"I want a little more freedom," Ling Yun said with an open smile as he met Cheng Yuanzhou's gaze. "After all, all roads lead to Rome. If I learn useful knowledge and contribute to the country in science and technology, economics, and culture, wouldn't that count as a contribution too?"
His tone was relaxed, but what he had in mind was a far more "grand" future: If a foreign enemy really invades, I won't mind following the example of the ancient great cultivators and refining a Human Emperor Banner, so I can properly "invite" those blind fools in to "reason" with them!
And once my cultivation reaches the heavens and earth... unifying the entire universe and becoming the Planet Lord for a while doesn't sound bad either.
"Good! Well said!" Cheng Yuanzhou was filled with excitement. He slapped Ling Yun hard on the shoulder, his eyes full of appreciation. "That's the spirit! Young people should have this kind of vision! I believe you'll definitely become the pride of the country!" His opinion of Ling Yun had risen even further.
Just then, a low rumble came from the sky.
Several fighter jets flew in a neat formation, cutting through the sky like steel eagles and leaving behind long contrails.
In 2019, as the country celebrated the seventieth anniversary of its founding, the aerial formation was conducting intensive full-process rehearsals for the military parade.
Cheng Yuanzhou's attention was instantly drawn away. He gazed up at the soaring fighter jets, his eyes filled with almost religious longing and a trace of unconcealable desolation. "Flying a plane... that's what real soaring is! I've dreamed of sitting in that cockpit since I was a child, which was why I fought so hard to get into the Air Force... But becoming a pilot really is a one-in-ten-thousand selection... Sigh, I probably won't get the chance to touch those controls myself in this lifetime."
He sighed, his voice carrying the frankness unique to soldiers and a deep regret over an unrealized dream.
Ling Yun watched the light flickering in the eyes of this iron-blooded Drill Instructor, and his heart was faintly stirred as well.
The two of them gazed at the sky, chatting about the blue heavens, dreams, and responsibility. Time quietly passed, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime.
During the lunch break, Ling Yun lay facedown on his classroom desk, scrolling through his phone. Suddenly, a bank text notification popped up at the top of the screen:
[ICBC] Your savings card ending in XXXX received RMB 5,000,000.00 at XX:XX. Your balance is RMB 5,400,XXX.XX.
"It worked!" Even with Ling Yun's state of mind, seeing that real seven-figure deposit made his heart skip a beat. This was his first real fortune since his rebirth!
He held his phone, his fingertips tapping unconsciously against the screen as he considered where to put the money.
A car? I haven't even gotten my driver's license. If I buy one, it'll just be a model.
A house? The old house is close to school, and living there alone is fine. There's no hurry to buy one until after the gaokao, once I know where I'll attend university.
"Looks like I can only make money make money."
Ling Yun quickly made up his mind. He opened the securities app he had registered and gotten approved two days earlier. His target was clear—Tesla!
He clearly remembered that around September 2020, the stock would experience an epic surge. Buying in now would practically guarantee tenfold returns!
With a light tap of his finger, five million yuan instantly became a string of numbers and flowed into the stock market across the ocean. Watching the successful transaction notification, Ling Yun's lips curled into a confident smile. "The world's richest man in three years? Maybe I should think bigger."
He calculated: the four hundred thousand yuan his parents had left behind would serve as daily emergency funds, and on top of that, he received twenty thousand yuan in "salary" every day from Top of the Peak... Tsk, he could never spend it all, no matter how hard he tried!
After finishing his investment, he opened his Douyin account. He still needed to give it a resounding name.
His requirements were simple: it had to be high-class, easy to remember, and subtly reflect his "Dao."
After thinking for a moment, four characters sprang to mind—Ling Chen Asks for Immortality!
The meaning of the name was simple as well. "Ling" was Ling Yun's surname, while the rest meant that he intended to transcend the mortal world and become an immortal.
"Good! That's the one!" Ling Yun confirmed it with satisfaction.
Just after he finished setting up his ID, the classroom door was gently pushed open. Jiang Yingqing entered with one hand covering her stomach, her face slightly pale and her brows faintly furrowed. Her steps were unsteady as she went straight to her desk and lay down.
"Hm? Why are you back? Weren't you practicing Military Boxing this afternoon?" Ling Yun looked up, somewhat surprised.
Jiang Yingqing buried her face in the crook of her arm. Her voice was muffled, carrying a trace of weakness and embarrassment. "Girls... always have a few days when they feel unwell... The Drill Instructor noticed that I didn't look right, so she let me come back first..." She raised her head slightly, fine beads of sweat appearing at her temples. Clearly, she was in considerable pain.
Seeing her suffering, Ling Yun's heart stirred. He remembered the Mastery of Basic Medical Arts granted by the system, as well as the Conch Spirit Returning Ring that could provide spiritual energy. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to test his skills?
"Feeling awful? How about... I rub your stomach for you?"
Ling Yun stood and walked over to her desk, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness. "My family has passed down a massage technique that specializes in this kind of... well, poor circulation. It works pretty well."
He deliberately made it sound vague yet professional.
"Huh?" Jiang Yingqing instantly lifted her head. Two clouds of red rose on her pale face, and her eyes filled with surprise and suspicion. "You... you know how to do this?"
But when she saw Ling Yun's confident yet concerned expression, the refusal on her lips was swallowed back down. Her stomach really hurt badly. What if... it actually worked?
