Lin Fan opened a bottle of baijiu. The baijiu at this KTV wasn’t cheap either, it was all Moutai.
He simply picked up the Moutai and started chugging.
“You’re really chugging it?”
Wang Zhengwei and the others were dumbfounded. They drank often enough, but they had never actually chugged Moutai straight from the bottle.
“Fatty, can you handle it?” Wang Zhengwei asked in a lowered voice.
Liu Bin opened a bottle as well. “I’ve been drinking alcohol like milk since I was little. You think I’m afraid of him?”
Before long, Lin Fan had finished an entire bottle of Moutai. He picked up a second bottle and continued drinking as though nothing had happened.
The lighting in the KTV room was fairly dim. If it had been brighter, Wang Zhengwei and the others might have noticed wisps of white vapor rising from the top of Lin Fan’s head.
The alcohol in the liquor was being evaporated by the Hangover Talisman. To Lin Fan, drinking it was no different from drinking plain water.
After finishing one bottle, Liu Bin’s chest was already burning hot. He clutched it in discomfort.
Normally, he could easily drink two or three bottles, but he’d never drunk like this before.
Lin Fan continued drinking. When he saw Liu Bin stop, he raised a hand, signaling him to keep up.
Liu Bin gritted his teeth and continued drinking from his bottle.
Wang Zhengwei and the others watched with their scalps prickling.
They could understand Liu Bin drinking like that, but wasn’t Lin Fan afraid of drinking himself to death?
Before long, they had finished two bottles.
Lin Fan reached for a third, but Wang Zhengwei raised a hand and grabbed his wrist. “That’s enough.”
A faint smile appeared on Lin Fan’s face as he looked toward Liu Bin. “Are we continuing?”
Liu Bin had only managed to drink half of his second bottle. He couldn’t take another sip and was already sitting on the sofa, looking drowsy.
That was already a sign of alcohol poisoning.
“If we’re not continuing, then we’re leaving.” After saying that, Lin Fan looked at Huang Qing.
Huang Qing’s brows drew tightly together. Lin Fan said, “Your cousin probably doesn’t want to know what kind of people you’ve been hanging around with, does she?”
This was essentially a veiled threat. Lin Fan had no desire to meddle in Huang Qing’s affairs. He was merely carrying out her cousin’s request.
During the year he had traveled with the old Daoist, Lin Fan had seen more than his share of trials and tribulations. He truly had no interest in getting involved in something like this.
Though Huang Qing was unwilling, she was afraid Lin Fan would tell her cousin what had happened today. All she could do was awkwardly say to Wang Zhengwei, “Zhengwei, let’s get together another time. We’ll call it a day today.”
Wang Zhengwei, however, stared into Lin Fan’s eyes. “You’ve got a pretty good tolerance, brother. Which school do you go to? We can make plans to hang out again sometime.”
Lin Fan said flatly, “No. 1 High School.”
Wang Zhengwei’s words were about more than simply inviting him out to have fun. He clearly couldn’t swallow this insult and was probably looking for a chance to get revenge later.
Lin Fan, however, didn’t care in the slightest. Even if they got into a fight, the few of them together probably wouldn’t be enough for him to handle alone.
“No. 1 High School? The one we go to, right?” Wang Zhengwei let out a cold laugh. “Fine. The mountains may change, but the rivers flow on. We’ll have plenty of chances to play slowly in the future. Let’s go.”
Wang Zhengwei called to the others. They hoisted Liu Bin up and carried him outside. From behind them, Lin Fan kindly reminded them, “I’ve already called an ambulance…”
Lin Fan and Huang Qing walked out of the KTV.
Huang Qing looked beautifully dressed. Standing by the roadside, she said, “Cousin Lin Fan, do you know who Wang Zhengwei and the others are? You offended them this time. Even for my sake, they’ll at least find someone to beat you up.”
Lin Fan looked at the passing vehicles on the road and nodded faintly. “Then I suppose I should thank you?”
She had clearly been trying to warn him out of goodwill, yet Lin Fan still acted so indifferent and unconcerned that Huang Qing felt somewhat annoyed.
Huang Qing said, “You’re an orphan. You have no connections or backing in Qing City, and you don’t even have parents. Wang Zhengwei’s family has enough influence to get you expelled. We’re relatives, so tomorrow I can take you to his house to apologize in person. That way…”
“There’s no need.”
Lin Fan looked at Huang Qing and thought to himself that, despite his distant cousin seeming to have a poor personality, she wasn’t actually that bad-hearted.
“If they come looking for trouble, I guarantee they’ll be the ones to suffer. If you’re really his girlfriend, then talk some sense into him. Tell them not to provoke me.”
