novelraw Chapter 56 : Professor Mu
Chapter 56 : Professor Mu
Chapter 56: Professor Mu
The next day marked the beginning of a new month. For the sophomores, juniors, and seniors, it was the day they returned to school, while the freshmen would only start arriving tomorrow.
When it came to freshmen admissions, sophomores might still be somewhat interested, but by the time they reached junior or senior year, they were basically indifferent and each focused on their own matters.
Last night, the counselor had already compiled the list of returning students in the group chat. At two o’clock in the afternoon, they were to gather at the teaching building for a brief meeting, and then there would be nothing else.
By the time they reached senior year, they hardly needed to attend classes anymore. Those who had failed courses had to prepare for make-up exams, those who hadn’t completed enough credits had to find their own way, and those preparing for postgraduate exams studied on their own.
In short, during this year, everything depended on self-discipline. The counselor would not overly interfere in students’ lives. As long as they didn’t end up dead at school, everything else was negotiable.
And if they couldn’t graduate by next July? What did that have to do with the teachers or the counselor? They couldn’t care less.
Every year there were always some seniors who idled away their time at school, either because their families had money or because they simply didn’t want to work.
Of course, there were also some hopeless cases who couldn’t be helped no matter what, ending up with delayed graduation or even withdrawal from school.
Lin Mo woke up early. Along with his daily spoonful of Tujia Honey water, he had developed the habit of going to the bathroom first thing in the morning.
After finishing the honey water, he put on his Back Straightener, changed into sportswear, and went out early, heading straight for the track field.
Last night, he had searched online about the Fuyang Post and found that it was one of the basic practices in Daoist health preservation.
The movements were quite simple: feet in a flat horse stance, the backs of both hands facing each other, slowly raised from the lower abdomen over the head and then down in a circular motion to the sides, exerting force through the toes, tongue pressed against the upper palate, until saliva was produced in the mouth. Practicing for ten minutes a day was said to unblock the meridians, loosen the hips, desensitize, and raise yang energy.
Some sources online also claimed that this posture should not be practiced carelessly, as it could easily lead to increasing weakness instead.
But Lin Mo had no such worries. He followed the steps he had learned last night and began his horse stance. Whether or not it really raised yang energy, he didn’t care. Longevity—who wouldn’t want that?
This time, he didn’t cheat by using the toilet for support. After all, it concerned a man’s waist; it wasn’t something to take lightly.
To be honest, watching the video made it seem easy, but squatting down was truly exhausting. At one point, he even suspected that the supposed benefits of longevity might just come from daily exercise itself, and had nothing to do with this particular posture.
If exercise was the key, wouldn’t doing a full set of the third round of radio gymnastics achieve the same effect?
Still, for the sake of his health, he dismissed the idea.
Just then, while he was standing in the posture, the Professor Mu he had seen yesterday appeared again. The old lady was, as before, swinging her arms, producing sharp slapping sounds against her body.
Although her hair was completely white, it was meticulously groomed. Her spirit and vitality were far stronger than his, a university student. Seeing this, Lin Mo couldn’t help but gain more confidence in his Fuyang Post.
If an old lady could look so full of energy just from swinging her arms, then surely his practice—which was genuine Daoist health preservation, enhanced even by the shopping page’s blessing—had to be effective.
In less than ten minutes, sweat beaded on Lin Mo’s forehead, and his whole body grew heated. He could clearly feel warmth rising from his lower abdomen. If it were colder outside, one might even have seen steam rising off his body.
“It’s working, not bad!”
Lin Mo was pleasantly surprised. In such a short time, he had already taken several breaks. He wasn’t sure if the posture consumed that much energy, or if his body was simply too weak.
Fortunately, with steady persistence and exercise, he would improve. That alone was satisfying enough.
Just as he was about to continue, a voice called out.
“So it’s you again, student.”
