Modern

He was alive!

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

Zheng Fa was rather ashamed too. After eating all kinds of delicacies in this world, Pig Grass Leaves were even harder to swallow...

After all, it was hard to go from luxury to frugality.

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

After all, he ate and drank extravagantly in this world. If he went back and fought over that tiny bit of meat, his conscience would never get past it.

Five years ago, his father had passed away. He cried all night before finally falling into a dazed sleep, only to discover upon closing his eyes that he had arrived in this wondrous world.

From then on, 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 people spoke of in this world, except he, a person from another world, had transmigrated here—and supposedly in his physical body.

From then on, he would gorge himself in this world for seven days, then return to the Xuanwei Realm—what people in that world called their world—where he would nearly starve for seven days.

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

Rubbing his slightly bulging stomach, Zheng Fa walked out of the house.

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

Thirty years had made the building seem a little behind the times. Not only was there no elevator, but the stairwell was narrow and dim, its iron railings mottled with rust. Moss even grew in the corners of the landings.

Others might think the place old and shabby, less comfortable than the new housing developments, but Zheng Fa was quite satisfied. Ever since childhood, all 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 made him think he had arrived in an immortal realm.

Let alone electric lights, televisions, cars, and mobile phones—things the people of this world took for granted.

After learning a little about this world, he had once truly believed it to be the immortal realm from the storytellers' tales at market—where iron birds flew through the sky and crossed a thousand miles in a day.

A tiny screen could tell you what was happening a thousand miles away.

After learning more, he discovered that the people of this world were actually all mortals, their bodies even frailer than those of people in his original world.

For generations, the Zheng Family had been tenant farmers for the Zhao Family, with nothing particularly remarkable about them. Yet the Zhao Family was no ordinary household, but a prominent clan of the commandery. Every blood relative and disciple in the family practiced the Martial Way, and those with exceptional talent could even enter the legendary Immortal Sect.

But the people of this world—let alone cultivating immortality—seemed to know martial arts only from television or bizarre meme videos.

Yet Zheng Fa did not look down on the people of this world. With mortal bodies, they had achieved feats that seemed like immortal miracles from the storytellers' tales. He felt that made them even more worthy of admiration.

His current identity was that of a senior 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.

The moment he reached the classroom door, he heard a boy sitting in the first row by the entrance call out, "Zheng Fa, Old Chen wants you!"

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

Zheng Fa was wondering the same thing, and his heart tightened.

Old Chen was their Homeroom Teacher as well as their Chinese teacher.

Being summoned to the office by the Homeroom Teacher first thing in the morning was an event of pure terror in any student's life, even if that student was a transmigrator.

When he reached the teachers' office, he pushed open the somewhat mottled yellow wooden door. At the nearest desk, Old Chen's bald head shone brilliantly in the morning sunlight.

"Teacher Chen."

"Zheng Fa, come, sit!"

Zheng Fa felt somewhat reassured. Old Chen's attitude made it seem as though it was not bad news. He sat in front of Old Chen with his legs pressed together and both hands resting on his knees.

The very picture of obedience.

"What are you so nervous about?" Old Chen laughed when he saw his posture. "I just wanted to ask—you're in your final year now. 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 don't interfere with this sort of thing. It depends on your own wishes. Ordinary students just discuss it with their families. But your situation is special, after all..."

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

The parents of his original body had been teachers at Qingshui Middle School and had died in a car accident. It was even more tragic than what had happened in the Xuanwei Realm, but this world offered far better security.

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 never had to worry about being unable to study.

On the other hand, the community had always provided appropriate subsidies. Together with the house and inheritance his parents 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.

Including Old Chen, the teachers in his class all knew Zheng Fa's background. Whether out of pity or fellowship with former colleagues, they usually tried not to mention words like parents or family in front of him.

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

Seeing that he remained silent, Old Chen could only continue, "What Are Your Thoughts? Tell me, and I'll give you some advice."

Zheng Fa was naturally grateful.

Though Old Chen looked a little rough around the edges, he had always been responsible. It was not even seven in the morning, yet he was already sitting in the office. Zheng Fa also knew that he was there almost every morning.

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

Perhaps studying was not much of a pleasure for youths in this world.

But Zheng Fa cherished it deeply.

He had attended one year of basic education as a child. Back then, he had not liked studying much and would rather have done farm work than gone.

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

In the manor, only Steward Wang's son, Wang Gui, had completed basic education. Later, he had even been chosen as the Seventh Young Master's page.

The other children in the manor did not have such an opportunity.

Thus, all the other children in the manor greatly envied Wang Gui for being able to go to school.

Zheng Fa even more so.

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

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

And besides, he possessed an innate curiosity about this thing called science.

He had read about this world's history. A few hundred years ago, the state of this world had not differed much from that of the other world.

Without the immortal path or the Martial Way, it had seemed even more lifeless.

Over the past few Hundred Years, this world had been turned upside down. In his view, the greatest reason was this discipline called science.

He was full of longing, reverence, and even fascination for it.

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

"Do you have an ideal university?"

"Jiangnan University."

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

He seemed unconvinced that Zheng Fa could make it.

Yet after he finished speaking with Zheng Fa and watched the student's retreating 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, along with some surprise. "Wasn't it said that this child's grades weren't very good? He got into our high school only because he was the orphan of teachers, so his score received some consideration."

"When this child first entered school, his grades really were terrible." Old Chen smiled with a touch of pride. "Back then, the other Homeroom Teachers all refused him, so he ended up in my class."

"Then getting into Jiangnan University really is difficult!" The Female Teacher nodded.

Jiangnan University was among the nation's top ten, and its Physics Department was one of its flagship programs.

"No, you don't understand this child. From his first year to his final year, his grades have kept shooting upward. He was at the bottom of the class in his first year, reached the middle of the class in his second year, and now, in his final year, he occasionally even makes the top ten."

The Female Teacher was somewhat astonished. "Such a strong late surge? Then Jiangnan University really might be possible?"

Old Chen shook his head. "No, it's a little too late. With his current grades, he's 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 relatives or friends in this world, and the information he could obtain was far too limited.

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

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

Looking at the food before him, Wang Chen's face was full of utter despair. "Does the cafeteria cook's family sell eggplants or something? Why does this eggplant-and-green-bean dish show up every day?"

Then he looked at the other dishes.

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

A single pig bristle on the braised pork stood stiffly upright, brandishing itself at him in defiance.

"Are the people in the kitchen all the Principal's relatives? They've made these same dishes from first year through final year, and they can still make them taste this awful! They really fucking stayed true to 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 sauce over his rice, stirred it twice with his chopsticks, then shoveled the final mouthful into his mouth.

His expression was one of enjoyment, of satisfaction so complete it was nearly devout.

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

Looking at Zheng Fa's plate, cleaner than if it had been washed with water, then at his own nearly untouched meal, 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!