Chapter 78
Chapter 78: Taking Teacher Ren to New Heights—Zhou He Yuan
Teacher Ren had already fought the history group leader once. If another rival appeared, how was he supposed to survive?
He had to strike fast, accurate, and ruthless—hit the weak point and snatch Classmate Ye back in one move.
Plans flashed through his head. He was practically vibrating with anticipation.
“Not right now,” Ye Wan Lan said, shaking her head. “He’s drunk. He needs time to recover.”
Teacher Ren slammed the table and immediately started whispering poison in her ear. “How can someone who studies physics get drunk? That’s irresponsible to your own brain!”
But his idol, Senior Yuwen Ming Bo, was different.
A top researcher like that could get drunk and still pull new physics insights out of the universe.
Ye Wan Lan gave a small nod. “I’ll talk to him. Tomorrow, after he wakes up, we’ll eat together. Is that okay?”
“Okay,” Teacher Ren said, rubbing his hands together in secret.
Good. He would prepare properly tonight. Tomorrow he would defeat that unknown rival in every possible way.
—
When Ye Wan Lan got home, she went straight to her bedroom. She took a brush and wrote a single line of ancient wisdom on a scroll, each stroke careful and steady.
To set the heart for Heaven and Earth, to set the life for the people, to carry on the lost learning of past sages, and to open lasting peace for all ages.
After the ink dried, she hung the scroll on the wall opposite her bed, where she would see it first thing every morning.
It had been her motto in her past life. It would be her motto in this life as well.
She would remind herself—always.
Her phone chimed.
Ye Wan Lan opened the message.
[Zhou Yi Xiang]: Sister Wan Lan, I finished my last exam!
[Zhou Yi Xiang]: Are you free tomorrow? I want to treat you to a meal!
[Ye Wan Lan]: Congrats. I’ll treat you. When should we meet?
[Zhou Yi Xiang]: Sister Zhi Yun came back yesterday. I have to bring gifts to visit her in the morning. Is evening okay?
[Ye Wan Lan]: Zhou Zhi Yun?
[Zhou Yi Xiang]: Yes. If Sister Zhi Yun hadn’t used her own allowance to support me, I might have been forced to drop out back in high school.
[Zhou Yi Xiang]: She’s different from her second brother. She once told me that back then, Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou were always busy with business and didn’t have time for her. Brother He Yuan handled everything for her—big and small. He raised her.
[Zhou Yi Xiang]: But heaven envied the talented. Someone as good as Brother He Yuan can only lie in bed now. I don’t even know if he’ll ever wake up.
Ye Wan Lan’s eyes narrowed. Her fingers curled into a loose ring as she tapped the tabletop once, lightly.
Zhou He Yuan.
The Zhou Family’s eldest young master—the one who’d been in a major car accident two years ago and fallen into a coma.
[Zhou Yi Xiang]: Sorry, I talked too much. Then it’s settled! See you tomorrow, Sister Wan Lan!
[Ye Wan Lan]: Okay.
After she replied, Ye Wan Lan quietly added two meals to tomorrow’s schedule.
—
To her surprise, Professor Yuwen woke earlier than expected.
At nine the next morning, he started hammering her phone with relentless calls.
When he learned they could eat together at noon—and that Rong Yu and Yan Ting Feng wouldn’t be coming—he was satisfied and didn’t chase her to school.
Teacher Ren, meanwhile, was suffering in his own way. Today he wore a suit, a bow tie, and even gelled his hair.
Senior 2 Class 2 spent a full period on edge, convinced something terrible was coming. When they realized their souls remained intact, they whispered among themselves, wondering if Teacher Ren had snapped.
The moment the fourth period bell rang, Teacher Ren was already poised to launch.
Ye Wan Lan stared at him for three seconds, then said slowly, “Teacher Ren, it’s just lunch. You don’t need to be this formal.”
“I do,” Teacher Ren insisted solemnly. “Physics people must be this formal!”
Ye Wan Lan sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Teacher Ren followed behind her, barely resisting the urge to march in parade step.
The restaurant Ye Wan Lan booked was on the snack street near No. 7 High School. The school was far out in the suburbs; it was quiet, and people were sparse—which was its one advantage.
A waiter led them to a private room at the far end of the second floor.
The door opened.
Professor Yuwen was already there, waiting impatiently. “Little Wan Lan! Why are you so slow? Did a teacher keep you after class?”
“Professor,” Ye Wan Lan said calmly, “we get out at twelve. It’s twelve ten.”
“All right, all right. I just missed you—”
Professor Yuwen turned his head and froze. “Why is there a third person?”
At the same moment, Teacher Ren finally got a clear look at Professor Yuwen’s face.
Silence.
Teacher Ren stared at the old man’s gray-white hair, puffed up like popcorn, then at the T-shirt and shorts on his body. The whole look screamed neighborhood skewer shop grandpa.
But that wasn’t the point.
The point was—
His lifelong idol. Right here. Like this.
His brain failed to compute.
Thud.
Teacher Ren fainted without warning.
