After leaving the gym, Lu Chen rushed back to class.
There was a ten-minute break between classes—five minutes was all he needed to finish the match, and the rest went to changing out of his gear.
There wasn't much to say about the "trial." Facing the school team captain, Lu Chen had no intention of holding back. He needed to show his strength to avoid any future disputes.
So… as expected, it was another total wipeout.
The poor captain kept repeating the same emotional arc: crushed by a genius → regaining confidence → crushed again.
Same field, same genius junior, same complete defeat...
The captain was numb.
Ignoring the captain's deadpan expression, the stunned teammates, and the coach who looked absolutely thrilled, Lu Chen changed out of his clothes and speed-walked back to the teaching building.
The chemistry teacher was handing out answer keys, and the classroom was filled with groans.
"Seriously? The answer was C? You've gotta be kidding!"
"Ugh... I was so close to solving that last question..."
"Studying is worse than copying, and copying is worse than guessing. I guessed C and got it right."
Lu Chen was a few minutes late. He greeted the chemistry teacher with a sincere, apologetic look.
The teacher glanced at him, waved him in, and told him to take his seat.
Once everyone was present, the teacher began a round of scolding, using the same tone and expression as the homeroom teacher.
Don't sleep in class. No phones during lessons. Discipline, discipline.
After a solid ten minutes of lecturing, the teacher finally began going over the test.
Lu Chen took out his phone and tucked it inside his test paper, lifting the edge just enough to make it look like he was checking answers.
The pageviews for "Liyue: Floating World Among a Thousand Rocks" had shot past 100,000.
The story was reaching a small climax, but credit mostly went to the editor's efforts.
As the novel's vast, immersive world slowly unfolded and the writing quality held steady, the editorial team started to realize—it had the makings of a hit.
The web editor was now chatting with Lu Chen more frequently.
Skimming through the reader comments, most people were focused on the newly introduced character, Guizhong.
Some asked if she was the female lead.
Others wondered if Morax actually liked Guizhong.
And the more astute readers noted how much attention the author gave to the glaze lilies—definitely a sign of something deeper. Maybe a setup for a tragic ending.
Honestly... that reader was pretty sharp.
In the Liyue of the future, wild glaze lilies are nearly extinct. Every time Lu Chen thought about that, it left him with a deep sense of loss.
Guizhong's life had long since faded from collective memory. The fields once full of glaze lilies only existed in scattered, fragile scraps of old records.
Even the grandest stories would one day become history, blur into legend, turn into song—time erases everything.
Lu Chen had lived through some of that history himself. He was recording these long-forgotten stories in his own way.
...
After school, Lu Chen took a taxi back to the villa in Ling Shan Bay.
Living this far out had its downsides. Transport wasn't convenient, and he was too young to drive.
Maybe he should have Venti or Ei get a driver's license instead?
Now that the system update had solved the "no ID" problem, either of them should be able to pass. With their intelligence, it shouldn't be hard.
Ei liked machines and technology anyway. As for Venti...
A mental image popped into Lu Chen's head: Venti getting busted for drunk driving.
...
When he got home, Ei was already awake. She was tending to flowers on the second-floor balcony. Seeing Lu Chen return, she smiled and waved.
Even the blooming cosmos flowers didn't compare to her smile. Lu Chen smiled too.
In a great mood, he opened the front door—and his smile froze.
Qiqi was in the living room watching her beloved Animal World. Yae Miko wasn't around—probably holed up in her room reading light novels.
But that wasn't the issue. The problem was the pile of bizarre junk in front of Venti and Zhongli.
The two of them were in casual home clothes, crouched over a mountain of... stuff, deep in discussion.
"You think Lu Chen will be mad when he gets back?"
"Hmm... I recall he has some property here. From a rational standpoint, probably not."
"Oh hey, Lu Chen! You're back!"
Venti smiled awkwardly as he greeted him.
Lu Chen blurted out, "What the hell is all this?"
He rushed over to take a look.
On the floor were all sorts of odd things wrapped in old newspapers—no clue what was inside.
There were ancient-looking cardboard boxes covered in dried mud, a Buddha statue wrapped in cheap plastic, a big greenish rock, and even a rusty reciprocating piston engine.
"..." Lu Chen took a deep breath.
"Where did you guys go? Why'd you buy all this crap?" he asked Venti, baffled.
Venti put on a philosophical look, paused dramatically, and said,
"To witness the world in all its forms... to savor the flavors of life."
"Cut the crap." Lu Chen rolled his eyes. "You went to an antique market, didn't you?"
"Well... yeah..." Venti looked guiltier by the second.
Lu Chen turned to Zhongli.
The old man, as always, had a serious expression as he explained each item in detail.
Starting with the rock.
"Jade, like amber, is a rare crystal formed over millions of years of geological activity. This raw piece may look rough and unwanted, but its quality is exceptional—worth buying."
"What about those?" Lu Chen pointed to the newspaper-wrapped bundles.
"Fragments of ancient porcelain salvaged from shipwrecks. Though broken, the patterns are exquisite. Their style resembles Liyue's, yet holds a distinct difference—very collectible."
As Zhongli unwrapped one for him, Lu Chen stared at the porcelain shards and felt a headache coming on.
Yeah, it was old—but broken pieces like this were basically worthless unless complete!
"And this?" he asked, pointing at the Buddha statue wrapped in plastic.
"I was reading yesterday and became intrigued by the gods of your world," Zhongli replied calmly.
"This Buddha symbolizes a life of enlightenment. Perhaps it holds the key to resisting the erosion of time..."
Lu Chen took another deep breath. He wanted to say, This Buddha isn't even older than you.
"And this?" He pointed at the rusted reciprocating engine. "This worth buying too?"
"Oh! That was a freebie from the shopkeeper," Venti cut in. "Said it was an antique too."
"This thing isn't even as old as my classmates..." Lu Chen finally cracked.
"Hey, I really like this machine," Ei suddenly chimed in.
She walked down from upstairs, straight to the engine, eyes fixed on it.
"This is a machine that converts piston motion into mechanical energy. It evolved from steam engines during the Industrial Revolution..."
"Then it's yours, Beelzebul," said Zhongli.
"Awesome!"
Lu Chen slumped onto the couch, staring at the pile of junk.
He asked Venti the most important question:
"How much did all this cost?"
Venti waved his hand. "Not much. Just under a million."
"..."
"Oh right!" Venti added, "I already spent all the money you gave me. Send more?"
"..."
Lu Chen realized he was slowly being bankrupted.
His wallet was drying up.
Ah, the bitter life of a man who has to earn a living to support his whole family.