haoyang with an incredibly pleading expression, occasionally pointing toward other locations in the multi-function hall.

Although he couldn't hear it, the guy was definitely calling him 'dad.'

From this day forward, Chen Tianming was no longer his brother; he was his grand-nephew.

Meanwhile, Zhang Haoyang met Tianming's gestures with a cold, fierce glare, rolling his eyes so far back into his head that they almost hit the sky, remaining completely unmoved.

Lin Li felt thoroughly satisfied. Turning back around, he prepared to continue whispering small, intimate secrets with Chen Yuying—

Wait.

Just now... when he was looking at Chen Tianming and Zhang Haoyang, did his peripheral vision catch something rather amiss?

Thinking up to this point, Lin Li, who had just turned back, whipped his head right back around once more.

Holy crap!

Wang Yuezhi, what the hell is up with that expression of yours?

How incredibly gloomy, resentful, sorrowful, and hopeless—it gave off the exact kind of hysterical vibe one would have after getting explosive diarrhea in an outdoor public restroom only to realize they brought neither their phone nor any tissues.

This guy truly hid a raging lion in his eyes.

No wonder his back had felt chilly this entire time. Turns out it wasn't because some female ghost was clinging to his spine, but rather Wang Yuezhi's death stare?

When their eyes met, Wang Yuezhi immediately lowered his head, but his slightly clenched fists displayed the lack of peace within his heart.

Lin Li also turned back around, but he secretly materialized the "Duck Blood Bottle" under the desk and began to vacuum up the negative emotions.

As for why Wang Yuezhi had suddenly turned out like this, as a fellow Lunchtime Brother, Lin Li could naturally tell at a single glance.

How did that saying go again? —"Brother, are you unhappy lately? I noticed you don't really smile anymore, could it be just because I married your goddess?"

Although the "Duck Blood Bottle" only treated the symptoms rather than the root cause, and the absorbed negative emotions would bound to regenerate sooner or later, being able to feel comfortable for a brief moment was still a win.

He hoped this wouldn't destroy the bond of the Lunchtime Trio.

Zhizi, can we still meet again tomorrow at noon? When we meet again, you have to be happy, you have to be blessed, alright?

It was fully vacuumed—Lin Li usually kept one-third credibility and one-third rage prepared inside it at all times, leaving only one-third of storage space, which wasn't a lot.

But even though it was only one-third, the "Duck Blood Bottle" had scaled up quite well alongside Lin Li's growth. It could only be said that Wang Yuezhi was still terrifyingly intense.

However, because of this, the guy ultimately calmed down a great deal, causing Zhuo Yongfei beside him to feel somewhat astonished.

Zhuo Yongfei: Could growing up truly be something that happens in a single moment?

"Tap, tap, tap."

The hollow sounding footsteps walking over the wooden podium brackets were, to students, practically equivalent to a song set as an alarm clock—extremely piercing to the ear.

The crowd that had still been casually chatting instantly fell silent, looking toward the podium desk.

The teacher who had walked past the door earlier without entering now stepped inside. After plugging his USB flash drive into the multimedia system, he sequentially carried several thick stacks of paper resembling exam sheets to the first row, giving directions: "One copy per person, pass them along to the back."

Lin Li quickly received a copy as well.

It was a 'PPT' packet bound together by staples—each page arranged twelve slides of the PPT, clearly serving as the textbook for the competition tutoring.

"Everyone should be more or less fully accounted for by now. Students in the back, try your best to sit a bit closer to the front."

The teacher stepped onto the podium to start operating the multimedia system, speaking into the microphone at the same time.

Lin Li looked back, only to find that Chen Tianming and Zhang Haoyang were no longer in the very back row. Scanning around, they had unexpectedly already moved to the fourth row.

Right now, Chen Tianming was looking incredibly smug as he claimed credit, while Zhang Haoyang offered a perfunctory smile.

It looked like they hadn't moved just now, but rather Chen Tianming's pleading had taken effect moments ago.

