The next day, Yuan Du sat with a blank expression in the corner of the back row.
Yesterday, Teacher Chu had come to his rescue and even held his hand. Everything felt like it had happened in another dimension. He sat in a daze upon a cloud, experiencing a brief, reluctant dream that he never wanted to wake up from. However, today’s harsh reality proved that this was no dream.
His desk was located right next to the trash can, covered in maliciously smeared paint, and a foul stench drifted up from the compartment underneath. It did not take a genius to figure out that those nobles, whose eyes were permanently fixed in the air, had forced someone to place disgusting things there to torment him.
A voice filled with malice came from above, “You little maggot from the garbage star, this environment must feel pretty comfortable, huh?”
Yuan Du shook his head, and as expected, he was greeted by a chorus of boisterous laughter from the surrounding students.
The class bell had already rung for history class, but a teacher of similarly humble status simply turned a blind eye, remaining completely unfazed by the mocking applause. Yuan Du was forcibly grabbed by the collar and dragged out onto his knees on the floor. His cheek was already red and swollen from being slapped, and a numbing pain throbbed across his face. Yuan Du struggled to open his eyes and whispered, “The next class is weapon refining…”
Yuan Du did not want to appear this pathetic in front of Teacher Chu, nor did he want Teacher Chu to think of him as such a useless piece of trash.
The surrounding students froze for a moment. Chen Ji, who had slapped him, chuckled, lightly patted his swollen cheek, and asked, “How did you manage to seduce Teacher Chu? Hmm?”
Yuan Du powerlessly shook his head. Only then did Chen Ji release his collar, offering a cold sneer, “You should know what things are better left unsaid, right?”
Yuan Du obediently nodded, and the group finally let him go. He sluggishly dragged his battered body back to the foul-smelling corner, clenching his fists tightly.
One day, just you wait, one day.
He thought to himself through gritted teeth, only to hear a gentle, jade-like voice, “Yuan Du, come sit at the front.”
Yuan Du froze. He raised his head and saw Teacher Chu walking in, frowning slightly as he pressed his fingers against the bridge of his finely sculpted nose.
Chu Xunsheng casually wound the black bandage around his wrist, pointed to the empty seat in the front, and signaled for Yuan Du to move over. According to the plot, he was supposed to subject the protagonist to all sorts of hardships during class, so sitting closer would probably make it much more convenient.
Huh? He has not even started bullying him yet, right? Why is he already tearing up?
The system glanced at Yuan Du, who was gritting his teeth, and said dismissively, It is fine, the plot progression is moving along.
Chu Xunsheng nodded in response and instructed everyone to ignite the weapon-refining furnaces in front of them.
This lesson covered the refinement of basic storage rings. Colorful rays of light flickered across the small classroom, and everyone wore an expression of intense concentration.
“Yuan Du, keep your hands lower.”
Chu Xunsheng walked over to Yuan Du’s side, reached out to press his hands downward, and then frowned again, saying, “You grabbed too much material, use less. You picked the wrong one, use this instead.”
After a few more rounds of nitpicking, Chu Xunsheng was finally satisfied to see Yuan Du’s face flush from pale to red. Yuan Du kept his head lowered, concealing his expression.
He must be driven to the absolute limit of shame and anger! Chu Xunsheng nodded with satisfaction, losing interest in Yuan Du as he turned to observe the others.
Sitting right beside the empty seat that Chu Xunsheng had specifically targeted was Ji Yan, the Third Imperial Highness of the Empire. He was the prime candidate for the crown prince, and in the original novel, he was the only person who did not bully the protagonist.
The Third Highness possessed a proud and aloof demeanor. Compared to the pampered rich kids around him, he was someone capable of standing entirely on his own two feet. Although he did not actively bully the protagonist, he never stopped the bullying either, usually choosing to remain a cold bystander.
