It turned out that Liu Mengruo did indeed take Lin Yuan's matter to heart.
She left in the morning and returned that afternoon around six o'clock.
She brought back several group photos.
There were photos of the teachers together and students' grade graduation pictures. With sharp eyes and keen ears now, Lin Yuan spotted himself among them at a glance.
"It's okay if you can't remember; relationships in school are limited to the campus anyway. They never really knew the real you, so all you need to remember is how they perceived you and the relationships you had with them," she said.
With that, Liu Mengruo started introducing him to everyone, beginning with the principal and moving on to the head of discipline, as well as every subject's teacher, describing each one in great detail for Lin Yuan to hear.
Lin Yuan listened very attentively.
Liu Mengruo's words made sense. As long as he could remember each student's name and their general relationships with one another,
he could then appear on campus openly without worrying about being seen through.
And it was also thanks to Liu Mengruo that Lin Yuan understood his treatment in Class 7 of senior high. Although he wasn't a drag on the class, he was far from outstanding. Mediocre in every aspect, he was the least remarkable of them all.
This was a good thing. Mediocrity meant being unremarkable, invisible.
Most of the class probably only remembered him as a student with average grades but exceptionally good looks.
However, when it came to introducing a girl with soft curly hair and round glasses, who looked particularly sweet,
Liu Mengruo hesitated and said, "You need to be careful with this Lu Ziyu..."
"Why?"
Lin Yuan looked at the girl in the picture, who was noticeably more beautiful than the other female classmates, and asked, "Am I her boyfriend? Is that why she knows me so well?"
"Dating is not allowed in school!" Liu Mengruo tapped his forehead with the photo and gave him a peculiar look, dodged the question, "And your relationship with her is more complicated. You two seem to get along well and look like a couple, but she once helped you pass me a love letter, so I'm not clear what your relationship really is."
Lin Yuan blinked, confused, "What?"
He hadn't expected his predecessor to also know the ways of a good husband. Such youthful indiscretion... Pah...
Lin Yuan apologized, "I'm sorry, Teacher Liu, I don't remember."
"It's okay, who doesn't have a youthful phase? It's understandable to have an early crush, just don't let it lead you astray," she replied.
Liu Mengruo smiled slightly and stood up, "I'll leave the photos with you. If there's anything you don't understand, remember to call me... Don't feel embarrassed, as a teacher, helping students with their troubles is part of my job."
"Yes, thank you, Teacher. Would you like to stay for a meal?"
"No need, I still have homework to grade," replied Liu Mengruo.
"I'll come to check on you in a few days. Remember to go to school only after you've memorized everything, okay?"
"Yes!"
"Any other questions?"
"Well... yes."
Lin Yuan asked, "Teacher Liu, could you help me find a set of Martial Dao textbooks?"
"Martial Dao?"
Liu Mengruo paused, then said, "But I remember your goal was always Yun University. You've said that its affiliated institution is the Historical Management Department, where the work is minimal and relaxed. It's the job position you've dreamed of... Why the sudden interest in Martial Dao? And with only half a year left until the Martial Arts exam, isn't it too late to switch fields now?"
Lin Yuan understood what Liu Mengruo meant.
Unlike his previous life, in this world, there were two branches of study: Literary and Martial. Although there was still nine years of compulsory education, the division between Literary and Martial studies occurred only after these nine years... after all, neither Martial Artists nor civil servants could be illiterate.
Those nine years were entirely spent laying the foundation.
Then, based on their preferences and choices in their records, those who chose Martial studies would go to Martial Arts academies, and those who chose Literary studies would go to Military Civil Service Academies or various government-affiliated schools.
Those with poorer grades would be steered towards specialized skills training schools.
Because the whole society was developing rapidly, no one was allowed to waste their years...
Making full use of one's talents, after nine years of foundational education, it was time to start systematic learning targeted at specific fields and to step into a job position as soon as possible!
