Chapter 94: Zhang Yu’s Temptation
At Purple Cloud High School, a photograph was currently displayed on Le Mulan’s phone screen.
The photo showed a smiling Zhang Yu standing at the entrance of a general store, giving a thumbs-up to the camera.
The text below the photo read: Gaofeng Stationery, the best stationery store at the entrance of Songyang High School. The owner is super nice, the items are great value for money, and I strongly recommend everyone to check it out.
Two slender fingers pressed against the screen and stretched, enlarging the photo until Zhang Yu’s image filled the entire display.
After a long moment, her fingers swiped, and a new set of photos appeared.
She tapped open the first photo, which showed Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, taking a selfie in front of the White Dragon High School gate.
The second photo was of Bai Zhenzhen hugging an oversized bottle filled with an energy drink.
The third photo showed Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen sitting back-to-back, surrounded by a circle of drink bottles, with a speechless-looking Song Hailong at the edge of the frame.
The text below read: At White Dragon High School again. The energy drinks here are really potent and delicious. I have to bring back several full barrels every time I come. I’m a White Dragon monthly subscriber, so contact me directly if you want me to bring some back.
The slender fingers once again enlarged the images of Zhang Yu in the photos, lingering for a long time before swiping to the next set of pictures.
This set of photos captured the night view of Songyang City, apparently taken from a tall building in the suburbs.
The center of the shot was the Central Tower, soaring into the clouds as if reaching for the heavens. Not far from it stood the Oasis Tower, currently under construction. Surrounding them were various skyscrapers shimmering with neon lights, which gradually faded into the darker suburban areas… a progression from light to dark that outlined the nightscape of Songyang City.
The text below read: Songyang at 4 AM. You can choose to mess around for 3 years, or you can choose to struggle for 3 years. If you mess around for 3 years, you might have to struggle for the next 100-plus years. But if you choose to struggle for 3 years, ultimately get into a university, and successfully achieve Foundation Establishment, then you can continue to struggle for another 200-plus years.
With a soft chuckle, the slender fingers continued to scroll down Zhang Yu’s feed, but just then, a message popped up at the top of the screen.
Lian Tianji: The hallowed first place, are you joking with me? You want me to buy what from Zhang Yu???
Slender fingers tapped rapidly across the phone screen, beginning a reply.
Le Mulan: I’m not joking. Please, I can give you more money.
Transfer 2000
Transfer 2000 accepted
Lian Tianji: This isn’t about the money. Besides, you can ask him yourself. Why do you need me to go to him?
Le Mulan: If you’re unwilling, I’ll just step on your head during class every day.
Lian Tianji: Do you need it delivered by courier or in person?
Looking at Lian Tianji’s reply on the screen, Le Mulan nodded slightly.
“As expected, being a bit forceful is more effective when talking to classmates with lower scores than me.”
Returning to view Zhang Yu’s feed, Le Mulan murmured, “Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, those two poor people are truly inseparable.”
However, she was not concerned about this; it was merely an observation made while scrolling through Zhang Yu’s posts.
And under the glow of the phone screen, Le Mulan’s lips gradually curved into a satisfied smile as she continued to look through Zhang Yu’s photos.
“My hard work these past few days has not been in vain. Now when I look at Zhang Yu’s photos, I basically feel nothing anymore.”
“Next, I just have to wait for Lian Tianji to deliver Zhang Yu’s clothes.”
“Once I get used to the clothes as well, I probably won’t feel so uncomfortable when I run into Zhang Yu.”
Le Mulan thought to herself that then would be the time to face the poor Zhang Yu directly and completely overcome the weakness in her heart.
In the cafeteria.
Bai Zhenzhen’s mind kept replaying the message Lian Tianji had just sent to Zhang Yu.
And as Zhang Yu brought the newly purchased meal to Bai Zhenzhen’s table, his mind was once again contemplating talking to Zhen about the illegal tutoring.
He, however, failed to notice the peculiar glint in the way Bai Zhenzhen was looking at him.
After the meal, Zhang Yu said to Bai Zhenzhen, “Zhen, come with me to the rooftop. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
So, the two of them went to the rooftop.
This was one of their secret training bases within the school. Over the past few days, they had shed countless beads of sweat here, witnessing each other’s growth.
Arriving here again today, Zhang Yu spoke first, “Zhen, there’s something I want to tell you. You can probably sense that I’ve been earning a little money recently, right?”
I can more than sense it, I freaking saw the message from your client!
Hearing Zhang Yu’s words, Bai Zhenzhen’s expression turned slightly bitter, and her heart jolted in shock.
Is Yu-boy going to tell me the secret of his recent earnings? His secret with Lian Tianji?
Bai Zhenzhen knew that every year, some high school students, under financial pressure, walked down this path.
Some people looked down on these students who were willing to sell themselves for the pursuit of the Immortal Dao, thinking, why should poor people even try to cultivate? Others admired them, believing they possessed a strong Dao heart for pursuing the Immortal Dao.
But Bai Zhenzhen had never expected that Zhang Yu would also walk down this path, and that he would walk it right up to Lian Tianji.
Yu-boy, you’ve gone too far. I can’t keep up.
And if you were going to do it, why Lian Tianji? He only made it to the top eight in the martial arts tournament. He’s not worthy of you.
Couldn’t you find some real top students? Even if you went to Song Hailong… no, Song Hailong’s body tempering is too high, the medical fees probably wouldn’t even cover the damages.
If it were Le Mulan paying, even I, your mother, would be more accepting!
