Chapter 84: Teacher Chu Feng’s Reward
Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
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[Elite Returnee Male…]
Chu Feng glanced disinterestedly at the profile his mother sent and concluded:
This is a pretentious returnee.
Claiming to be proficient in four languages, such a show-off.
Chu Feng couldn’t help but want to expose the guy in person, to make him say a few fluent sentences.
However, meeting to expose him meant actually seeing him. Chu Feng wasn’t that free. He’d rather spend his time playing in Dream City with all the Xies.
Because of the whole city virus issue, it had actually been a while… since there had been any intimate moments.
The bedroom lights were off. Chu Feng laid alone on his side, the wall beside the bed covered in photos of him and Xie Shiyu.
The cool air from the air conditioner draped a blanket over Chu Feng’s waist, creating a beautiful curve where a hand could rest. The faint glow from the phone illuminated Chu Feng’s long, bare neck, a stretch of pale snow-like skin waiting for someone to leave a mark on it, white as plum blossoms in the snow.
[Not interested.]
After typing these words, Chu Feng immediately exited his chat with his mother, turned off all message notifications, and put thoughts of the [cosmetic surgery stand-in] and [overbearing returnee elite man] behind him.
Chu Feng reached out and grabbed his gaming headset.
Beep—
The blue neural connection was successful. In Dream City, a 100% replica of Xie Shiyu was waiting for him.
***
At the Second High School, at night.
The senior students were still studying hard in their evening self-study sessions.
Chu Feng, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, had a brown leather bag in his game backpack’s outermost pocket, containing his lesson plans and graded assignments.
Before the virus infection, he had been playing a teacher-student roleplay, which was interrupted by various events.
The system spirit reported from the background:
[Master, the city is now safe. If there are any anomalies, I will report to you immediately!]
[Okay.]
Chu Feng responded lightly. He opened his in-game phone and checked the QQ group for Class 16 of Grade 12:
[@Everyone, finish your exercises properly. I will come by during the evening self-study session to check.]
[!!!]
18-year-old – Class’s Worst Student – School Bully Xie:
[Teacher Chu Feng, is there any reward for finishing the exercises properly? Evil grin]
18-year-old – Class Monitor – Studious Xie:
[Of course, you get to enjoy Teacher Chu Feng’s extra tutoring. What else did you think it would be, something indecent? Pushes glasses up]
19-year-old – Class’s Top Student – Repeater Xie:
[Report teacher, I’ve finished all the exercises, and they should all be correct.]
[So, can I be the first one to receive extra tutoring? Evil grin]
18-year-old – Class’s Worst Student – School Bully Xie:
[@Adorable and Juicy Little Feng Tree, Teacher! This is unfair. Why do the top ten in exams always get everything first? This is discrimination! Is being good at studying such a big deal?]
19-year-old – Class’s Top Student – Repeater Xie:
[Sorry, but yes, being good at studying is a big deal. Otherwise, do you think you could get into Chu Feng’s university?]
18-year-old – Class’s Worst Student – School Bully Xie:
[Teacher Chu Feng! As a teacher, you should treat all students equally. Those who rank in the top ten in exams have already enjoyed various extra tutoring. This time, the rewards should be distributed evenly! @Adorable and Juicy Little Feng Tree]
Adorable and Juicy Little Feng Tree:
[@Everyone, anyone who finishes the exercises before the end of the self-study session will be rewarded.]
[@18-year-old – Class Monitor – Studious Xie, change my group nickname back.]
As soon as Chu Feng sent the message, the group exploded, messages shooting up the screen:
[@Teacher Chu Feng, can we use props?!!]
18-year-old – Class’s Worst Student – School Bully Xie:
[Hilarious, are you incompetent? Needing props, how shameful.]
18-year-old – Class Monitor – Studious Xie:
[Who has the time to wait for you to use props? Have some sense of teamwork, will you? Do you think Chu Feng will give you one-on-one tutoring?]
19-year-old – Class’s Top Student – Repeater Xie:
[If you want one-on-one tutoring, work hard and get first place. If you can’t, just dream about it. Tsk, how pitiful.]
18-year-old – Class’s Worst Student – School Bully Xie:
[You’re a eunuch]
He initially meant to type: “You’re so cheap,” but the autocorrect quickly sent it out. Just as he was about to retract it—
19-year-old – Class’s Top Student – Repeater Xie:
[Do you feel good insulting yourself as a eunuch?]
