"Auntie, are you back in the country yet?"
"Lan, there's a very important emergency meeting here in Han City, so I won't be able to make it back tonight..."
"Oh, take care of your health, Auntie."
"I know. Lan, can you go and keep Jiajia company tonight...?"
"What's wrong?"
"I promised I'd return tonight and accompany her to summer camp tomorrow, but something came up here... I just called her, and she slammed her phone down. Can you go and coax her for me?"
"No problem, Auntie. Focus on your meeting; leave it to me!" Wang Lan agreed readily.
When Auntie was pregnant with Song Jia, her husband had an accident during a scientific research experiment. Later, Auntie started a biotechnology company on her own and raised Song Jia by herself.
When Wang Lan's mother went missing, Wang Lan was eight years old and lived at his aunt's house for three years before moving out to live independently. In Wang Lan's eyes, both his mother and aunt were incredible women, each reaching heights in their respective fields that many men could hardly achieve.
Some precocious children understand the pressures and hardships adults face, but others can't. Instead, they might think that in adults' eyes, careers are more important than they are. Wang Lan could understand his aunt, and he could also understand Song Jia's feelings.
He got dressed, took the elevator, then hopped on his mini electric scooter and headed out.
Auntie's house was in Fragrant Courtyard Bay, a rather high-end villa community in Suzhou City. Since it was summer, even though it was past six in the evening, the sun still hadn't set; it wouldn't get completely dark until around seven.
Fragrant Courtyard Bay was a fully enclosed community, inaccessible to outsiders. Even deliveries and couriers had to be handed over to property management, which had designated personnel responsible for delivering goods to residents' doors.
First-rate service, first-rate efficiency, and first-rate quality were the calling cards of Fragrant Courtyard Bay.
"Sorry, electric scooters are not allowed in this community," a security guard politely told a girl trying to enter on her scooter at the gate.
"Do you think I'm blind? I just saw an electric scooter go in."
"That scooter belongs to one of our community's residents."
"I'm a resident of this community too! Let me in!"
"I'm sorry, but you're not. If you're looking for someone, please tell me their name, and I'll contact them for you. Please don't block the entrance."
The girl, having failed to negotiate, had to step aside. She then suddenly pulled out her phone.
"Dear friends at the Jing Fish livestreaming platform, I originally wanted to take you all inside to experience the environment and atmosphere of Fragrant Courtyard's high-end community. Sadly, Qiuqiu can't even get through their gate.
"No wonder it's known as the community in Suzhou City with the strictest management and highest security. Qiuqiu did some research before coming. Almost all the residents here are company bosses or regional presidents of listed companies, so such stringent management is understandable. You have to carry an access card to go out, and even using the elevator requires a fingerprint scan..."
Wang Lan's electric scooter ambled towards Fragrant Courtyard. Seeing the guard also move to stop him, the girl's face lit up with a schadenfreude-filled smile. Misery loves company, after all, and it often improves one's mood.
"Look everyone, a pitiful kid facing the same ordeal as Qiuqiu is here! Brave young man, let's see what trick you use to get past!"
"Excuse me, sir, our community doesn't allow electric scooters..."
"Scram!" Wang Lan suddenly lifted his foot.
"Mr. Lan, please go right ahead!"
"PFFT... HAHAHA... Is this supposed to make me die laughing?"
"666! Qiuqiu, it looks like it's not that you can't get in, but that you used the wrong password."
"That's right, the unlock code is voice-activated. It's just one word: Scram!"
"Qiuqiu, you've got the password now, hurry up and try to get through!"
"No wonder it's the most strictly managed and highest-security community. A voice-activated unlock code like that—most people would never think of it!"
The security guard chuckled as he walked back, looking a bit awkward under Qiuqiu's gaze. "He's a resident of our community."
"You clearly don't know him, okay?"
"I've been a security guard in this community for three years. I know every resident. Mr. Lan comes several times a month."
"Then why did you try to stop him just now?"
