Wang Tong woke up in a room filled with sunlight, and he saw the space crystal laying quietly beside him. He figured Mr. Wannabe must have had a blast last night; therefore, he didn't even have the energy to bother Wang Tong like he always did in the morning.
Wang Tong stretched his body and inhaled a few large gulps of fresh morning air as he felt well rested from last night’s sleep. Although the process he had been forced to endure in order to get used to the sleep-practice had been painfully slow and strenuous, thanks to Mr. Wannabe's supervision, he had finally gotten used to it and ever since, it had been hard for Wang Tong to rest well without practicing the tactics.
For a human being, getting used to things was the answer to many conundrums in life.
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a set of bloodshot eyes appeared right in front of Wang Tong and assaulted him with its bleary gaze. Wang Tong was startled and yelled at Mr. Wannabe, "You scared me you a*shole!"
"There is something that I need to talk to you about," Mr. Wannabe said with a drab and stern voice, which to Wang Tong's knowledge, had never matched with the topic that he was about to bring up.
"Ya, ya, what is it?" Wang Tong said inattentively while laid languidly on a sofa.
Mr. Wannabe narrowed his eyes and asked, "Wang Tong my friend, and do you know what it is that you need the most right now?"
"Money." There was not even the slightest delay in Wang Tong's reply as he had understood the importance of money ever since childhood, thanks to the greediness of Old Fart.
"Wrong! Young men like you should not be burdened by such worldly possessions. What you need the most right now is more sparring practice. Here, I have found a PA sparring program in the system. It looked great, but for some reason, I could not play. I’ve been itching for it restlessly for an entire night. Why don't you give it a try right now? I will watch."
Since Mr. Wannabe had never been a reserved person or a ghost, he started forcing Wang Tong to play the program before he even had a chance to reply. Being helplessly obsessed with martial arts, Mr. Wannabe desperately needed Wang Tong to help deal with his anticipation.
"Excuse me, I, as an excellent student of the Ayrlarng Academy, do not have the time to waste on virtual games. The reality tells me that I need money really badly, so my time is better spent finding a part time job instead."
Wang Tong had no interest in continuing the conversation and was ready to shut off the space crystal.
It was a new day and time for a brand new start in his life, as he remembered last night, he had many things to attend today.
"Wait! Is there no other way?!" Mr. Wannabe rounded his eyes and roared as if wanting to smack Wang Tong’s head.
"No way, unless you can pay me for it, otherwise, no means no!" Wang Tong uttered a voice command to shut off the crystal since he did not have the time to argue with Mr. Wannabe. He had to go to school and figure out his accommodation situation. Just like what folks always said, “Only the poor kids know how to look after themselves.”
While there were still many who had engrossed themselves in the game at Dream-Heaven, Wang Tong had already squatted in front of the school entrance to wait for the teachers to come.
Wang Tong snacked on a sandwich as he mulled over the most moving words he’d ever known, which he would then deploy to inspire the teacher's sympathy towards him. It was clear that not only had he learned a lot of street smarts from the hooligan like Old Fart, the experience of living with the piteous Old Fart had also attuned him to any rising opportunity so that he would not starve to death.
The students who came here to attend their Monday classes watched Wang Tong curiously as they passed by. They wondered who this young beggar squatting at their school entrance was.
"Dear Mr. Simon, you have finally arrived!" Mr. Simon was not punctual at all; actually, he was late by almost an hour.
"Who are you?... Ah... you are… Wang Tong? What are you doing here at the entrance?" Mr. Simon was puzzled to see Wang Tong waiting for him here.
"Mister, I am here because I want to report something about myself to you. I still haven't gotten accommodations yet, and I don’t… bakhh... To tell you the truth, I was an orphan and was adopted by my grandpa, but after I had come back from a labor camp on Norton, I had learned that even my grandpa had passed away recently. I really have nowhere to go. I checked the hotels around the school… they are too… I… I..."Wang Tong's eyes seemed to have lost focus, he thought to himself, “Sorry Old Fart that I had to say you are dead, but I know you are tough plus bad guys never die.”
Mr. Simon felt immensely sorry for the fifteen years old boy in front of him. He really wanted to help Wang Tong, but the financial situation of the Academy had been difficult, to say the least. The Confederation had been spending less and less of the budget on them due to the mediocre performance of the students, and the astronomical cost of keeping up the appearances as an A-class institution had been draining to the school’s coffers. It was so challenging that they nearly failed to start this new semester and likely would have if not for the new principal’s arrival.
Mr. Simon looked at the miserable Wang Tong, he felt sorry for such a young boy being sent to Norton, a desolate planet where only the most desperate would go to try their luck. Unable to fathom the treacherous condition Wang Tong had endured on Norton, Mr. Simon felt heart-wrenching pain to see any more burdens being added on to Wang Tong's young and fragile soul. Mr. Simon looked at Wang Tong then as if he was obligated to help him.
"Don't worry Wang Tong, I'll see to it that your problem is resolved. Let's talk inside, follow me."
Simon felt an inexplicable warmth pouring out of his heart as he extended his helping hand to Wang Tong. It was then clear that Wang Tong's carefully mulled over words and expression had worked wonders without Wang Tong even having to create any false facts. Wang Tong felt that he was getting closer to having his accommodations.
Simon led Wang Tong into his office and then immediately, Simon buried himself in documents to search through the room records. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any open rooms even after a few minutes of struggle, then suddenly, Simon's eyes shined as he had come up with an idea.
"Wang Tong, you have arrived at a very inconvenient time, all of the old dorms have been filled up while the new dorms haven't finished construction yet. That being said, there is a small room by building number 5 which was originally intended for the concierge. Would you be willing to move in there for a few days before you move into the new dorms after they’re built?"
"Mister! Thank you so much! I am speechless now; I will repay your kindness with my hard work and good grades!"
Simon laughed as he was happy at Wang Tong's positive attitude, "No worries, but your room is a bit special."
"That's fine, as long as I can live in there."
"That goes without saying since it was a standard worker's room. What I meant was that the building number 5 adjacent to your room is a girl's dormitory. I hope you won't stir up any trouble there," Simon said as he grinned at Wang Tong.
Wang Tong saluted Mr. Simon and said seriously, "Yes Sir, I won't even look at them."
"Ha ha, I was just teasing you, you won’t be able to see anything even if you wanted to. Carry your baggage, don’t let them slow you down."
"Sir, I don't have any baggage with me."
"Excellent, you have a superb attitude, I like it!" Simon patted Wang Tong's shoulder in joy. Wang Tong had made Mr. Simon not only feel good about himself but also impressed by Wang Tong's ability to handle himself during such difficult times. "Feel free to let me know if you ever need anything else. I will do what I can as the head of the school's logistics department."
Life had taught Wang Tong the skill of maneuvering around and manipulating people's emotions when he had to, like how he did it with Mr. Simon just then. However, Wang Tong was still very grateful to Mr. Simon, but he had a feeling that Mr. Simon was genuinely a nice person who would extend a helping hand to him even without Wang Tong having to take advantage of his sympathy.