The next day, sunny.
Lu Bai chatted with the campus psychologist as usual, then came out of the psychological counseling room. He looked up at the holographic sky screen.
The weather was sunny as always, and there was still some time before mealtime.
Since it was still early anyway, he simply walked toward the combat training hall.
After causing such a big commotion yesterday, he was naturally no longer a nobody in others’ eyes.
Ranking first in two consecutive rounds of deathmatch duels, this result was so outstanding that it felt glaring to many.
Students he encountered along the way all instinctively made way for him.
“Lu Bai? The genius who just rose up in our campus?”
“That’s right, it’s him.”
“No way? Who would be that stupid?”
“It’s absolutely true, my cousin was right there at the scene.”
“If he was really expelled, that would be interesting.”
Many students passed by him and then discussed him in private.
But they only dared to gossip behind his back; they didn’t even dare to look up in front of Lu Bai.
“How come we’ve never heard of this elite before?”
“Shh~ Keep it down. Let me tell you, he wasn’t outstanding before. I heard he fell into the river…”
Normally, facing such an outstanding potential stock, whether to latch onto his thigh or represent their own faction to recruit him, someone would always come forward to chat with Lu Bai.
Unfortunately, Lu Bai wasn’t a normal case at all. His previous social circle was limited to his own class, and all factions had never had any intelligence on him before.
Plus the rumor that the drowning incident drastically changed his temperament, like he had unblocked the governing and conception vessels and soared straight up, which really made them unable to figure out what kind of personality Lu Bai had now.
Before figuring it out, all factions chose to continue observing.
Lu Bai didn’t care about others’ discussions, as long as they didn’t affect him. He was happy to have peace and quiet.
Arrived at the combat training hall.
Lu Bai familiarly changed into loose combat gear.
He casually placed the protective gear on the ground and started warming up on his own.
Seeing this, a scrawny old man walked up to him, picked up the protective gear, and patted off some nonexistent dust.
“You’re something, kid. Even I, the old man, know about it.”
The scrawny old man looked Lu Bai up and down, full of emotion: “Tsk tsk, who would’ve thought, first place in two rounds.”
Lu Bai gave a smiling face in response, said nothing, and continued warming up.
“I misjudged you. You came every day last month. Although I thought you should get a good result, this result of yours is excessively good.”
Hearing this, Lu Bai stopped his warm-up movements and looked at the scrawny old man with a half-smile.
He kept staring until the scrawny old man’s expression became stiff, then softly asked: “Did someone send you to find me?”
“Haha, no no.”
The old man dryly laughed twice and waved his hands repeatedly.
Somewhat unnaturally, he watched Lu Bai finish warming up, handed him the protective gear, and then turned to leave as if fleeing.
Watching the scrawny old man’s back as he left, Lu Bai withdrew his gaze.
Since he had just arrived here, and last month was basically a two-point-one-line lifestyle between home and the training hall, he actually hadn’t made any friends.
Excluding his younger brother and sister, this scrawny old man and Liang Fuzhong were probably the only two people he could talk to, um… the psychologist didn’t count.
In any case, under these premises, it wouldn’t surprise him at all if someone wanted to inquire about his situation through these two.
Whether factions inside or outside the school, they were all possible.
……
But what Lu Bai didn’t know was.
The scrawny old man who left the combat training hall didn’t go to report to anyone.
Instead, he slowly circled back to his own residence.
Splash~
The scrawny old man carried a watering can and watered a carefully trimmed potted plant.
However, his gaze wasn’t on the potted plant, but looking into the distance.
His pupils were cloudy, seemingly unfocused, as he muttered to himself in a daze.
“This way, he should stay alert, right? You’re a hot commodity now, tsk tsk…”
……
Living in the underground city, purely natural food is still a renewable resource. As daily consumption, no matter how expensive, it has a limit. Among food, clothing, housing, and transport, only housing truly has no visible upper limit in cost.
Since he wasn’t buying a house, Lu Bai wasn’t short of money now, enough to support occasional high-end consumption, he just had no interest in that aspect.
In the following days, Lu Bai returned to his two-point-one-line lifestyle between the campus and Yiju City.
A genius rising from the bottom like him had some hype value as news.
In the initial period, media vehicles swarmed in.
But both Lu Bai and Lu Ziyi firmly refused interviews, and after persisting for just a week, the hype gradually faded.
The civilians hadn’t forgotten such a genius, but they definitely lost interest.
Netizens’ collective memory is realized in discussions. Without new news to discuss, people naturally seek new topics.
Perhaps only when news of Lu Bai getting first place for three consecutive rounds comes out will it stir up waves again.
“Lu Qingyan! You should go to bed!”
Lu Ziyi, wearing pajamas with a strawberry pattern, stood in front of the sofa with hands on hips.
The little brat’s face twitched, then he frantically made excuses: “I ate expired artificial synthetic meat, my stomach hurts. It’s all your fault for being fooled when buying the meat.”
It was worth mentioning that with the money from the school reward, the family’s meals had been quite good these days, at least not lacking in nutrition.
Lu Ziyi’s brows shot up: “What nonsense are you talking! Lu… your brother has the third round of deathmatch duel tomorrow, don’t disturb him.”
“Let big bro judge. I said that old woman’s meat definitely had issues, but you insisted on getting a bargain. See? Regretting it now? Still want to go settle accounts with her?”
Lu Qingyan seized the opportunity and pressed aggressively.
Lu Bai silently put down his mobile phone, his gaze switching back and forth between the siblings.
He felt it was best to stay quiet now.
“Aaaah! Lu Qingyan, you’re dead!!”
Lu Ziyi was both embarrassed and annoyed, raising her hand to beat the little brat.
But considering Lu Bai really needed to rest, she forcibly took two deep breaths, chin slightly raised: “That old woman isn’t easy either. I don’t regret it. My mindset is very good now, just need a little time to adjust.”
Lu Qingyan sneered disdainfully.
“That’s what you say, but I know you’ll stay up all night thinking about it and can’t sleep, fantasizing what if you’d checked more carefully back then, what if it could happen over again. This thought will linger in your mind, even in dreams, never stopping.”
Noticing Lu Ziyi’s complexion turning visibly red.
Lu Bai hesitated for a moment, then silently got up and hid in the restroom.
No hope, just wait for death.