"Isn't it a conditioned reflex? I stop dozens of outsiders like you every day. When I saw an electric scooter approaching, I just went up. I only realized it was Mr. Lan when I got closer."
Wang Lan rode straight into the community. It wasn't that he was genuinely that arrogant; he was just very familiar with Liu, the security guard at the gate. That "Scram!" was a playful greeting, similar to how Wang Lan often kicked Zhang Hao's butt and told him to "get lost."
He rode the electric scooter to the underground parking garage and directly took a car parking space.
When he entered his aunt's house, Mrs. Feng, the housekeeper, was busy in the kitchen. "Mr. Lan, you're here?"
"Yes! Hello, Mrs. Feng." Wang Lan went to the sofa and sat beside Song Jia. Song Jia was currently staring blankly at the television, clutching a teddy bear. Her left cheek read 'unhappy,' her right cheek read 'displeased,' and her forehead was practically engraved with 'angry.'
Basically, Song Jia's entire face was a canvas of anger, frustration, and the urge to erupt.
"Jiajia, want to turn off the TV?"
"None of your business!" Song Jia retorted coldly, pouting.
"Since you're not in the mood to watch TV anyway, isn't leaving it on a waste of electricity? What's the situation with the summer camp tomorrow?"
As soon as Wang Lan mentioned this, Song Jia's eyes reddened, and tears began to stream down her face.
"The top ten students from each grade in the final exams, along with one parent, are supposed to gather at school tomorrow morning at seven to go to the Sky Curtain Lake Resort Area for summer camp.
"How could Mom do this? She promised she'd be back tonight, she promised... She's always telling me to be trustworthy, to have a sense of commitment, but what about her? She bailed on me, bailed on me!"
"Stop squeezing it; you'll break it if you squeeze any harder."
"Can't I go by myself?" Wang Lan asked curiously.
"No. Sky Curtain Lake is an ecological resort area; you have to bring a parent. Do you know how hard it was for me to get fifth in the grade... SOB SOB SOB... Mom doesn't care about me at all!"
"Alright, it's not that big a deal. The requirement for a parent is just to prevent any accidents with you precious little things. How about I go with you?"
"You?" Song Jia turned her head, looking Wang Lan up and down. "You look too young. Maybe you should put on a fake beard and glasses..."
"You watch too many TV dramas. I've already got my ID card; I'm an adult. I'm perfectly capable of being your guardian. To be honest, Bro had something on tomorrow, but nothing is as important as Jiajia's business. Bro will go with you."
Song Jia blinked her tear-stained eyelashes. "Since you're requesting so sincerely, then I'll mercifully agree. I'll take you."
"Not upset anymore?"
"I'm going to pack my backpack! I want to bring lots of yummy food..." Song Jia skipped away.
Wang Lan hadn't lied to Song Jia about having something to do the next day. Awakened Star Martial Warriors needed to go to the Star Martial Hall to complete their registration. Only registered Star Martial Warriors could swagger around carrying weapons, and only by becoming a Star Martial Warrior could one enjoy their benefits.
The benefits and such, Wang Lan didn't really care about them. But the Star Martial Warrior identity could be used for showing off. Previously, when Wang Lan saw those Star Martial Warriors on the street carrying Wolf Fang Clubs or shouldering greatswords, leaning against rugged off-road vehicles and hitting on girls, he would get so angry he felt like rushing up and castrating them.
「The next morning.」
Song Jia kicked open Wang Lan's door.
"Lazy pig, get up!"
Startled by the heavy blow, Wang Lan instinctively sat bolt upright. Seeing Song Jia's small, flushed, excited face, Wang Lan glanced wordlessly at the alarm clock beside him.
"Young miss, it's only five o'clock!"
"The sun is already so high, and you're still not getting up for me!"
"Getting up is fine, but can you leave my room?" Wang Lan scratched his tousled hair. He had awakened as a Star Martial Warrior yesterday and had been too excited to sleep well that night. He felt like he had just drifted off when this little ancestor came to make trouble.
