Chapter 40: Lin Jie

Nalan Ruyue curiously placed the clothes back and picked up the panda mask, which depicted a comical and lovable Kung Fu Panda. She couldn't help but smile to herself, thinking: Brother truly has a childlike heart.

Putting the mask back in place, Nalan Ruyue cleaned the room and left with the clothes Li Nianlong had changed out of yesterday.

Downstairs, as Nalan Ruyue was washing the clothes, Yue Chang finally emerged from her room with a yawn, wearing a pale blue tank top adorned with white waterdrop pattern and white shorts that revealed her fair thighs. Her flip-flops slapped against the floor as she stretched, saying, "Ah... Huh... Slept so well! Good morning, Sister Ruyue."

Nalan Ruyue smiled faintly and typed a message on her phone, showing it to Yue Chang: "Morning, are you hungry?"

"Well, now that you mention it..." Yue Chang held her stomach, which grumbled, and with a shy yet adorable tongue sticking out, she said, "Sister Ruyue, I'm hungry."

Nalan Ruyue giggled softly and typed another message: "I'll heat up breakfast. Go wash your face first!"

"Thanks for the trouble, Sister Ruyue." Yue Chang hugged Nalan Ruyue, their faces pressing together affectionately as she nuzzled, "Hehe... Sister Ruyue's face is so smooth." Her soft, cute voice was utterly charming.

Nalan Ruyue smiled gently, pushed Yue Chang away lightly, pointed to the bathroom, and turned to head to the kitchen. Yue Chang went to the bathroom.

Later, Yue Chang sat at the dining table, eating the reheated steamed buns, making contented noises. "Sister Ruyue, you're such a great cook." She glanced at Yuexi sleeping soundly on the sofa and lowered her voice to a soft coo, "Even better than Xi Xi!"

Nalan Ruyue smiled faintly and made a 'thank you' sign with her hands, a gesture that Yue Chang and Yuexi had long understood.

"Sister Ruyue, can I ask you a question?" Yue Chang wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked seriously at Nalan Ruyue.

A hint of puzzlement flashed in Nalan Ruyue's eyes, but she nodded.

"Do you like Big Brother?"

Nalan Ruyue's eyes widened in apparent alarm, her cheeks flushed. Under Yue Chang's intense gaze, she lowered her head, picked up her phone, and typed out a lengthy response...

After another day of work, Li Nianlong was pleased to see his Architect profession had reached 68% proficiency at the Advanced level. Since upgrading in the early hours, his strength and speed had seen another slight boost. His daily workload was finally achieving a 10% increase in proficiency, and if this continued, he would reach Master level in just over three days.

After Master came the ultimate level, Perfection. It had taken him more than ten days to go from Advanced to Master, and reaching Perfection might consume his entire summer vacation.

Li Nianlong was a physical education teacher at Tianfu No. 3 Middle School and would have to report to the school after summer break. His students were junior high kids, but Tianfu No. 3 wasn't a prestigious school. Most students were descendants of former Tianfu Army personnel. In such households, boys were naturally aggressive, and even girls were no less bold, treating fights as casually as meals.

However, while they were tough and prone to fighting, bullying the weak was almost nonexistent at No. 3. Extorting protection money was unheard of. Once, members of three small gangs tried to extort money from No. 3 students, only to be surrounded by hundreds of adolescents wielding bricks and chairs, who pummeled them into submission. The unlucky trio spent a year in the hospital and were rumored to struggle with even basic activities like eating and using the toilet, becoming complete dependents.

After that incident, no gang dared to set foot in No. 3 again, and some parents even sent their children there to avoid bullying.

The problem was, while No. 3 students weren't bullied, the teaching staff was mediocre. Li Nianlong, a second-rate P.E. teacher, was hired without much ado. This was partly because P.E. teachers were not highly valued in regular schools; the best ones taught at sports academies, leaving the second-rate ones for ordinary schools.