Ye Wan Lan caught him before he hit the ground.
“This brat—who is he?” Professor Yuwen grumbled, deeply displeased that his two-person world had been ruined. “His health is terrible. He’s young—how is he already drained?”
Ye Wan Lan lifted a brow. “Your fan.”
“Really?” Professor Yuwen pushed up his glasses. “Then why did he faint as soon as he saw me?”
“From happiness,” Ye Wan Lan said.
Professor Yuwen: “….”
Ye Wan Lan discreetly drew out a silver needle and pressed it into Teacher Ren.
Luckily, she always carried them.
“Ow!”
Teacher Ren snapped awake, sprang upright, and blurted, “Where’s my idol? Where is he? Hit me—I’m not dreaming, am I?”
Professor Yuwen hesitated, then slapped him.
The sting was real.
Teacher Ren’s eyes filled with tears. He grabbed Professor Yuwen’s hand like it was sacred. “Can you hit me a few more times?”
Professor Yuwen turned to Ye Wan Lan, expression conflicted. “He’s got masochistic tendencies, doesn’t he?”
Teacher Ren cleared his throat, trying to recover a shred of dignity. “S-Senior Yuwen, I’m Little Ren. I’m currently the physics group leader at No. 7 High School.”
His voice shook. “Do you remember fifteen years ago when you came to No. 1 High School in River City to give a lecture? I was sitting in the very middle seat of the front row.”
Back then, he’d been a first-year student at No. 1 High School in River City. He’d been lucky enough to hear a lecture on quantum mechanics—and from that day on, he’d become obsessed.
After that, his dream was to become a physics teacher, to make more students fall in love with physics the way he had.
To him, Yuwen Ming Bo wasn’t just a scholar. He was inspiration itself.
Professor Yuwen frowned, clearly working hard. “Ah… so you mean you were that…?”
“Yes! I was that one!”
Professor Yuwen nodded once, then said blandly, “Don’t remember.”
Teacher Ren’s soul left his body.
Then Professor Yuwen slapped his shoulder hard enough to rattle his bones. “Even if I don’t remember, the young are formidable—truly formidable. Choosing the path of physics means choosing hardship. You need a strong mind. You’re not bad.”
Teacher Ren stared at him, mouth opening and closing like he’d forgotten how to speak.
Professor Yuwen squinted. “What’s wrong with him now? Facial muscles malfunctioning?”
“Probably just crashed,” Ye Wan Lan said tactfully. “Getting praised by his idol short-circuited his brain.”
Professor Yuwen sniffed. “That won’t do. Physics people must be mentally strong. When I met you, I didn’t act like that.”
It wasn’t until all the dishes were served that Teacher Ren finally crawled back into reality.
“I never thought I’d eat with you one day,” he said, voice still trembling. “Even if I die now, I have no regrets.”
“It’s not that dramatic,” Professor Yuwen said, waving him off—almost embarrassed.
Teacher Ren was internally sobbing.
What had he been thinking before he came?
He’d actually imagined competing with Yuwen Ming Bo.
He was a disgrace.
When he got back, he would slap himself awake.
“Professor,” Ye Wan Lan asked, “do you have any small seminars or other events coming up? Could Teacher Ren go and take a look? Summer break is almost here.”
“Yes,” Professor Yuwen said. “Plenty. Come on—add me on WeChat. I’ll scan you.”
Teacher Ren’s hands shook so badly he couldn’t even hold his phone.
He looked at Ye Wan Lan for help like a drowning man.
After a beat, Ye Wan Lan reached into the chest pocket of his suit jacket, took out his phone, and added Professor Yuwen for him.
“If you’re interested in quantum mechanics,” Professor Yuwen said casually, “there’s a symposium in Yun Jing next month. Come anytime. I’ll bring you in.”
“Really?” Teacher Ren looked like he might faint all over again.
“Of course. No problem.” Professor Yuwen shrugged. “Do you still have enough training camp slots? If not, I’ll go ask for more.”
Teacher Ren froze. “So it was you…?”
Professor Yuwen grinned. “Little Wan Lan doesn’t ask me for help often. If she asks, I do my best.”
Lunch ended with Teacher Ren floating back to school like his feet no longer touched the ground.
“A Lan,” Su Xue Qing said, shaking her head, “people in Class 2 are saying Teacher Ren went crazy today. I think they might be right. Who knows what happened to him.”
“It wasn’t much,” Ye Wan Lan said. “I let him meet his idol.”
Su Xue Qing blinked, then understood at once. “Yuwen Ming Bo?”
“Mm.” Ye Wan Lan’s brows lifted slightly. “He loves physics. I helped.”
At that moment, someone stepped in front of them and blocked their path.
Su Xue Qing moved half a step forward, shielding Ye Wan Lan. “Xue Yi Wei. What do you want now?”
“Ye Wan Lan.” Xue Yi Wei fought to keep her composure, softening her tone without losing her arrogance. “Introduce me to Professor Yuwen. I’ll give you five million. And the Xue Family won’t treat you badly either. That’s enough, isn’t it?”