Although her mind was racing, Bai Zhenzhen quickly regained her composure.
She controlled her expression as best she could and said slowly, “So what you want to talk about… is related to how you’ve been making money recently?”
Zhang Yu nodded and said, “Yes, I have a way to make money that I want to bring you in on. The place is in the far suburbs. I’ve been there many times, and it seems to be fine…”
Bai Zhenzhen’s expression changed abruptly, her face scrunching up like a bitter melon as she looked at Zhang Yu, thinking, Yu-boy wants to pull me into this line of work too?
At this moment, Bai Zhenzhen found herself completely unprepared. Her first reaction was to refuse.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but look at Zhang Yu with a hint of admiration.
Yu-boy’s grades are already better than mine, yet after school, he’s earning money in another field, ‘tutoring’ at Lian Tianji’s place, working hard to save up cultivation resources. I admit my Dao heart is not as strong as yours. You win this time.
She took a deep breath and patted Zhang Yu’s shoulder, saying, “Thanks, my good brother, but really, you don’t have to. A good money-making path like this, you should just enjoy it yourself. I haven’t reached that step yet.”
“Lian Tianji’s body tempering isn’t low either. Be careful not to get injured and end up at the clinic.”
Zhang Yu was puzzled. “What does Lian Tianji have to do with this?”
Bai Zhenzhen sighed softly, turning her head away with a look of resignation.
“This afternoon, I accidentally saw the message Lian Tianji sent you.”
“But don’t worry, I turned off your phone screen for you. Only I saw it. Qian Shen, Zhao Tianxing, and the others don’t know.”
“I will keep this secret for you.”
Zhang Yu frowned and took out his phone. The moment he saw Lian Tianji’s message, he felt like smashing the device.
“Devil incarnate! This devil incarnate! I thought of Lian Tianji as a friend! And he’s got his mind on me?”
Then Zhang Yu thought of Bai Zhenzhen’s recent behavior and quickly explained, “Nothing happened between him and me!”
He held up his phone screen to show Bai Zhenzhen his chat history with Lian Tianji.
“Look, it’s perfectly clean. Nothing happened.”
Bai Zhenzhen unconsciously let out a sigh of relief, then asked curiously, “Then why does Lian Tianji want to buy your worn clothes?”
“Who the hell knows what’s going on in his head?” Zhang Yu viciously picked up his phone and began to reply. “First I’ll ask him what he’s offering. My response will depend on the price.”
Unconsciously, Zhang Yu had grown more and more accustomed to the lifestyle of Kunxu, developing the habit of reacting differently to different numbers.
Bai Zhenzhen also watched from the side with curiosity.
On the phone screen, Zhang Yu typed: What price?
Lian Tianji: Any piece of clothing you’ve worn will do. 2,000.
Bai Zhenzhen said from the side, “Try asking for 5,000.”
After Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen waited for a moment, they saw that Lian Tianji had sent a reply agreeing to the price.
Bai Zhenzhen laughed beside him. “Haha, you can earn 5,000 that easily?”
But Zhang Yu still felt strange. “What is he going to do with my clothes?”
Bai Zhenzhen patted Zhang Yu’s shoulder and said, “This is 5,000 for one piece of your clothing. Who cares what he plans to do with it?”
Zhang Yu’s eyes lit up. “Right, I almost forgot what I was telling you. I wanted to introduce a money-making opportunity to you today.”
Just then, the doll that had been quietly staying on Zhang Yu’s chest, silently disguised as a black prayer bead, began to speak.
The doll’s voice entered Zhang Yu’s mind, reminding him, “Zhang Yu, I warned you. In this business, the most important thing is to trust no one. Even a son can betray his own father. Are you sure you want to tell the woman in front of you?”
Zhang Yu, however, said to Bai Zhenzhen without any hesitation, “Zhen, have you heard of the dark world of tutoring?”
After Zhang Yu’s explanation, Bai Zhenzhen finally understood that the money he had been earning recently was from tutoring.
For a moment, Bai Zhenzhen’s expression became complicated.
Good news: her son wasn’t selling his body.
Bad news: her son had joined a gang and was working a job more dangerous than robbery.
Bai Zhenzhen was, after all, a proper, poor, high-achieving student from a key high school. Not only did she respect copyrights, but her reverence for corporations had been ingrained in her since childhood.
Now, hearing that Zhang Yu wanted to bring her into a gang, she also became a little nervous.
“Is this really not dangerous? If we’re discovered by the corporations, won’t we be captured and forced to be work-slaves for life?”
Zhang Yu explained, “I had the same worries as you at first, but after I went, I discovered that the Dark Learning Gang is a legitimate, large gang that pays taxes according to the law and has all its members worship the gods. If you work part-time, you only need to worry about teaching. We don’t need to consider things like fighting or killing.”
“And the pay is really good. I can make 6,500 an hour there.”
At this point, Zhang Yu paused, then added with some helplessness, “Besides, in this Kunxu… it’s too hard for poor people like us to earn money in legitimate businesses. Only a place like the dark world of tutoring can give us a relatively decent income and a better chance of getting into a top 10 university.”
When Bai Zhenzhen heard ‘6,500 an hour,’ she felt her heart race, and she suddenly understood why some people joined gangs.
And when she heard Zhang Yu’s final lament, she nodded in even greater agreement, thinking to herself, That’s right. For poor people like us, if we don’t do something that involves risking our necks… how can we climb up?
So Bai Zhenzhen also nodded firmly and said, “Okay, I trust you. Just tell me what you want me to do.”