"No problem."
Then Chen Gu’s eyes widened—the cook was actually a Fifth Energy Level master! With professional skill, the cook swiftly prepared a portion of food and handed it to Chen Gu. "Hurry and take this to Master Zhong," the cook urged. "We can’t let him go hungry. His temper gets even worse when he’s starving..."
Chen Gu took the food and dashed off. This was the first ti he had truly experienced the formidable presence of a ntor within the school.
So, after Chen Gu returned to the Far North Hall with the first portion of food, he adopted a deanor completely different from the proud defiance he’d shown earlier. He stood attentively by his ntor, "thoughtfully" holding a glass of ice water, and leaned in slightly to ask, "Teacher, are you satisfied with today’s dishes? Are they to your liking? Is the seasoning right? How is everything cooked?"
What an actor I am, Chen Gu mused. Changing personas on a di like that.
Bai Shengyuan glanced at his junior brother in surprise. Good lad, very promising, he thought. No wonder Uncle told you were the only new student this year with any hope of saving from this ss!
Zhong Yuanbei wasn’t particular about his food. In his opinion, as long as it t a professional’s normal energy requirents, it was sufficient. Of course, there was a difference between good and bad-tasting food, but he considered it aningless. The priority was not to delay his research ti.
However, Zhong Yuanbei’s personality also ant he had a strong desire for control. While Chen Gu’s flattery didn’t particularly impress him, he was quite satisfied with this display of "obedience" and "compliance."
So, he glanced sideways at this new student and said, "Acceptable."
This was an answer to Chen Gu’s questions about the food, and also a subtle assessnt of Chen Gu himself.
Bai Shengyuan was so excited that his hands, holding his rice bowl, trembled. A new student, on only his second eting with the teacher, had received a positive evaluation: "Acceptable!"
What? You say ’acceptable’ isn’t a positive evaluation? he thought incredulously. For a strict and demanding ntor, any feedback that isn’t negative *is* positive! In fact, ’acceptable’ is quite high up in the teacher’s ranking of positive evaluations! There are others like ’not bad,’ ’ordinary,’ and ’so-so,’ all of which rank below ’acceptable.’ Do you know how long it took to get my first positive comnt from him? Three whole months! And that first positive comnt was just ’so-so’!
His heart brimming with longing for the outside world, dreams of a bright future, and the desperate hope of escaping this cage, Bai Shengyuan forced a calm tone and said to his teacher, "With Junior Brother here to help you, I can finally graduate with peace of mind."
"Dream on," Zhong Yuanbei said flatly, shattering Bai Shengyuan’s hopes. But just as Bai Shengyuan felt himself plumting into an abyss, Zhong Yuanbei pulled him back at the perfect mont, saying, "If he wants to take over your duties, he must at least beco proficient with all the laboratory equipnt, thoroughly understand every ongoing project, and instantly know the significance of any data I ntion."
"Teacher, you must keep your word!" Bai Shengyuan exclaid, jumping to his feet.
Zhong Yuanbei, ever efficient, finished the large remaining portion of his rice in one go, calmly wiped his mouth, and said, "Of course, I keep my word."
"Alright! Give three months, and I will definitely graduate!"
Chen Gu looked at his senior brother, who was brimming with hope and confidence, and sighed inwardly. Senior Brother, you underestimate . Three months to get familiar? I’m the Brain Domain Hacker! A born top student. If I wanted to, you could graduate tonight. But recently, so sly old fox tricked into taking the fall for his nephew, and I’m not happy about it. Sothing I could master in thirty minutes, I now plan to spend three years on, studying much more diligently and deeply. Of course, if that sly old fox is willing to pay a price, my learning schedule is very flexible. The higher the price, the shorter the ti! Marry Bai Xianya to , and I guarantee, Senior Brother, you’ll be a graduate of Huai Shan Branch School by tomorrow morning! Scratch that last part; I accidentally let my true thoughts slip out.
Zhong Yuanbei was well aware of his senior disciple’s burning desire for freedom. As for which number disciple Bai Shengyuan actually was... that was unimportant.
Zhong Yuanbei waved his hand at Chen Gu. "You go eat as well. I’ll give you ten minutes, then co straight back."
"Okay!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)