Chen Sinian was a little stunned.
So suddenly? I'm not ready yet!
Luo Feixuan froze too, then broke into a bright smile once she caught on.
Wu Yang, playing the role of the "hostess," held the Meridian-Opening Pill out to Chen Sinian.
He reached out and took it, unsure whether he ought to be happy.
"All right, the auction's over. Everyone, go home to your mothers!"
Clutching the Meridian-Opening Pill, Chen Sinian was about to leave without even looking up when Luo Feixuan stopped him again.
"Hold it."
Chen Sinian frowned and turned to look at her. "What else do you want?"
"Say thank you!" Luo Feixuan said, tipping her chin toward Yu Bu'e.
Yu Bu'e's eyelid twitched when he heard that.
Even he thought she was going too far!
What surprised him even more was that Chen Sinian actually turned to look at him. His lips moved, and two words emerged.
"Thank you."
Without waiting for Yu Bu'e to respond, he quickened his pace and left.
The others, however, remained in their seats.
"Yu Bu'e, you have so many Meridian-Opening Pills. Put another one up for auction!"
"Yeah! We're already here!"
"We've waited so long. Don't make us leave empty-handed!"
Yu Bu'e waved a hand. "No can do. I said one, and one it is. I can't deceive my customers."
"..." They would have loved to be deceived by Yu Bu'e just this once.
"How about this? If I decide to hold another auction, I'll let everyone know in advance." Yu Bu'e pointed at Wu Yang. "You can add my assistant's contact details."
Wu Yang: "???"
While everyone surrounded Wu Yang, Yu Bu'e hurried away.
At the classroom doorway, something suddenly occurred to him, and he turned to look at Luo Feixuan.
"Aren't you leaving?"
Luo Feixuan stood, held out her hand to him, and gave him a faint smile.
"Man, take my hand!"
"..." Yu Bu'e had no choice but to go back and take Luo Feixuan's small hand. The two walked out of the classroom together.
Every so often, he glanced back at the girl behind him, feeling rather lost.
As soon as they left the teaching building, he hurriedly let go.
He was about to speak, but Luo Feixuan beat him to it.
"Why wouldn't you let me keep bidding?"
"First, you don't need a Meridian-Opening Pill. Second, it was already at nine hundred thousand. Anyone who bought it would be a sucker! And finally, if you need one, I can sell you one for six hundred thousand next time."
"Oh?" Luo Feixuan took two steps toward Yu Bu'e, her clear eyes fixed on him.
His gaze flickered away, as though she had him under pressure.
"Look me in the eye, man," Luo Feixuan said softly. "So, you couldn't bear to let me spend more?"
"I..."
"You wouldn't let me bid a million, but you're willing to sell me one for six hundred thousand. Does that mean I'm worth four hundred thousand to you?" Luo Feixuan continued.
Her voice was lovely, like the ripple of a rushing stream striking pebbles, crisp yet lingering.
Yu Bu'e's face grew hot.
He didn't know whether he was imagining it.
It felt as though Luo Feixuan was... flirting with him?
He hastily took two steps back, putting some distance between them.
"It's getting late, Luo Feixuan. I need to get home."
"Not going to have dinner with me?"
"No, I'm in a hurry!" Yu Bu'e could hardly wait to get home!
All he wanted was to hurry home, draw the curtains, open the system, check how many jealousy points he had, and then... spend like there was no tomorrow!
Watching Yu Bu'e's retreating figure, Luo Feixuan took out her phone, opened the front-facing camera, and examined her face.
"Am I really... that unattractive? Man, are you playing hard to get?"
Just then, an incoming call appeared on her screen. At the sight of the contact name, her expression instantly turned cold.
The moment she answered, a middle-aged man's furious voice came through.
"Luo Feixuan, who gave you permission to leave early? Do you have no respect for the rules?"
"Oh..."
"What do you mean, 'oh'?"
