Chapter 58: 58. It was wrong from the beginning

The first visit between neighbors didn’t last long, and both sides exchanged friendly and warm greetings. Apart from a minor incident with whiskey, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

However, once Hu Xiaoniu and the others returned to their own home, the four of them sat quietly on the sofa in silence.

Because each of them was well aware, behind this warm enthusiasm, there was still an insurmountable politeness.

In Jiang Xue’s eyes, they were guests, not friends.

But if they were merely guests, they couldn’t possibly receive any help from the other party in City 18.

In this situation, Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen were the relatively calm and rational ones, whether it was transferring schools or moving from City 7 to City 18, it was these two who came up with the plans.

At this time, Hu Xiaoniu looked at everyone seriously and said, “Maybe we were wrong from the start.”

Everyone looked at him.

Hu Xiaoniu pointed to their sofa and said, “We came all the way from Haicheng to Los Angeles City, and we even had real leather sofas air-shipped here. Now look at the opposite side, those old fabric sofas. I’m not talking about the wealth disparity, but we need to shed the pride in our bones.”

Zhang Tianzhen took off his black framed glasses and said, “I agree with Xiao Niu.”

“Moreover, we have nothing to be proud of,” Hu Xiaoniu said. “Have you noticed Jiang Xue’s mechanical arm? The details of that arm are extremely intricate, probably something only a syndicate could afford. So although we possess wealth in the Outer World, in the Inner World, it is Jiang Xue who is truly wealthy.”

Hu Xiaoniu continued, “It’s precisely because we carry that inherent pride that we can’t become friends with people like Qing Chen, Jiang Xue, Li Tongyun, and Liu Dezhu.”

“But we are indeed stronger than them,” Bai Waner noticed Hu Xiaoniu’s serious expression and reluctantly changed her tone, “Alright, so what should we do?”

“The first thing tomorrow is to collect our uniforms. No one is allowed to wear watches anymore, switch to ordinary Casio digital watches,” Hu Xiaoniu said. “Then lower your attitudes, and interact normally with classmates. No, I didn’t use the right words—it’s not about lowering your attitudes, but rather realizing that we came to Los Angeles City in search of hope, and we have nothing to be proud of.”

Wang Yun muttered, “But the uniforms at Los Angeles Foreign Language School are so ugly. Can’t we wear our own clothes? I shipped so many over.”

“No,” said Hu Xiaoniu emphatically.

He looked at the two girls who had fallen silent and suddenly sighed internally.

…

Countdown 4 days.

Qing Chen woke up from a dream, and when he got up to wash, he suddenly noticed in the mirror that the lines on his abdomen were gradually becoming defined.

They were not the sharply defined abs of a fitness expert but the early form of abdominal muscles.

Considering that he had only been exercising for five days, this was noteworthy.

He finally felt the magic of the Breathing Technique.

Standing in front of the mirror,

with a strange breathing rhythm, fire patterns burst out on the sides of Qing Chen’s face in the mirror.

The day before yesterday, he had spent more than five hundred dollars on thirteen pounds of beef, which he had consumed in just two days.

He was now like a black hole for food, the Breathing Technique rapidly burning through the energy in his body and quickly breaking down newly acquired nutrients to reshape his physique.

As the Fire Rune faded, Qing Chen marveled at why Uncle Li Dong said that with the Breathing Technique, a person who had never exercised could reach a level in three months that would take others five years to achieve.

This thing was truly miraculous.

Upon arriving at the classroom in the morning, Qing Chen was momentarily startled.

He saw that both Wang Yun and Bai Waner had changed into their uniforms, freshly dressed, which made them look less like top students from Haicheng and more like the dream girls of their male classmates.

Nan Gengchen, sitting at a desk, would occasionally sneak glances at them.

After Qing Chen sat down, Wang Yun suddenly smiled and said, “Classmate, the teacher said you are the best student in our grade. I have a math problem here that I don’t quite understand. Could you explain it to me?”

Qing Chen glanced at it and saw it was a hyperbola equation problem, but the problem was full of traps and was not easy for an average student.

However, he knew very well that these two girls were also top students, even tackling physics competition problems; couldn’t they solve a hyperbola equation?

He thought for a moment and then said, “I need to preview today’s lessons now, why don’t you ask Nan Gengchen?”

It wasn’t really about previewing; he just didn’t want to waste time on something pointless.

Seeing his attitude, Wang Yun pursed her lips, but then she thought that since Nan Gengchen and Qing Chen were close, it might be good to first build a relationship with Nan Gengchen.

Hu Xiaoniu had said that they must befriend these people with a normal attitude and no longer carry any pride.

Thinking of this, Wang Yun simply moved her chair next to Nan Gengchen, then smiled and said, “Classmate, can you explain this problem to me?”

“Sure,” Nan Gengchen immediately responded with enthusiasm.

Wang Yun looked at him expectantly, but Nan Gengchen stared at the problem in thought for a long while before turning to her and saying, “I don’t know how…”

Wang Yun: “…”

From the side, Qing Chen nearly laughed out loud; although Nan Gengchen’s studies weren’t bad, they weren’t great either.

Wang Yun’s first earnest attempt was totally in vain and ended in failure.

Feeling disheartened, she returned to her seat to contemplate her strategy, while Bai Waner whispered, “Our goal is to become friends with them. Since he can’t do the hard ones, why don’t you pick an easy question for him? It’ll make you two get familiar with each other.”

Wang Yun’s eyes brightened. That was indeed a good plan.

She picked the easiest question from the workbook and moved her chair back next to Nan Gengchen, “Classmate, could you explain this question?”

This time, it was Nan Gengchen’s turn to be excited as he knew it!

As a result, Qing Chen watched as Nan Gengchen took a very simple geometric progression problem and dragged the explanation out for ten minutes, all the way until the bell rang for class.

Exhausted both mentally and physically, Wang Yun returned to her seat. A problem she knew well, yet she had to sit through and pretend to listen intently for ten minutes, which was truly tiring.

However, she felt that the effort was worth it, if it meant becoming friends with these two.

During the break after the first class, Wang Yun went to the corridor to share her progress with her mates: although Qing Chen was tough to approach, Nan Gengchen seemed rather naive and probably easy to deal with.

When she returned, she suddenly overheard Nan Gengchen asking Qing Chen behind his back, “What do you think, is this new student easy to get along with?”

“Pretty easy to get along with,” Nan Gengchen hesitated for a moment before suddenly saying to Qing Chen, “But these two transfer students don’t seem to be very good at studying. They couldn’t even solve such a simple question.”

Wang Yun: “???”

Upon hearing this, she almost had a fit of rage right there!

…

There will be another update tonight

…

Thanks to the new members of this book, Youthful Eight Brother and Desert Moon, you are wonderful! May the bosses thrive and prosper!