After the two left the door, they still took a taxi, but halfway, the congested main artery of Renmin Road was completely gridlocked.

Li Yundong spotted traffic police and auxiliary officers everywhere through the car window. He gave a dry chuckle: "Well, the leadership must be out inspecting again!"

The driver in the front seat overheard and turned back with a smile: "You know about it? I heard it’s a provincial leader who’s come down."

Li Yundong sighed, "How long is this road closure going to last?"

The driver just laughed, "Who knows?"

They were stuck for a full half hour before the traffic finally began to crawl forward again.

By the time Li Yundong and Su Chan arrived at the classroom, Feng Na had already been waiting by the door for quite some time.

"Ha, the people's idol has arrived!" Feng Na chirped, holding out her palm toward Li Yundong. "Hand over the disc!"

Li Yundong looked at Feng Na with open disdain. "What on earth goes on inside the heads of you girls? Hiding away something like Cohabiting with the Flight Attendant like it's some kind of treasure? What era are we in?"

Feng Na scoffed, "None of your business! This is brand new, it hasn't even hit the market yet!"

Li Yundong suddenly put on a playful, grinning expression. "Who says? I have a copy of Cohabiting with the Flight Attendant at home; I’ve been collecting it for ages!"

Feng Na’s eyes widened. "Impossible! My friend got this through internal channels; it’s not even on TV or the internet yet!"

Li Yundong grinned slyly, "How about I let you borrow mine sometime?"

Feng Na regarded him suspiciously. "No reason, no favor! You must be up to no good! Hey, give me my disc back! I have class to attend!"

Li Yundong chuckled, "The way you keep running over to our classroom, you might as well repeat the year just to stay here!"

Feng Na spat out a sound of contempt. "Pah, I'm a scholarship student, a good student! You think I'm like you, skipping class and fighting all day long?"

Li Yundong cried out in feigned martyrdom, "I attend class diligently every day now! Going from the east side of the city to the west—do you have any idea how hard that is for me?"

Feng Na laughed, "Serves you right. Who told you not to live in the dorms and try to keep a beauty hidden away in your golden chamber!" Her tone carried a faint hint of jealousy.

Li Yundong gave a slight smile and didn't reply. He glanced at Su Chan. "You didn't forget the disc, did you?"

Su Chan, shouldering Li Yundong's backpack, looked down, nervously fumbling out the disc and handing it over.

The moment Feng Na saw writing scrawled on the disc, she immediately laughed, "Your handwriting is terrible!"

Li Yundong blinked, his eyes quickly sweeping over the CD. He thought to himself: This disc looks awfully familiar!

Before he could say anything, Feng Na waved the optical disc in her hand and laughed, "Oh well, I'm off! By the way, you should swing by the Taekwondo club when you have time; we’re completely leaderless right now!"

Li Yundong withdrew his gaze from the disc in her hand, a flicker of confusion lingering in his mind, but Feng Na's distraction had already drawn his attention. "I'm not going. Don't drag me into trouble again; I have enough problems as it is!"

Feng Na suddenly scrutinized Li Yundong with unusual seriousness. "Sometimes I honestly think you aren't human. How else could you pull off so many unbelievable things? Are you some legendary Martial Arts Master?"

Li Yundong adopted a stern expression. "Actually, I'm Ultraman from Planet Namek. My sole purpose is to save Earth and maintain world peace!"

Feng Na covered her mouth, bursting into giggles. "So cheesy! Is Ultraman from Planet Namek? Are you trying to trick me because I haven't watched Dragon Ball? If you're Ultraman, why aren't you wearing your underwear on the outside?"

Li Yundong pointed a finger at her. "Earthling, mind your tone! Don't lump me in with that washed-up trash, Superman!"

Feng Na laughed heartily. "I won't waste any more time arguing with you. I'm leaving."

The two chatted and laughed by the classroom entrance for a while before parting ways. The moment Li Yundong stepped inside, the students who had been murmuring amongst themselves suddenly fell silent, all looking at him with a complex, indescribable gaze, as if he were an extraterrestrial visitor.

Although Li Yundong had grown accustomed to being the center of attention lately, he still couldn't quite handle being stared at with such complicated scrutiny. He gritted his teeth and led Su Chan to their seats in the back row.

Once settled, Su Chan whispered to him, "Yundong, maybe we shouldn't go to school here anymore? It draws too much attention."

Li Yundong sighed. "Ah, I wish we didn't have to, but if I quit school, Mom and Dad will cut off my allowance. Without that money, what am I supposed to do? I won't even get a diploma, so where can I find a job? How will I support you and myself?"

Hearing this, Su Chan fell silent, letting out a mournful sigh. "It’s true what they say: 'Before grasping the Dao, wealth is the obstacle; after grasping the Dao, wealth is still the obstacle!'"

She pondered for a moment, then said to Li Yundong, "Yundong, you should really go pursue Zhou Qin. How can we practice cultivation without money?"

Li Yundong tapped her forehead with his finger. "Go on, are you testing me again?"

Su Chan covered her forehead, pouting, and whispered quietly, "You could just take her as a disciple! Which great cultivator doesn't amass a following to accumulate wealth? Otherwise, everyone who cultivates will starve to death!"

Li Yundong opened his mouth, about to speak, when his eyes flicked towards the doorway just as Zhou Qin walked in.