Chu Feng glanced at the screen, which was the usual banter in the class group. Just as he was about to exit QQ—
The Xie who had suggested using props spoke up:
[What I meant was, can Chu Feng himself use props?]
***
In the night breeze, a chill ran down Chu Feng’s back, a premonition of impending back pain.
The QQ group fell silent for a moment before everyone agreed enthusiastically, tagging him incessantly:
[@Waiting for the Whole Class to Plant Little Feng Tree, Chu Feng, Chu Feng! Is that okay!!]
Chu Feng held his phone, paused for a while, and replied:
[Okay]
[But don’t give me weird group nicknames]
Chu Feng was about to change his nickname back to [Teacher Chu Feng] himself, but before he could, the screen filled with a flood of messages.
The group was boiling over like a pot of hot water, buzzing non-stop:
[!!! No regrets in this life!]
[What a Rare Treat! What Day Is It Today, Has the College Entrance Exam Ended?]
[Teacher! Can we take pictures tonight?]
[Can we record videos?]
[Can we change costumes? Sailor uniforms…]
…
Chu Feng glanced at the endless stream of various requests. The class group name had already changed from [Class 16, Grade 12] to [Planting Maple Trees Tonight!]
Chu Feng sighed, feeling both helpless and amused. Only the eighteen- or nineteen-year-old Xie Shiyu could be so easily satisfied. Giving them a planting session occasionally made them as happy as free-flying birds, chirping away. When they grew a bit older, the mature post-marriage Xie Shiyu would be much more cunning.
Therefore, Chu Feng usually initiated giving benefits to the eighteen- or nineteen-year-old Xie Shiyu. Even though there were many of them, he could handle it. But once they hit their twenties, he couldn’t keep up. For instance, Dr. Xie at twenty-four could make Chu Feng cry alone; he couldn’t play against him at all.
The night was slightly cool, yet Chu Feng reached out and unbuttoned his shirt collar. Holding his phone, he typed the final reply in the QQ group:
[@Everyone, tonight, do as you please.]
***
With his collar slightly open, revealing faint glimpses of his collarbones, and his trousers swaying in the breeze, outlining his long legs, Chu Feng headed towards the Second High School.
***
“Teacher Chu Feng—”
Just as he stepped through the small iron gate by the school entrance, someone called out to him.
Chu Feng turned around—
Under the dim streetlights, a row of plane trees rustled in the evening breeze. A tall, dark silhouette approached him.
Xie Shiyu, wearing a black T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers, exuded a youthful vibe. Chu Feng identified him; this should be the seventeen-year-old Xie Shiyu, the school bully of his second year in high school.
“Why are you here at school so late?”
Seventeen-year-old Xie Shiyu leaned casually against the small iron gate, asking Chu Feng. The tattoo on his left forearm was faintly visible in the night, hinting at mischief.
“To come to a class.”
Chu Feng lied.
“Evening self-study?”
Seventeen-year-old Xie Shiyu approached leisurely and suddenly lowered his head close to Chu Feng:
“Teacher, you work so hard.”
Warm breath brushed against his cheek, but Chu Feng didn’t dodge, remaining silent.
Xie Shiyu seemed to know something. He skillfully wrapped an arm around Chu Feng’s waist:
“So much hard work, does it hurt?”
Chu Feng slapped his hand away. “There are no evening self-study sessions in the second year. What are you doing here?”
“To see you.”
Second-year Xie withdrew his hand and complained nonchalantly, “It’s a pity you don’t want to see me.”
Chu Feng thought for a moment. Indeed, he had been overly enthusiastic towards the eighteen- or nineteen-year-old Xie Shiyu in the game, which might have caused dissatisfaction among the other Xies.
In reality, during the senior year, he was too busy. Xie Shiyu didn’t want to affect his studies and rarely sought him out. After the college entrance exam, Xie Shiyu repeated a year, and they were in different places. Chu Feng didn’t want to interfere with his studies, so they rarely contacted each other after they were separated.
So in the game, as if compensating for something, Chu Feng became a teacher for the senior year, personally teaching the eighteen- or nineteen-year-old Xie Shiyu and sticking close to them.
But doing so inevitably neglected the other Xies.
