Chapter 56: Tutor the Beauty
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn
The old and the young Principals had revealed their true color as soon as the challenge was formally accepted. Such as the battles on the battlefield, the tournament was a matter of life or death to both schools.
When the image on the screen faded away, the speakers at both ends of the connection were confident that they would be the winner of the game.
Wang Tong’s life at Ayrlarng had slowly become routine ever since the monthly test was over. During the day, Wang Tong would receive help from Ma Xiaoru on subjects such as Math and Physics in addition to regular school classes; in the afternoon, he would try to hang out with his friends and classmates; in the evening, he would return to his post in the caretaker’s office.
Whenever he was bored at work, he would take out his textbook to study or practice few rounds of the Tactics of the Blade. Cultivation typically required absolute concentration, so doing it while at work might not seem to be the best idea; however, thanks to the simplistic nature of the Tactics of the Blade that made practice feasible, Wang Tong found it rather convenient and time-saving.
Ever since he took on the job of delivering the mails, the girls of dormitory number five had become pleasantly cooperative. As long as he kept the mail service going, and occasionally revealed one or two insignificant details about Hu Yangxuan, the girls would be content enough to even remain quiet about his occasional absence at work.
Hu Yangxuan and Ma Xiaoru had remained the most popular students in Ayrlarng. Despite the fact that they were distractions to other students, Samantha did nothing to curtail their fame. She knew that idols with positive images would be more effective than any of her policies when it came down to improve student morale.
Despite their similar popularity, there was still a gap between Ma Xiaoru and Hu Yangxuan regarding their overall abilities. Ma Xiaoru’s family background and the level of tactics she practiced had set her apart from Hu Yangxuan. Samantha had reckoned that Ma Xiaoru’s future would not belong to Ayrlarng since she had been the cream of the crop ever since her birth. But unlike other students from the five major households, Ma Xiaoru was rather approachable, which made her even more popular among students. Many boys and girls quickly followed her lead and soon, their combined effort had breathed a new life into the school that had been mired in decadence. Samantha believed that a positive environment would nurture a sense of belonging and eventually, the students would study hard, not because of the threat of monthly tests, but because they cared for the name and reputation of their school.
Despite Wang Tong’s impressive grades in a few particular classes, one could barely notice him on a typical day. Unlike some students who liked to hog the limelight, Wang Tong would rather avoid the attentions. He had seen at first hand the damages done to Hu Yangxuan’s sanity due to unwanted attentions. Ever since Hu Yangxuan entered the A-Class, he was pestered by swarms of relentless admirers, some were beautiful, but most of them were not.
Wang Tong, on the other hand, lived a quieter and happier life. He was content with everything in his life except for the lack of money. That being said, Wang Tong still worried about Zhou Sisi’s animosity during that run-in with her a few days ago. Although Zhou Sisi didn’t stage another coup against him, Wang Tong had a nagging feeling that she was up to something again. Wang Tong scratched his head and thought, “Gee. Why does she hate me so much?”
“Wang Tong!” a sweet voice interrupted his cultivation. “Speaking of the devil,” Wang Tong thought as he slowly pulled his consciousnesses back into reality but leaving only enough to maintain the ongoing cultivation inside of his body.
“Hi, Zhou Sisi, what’s up?” Wang Tong managed to put on a friendly smile.
Zhou Sisi regarded Wang Tong in surprise, and then she asked, “Were you cultivating?”
“Ah, nope. I was just thinking about things.”
Zhou Sisi’s eyebrows furrowed, she did not believe Wang Tong’s answer, but she didn’t want to be nosy either, so she dropped her suspicion and moved on.
“I have tried the clone technique, but it didn’t work. So…” Zhou Sisi gritted her teeth, feeling ashamed of asking for help, “Please, teach me how to do it.”
“Teach you?” Her directness disheveled Wang Tong. In the moment of shock and disbelieve, Wang Tong noticed Zhou Sisi’s supple red lips that formed a lovely pout, making her look impetuous but cute.
Seeing Wang Tong had hesitated, Zhou Sisi dug her heels in and announced, “Yes. I will help you too if you help me. If you need my assistance, I guarantee you that I will help you as much as I can.”
Wang Tong’s mind raced, weighing his options and risks. Teaching her the clone technique would be easy enough, but he was not sure if he could fit the training in his already-busy schedule. On the other hand, if he was able to pacify his only enemy in the dormitory number five, he would be absent at work every day, and no one would ever report him to the principal. He didn’t do much at work, and nothing bad had ever happened before he took on the job anyways.
“It is my pleasure to help you,” Wang Tong spoke with a seemingly open manner after making up his mind.
People may listen to you better if you let them owe you a favor – Quote by Old Fart.
Zhou Sisi was shocked at Wang Tong’s generous gesture; she had thought that Wang Tong might leverage his secrets to make unreasonable demands.
“When can we start?”
“How about after my shift? It might be a bit late; I hope you are OK with it?” Wang Tong was planning to exercise after work, and he didn’t mind taking Zhou Sisi with him.
“Forget about work, let’s do it now.”
“But…”
“Com’on, you know how much the girls in dormitory number five treasured your mail service, no one would tell on you, even if you were absent for the entire shift,” Zhou Sisi said. Truth be told, she was the only person that might have reported him, but then even she needed his help.
Zhou Sisi watched Wang Tong in surprise as he unlocked the training room. “How did you get the key? One of Ma Xiaoru’s privilege again?”
Wang Tong shook his head, without noticing the hint of Zhou Sisi’s animosity toward Ma Xiaoru, “Nah, Principal Samantha gave it to me. I was chosen as one of the team members attending the tournament against Bernabeu; she gave it to me so that I can come here to train at any time. We have to make sure everything is cleaned and put away after we use it though.”
“Ah right, the tournament! You said you had been chosen? I thought they were still in the process of screening candidates.” Zhou Sisi did not seem to be surprised by the fact that Wang Tong, an F-Class student was chosen to be on the team. She had seen his grades and knew that Wang Tong would have entered A-Class if the school had only considered his METAL combat score and ignored the rest.
“Yes, I think the principal had picked a few more candidates and made a list based on overall grades, you were almost number three on the list I think,” Wang Tong said as he scratched his head, trying to remember the list.
“Almost? I AM the number three! You think only the princess from FFC could have good grades don’t you!” Zhou Sisi hissed.
“Nah, you are thinking too much.” Wang Tong shrugged and wondered why girls were so much snappier than boys.