Zhou Qin scanned the classroom with her beautiful eyes. She spotted Li Yundong looking at her, saw his mouth slightly open as if about to speak, offered a faint smile, and walked toward him.

The boys in the classroom looked on with a mixture of envy and jealousy: What kind of charisma did that guy have? Not only did he have one beautiful girl by his side, but another stunning beauty was approaching him!

"Did you need something?" Zhou Qin asked, sitting down next to Li Yundong, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Li Yundong let out a forced laugh. "Nothing!"

Zhou Qin looked steadily at him for a moment, then smiled. "No, you definitely need something!"

Su Chan leaned forward past Li Yundong, about to ask Zhou Qin if she was willing to become Li Yundong's apprentice, when Li Yundong swiftly clamped his hand over her mouth.

While holding Su Chan, who was struggling, and covering her mouth, Li Yundong said very earnestly, "Nothing, really nothing!"

Zhou Qin looked puzzled. She glanced between Li Yundong and Su Chan. "Alright then... Oh, here, this is for you." With that, she took a mobile phone from her bag and handed it to Li Yundong.

Li Yundong recognized it as a Nokia N-series phone, certainly not cheap. He asked, confused, "What's this for?"

Zhou Qin looked at him strangely. "Your SIM card isn't working anymore, is it? Use this to contact me from now on."

Li Yundong shook his head. "I can't possibly accept your things."

Zhou Qin looked at him seriously. "You saved my life, and I haven't even thanked you properly. You won't even accept this small token of my appreciation? You're being awfully cold-hearted, aren't you?"

Li Yundong still shook his head. "How about this: I'll go buy a new card after class, and I’ll give you my new number immediately. Will that work? Honestly, if you could just sort out the mess from yesterday outside the school gate, I would be eternally grateful. Otherwise, with that stretched Mercedes looking the way it did, I couldn't afford to pay for it even if they killed me!"

Seeing that Li Yundong was adamant about refusing, Zhou Qin secretly sighed. "If Liu Changhe knew I was involved in this, he wouldn't dare cause trouble even with ten times the courage. Moreover, that car must have been taken out by Liu Chuan himself secretly. He wouldn't dare admit why he used the car, so he'll definitely lie to Liu Changhe. Don't worry about that; I'm certain of it."

Li Yundong patted his chest. "That's a relief, that's a relief!"

Seeing his look of profound relief, Zhou Qin couldn't help but smile and ask, "With your terrifying level of ability, why are you afraid of something so trivial?"

Li Yundong laughed it off. "Even a hero is helpless without a single copper coin! I'm currently running a deficit, drowning in debt. If I pick up even a little more debt, I’ll genuinely have to sell myself."

Zhou Qin desperately wanted to say: How much? I’ll buy it!

But she knew she absolutely couldn't say it. This boy, though he loved to fool around, sometimes possessed surprising maturity and other times a terrifying childishness, but there was one thing about him that never changed: an innate pride that wouldn't allow him to be patronized.

If she said those words, Li Yundong would feel extremely awkward, and it would probably be hard to even remain friends afterward.

Zhou Qin smiled instead. "Summer vacation is almost here. Planning to go out and work part-time?"

Li Yundong chuckled. "I have that idea, but how much money do university students make from summer jobs? Still, I can't afford not to go!"

Zhou Qin smiled, having already made up her mind: Since Li Yundong was short on cash, she would look into finding him a decently high-paying job later on.

Thinking this, Zhou Qin smiled and handed the phone she had been clutching over to Su Chan. "Su Chan, Yundong refuses to take this phone, so I suppose I have to give it to you. Otherwise, I’ll just end up throwing it away later."

Su Chan pushed Li Yundong’s hand away from her mouth and took the phone, beaming with delight. "Really?"

Li Yundong glared at her. "You have the nerve to accept it?"

Su Chan made a funny face at him. "What’s embarrassing about that!" Saying that, she happily cradled the phone, turning it over and over, though she had no idea how to use it.

Li Yundong felt helpless. He knew if he refused again, he truly wouldn't be able to win the argument. He patted Su Chan’s head. "Hey, aren't you going to thank Zhou Qin?"

Su Chan looked up and grinned sweetly. "Thank you, Sister Zhou Qin!"

When Zhou Qin gave the phone to Su Chan, her heart had been pounding fiercely, worried that she might refuse. Seeing that she had accepted it now, Zhou Qin finally relaxed. She smiled faintly and said, "You don't need to be so polite. My number is stored in the phone. You can call me if anything comes up."

While the few of them were talking, the teacher had already entered the classroom. Since exams were fast approaching, the instructor was marking key points for the students.

Because Li Yundong had missed too many classes, he was barred from taking the exam for this particular subject, which granted him some peace. He sat in the back row, idly watching Su Chan fiddle with the disc, while Zhou Qin diligently recorded the essential notes.

This continued until late afternoon, nearing dismissal, when suddenly a large group of teachers, ushering someone along as if they were royalty, bustled into the classroom, interrupting the current instructor.

Leading the group was a square-jawed, middle-aged man with his hands clasped behind his back, radiating an air of importance. Zhou Qin froze when she saw him, her brow furrowing instantly.

Seeing her reaction, Li Yundong couldn't help but ask, "Who is that?"

Zhou Qin's expression turned strange. "My father... What is he doing here?"

[Reader Note: Dear reader, the current chapter has reached the final page of this book]