Chapter 26: Betraying His Mentor! Lin Tianming Breaks Jiang Han's Heart!
"Ugh... ow..."
Lin Tianming suddenly clutched his stomach, his face contorted in pain, causing Wang Yanran to furrow her brows.
[What's wrong with this little brat?]
Despite her confusion, Wang Yanran paused and asked, "Junior, what's wrong?"
"Sis... senior... ugh... it hurts, it hurts!"
As soon as Lin Tianming tried to speak, he clutched his stomach again, grimacing in pain.
After taking several deep breaths, he managed to string together a weak explanation.
"Senior... I... my stomach really hurts... maybe... maybe I ate something bad in the cafeteria!"
"The Imperial Capital's Great Emperor Academy is the top advanced awakening academy in Kyushu. To ensure the health of the top students from all over Kyushu, the food quality is strictly controlled. There has never been a case of food poisoning in the cafeteria since the school opened. Your stomach pain is unlikely caused by the food."
As she analyzed the situation, Wang Yanran scrutinized Lin Tianming's painful expression, trying to determine if he was faking it.
This Wang Yanran... she seems hard to fool!
While pretending to have a stomachache, Lin Tianming was silently impressed by her perceptiveness.
But he continued, "It... it might be due to water and soil incompatibility... senior, my stomach really hurts, ugh..."
Watching Lin Tianming's genuinely painful expression for a while, Wang Yanran didn't respond immediately.
[Water and soil incompatibility? If it's due to dietary differences, then it could be possible to get a stomach ache from eating normal food at the Imperial Capital's Great Emperor Academy...]
After a moment of contemplation, Wang Yanran asked, "The cafeteria here serves dishes from all over Kyushu. Even if you had dietary issues, you could have eaten the food from your own region. How did you end up with a stomachache?"
Facing her skepticism, Lin Tianming quickly improvised, "Ugh... senior... I... my stomach really hurts. Can we stop standing here like an interrogation? I... it's my first time in the capital, and I wanted to try the local dishes instead of the usual ones from my place. Who would have thought I'd get a stomachache due to water and soil incompatibility?"
[This explanation seems reasonable. If I were in another city, I'd also want to try the local dishes instead of worrying about dietary issues.]
[Looks like I was too paranoid. But having a stomachache now... it really messed up my plan to lure this little scoundrel into the grove and kill him!]
[I'll let it go today. I'll use this chance to confirm if he's the scoundrel who defiled me. I'll kill him next time.]
Hearing Wang Yanran's thoughts about her plan to lure him into the grove, Lin Tianming couldn't help but feel a chill.
Thankfully, he was clever enough to fake a stomachache in time, otherwise, he might have ended up dead in the grove.
"Junior, do you need me to take you to the infirmary?"
"It's probably just a simple case of water and soil incompatibility. I should be fine after a trip to the restroom. Senior, can I at least know your name before I go?"
Even though Lin Tianming knew from the system that this senior was Wang Yanran, a reborn person wronged by the original owner, he had to pretend it was their first meeting.
"Junior, I'm Wang Yanran. You can call me Senior Yanran. I like you a lot!"
[I like you enough to burn you to death right now!]
Wang Yanran's outward enthusiasm was contrasted by the anger and hatred in her heart, rivaling that of Ye Qingsue from two months ago.
"Alright... ugh... I'll remember that. My stomach hurts too much, Senior Yanran, I'll head back to the dorm first. See you next time!"
Lin Tianming didn't dare stay with Wang Yanran any longer, afraid he might accidentally reveal himself.
He didn't give Wang Yanran a chance to reply and quickly ran towards his dormitory building.
As she watched Lin Tianming's retreating figure, the friendly and enthusiastic smile on Wang Yanran's face vanished, replaced by an unrestrained look of hatred and anger.
"Lin... Tian... Ming, our next meeting will be the day you die. I will avenge all those you wronged in our past lives!"
Having narrowly escaped Wang Yanran's planned ambush in the grove, Lin Tianming collapsed onto his dorm bed, exhaling in relief.
Seeing him return, his roommate Chu Yunfei quickly approached, asking with a gossiping tone, "Tianming, how did it go? Did that hot senior confess to you?"
Chu Yunfei's question annoyed Lin Tianming, reminding him of how close he had come to being led into a trap by Wang Yanran due to Chu Yunfei's assumptions.
Lin Tianming glared at Chu Yunfei, "Confess your head! I nearly got killed because of you!"
Chu Yunfei, taken aback by Lin Tianming's glare, showed a confused and innocent expression.
All he did was guess that the senior might be confessing to Lin Tianming. How did that nearly get Lin Tianming killed?
...
The next day, Lin Tianming, being Jiang Han's student, received a message from her, summoning him to class.
Following Jiang Han's instructions, he arrived at the Lightning Awakening Field within the Imperial Capital's Great Emperor Academy, expecting to see other classmates.
To his surprise, there were no other students, only Jiang Han standing there alone.
This filled Lin Tianming with a sense of foreboding.
Could this be a trap set by Jiang Han, like Wang Yanran's attempt to lure him into the grove?
"Child, you're here! Come over, today I will teach you your first lesson!"
Although Jiang Han's expression seemed genuinely kind, Lin Tianming couldn't shake the thought that she might be seeking revenge.
He didn't respond and turned to leave.
"Leaving during class is considered truancy. As an SSS-level talent, you shouldn't behave like this!"
Jiang Han's voice, filled with authority, made Lin Tianming's scalp tingle. In the next moment, he was ensnared by a lightning whip and dragged back to Jiang Han.
"Child, why do you seem so afraid of me?"
[Could it be that this traitor has discovered my rebirth?]
Hearing Jiang Han's thoughts, Lin Tianming quickly explained, "Teacher Jiang Han, being the only student here makes me nervous. Shouldn't there be other students learning from you too?"
Jiang Han smiled at his question, "Child, becoming my student isn't easy. Before accepting you, although I am a teacher here, I mainly devise special training plans for students and occasionally substitute for other teachers."
Lin Tianming was surprised, "You mean... I'm your first student?"
"Yes, you are the first student I've ever accepted."
Jiang Han confirmed, but Lin Tianming also heard her heart-wrenching thoughts.
[To think that after finding a student I was genuinely excited about and pouring my heart into cultivating, it would end in betrayal...]
[Tianming, do you know how much your betrayal has hurt me?]