Acquaintances?

During his years at Notting College, he had often shown concern for Jiang Chen and Tang San.

Yet neither of them had ever shown any intention of taking him as their master.

"Could my approach be wrong?"

Yu Xiaogang could not help reflecting on his methods.

Though he was the foremost authority on theory, theory was still only theory.

Without practical results to support it, its persuasiveness was indeed greatly diminished.

Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brow. "Perhaps I should change my approach."

Previously, in his eagerness to take disciples, he had practically poured his heart and soul into Jiang Chen and Tang San, fulfilling nearly every request they made.

Yet the results had been negligible.

Perhaps only by personally nurturing a true genius would they understand the power of his theories.

Only then would they willingly take him as their master.

At that thought, Yu Xiaogang narrowed his eyes toward the distance, a confident smile curling across his lips.

"This time, I'll definitely make you understand what it means to be the foremost theorist of this age!"

Early the next morning.

Shrek Academy's boys' dormitory.

Tang San slowly awoke from meditation. He glanced at Jiang Chen, who was still sound asleep beside him, but did not disturb him. Instead, he quietly got out of bed.

He gently pushed open the door. The morning mist had yet to disperse, and the air carried a faint chill.

Tang San looked at the sky, then climbed onto the roof and found a sun-facing spot to sit cross-legged. His eyes half-closed as Purple Demon Eyes slowly began to circulate, threads of pale violet light flowing through his pupils.

This was his daily cultivation routine, a habit he had formed over many years.

But not long after entering meditation, he heard a set of heavy footsteps approaching from afar, heading toward where they were.

A tall man dressed in fitted white clothes, with yellow hair atop his head, came into view.

It was Dai Mubai.

Yesterday, he had originally been supposed to guide the new students, but after getting into a fight at the Rose Hotel and returning, he discovered that his right arm had actually been fractured.

Left with no choice, he could only take a day off.

He had come today to see what this year's new students were made of, and incidentally teach them Shrek Academy's rules for dealing with seniors.

When he reached the courtyard entrance, he noticed the figure meditating on the roof.

Those blue clothes, that face... why did he look more and more familiar!?

"It's you!" Dai Mubai shouted instinctively.

Hearing the voice, Tang San opened his eyes. Upon seeing Dai Mubai below, he frowned slightly. "You're... Dai Mubai?"

He had nearly forgotten about this person, but after hearing Senior Oscar's introduction yesterday, he learned that Dai Mubai was actually his senior.

That caused his impression of Shrek Academy to plummet.

If not for Brother Chen, he would not have stayed here at all.

"It really is you two!"

A chill ran through Dai Mubai's heart.

Good thing he had not directly provoked them just now. Since Tang San was here, that meant that guy was here too.

Just then, the door creaked open.

Jiang Chen staggered out of the room with a yawn, sleepily scratching his hair. When he spotted Dai Mubai outside, one brow rose.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Kidney Deficiency. You recovered pretty fast."

Dai Mubai's face instantly darkened.

But the faint throbbing pain in his right arm reminded him that he had to endure it!

"Ahem, not bad."

Dai Mubai gave an awkward laugh and forced out a smile. "I came to take you to the cafeteria today. We still need to make a trip to the girls' dormitory afterward."

Right at that moment, a lively voice sounded from behind him.

"Jiang Chen, Tang San, wake up."

Xiao Wu approached with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.

The three had been chatting and laughing, but the moment they saw Dai Mubai at the door, their smiles vanished.

Hearing the movement, Dai Mubai turned around instinctively.

When he saw the three beauties, each with her own distinct charm, a flash of amazement crossed his eyes. He immediately put on his usual suave demeanor and walked toward them, wearing what he believed was a warm smile.

"Good morning, junior sisters. I'm Dai Mubai from the academy, your senior. If you need help with anything in the future, feel free to come to me."

He deliberately softened his voice, his gaze lingering especially long on Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.

After all, Xiao Wu was connected to that guy, so he did not dare provoke her.

Yet the shy or curious responses he expected never came.

Xiao Wu merely snorted, pulling Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing toward Jiang Chen. It was as if the word "disgust" was written across her face.

Ning Rongrong glanced at Dai Mubai, curling her lips as she muttered, "Shameless womanizer."

Her voice was quiet, but just loud enough for everyone present to hear.

Zhu Zhuqing did not even lift her eyelids. Her icy gaze swept over Dai Mubai as though he were merely a stone by the roadside.

But when she turned toward Jiang Chen and Tang San, her expression softened considerably. She gave them a slight nod in greeting.

Dai Mubai's smile froze on his face, and he awkwardly withdrew his outstretched hand.

From the looks of things, they had heard about his womanizing exploits.

Damn it. If he had known, he would have been more careful about being seen when he was having fun.

The corner of his mouth twitched as he barely managed a smile. "It seems you junior sisters have some misunderstandings about me... but that's alright. We have plenty of time ahead of us. We'll be classmates from now on."

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes, dragged Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing around him, and moved close to Jiang Chen. "Come on, let's go eat at the cafeteria together."

Jiang Chen turned to look at her. "Do you know where the cafeteria is?"

"We asked that bearded senior yesterday," Ning Rongrong said with a smile.

"Alright, then let's go."

Jiang Chen and Tang San followed behind the three girls, heading toward the cafeteria.

Dai Mubai stood where he was, his face shifting from green to white. In the end, he still shamelessly followed after them.

Shrek Academy's cafeteria was also extremely rudimentary, little more than a room built from simple mud bricks.

The people cooking inside were all villagers from nearby. They still used firewood and earthen stoves, making Jiang Chen think of the communal canteens from his previous life.

Meanwhile, at a table near the corner.

Ma Hongjun, who had been wolfing down his food, vaguely heard crisp laughter and chatter coming from outside.

He looked up instinctively.

The next second, his chopsticks clattered onto the table.

Three figures were walking in through the door.

The girl on the left wore a pink dress and was lively and sunny. The Black-clad Girl in the middle was cool and ethereal, while the girl in the white dress on the right was charming and spirited.

Their styles were entirely different, yet every one of them was a delight to behold.

Ma Hongjun's eyes immediately went wide, and he even forgot to chew the food in his mouth.

When had this dump gotten three such pretty junior sisters?!

The moment Dai Mubai stepped inside, he saw Ma Hongjun's lovestruck expression and slapped the back of his head irritably.

"Fatty, wipe your drool!"

Ma Hongjun cried out and covered his head. Only then did he notice Jiang Chen and Tang San following behind the three girls, as well as Dai Mubai's dark expression.

He gave an embarrassed laugh and hurriedly shoveled down a few mouthfuls of porridge, though his eyes still could not help darting in their direction.

"Boss Dai, are those the new junior brothers and sisters from this year?"

How could Dai Mubai not know what he was thinking? He said irritably, "I advise you to give up on that idea. Every newcomer this year is a monster."

"So what? Aren't we monsters too?"

Ma Hongjun did not take Dai Mubai's words seriously. "Or are you planning to keep them all to yourself, Boss Dai?"