"I want to become someone my father can be proud of!"
Lu Zhiruo's eyes were filled with hope. This was her dream.
"So you came out alone by yourself to learn?"
Sun Mo had some admiration for this girl. On the way back, the two of them chatted a little. He knew that she was from the Shengjing, and it would take close to half a month to travel to Jinling by horse carriage. She hadn't reached 14 years old yet but dared to travel alone. Her guts were admirable.
"Ahh, uhh."
At the mention of this, Lu Zhiruo's countenance immediately turned dim. It hadn't been easy for her to meet that great teacher, but her aptitude turned out to be too bad, and the great teacher only took a glance at her before waving his hand to send her off. He couldn't even be bothered to say anything.
"The Central Province Academy's student recruitment meet will be held the day after tomorrow. You can take a look. You might be able to find a better great teacher then."
Sun Mo hoped that Lu Zhiruo could recognize reality and head back home earlier. After all, given her aptitude, even intern teachers might give her the cold shoulder as well.
(Although you have breasts, it isn't any help to your studies!)
Sun Mo sighed. If Lu Zhiruo's breasts could be considered as her aptitude, then she'd be looking down on the rest of the world.
"Teacher Sun, you're a good guy!"
Lu Zhiruo felt very thankful.
Sun Mo had initially planned on letting Lu Zhiruo look for an inn near the school, but she wasn't willing to do so. Left with no other choice, Sun Mo could only look for Li Gong, who then cleared up a warehouse to let her stay there temporarily.
"This is where I usually rest. No one will come, so feel free to stay here."
Li Gong's face was full of smiles, afraid that Sun Mo might not be pleased with his service.
Sun Mo waved his hand, and Li Gong took his leave. However, before he left, he couldn't help but throw a glance toward Lu Zhiruo. (Oh my god, the man who marries her in the future would be so fortunate.)
"Take this money, you can use it first."
Sun Mo took out five silver taels and gave it to Lu Zhiruo. When they had caught the thief and gotten back the loot, he knew that this papaya girl didn't have much money left. This might be the reason why she refused to stay at an inn.
"No! No!"
Lu Zhiruo waved her hand and rejected, wearing a horrified expression.
"Take it. Are you expecting me to send you food every day?"
Sun Mo frowned.
Seeing that Sun Mo was angry, Lu Zhiruo jumped up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. She explained, "No, I didn't have that intention!"
"Then take it."
Sun Mo asked Lu Zhiruo for her home address so he could get someone to come and fetch her. However, when he mentioned this, Lu Zhiruo would lower her head and pretend to be dumb. Therefore, he could only give up on this thought.
After returning to the dorm, Sun Mo went through his luggage and realized that he didn't have much savings left. Therefore, it was important for him to earn money quickly. Otherwise, his standards of living would plummet.
If this was in the past, given his educational background, it'd be easy for him to work as a home tutor for a few days. However, he couldn't do this in Jinling. It was because he hadn't taken on a permanent role yet.
"Am I only left with the choice of writing [Journey to the West]?"
To be honest, Sun Mo didn't wish to do this. However, he thought of the homeless Lu Zhiruo. He had to help her out, right? This was like he had picked up a lost kitten from the roadside. He had to keep it for a while. If he didn't even have the money to buy dried fish for its snack, then the kitten would look down on him as well.
"That'll settle it then. It's better to write 'Journey to the West' than to become a masseur!"
The ancient massage technique was very amazing, and he could definitely be a world-class masseur. However, Sun Mo felt that if he were to do this, the system would definitely be the first to die from laughter.
The morning sunlight had just appeared when Ludi carried a bowl of soup and a plate of pig trotters, leaving the dorm. Teacher Zhou Shanyi's impression of him was quite good. As long as he continued to keep things up, he'd definitely be able to get an 'excellent-grade' rating. It'd increase his chances of being able to stay in school.
