12 Chapter 12: The Incident in the Canteen_1

After leaving the shop, Mu Huanqing made her way towards Fang Renran's school. Since she didn't know where the school was, she ended up asking many aunties along the way.

"Young lady, you should keep items like these stored away. Don't let other people see them,"

said an auntie who was sweeping the streets, pointing at the three boxes of "Items of Devotion" in Mu Huanqing's arms after she asked for directions.

Mu Huanqing stared blankly at the items in her embrace and nodded, realizing for the first time that the "Items of Devotion" were not meant to be shown to just anyone. No wonder Ah Ran couldn't bring himself to open them.

The journey to the school was a long one. Thankfully, Mu Huanqing's wheelchair was electric. If she had to roll herself there, with her current frail constitution, she surely would not have made it even by the end of the day.

Moreover, it was extremely hot outside, and she could very well suffer from heatstroke.

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In the university cafeteria, Fang Renran, Jing Haichuan, and Li Xingwang were sitting together having a meal.

Fang Renran had a frown on his face the entire time, racking his brain for ways to gather all the expensive medicinal ingredients.

"What's wrong, Ranzi? You've been down all day. Did something hit you that hard?" Jing Haichuan noticed his mood and asked.

"Ah?"

Fang Renran came back to his senses and thought for a moment before saying, "Haichuan, I want to ask you for a favor."

"What, have you finally realized that your methods of chasing after girls are wrong?" Jing Haichuan said.

"No, I need you to help me buy some medicinal herbs. As for the money, I might need some time to pay you back," Fang Renran said.

"I thought it had something to do with Liu Qianqian. Turns out you're still fixated on your lousy elixir," Jing Haichuan said with a helpless expression.

"Stop joking, this is really important," Fang Renran insisted.

"Alright, tell me what herbs you need, and I'll see what I can do," said Jing Haichuan.

Fang Renran handed over a list he had prepared the previous night. Jing Haichuan took it, glanced at it, and his eyes popped.

"Oh my God!" Jing Haichuan looked at Fang Renran, stunned: "Do you have any idea how many condoms my family's company would have to sell to get all these ingredients for you?"

Fang Renran, looking helpless, said, "Helping me with one or two of them would be enough."

Li Xingwang also leaned over to look and was equally shocked: "Holy moly, these ingredients! Are you trying to make Heavenly Steel Elixir? That's something only masters have a chance of succeeding at. What are you fooling around with?"

"It's not Heavenly Steel Elixir. It's just a little elixir recipe I thought of," Fang Renran said, scratching his head with a laugh.

Jing Haichuan shouted, "You've really thought up something big now, haven't you? My family would lose tens of thousands of condom boxes because of you! Do you know how many unexpected pregnancies this could cause? Do you have any idea how many lives could be lost because of abortions? Can you live with yourself?"

"Enough, I won't ask you to buy them then," Fang Renran was speechless; this guy would link anything back to his family's condom production and then escalate it to some grand moral issue about killing a life.

Upon hearing that, Jing Haichuan got angry: "Am I the kind of person who wouldn't help his brothers when they ask? What's that saying, risk your life for your brothers, why should I care about others getting abortions? Isn't this just a bit of money? I wouldn't blink an eye before dishing it out for you... a little bit, a little bit."

"You getting me one type would be fine too," Fang Renran said.

Li Xingwang, glancing at the list of herbs, said, "Hey, I might be able to help you get Dragon Bone Grass and Fairy Flower. I remember my old man's got a bit stashed in his backyard. I'll get it for you."

"Are you going to steal them?" Fang Renran was taken aback, "Won't your old man come after me with a gang of thugs?"

"No big deal. I've broken enough of his collectibles when I was a kid," said Li Xingwang.

"Tsk tsk, since Wang Ge is offering two, how could I, the numero uno playboy of the condom world, do any less?" Jing Haichuan said. "Alright, here's what I'll do, I'll get those two Sponge Root for you. But are you really just messing around with this stuff? You normally don't bother us for anything, so why ask us over such a trivial matter?"

"It's definitely not just messing around. I'll tell you guys when I get results," Fang Renran assured them.

"Fine, my Alchemy Master, I hope you actually come up with something. Otherwise, there goes half a year's spending money for me," said Jing Haichuan.

"..."

Fang Renran suddenly felt speechless again. Sure enough, the city's number one condom prince wasn't called that for nothing—if half a year's pocket money was that much...

Slap—

Just as the three were having a lively conversation, a hand suddenly slapped down on a nearby table.

Fang Renran turned his head to see two male students in the white specialized uniform of the Cultivation System staring at them with cold faces.

"You're Fang Renran, right?" the guy who slapped the table spoke with disdain.

"Dammit, what the hell are you slapping for!" Li Xingwang, who grew up in an underworld family, was instantly furious when he heard the slap.

Slap—

Li Xingwang also stood up, anger in his eyes as he stared down the other party. He casually flicked his red hair and said with contempt, "You must be Wang Shuai from the Cultivation System, huh? Why don't I ever see you guys daring to mess with me normally? Huh? You target the weak and fear the strong. Go back where you came from and don't bother me!"