In order to leave a lasting impression on such a noble figure, the original host had spent all of his savings from teaching wages to buy a gift for the Third Highness’s birthday banquet, only to be thrown out at the entrance along with the gift.
Ah, System, since he will not accept the gift anyway, do we really have to buy it? We are about to run out of money for food!
The system poked its head out to look at the noble-looking Third Highness, whispering advice, Forget about it. We are not real weapon refiners anyway; let us just fake something passable since we are bound to be thrown out regardless.
The Third Highness had long been a renowned genius, and given his busy schedule, he rarely attended classes. Who knew why he decided to show up at the academy today, probably causing all his fanboys and fangirls to go wild. Such an undisputed chosen son of heaven should naturally be able to execute such basic weapon refining to absolute perfection.
Huh? System? Why does his finished product look even worse than the little protagonist’s?
The Third Highness still maintained his composed, aloof, and noble demeanor, though his thin lips were pressed tightly together, revealing his displeasure at the moment.
Chu Xunsheng swept his gaze across the rest of the classroom and realized that the rings everyone else produced were either square or flat, with storage spaces varying wildly in size. Jiang Zhou, hailed as a genius controller, was covered in a light layer of sweat as he cautiously cradled a barely passable storage ring.
Then Chu Xunsheng looked at the dazzling, multicolored storage ring in Yuan Du’s hand. Man and system fell into a shameful, dead silence.
Chu Xunsheng called for a halt, borrowed a student’s furnace nearby, and instructed everyone to observe his operation closely. He deliberately slowed down his movements: igniting the fire, applying mental control, rotating and flipping, and fusing the storage compartment. Before long, the basic framework of an exquisitely beautiful storage ring was complete.
“Did you all understand? You can take your time with the technique, but you must ensure your mental power completely wraps around the ring.” Chu Xunsheng spoke as he looked up, only to be startled by a pair of glowing eyes staring right at him.
“Now, use your mental power to fuse the storage compartment in.” Chu Xunsheng walked over to Yuan Du. Ji Yan tilted his head slightly, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately kept his mouth shut.
“Your turn.” Chu Xunsheng signaled for Yuan Du to step up.
Yuan Du’s face flushed red over and over. He must realize the teacher is intentionally making things difficult for him, Chu Xunsheng thought to himself.
Silence filled the room. Jiang Zhou tightened his fists, narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly spoke up, “Teacher Chu rarely interacts with students, and everyone wishes to receive your personal guidance. Why bother going out of your way to teach a newcomer who knows nothing?”
Chu Xunsheng smiled, not even bothering to look at him. He understood; it was just polite pleasantry. As a cowardly and opportunistic civilian teacher, of course he had to make the protagonist do all the ungrateful, exhausting labor.
Unsurprisingly, a muffled bang echoed from the podium as the ring cracked apart, scattering fragments all over the floor. Yuan Du stood in place looking pitiful, blinking his wet, puppy-like eyes.
The weapon-refining class concluded amidst the relentless oppression of the protagonist. Man and system happily left the classroom with a drastically increased progress bar, and before leaving, they did not forget to drag the poor little protagonist into the office for a stern educational lecture, before dispatching him to tend to the flower garden.
The night air in the garden carried a slight chill. Moonlight gently spilled over the cup-shaped wildflowers, and the purple clovers swayed softly in the breeze, emitting a gentle, rustling whisper.
Standing amidst this sea of flowers, Ji Yan found his thoughts drifting toward tender memories, likely recalling the distant days before he became entangled in the struggle for the crown prince’s throne. He gently swirled the red liquid in his goblet, looking past a smiling Yuan Du who was working busily like a goofy puppy, and locked his gaze upon the smiling young man.
The man wore a light blue suit jacket of an unbranded, niche designer, yet it radiated an air of elegance on him. The tailored waistline accentuated his perfect figure, and the black bandage tied around his arm added an unexpected touch of sexiness.