"Everyone has received the PPT, right? If anyone hasn't, come up and get it yourself later. Time is tight and the task is heavy, and everyone knows what we're here for. My surname is Hua, you can just call me Teacher Hua directly. We will start the lesson right now."

After a simple self-introduction, Hua Ming went straight to the heart of the matter: "Look directly at the first slide of the PPT—"

"Class Monitor, I think we should call him Teacher Old-Handsome instead, what do you think?" At this time, Lin Li leaned his body slightly to the left, speaking at the same time.

"Why?" Chen Yuying also leaned over toward this side, feeling somewhat bewildered.

She lifted her head and took another look.

Hua Ming had reached middle age, his looks no longer had anything to do with being handsome, and he was even balding.

Ten thousand Hua Mings couldn't even compare to one Lin Li.

"Because he's balding," Lin Li blinked.

"Eh?"

Chen Yuying: "..."

Following the silence, once she caught onto the wordplay, Chen Yuying lowered her head and let out a soft chuckle.

Lin Li truly knew how to dissect characters.

"Pay proper attention to the lesson."

...

"Let's take a break. Those who need to use the restroom go ahead, those who want to get water get water, and you can also work on the example problem on page 19 in advance. If anyone has questions, come up and ask me."

Two minutes after the bell signaling the end of the first period of evening self-study rang, Hua Ming finally finished explaining the slide displayed on the screen. He sat down and opened his water cup, speaking to the crowd.

This class taught entirely new competition-oriented knowledge. As for the extensions based on old knowledge, those would be taught after everyone had gone through the practice problems once; the effect would be much better that way.

Therefore, even though it had only been fifty minutes, the content covered was actually quite substantial.

During normal classes, the levels of everyone in the classroom would be taken into consideration, and simple concepts would be explained repeatedly, but right now it wasn't like that at all.

What was demanded was a high level.

Hence, almost everything was glossed over in a single pass.

The knowledge entered without a single bit of foreplay, being incredibly aggressive, resulting in not a single drop of moisture remaining in the brain. Being violated by knowledge like this felt a bit uncomfortable, causing the head to feel swollen—it had probably been battered into a swelling.

Therefore, after Hua Ming finished saying that anyone with doubts could go ask him, a good number of students immediately surged forward, forming a tight circle around him.

Lin Li was doing fine, being completely able to keep up and handling it with plenty of room to spare.

His memory and comprehension skills were exceptionally useful at a time like this.

Stretching his back, Lin Li looked toward Chen Yuying.

Chen Yuying currently had one hand clenched into a fist resting against her upper lip, while her other hand held a pen, lightly tapping her forehead with the pen cap as her gaze remained fixed on page 19, seemingly already deep in thought.

The two of them were very attentive during class. After making the Old-Handsome joke, over the course of the fifty minutes, they only occasionally whispered a few sentences, the content still revolving around the knowledge points on the PPT.

"I'll go get some water for you."

Glancing at the problem on page 19, Lin Li already knew the train of thought. Seeing Chen Yuying looking so attentive, Lin Li picked up both of their water cups and stood up.

"Okay~" Chen Yuying looked up at Lin Li amidst her busy thinking, offering a sweet smile.

After returning from getting water and having Xiao Tingbai help hand it over, seeing that Chen Yuying was still writing, Lin Li wasn't in a hurry to return to his seat, instead walking over to the fourth row.

"Damn it, what the hell have you been doing during class?"

When Lin Li spotted the stickman war on Zhang Haoyang's PPT, and saw that he was still drawing it right now, he couldn't help but laugh and curse.

As for Chen Tianming, he had written quite a few notes on his PPT, and was currently scratching his head in frustration.

"If I had known, I would have brought my regular homework over," Zhang Haoyang let out a sigh. "The fourth row is still too far forward, there's absolutely no way to sleep. It's all Chen Tianming's fault for insisting on dragging me to sit here, I really miss the back row..."

"It can only be said that for the sake of a son, my sacrifices are still far too great."

