Growing in Their Own Ways

Hualiu nodded solemnly, pursed his lips, and sat upright like a soldier, as if he would not show his true feelings even if he saw something very strange.

Several days later, the group arrived in Tange City and stood in front of the orphanage whose name sounded like a haunted house.

"Wow! I'm finally back! I missed it so much, the feeling of home!"

Hongdou stretched out her arms, shouted, then pushed open the door and entered. She took a deep breath, then was choked by a burnt smell and started coughing.

"What happened? Is the house on fire?"

Si Ming and Murong Qing glances, then hurried inside. Following the smell into the kitchen, they saw Yao Bilian frantically trying to put out the fire. Upon seeing the two of them, she urged, "Don't just stand there, come and help!"

Murong Qing shook his head helplessly, pointed his fingers, and activated the Glacier Divine Art. The burst of cold air quickly extinguished the fire— Internal Cultivation energy masters never need to have such low-end things as fire extinguishers in their homes.

Looking at Yao Bilian, whose face was blackened by smoke, Si Ming quipped, "I know a dish called 'Tianxiong Jizhao Qingyu,' which is said to require burning an entire river to cook. You're not planning to make this at home, are you?"

Yao Bilian splashed water on her face and said irritably, "Isn't it all to welcome you back? That's why I cooked this myself. Considering you haven't been back for almost a year and a half, I didn't order any food from outside so you could experience the taste of home."

Si Ming was shocked. "Don't talk like you've ever cooked before. The taste of home doesn't have any of your skills. And don't you have any self-awareness about whether you can cook or not?"

Turning my head, I saw a dark, murky mass in the pot, and I couldn't tell what the ingredients were at all.

"I thought only comic books featured this kind of culinary disaster... Even if a normal person follows a recipe and it doesn't taste very good, they couldn't possibly make something that needs to be censored, right?"

Yao Bilian scratched her chin and said, "Although it failed, it contained all my heart and soul. The first generation of the God of Cookery once said that the most important thing about a dish is not the taste, but... How did you end up throwing everything in the trash!"

"Of course, trash should be put in the trash can. Isn't that common sense?"

"In this situation, shouldn't you have swallowed it whole, even though it tastes terrible, to encourage me to keep trying?"

"This is the kind of treatment only pretty girls get! Don't you know your own age? Go look in the mirror right now, Auntie!"

Chapter 405 Each Person's Growth

In the end, Si Ming and Murong Qing joined forces to put on a welcome banquet for themselves.

Yao Bilian first downed a bottle of beer, then, while picking food for herself, asked, "What are you planning to do next? You've missed a year and a half of classes, and although your student status is still active, it'll be very difficult to catch up with the college entrance exam, right? Besides, you've built such a huge business in the Barbarian Continent, so continuing your studies doesn't really make much sense. A diploma is just a stepping stone; you already have a villa, so getting another one would just be a burden."

In Su State, universities did not expand their enrollment; only 10% of top students could attend university. The vast majority of people entered society after graduating from high school. A high school diploma here was equivalent to a bachelor's degree in Si Ming's previous life and was not looked down upon.

Si Ming, "I'm not someone who's solely focused on my career. I don't want to live such a stressful life. If I don't enjoy my youth now, am I supposed to wait until I'm older? University life is a rare life experience, and at the very least, it's a place to relax and unwind. How can I miss it?"

In his previous life, he spent four years of his university life as a shut-in, never dating or joining any clubs, and never enjoying his youth. He always regretted it after graduation, and occasionally dreamed that he was back in his student days, feeling nostalgic and feeling incredibly melancholy when he woke up. Now that he finally has a chance to make up for it, he certainly can't give it up. Although the university here is definitely different from the university on Earth, the essence is the same.

Si Ming decided that once he got to college, he would definitely do his best to pick up girls... Well, it seems he's almost achieved that goal. Now he must make a name for himself and become a prominent figure... It seems he's already exceeded that goal; he's almost become the leader of the martial arts world.

Si Ming scratched his head. What to do? It seems like he's made up for almost all the regrets in his life, and now he's completely lost his goals! If this were a movie, the credits would be rolling, everyone's happy, congratulations...

No, wait! Don't you see in anime, all those heroes, demon kings, superheroes, and superpowered individuals desperately want to go back to high school? Even if they become saviors, even if they get super robots, even if they have the power to destroy the earth, they still have to attend classes and do homework, wasting their time at school.

While this may not be the universal Principle across all parallel universes, there's no need to deliberately go against it.

After finding himself a plausible excuse, Si Ming explained the "indirect approach" that Si Jingyu had arranged for him.

Yao Bilian suddenly realized. "There's such a method? Your cheap sister is really clever. By going through the special admission channel for international students, the admission difficulty of major universities will be lowered by one standard. If you have a celebrity's recommendation, the standard can be lowered by another one. In other words, even if you want to go to Heavenly Black Imperial Yellow, you only need to get a score equivalent to an ordinary first-tier university. With your intelligence, that's not that difficult. Three months of intensive study should be enough."

