"I've already settled the matter I told you about. When are you coming over?"
Brother Xiong did not suspect anything and was calling to discuss a matter.
"What is it?"
Chen Pingan responded without thinking. When he was speaking, he even wanted to bite off his tongue. What kind of a response was that?
"Why aren't you concerned at all? In order to find connections to let you in, my legs have been almost broken from traveling around for the past few days!"
The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly raised. Brother Xiong was furious.
If it wasn't for the fact that they were cousins, would he take on this thankless task?
Brother Xiong was a teacher at a public school known as Qin Kai Cultivation School. He taught sports and was very famous in school.
Over the past few years, he had often led students to competitions all over the country, winning multiple trophies for the school and even the entire province.
Brother Xiong had his own way of teaching sports. Many of his students even made it to the national team. This was why the school valued Brother Xiong so much.
In an era where everyone was passionate about sports competitions, the status of a physical education teacher soared. He was the most famous person in the entire Qin Kai Cultivation School.
Brother Xiong was doing well. His good friend and cousin, Chen Pingan, on the other hand, was living in poverty.
This was because when Chen Pingan was young, he had been focusing entirely on painting. He even missed his compulsory cultivation classes and the school could not control him at all. After that, he dropped out of school early.
He had been living a poor life for the past few years. Every month, he relied on the money he earned from painting to survive. He lived trying to make ends meet.
In addition, Chen Pingan had yet to reach the elementary level of the Qi Refinement Stage and his constitution was not as good as an ordinary person's. Because he stayed up late all year round, his body was deteriorating day by day.
Seeing his cousin in such a state, Brother Xiong felt upset and wanted to help him.
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
Brother Xiong sighed and controlled his overly agitated emotions. He lowered his voice and said, "Pingan, I'm really not trying to speak ill of you, but look at how you've been living all these years. Do you really think it's fine to keep living like this?"
"If this goes on, aren't you afraid that your mother will be upset? Don't be too stubborn. Your path of painting is leading you nowhere. Look at what you've become."
Chen Pingan still didn't say anything, as if he was conflicted.
Brother Xiong was delighted. After saying so much, it seemed that the other party was finally willing to listen.
He continued his counseling. "Pingan, I've taken care of it for you already. You just need to report to school at 9 am next Monday."
Report next Monday?
Chen Pingan, who was browsing through the books in the library, was stunned for a moment. Then, he continued to search through the vast sea of books for suitable cultivation books.
He was not strong enough, so his main priority now was to cultivate. He would listen to the advice of the old men in the neighborhood and re-learn the necessary knowledge for cultivation.
Other things could be put aside for now.
"I'm not going, cousin. I'm sorry to trouble you. You've helped me with everything during this period of time. I'm really grateful to you, but I can't go." Chen Pingan took the opportunity to reply.
"What?"
Brother Xiong wondered if he had heard wrongly. He wasn't going?
"I'm not going."
"Let me be honest with you. Do you know how difficult it is to pull strings these days? I spent so much effort to convince the principal to give you a substitute teacher position."
Brother Xiong was furious on the other end and did not give Chen Pingan any chance to speak. He did not even breathe when he spoke.
"Although it's just a substitute teacher position, don't worry. As long as you stay in the school and teach for a few years, you will get into an authorized position and the benefits will increase."
Qin Kai Cultivation School was the largest public school in Yang City. Many people wanted to enter it, but they couldn't do so unless they had some connections.
"Pingan, the salary of the substitute teacher isn't too high at the moment. After deducting most of the monthly expenses, you only get three thousand yuan. But it's better than what you're currently doing, right? At least this job is stable!"
Brother Xiong thought that Chen Pingan was complaining about the low salary of the substitute teacher and thus tried his best to persuade him. "Besides, you can stay in the staff dormitory arranged by the school. You can save on the expenses of the rent. With a monthly salary of three thousand yuan, you can live comfortably."
He really did not wish for his cousin to continue painting.
Chen Pingan couldn't even guarantee his basic necessities, so what was the point of persisting?
"I've thought it through very clearly. The conditions are tempting, but I can't accept them. I have to work hard to cultivate and restore all the knowledge that I once wasted. I don't have the time to teach."
Chen Pingan refused righteously. At the same time, he carried a stack of books to the counter to settle the bill.
"Cousin, I was such a jerk in the past. From now on, I'm going to turn over a new leaf and cultivate seriously!"
"Alright, that's all for now. I'm currently paying the bill. I've bought all the cultivation lesson books from the past, so I have to hurry up and study them. We'll talk about it when I have time in the future!" He said confidently into the phone.
The staff who was scanning the book labels on the counter looked at Chen Pingan in surprise.
In this day and age, there were all kinds of people. But the staff member rarely saw young men in their twenties who were only starting to read the compulsory cultivation lesson books.
However, due to his professionalism, the staff member didn't want to hurt the young man's confidence.
At the same time, on the other side of the phone.
"Pingan…"
Brother Xiong was stunned. He held the phone and opened his mouth to say something, but Chen Pingan had already hung up.
Brother Xiong tried to recall what Pingan just said.
He wondered if his cousin truly wanted to relearn the contents of the compulsory cultivation lessons from high school and university.
He also wondered if there was something wrong with his cousin.
In order to cultivate, he even abandoned a prospective job!
"When you've spent all your money, I'll see how confident you are to reject me. Eventually, you'll come and find me."
Brother Xiong was sure that Chen Pingan was just acting on a whim. Based on his understanding of his cousin, it would be strange if Pingan could endure the boredom of cultivation for a long time!
For a moment, he was relieved. Now, he was just waiting for Chen Pingan to take the initiative to call him back. After all, it was not easy for him to get that substitute teacher's job opportunity, so how could he turn it down?
…
On the other hand, Chen Pingan's face was beaming with joy. He was carrying a pile of cultivation books in his arms. There were books from elementary high school, middle school, and university. He had bought all the books related to cultivation.
"The old men are right. Reading these books will definitely benefit me greatly. I only took a cursory glance at the catalog just now, and I already felt a lot of emotions."
"If I were to study all these books, I wonder how much would I gain? The suggestion the old men gave me sure is great!"
Chen Pingan thanked the old men in his heart. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't have discovered such useful cultivation books.
He carefully carried the books as if they were rare treasures. After leaving the library, he walked straight back to his neighborhood.
"I have to hurry back to cultivate. I don't have enough time."
Chen Pingan did not waste any more time on the road. After all, time was money. He was already behind others and could not afford to slack off.
In such a small neighborhood with hidden experts, he might not be able to fight against the experts, but at least he had the ability to escape them.
If something were to happen, Chen Pingan could always escape.