The only thing he wasn't happy about was the teacher's rating on his braised meat. What did he mean when he said that it'd be better if Ludi were to add some goji berries and caterpillar fungus? That would be heterodoxy. It'd spoil the natural taste of the braised meat.
Moreover, only middle-aged people would drink goji berries steeped in water. (You're already an old man and no longer need that. Even if you were to eat goji berries every day as you would rice, you'd still age and slowly lose strength.)
At the thought of this, Ludi couldn't help but increase his force exertion in his arms, being narcissist of his healthy body that was filled with vitality, and then...
He felt gloomy. A papaya girl was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall. She propped her legs up and hugged them with her arms. With her head resting on her knees, she slept comfortably.
Glistening saliva trickled down the corners of her lips, landing on her pants. It made a huge wet patch on it.
"Would you guys cut it out?"
Ludi felt that Zhang Sheng and Sun Mo were truly shameless. To think that they'd spend money on actors to boost their reputation so that they could stay back in school. He, on the other hand, was very upright.
At the thought of this, Ludi felt that the braised meat he was holding became even more fragrant.
"Uh?"
Lu Zhiruo rubbed her eyes, looking up with a dazed expression. As she had been sitting there for too long, her shoulders felt a little sore. She instinctively shook and rubbed them, moving her body.
"Oh my god!" Ludi almost screamed out. Was this the legendary child-like complexion? "Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Teacher Sun, Sun Mo!"
Lu Zhiruo quickly stood up. After saying that, she even bowed. "Hello Teacher!"
Ludi was stunned. He hadn't been called a teacher before. Everyone would refer to him as 'Teaching Assistant Lu', and it somehow sounded like the words 'pig trotter braiser'. Other than making Ludi feel upset, this title also made him swear that he'd become a substitute teacher as soon as possible, followed by the yearly teacher-in-charge and then a great teacher. He would then get the intern teachers to braise pig trotters for him.
To suddenly be called a teacher by a student, Ludi felt as if he had drunk iced sour plum soup on the hottest day of the year. The feeling of exhilaration went right down into his bones.
"Sun Mo, someone's looking for you!"
Ludi shouted out and then flashed a smile that he had been practicing for a while. "I am Ludi. If you have any problems in the future, you can come to ask me."
"There's no... no need. Teacher Sun can help me with my questions!"
Lu Zhiruo backed off a step and lowered her head. This teacher's smile was so scary. She could even see the chives stuck in the back of his teeth.
(Hey, hey, do you think I don't want any face to be rejecting me so quickly?) Ludi's passion was like the sandcastle on the beach that was washed away by the waves.
(Hmph. You look at me in contempt right now, but in the future, I'd be at a level too high for you to reach!)
Ludi thought in his heart and then turned to leave. However, he had only taken a few steps away when he turned back, throwing a glance at Lu Zhiruo's chest.
Sun Mo attached the wooden blade at his waist and walked out of the dorm.
Lu Zhiruo hid behind a pillar and looked around, afraid that another guy she didn't know would come out. When she saw that it was Sun Mo, she jumped out with a peace of mind, bowing and greeting him.
Sun Mo ran two rounds around the Sorrowless Lake. After warming up, he practiced the first level of the Grand Universe Formless Divine Art.
Lu Zhiruo was like a small tail, following him in what he was doing. Sun Mo hesitated for a moment but didn't stop her.
By the time he had started to sweat a little and more people were coming to the lakeside, Sun Mo stopped. It was going to be the peak hour at the canteen soon. If he didn't go now, it'd be squeezy there.
Someone handed a towel to him.
Sun Mo turned and saw the girl, who was still dressed in her green clothes, standing under the sun and passing him the towel respectfully with both hands.
"You don't have to do these things!"
Although Sun Mo said that, he still took the towel from her and wiped off the perspiration on his forehead.
Lu Zhiruo then took out a bamboo cylinder from her bag. After pouring out a cup of water and passing it to Sun Mo, she took the used towel, not saying a word in the entire process.
