"It's all right, sir." Zuo Xiaoduo wore a look of fortitude. "I know my family circumstances and aptitude can't compare with anyone else's. I can only rely on myself for everything."
"All I can do is push myself harder than everyone else, be more frugal, work harder, be more..."
His eyes were resolute and clear. "I understand!"
Qin Fangyang patted Zuo Xiaoduo's shoulder in consolation. At that moment, he thought of his own parents, who had toiled their entire lives...
He also remembered the year he had paid his tuition. His father had taken out his life's savings, counting the notes one by one and holding them up to the sun, terrified that a counterfeit might ruin his son's future.
Going from household to household to borrow money, begging at door after door...
How much like Zuo Xiaoduo's family they had been!
At that thought, his heart couldn't help aching.
Resting a hand on Zuo Xiaoduo's shoulder, he asked, "After paying all this, do you still have any resources left for your everyday cultivation?"
Chapter 30: Who Is Yue Guan?
Zuo Xiaoduo gave a smile uglier than a sob. "How could I... This alone has already bankrupted my family... I don't even know what we'll do about next semester's tuition."
Qin Fangyang sighed.
He rummaged in his pocket, took out two pieces of lower-grade star soul jade, and pressed them into Zuo Xiaoduo's hand. "Take these and use them for now. We'll talk again once you've used them up."
With another sigh, he turned and left.
This turn of events stunned Zuo Xiaoduo. Holding the star soul jade, still slightly warm, in his palm, he felt a sense of unreality. As he looked at Qin Fangyang's retreating back, a strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart.
Then he remembered: *I