novelraw Chapter 37 Fatty Ding and He Yan
Chapter 37 Fatty Ding and He Yan
The feast lasted a long time.
After eating and drinking their fill, the children, accompanied by their parents, gathered at the village entrance before heading to the academy.
Two or three spacious carriages were already waiting there.
With tears in their eyes, the parents repeatedly gave their children instructions and reluctantly sent them off onto the carriage.
Lin Chi had already quietly retreated to the shadows of a house near the village entrance, silently observing the scene.
"Think of a way to hitch a ride," he whispered to Zhou Yanyu.
"I think you should just put on that human skin mask and blend in!"
Zhou Yanyu had just drifted over to the children's table and "listened in" for a while.
"I've heard some rumors. This Lin Chi seems to be quite reclusive, nobody pays attention to him, and apparently he has no parents. Nobody even knows how he got into the village, and he basically doesn't interact with anyone. If you impersonate him, the risk shouldn't be too high."
After listening, Lin Chi thought it was feasible.
So he withdrew his transformation, put on a human skin mask, and still wore a cloak and a mask.
Once he was ready, he adjusted his breathing and posture, mimicking the image of a reclusive boy in his mind, and walked towards the carriage that was about to depart with his head down.
"Hey! Lin Chi!" A familiar voice rang out; it was the chubby boy.
He was leaning out of a carriage window when he spotted "Lin Chi" approaching and waved vigorously.
"I thought you left a while ago! There's still a seat here, come on up!"
The burly boy sitting next to him watched Lin Chi walk toward them with disdain.
"Why did you call him over here!" The burly boy was speechless at the fat boy's actions.
"Don't do that!" The chubby boy reached out to pull Lin Chi.
"We might even be classmates later! More people means more support!" He was quite strong and pulled Lin Chi into the car.
The carriage was spacious inside. Besides the three of them, there were two other children who were not very familiar with each other sitting opposite them. They glanced curiously at the newly arrived "Lin Chi" and were quickly attracted by the scenery outside the window.
The chubby boy moved closer, his round face full of curiosity.
"Lin Chi, why do I feel like you... seem to have grown a little taller? And you're wearing a new cloak, making you look even more mysterious than usual!" He joked with a grin, without any malice.
"Yeah! Finally, they've shown their eyes. They've been covering them up all the time. I thought they were demons." The burly boy's tone was still stiff, but compared to his previous pure rejection, there seemed to be a hint of indifference after "confirming their identity."
"Hey! That's right!" The chubby boy clapped his hands as if he had just realized something.
"So you're not a demon! We misunderstood you before and were too scared to play with you! Let's get to know each other again, my name is Fatty Ding!" He patted his round belly and smiled憨厚ly.
Then he pointed to the burly boy next to him: "His name is He Yan. Don't be fooled by his grumpy face. He's just a tsundere, but he's not a bad person at heart. You'll see once you get to know him."
Faced with Fatty Ding's rapid-fire enthusiastic introduction and He Yan's awkward "certification," Lin Chi, who wanted to maintain a low profile and play the role of the "aloof Lin Chi," could only stick to his persona and simply utter two words in a slightly cold and distant tone:
"Lin Chi".
"See? I told you so! I was just offering my warm welcome to a cold shoulder!" He Yan immediately complained to Fatty Ding. "What's the point of talking to this weirdo? Just ignore him!"
"Oh, it's alright, it's alright," Fatty Ding said with a good-natured smile, trying to smooth things over. "It's probably because we haven't played with Lin Chi much before, so it's understandable that he's acting this way. It's okay, the misunderstanding is cleared up! From now on, let's all get along well!"
At this moment, Zhou Yanyu, hiding in his storage ring, witnessed this scene and mentally complained, "Hey, Lin, why are you being so cold to your new friends? I think this chubby guy is pretty nice, and He Yan is all bark and no bite. Do you have to keep that long face? Trying to look cool?"
"No, I'm just trying to maintain the original character of 'Lin Chi,' a withdrawn, quiet, and perhaps a bit gloomy young man. This role needs to be played gradually; I can't make drastic changes all at once, or I'll give myself away." Lin Chi calmly replied to Zhou Yanyu.
"Hahaha! Great job! You deserve an Oscar! Best actor! You really nailed the role! Keep it up, I'm rooting for you!" After that, Zhou Yanyu stopped paying attention and went back to taking a beauty nap in his storage ring.
"Hey, Lin Chi," Fatty Ding moved closer to Lin Chi, his round face full of curiosity.
"What's your preferred department? He Yan and I have already decided." He pointed to He Yan, who was sitting next to him with his arms crossed.
He Yan glanced at Lin Chi, his tone carrying a certain matter-of-fact assertiveness: "I'm definitely going to the White Tiger Academy, which focuses on combat. Only through actual combat can I improve my strength the fastest, awaken a good combat profession, and enter the Divine Tower level."
"I want to go to Phoenix Academy, which focuses on internal support," Fatty Ding replied, a longing smile on his face.
"Mainly because my second uncle runs a small restaurant in the Phoenix Academy area! I still prefer studying food; I'm not very interested in fighting, climbing towers, or anything like that."
He scratched his head sheepishly.
"There are two academies left: the Azure Dragon Academy, which focuses on magic, and the Black Tortoise Academy, which focuses on external skills. Which one do you want to go to?"
Lin Chi answered based on the information on the original owner of the mask's certificate: "Azure Dragon Academy".
"What a pity! We can't be classmates!" Fatty Ding patted his thigh with a hint of regret.
"Come on," He Yan said, pouring cold water on the idea. He frowned slightly, seemingly feeling some pressure about the upcoming competition.
"There's a standardized test at the start of the semester to determine your class ranking. Unless you're one of those guys who gets an 'elite class' admission certificate in advance, you don't need to take the test."
He paused, his tone somewhat complicated.
"The better the class, the better the teachers and resources. From the moment they enter school, everyone's starting line... is different."
After he finished speaking, he unconsciously clenched his fist, his knuckles turning slightly white, clearly showing his strong determination and confidence in getting into a good class through the exam.
"Class ranking? And what exactly do these internal and external support systems mean?"
Lin Chi then turned to Fatty Ding, who seemed the most talkative and least wary, and asked in a calm tone, but with a hint of curious doubt.
He needs to get to know this unfamiliar environment he is about to enter as soon as possible.
Fortunately, the child was simple-minded. Fatty Ding did not doubt why the "Lin Chi" in front of him was completely ignorant of basic common sense. He simply thought that he was even "lazier" than himself, or that he had been too closed off before.
He puffed out his chest, looking like he had it all figured out.
"Great! I never expected there to be someone even more 'carefree' than me, not even bothering to do any research beforehand!" Fatty Ding laughed, clearing his throat. "Then I'll explain it to you from the beginning!"