Heavenly Black and Imperial Yellow were the two best universities in the Su State, similar to Tsinghua Peking University. Their names originated from the phrase "Heavenly Black and Earth is yellow" in the Book of Classic of Changes. Later, Earth Yellow University felt that the name was not good enough, as it sounded rustic and gave the impression of always being second best, so it was changed to "Imperial Yellow".

"But you'll definitely have to live on campus after you get into university, and you'll be away from home for another six months. Someone's probably going to be lonely," Yao Bilian teased.

Ying Zhou hurriedly said, "Who, who said I'm lonely? I don't care at all!"

"Uh, boys shouldn't be so arrogant, it feels weird." Si Ming felt slightly embarrassed, but Ying Zhou was the one who guided him onto the right path, so he did have a younger brother-like feeling. "How are your grades these days? The high school entrance exam is coming up soon, right?"

Murong Qing, "It's alright. As long as I don't make any big mistakes, I'll definitely get into No. 2 Middle School, but getting into No. 1 Middle School will depend on luck."

Ying Zhou immediately sat up straight and respectfully said, "It's all thanks to Sister Murong's guidance."

Murong Qing commented in a teacher's tone, "You are intelligent and can concentrate on your work, but you spend too little time studying. Otherwise, you would be much more than this. However, everyone has their own interests, so there's no need to force yourself to do things you don't like. Just being labeled a good student will save you a lot of trouble. Even if you become a star or idol in the future, it will be a great asset. Besides, when it comes to studying, as long as you put your heart into it, you won't be bad at it."

The Mohist School are not the Confucian School. Although they value learning, they do not advocate "all professions are inferior, only studying is superior." Instead, they believe that "every profession can produce an expert." Studying is just one type of learning. They do not think that entering the entertainment industry is an Evil Dao. The most important thing is a person's talent.

Ying Zhou nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice, and replied, "Sister Murong is right. I will try my best to find time to study."

Si Ming was dumbfounded. Was this still the same Ying Zhou, the wolf-like boy with a face full of bitter hatred and a desire to take revenge on society? Had he been completely tamed into a husky? What exactly happened at home during the year and a half I was away? Had the author changed the character's setting again?

Yao Bilian seemed to sense Si Ming's surprise and transmitted her voice, "This is what they call 'one thing subdues another.' Murong loves to meddle, is meticulous in her work, and knows how to educate people. Moreover, Ying Zhou is no match for her at all."

"Spare the rod and spoil the child!"

Si Ming sighed deeply. It seemed that corporal punishment had its advantages; the important thing was to teach according to individual aptitude.

If Ying Zhou is truly determined to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, I can help him out again. For example, I could suggest that Auntie Liu find two more good-looking young men to form a boy band, and then help him plagiarize some songs, like "Left Hand, Right Hand, One Slow Motion" or something similar...

I feel like the style has dropped a lot. Other people copy songs by copying classic oldies, but I just copy these kinds of pop songs... Oh well, I don't care about fame or fortune anyway, so style doesn't matter. I might as well write the composer and lyricist as anonymous.

After secretly finalizing the plan, Si Ming returned to the main topic. "It's not necessarily about going to Heavenly Black Imperial Yellow. As you said, a diploma is meaningless to me now. It doesn't really matter which university I choose. Rather, I prefer a more relaxed campus atmosphere to a school like Heavenly Black Imperial Yellow, where the internal competition is extremely fierce. Linked Mountains University is quite good."

Linked Mountains University is similar in status to Zhejiang University and Fudan University. It may not be able to be ranked first in the country, but it can be ranked in the top five. Moreover, compared with Heavenly Black Imperial Yellow, Linked Mountains University has a stronger artistic atmosphere and encourages students to develop in a diversified way, rather than just focusing on academic performance and martial arts level. In addition, it is relatively close to Tange City, and it only takes half a day by train.

"Of course, the most important thing is that everyone can go to school together."

Yao Bilian said, "You don't need to worry about Murong's grades. She's a top student, and she also has bonus points for Martial Dao League and art talent. She's much more likely to get into Heavenly Black Imperial Yellow than you are. And Xiao Hongdou is the same; she's a national treasure-level Painting School. They'd even pay her scholarships to get her into school. So you should worry more about yourself."

"Uh, there should be one more person..." Si Ming paused slightly, finally remembering his childhood sweetheart, "I remember Liu Qingqing's grades were only slightly above average, it would be difficult for her to get into a prestigious university."

"Don't worry, Linked Mountains University has already admitted me."

As Liu Qingqing spoke, she picked up a slice of bitter melon for herself and swallowed it expressionlessly.