11 Chapter 11: The Token Is Broken_1

Liu Qianqian, sitting in the front row, looked on with resignation. Although this guy had a good personality, his academic performance was like a hopeless case of mud that wouldn't stick to the wall; she guessed he was about to be sent out to stand as a punishment again.

Fang Ren, just as he had put his head cover on, stood up with an embarrassed smile and pretended to be deep in thought.

Jing Haichuan and Li Xingwang, seated in front of him, turned back and silently mouthed various medicinal herb names to him.

"This... seems to have Hundred Ghost Grass, Fragrant Orchid, Wooden Fish Root, and..." Fang Ren pretended to hesitate for a long time before saying, "It should be Magnolia."

"Hmph, not too shabby, at least you knew to review a bit of what we're supposed to learn today when you got home last night. Sit down, and pay attention during the class." The teacher on the podium snorted coldly.

Fang Ren sat down with a bitter smile. Studying theories he wrote and still having to pretend they were unfamiliar, who knows what he was feeling right now?

It seemed the teacher wasn't going to let it go and continued, pointing at Fang Ren, "Look at you, you've been a dead fish for three years, always the third from the bottom, and that's never changed. Even if Liu Qianqian has a good relationship with you, she has to think about her future. If you keep this up, what future can you have? There's a reason you were rejected, you have to think and strive for improvement."

"Oh~"

Upon mentioning this, the classroom erupted into an uproar.

Liu Qianqian covered her forehead with one hand, her face flushed. Her situation with Fang Ren had really become known to the entire school, and now even the teachers in class were talking like this.

Though such things shouldn't be discussed in class, this was college and the teachers were also quite young, so they didn't have many scruples about what they said.

"Did you hear that, Ranzi? There's a reason you were rejected," Jing Haichuan turned back and said with a mischievous smile.

"Yo, little brother, look, Liu Qianqian is blushing. Maybe you still have a chance," Li Xingwang also showed a teasing expression to him.

"Stop it."

Fang Ren replied, looking helpless.

If it wasn't for Mu Huanqing, maybe he would have been motivated by the teacher's casual remark to raise his academic performance and try to pursue Liu Qianqian again.

But now it was different. Sister Hui Qing... not only was her personality gentle and she beautiful, but he had also seen her completely, shared a bed with her for one night, and even this morning's events were just one step away from...

No matter what, he could no longer have any deeper relationship with Liu Qianqian. It's best to just be ordinary classmates, and to avoid becoming friends if possible.

"What's up, feeling shy?" Jing Haichuan laughed.

"No, let's not bring this up anymore," Fang Ren smiled and spoke.

"Little brother, have you resigned yourself?" Li Xingwang was surprised, "Don't, you and her have been together for three years..."

"Alright already, class is in session, stop causing a fuss," Fang Ren waved his hand dismissively, speaking irritably.

Li Xingwang and Jing Haichuan exchanged a glance and began whispering underneath the table.

"It's over, Ranzi really got hurt this time."

"Isn't that obvious? Who would have the face to pursue someone after being rejected twice?"

"It's a pity, they got so close, but in the end, they couldn't cross that line."

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Inside the Century Garden Community, Shang Han was pushing Mu Huanqing in a wheelchair, chatting leisurely.

"I'm sorry for not giving you the childhood you should have had," Shang Han said, sighing as he smoked.

"It's okay, I don't envy others," Mu Huanqing replied.

"Your mother is also busy with work; I guess she doesn't have much time to spend with you either."

"Yes, but I am not lonely. I have many warriors from Battlefield One to accompany me."

"Your mother and I just hope that you can let go of the past and stop clinging to the battlefield. It's not good for a girl like you to be thinking about fighting and killing all the time. It would be much better to live a happy and peaceful life with Ah Ran in the future," Shang Han said.

Mu Huanqing looked up at the black hole in the distant sky and sighed, "With the skyhole unrest, how can there be happiness to speak of?"

"Earth isn't only propped up by you. Humans have survived till today without you for over two hundred years, haven't they?" Shang Han said.

"Without me, many warriors from Battlefield One would have died..."

"You've done enough. Rest assured, there will be others to take your place. There are always talented people to carry on the legacy," Shang Han reassured her.

"Why does everyone say I'm dead?" Mu Huanqing asked.

"It was your mother's arrangement, because only in this way could you have a stable environment. Otherwise, some officials would still choose to exploit your value," Shang Han explained.

"I am willing to contribute to human society."

"But your mother and I are not willing. Do you understand?" Shang Han said with a hint of tears in his eyes, "You are our little princess, not a tool for them to drive. You've been through so much, we won't let anyone use you anymore."

Mu Huanqing remained silent for a long while, feeling the tenderness from her parents for the first time.

"Why is Ah Ran an orphan?" Mu Huanqing asked.