Lin Mo turned his head and saw none other than the arm-swinging fanatic, Professor Mu. The little old lady seemed to have just finished a lap; her breathing was slightly heavy, and her gaze carried a trace of curiosity.
“P–Professor Mu, hello!”
“Hello. Did you take my class before? Why don’t I remember you?” The old lady adjusted her glasses with some doubt.
“I attended a few of your open lectures. There were a lot of people—you definitely wouldn’t remember me.” Lin Mo smiled.
He hadn’t had the nerve to greet Professor Mu yesterday, so he hadn’t expected her to start a conversation with him today. It made him a little nervous.
“I thought so. If you had been one of my own students, looking the way you do, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember. By the way, how are your Advanced Mathematics grades?”
Lin Mo: …
Wasn’t this bringing up exactly the sorest topic? Did she really have to ask about grades right to his face?
Perhaps noticing his awkwardness, Professor Mu pursed her lips, unable to understand why Advanced Mathematics could be so difficult.
“I saw you exercising here yesterday morning. Not many young people are willing to wake up early to train nowadays. What are you practicing today?”
Hearing this, Lin Mo let out a breath of relief—finally, the subject had changed. He quickly replied: “I learned it online. Supposedly it promotes longevity, kind of like a basic Daoist health-preservation exercise.”
He didn’t mention anything about raising yang energy or replenishing kidney qi. If others knew, they might think he was impotent at such a young age.
“Health preservation? Really? Does it work?”
The moment she heard the words “health preservation,” Professor Mu’s eyes lit up. At her age, this was exactly what she cared about most.
After all, with age, the body deteriorated day by day. Since she had already benefited greatly from daily exercise, and her health was far better than her peers, naturally she was interested in such things.
“Uh… I think so. I just started, but it feels alright. Makes me sweat a lot—just treat it as exercise, right?” Lin Mo explained. There was plenty of such stuff online, it wasn’t exactly a secret.
Like Baduanjin, Wuqinxi, Tai Chi—weren’t they all health-preserving exercises? But whether they really worked or not varied from person to person, so he didn’t dare to make absolute claims.
After all, it worked for him only because of the shopping page’s enhancement. For others, who knew?
“True, doesn’t matter. Just try it first. Anyway, it won’t hurt. Why don’t you teach me?” Professor Mu was a straightforward person. As long as it was related to health preservation, she was willing to try.
After all, it didn’t involve injections or medicine.
“Of course, Professor Mu.” Lin Mo nodded in agreement.
And so, the old and the young began practicing the Fuyang Post together on the track field. Lin Mo taught, and Professor Mu learned. The little old lady’s stamina was clearly better than his—she lasted two minutes longer before taking her first break.
This left Lin Mo rather embarrassed. Here he was, a young man in his early twenties, yet inferior to an old woman with a head full of white hair.
Professor Mu, however, was not stingy either, teaching him her own arm-swinging method in return. It became a mutually beneficial exchange.
After another twenty minutes, the two finished their exercises. Just before leaving, Professor Mu suddenly asked:
“By the way, which year are you in?”
“Going into senior year, Professor Mu.” Lin Mo replied.
“Senior year, huh? Not bad. Have you thought about pursuing graduate studies?”
“Uh? I… I’m just average at studying. I don’t think I’d make it.” Lin Mo said, a little embarrassed.
At this, Professor Mu sighed. She had finally met a student she found pleasing, yet he wasn’t interested in studying. After thinking for a moment, she continued:
“Alright then. Since you don’t have classes in senior year, it just so happens that I have a seminar next Wednesday. My assistant asked for leave. Do you want to come help out? The school provides a stipend.”
“Ah? Sure, Professor Mu!” Lin Mo agreed in a daze.
The two simply exchanged WeChat contacts, and then Professor Mu left.
Watching the little old lady disappear from sight, Lin Mo felt dazed.
“Wasn’t I supposed to be practicing the Fuyang Post? How did it turn into supporting an old lady instead?”
……