Chapter 331 - Chapter 331: 258, The future is promising
Chapter 331: 258, The future is promising
“Teacher Tian, when do we leave?” Qing Chen asked, needing a more precise time.
Because going to Xian City meant facing unknown environments in a strange city, and possibly unknown Time Travelers.
And the crisis in Los Angeles City was still unresolved.
Qing Chen knew that after provoking Huan Yu, the other party would definitely take action soon, so he had specifically instructed Liu Dezhu to act alone, creating an opportunity for them.
He couldn’t leave Los Angeles City in peace without resolving this matter.
Tian Hailong said, “In 8 days, I will take you guys to Xian City, just over an hour by high-speed rail. Give me your ID numbers in these few days, and I’ll book the tickets for you.”
“Okay,” Qing Chen said, “Thank you, Teacher. I’m going home to have dinner.”
“Alright, you all go back for your meals,” Tian Hailong waved his hand. The focus of this AMC math competition was on Qing Chen; the grade director had specifically instructed him to persuade Qing Chen to participate.
Among those selected to go were the top three, Xu Zimo, Wang Jiale, Qing Chen, and then from the top ten, the fifth place Zhou Xuanying, and the ninth place Xia Xiaoran, both consistently scoring 150 points in math.
As the five of them walked out of the office, Xu Zimo, the long-haired girl who had been looking at Qing Chen, said, “I know you’re short on cash, so you probably won’t hide your abilities this time, right?”
Qing Chen was taken aback.
During a particularly difficult monthly exam in the first year of high school, he scored 690, and Xu Zimo scored 645.
It seemed that from that day on, Xu Zimo had always remembered that.
When rumors started circulating that Qing Chen only aimed for 690 points, she was the first to believe them.
Compared to those students who loved to believe in rumors, she knew better just how difficult that monthly exam was. Even her homeroom teacher said that two of the math problems and the English reading comprehensions were deliberately off-syllabus and it was normal not to do well.
However, Qing Chen still scored 690 points.
That meant the rumor was true.
Later on, Xu Zimo studied even harder, almost always coming first in the grade, solidly surpassing Qing Chen.
But the problem was, Qing Chen’s score was always 690, it never changed.
This left Xu Zimo feeling frustrated and breathless because she knew Qing Chen wasn’t giving his all, and winning against him like that felt pointless.
Qing Chen glanced at Xu Zimo: “I always try my best in every exam.”
“Okay,” Xu Zimo pondered and then said, “We’re going together this time, so I can just learn some study methods from you.”
Zhou Xuanying, who was fifth, and Xia Xiaoran, who was ninth, looked over in surprise. The top student in the grade asking the third for study advice?
However, Qing Chen earnestly said, “My study methods won’t suit you, I mean it.”
With that, he turned and left.
Xu Zimo pursed her lips behind him.
In fact, Qing Chen wasn’t particularly concerned with the subjects of the education system any longer.
As the old saying goes, live and learn, he hadn’t stopped studying; on the contrary, he was working harder than before. Only now, the ‘syllabus’ he was studying was not confined to the school.
Qing Chen had a broader perspective.
…
…
When school was dismissed at noon, Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen didn’t return to their home on Xingshu Road, but were instead picked up by a driver and taken to the Huayang Hotel in Los Angeles City.
When Hu Xiaoniu got out of the car, it was Hu Dacheng’s secretary who met them.
The middle-aged secretary led Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen into the hotel, meanwhile telling the two, “The boss just arrived in Los Angeles City this morning.”
“Uncle Chen, why did my dad suddenly come to Los Angeles City again?” Hu Xiaoniu was puzzled. His father, Hu Dacheng, was extremely busy, spending nearly three hundred days a year on planes, a typical ‘airborne’ businessman.
However, after the time-travel incident, it was unusual for him to come to Los Angeles City, a third-tier small city, twice within a month.
From this perspective, Hu Xiaoniu also sensed his father’s attention to the Inner World. The only issue was, he still lacked the ability to bring anything back from the Inner World to help the family business.
This made Hu Xiaoniu feel somewhat ashamed, not until the last travel had he finally found a way to establish himself.
Hu Dacheng’s secretary explained to Hu Xiaoniu, “This time it’s due to some special circumstances. Also, Zhang Tianzhen’s parents asked the boss to bring some daily necessities to you.”
Upon entering the hotel private room, Hu Xiaoniu was surprised to find another familiar face present: “Uncle Zhang, what brings you here?”
Uncle Zhang, Zhang Chengze, was a close friend of Hu Dacheng and had helped the Hu Family a lot.
Zhang Chengze smiled, “It’s been a while, Xiao Niu, you’ve grown so much. Come, have a couple of drinks with your uncle.”
Hu Dacheng glanced at him: “They have classes this afternoon, they can’t drink.”
“Alright then,” Zhang Chengze said with a hint of regret.
“Dad, are you here in Los Angeles City on business?” Hu Xiaoniu subconsciously assumed they were there for business and also to check on him.
Then Hu Dacheng said, “We came specifically for you.”
“Ah?” Hu Xiaoniu was startled. “Has something happened?”
Hu Dacheng gestured for Secretary Chen to leave the room, then Zhang Chengze pointed to his own arm, “Xiao Niu, your uncle woke up this morning with a countdown on his arm. I thought, maybe I’ve become a Time Traveler now.”
Hu Xiaoniu gasped in shock; the acknowledged age range for Time Travelers on the internet was 10 to 35, and Zhang Chengze, at 42 years old, didn’t fit the profile.
Yet, 10 to 35 was just a pattern pieced together by netizens, no one had confirmed it for sure.