"So it really has already become a father-son relationship?" Lin Li asked with a smile upon hearing this. "Hey, Tianming, speaking of it this way, doesn't that make Wang Ze your grandfather?"

—During the Mid-Autumn Festival, because of a curse-laden blessing, Wang Ze had become Zhang Haoyang's dad, supposedly on a permanent basis.

At this moment, Chen Tianming lifted his head, beginning to introduce himself: "Me, Chen Tianming,"

"Hmm?" Lin Li didn't understand why Chen Tianming was suddenly pulling this stunt.

But very quickly, Lin Li found out.

Because after Chen Tianming introduced himself, he saw him point toward Zhang Haoyang — "My stepdad, Haoyang."

After introducing himself like this, Chen Tianming's brows knit slightly as he leaned his body back, lowering his left hand to adjust his ball track, rearranging his baggage. His brows unfurled, his expression completely at ease.

Lin Li, Zhang Haoyang: "(；☉_☉)?"

What kind of stuff just entered their ears?

Why did it feel even more like an assault than the knowledge from earlier?

"Holy crap!!"

"Not bad, haha—"

When Lin Li and Zhang Haoyang snapped out of their daze, the emotions of the two were rather different—Zhang Haoyang's eyes were wide with rage, while Lin Li was thoroughly amused.

"Tianming? Your what feels so itchy?" Lin Li asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Doesn't matter, it's not itchy anymore, I already scratched it." Chen Tianming waved his hand.

"Hey! Speaking of it this way, Wang Ze's stepson also feels itchy!" Lin Li added.

"It really is!"

"Holy crap! You two are absolute dumbasses! Dammit! For the first time ever, I can't look at my own name normally! I am 'the vast ocean filling the chests of you two lowlifes,' I am 'even the smallest sail can journey far'! It's not 'good and damn itchy'! Chen Tianming, you truly deserve to die, I shouldn't have come to the front with you!"

Zhang Haoyang roared, unable to contain himself.

Especially right now, Lin Li! Lin Li! A disaster of a human being like Lin Li was also present!

It was all over!

Dammit, if those few bastards didn't say a few lines like "my lower half feels itchy" in front of him this week, Zhang Haoyang would straight up eat crap.

"Tianming's stepdad Haoyang, these words of yours are going too far. Don't forget who Tianming's mom is. His mom is dead, do you want to be a widower?" Lin Li teased.

"Oh, that's fine, my wife is Sankarea Rea. She's a zombie, she's already dead." Zhang Haoyang was completely indifferent to this.

"Damn it, you changed wives again? Wasn't your wife a destroyer just a few days ago?" Lin Li laughed and cursed.

"Stop worrying about Haoyang's wife. Lin Li, how exactly was this conclusion derived? I can't really make sense of it." Chen Tianming clutched Lin Li's clothes to pull him downward, asking at the same time.

"Let me take a look, oh, it's just this condition over here, the teacher wrote it in a rather abbreviated way..."

"Oh—got it." Chen Tianming nodded.

"The power of a simp is truly remarkable, to actually allow someone to work this hard." Lin Li looked at the hardworking Chen Tianming with deep admiration.

Chen Tianming flipped him the bird.

The break only lasted a few minutes to begin with. Seeing that it was about time, Lin Li returned to his seat.

Chen Yuying was still performing calculations for the PPT problem on her scratch paper, seemingly having hit a bottleneck, as her fractions were being written in a more and more complicated manner.

"Lin Li, did I do it wrong?" Noticing Lin Li's gaze, Chen Yuying looked up to ask.

"Not exactly, the train of thought is perfectly fine. Calculating down along this line can also yield the result, it's just rather troublesome. If you find the right method for this problem, it can be resolved in three steps. If you alter this condition slightly, look, can't it be plugged into that formula from earlier?"

"Oh—" Chen Yuying suddenly saw the light.

Following that, she pouted her lower lip slightly, looking somewhat downcast: "How did I not think of that."

Tsk tsk, wanted to kiss her.