Ji Yan could not remember where he had heard someone say that Teacher Chu had a small habit of unconsciously untying and retying the arm bandage. At the time, the speaker had exhausted every descriptive word to paint that action as seductive, which Ji Yan had scoffed at, until today, when he realized it was not an exaggeration.
Before he became the emotionless Third Imperial Highness, his favorite pastime had been weapon refining. Though he later abandoned this hobby due to various affairs of state, he still held an indescribable fondness for the subject. Judging purely by the technique Chu Xunsheng demonstrated in class today, he could tell the man possessed profound mastery over weapon refining. With his guidance, even someone overlooked like Yuan Du was able to forge such a flawless storage ring.
Chu Xunsheng’s intuition had always been sharp. The moment he felt a chill down his spine and glanced back, he spotted the Third Highness raising a glass toward him with a smile.
Is this part of the original book’s plot, System?
The system shook its head, replying, The Third Highness has no business interacting with a lowly history teacher, and I have never heard of him visiting a tiny garden like this.
Chu Xunsheng frowned, feeling slightly uncomfortable with this deviation from the plot. Still, adhering to the original host’s persona, he gave Yuan Du a few final instructions and walked over.
“Good evening, Teacher Chu.”
“Good evening, Your Royal Highness.”
Chu Xunsheng offered a polite smile and sized up the man before him. The starlight cast a gentle glow over him, yet despite the smile on his face, his eyes remained completely devoid of warmth. With his long eyebrows slightly raised, he looked effortlessly nonchalant while radiating a piercing, oppressive aura.
“Your Royal Highness, visiting the garden so late at night, is there something you wish to ask me?”
Could it be that he was unsatisfied with the weapon crafted in class today and intends to silence the witness who saw his dark history? Such vicious ruthlessness!
Ji Yan let out a soft chuckle, bypassing the question entirely, “Teacher Chu is certainly very dedicated to the new students.”
Chu Xunsheng glanced back at the exploited protagonist sweating away in the distance. He said nothing, merely raising an eyebrow in tacit mutual understanding, while excitedly cheering to the system in his mind, Achievement unlocked: collaborating with nobles to oppress the protagonist!
The gesture of raising an eyebrow did not quite fit his usual handsome and gentle visage, yet it carried an oddly striking charm. Ji Yan felt a faint itch in his heart, as if a feather had lightly brushed across it.
He subconsciously handed over a gorgeously patterned, gold-stamped invitation card, “I wonder if Teacher Chu would grace me with your presence at my upcoming birthday banquet?”
Chu Xunsheng accepted the invitation card as if it were a hot potato. Bound by the original host’s persona, he could only nod in agreement and watch the noble Third Highness depart.
“System, what is going on here? Shouldn’t I be thrown out along with the gift? What should we do about this invitation?”
The system waved a hand, adopting an air of unshakeable confidence, Just do not bring the invitation with you! The Third Highness is not a doorman checking tickets; who is going to check if you have one? He will just assume you are some random freeloader trying to crash a noble gathering and kick you out, gift and all. If the Third Highness asks about it later, just claim you went but forgot the invitation and got bounced out. Surely he will not pursue the matter further.
The system paused before adding, We still need to prepare a gift, though. Let me search the interstellar web for the most popular aristocratic accessories, and we can replicate one.
Chu Xunsheng nodded with a solemn expression, and man and system huddled together in front of the screen.
“Why does this website look kind of weird?”
“It is the interstellar web, of course it is different from Earth’s.”
“What is this? A hairpin? What is so great about it?”
The system carefully examined the top-ranked accessory, a silver clip adorned with a pretty little silver bell and accompanied by a small silver pin, and immediately made a decision, This is it! It must be an ear clip or a brooch. Look at this color, it will match the Third Highness’s long silver hair perfectly!
Chu Xunsheng nodded with utmost gravity. The two of them scuttled over like thieves to the academy’s weapon refining room to scavenge materials, successfully forging two dazzling, gorgeous clips before nodding in satisfaction.