Due to the inadequate teaching staff, No. 3's high school entrance exam pass rate hovered below 60%. Those who failed either paid their way up or repeated a year, and this situation hadn't improved in years. Many ambitious parents, despite knowing their children wouldn't be bullied at No. 3, hesitated to enroll them there.

Such a 'terrifying' pass rate—ridiculous!

Reflecting on his job as a P.E. teacher, Li Nianlong was considering resignation. It wasn't about the salary; with the system, money wasn't an issue. The problem was that being a P.E. teacher didn't seem like a viable life profession. Even if it was, what benefits could an exceptional P.E. teacher bring?

National-level P.E. teacher treatment? Not worth mentioning.

Beep—beep beep beep—

A series of urgent honks interrupted Li Nianlong's thoughts. Focusing ahead, he saw a crowd gathered on the road, causing congestion. Impatient drivers sounded their horns, creating a chaotic racket.

Lowering his window, Li Nianlong leaned out and asked a driver ahead, "Mate, what's going on up there?"

"Who knows? Just a traffic accident. Hey—, are we moving or what? My wife's waiting for me to get back for dinner!" The man seemed rather irritable.

Curiosity piqued, Li Nianlong crawled forward slowly, and indeed, it was a crawl, his speed barely exceeding that of a snail.

Approaching the scene, amidst the din, Li Nianlong heard a sobbing cry—panicked, disbelieving, aggrieved, and filled with anger.

"I'm telling you, crying won't help. You hit me today, and if you don't pay up, you're not leaving," an old woman's voice rang out, coupled with the young crying, immediately conjuring two words in Li Nianlong's mind—insurance fraud.

"You... You're lying. You fell on your own. I pitied you and came to help you up, how could you do this?" A somewhat young girl's voice entered Li Nianlong's ears, sparking a wave of murmurs among the onlookers.

Hearing this, Li Nianlong could basically determine the situation—it was undoubtedly a case of an elderly person falling, a young person 'unknowingly' helping, and then getting caught in an insurance fraud scheme.

However... Li Nianlong frowned, feeling that the girl's voice sounded vaguely familiar.

In no time, Li Nianlong arrived at the scene in his car. Glancing over, he saw a white-haired old lady lying on the ground, clutching the legs of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl tightly, refusing to let go despite the s urgings.

The old lady was thin and wore a mean expression, whereas the girl she held onto had a sweet appearance, sporting a cute twin-tailed hairstyle, wearing a white T-shirt, blue denim shorts that exposed her fair, delicate legs, and playful red sandals that exuded cheerfulness. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face streaked with tears, indicating significant distress.

Recognizing the girl, Li Nianlong's expression darkened. He parked his car by the roadside, stepped out, and pushed through the crowd to reach the scene.

"Lin Jie!" Li Nianlong called out. The crying girl immediately turned around, recognizing Li Nianlong and lighting up with joy. "Teacher Liu!"

Li Nianlong nodded, stepped forward, and, lowering his head, gave the old lady a cold glance before asking, "What's going on here?"

This girl named Lin Jie was Li Nianlong's student. Before the summer break, she was the class representative for physical education in Class 2, Grade 1, and would be entering her second year of middle school after the break. Despite her young age, she stood at an impressive 167cm, towering above most girls her age. Given that people in Tianfu tended to be shorter, Lin Jie stood out even more in her class, and her height played a decisive role in her being elected as the class rep for PE.

The relationship between a PE teacher and the class rep was often closer than that of ordinary teacher-student relationships. Lin Jie was a basketball enthusiast, and Li Nianlong shared the same passion. During free periods in PE classes, Lin Jie frequently challenged Li Nianlong to one-on-one matches, with the outcome predictably in Li Nianlong's favor every time, yet Lin Jie enjoyed it immensely. Over the course of a year, Li Nianlong and Lin Jie became basketball buddies, sometimes even meeting up on weekends to play at outdoor courts.

Now, seeing his student and fellow basketball buddy wronged, Li Nianlong resolutely stepped forward to intervene!