Study Monster Cultivation System

Chapter 92 - 092 Here at Laozi’s, there is only the Academy.

"I admit, I also misjudged Li Zheng," Yu Hong nodded, "Teacher Sun Leyang thinks highly of him, and you also do your best to provide him with the right environment. Although it’s unlikely he’ll win an award this year, it’s still worth trying his hardest."

"Good, I’ll definitely support that," Tang Zhifei nodded earnestly, "I can even approve his leave to study at home."

"Hmm, it’s not easy for our school to have two students capable of competing," Yu Hong then stood up, "I’m going to see the principal now to see if he can reimburse their material fees."

"Is that possible?"

"Of course, a full set of materials costs nearly a thousand yuan," Yu Hong muttered, "And that’s not even including the tuition fees for the training classes."

"Then I’ll also give Li Zheng’s parents a heads up."

"Sure, go ahead, you’re busy. Just make sure to convince Lin Yujing."

"Definitely."

After seeing off Yu Hong, Tang Zhifei returned to his desk and unlocked his phone.

Lin Yujing’s parents were in the class group but had never spoken.

They had never participated in the notice chains.

Unapproachably cool.

Even their professions weren’t listed in the admission documents.

Could they be from the intelligence department...

Or super spies.

These kinds of mysterious big shots.

Brought up suddenly because of a chemistry competition.

Would it annoy them?

Get eliminated?

Tang Zhifei burst into silly laughter.

This imagination was indeed too much.

After much dilemma, she finally clicked on Lin Yujing’s mother’s WeChat.

Shen Tinglan, with a profile picture of a blue sky.

No extra information or statuses.

Completely unguessable.

She sent a message with trepidation.

[Hello Lin Yujing’s parent, Lin Yujing’s grades in all subjects are outstanding, especially mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Next month is the preliminary round of the National Chemistry Olympiad. This competition is very beneficial for college admissions; winning an award would allow her to take part in autonomous enrollment at prestigious schools.

Lin Yujing has a great chance, and the school would like to sign her up for the competition. We’d like to hear your opinion.]

It took over ten minutes to get a response.

[Jingjing will decide on her own, thank you for the school’s concern.]

And that was it.

Tang Zhifei exhaled in relief.

Indeed, hands-off parents.

Should she tell them about the early romance?

While she was hesitating, a particularly unreliable man sent several messages in a row.

[Li Yi: Haha, that kid is going to participate in the chemistry competition? Him?]

[Li Yi: Is it for real? Is our school only sending him? Doesn’t seem right, does it?]

[Li Yi: I mean no offense, but we need to buy study materials, right? That’s a big expense. I’m just checking with you to confirm.]

[Li Yi: So it’s really just him competing?]

Tang Zhifei scratched her head.

Such over-involvement is also annoying.

Plus, that was an alarmingly fast response.

No wonder he’s known as our Ren University’s mad Brother Li.

…

At the end of school, Yu Hong made a special trip and announced loudly that the principal had approved a special grant of 1000 yuan each toward their competition expenses, which could be spent on books or classes, with reimbursement upon presenting receipt.

No one knew about the competition before Yu Hong’s announcement, but his shout caused a stir in the classroom and everyone swarmed to Li Zheng’s desk.

"Are you really going to compete?"

"I can understand Lin Yujing... but are you serious, Li Zheng?"

"I heard winning an award isn’t that hard."

"Didn’t the bonus points for competitions decrease with our cohort?"

"Aren’t these competitions exclusive to schools like Ren Da Fu?"

After much explaining, Li Zheng finally looked over at Lin Yujing’s seat.

She had already left.

It seemed like no one really crowded around her.

Apart from Qiao Bixia and Xu Mengxi, she really had no friends...

Thinking about this, Li Zheng felt some regret.

He might have been too harsh.

She probably felt uncomfortable facing Teacher Mengxi now.

In the midst of his annoyance, someone suddenly tapped Li Zheng on the shoulder.

"Hello." Chen Jinyu waved her phone, "Haven’t accepted my friend request yet?"

Li Zheng looked up, realizing he’d never really paid attention to the English class representative before.

