Chapter 110: Called Out

After agreeing with Jia Shimiao on the date to head to the capital at the end of the month, Lin Le went to school.

It had been a month since he had last set foot on campus, and the moment he appeared, he immediately drew the attention of everyone there. It seemed as though all of them were trying to guess where he had been during that month.

The same was true once he reached his classroom.

The instant Lin Le appeared in the doorway, every pair of eyes in Senior Class Eight turned toward him.

"Brother Le, you’re finally here! You were gone for a whole month, and I missed you to death!" Lu Hongzhe said excitedly as he rushed over.

"Brother Le!" Pan Hao and the others also hurried to greet him when they saw him come in.

Although Lin Le had been absent for a month, Pan Hao and the rest had not caused any more trouble. On the contrary, they had grown very familiar with Lu Hongzhe.

"Anything involving me happen while I was gone this past month?" Lin Le asked after he sat down.

"Nothing major. The Crown Princess came by often looking for you, saying she wanted to take you boxing and whatnot. Oh, and the campus belle Xu came looking for you twice as well, but each time she reached the door, saw you weren’t here, and left right away," Lu Hongzhe said.

"Xier..." The moment Xu Xier was mentioned, the first thing that came to Lin Le's mind was the strange illness of her Buddha-heart. He wondered whether it had flared up during the month he had spent in seclusion.

With Lin Le's former level of cultivation, all he could do for Xu Xier's condition was stand by helplessly. At best, he could use the Nine True Primordial Burning Art to ease it, but he could not cure it at the root.

Now, however, his cultivation had risen dramatically, and he could do far more than before. Perhaps he could try probing deeper into the nature of Xu Xier's Buddha-heart and see whether a complete solution might be found.

Of course, that would first require her mother's consent.

During class, Lin Le was listening to English teacher He Ruolan's lecture from the podium when Lu Hongzhe, beside him, started to get restless again.

Lin Le had missed a month of lessons, and this fellow had gone a month without anyone to talk to. It was as though a long-lonely widow had suddenly found a lover; ever since class began, he had been chattering endlessly at Lin Le.

"Hey, Brother Le, who do you think is prettier, Teacher He or Lin Zhiling?"

"Hey, Brother Le, which is bigger, Teacher He's or Liu Yan's?"

"Hey, Brother Le, who do you think is fairer, Teacher He or that super pale girl?"

"Hey, Brother Le..."

This guy clearly had no intention of stopping.

"Shut up. Whether Teacher He is fairer or that super pale girl is fairer, I honestly don't know. What I do know is that if you keep blabbering here, the blood you end up spilling will definitely be more than Teacher He's," Lin Le muttered, fed up beyond endurance.

Lu Hongzhe: "..."

"Damn, Brother Le, you’re ruthless!" Lu Hongzhe shrank his neck in fright and finally settled down.

Only then did Lin Le collect himself and prepare to continue listening to the lesson, when a clear voice suddenly came down from the podium.

"Lin Le!"

He Ruolan, standing on the platform, was looking at him with a dark expression.

Clearly, she had taken Lin Le to be the one causing trouble in class.

By rights, Lin Le was now a martial grandmaster in the divine realm and had reached the peak of foundation establishment, yet at that single call of his name, he still felt a jolt in his heart. Long ago, being called on by a teacher in class had already left him with a deep psychological shadow.

"Stand up," He Ruolan said sternly.

Beside him, Lu Hongzhe covered his mouth, barely able to keep from laughing aloud at the spectacle.

Damn it...

Lin Le cursed inwardly. This time he had truly been made the scapegoat.

With no choice, under the watchful eyes of the whole class, he stood up.

"Come translate the sentence on the blackboard into Chinese," He Ruolan said, clearly intending to teach this disruptive student a lesson.

At once, many in the class began to gloat, already preparing themselves to watch Lin Le make a fool of himself.

Especially those students with good grades, who envied him for always stealing the spotlight and being pursued by the school belles. They were practically laughing in their hearts already.

So what if Young Master Lin was good at fighting? This was school, after all. Academics still came first. Only study, only grades, could prove everything.

"The Chinese meaning of this sentence is: 'Your ambitions must be grounded in reality and must have meaning. Set your eyes as far as the stars in the sky, but never forget to keep your feet planted firmly on the ground.'" Lin Le answered almost casually.

"Wow..."

A gasp went up from the class.

Even those students who had been waiting to see him stumble found it hard to believe that he had answered so effortlessly.

Even He Ruolan on the podium was surprised by his response, because the grammar in that sentence was extremely complex. Even students with relatively strong English would probably not translate it as smoothly as Lin Le had.

"By the way," Lin Le added, "that line is a famous saying by President Roosevelt of the United States."

This time, there was another wave of astonishment.

"Damn, impressive!" Lu Hongzhe, too, widened his eyes in shock.

Many of the girls in the class were now looking at Lin Le with admiration.

Ever since his name had spread through Haizhou No. 1 High School, Lin Le had been elevated in their eyes to an astonishing height. Some gossip-loving girls had already privately ranked him among the school’s most handsome boys.

Although he was still a little unkempt and dressed rather casually, without much regard for style, the girls believed that if Lin Le ever bothered to tidy himself up even a little, he would absolutely become a true school-heartthrob capable of enchanting everyone.

And now, by showing off his translation ability, he had revealed another side of himself to them: his learning and knowledge. That only made certain girls even more captivated.

Good-looking, skilled in combat, and well educated—how could they not be moved?

Lin Le was also secretly pleased with himself. What a joke. At the very least, he had once been the young master of the Lin family, all right? In middle school he had already been reading English magazines his father subscribed to, all right? A mere sentence or two in English—how could that possibly stump him?

After a few seconds of silence, He Ruolan finally said, "Not bad. Very well translated. I hope you will keep working hard."

Lin Le had thought the matter would end there, but during the independent study period in the middle of class, He Ruolan came to his desk again, tapped the corner of the desk with her crystal-clear fingertips, and motioned for him to step outside with her.

In the empty corridor, Lin Le and He Ruolan stood facing each other.

He Ruolan wore a proper professional suit. Beneath her black short skirt were a pair of long legs wrapped in stockings, and on top she wore a white chiffon blouse that could not conceal the beauty of her figure.

Even more precious was her face, exquisite to the extreme, so beautiful it was almost breath-stealing.

A pair of thin glasses rested on the bridge of her delicate, fair nose, making her entire presence seem even more intelligent and refined.

Lin Le could not help but marvel inwardly. She truly was a rare beauty—no wonder she had captivated Lu Hongzhe and nearly every male student at Haizhou No. 1 High School.

He had long since compared her in his mind. Purely in terms of appearance, He Ruolan was in no way inferior to the so-called number one beauty of Haizhou, Tang Nianchen.

If he had to choose, he would honestly prefer a woman like He Ruolan: gentle, graceful, and cultured.

"Teacher He, did you want to see me about something?" Lin Le asked.

"Lin Le, I wanted to talk to you about your studies," He Ruolan said with a rather serious expression.

"I’ve heard a few things about you. I know you may have some connections and background, but I hope you’ll remember that this is still a school. Please remember at all times that you are a student," He Ruolan said earnestly.

"Uh, Teacher, I don’t quite understand. What do you mean?" Lin Le asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Your family circumstances may be good enough that you don’t need to think too much about the future, but could you please avoid disturbing the other students in class? Not everyone has the same connections you do. For them, studying hard is the only path forward," He Ruolan counseled him gently but firmly.

"Disturbing others? Teacher He, you’re not talking about Lu Hongzhe, are you..." Lin Le thought, utterly speechless.