Elsewhere, Jiang Chen glanced at the talisman in his hand. When he touched it with demonic energy, he felt a scorching heat. It really did seem to be high-end stuff.
"This thing must cost a fortune. She just gave it to me?"
After a moment's thought, he remembered. The town he had lived in as a child was remote, and public safety was poor. Once, a human trafficker on a motorcycle had grabbed Lin Youwei.
Jiang Chen had never liked getting involved in other people's business, especially since he had only been eleven at the time.
But his body housed an adult's soul, after all. He couldn't stand by and watch a little girl get abducted.
So he had acted, lunging forward to save her and shouting loudly enough to draw a crowd. The trafficker had been scared off, but Jiang Chen had fallen and cut his head while pulling her free.
To him, it had been a minor incident. He hadn't expected her to remember it all this time.
Talisman... looks like this world really does have powers ordinary people know nothing about. They can handle ghost incidents, but they're probably short-staffed. Otherwise, they wouldn't need to use the news to warn ordinary people.
Right, the Nine Provinces probably keeps ghosts secret because of what the system said.
Something suddenly clicked for Jiang Chen.
Ghosts fed on human qi; demons fed on ghost qi.
That was probably why the Knocking Ghost hadn't simply broken down the door to kill someone. Instead, it had built up fear step by step, allowing it to keep feeding on a living person's qi.
And if ghost incidents became public knowledge and everyone fell into a panic, the consequences could be disastrous!
No wonder. Lin Youwei must have been debating whether to tell me ghosts exist. In the end, she chose to give me a subtle warning.
Jiang Chen shook his head, put the matter aside, and headed back to the classroom.
The moment he entered, everyone started teasing him.
"Whoa! Goddess Lin called you out for a private chat? Look at you, Jiang!"
"Damn, Jiang Chen!"
"Unbelievable! Jiang Chen's our romantic rival now!"
"Jiang, our friendship is over!"
Before Jiang Chen could speak, someone suddenly slammed a desk.
Bang!
"What are you all doing? Roll call's about to start. Keep quiet!"
A young man in designer clothes sitting near the front turned around with a dark expression. Every classmate his gaze landed on silently lowered their head.
In an instant, the entire classroom fell silent. No one dared say another word.
The young man was the student council's year representative. That position alone wouldn't have made anyone give a damn about him.
But he had another identity: Zheng Shaoming, heir to the Zheng Group.
It was one of the top five business conglomerates in Jiangbei City.
The influence backing someone like him was hard to imagine. Even these university students, who had yet to enter the working world, could vaguely sense it. After all, two students in their school who had offended Zheng Shaoming a year ago had already withdrawn for unknown reasons.
After scolding everyone, Zheng Shaoming turned to Jiang Chen. His eyes remained menacing, but a smile had appeared on his face. "Heh, Jiang Chen, you know Youwei too? Her family background is quite something. Even in our circle of wealthy heirs in Jiangbei, she's widely recognized as one of the goddesses."
"My father and her father go way back. There's a gathering in a few days, and Youwei will be there too. Would you like to come, Jiang?"
Jiang Chen paused at that, almost laughing out loud.
He could tell Zheng Shaoming was definitely a hopeless simp. If their families were really that close, she wouldn't have come all the way to the classroom door without even greeting him.
"Mm," he replied dismissively, not interested in entertaining a child.
Seeing his attitude, Zheng Shaoming's expression soured further. With a hint of mockery, he said, "Heh, I almost forgot. You probably don't have time, do you? I saw you working at a milk tea shop the other day. How hardworking. Is your family struggling, Jiang? Do you have to earn your own tuition?"
This time, Jiang Chen glanced at him.
He felt little himself, but if he really had been a student from a poor family working to pay his way through school, being mocked so publicly might have made it hard to hold his head up around his classmates afterward.
"Sometimes I really envy people like you. Every morning, you open your eyes and start thinking about how to get ahead. Your lives are so fulfilling," Zheng Shaoming continued.
He wasn't like those brainless rich kids who opened with, "Do you know who my father is?"
Instead, he knew how to exploit his advantages. Every word hit a sore spot, leaving his target humiliated and unable to respond.
As for why he was targeting Jiang Chen, the reason was simple. A city's circle of wealthy heirs was small, and their future spouses would most likely come from within that same circle.
So, to Zheng Shaoming, the finest cabbage in his circle had caught the eye of some lowly pig from outside it. Naturally, that irritated him.
"I'm the one who should envy you, Young Master Zheng." Jiang Chen chuckled.
Zheng Shaoming paused, a mocking smile curling his lips. At least this guy knows his place.
"Just act cute for your father and wag your tail every day, and you get everything you want. Clothes handed to you, food fed straight into your mouth. What a cozy little life." Jiang Chen's next words abruptly froze the atmosphere throughout the classroom.
Acting cute? Wagging his tail? Wasn't that as good as calling Zheng Shaoming a dog?
The last person who had called Zheng Shaoming a "dumbass" had withdrawn over a year ago. According to students who knew him, his parents had lost their jobs too, the family had fallen behind on their mortgage, and his mother and father were fighting over a divorce.
And Jiang Chen's words were more cutting than a hundred repetitions of "dumbass."
No one in the classroom dared breathe too loudly. They all knew Zheng Shaoming was probably about to explode.
"Oh, right, Young Master Zheng, you said you know Youwei, but she didn't seem to even glance at you just now. That girl is so rude. I'll be sure to give her a talking-to later." Still smiling, Jiang Chen casually poured fuel on the fire.
That was how he had always been. If people left him alone, he left them alone. If they messed with him, he messed with them like crazy.
"Jiang Chen!" Zheng Shaoming spat his name through clenched teeth, his face livid.
He hadn't expected someone who was normally so quiet and reserved in their department to deliver such devastating retorts, each one leaving him utterly humiliated.
Just then, one of the young men in the back row exchanged a meaningful glance with the others. Five or six of them stood and came forward. They were all tall members of the basketball club, and they surrounded Jiang Chen, staring coldly at him.
"Do you know who you've offended?"
"Country bumpkins really are clueless. One day, you'll understand that some people are beyond your reach for your entire life!"
"Hurry up and apologize to Young Master Zheng. Crushing someone like you would be no different from stepping on an ant."
Jiang Chen loosened his joints slightly.
He wouldn't bully children unless he had to, but since they were coming to him for trouble, he didn't mind playing life coach and giving them a harsh lesson in how the world worked.
"What are you all doing?!"
A man walked in wearing a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, his hair meticulously combed.
It was Sun Zhibing, the School of Economics' student advisor.
"Jiang Dahai, Yan Hu, Jiang Chen... get back to your seats!" Sun Zhibing shouted, looking displeased. Then his expression softened slightly as he turned to Zheng Shaoming. "Shaoming, you sit down too."
"Let's start roll call!"
Before you continue