Crimson Fire No.1 Middle School's junior high and senior high were adjacent to one another.
When the bell rang for the end of school in the morning, a large number of middle school students in blue uniforms rushed to the canteen like packs of famished wild dogs.
At the end of the crowd, a pretty girl walked slowly with her head lowered.
"Xiaojun!"
A familiar voice sounded, and the girl suddenly looked up.
Bai Xiaowen stood at the entrance of the canteen with a perfect smile on his face, revealing a row of perfect pearly white teeth.
From time to time, middle school girls who were running to the entrance of the canteen saw a handsome youth standing there. They slowed down in a bid to care for their image, wanting to appear demure in front of him. They walked into the canteen daintily and even secretly turned their heads to take a look at him.
"Elder Brother!"
Bai Xiaojun quickened her pace and ran over to Bai Xiaowen with a hint of surprise on her face. She wrapped her arms around Bai Xiaowen's arm and asked, "Why are you here?"
"I'm here to see you." Bai Xiaowen held up the thermos in his hand and said with a smile, "I brought you some delicious food to nourish your body."
For the past two weeks, Bai Xiaowen had been very busy.
A week ago, he was busy studying the pharmaceutical encyclopedia and dealing with heavy chores. After he was promoted to assistant, he had to familiarize himself with the chores of an assistant. He worked in the pharmaceutical room until midnight every day and did not have the time to take care of his sister.
Now that Bai Xiaowen was able to do his job as an assistant with ease, he finally had the time.
The two of them walked to the canteen together and sat down in a corner.
"Elder Brother, take a seat. I'll go get you some food," Xiaojun said.
"Wait a minute."
Bai Xiaowen stopped her and made her sit down before opening the thermos.
Immediately, a mouth-watering fragrance filled the air.
"Wow, it smells so good! What dish is this?" Xiaojun's dark eyes widened.
The rice in the thermos container had a shiny white luster. Just the sight of it made one's teeth drool, making one want to eat it heartily. That was not counting the smell of the greasy braised pork belly that could whet one's appetite, the exquisite knife skills that could transform fruits into the shape of a crabapple, and the piping hot soup—amber-colored like aged wine—with shrimps floating on the soup surface.
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Because of the aroma, people from the surrounding tables cast glances over.
"Good lord! Stone-skinned Braised Pork, a platter of Cliff Dragon Fruit, Special Krill Broth, and King of Rice!" A teacher at the neighboring table who was a foodie saw this and immediately whispered to the person next to him, "Are all students so rich nowadays? From the looks of it, this spread should have cost him thousands of yuan."
"What?"
Xiaojun was about to start eating, but when she heard this, she stopped eating.
"Elder Brother, is today a special day? Why did you buy such expensive dishes?" Xiaojun asked softly.
Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "It's not just today. From now on, we'll have B-grade strengthening recipes for every meal."
"Huh? This costs a lot of money! The 100,000 yuan bonus you received will be gone in no time." Xiaojun was very sensible. She gulped and did a mental calculation.
"Don't worry. Just eat. I have plenty of ways to earn money," Bai Xiaowen reassured.
After coming to the Spiritual Energy Era, Bai Xiaowen gradually adapted to his new identity. He understood what kind of abilities he had and had the confidence to match them.
With his Insight and super brain, it was easy for Bai Xiaowen to earn money. Not to mention anything else, just his ability to purify and make potions from scrap was profitable.
When he had just gotten the 100,000 yuan prize money, Bai Xiaowen had a discussion with his sister. Both of them decided that the money would be their rainy-day fund.
But now, Bai Xiaowen, who had a deeper understanding of his abilities, no longer cared about the 100,000 yuan.
As long as he was willing, he could easily get his hands on a million yuan or even ten million yuan! If it were not for the fact that recipe ingredients in A-grade and above could not be bought with money, he would definitely choose a better and more expensive A-grade recipe.
This was the confidence of a super genius.
