Seeing Ye Zhenzhen Again

It was over.

The moment Jiang Shu uttered his first sentence,

Jiang Hongfei had only one thought in his mind.

He should never have let Jiang Shu stay behind!

He had known Jiang Shu had come to call him back, yet he had still asked him to run an errand.

He really was an idiot!

Now that the words had already been spoken,

should he go back, or stay?

Going back would be disrespectful to Director Zheng.

But if he stayed, would Director Zheng think him unfilial?

Jiang Hongfei's scalp went numb, and even his steps faltered. All joy vanished from his face, replaced by a deep flush.

He had no idea what to do.

Yet just then,

the person he regarded as the ceiling itself—Director Zheng—actually called out his cousin's name.

And his cousin had actually called him Uncle Zheng.

What... had happened to this world?

Wasn't his cousin Jiang Shu still in high school?

Wasn't his second uncle merely a retired worker who drove for Didi?

Wasn't his aunt just the owner of a small clothing shop?

With a family like theirs,

how could Jiang Shu possibly know Director Zheng?!!!

At the dining table, Section Chief Guo, who had risen and was about to say a few words, also changed expression. To call Director Zheng Uncle Zheng—could this young man have some sort of background?

After several thoughts flashed through his mind, he looked at Zheng Yanbo with a fawning smile. "Director Zheng, you know this student? Come, come, young man, sit over here. We can chat casually, have a bite."

As he spoke, Section Chief Guo left his seat and began ushering Jiang Shu over.

His face changed faster than pages in the wind; he could bend or stretch as the situation required. Having climbed to his position, how could he be compared to a greenhorn like Jiang Hongfei?

"Mm. If you're not in a hurry, Jiang Shu, come sit down. I have something here that might need a little help from you."

Only after Zheng Yanbo spoke did Jiang Shu take several steps forward and enter the private room.

In this real-world life, there were not many people who had truly helped him.

Zheng Yanbo counted as one.

Those few words in the principal's office had been genuine guidance.

Though Jiang Shu had already figured out quite a bit himself, what he could infer was only the general trend, never the details.

A single sentence from a True Transmission could be worth a thousand books.

After learning of Heaven and Earth Treasure Medicine and Exotic Beast Meat, his goal had finally become clear.

On Xuanxing, he would use Martial Dao cultivation far beyond that of his peers to obtain vast Martial Dao resources.

Then, with all those resources, he would rapidly raise his strength in another world where resources were monopolized!

Creating a virtuous cycle!

"Uncle Zheng, just tell me what it is."

Jiang Shu walked over to Zheng Yanbo's side, maintaining several steps' distance from Ye Zhenzhen beside him as he spoke.

"Let me introduce you. This is Miss Ye, Ye Zhenzhen, a celebrity hugely popular among young people like you. You've heard of her, right? Recently, she'll be filming a Martial Arts Promotional Video here in Jicheng. Since you're both young, you can tell her a few key points about the Horse Stance."

"Though it's only a promotional video, being a little rigorous is still a good thing. And since it's a promotional video, having one man and one woman is naturally just right. I was worrying earlier about which celebrity to invite over. But now that I look at you, your image is even better than those male stars."

Setting his teacup aside, Zheng Yanbo said, "Of course, it's your decision. After all, your College Entrance Examination is coming up, so your time is rather tight. If you have time, just set some aside to film it. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Aside from a decent payment, you can also build up some popularity."

"These days, popularity is money. And you can't cultivate Martial Dao without money."

Zheng Yanbo thought very highly of Jiang Shu.

So he gave him another favor that cost him nothing. If Jiang Shu's future truly took off along with the great momentum of the Xia Kingdom,

then what Zheng Yanbo had done over the past few months and today would bring him endless returns.

Of course, beyond investing in him, Zheng Yanbo genuinely liked Jiang Shu's temperament.

Straightforward and forthright—returning virtue with virtue, and grievance with grievance.

That was exactly the kind of person best suited for dealing with.

"I should have time recently."

Without giving it much thought, Jiang Shu immediately answered.

In Pingling County, he had already become an official disciple of the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall. He only needed to grind the Refining, Nourishing, Striking Three Methods to perfection before he could smoothly begin cultivating the Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force and become a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist.

