Young Lady of a Prominent Family

The next morning.

Jiang Ran stood before the full-length mirror, paused briefly, then opened the wardrobe.

Back when he worked as a psychology teacher, he used to favor soft, muted colors—clothes that made him approachable, easy to build trust with students.

But today was different.

Grade 2 Class 15, the class he was about to take over, was notorious for being full of troublemakers and hard to manage.

He needed a different kind of presence.

In the end, Jiang Ran picked a dark gray shirt, paired it with black slim-fit trousers and a simple pair of black leather shoes.

"This should do."

He muttered to himself, grabbed the lesson plans and textbooks he'd prepared the night before, stuffed them into a black backpack, and headed out the door.

He swung onto his mountain bike, tires rolling over the damp morning pavement.

The October morning breeze already carried a chill, brushing against his face and sharpening his senses.

Fengcheng No. 3 High School, teachers' office.

Jiang Ran found the high school Chinese department area, knocked, then pushed the door open.

The office was spacious. A few teachers were already seated by the windows—some eating breakfast, others flipping through lesson plans.

"Teacher Jiang? You're early!"

A familiar voice called out.

Jiang Ran turned. It was Lin Wei, an English teacher who'd been on the same floor before. She was in her early thirties, with eyes that crinkled when she smiled.

"Morning, Teacher Lin." He nodded at her, walked over to an empty desk near the door, and said, "First day of class. Thought I'd come early to get ready."

"Oh, right—I heard you've been transferred to teach Chinese in Class 15?" Lin Wei walked over with her water cup, lowering her voice. "That class... you'd better brace yourself."

Jiang Ran smiled but didn't reply, turning his attention to tidying his desk.

The other teachers trickled in one by one, and the office gradually grew livelier.

Naturally, the conversation drifted to the hottest topic online over the past couple of days.

"Have you guys seen those posts online? All that stuff about the Second World, the Abyssal Void, Transcendents... they tell it like it's real." Teacher Zhang, who taught history, pushed up his glasses, his tone carrying his usual scholarly obsession. "I did some digging last night. Some of the descriptions are pretty similar to things in the Classic of Mountains and Seas."

"More than just similar," Teacher Liu, the physics teacher, chimed in. He was a bit older and always spoke slowly and deliberately. "My son came home yesterday and told me their class group chats are buzzing. Some people claim they've been inside and even got the ability to control fire. Kids, you know—they spin wild tales."

"Control fire? Seriously? That's not sci-fi anymore, that's straight-up fantasy, isn't it?" Lin Wei's eyes widened in surprise, unable to stop herself from asking.

"If that kind of power really shows up... could social order—"

The office fell silent for a moment.

The teachers exchanged glances, none of them speaking.

They were all educators. More than most, they understood how crucial order and rules were to any group.

Once individual power started showing uncontrollable disparities...

The existing federal structure would inevitably take a hit.

"Let's just take it one step at a time," Teacher Liu finally said with a sigh. "We teach our classes, manage our students. The rest... we can't afford to worry about."

Jiang Ran listened quietly the whole time, not joining the discussion.

After a while, the teachers' conversation gradually shifted back to teaching and class management.

Jiang Ran checked the time. Ten minutes until class.

He picked up his textbooks and lesson plans and walked out of the office.

The classroom for Grade 2 Class 15 was at the end of the hallway.

Even before he reached the door, he could hear the ruckus inside.

Jiang Ran stopped at the doorway, confirmed the room number, and pushed the door open just as the bell rang.

The classroom went quiet for about a second.

Then the noise picked up again, though a little softer than before.

Most of the boys were still shoving and laughing, acting as if they hadn't noticed anyone standing at the podium.

Quite a few girls, however, quietly straightened up, eyeing Jiang Ran with curiosity.

Jiang Ran swept his calm gaze across the room, then set his textbooks and lesson plans on the podium. He turned, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote two bold, forceful characters on the blackboard:

Jiang Ran

He turned back to face the class.

"My name is Jiang Ran. For the time being, I'll be your Chinese teacher."

The noise in the room dropped another notch, but there was still whispering from the back rows.

And then—

BANG!

A slap on the desk rang out.

The entire class fell silent instantly.

Li Hao, the boy who had once consulted Jiang Ran, stood up, furrowed his brow, and shouted at the side:

"The teacher's here for class, are you all deaf? What's all the noise about?!"

The few troublemakers in the back row froze, clearly not expecting anyone to step up.

They glanced at Li Hao, then at Jiang Ran, who stood calmly at the podium, exchanged looks, and finally shut their mouths with grudging expressions, though defiance still hung on their faces.

Li Hao sat back down, flashed an embarrassed smile at Jiang Ran, then yawned, forced himself to flip open his notebook, picked up his pen, and put on a show of being ready to listen.

But the dark circles under his eyes and his head nodding off from time to time betrayed his severe lack of sleep.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran turned and walked back to the podium, ready to start the lesson.

Yet, just as he picked up the chalk to write the day's topic...

From the back row, someone pinched their voice and sneered sarcastically:

"Teacher, the internet's all buzzing about the Second World, the Abyssal Void, and Transcendents now... What's the point of class anymore? Can learning Chinese, math, and English stop monsters or let you fly?"

The moment the words landed, the troublemakers in the back burst into laughter and started heckling.

The classroom grew noisy again.

Many students, especially the boys, wore excited expressions.

The winds of a changing era had clearly swept into the campus.

Jiang Ran paused, the chalk in his hand still.

Then he placed the chalk back in its box and closed his lesson plan.

He turned to face the class, not with anger at the offense, but with a playful smile.

His gaze swept over the heckling troublemakers, passed the other students with varied expressions, and finally he spoke softly:

"Looks like you've all been browsing the internet a lot lately. Well-informed."