After Bai Xiaowen's repeated assurances, Xiaojun finally raised her chopsticks in relief. "All right, then I'll eat first!"
The food was devoured very quickly.
Xiaojun patted her belly in satisfaction and said, "The food is absolutely divine."
"Remember to work out. This B-grade recipe contains a lot of spiritual particles. Only by undergoing lots of training can you absorb them and convert them into your attribute values," Bai Xiaowen instructed.
There were usually three ways to increase one's attributes.
The first method was to train. One who chose to use this method would have slow improvement. Unless he had extraordinary talent, it would be very difficult for him to have any achievements.
The second method was using enhancement potions. This method worked quickly, but the failure rate was also high. One had to have a strong mental will to withstand it. Bai Xiaowen had already scanned Xiaojun's attributes. Her Spirit attribute was very low, so she would not be able to withstand the pain brought about by the enhancement potions.
The third was the enhancement recipes. There were many such recipes. Some focused on increasing Strength, some focused on strengthening Physique, and some focused on the development of the Spirit attribute. However, no matter the kind of recipe, it required the person to train diligently and absorb it.
The enhancement recipe that the siblings had eaten today belonged to a relatively balanced category. The Stone-skinned Braised Pork would help the person build Strength, while the Cliff Dragon Fruit would increase one's Spirit attribute. The Secret Krill Broth focused on increasing one's Agility, and the King of Rice increased one's Physique.
Xiaojun was 14 years old now and she would have growth spurts and puberty changes. It was a critical time for her to lay the foundations of good health. Hence, Bai Xiaowen had taken great pains in choosing the most suitable recipe for her.
After dinner, Bai Xiaowen sent Xiaojun back to the classroom and walked back to the high school while holding the thermos.
After walking along a shady, tree-lined path, a girl with long hair suddenly stopped Bai Xiaowen.
It was Wu Xiaoyan.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Bai Xiaowen asked.
To be honest, Bai Xiaowen did not hate Wu Xiaoyan, nor did he have a good impression of her. Wu Xiaoyan was pursuing Zhou Yi because she hoped to form a connection with the Zhou family, which was a family of higher status. It was a realistic choice. It was neither right nor wrong.
Bai Xiaowen did not care whether Wu Xiaoyan could fulfill her wish and become the young mistress of the Zhou family.
Wu Xiaoyan looked around. Seeing that no one was around, she lowered her voice and said, with a hint of reproach in her voice, "Bai Xiaowen, there are only three days left until the actual field training. You haven't written your withdrawal application yet?"
"Why should I withdraw from this training?" Bai Xiaowen frowned.
Wu Xiaoyan said, "It's not like you don't know how dangerous the buffer zone is! Do you think Zhou Yi is simply scaring you?"
Wu Xiaoyan sighed. "Bai Xiaowen, I'd advise you to give up. Don't try to compare yourself to Zhou Yi in every matter. To put it bluntly, you're not qualified enough to be compared with him."
"In terms of family, the Zhou family is an upper-class family in the Crimson Fire District!"
"In terms of wealth, the Allomancy Pharmaceuticals' annual profits are hundreds of millions of yuan."
"In terms of strength, Zhou Yi's overall attributes have already exceeded 15 points. He's close to a quasi-Awakened!"
Wu Xiaoyan listed three comparisons that she found convincing. She concluded, "Bai Xiaowen, we grew up in the same neighborhood. You should know your place. A normal class suits you more. After graduation, you can be a white-collar worker. That's not bad too."
After a pause, Wu Xiaoyan continued, "It's not easy to find a job now. As long as you're willing to give up and stop opposing Zhou Yi, I can help you find a job in the pharmaceutical industry."
A strange smile appeared on Bai Xiaowen's face.
"Me? Opposing Zhou Yi?"
Bai Xiaowen shook his head with a smile and walked past Wu Xiaoyan.
They brushed past each other.
"Thanks for the reminder," he said.