Modern

Modern

He was alive!

These past few days, he had never eaten his fill at the manor.

Zheng Fa felt rather ashamed too. After sampling all kinds of delicacies in this world, going back to eating pigweed leaves was even harder to swallow...

After all, it was hard to return to frugality after luxury.

As for tastier things like cured meat, he had always given them to his younger sister and mother.

After all, he ate and drank richly in this world. If he went back and fought over that tiny bit of meat, he would never get past the hurdle in his own heart.

Five years ago, when his father died, he had cried for an entire night before falling into a dazed sleep. Yet when he closed his eyes, he discovered that he had arrived in this wondrous world.

Thereafter, every seven days, he would come to this world in his dreams. Seven days later, he would return to his original world. It was much like the transmigration this world spoke of, except he, a person from another world, had transmigrated here—and it was supposedly a "physical transmigration."

From then on, he would gorge himself in this world for seven days before returning to the Xuanwei Realm—the name people in that world used for their world—where Zheng Fa would nearly starve for seven days.

By now, he had more or less gotten used to it.

Rubbing his slightly rounded belly, Zheng Fa stepped out of his home.

He lived in a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment in a teachers' apartment building belonging to Qingshui Middle School. The building had six floors in total and had been built in the last century.

Thirty years had left the building looking somewhat behind the times. Not only was there no elevator, but the stairwell was narrow and dim, its iron railings mottled with rust. Moss had even grown in the corners of the landings.

Others might see the place as old and shabby, perhaps thinking it less comfortable than the new residential compounds. Yet Zheng Fa was quite satisfied with it. Ever since childhood, the houses he had lived in had been built from mud bricks mixed with straw. When he first came to this world, the spotless white walls and gleaming glass windows had made him think he had arrived in an immortal realm.

Not to mention electric lights, televisions, cars, and mobile phones—things people in this world took for granted.

After learning a little about this world, he had once truly believed this place was the immortal realm described by storytellers at market fairs—where iron birds flew through the sky and covered a thousand miles in a day.

A tiny screen could tell you what had happened a thousand miles away.

Once he learned more, he realized that the people of this world were actually all ordinary mortals, their bodies even frailer than those of his original world.

For generations, Zheng Fa's family had been tenant farmers for the Zhao Family, with nothing particularly remarkable about them. But the Zhao Family was no ordinary household. They were a prestigious clan of the commandery. Every blood relative in the family practiced martial arts, and those of exceptional talent could even enter the legendary Immortal Sect.

Yet in this world, forget cultivating immortality—even martial arts seemed to exist only in television shows or absurd meme videos.

Zheng Fa had never looked down on the people of this world. With mortal bodies, they had nevertheless achieved feats that seemed like immortal miracles from the storytellers' tales. He felt that was even more worthy of admiration.

His current identity was that of a senior-year student at Qingshui High School. The apartment building stood right behind the teaching building, and it took only five minutes to walk to his classroom.

Just as he reached the classroom door, he heard the male student seated in the first row by the entrance call out to him, "Zheng Fa, Old Chen wants you!"

"Got it!" Zheng Fa replied. He set the backpack on his shoulders down by his seat, then heard the boy ask, "What did you do, Zheng Fa?"

Zheng Fa was wondering the same thing, and he felt nervous.

Old Chen was their homeroom teacher and Chinese teacher.

Being summoned to the office by the homeroom teacher first thing in the morning was an utterly terrifying event in a student's life. Even if that student was a transmigrator, it was no different.

When he reached the teachers' office and pushed open the somewhat weathered yellow wooden door, Old Chen's bald head, at the nearest desk, shone exceptionally brightly in the morning light.

"Teacher Chen."

"Zheng Fa, come, sit!"

Zheng Fa relaxed slightly. Judging from Old Chen's attitude, it did not seem like anything bad. He sat down across from Old Chen, pressing his legs together and placing both hands on his knees.

The very picture of obedience.

"What are you so nervous about?" Old Chen laughed when he saw how he was sitting. "I just wanted to ask you. You're already in your senior year—what university are you planning to apply to?"

"I..." Zheng Fa had not expected Old Chen to call him over for this. For a moment, he did not know what to say.

"Normally, teachers do not interfere in this sort of matter. It depends on your own wishes. Ordinary students can just discuss it with their families. But your circumstances are special, after all..."

Old Chen did not finish, but Zheng Fa understood what he meant—when Zheng Fa had transmigrated here, he had only been twelve or thirteen, but his identity in this world had already been that of an orphan.

The parents of his original body had been teachers at Qingshui Middle School. They had died in a car accident, which was even worse than what had happened in the Xuanwei Realm. But the support in this world was far better.

On one hand, as his parents' former workplace, Qingshui Middle School had always helped him. Though they had merely waived his tuition, at least he did not have to worry about studying.

On the other hand, the community had always provided corresponding subsidies. Together with the house and inheritance his parents had left behind, his life was not wealthy, but he never had to worry about food.

Compared with the Zheng Family's life in the other world, this world could practically be called a nest of blessings.

