Farce

"Teacher Li."

Seeing Chen Yun's urgent, signaling gaze, Chen Feng gave Teacher Li a polite call.

"Ah, Xiao Feng."

"Not bad—looks like you've found your target."

Smiling and nodding, Teacher Li's tone was gentle, already accepting the change in the other party.

He prided himself on reading people well.

At first, he'd worried the kid might go astray, but now, after just a few glances upon meeting, he basically knew he'd been overthinking it.

To this, Chen Feng neither confirmed nor denied, merely nodding lightly in response.

The three of them finished their small talk outside the hotpot restaurant and soon walked inside together.

Glancing around, they could see the place was bustling with noise, the fragrant aroma of hotpot wafting over.

Beef, beef tripe, spare ribs.

The decor was simple and ordinary—rows of brown square wooden tables lined up, each with matching brown long benches on both sides, nearly all occupied.

Luckily, Chen Yun had already reserved a spot, right by the window, the third square table.

Separated by wooden railings and potted plants, a girl was currently sitting there holding the seats, idly playing on her phone.

"Xiao Wei, say hello."

Teacher Li walked over with a smile and said a word.

The girl looked up at the sound. She wore a light-colored short-sleeve shirt and a denim long skirt, shoulder-length hair, silver earrings, a high nose bridge, and a somewhat cold expression in her eyes.

Their eyes met, and Chen Feng realized this was Teacher Li's daughter, Li Wei.

He'd seen her a few times before; she was probably still in university, only a year or two younger than him.

"Chen Feng?"

Li Wei raised an eyebrow, clearly a bit surprised, her gaze lingering for several seconds on Chen Feng's physique, which was different from before.

Chen Feng nodded in acknowledgment, giving a brief reply.

He wasn't very familiar with her; in the original body's memories, she left far less of an impression than Teacher Li did.

"Xiao Feng's been practicing boxing and working out lately—making great progress."

Teacher Li smiled as he sat down on one side, offering an explanation.

Li Wei let out an "oh," her surprised expression gradually fading. She didn't ask anything more and went back to playing with her phone.

Teacher Li shook his head at that but didn't want to say much.

In the end, he just picked up the menu and handed it to Chen Feng. "Xiao Feng, take a look at what you want to eat. We ordered a few things simply before you came."

"Alright, thank you, Teacher Li."

Chen Feng didn't hold back. In no time, he ordered beef, beef tripe, and other meats.

The portions were sizable, which made Chen Yun and Teacher Li both a bit surprised.

But then, remembering he was training in boxing now, they didn't ask further and soon had the waiter take the menu away.

"Xiao Feng, training in boxing must be tough, right?"

Chen Yun asked from the side, her eyes showing some concern.

She believed that gains were proportional to sweat; for him to have changed this much, he must have put in a lot.

"Not too tiring."

Shaking his head with a smile, Chen Feng briefly described his current situation.

Every day was a straight line between three points—more than anything, it was a fulfilling satisfaction.

"That's good. Young people should have that vitality."

Teacher Li chuckled a couple of times. He could tell Chen Feng wasn't lying, and the worry in his heart dissipated completely.

"But one thing—practicing boxing cultivates your qi. I've heard from some friends before that the further you go on the martial path, the more you need to restrain yourself."

"Carrying a weapon breeds murderous intent, but we're in a modern society now, with all kinds of laws in place. If you run into conflicts privately, try to reason things out as much as possible—don't resort to fighting."

It was a well-meaning piece of advice, but Chen Feng only caught the first half of the sentence.

He knew Teacher Li was an intellectual, a scholarly type, so on the surface he still nodded lightly to avoid making the man uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Teacher Li took it as him having taken the words to heart. His smile grew warmer, and he kept nodding with an appreciative look.

A thought crossed his mind: "Looks like boxing really might change a person's personality."

He remembered that Chen Feng used to be stubborn and not very receptive to advice.

But now, he was clearly much better.

Soon after, the hotpot restaurant proved efficient.

A steaming, bubbling mandarin duck pot was brought out, and before long, they could start adding ingredients.

"Eat more meat, today's my treat, don't be polite."

"If it's not enough, we'll order more."

Teacher Li said with a smile, quickly dropping several plates of beef and beef tripe into the pot.

"I want a soda."

Li Wei, playing on her phone, suddenly spoke, then kept tapping the screen without lifting her head.

Teacher Li frowned. Chen Yun quickly stood up to smooth things over: "I'll get it. Teacher Li, Xiao Feng, what do you two want to drink?"

"Anything's fine."

Chen Feng and Teacher Li said in unison. The former shot a subtle glance at Li Wei.

"Okay."

Nodding, Chen Yun soon left her seat.

Watching her retreating figure, Teacher Li was silent for a moment, then finally set down his chopsticks and said to Chen Feng, "Xiao Feng."

"Your sister is very outstanding."

His tone was serious. Chen Feng had no choice but to hastily swallow a piece of beef, pause his actions, and look at him.

"The Advanced Metal Project we're working on now—the higher-ups are all paying close attention. It has some impact on the development of our Chi Kingdom Mechanical Technology."

"If we can produce positive results, then your sister should have a chance to go to Central City for a few more years of advanced study."

Words Fell, and Chen Feng raised an eyebrow.

Central City?

Memories flickered—this was a term the original body had little impression of.

Even he himself had only occasionally seen it in the news, but didn't know much about it.

Seeing his confusion, Teacher Li suddenly remembered he had no connections in that circle. He softened his tone and patiently explained:

"Central City is a super city completely different from where we are."

"Technology, lifestyle—it's almost another world. If your sister can go there for advanced study, it's definitely a good thing."

Chen Feng understood the meaning and nodded lightly, planning to go back later and search thoroughly to learn more about it.

Then, the two chatted on this topic for a while, and soon But Saw Chen Yun return.

"Here, your drinks. And these are the straws."

Chen Yun smiled as she handed out drinks to everyone. Aside from one bottle of soda, the rest were red-canned herbal tea.

Chen Feng and Teacher Li both thanked her and took them.

"Why is it orange flavor? I wanted lychee."

Li Wei, holding her phone, glanced at the drink in front of her and said unhappily.

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes.

"Xiao Wei!"

Teacher Li frowned, about to scold her.

Seeing This, Chen Yun looked a bit awkward and quickly moved to take the drink, trying to defuse the tense mood.

"Then I'll swap it for you. Sorry, Xiao Wei."

"Forget it, I don't want to drink anymore."

Shaking her head, Li Wei said impatiently, then lowered her head again, tapping on her phone to continue chatting.

Witnessing this scene, Teacher Li's brow was nearly creased into a "river" shape, his gaze clearly darkening by two degrees.

He set down his chopsticks, ready to snatch the phone away and properly reform her temper.

Bang!!

Then, the next second.

A dull thud suddenly rang out. Two tables not far away had erupted into a quarrel, and an empty beer bottle was smashed.

"Fuck you!"

"I just wanted your WeiChat, what's the problem? Acting all high and mighty, huh!"

"I just won't give it to you, so what!"

"Motherfucker!"

Bang!!

In an instant, the two groups started brawling inside the hotpot restaurant.

Tables and chairs were knocked over, and cries of alarm rose from the crowd.

Then, a beer bottle was thrown.

Its aim was off—it grazed past a figure and flew straight toward Teacher Li's head.