Like Lin Yuan, who took the path of the liberal arts.
Besides the public courses, students intending to pursue liberal arts or martial arts followed different curricula in their other time.
He had been attending liberal arts classes all along but suddenly showed interest in martial arts …
Lin Yuan's expression was filled with the vicissitudes of life, as if he had endured endless hardships, and he answered bitterly, "Because … studying liberal arts won't save oneself …"
"Actually, if liberal arts students could join the military school, and become a Mech Master …"
Hearing this, Liu Mengruo stopped herself.
The strongest Mech Masters were generally Bio-implant users, and for someone like him, whose parents had both passed away and might not even be able to afford tuition fees, this money-burning system was simply unaffordable.
"Are you sure? Lin Yuan, you need to understand that although your grades are only average, it is precisely because they are average that you have the potential for significant improvement with six months of intensive study. If you're lucky, you might even be able to secure a better future for yourself. That's why I said I could apply for scholarships and loans for you. But if you choose the martial arts, you might be able to catch up on knowledge, but the foundational gap you have is not that easy to fill."
Lin Yuan replied seriously, "That's why I plan to enroll in the Martial Arts Class to catch up. I just want to cultivate Martial Dao to have the strength to protect myself. I don't mind even if I can't get into the top four."
"I see … alright then, I'll help you borrow a set of Martial Dao textbooks."
Liu Mengruo nodded in agreement.
And with that, she left the room.
Because her heels were so high, she descended the stairs with utmost care, and along the way, she did not forget to wave goodbye to Lin Yuan, who had not closed his door and was continuously watching her.
It was not until she reached the first floor that …
Liu Mengruo reached into the small, chic Chanel-like bag over her shoulder and took out a sensor.
Normal test papers detect blood, but this sensor could detect the Contamination Value just by being close. Naturally, it was far more expensive, costing her a week's salary plus performance pay.
But looking at the three levels of the Force of Pollution on it.
Liu Mengruo let out a sigh of relief, her face showing a relaxed expression.
She wasn't foolish, so she didn't just take Lin Yuan's word for it, but without evidence, she couldn't just report a student who trusted her.
With this data she personally tested in secret, plus the fact that he had just ended his quarantine.
"So it seems everything he said was true … that's such a relief."
Liu Mengruo tossed the sensor into the trash can, her steps lighter than before.
This way, she could wholeheartedly help Lin Yuan.
The next morning.
Liu Mengruo came over again and brought Lin Yuan a complete set of basic Martial Dao textbooks!
Dozens of them …
Fortunately, the Spiritual Power within Lin Yuan's body from "Nayuan True Jue" had improved during these past few days. Perhaps because there had been no Cultivator for over a thousand years, this world's Spiritual Energy had become astonishingly abundant!
As the only Cultivator, Lin Yuan, even without cultivating, felt as if he was being forcefully spoon-fed by this abundant Spiritual Energy.
His physique had strengthened quite a bit, and with it, his memory had also greatly improved compared to before.
He began to seriously flip through the textbooks from the beginning.
The textbooks, being pre-owned, had some extremely important annotations written inside and were very detailed, going from the basics to the more complex.
Lin Yuan only took a little over four hours to get a rough overview of them.
With a relaxed expression on his face, he murmured, "Good, good, even though it's nine years of compulsory education, the first few years are all about growing the body and laying foundations. Furthermore, before officially progressing to the Martial Dao Academy, there is more emphasis on training muscles and bones … the gap isn't as big as I imagined."
He had some reservations before, but after reading through these textbooks.
Lin Yuan felt more at ease.
His physique was indeed strong, but in fact, compared with the orthodox Martial Artists described in the books, it didn't seem to be that much better.
After all, he currently had only one Cultivation Technique and no skills to command it, whereas those Martial Artists' powers were all honed by themselves, more naturally integrated and easier to control.
Just join the Martial Arts Hall, then train for a few days … and then, everything should be explainable to anyone.