NOVPUBNiu Kai Xuan sat quietly in his wheelchair, thinking that after having not seen Chen Nan for two years, Chen Nan would surely be as energetic and talkative as before, asking non-stop about his experiences and comforting him.
But he found that the guy was unusually composed.
So composed that it made him feel like a stranger.
Eventually.
Niu Kai Xuan broke the quiet atmosphere and smiled, "You little rascal, you’re not cultivating in the mountains anymore, how come you’re back?"
"If you weren’t going to come, I was planning to go to the mountains to find you and join in the self-cultivation soon."
He wasn’t lying.
His current life was comfortable enough, but he was feeling a dullness and wanted to change his way of living and continue on.
Chen Nan said, "My dad had a car accident a while back, and his dying wish was for me to return to school and take the college entrance exam."
"So, I came back."
Watching Chen Nan’s casual demeanor, Niu Kai Xuan’s heart shuddered violently, waves churned in the still waters of his heart, and it took a long time to calm down.
He knew.
Chen Nan had really grown up.
Two years ago, he had entered the mountains to cultivate in a fit of anger because he couldn’t tolerate his father marrying another woman.
And two years later, even when faced with the reality of his father’s tragic death in a car accident, he was able to casually brush it off.
This state of mind!
It touched him and made him feel ashamed.
After coming back to his senses, Niu Kai Xuan couldn’t help but sigh, "You should indeed take the college entrance exam, not just for your father’s last wish, but also not to waste over ten years of hard study."
"In one lifetime, we might do things differently from others."
"But we must never let ourselves down."
Chen Nan smiled, "I also have to thank you for helping me with the leave of absence, keeping my school registration."
Upon hearing this, Niu Kai Xuan couldn’t help getting worked up, "You knucklehead, if you had heeded my advice and come back to take the exam, why would I have needed to resort to that measure?"
"Luckily, you came back, not letting down your teacher’s painstaking efforts."
Chen Nan chuckled and then asked with a curious face, "Teacher, how did our classmates do on the exam two years ago?"
"Did everyone make it onto the honor roll and get into the universities they aspired to?"
Niu Kai Xuan replied with a proud look, "That’s a superfluous question to ask. You don’t even look at who I am. I, Niu Kai Xuan, have taught so many classes, and which time was the admission rate not among the best?"
"Especially the students from your class..."
"That was the last class I taught and the one with the best results."
"Out of fifty-six students in the class, aside from you, everyone scored above the first-tier college admission line."
"Even more, six were admitted to Tsinghua and Peking University."
"Ten applied to the National Defense University."
"With these results before us, wouldn’t you say my teaching career has drawn to a successful close?"
Chen Nan joked with a smile, "The title ’Old Niu’ doesn’t just come from your surname Niu, but also because your teaching skills are outstanding!"
Feeling validated by Chen Nan, Niu Kai Xuan was in a good mood, laughing heartily, which made him appear quite happy.
Watching his mentor’s face filled with joy.
Chen Nan didn’t want to ruin his good mood but he still took a deep breath, watched the bobber quietly, and said softly, "Teacher, a few nights ago, I went to the People’s Hospital. By the time I left, it was already past midnight. Guess who I saw on the roadside?"
Niu Kai Xuan’s face showed concern, "Why did you go to the hospital?"
Chen Nan, "I’m fine, I was sending a friend for treatment."
Niu Kai Xuan uttered an "Oh," and then asked, "Who did you run into on the roadside?"
Chen Nan murmured, "The moment I saw her, I felt like I’d encountered a ghost. Because the streetlights were already out, and there was an electric tricycle selling roujiamo parked on the side of the road."
"A girl with dark, rough skin was asleep beside the tricycle."
"How I wish I had seen a ghost instead!"
"Because I practice Daoism, I’m not afraid of ghosts at all!"
"My words might be a bit disordered, but you should be able to understand what I’m trying to say, right, Teacher?"
Niu Kai Xuan couldn’t help but ask, "So, who exactly did you encounter?"
Chen Nan: "Nie Xiaoyu!"
Boom!
Those simple three words, like a bolt from the blue, caused Niu Kai Xuan to freeze on the spot.
His face drained of color, his pupils revealing an undeniable shock.
That name was all too familiar to him.
It was his pride!
The greatest pride of his more than twenty-year teaching career! 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Chen Nan turned to look at Niu Kai Xuan with a calm expression that began to betray a hint of pain: "Teacher, if I’m not mistaken, among those six students who received admission letters from Tsinghua and Peking University, Xiaoyu must be one of them, right?"
"But if that’s the case, why has she fallen to the point of enduring the elements, barely making ends meet by selling pork-stuffed flatbreads to pay for her grandfather’s medical treatment?"
Seeing the pain in Chen Nan’s eyes, Niu Kai Xuan suddenly felt an almost suffocating illusion.
He felt as if Chen Nan’s gaze was a sharp dagger that had unexpectedly plunged into his heart, the intense pain making it hard for him to catch his breath.
This made him subconsciously turn his head away, avoiding eye contact.
Chen Nan gritted his teeth and said word by word, "Teacher, what are you evading? You dare not meet my eyes?"
"Two years ago when you came to find me in the mountains, you said."
"A true man born of heaven and earth should be upright and honest, brave enough to face everything."
"You said these words, but why can’t you do it?"
Three years of teacher-student affection.
Chen Nan knew the personality of Niu Kai Xuan.
The moment his eyes began to dodge, Chen Nan already knew the outcome.
Nie Xiaoyu’s grades had been replaced by someone else’s.
And Niu Kai Xuan had known about it all along!
Enraged and humiliated, Niu Kai Xuan exploded, "Chen Nan, you’re not here to visit your teacher, you’re after my life!"
"Get out!"
"Just get out!"
"I don’t want to see you ever again!"
Had it been in the past, seeing his mentor in such a rage, Chen Nan would have definitely felt fear, unease, even trembling in fright.
But at this moment.
He just stood there quietly, his gaze indifferent like still water: "You said earlier when I came."
"Although the college entrance examination can change one’s life, my stubborn and cynical personality led me to Daoist practice in the mountains, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing."
"At first, I didn’t understand why you would say that, but now, the student has come to a clear understanding."
Niu Kai Xuan trembled all over, angrily staring at Chen Nan, "I fucking told you to get out, are you deaf?"
Chen Nan said softly, "Teacher, Xiaoyu is your pride, isn’t she? She should have had a bright future, and yet now she’s reduced to wandering the streets selling pork-stuffed flatbreads to make a living. Don’t you feel sorry for her?"
"Why don’t you dare admit that Xiaoyu’s results were replaced by someone else’s?"
"What exactly are you trying to hide?"
Niu Kai Xuan took a deep breath, his face revealing a bitter smile, "Even if I admit that Xiaoyu’s results were replaced, what can be done about it?"
Chen Nan clenched his fists tightly, "I owe Xiaoyu justice!"
With a pained expression, Niu Kai Xuan said, "Chen Nan, that’s enough, listen to your teacher. Let this matter go, don’t investigate any further, or you’ll be playing with fire!" Saying this, he looked down at his own empty lower half.
Chen Nan felt a chill run down his spine, "Teacher, does your plight have something to do with this?"