Shang Han sighed helplessly, "His parents didn't want him to suffer, so they made that regrettable choice."

"Who are his parents?"

"His surname is Fang, what do you think?"

"The Tianjiang Fang Family?"

"Yeah, an ordinary person with no cultivation ability would be treated as garbage by a big family. Why make him stay there, and why let him know he still has parents? Isn't he happy with his life now?" Shang Han said.

"Ordinary person..."

Mu Huanqing suddenly felt somewhat moved inside; some people are just destined to be ordinary, and that's something helpless.

Shang Han frowned and added, "Actually, he was not born an ordinary person."

"Then what is he?" Mu Huanqing was very curious.

"He could have become someone like you, but his chances were essentially taken away by others," Shang Han said.

"Who did it?"

"Princess Tianjiang."

Mu Huanqing's expression shifted, visibly affected, "Her? Why..."

"For Earth's sake, he had to be a mortal," Shang Han said sadly.

"I don't understand."

"Don't bother trying to understand. You are just an ordinary person now, don't concern yourself with those affairs. All you need to know is that, if he had grown up normally, he wouldn't be any less than you. There'd be no gap between you two."

"I have never seen anyone as less than me."

"You're a good kid."

...

When she returned to the small villa, Shang Han had some business to deal with at the company, so he temporarily left Mu Huanqing upstairs and bought her a cellphone, saving his and Fang Ren's phone numbers in it.

Her father was more considerate. He even linked a bank card to her phone, after all, the living expenses Fang Ren received each month were quite limited, certainly not enough to go shopping with her.

Alone in Fang Ren's room, wheeling herself around in the wheelchair, Mu Huanqing curiously read through Fang Ren's alchemy materials.

She had only skimmed through them briefly, but she at least had some exposure and understood a little.

All the pill recipes Fang Ren had recorded were ones she had never seen before. Some of the combined ingredients were clearly conflicting, yet they were deliberately put together.

Mu Huanqing couldn't help but wonder, could he truly do alchemy?

Rifling through the drawers, Mu Huanqing continued to explore Fang Ren's little room—no, more accurately, her and Fang Ren's little room.

Opening a drawer, she found a large iron box inside. Curious, she took it out and opened it, but the moment she did, her face froze.

The box was large, and inside it was full of pills: energy gathering pills, new energy gathering pills, essence-blood pills, muscle-changing pills... There were many pills, even including more than a dozen mixed yuan pills, which were even scarce in Battlefield One!

Among them were many pills she had never seen before.

Looking at all these high-quality pills, she couldn't help but feel puzzled; he clearly didn't even understand the most basic knowledge about some herbs, so why were there so many finished products in the drawer?

Setting aside the box, Mu Huanqing curiously went to the bedside and took out the "Items of Devotion" Shang Han had given to both of them from under the pillow.

But just as she lifted the pillow, her brow furrowed tightly.

The Items of Devotion had been squashed flat!

Mu Huanqing suddenly felt melancholic, as these items held significant importance in her mind—wasn't this damage indicative of a spoiled relationship?

No, she had to buy another one. She couldn't possibly continue to treat a damaged item as a token of affection.

With that thought, she wheeled herself downstairs, carefully grasping the handrails as she navigated each step.

After basking in the morning sun, she finally felt some strength return, enough to at least wheel herself down the stairs with the help of the handrails.

Crack—

Just as she finished descending the stairs, she wasn't careful and bumped her forehead against the handrail, resulting in a slight bump.

However, this minor injury was nothing; what she had suffered on the battlefield was thousands of times worse.

She wheeled out of the community, holding the "Item of Devotion" in her hand, asking an aunt nearby where she could buy such a thing.

The aunt next to her gave her directions with a strange yet kind smile.

Afterwards, she arrived at a place called something like an adult store, and looking at various items on display, Mu Huanqing's curiosity was piqued.

Initially, she thought it was just a lingerie shop; then, she thought it might be a toy store. After a long look, she realized it was a doll shop.

The owner was a man. When Mu Huanqing asked if he had the same kind of item as she held, even though he was smiling, she felt his smile was disgusting.

Since there were many varieties of that item, she chose to buy three different boxes. She wasn't sure which "Item of Devotion" Ah Ran would prefer, so it was better to let him decide which one to keep.

After paying, the shop owner kept trying to chat with her. Mu Huanqing was annoyed and ignored him as she made for the exit.

But the shop owner was persistent, actually grabbing her wheelchair to prevent her from leaving.

She was furious and shot him a hostile glance. Afterward, he looked scared, and Mu Huanqing wheeled herself out.

After leaving, she lamented inwardly that not all ordinary people were as nice as Ah Ran.

As for the shop owner, he was still standing there, stunned, shaking, and muttering to himself, "Damn... I just felt like I was almost killed... Who is that woman?"