It felt like everyone wanted to, let's mention something they didn't want.

Didn't want to stop.

Seeing that Hua Ming was surrounded by layers of students and definitely wasn't looking here, Lin Li ruffled Chen Yuying's head, comforting her: "It's fine baby, for you to be able to calculate up to this step is already very impressive. Even if Stephen Hawking were resurrected, if he saw this problem, forget about taking three steps, he wouldn't even be able to take a single step forward."

Chen Yuying: "..."

What a merit-deducting word of comfort.

...

"We'll stop here for tonight."

When Hua Ming clicked to the next slide of the PPT, he directly exited full-screen mode, implying it was over. Checking the time and seeing it was about right, he spoke: "You had best preview the upcoming content. Take some time to work through the example problems on there when you can, otherwise it'll be easy to fall behind the pace on Tuesday."

There was no such concept as homework for competition tutoring; everything relied entirely on self-discipline.

The time was now 9:23, with twenty-seven minutes remaining before the end of the second period of evening self-study and school dismissal, so they certainly couldn't just head straight toward the dorms or the cafeteria; they still had to return to the classroom.

Walking to the door of Class Four with Chen Yuying, because she saw Xue Jian unexpectedly sitting at the podium desk, Chen Yuying poked Lin Li, then poked toward the door.

Lin Li understandingly entered the classroom through the back door, while Chen Yuying entered through the front door.

Returning to his seat, he spotted a tombstone folded out of cardstock placed on his desk—"Tomb of Lin Li."

Beside the tomb, offerings were also arranged, looking quite bountiful: gummy candies, biscuits, Ocean Spray juice—all of the above had already been completely eaten and drunk, leaving behind only the packaging bags or bottles.

He could guess the true culprit at a single glance.

His tomb was definitely built by Bai Bufan, and his offerings were definitely stolen and eaten by Zhou Baowei.

Lin Li couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of junkyard his seat would turn into if he were to take a day off in the future.

Because Xue Jian was right there on the platform, Lin Li merely lifted his foot and kicked Bai Bufan's rear through the gap between the chair back and the seat cushion.

"Geography homework has been collected. I saw that you wrote it, so I helped you turn it in." After Lin Li sat down, Bai Bufan reminded him.

"Good job, Bruce," Lin Li offered his thanks.

"How was the competition tutoring?"

"Super fun. You really could proactively apply to come over just like Tianming, you won't lose out. I guarantee it with my lifelong illustrious reputation."

"Since you put it that way, even a dog wouldn't go." Bai Bufan chuckled.

"Fine."

The two wanted to keep chatting, but Xue Jian had already risen from the podium and begun to patrol around the classroom.

Bai Bufan suddenly found it a bit hard to contain himself.

"What's wrong?"

"Lin Li," only after Xue Jian walked down the aisle between rows one and two did Bai Bufan lean over: "Xue Jian hasn't patrolled once the entire evening. The moment you six came back, he started patrolling. Lin Li, do you know what this signifies?"

"Of course I know," Lin Li knit his brows, letting out a sigh, feeling a sense of disappointment towards Class Four: "Chen Tianming, Zhang Haoyang, Wang Yuezhi, Zhuo Yongfei, Chen Yuying—when on earth will these five finally let Old Master Jian catch a break! Honestly!"

Bai Bufan gave a thumbs up: "Logical."

Zhou Baowei perked up his large ears: "Cake? Where is there cake? Give me a piece!"

Hearing the whispering over here, Xue Jian, who was in the aisle between rows one and two, whipped his head around and urgently walked over toward this side.

...

The dismissal bell rang.

"Heading home. Remember to send me the breakfast list."

"Got it."

Twirling his bicycle key around his finger, Lin Li rose and walked outside.

There was no need to wait for Chen Yuying.

Normally speaking, couples in a boarding school would generally either head to the cafeteria or the sports field together after school, or return to the dorms together; in short, they should be together.

But after chatting over the weekend, both of them felt that this was unnecessary.