Chu Feng stepped forward and hugged the seventeen-year-old second-year Xie.
Seventeen is a wonderful age, but in the game, it’s the last year of being a minor, which seemed a bit pitiful.
The game company strictly prohibited players from engaging in nighttime activities with minor characters, primarily to prevent some unscrupulous players from using the game to fulfill their illegal desires.
So, the eighteen-year-old school bully Xie could enjoy everything, while the seventeen-year-old Xie Shiyu could only look, and sometimes not even that—essentially, he was like a monk.
After holding him for a while, Chu Feng was about to pull away when Xie Shiyu grabbed him:
“Just like this?”
Seventeen-year-old Xie Shiyu, now approaching 1.9 meters tall, grabbed the 1.8-meter Chu Feng and pulled him into an embrace:
“I also want to water the adorable and juicy little maple tree. Give me a chance?”
Chu Feng let him hold him tightly for a moment before pushing him away:
“You’re a minor. Go study well. Next time, I’ll give you extra tutoring.”
Seeing Xie Shiyu’s expression turn somewhat playful, Chu Feng paused and corrected:
“Proper tutoring in math, science, and chemistry.”
Seventeen-year-old Xie Shiyu pretended to be confused:
“Does that mean Teacher Chu Feng’s previous tutoring wasn’t proper? Oh—I get it, teacher, you used to tutor physiology, didn’t you?”
Chu Feng knocked on his head, smiling, “Stop joking around and go home.”
Xie Shiyu nodded, agreeing.
Chu Feng turned and entered the school, feeling that Xie Shiyu hadn’t left but was standing there, quietly watching him walk away.
A subtle feeling rose in his heart.
This second-year Xie has something… unusual about him.
Especially his demeanor when speaking—so relaxed, as if nothing were amiss. But if nothing were really wrong, why would this second-year Xie suddenly come to the school to see him?
Little Xie should know he’s a minor. Even if he comes to the school at night, nothing can happen. When they meet, they can only talk and hug.
Such things could be done when meeting during the day at school.
But Xie Shiyu still came under the cover of night.
Chu Feng suddenly thought that even after the city-wide virus ended, he still didn’t know who the second strongest was.
NO.1 was thirteen-year-old Xie, who dismembered his drug-addicted father. NO.3 was twenty-four-year-old Xie Shiyu, who used drugs to eliminate those workplace scumbags who forced him to drink. NO.4 was seven-year-old Xie, who didn’t take direct action but kept tangling with the serial killer and criminal neighbors.
From this reasoning, the top three Xies in combat prowess should have all taken direct action.
Now that the city-wide virus was over, it was impossible to solve the puzzle or check the combat rankings. This NO.2 Xie was hiding among all the Xies in the city.
In other words, in the 27 years of Xie Shiyu’s life, there was another him, hiding an unspeakable secret.
Chu Feng opened the Xie Encyclopedia on his phone and marked this second-year Xie. He would later have the system check this Xie’s activity trajectory to see what could be discovered.
The teaching building was in front of him.
The first and second floors were dark, but the third floor, where the senior students were, was brightly lit.
Chu Feng lifted his leg and was about to step onto the stairs—
“Teacher Chu Feng! Are you here to supervise the evening self-study?”
Chu Feng turned and saw the 22-year-old intern Xie walking toward him.
The university role-playing Xies were not only scattered around the university town but also worked and interned at various locations.
Intern Teacher Xie taught physical education at this high school, making him Chu Feng’s colleague, albeit in a stretched sense.
Since he was playing the campus scenario, he decided to make it realistic. Chu Feng nodded at Xie, putting on a smile suitable for a colleague:
“You’re still here so late?”
“Yes.” Xie Shiyu said with a meaningful tone:
“I was organizing some materials.”
Chu Feng thought, what materials would a PE teacher need to organize? But there was no need to say much to a colleague, and he had already planned to reward the whole class tonight, so he was really out of time.
“Well, finish up and head home early.” Chu Feng moved to go up the stairs. “I’ll be going now…”
Before he could finish his sentence, intern Xie Shiyu blocked his way:
“Teacher Chu Feng, I’m afraid you won’t be able to supervise the evening self-study tonight.”
Chu Feng was taken aback.
Xie Shiyu smiled slightly, with a hint of meaning:
“The principal asked me to inform you that there’s a meeting in his office tonight.”
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