He paused, stepped forward, leaned his hands on the edge of the podium, and tilted his body slightly.

It was a posture that carried a hint of pressure, yet also one of listening.

"So, let's make a hypothesis right here."

"Suppose, as the rumors online say, that so-called Abyssal Void really exists. Suppose, one day in the future, some of you gain entry. And obtain some kind of extraordinary power. For example..."

"Fire control."

Everyone in the classroom watched him, including the troublemakers.

"Then here's the question.

When flames dance at your fingertips, are you satisfied with lighting a cigarette or burning a piece of paper? Or do you want to figure out your flame's temperature limit? Whether it can perform more precise operations?"

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas records an Exotic Beast: 'Its shape is like an ox, dark and black, with one horn; its sound is like a baby's cry, and it eats people.'

If you encounter it, can you only scream and run? Or can you quickly deduce its possible weaknesses and formulate a strategy based on its appearance and recorded habits?"

"Ancient formations, runes, rituals from myths and legends... Those things that might hold real power—without a solid foundation in literature and history, you can't even read them, let alone talk about transcendence."

Jiang Ran's gaze swept the class, finally landing on the faces of the troublemakers in the back, who were now stunned.

"Extraordinary power might give you a sharp sword.

But knowledge—these seemingly useless things you waste time learning in class—can determine how you wield that sword."

"Now." He picked up the chalk again, turned to face the blackboard, his voice returning to its usual calm. "Does anyone still think class is useless?"

The classroom was dead silent.

Only the sound of chalk against the blackboard.

Jiang Ran wrote the day's topic.

Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Grandeur of the High Tang.

Forty-five minutes passed in a flash.

When the bell rang, Jiang Ran had just finished the last point.

He put down the chalk, dusted off his hands, and closed the lesson plan.

"Class dismissed."

With that, he picked up his textbook and stepped down from the podium.

Before leaving, Jiang Ran glanced at Li Hao, who had slept through the entire class, and said nothing.

He walked straight out of the classroom.

Back in the office, he set down his lesson plan, greeted Lin Wei, who was still working, and left the school.

He only had this one Chinese class today; the rest of the time was his to use freely.

He walked out of the school gate, first pulling out his phone to order a courier service, sending them to retrieve the SIM card Wang Zhenguo had stashed and deliver it to the Shooting Club.

After handling that, he raised a hand and hailed a taxi.

"Driver, Slow Time Cafe on Zhongshan Road."

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Ran pushed open the cafe door.

"Jiang Ran, over here!"

By the window, a man in a floral shirt grinned and waved at him.

It was his friend Jian Xiang, who ran a matchmaking agency.

Jiang Ran walked over.

Across from Jian Xiang sat a well-dressed woman, looking to be around thirty.

"Jiang Ran, come on, have a seat." Jian Xiang greeted him warmly, then smiled at the woman. "Ms. Wang, this is my friend and colleague, Jiang Ran. He'll just sit in and observe—hope you don't mind?"

Ms. Wang's gaze had been fixed on Jiang Ran since he walked in, and now, without a second thought, she nodded eagerly. "No, not at all!"

Jian Xiang winked at Jiang Ran, then flipped open his notebook, pulled out a pen, and softened his expression. "Ms. Wang, shall we start now? You know my style. Just tell me your truest self—the more honest, the better I can find you the right match. Lying with me is the most pointless thing you can do."

Ms. Wang's smile stiffened. She glanced hesitantly at Jiang Ran and murmured, "Do I really have to be completely honest? Some things... might not be so flattering."

Jian Xiang's smile didn't waver. "Of course. Isn't that why you came to me?"

Ms. Wang seemed to steel herself, sneaking another look at the quietly seated Jiang Ran, then finally nodded as if throwing caution to the wind. "Fine."

"Alright, let's begin." Jian Xiang picked up his pen. "First question—what do you do for work?"

"Nothing steady... A few years back, I was young and dumb, followed the wrong crowd, got into some trouble, and did three years inside. Just got out not long ago."

Jian Xiang's expression didn't change. His pen glided smoothly across the page as he responded gently, "Mm, mm, the past is the past—what matters is the future. So, what about your current living situation and finances?"

"Living with my parents, they help me out a bit, and I pick up odd jobs here and there."

"Health's okay, just some chronic eczema that acts up when the seasons change. Oh, and I've got a bit of a temper—when I get worked up, I can't always keep my hands to myself."

One in the afternoon.

Jiang Ran got out of the taxi at the entrance to the Shooting Club.

No sooner had he stood up than a white Porsche pulled up beside him.

The door opened, and Meng Xi stepped out, carrying a sports bag.

"Jiang Ran?" Meng Xi looked surprised to see him. "Didn't you say you weren't coming to teach until five? Why so early?"

A complicated expression flickered across Jiang Ran's face, and he let out a sigh. "Don't ask. This morning... I went and broadened my horizons."

"Broadened your horizons?"

Meng Xi's eyes lit up. She shut the car door, leaned in closer, and asked curiously, "What kind of horizons? Spill it!"

Jiang Ran opened his mouth, but the memory of Jian Xiang's devilish translations from the cafe that morning left him at a loss for words.

How was he supposed to describe it?

A matchmaking boss who could spin a prison stint as "pure jailbait chic"? Turn eczema into "bubbling with beauty"? And a bad temper with a tendency to throw punches into "knowing how to hit back with class, a true lady of brawls!?"

After holding it in for a few seconds, Jiang Ran looked at Meng Xi's eager, curious eyes and could only helplessly spit out three words:

"...Hard to say."

He paused, then added:

"Let's just say—it was legendary."