I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Chapter 53: Spread

“You’re not taking a nap today?”

After lunch, Zheng Fa looked at Wang Chen in surprise, seeing him poring over a book.

Wang Chen had a habit of napping after lunch, claiming that skipping it would leave him a wreck for the rest of the day.

“Did you see Old Chen’s face? If I don’t do well on this exam, he’ll eat me alive!”

It wasn’t surprising that Wang Chen was so tense. This monthly exam wasn’t an ordinary one—it was a joint assessment with several other schools from nearby cities and counties.

For the teachers at Qingshui High School, the performance bonuses from good college entrance exam results might bring a month’s worth of joy. However, excelling in the joint monthly exam meant six months of smugly mocking their rival schools.

Conversely, doing poorly would bring six months of misery from being the butt of others’ jokes.

The teachers’ intense focus on this exam was summed up for the students with a single warning: “Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

Old Chen had even gone the extra mile to remind them that the school would hold a parent-teacher meeting after the exam.

Zheng Fa glanced around the classroom.

Normally, at this time of day, only half the seats would be occupied, most by students napping on their desks.

Today, at least 80% of the seats were filled, and nearly everyone was diligently studying instead of sleeping.

Zheng Fa stood up, holding a few books as he prepared to head downstairs.

“Where are you going?” Wang Chen asked.

“To ask Tang Lingwu some questions.”

Ever since he’d arranged for Tang Lingwu to help him with math, they’d been meeting after lunch for study sessions.

“You’re not going to buckle down and study with the exam coming up?” Wang Chen gawked at him.

“Isn’t that what I’m doing?”

“...Yeah, right!”

Watching Zheng Fa leave, Wang Chen turned to his deskmate and said, “I admire his courage to risk everything for love, but I’m also looking forward to how miserably Old Chen will crush him after he fails.”

His deskmate remained expressionless. “If it were you, would you go?”

“Me? I love studying. I’d rather read. There’s a beauty named Yan Ruyu in books, you know!”

“I don’t know about Yan Ruyu, but that’s Tang Lingwu.”

“Tang Lingwu… But can Tang Lingwu help me ace the exam?”

“That’s Tang Lingwu.”

“Fine, the exam doesn’t matter. What happens if my mom comes to the parent-teacher meeting after I fail?”

“Tang Lingwu.”

“True. If my mom meets Tang Lingwu, she might actually praise me for having good taste.”

...

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu met at a small pavilion under the teaching building. Inside was a stone table with four stone stools. Zheng Fa placed his books on the table and began asking Tang Lingwu about his doubts.

Tang Lingwu wore a white short-sleeved blouse, idly twirling a fountain pen with her right hand while propping her head up with the other. Occasionally, she frowned as she pondered his questions before offering her insights.

To be fair, Tang Lingwu’s level wasn’t quite on par with Old Bai’s. Many of Zheng Fa’s tougher questions still had to wait for a visit to Old Bai’s house.

But even so, Tang Lingwu’s explanations worked well for him. Old Bai, accustomed to teaching geniuses, often struggled to pinpoint where Zheng Fa was having trouble. This disconnect sometimes led to rather demoralizing comments like, “You need this explained?”

Tang Lingwu, on the other hand, being a talented student herself, could better empathize with Zheng Fa’s challenges.

Her patience, coupled with the noticeable difference in their looks, made the learning experience much more pleasant.

In fact, when it came to high school math, where the gap between Old Bai and Tang Lingwu wasn’t as pronounced, Tang Lingwu was even more helpful.

After flipping through his list of questions and finding most of them answered, Zheng Fa hesitated before asking, “There’s something else I’d like to ask for your help with.”

Tang Lingwu looked up at him, puzzled.

“I want to understand the differences between our bodies.”

“...” Tang Lingwu narrowed her eyes and stared at Zheng Fa for a full half-minute before speaking. “It’s in the biology textbook.”

“Uh, you misunderstood. I want to know if I’m the only one in this world who can master the Linghe Body.”

Since coming to the modern world, Zheng Fa had confirmed one thing: while the energy cultivated through the Linghe Body still existed in him, the strange external energy he’d once sensed was entirely absent here.

His initial assumption was that the Linghe Body should be easy for modern people to learn—after all, there were documentaries and videos demonstrating it.

Yet, despite Tang Lingwu and Old Bai’s attempts at visualization, neither had managed to sense any response in their bodies.

This led him to suspect that the modern world lacked spiritual energy.

Another possibility, however, was that his body differed from those of people in this world, making him uniquely capable of mastering the Linghe Body.

Tang Lingwu’s skeptical gaze lingered on him as he tried to maintain a sincere expression.

“How do we test that?”

“Try the Pine Crane Stance and focus your thoughts.”

Tang Lingwu stood up and assumed the Pine Crane Stance. Zheng Fa moved behind her. “Pardon me,” he said, gently placing his fingers on the upper part of her spine.

Her body shivered.

“What’s wrong?”

“It tickles.”

“Let me know if you feel uncomfortable,” Zheng Fa reassured her, closing his eyes as he carefully channeled a wisp of his energy into her body.

His energy was already limited, and he dared not transmit too much for fear of causing harm. He simply allowed a tiny thread to flow in, hoping for a response.

If anything in this world still contained spiritual energy, it was likely his body and the energy within it.

Of course, dissection or feeding her a piece of his flesh to test their differences wasn’t an option, so this would have to do.

As his energy lingered along Tang Lingwu’s spine, her body began trembling slightly.

Zheng Fa sensed the energy he had sent into her starting to pulse, its rhythm identical to when he practiced the Linghe Heart Sutra.

...

In the classroom above, Wang Chen and his deskmate were squished together at the window, watching the two.

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu hadn’t bothered avoiding notice—they’d simply chosen the pavilion to avoid disturbing others’ studies or naps.

“What are they doing?”

“Move over, let me see!”

“I thought you were studying?” the deskmate glared at Wang Chen.

“What book could possibly be more exciting than sweet, sweet romance?”

“What’s so exciting?”

A blinding reflection appeared on the windowpane as a bald head loomed behind them.

“Te—Teacher!”

Wang Chen and his deskmate jumped in fright and turned around.

“I could hear you two chatting from the hallway! In the entire class, your voices were the loudest!” Old Chen scolded, his face stern. “There’s an exam coming up, do you even care? How many points do you think you’ll score?”

When neither replied, he pressed, “What were you looking at just now?”

Wang Chen sidestepped awkwardly, trying to block the view.

Old Chen gave him a long, penetrating look before pushing him aside. From the window, he saw Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu in their peculiar posture.

“What are they doing?” Old Chen asked with an eerie calm.

“Uh, Zheng Fa said he was asking Tang Lingwu for help with his studies.”

“Studying?” Old Chen’s face darkened, his tone seething with anger. “I’d really like to know—what kind of knowledge requires physical contact to share?”

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