"I'm afraid if I go out, you'll just fall back asleep. Get up! Big lazy worm."
"I'll get up, but I can't change clothes with you in my room. You don't expect me to go to summer camp with you in my pajamas, do you?"
"Oh. You have five minutes."
They were supposed to gather at school at seven o'clock, but they arrived by six-thirty. Wang Lan had thought he was already very early, but he hadn't expected some people to be even earlier.
"Jiajia, over here—" a girl waved to Song Jia.
Wang Lan followed Song Jia, sizing up this famous prestigious academy in Suzhou City. Multi-Wheel Bilingual Academy, located in the Suzhou Park Trading District, had the most top-tier hardware facilities, the most top-tier teaching staff, and of course, required the most top-tier, expensive tuition fees.
The families who could afford to send their children to Multi-Wheel Bilingual Academy were definitely either rich or noble. When these rich and noble families entrusted their children to the academy, the academy had to deliver the highest quality education.
Rich kids are hard to manage, but things like causing trouble in school were absolutely impossible here. The school's management was famously strict. Causing trouble? Campus bullying? Any child here was made of gold; any bump or scrape was a big deal. So, if you didn't obey the school's discipline, sorry, please take your child back.
"Wow, Your Excellency, the Academic God?" When Song Jia brought Wang Lan to the third-grade assembly point, several of Song Jia's classmates already waiting there suddenly cried out in alarm upon seeing Wang Lan.
"That's not me; you've mistaken me for someone else," Wang Lan denied decisively.
The title 'Academic God' was given to Wang Lan by the hundred thousand elementary and middle school students in Suzhou City. The first time he heard such a chuunibyou name was when he had just started high school. His alma mater, Chongshan School, had published a report card of Wang Lan's scores from first grade to junior high graduation, along with his ranking in every exam.
The original intention was to motivate students to emulate student Wang Lan and be hardworking, good students. But once this report card was published, it deified Wang Lan in one fell swoop. Not only did it fail to start a trend of learning from student Wang Lan, but it instead stirred up a wave of feudal superstitious thinking.
From the first exam to the final high school entrance exam, this beast Wang Lan had actually been number one every single time. For class-level unified exams, he was first in class. For grade-level unified exams, he was first in the grade. For city-wide unified exams, he was first in the city.
For students in the same cohort as Wang Lan, first place was an impossible dream. Even if they vied for it, they could only fight for second.
Such an outrageously dazzling report card—was that the work of a human? Student Wang Lan had cultivated for nine years, achieving first place every time, his merit perfected, firmly establishing his godhood. The mortal realm could no longer permit such a Demon to exist.
For a while, praying to the Academic God before exams guaranteed you wouldn't fail. Tossing a coin to pray to the Academic God was effective every time.
Academic God above, three sticks of incense morning and night.
When Wang Lan found out, he was so angry he nearly had a Soul Out of Body experience.
So, hearing this title again, a killing intent gradually rose in Wang Lan's eyes. These people before him were no longer cute elementary schoolers, but a group of soon-to-be chief culprits...
"The Academic God? WOW! I'm so touched to see a living one!"
"Little Fatty, don't be too moved. I'll bless you to fail every time," Wang Lan said, his smile as bright as sunshine, but his inner curse was extremely vicious.
"Academic God, can you sign an autograph for me?"
"Sorry, I didn't bring a pen."
"This is a tablet; you can write directly on it." The tablet handed to him actually displayed his ID photo.
"Where did you get this photo?"
"I downloaded it online. Your photo is hung high like a shining mirror in the Academic God Tieba."
Wang Lan wouldn't really bother arguing with elementary schoolers, so he smoothly signed his name. As he handed it back to the other party, he suddenly paused. "How many inches is this tablet of yours?"
"Seven inches." The boy replied, very pleased with himself as he flicked his bangs.
"Oh dear. Sorry, I accidentally pressed delete..."
"..."