Firstly, Lin Li was a day student, and the cafeteria and dorms were located in the exact opposite direction of the main school gate. Chen Yuying felt that this would be too troublesome for Lin Li.

Secondly, the two of them were in the very same class, not even being in a cross-class relationship. The time they could spend together normally was more than enough, so they didn't care about this brief moment.

It wasn't like they were looking for a spot to make out.

Thirdly, Lin Li was worried that if he replaced the positions of Ding Sihan and Qu Wanqiu, those two evil daughters would whisper wicked things into Chen Yuying's ear.

Therefore, not just after school, but including everyday meals, both of them felt that maintaining the default routine from before was most suitable.

Lin Li would continue to freely go out by himself or head to the cafeteria with Bai Bufan and the guys, while Chen Yuying would also continue to exchange affection with Ding Sihan.

Whatever felt comfortable worked best. If they wanted to eat together or walk together, they could just say so in advance.

"Clang—"

Just as Lin Li reached the back door, he saw Wang Yuezhi rushing out from the front door.

It's no crime for a man to cry.

His own duck blood bottle was already full, so he couldn't help even if he wanted to.

But when Lin Li reached the stairwell, he was surprised to find that Wang Yuezhi was waiting for him with both fists tightly clenched.

The two were like Xiahou Dun looking at Yang Jian—their eyes locked.

Holy crap, Wang Yuezhi wasn't about to pick a fight with him, was he?

Then Lin Li would be very worried that after finishing the fight, he would have to kneel down and beg, 'Brother Wang, please don't die'...

"Lin Li..." Wang Yuezhi spoke.

Lin Li's expression was alert as he took a step back.

Seeing this, Wang Yuezhi finally made up his mind. A fierce look crossed his eyes as he swung a fist right over.

After the swing, the stifled anger in his chest was completely vented.

"Treat her well! I will keep watching you! Always! I haven't given up!"

After saying this, Wang Yuezhi used his forearm to block his own eyes horizontally, running toward the stairwell and rapidly disappearing from sight.

Lin Li: "(；☉_☉)?"

Scratching his head, Lin Li was a bit dumbfounded.

This plotline was quite classic. In old-school idol dramas, whenever there was a love triangle, the second male lead would very easily pull this kind of stunt.

Giving the male lead a punch indicated that all of his dissatisfaction, reluctance, and resentment were contained within this single punch. After the punch, he would no longer hold a grudge, remaining friends, and from then on sincerely blessing the male lead and female lead.

But...

Setting aside the question of whether the relationship between Wang Yuezhi and himself was that of a male lead and a second male lead.

Wang Yuezhi.

What the hell did you mean by giving yourself a slap just now, were you high on something???

You gave yourself a slap, finished speaking your own lines, and then ran off directly by yourself.

Dammit, you acted out the entire scene all by yourself. In whose idol drama does the male lead have absolutely zero lines and zero actions?

Was he here to act as an NPC watching a cutscene?

Lin Li shook his head, then found it a bit amusing. Old Wang's behavior was actually rather cute.

He truly was a certified lunchtime-exclusive good brother.

Just a minor episode. Lin Li continued walking toward the stairwell, heading downstairs.

Lin Li: "?"

—He spotted Wang Yuezhi again on the first floor.

Right now, Wang Yuezhi was clutching his own leg, acting exactly like the classic Peter Griffin holding his knee to stall time in Family Guy, clutching his leg while groaning in pain.

"Classmate, are you okay?" A girl beside him was currently showing concern.

"What happened?" Lin Li inquired.

"This classmate was running down just now without looking where he was going, and then he wiped out," the girl explained the scene she had witnessed.

Lin Li: "..."

Dammit! Watch where you're going, brother!

"It's fine, I just banged it, hiss—I'll be fine after resting for a bit, thanks!" Wang Yuezhi's voice was miserable, looking neither at the girl nor at Lin Li.

Lin Li silently turned around: "I'll go call Zhuo Yongfei to send you back to the dorm..."

(End of Chapter)