"Then... then give it a try..." Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, and her face grew even redder. She added, "But... but you're not allowed to move around randomly!"
"Don't worry. A doctor's heart should be like a parent's." Ling Yun wore an upright expression.
However, when his hand directly lifted the hem of her school uniform and his warm palm pressed against the cool, smooth skin of her lower abdomen—
"Ah!" Jiang Yingqing recoiled like a startled cat. Her hands instinctively covered her stomach, and her cheeks flushed so red they looked ready to bleed. She glared at Ling Yun in embarrassment and anger. "What are you doing?!"
Ling Yun wore an "innocent" expression, along with the helplessness of a "professional whose work had been interrupted." "Miss, massage depends on qi and force reaching the source of the illness directly! Through clothing, the effect is reduced by ninety percent! If you don't believe me, forget it." He made as if to withdraw his hand.
"Don't... don't go!" Jiang Yingqing panicked. The pain temporarily suppressed her embarrassment. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and looked as if she had thrown caution to the wind. "Sorry... I... I've never experienced this before, so I was startled... You... go ahead. I won't dodge anymore..."
Her long eyelashes trembled nervously.
Ling Yun laughed inwardly, but kept his expression serious. "Relax. Don't tense up."
His warm palm once again pressed against her delicate, slightly cool skin. Jiang Yingqing trembled again, but this time she endured it and didn't pull away.
Ling Yun gathered his thoughts and secretly activated the Conch Spirit Returning Ring. A stream of pure, gentle spiritual energy surged from the ring into his body. He immediately followed the "Warming the Palace and Unblocking the Meridians" method recorded in the Mastery of Basic Medical Arts, guiding the spiritual energy through his palm and into Jiang Yingqing's lower abdomen, thread by thread.
The spiritual energy seemed to carry miraculous vitality. Everywhere it passed, it was like winter sunlight melting solid ice or a clear spring flowing across parched land.
The tangled, stabbing pain, which felt like it was being clenched by cold iron claws, was rapidly replaced by a warm, comfortable current brimming with life.
"Mmm..." Jiang Yingqing couldn't help letting out an extremely comfortable moan. Her tightly furrowed brows completely relaxed, and her body loosened as well, even instinctively leaning slightly toward the warm source.
"Don't stop... It feels... so good..." Her voice carried a lazy sense of satisfaction.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Ling Yun nearly choked on his own saliva. He quickly lowered his voice. "Student Jiang! Watch your wording! That statement is dangerous! What if someone else hears you?"
Jiang Yingqing also instantly realized how suggestive that moan had sounded. Her cheeks, which had just begun to lose some of their redness, flared crimson again. She buried her face even deeper like an ostrich and said in a muffled voice, "S-sorry... But... it really... feels so good..."
After channeling spiritual energy for several minutes and sensing that the cold qi stagnating within her had been completely dispersed, Ling Yun slowly withdrew his palm and the spiritual energy.
The source of warmth and comfort suddenly vanished, and Jiang Yingqing immediately felt disappointed. She instinctively grabbed Ling Yun's arm. "Huh? Is... is it over already? Rub it a little longer..." Her tone carried a hint of coquettish pleading that she herself didn't notice.
Ling Yun deliberately rubbed his wrist, pretending to look exhausted. "Miss, do you think this is a massage parlor? It takes a lot out of me, all right! You're already addicted?"
"Hehe." Jiang Yingqing smiled shyly, but the unprecedented feeling of ease put her in an excellent mood. She stood up, walked behind Ling Yun, and eagerly kneaded his shoulders. Her soft voice carried a pleading tone. "Brother Ling Yun~" She had somehow taught herself to change the way she addressed him. "Thank you so much! It's amazing! It doesn't hurt at all anymore! So... if I feel... feel unwell again in the future... can I come to you?"
That soft, lingering "Brother Ling Yun" made Ling Yun's heart sway, leaving him relaxed from head to toe.
He forcefully suppressed the smile at the corners of his mouth and pretended to be aloof as he gave a slight nod. "Well... that depends on how you behave in the future. Also, that form of address... sounds pretty good. Approved."
He happened to be a few months older than Jiang Yingqing.
"Really? That's great! Don't worry, Brother Ling Yun! I'll definitely behave well from now on!"
Jiang Yingqing's eyes lit up, and she kneaded even more vigorously, as if she intended to massage flowers into Ling Yun's shoulders.
After kneading for quite a while, fine sweat appeared on Jiang Yingqing's forehead, and her breathing became slightly hurried. Ling Yun patted her hand at the appropriate moment. "All right, take a break. If you keep going, I'll have to rub your wrists for you."
Only then did Jiang Yingqing stop. She sat in the seat beside him and fanned herself with one hand, her face shining with a relaxed, happy smile.
Because of the "intimate treatment" just now and the new form of address, the atmosphere between them became especially subtle and harmonious.
While chatting, Ling Yun looked at his completely empty Douyin account and suddenly thought of an important issue: livestream content needed editing! He needed a reliable and professional editor.
"Yingqing." Ling Yun naturally switched to the more intimate form of address. "Do you know any skilled and reliable video editors? Preferably a university student or freelancer who can work with me long-term."
Hearing Ling Yun change the way he addressed her from "Jiang Yingqing" to "Yingqing," Jiang Yingqing felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey. She asked with curved brows, "Brother Ling Yun, what do you need an editor for? Are you planning to make videos?"
Before you continue