Chapter 56: Awkward

When Su Ling was preparing to leave school for Mo Ran’s house, she went to find Gao Fei one more time.

As she walked out of Teacher Gao’s office, she held a large stack of materials in her arms.

“What is this?”

“Teacher gave them to me. She said she compiled these exam questions from the past few years.”

Su Ling was truly moved at that moment.

In the Lower City, very few students actually wanted to learn.

Gao Fei could have easily ignored them, just like the other teachers did.

But Gao Fei was stubborn.

Gao Fei’s words from just a moment ago still echoed in Su Ling’s ears.

“Study hard and strive to get into a good university so your mother can live a better life.”

Su Ling had also asked why Gao Fei cared so much about her.

Gao Fei had only smiled.

“As long as you want to learn, I will give you the resources.”

Inside the office.

Gao Fei stood by the window, watching Su Ling’s departing figure and sighing.

Half a month was still too short.

Su Ling’s previous grades in physics and math were merely passable, but her other four subjects were a disaster.

Forget university; even a vocational college would be a struggle.

Still, she had given the materials she had worked so hard to compile to the girl for free.

Just as she said, as long as Su Ling wanted to learn, she would give.

“You’re completely wasting your time.”

A nearby teacher shook her head while eating a small cupcake.

“Want some? It’s hazelnut chocolate.”

“No, thank you.”

Gao Fei waved her hand.

“Teacher Gao, it’s fine to have ideals, but you have to look at where we are. If you go to the classroom right now, their class activity might not even be over yet.”

The teacher licked the remaining chocolate from her lips while trying to persuade her.

In her eyes, being a teacher here was just a way to collect a paycheck and idle the days away.

Gao Fei shook her head with a smile.

“What if?”

“I am of the [Hope] Sequence. I believe that no matter where we are, there is always hope.”

“Then let me ask you, what is your current cultivation probability?”

[Hope] and [Despair] were the most unique of all the Sequences.

Witches who walked these two Sequences cultivated what was known as “probability.”

When you reached the end of [Hope], the probability of every event you hoped for would become one.

At that stage, hope would no longer be just a concept, but an inevitable fact.

“Uh, 1%.”

Gao Fei looked a bit embarrassed.

Her talent wasn’t very good.

Her senior sisters were all at 2% or higher, and one of the most talented had even cultivated to 10%, which was terrifyingly high.

“Your own hope is so low, yet you’re thinking about them having hope?”

“Sigh, Teacher Gao, you’re still a newcomer. You’ll understand after you’ve stayed here a few more years. The Lower City doesn’t believe in hope.”

The teacher patted Gao Fei on the shoulder and returned to her seat to start snacking on melon seeds while watching a drama.

Gao Fei stood in place, watching until Su Ling’s figure completely vanished below.

“…”

***

By the time Su Ling followed Mo Ran back to her house, it was already 3:00 PM.

Just like before, Mo Ran’s home was simple but very clean.

Su Yao carried a large bag of ingredients, saying she was going to cook a delicious meal for Su Ling and Mo Ran tonight.

Mo Ran originally didn’t want Su Yao to go through so much trouble, but when Su Yao said, “Be good and listen,” it felt as if something had struck Mo Ran’s heart, leaving it feeling tingly.

This was something she had never experienced from her own older sister.

“Hee-hee, how about I make Cola Chicken Wings for you tonight?”

Su Yao went into Mo Ran’s kitchen.

It was frighteningly clean, as if it had never been used.

That was indeed the case.

Ever since Mo Tong joined Shao Nian You, she always came back very late and usually bought prepared food.

Mo Ran herself was entirely immersed in her exercises and would just grab whatever was available to eat.

“Cola Chicken Wings? What’s that?”

Mo Ran tilted her head.

“Ling Ling taught me. They’re very delicious.”

Su Yao winked at Mo Ran.

Mo Ran looked at her and then at Su Ling, a flash of envy crossing her eyes.

Their relationship was so good.

Su Ling had indeed taught Su Yao how to make Cola Chicken Wings.

Although there was no cola in the Witch World, carbonated drinks existed and were quite popular.

Su Ling had adapted the recipe, and the taste was actually quite good.

Bai Miao used to really like eating them, but…

Su Ling’s eyes dimmed for a moment, but she quickly returned to normal.

She pulled out the practice problems Gao Fei had given her and waved them.

“Want to look at these together?”

“Sure.”

Mo Ran nodded.

“Then you two study hard. I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner!”

Su Yao had already tied on her apron and draped her thick white braid over her left shoulder, speaking with a smile.

The exercises Gao Fei provided solved an urgent problem for Su Ling.

Su Ling knew that if she wanted to raise her score quickly within half a month, the most effective way was to do practice problems.

It was too late to learn entirely new knowledge; her main goal was to become familiar with the question types and the various “traps” associated with them.

After all, this was exam-oriented education.

She had been trained by such a system for over ten years, so she was naturally adept at it.

The questions Gao Fei gave were mostly basic ones, which weren’t very useful for Mo Ran.

So, Su Ling studied them on her own using her textbook.

When she truly didn’t understand something, she went online to pester the AI Miss.

Of course, the free AI Miss online had a people-pleasing personality and was prone to nonsense.

Several times, the explanations given to Su Ling were completely nonsensical.

When Su Ling really had no other choice, she would ask Mo Ran for help.

However, she only asked after she saw that Mo Ran had finished a problem and had a moment to spare.

People said studying was a torment, but once you became immersed in it, you would find that time was never enough.

Mo Ran seemed to notice Su Ling’s reservations, so she took the initiative to tell her not to be so restrained.

She told Su Ling to ask whenever she had a question, as it wouldn’t disturb her.

Su Ling scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

‘Haha, I was found out.’

Outside the window, it soon grew dark.

She had just finished understanding a biology problem regarding a Witch’s Mana Tide, which was quite interesting.

Su Ling stretched her limbs and realized it was already 7:00 PM.

She happened to be hungry.

“Hee-hee, thank you so much, Mo Ran.”

Su Ling thanked her sincerely.

Mo Ran had truly held nothing back, teaching Su Ling all her methods for solving the problems.

The corners of Mo Ran’s mouth curved up slightly.

“No need to be so polite.”

Sitting next to Su Ling, the fragrant scent on the girl’s body — that refreshing, faint scent of cherry blossoms — was truly invigorating.

Furthermore, that soft and sweet voice was incredibly captivating, feeling like a kitten scratching at her heart.

Regardless, she was enjoying herself.

“It’s getting late, the food should be ready. Let’s go eat.”

“Mhm.”

Mo Ran nodded.

Just then, a vibration came from Mo Ran’s bed.

It was Mo Ran’s phone alarm going off.

Usually, this was the time Mo Ran would start memorizing books, so she had set an alarm.

Mo Ran picked up the phone from under her pillow and unlocked it, intending to turn off the alarm.

Unexpectedly, just as she turned it off, she accidentally touched the recording page that she hadn’t closed since last night.

Worst of all, she had just unplugged her headphones.

Suddenly —

“Haha!”

“Is it comfortable, my baby?”

“Scream louder!”

Su Ling, who was getting ready to head out, suddenly heard Ji Lingyuan’s voice.

Her delicate body trembled instantly.

What the hell?

She turned her head blankly to look at Mo Ran.

At this moment, Mo Ran’s face was deathly pale, and her mind was a total blank.

By the time she reacted and tried to turn off the phone, she accidentally hit the volume button instead.

The volume bar on the screen shot upward.

Oh no…

“Ooooh… Oh-ho-ho!”

Su Ling’s “Oh-ho-ho” laugh instantly echoed through the entire house.