Luo Feixuan looked in the direction Yu Bu'e had gone and said indifferently, "Nothing. I just happened to have something more important to do."
With that, she hung up.
Yu Bu'e raced home as fast as he could, locked the door, and drew the curtains.
It was as though he was about to do something shameful.
To get himself into the right frame of mind, he made a show of slowing down and even went to the kitchen to brew a cup of tea.
Once he settled back onto the sofa, he took several deep breaths.
Although he was bursting with anticipation, he insisted on acting perfectly composed-as though that might improve his luck.
His heart raced and his hands trembled, like a child about to unwrap a birthday present.
When the system panel appeared in the center of his vision and he saw [Current jealousy points: 41,800], Yu Bu'e punched the air hard!
He had resisted checking it at school, all so he could savor this moment to the fullest!
From the morning's spiritual meridian test to the afternoon's award ceremony... every single event had become a way for Yu Bu'e to rake in jealousy points like crazy!
He lifted his cup and slurped some bitter tea, but he couldn't suppress his grin, and the tea trickled out of the corners of his mouth.
Flush with wealth, he immediately poured ten thousand jealousy points into the Meridian-Opening Fist.
After he had raised the Meridian-Opening Fist to [Complete mastery], his strength had improved significantly. The results had been practically instantaneous.
The jealousy points collected by the system could either be poured into martial arts or spent on prize draws, but the chance of drawing a Meridian-Opening Pill seemed to be a hundred percent...
He really didn't need that many Meridian-Opening Pills...
Using the Meridian-Opening Fist to open all twelve spiritual meridians as quickly as possible was his top priority!
As the ten thousand jealousy points flowed in, his understanding of the Meridian-Opening Fist grew clearer, but its level remained at [Complete mastery].
After sitting quietly for a while and sorting out his thoughts, he gritted his teeth and dumped in another ten thousand jealousy points!
Looks like I have to raise the Meridian-Opening Fist to the next level before I get a qualitative improvement!
Yet even after those ten thousand jealousy points, it was still at [Complete mastery].
Yu Bu'e rubbed between his brows, feeling rather dejected.
He realized that the higher a martial art's level, the more jealousy points it took to improve it.
As he continued pouring points into it, he spent a total of thirty-five thousand jealousy points before a warm current finally surged through his body without end.
A golden light flashed across the system panel, and the label after the Meridian-Opening Fist rose from [Complete mastery] to [Pinnacle of perfection]!
A flood of information poured into his brain, making his temples throb.
He closed his eyes, lay back on the sofa, and emptied his mind, allowing his brain to piece the fragmented information together.
The process lasted a long time. His brows were tightly furrowed, his face was flushed, and his breathing came fast, as though he had just pleasured himself...
When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was more confident than before!
"Just as I thought... after reaching [Pinnacle of perfection], my understanding of the Meridian-Opening Fist is on a whole new level!"
"It's like... opening the door to a whole new world!"
He could hardly wait to head to the park and find a quiet corner to practice the Meridian-Opening Fist.
Looking at the jealousy points left on the system panel, he considered it for a moment, then decided to do some prize draws first.
The first time he had drawn a prize, he had felt excited.
Now, however, he simply watched calmly as Meridian-Opening Pills appeared on the table one after another.
"The big wheel goes squeak, spinning round and round. Damn, damn, what a pretty sight..."
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three..."
"Four..."
Yu Bu'e propped his chin on his hand and yawned, feeling absolutely nothing.
If there was anything to be happy about, it was that his string of pills wouldn't have to choke his neck anymore. Heh!
"Five..."
"Six... huh?"
Yu Bu'e, who had been growing drowsy a moment earlier, suddenly jolted and sat bolt upright. Staring at the wheel in the center of his vision, he began breathing faster.
For the first time ever, the pointer on the wheel passed over "Meridian-Opening Pill" and finally landed on the "Weapons" section!
Before you continue