In the real world, with his Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation, he only needed to spend more time training the Horse Stance to perfection, and he would have a one-hundred-percent chance of entering an Academy.

Setting aside a few days to film a Martial Arts Promotional Video would not be much of a problem.

"Good, good, good. Then you and Miss Ye should talk more." Zheng Yanbo narrowed his eyes with a smile. Jiang Shu, who had achieved Qi and Blood Circulation, was already certain to get into a Key University and had a chance at an Academy. Now, if he also appeared in a Martial Arts Promotional Video, then even if he made no further progress at all, once the College Entrance Examination ended, his status as a Key University student would add a few more colors to the video.

And if he climbed another step,

this Martial Arts Promotional Video would surely rise to another level.

It would stir up another wave in Jicheng!

It was simply killing several birds with one stone.

"Hello, Jiang Shu. I'm looking forward to working with you."

Ye Zhenzhen tilted her head and extended her hand. From their brief exchange, she could roughly tell that Jiang Shu was definitely a martial arts student, and an exceptionally talented one at that. Perhaps he even had some family connection to Director Zheng, though that remained doubtful.

After all, if they truly were relatives, why would Director Zheng call him Student Jiang the moment he spoke?

Most likely, Director Zheng simply thought highly of Jiang Shu.

If that was the case, then she needed to take this young man a few degrees more seriously.

"Mm. Please give me your guidance when the time comes."

Their hands met and parted at once. Jiang Shu's eyes were tranquil, like deep water in an abyss.

As if the person who had just shaken his hand had not been the hugely popular celebrity Ye Zhenzhen, but an ordinary person.

Inside the Jiang Family's private room.

The dishes on the table had gone cold.

Jiang Yongyi had frowned several times.

Hadn't that section chief's private room been on the second floor? Why had his son been gone for so long? Had he failed to find Hongfei?

He wanted to call Jiang Shu and ask, but his elder brother and parents were still boasting about how well Hongfei was doing at his workplace, how he had now caught his leader's eye, and how perhaps his leader had even kept him in the private room to drink.

How could he call rashly? If his son Jiang Shu was also at the drinking table and his phone suddenly rang, how awkward would that be?

"Yan Yan, which Academy does Xiao Shu plan to apply for in the future?"

Their cousin Jiang Yinglei, who had just gotten off work and arrived last, sat beside Jiang Yan Yue and asked gossipily.

"How would I know? Maybe Shengjing, maybe Donghai. He definitely won't go to Tianshu—he doesn't even eat spicy food." Jiang Yan Yue listlessly stuffed fruit into her mouth.

When she had been younger, she had loved these big family gatherings.

Because every time, she could eat all kinds of dishes that were unavailable at home.

But as she grew older and more mature, Jiang Yan Yue had gradually learned to see the undercurrents surging beneath the seemingly harmonious words at the dining table.

Grandpa and Grandma were biased to the extreme.

Jiang Hongfei might have landed a secure job, but if Jiang Shu could get into an Academy, how would he be any worse?

Clearly, her brother Jiang Shu was the main character today.

Yet after just a few words from her eldest uncle, the conversation had all turned to Jiang Hongfei.

And they even had to go call Jiang Hongfei over?

Seriously. If he wanted to cling to his leader's thigh, then let him cling to it.

Why call him over?

Was the table missing him or something?

"I really envy my older brother. He landed on shore as soon as he graduated. I couldn't do it. I prepared diligently for a whole year and didn't pass anything. What's the use of graduating from a Key University now? I still ended up working for a foreign company. Though I make twenty or thirty thousand a month, it's still not as stable as my older brother's job."

Jiang Yinglei poured herself a glass of red wine and took a light sip, speaking in a tone that sounded like a sigh but was really a display of pride.

Jiang Yan Yue had no desire to keep listening.

"Dad, should I go call Brother?"

She whispered to her father beside her, unable to resist getting to her feet.

Just then, the private room door was suddenly pushed open.

Jiang Shu stepped inside.

Following right behind him was Jiang Hongfei, the cousin whom their eldest uncle Jiang Yongren had been praising at the table for nearly an hour.

The light fell across his face.

He looked utterly dazed, his head lowered, with none of his usual spirit remaining.