After saying that, Lin Fan casually hailed a taxi and got in.
Watching Lin Fan leave in the taxi, Huang Qing cursed in exasperation, “Stubborn as a mule!”
Qingshan Community was a resettlement housing complex in Qing City. Most of the residents here had been relocated by the government.
Lin Fan unlocked the door to his home. To his surprise, the inside was spotless and immaculate.
He had expected the place to be covered in cobwebs and dust after being gone for a full year.
But after thinking it over, warmth filled his heart. In Qing City, the only person who had a key to his home was his cousin.
“I have to report to school tomorrow. I wonder when that one million the old Daoist gave me will arrive.” Lin Fan lay on the sofa. As he thought about it, he fell asleep right there.
Early the next morning, Lin Fan changed into the school uniform he had treasured for a year and headed for Qing City No. 1 High School.
When he arrived at the school gate, it was the first day of the new term. The street stalls outside were packed with people, and the steaming noodles and buns filled the air with fragrance.
Lin Fan casually bought two buns and held them in his mouth as he walked toward the school gate. Before he could even enter, someone suddenly slapped him on the shoulder from the side. He turned around and saw a gaunt, pale-faced boy standing in front of him.
Xu Dong.
He was Lin Fan’s classmate, deskmate, and best friend.
“Brother Fan, what brings you here? You took a year off without saying a word. What the hell were you doing?” Xu Dong asked with a loud laugh as he draped an arm around Lin Fan’s neck.
Lin Fan rolled his eyes at him. “I went to learn some skills.”
“Yeah, right. You have no idea what people in our class have been saying about you. Some said you were tricked into joining a pyramid scheme. Others said you got arrested for fighting.”
“Want to know the truth?” Lin Fan asked Xu Dong mysteriously.
Xu Dong nodded. “Obviously.”
Lin Fan said, “On this day last year, an old Daoist saw that I had extraordinary talent and said he wanted to take me away to learn how to catch ghosts.”
“Get lost. I believe in ghosts more than I believe you.” Xu Dong rolled his eyes. “Are you back to continue your second year of high school?”
“Let’s wait until I’ve reported in first.”
This was also what troubled Lin Fan. His former classmates had all become his seniors. It was not a pleasant feeling.
The two chatted and horsed around as they walked into the school.
When Lin Fan went to the academic affairs office to register, he was unexpectedly informed that he had to go to the principal’s office.
Oh no. Was the school going to expel him because he had taken a year off?
Lin Fan was puzzled. He had never heard of anyone needing to visit the principal’s office just to register at the start of a new term.
Before long, Lin Fan arrived outside the principal’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Lin Fan pushed open the door. Inside sat the principal of Qing City No. 1 High School, Li Weimin.
Li Weimin was in his fifties, bald, and overweight. He had originally worn a stern expression, but the moment he saw the person entering through the door, a smile instantly spread across his face. “You must be Lin Fan?”
“Uh, yes.” Lin Fan nodded.
“Come sit, come sit.”
Li Weimin was extremely enthusiastic and even brewed him a cup of tea himself. Lin Fan couldn’t help feeling puzzled. What was going on?
Back when he was in his first year, he had only seen Principal Li once, at the opening ceremony.
They had no connection at all. When something seemed abnormal, there was usually something behind it.
“I think I’ll stand. Principal Li, just tell me what this is about.” Lin Fan smiled. “I took a year off for a reason…”
“It’s like this.” Li Weimin sat in his chair and took out an envelope. “You have a very good teacher.”
A very good teacher?
Lin Fan opened the envelope Li Weimin had given him. Inside was a letter the old Daoist had left for him.
Couldn’t he have just given it to him directly? Why send it to the school?
As he wondered about that, Lin Fan began reading the letter. In an instant, his face turned to stone.
‘Good disciple, those of us who study the Dao must do more good deeds. The one million I promised you has already been donated to Qing City No. 1 High School in your name. No need to thank me. Remember to do more good deeds and accumulate more virtue in the future…”
As Lin Fan read the contents of the letter, his eyelids twitched and the veins on his forehead bulged.
He roared inwardly, “Damn you, you old bastard! I spent an entire year following you around through thick and thin, and this is how you repay me?”
So he had taken Lin Fan’s one million and used it to accumulate virtue for himself?
No wonder the principal was smiling at him like a damn lackey. It was one million!
Seeing Lin Fan’s face turn pale, then green, Li Weimin asked, “Student Lin Fan, are you feeling unwell?”
“No, no…” Lin Fan took a deep breath and forced a smile. With each word carefully enunciated, he said, “My honored teacher can possess such a broad mind. I! Am! Very! Relieved!”
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