53 The Classmates

There's an old saying: Public clamor can melt metals; accumulated defamation wears the bones.

His classmates didn't come up to scold him, provoke him, criticize him, despise him, or eschew him.

But the moment Zhou Bai walked into the classroom after cutting classes for two weeks, he subconsciously felt gazes poking holes in him, making him uncomfortable.

"Brother Zhou, are you here for class?" Jing Xiu saw Zhou Bai walking over and looked surprised. "Come, come, come, sit next to me."

Seeing Jing Xiu make room for him, Zhou Bai said with some embarrassment, "I'm not here to attend class. It's just…it's just that, Jing Xiu, can you lend me your notes? I want to see where you guys are up to now."

"Huh?" Jing Xiu didn't get to answer because Shirley, who sat in front of Jing Xiu, turned around.

After knocking on Zhou Bai's door for consecutive days and getting ignored, Shirley found Zhou Bai more and more disagreeable—especially when she remembered her parents were fighting on the front lines to strive for the practice time and resources for people like him. She got even angrier when she saw him.

She glared at Zhou Bai. "Weren't you cutting class? Why are you asking Jing Xiu for her notes?"

"What does it have to do with you? I'm talking to Jing Xiu."

Shirley hastily said, "Jing Xiu, don't lend your notes to this guy. Then he will have to come to class."

Jing Xiu looked at Shirley, then at Zhou Bai. She faced a dilemma.

At that moment, a figure walked in front of Zhou Bai. It was a buff guy who was two meters tall. His robust stature made him look more like a member of organized crime than a student.

Zhou Bai recalled his name. "Du Bing, the ripped guy who placed eighth in the entrance exam."

Du Bing glanced at Zhou Bai. He said slowly, "Zhou Bai, you've disgraced the entire five-oh-three Class."

It was currently Paradise Year 503, so the 503 Class was naturally Zhou Bai's class.

Hearing Du Bing's words, Zhou Bai looked helpless because he knew Du Bing was right.

With a student who cut class like him in this entering year, people would naturally say the 503 Class was no good. They'd say, "Even the first place cuts class. Each generation just gets worse and worse…" and so on and so forth.

Zhou Bai didn't have a solution to this. He couldn't just come to class because of these discussions.

So he looked at Du Bing and shook his head. "Du Bing, I actually…"

Without giving Zhou Bai a chance to speak, Du Bing stared at him with a serious expression, "Zhou Bai, although you've disgraced the entire five-oh-three Class, I won't give up on you.

"What I hate to see the most is my classmate being thrown out and becoming everyone's laughingstock. That's why no matter how far you lag, how weak or useless you are, I, Du Bing, will never give up on you."

Du Bing had a passionate expression and was about to embrace Zhou Bai. Zhou Bai quickly took a few steps back, and said with embarrassment, "Don't be like this…"

Du Bing said, "Zhou Bai, don't be afraid. Take my hand, let us explore the journey of Tao practice together…"

Zhou Bai shook off his hand. "Don't grab me! I'm here for Jing Xiu. It has nothing to do with you!"

Watching Du Bing leave in disappointment, Zhou Bai continued his conversation with Jing Xiu. "Jing Xiu, I just want to borrow your notes, but if it's not convenient for you, then forget it…"

Jing Xiu lowered her head in shame, "Brother Zhou, I think I still can't lend you my notebook. Just come to class. Learning from my notes is too dangerous. Lending you my notes would only harm you."

Shirley roared with laughter. She jumped onto the desk and cupped Jing Xiu's face. "Jing Xiu, good job! Don't lend this guy anything!" Then, she made a face at Zhou Bai and said, "Go away. If you don't attend class, then you're not welcome here."

Jing Xiu looked at Zhou Bai awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

Zhou Bai sighed, and he turned to look at the other classmates. Although they didn't say anything, Zhou Bai knew that there was no way he could borrow notes from the rest of them.

Just as he was about to exit the classroom, Qian Wangsun waved at him from nearby.

Zhou Bai walked over with some surprise. Qian Wangsun lent him his notes with a smile. "Here are my notes; you may borrow them."

Zhou Bai's eyes lit up. "You…"

Qian Wangsun smiled. He flipped his long blond hair and said, "It's an investment. If you manage to do well, I will profit."

Zhou Bai was touched. He gazed at Qian Wangsun and said, "Thank you," but after flipping through the notebook, his face fell.

There were sparse text notes in the notebook, and they all looked like they were missing something. Qian Wangsun wrote "omitted" in several places as well, and there were scribbles that Zhou Bai couldn't make out at all. The notes were extremely insincere, a stark comparison against Jing Xiu's neat notes.

Instead, there were vivid drawings of all sorts of naked women. Even Zhou Bai gasped in admiration.

"Trash."

Zhou Bai tossed the notebook back to Qian Wangsun and walked out of the classroom.

Qian Wangsun said, "Hey, hey, hey, it's good stuff. It's all my learnings! You don't want it? You don't have to repay me in the future. Treat me to a meal…"

He left the classroom in disappointment. Zhou Bai thought to himself, Do I have to come to class after all? I don't even know where they are now…Sigh, nevermind, nevermind. It's fine to lose face. It's fine to lose Laziness. Safety comes first on the path of Tao practice.

Zhou Bai contemplated this while he walked through the academic building, thinking about when to attend class. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Zhou Bai, I heard you haven't been attending class?"

Zhou Bai raised his head, Zuo Dao had been watching him from a corner

"Holy sh*t, you're one to talk." Seeing Zuo Dao, Zhou Bai hastily said, "It's class time right now. You're not in class either."

Zuo Dao's lips twitched. "Teacher Xing Jun is out today. I don't have class."

As he spoke, he slowly walked in front of Zhou Bai, staring at him with cold eyes. He said without expression, "You beat me and got first place in the entrance exam. You shouldn't be rubbish."

Zhou Bai had a helpless expression—another one here to despise him!

"Darn it, everyone's reprimanding me. I'm going to lie down and beat the crap out of all of you."

Zuo Dao took something out from his chest and threw it in front of Zhou Bai. "These are my learnings from before I entered school that raised my Degree of Taoification from zero to one precent. Take them and study them well."

Then, he walked in front of Zhou Bai and used his finger to poke Zhou Bai's chest, saying coldly, "If there's anything you don't understand, come look for me in my dorm at night. I'll assist you.

"The person who beat me can't be a good-for-nothing. In another month and a half, the person I'm going to beat is a powerful you, a victory without any blemishes. Do you understand?"