The fragrance of meat buns was permeating the second level of the canteen.
"Are you hungry?"
Sun Mo looked around.
Lu Zhiruo nodded subconsciously and then quickly shook her head.
Gurgle~
Lu Zhiruo's stomach started growling, making her feel extremely awkward. Her face was instantly flushed up all the way to her neck.
The papaya girl lowered her head, and her two slender index fingers were rubbing against the corner of her clothes uneasily. She was like a quail that had been captured.
"Go get what you want to eat!"
Sun Mo threw his employment pass to Lu Zhiruo and headed toward a table next to a window. "I'll have porridge and salted vegetables. If there are hotteoks, then get me one."
"En!"
Lu Zhiruo took the employment pass and quickly ran toward the porridge stall.
All the teachers in the Central Province Academy had an employment pass. It was a small wooden token that was the size of one's palm. Other than allowing one to use places such as the martial lecture hall and the Meditation Dojo for free, there'd also be discounts when one showed it when buying meals and other things.
Lu Zhiruo was holding onto Sun Mo's employment pass and thus would be able to enjoy the discounts. This caused the corners of her lips to curl up, giving her the urge to touch the money pouch in her pocket that was almost empty.
After having breakfast, Sun Mo went to the library. He looked for a secluded spot and started writing [Journey to the West]. For fear that she'd disturb Sun Mo, Lu Zhiruo took a seat slightly further away from him.
Sun Mo had read the Four Classic Novels many times in the past. He felt that out of them [Journey to the West] was the most obscure one in its writing. He remembered all the stories, but he couldn't replicate it word by word. Therefore, he used his own language to reproduce the story in which Tang Sanzang went on a mission to seek holy scriptures.
"Should I make Wukong wilder?"
As the first chapter was done, Sun Mo was a little uncertain if he'd be able to earn his first bucket of gold with it. Although he had tried to make it sound more like ancient literature, it was still too straightforward when compared to the novels in the market now. However, since he couldn't find other methods to earn quick bucks, he could only continue with his writing.
Thankfully, Sun Mo also enjoyed writing in his free time. This wasn't something difficult for him.
Lu Zhiruo was bored just sitting there and planned to take a few books to read. However, after taking a look around the library, he realized that she had read almost all of them before and didn't like the remaining ones. She came back empty-handed. Not daring to disturb Sun Mo, she placed both hands on her knees and sat upright, being so well-behaved as if she was a cat.
The summer wind blew past the window, sending one of the manuscripts to her. She had long since felt curious about what Sun Mo was doing and thus glanced over.
"The Flowerfruit Mountain is a place of good fortune, and the Water Curtain Cave presented a whole new world?"
Lu Zhiruo continued reading. (This is a story of a monkey, but is it possible for a monkey to come out from a stone? That's so mysterious! Hmm, isn't Teacher Sun's choice of words too straightforward?)
Lu Zhiruo felt that she'd be able to do a better job than Sun Mo. However, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the manuscript. It was because this monkey was really interesting. It was just a beast, but it dared to call itself the 'Monkey King'. What arrogance.
Lu Zhiruo put aside the copy of the manuscript and then glanced toward Sun Mo. She then secretly inched closer, reached out her hand, and took another piece.
Distressing journey to the west, the birth of the Monkey King.
Traveling the world in search of immortality!
Lu Zhiruo continued reading. When she reached out again and touched nothing, she quickly realized that she had finished reading through all the manuscripts.
"There's no more?"
Lu Zhiruo was disappointed and subconsciously looked toward Sun Mo. He was also looking at her.
Clank!
Lu Zhiruo instantly got up in shock, but because she moved too quickly, her knees scraped against the table. It hurt a lot.
"Ouch!"
Lu Zhiruo gasped but quickly greeted, "Teacher Sun!"
The papaya girl then turned her gaze toward the manuscript in front of Sun Mo, subconsciously reaching out her hand. She had a strong yearning to read it.