Now that he did, he noticed her deep-set eyes and thick eyelashes, laden with a somber air and possessing a rather aggressive gaze.

At the same time, Zhang Xiaoke’s voice, filled with hostility, came from beside them.

"Wuwu..."

It seemed like Zhang Xiaoke also shared this feeling and was even more sensitive to it than he was.

Li Zheng then asked, "What’s up?"

"Can’t I add you on WeChat if there’s nothing up?" Chen Jinyu replied with a smile, nudging Li Zheng’s desk.

As Li Zheng packed up his bag, he responded, "Well, let’s wait until there is something then."

"Hey! You…" Chen Jinyu blushed in frustration, but couldn’t find a good retort.

In fact, she hadn’t given Li Zheng a second look for over a year.

It was only recently that she felt a sudden interest and wanted to grant him a spot on her friend list.

But he was not receptive.

Chen Jinyu stamped her foot in anger, ready to leave.

However, she saw Zhang Xiaoke grab Li Zheng’s arm, chuckling, "Master, ignore her, let’s continue studying."

Li Zheng smiled and picked up his pencil case, "Ah, since you mentioned it, can’t help it, I’ll join you for a bit of evening study."

"Hehe~~" Zhang Xiaoke couldn’t help but give Chen Jinyu a smug glance.

Chen Jinyu’s face froze.

Trying this with me?

Not leaving anymore.

She squeezed back in and squatted next to Li Zheng, muttering, "I have a middle school classmate who’s also in the chemistry competition, I was thinking of introducing you guys, so they could share some experiences."

"Oh? Isn’t that something," Li Zheng immediately whipped out his phone, "What’s your name?"

"Royal~" Chen Jinyu said, while giving Zhang Xiaoke a wink.

Zhang Xiaoke instantly got furious.

Really pulling that harem move?

Think I can’t compete?

"Master!" Zhang Xiaoke quickly pressed down on Li Zheng’s phone, "I have 200 classmates in the chemistry competition, and that’s not all, I even know seven provincial top scorers."

"!!!" Li Zheng felt a shock run through his body, his hair almost standing on end, "Are you for real?"

Unable to contain herself, Chen Jinyu slammed the desk and cursed, "Zhang Xiaoke, are you doing this on purpose? Where did these seven provincial top scorers pop up from? Are you growing gourd babies?"

"Ho, ho," Zhang Xiaoke just laughed, not angry in the slightest, "What’s the logic here? Getting all worked up and tearing into me just like that? A bit green, no?"

"Zhang Xiaoke!" Chen Jinyu was so mad she grabbed her hair.

Caught in the middle, Li Zheng felt somewhat baffled, yet he faintly sensed a bit of rivalry for favor.

No wonder the Emperors in those harem dramas always look so worried all year round.

He quickly shook his head.

The heck with a harem.

This is the Academy.

"Representative Chen." Li Zheng immediately raised his hand to set boundaries, "If there’s anything, just @ me in the group chat."

"..." Chen Jinyu stared at Li Zheng, her face turning steel blue.

Fine, be that way.

Just wait, after midterms I’ll sit at your desk.

Then we’ll see if you relent or not.

"Fine, no English reading materials for you then." Chen Jinyu flipped her hair angrily and walked away.

"Ah…" Li Zheng looked on regretfully, feeling an urge to get up.

"Hey hey hey, English materials are easy to find." Zhang Xiaoke immediately pulled Li Zheng back, licking her lips before saying, "Given the situation, I should probably tell you my secret now."

"Hmm, I have an idea." Li Zheng nodded as well.

"Ah?" Zhang Xiaoke covered her mouth in surprise, "You could guess that?"

Li Zheng nodded and spoke with a hint of mystery.

"Your behavior is quite odd."

"First, you’re unwilling to divulge which school you’re from."

"Second, your grasp of knowledge far exceeds what the entrance exam showed."

"Third, you know provincial top scorers."

Taking all that into consideration, it’s not difficult to deduce."

Li Zheng chuckled, "You’re a repeater."

"Get out! All wrong."

Li Zheng was startled, "A retake student?"

"That’s enough!"