The two loud slaps on the table instantly drew the attention of many students around. They stopped using their chopsticks and watched the drama unfold with great interest.

"Li Xingwang, what's it to you?" Wang Shuai said through gritted teeth, glaring at the other guy.

And honestly, Li Xingwang was not someone he could easily mess with; while he might be a Cultivator, Li Xingwang's entire criminal aristocratic family had no shortage of people in that area.

"It's disturbing my meal," Li Xingwang said angrily.

Wang Shuai let out a cold laugh and ignored him, turning his head to Fang Ren and saying, "You better stay away from Liu Qianqian, kid. If I catch you bothering her again, be careful on your way home from school. It'd be a pity if you ended up missing an arm or breaking a leg one day, and I won't be involved."

"My goodness, my temper!" Jing Haichuan, on the side, was so angry that he threw the two chopsticks he was holding straight at Wang Shuai across the table. Unfortunately, since the target was a Cultivator, he easily dodged them.

"What's it going to be, boy, are you planning on using Jing's condoms in the future? Let me tell you, if you buy condoms, every single one from Jing's will have holes poked in it! If you don't want to use locally sold condoms, then get them from out of town!" Jing Haichuan said with a dead serious face.

The scene, which had been on edge, was immediately filled with laughter at his comment, echoing throughout the cafeteria.

"Oh my God, Mr. Jing is awesome. Don't offend this guy at school or you'll end up with condoms filled with holes," someone said.

"Hahaha... I'm dying of laughter. Wang Shuai has been put on the condom blacklist!"

"Damn, after Mr. Jing's comment, who would dare to be Wang Shuai's girlfriend? Having to order condoms from out of town, hahaha, that's so wicked."

...

"What's going on over there?"

Liu Qianqian had just walked into the cafeteria with Li Xinyue and saw the entire place bursting with students' laughter.

"Hey, Qian Qian, isn't that Fang Ren with those two rich lads from our class? And there's Wang Shuai and Li Yang from the Cultivation System," Li Xinyue noted after a quick glance.

"Let's go take a look."

As soon as she heard the names, Liu Qianqian instantly furrowed her brows; Wang Shuai was her recent admirer, while Fang Ren was her best friend... or should still be her friend, at least.

"Just remember this, they can only protect you for so long," Wang Shuai said viciously to Fang Ren before starting to leave.

Fang Ren put down his chopsticks, turned around, and pierced the other with a direct stare from his black eyes, saying, "First, Liu Qianqian would never like someone like you. And second, whether I stay away from her or not is my business; your few words are hardly threatening."

"Heh, let's hope you're still this tough when you get into trouble," Wang Shuai said, turning his head back with a cold laugh.

"Damn it, want to bet I can break your leg tonight?" Li Xingwang said as he too threw chopsticks from the table.

But a Cultivator is a Cultivator; a mere attack from an ordinary person can be evaded with a simple side-step.

"Stop!"

At the sound of a pleasing voice, Liu Qianqian rushed over with Li Xinyue in tow.

"Look who's decided to show up," Li Xingwang frowned. Now that the class president had arrived, there was no point in causing a scene.

Upon seeing Liu Qianqian, Wang Shuai's face immediately brightened into a Spring breeze smile. He said, "Qian Qian, I don't know why you would want to be friends for so long with a boy whose grades are terrible, family is average, and looks are nothing special. But you should see clearly now, this guy is just like a toad lusting after a swan's flesh. If he bothers you again, just let me know directly."

Liu Qianqian sternly replied, "Wang Shuai, my personal life is none of your concern. Besides, if you start conflicts in school, I have the right to deduct points from your class and assign you a written reflection to hand over to your homeroom teacher."

"Hey, hey, Qian Qian, why am I the one who started conflicts?" Wang Shuai laughed: "Everyone saw that it was Li Xingwang and Jing Haichuan who threw chopsticks at me. I didn't even fight back."

"The two of you write a reflection as well," Liu Qianqian told Li and Jing, visibly upset.

"Sure, sure, we'll write it," Li Xingwang said, reluctantly sitting back down.

"Class president, don't be biased," Jing Haichuan said with a wry smile on his face.

"Don't call me class president. As the vice president, I won't show favoritism to anyone," Liu Qianqian said with a frown.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

Fang Ren was about to say something when his cell phone in his pocket began to vibrate.

Uncle Han usually didn't call him, and his close friends were all nearby—so who could it be?

He took out his phone and saw an unfamiliar number, then casually swiped to answer.

"Ah Ran, where are you? I can't find you."

As soon as he answered, he heard a familiar voice from the phone.

"Sister Hui Qing... you're at the school?"

In that moment, the minor annoyance Fang Ren had felt from Wang Shuai evaporated, replaced by the image of a beautiful and graceful figure in his mind.

"Yes, I bought three things and wanted to ask which one you like."

"Where are you? I'll come to you."

"I'm at... just outside the cafeteria entrance. Lots of students are heading this way, so I think you might be inside."

"I'll come find you now."