C19 Celestial Balls and Rich Tree (i Beg for Votes!)
"The Confederate States Army isn't exactly a walk in the park to join..."
"But if you lack strength, there's always a profession to fall back on!" Lin Yih said as he flipped open his notebook, pointing to the tiny print.
"Profession?" The fatty's eyes sparkled with interest.
"Forget it! You just don't have the knack for it!" Zhong Qin quipped, her lips curling into a smirk as she delivered the blunt truth.
Crack!
The fatty slumped onto the table, his fragile self-esteem shattered.
"Don't sweat it, Fatty. When it's time, I'll train as a Pet Beast Master and hire you as my bodyguard," Lin Yih reassured him with a grin.
Zhong Qin added with a sly smile, "I've got a bit of a gift for potion-making myself. Maybe I'll hire you to run errands for me."
"Ugh! Why can't I get excited about any of this stuff?"
"Perhaps we're just a bit smarter than you... by a hundred million points," Zhong Qin teased, stretching her arms wide to emphasize the point.
"Ah! You two brainiacs picking on me, the underachiever," the fatty lamented with a groan.
"Haha!"
At that moment, Jiaang Yuxin, who was lecturing at the front, glanced over at the trio.
Noticing their distraction, she cleared her throat pointedly.
"Cough, cough!"
But...
"Hey, Lin Yih, you were out these past few days. Was it because your Pet Beast Egg hatched?" Zhong Qin asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Yep," Lin Yih confirmed with a nod.
The mention of the Pet Beast piqued the fatty's interest too. "Fancy a couple of rounds?"
"What are you on about, Fatty? Lin Yih's Pet Beast is just a few days old. How can it match up against the one you've been feeding for over six months?"
The fatty protested, "I can take it easy, you know!"
"Fatty, you..."
As Lin Yih and the others were getting into their conversation,
The entire class had turned their attention to them. The visibly irate Jiaang Yuxin had veins throbbing on her forehead.
And the three students were blissfully unaware.
Lin Yih nodded, "I think I'm up for the challenge."
Upon hearing this, the fatty banged the desk and exclaimed, "Zhong Qin, see? That's the spirit of a true man!"
Suddenly, the fatty shuddered, sensing a deep hostility fixed upon him.
"What's... what's going on?"
His chubby cheeks quivered as he noticed the eerie silence in the room.
Turning slowly, he met the gaze of Jiaang Yuxin, her head a mass of angry veins.
His heart skipped a beat!
With a forced smile, the fatty greeted, "Hi!"
"Hi, my foot!" Jiaang Yuxin snapped, "Out! Now!"
"Ah!" The fatty's whole body shook.
He then forced a smile more pained than tears, "Could I possibly walk instead? Rolling might be a bit tricky with these narrow aisles."
The class erupted in laughter, tears streaming down their faces.
This fatty was a riot!
Jiaang Yuxin, fists clenched, commanded, "Out! This instant!"
"Alright, alright!" the fatty said, scurrying out the door.
"And you two!" Jiaang Yuxin turned to Lin Yih and Zhong Qin.
"Teacher's watching!" Zhong Qin playfully stuck out her tongue and dashed out after the fatty.
But Lin Yih wasn't ready to give up just yet.
He put on a pitiful face and pleaded, "Sis, come on... don't be like that."
To be honest, Lin Yih's delicate skin and finely chiseled features had the girls in the class experiencing what could only be described as heart-fluttering sensations.
"Wow!" "Ah!" The girls erupted into a chorus of squeals.
"Cough!" Even Jiaang Yuxin's cheeks flushed with a hint of red.
It worked! Lin Yih felt a sense of calm assurance.
Jiaang Yuxin barely parted her lips to speak, but Lin Yih wasn't about to hang on her every word. He promptly plopped back down onto his stool.
But then, the atmosphere took a sharp turn.
"Lin Yih, get out of here!"
Crash! Lin Yih was petrified, his body rigid with shock.
"Snort! Haha!"
"Ah..." Lin Yih shook his head, resigned to his fate as he was ushered out.
Yet, as he left, his hands were filled with several notes passed to him by the girls.
He casually unfolded one and glanced at it.
"Lin Yih, you're so handsome! Could you possibly..."
No chance! I'm the man you'll never be able to have!
With a flick of his wrist, the notes were crumpled into a ball and tossed into the distance.
"Hey, hey! Stand over there!"
Jiaang Yuxin had followed them out and was now pointing to the wall where the two boys stood.
Lin Yih glanced at the drifting paper ball and guiltily took his place against the wall.
Luckily, I moved quickly; she probably didn't see that.
"Hold on! Lin Yih, you don't need to stand," Jiaang Yuxin suddenly called out.
At her words, Lin Yih's face brightened. Had she had a change of heart?
"You don't need to stand; you need to squat! And face the wall while you're at it!"
Her icy words pierced Lin Yih's heart like a dagger.
"Pfft!" The stoic-faced fatty couldn't contain a snicker, his face twitching with amusement.
Jiaang Yuxin's gaze swiftly turned to the fatty.
"Hai Dafu! You squat down too, dammit!"
"Ah!" The fatty was stunned.
Laugh it up~ Now it's your turn!
Lin Yih, already squatting, cast a sympathetic glance at the fatty...
Once Lin Yih was dealt with, Jiaang Yuxin returned to the classroom...
...
Time crawled by at a snail's pace...
The three of them, having barely made it through the school day, were just about to sneak off when Jiaang Yuxin summoned them to her office.
Jiaang Yuxin was there, tidying up her teaching materials for the day.
The three students stood before her.
The fatty appeared somewhat humble, while beneath Zhong Qin's calm exterior lurked a hint of tension.
Lin Yih, however, was completely at ease, his gaze wandering curiously around the office.
Despite having been in the office numerous times over three years, each visit still felt fresh and intriguing to him.
He was particularly fascinated by the two small potted plants on her desk.
One was a spherical, pale green cactus with a dense array of tiny spines. The other, about half a meter tall, had an umbrella-like shape with a robust, ancient-looking trunk and sprawling branches and leaves...
Lin Yih had always known one as a Celestial Ball and the other as a Tree of Fortune, but the details of their significance had eluded him—until now.
"Scan!"
"Beep! Scanning..."
Name: Celestial Ball
Species: Plant
Attribute: Wood
Level: Bronze
Status: Mature, Healthy
Quality: Normal
Potential: One Star
Skills: Absorption, Purification
Evolution Path: 1. Normal Evolution: Celestial Flower... 2. Ancestral Evolution: Great Celestial Ball... 3. Epic Evolution: Giant Celestial Ball...
Introduction: This charming ornamental plant not only beautifies spaces but also serves as a radiation shield and air purifier. Its potential for cultivation is somewhat limited.
Name: Tree of Fortune
Species: Plant
Attribute: Wood
Level: Bronze
Status: Growing Phase, Healthy
Quality: Elite
Potential: Two Stars
Skills: Evil Warding, Wealth Attraction, Auspiciousness Gathering
Evolution Path: None!
Introduction: This petite decorative plant is known for boosting financial and scholarly luck, subtly shifting fortunes to ward off negativity and attract prosperity and good omens. It might just be the key to reducing your daily dose of misfortune. However, its potential for cultivation remains low.