The teachers in his class, including Old Chen, all knew Zheng Fa's background. Whether out of pity or camaraderie toward a colleague, they usually tried not to mention words like parents or family around Zheng Fa.

Because he had never lived with his parents in this world, he felt gratitude toward them but not much affection. Still, Zheng Fa understood this small warmth.

Seeing that he remained silent, Old Chen could only continue, "Tell me what you're thinking. I'll give you some advice."

Naturally, Zheng Fa felt grateful.

Though Old Chen looked somewhat rough and burly, he had always been responsible. It was not yet seven in the morning, and he was already sitting in the office. Zheng Fa knew that he was there almost every morning.

"I want to study physics." Zheng Fa had considered university before.

Perhaps studying was not something enjoyable for the youths of this world.

But Zheng Fa treasured it immensely.

When he was young, he had attended elementary schooling for one year. Back then, he had not liked studying much; he would even rather do farmwork than go.

But after something happened to his father and he no longer had the means to attend school, he instead began to miss it.

At the manor, only Steward Wang's son, Wang Gui, had completed elementary schooling. Later, he had even been chosen as Seventh Young Master's study companion.

The other children at the manor did not have that opportunity.

So all the other children at the manor envied Wang Gui for being able to study.

Zheng Fa envied him even more.

Now that he had the opportunity to study, even to attend university—the highest institution of learning in this world—he naturally yearned for it.

Physics... well, physics was his best subject.

And he possessed an instinctive curiosity toward what was called science.

He had read this world's history. Several hundred years ago, the state of this world had not differed much from his other world.

It had even seemed more stagnant and lifeless due to the absence of immortal cultivation and martial arts.

Over the past few hundred years, this world had undergone earthshaking changes. In his view, the greatest reason was this field of learning called science.

He was filled with longing, admiration, and even fascination for it.

"Physics? You want to take the academic route?" Old Chen thought for a moment. This child's family circumstances were poor; pursuing academia might well be the proper path.

"Then do you have an ideal university?"

"Jiangnan University."

"Jiangnan University?" Old Chen glanced at Zheng Fa. "Jiangnan University isn't easy to get into. With your current grades... difficult!"

He looked as though he did not think highly of Zheng Fa's chances.

Yet after he finished speaking with Zheng Fa and watched the student's receding back, satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

A female teacher sitting across from Old Chen asked curiously, "Is that Teacher Zheng's child?"

"Yes." Old Chen nodded.

A trace of sympathy appeared on the female teacher's face, mixed with surprise. "Didn't they say his grades weren't very good? When he entered our high school, it was because he was the orphan of teachers, so his score received some consideration."

"When this kid first entered school, his grades really were terrible." Old Chen smiled with a hint of pride. "None of the other homeroom teachers wanted him, so he ended up in my class."

"Then getting into Jiangnan University really would be difficult!" The female teacher nodded.

Jiangnan University was among the top ten universities in the country, and its physics department was one of its flagship programs.

"No, you don't understand this kid. From his first year to his senior year, his grades have kept climbing. He was at the bottom of the class in his first year. By his second year, he could reach the middle of the class. Now, in his senior year, he occasionally even makes the top ten."

The female teacher was somewhat surprised. "He has that much late momentum? Then he really has hope for Jiangnan University?"

Old Chen shook his head. "No, it's a little too late. With his current grades, he is still at least twenty points short of Jiangnan University... What a pity."

Zheng Fa had no idea about Old Chen's praise and regret.

He had no family or friends in this world, and the information he could obtain was too limited.

All he could do was lower his head and work hard.

As usual, he ate lunch in the school cafeteria. Sitting across from him was his deskmate and good friend—Wang Chen.

Looking at the food before him, Wang Chen's face was full of despair. "Does the cafeteria chef's family sell eggplants? Why is eggplant braised with green beans on the menu every single day?"

Then he looked at the other dishes.

The water spinach lay collapsed at the bottom of the tray, looking as though it had suffered unbearable ravaging.

A pig bristle on the braised pork stood stiffly upright, flaunting itself at him.

"Are all those people in the kitchen related to the principal? They've been making these dishes from first year through senior year, and they can still make them this disgusting! They really haven't forgotten their original intention!" He looked at Zheng Fa across from him. "Come to the supermarket with me later and buy some bread!"

Across from him, Zheng Fa had just poured the braised pork gravy over his rice, stirred it twice with his chopsticks, then shoveled the final mouthful into his mouth.

His expression was one of enjoyment, satisfaction bordering on reverence.

Only after swallowing the rice did he raise his head. As if he had only just heard Wang Chen, he looked at him in slight confusion. "Why aren't you eating?"

Looking at Zheng Fa's tray, cleaner than if it had been washed with water, then at his own food that he had barely touched, Wang Chen opened his mouth but could not say anything. He even began to doubt himself.

Was it really that delicious?

He picked up his chopsticks, closed his eyes, and wolfed down several mouthfuls...

Bleurgh!

(End of Chapter)