Chapter 99: Leaping from the Building?

After chatting for a few more moments, Mo Xiaoyi hung up the phone.

Immediately afterward, Chen Meng received a call from Zhang Ya.

"Mo Xiaoyi has been sent back. He's fine, but it seems word of his situation has spread around school. A lot of the guys he beat up before have formed a 'Victims' Association.' They're planning to give him a good thrashing to vent their anger. There are already over fifty of them. If you have his number, give him a call quickly and tell him to lay low outside for a couple of days before coming back."

"No need," Chen Meng replied helplessly. "He just called me. He has plenty of self-awareness and has no intention of returning to school."

He then explained Mo Xiaoyi's situation to Zhang Ya.

***

The next day, Chen Meng went to the martial arts gym and found a rather dejected Mo Xiaoyi.

The once lawless honey badger of a guy was now utterly cowed.

"What are you looking at? Laugh if you want," Mo Xiaoyi muttered helplessly.

"Nothing to laugh at. I can only offer my sympathies for what you've been through," Chen Meng said, sitting down next to him. "What do you plan to do next? With your personality, you can't possibly just give up like this."

"How could I give up? I'm planning to take the second ascension potion. The Azure Potion the school prepared for me is still in my hands—thankfully, they didn't confiscate it." Mo Xiaoyi grinned. "Back at school, I was the golden boy for a while. Whatever resources I wanted, the school never refused. I guess I'll just have to look back on those days with nostalgia."

"It's a pity the golden boy has turned into a scrap heap," Chen Meng teased. "Actually, Senior, I think you should go back to school. You should silently endure everyone's insults, sarcasm, and ridicule. And if you have a girlfriend or a fiancée, it would be perfect if she came to break up with you or call off the engagement. Just think about it—when you rise to the top again, your story will be legendary. If I were the author, I'd write: 'On the day Mo Xiaoyi's fiancée came to call off the engagement, the future True God Mo Xiaoyi roared, "Thirty years to the east, thirty years to the west, do not underestimate a youth just because he is poor!"' Don't you think that has a nice ring to it?"

Mo Xiaoyi stared at him, dumbfounded. What kind of bizarre consolation was this?

"Junior, with an imagination like yours, it's a crime you aren't writing web novels. But do you take me for an idiot? Even setting aside whether I can actually make a comeback, I'd have to be out of my mind to voluntarily go back just to get mocked, insulted, and beaten up. I know everyone says behind my back that I'm a hardheaded idiot, but being stubborn doesn't mean I'm stupid. If I can't win a fight, I know how to run. I can live a perfectly comfortable life out here, so why would I go looking for trouble?" Mo Xiaoyi rolled his eyes. There was no way he was going back.

"Ah, what a shame. When you make it big in the future, Senior, your biography is going to lack a lot of dramatic flair," Chen Meng sighed.

"Heh." Mo Xiaoyi couldn't even be bothered to reply. He had a strong feeling Chen Meng was just trying to mess with him.

***

That afternoon, Chen Meng headed to school.

He had no choice; all the seniors were undergoing their college entrance physical examinations today. Even though he was exempt from the test, he still had to show up to get his exemption stamp.

When he arrived at the campus, he was just about to head toward his classroom when he noticed a crowd of students rushing outside. Quite a few of them were his own classmates.

"Ni Hu, what are you doing?!"

"Calm down! Don't do anything foolish!"

"Jumping off the roof won't solve anything! So what if you can't ascend to a divine-body lifeform? You still have other options in the future. Becoming a divine-body isn't everything!"

Chen Meng paused, startled. He looked up at the roof of the academic building and saw a familiar figure standing right on the edge.

It was Ni Hu!

Having consumed the ascension potion, Chen Meng's vision had improved by leaps and bounds. Even from this distance, he could see Ni Hu's face with crystal clarity.

But the fact that Ni Hu was actually planning to jump off the building caught him completely off guard.

"Why is he trying to jump?" Chen Meng grabbed one of his classmates and asked.

Seeing it was Chen Meng, the classmate said hurriedly, "Chen Meng! You weren't here this morning—actually, you haven't been here in ages, so you wouldn't know. Our class had the physical examinations for the college entrance exams this morning, and Ni Hu failed. He's been disqualified from ever ascending to a divine-body lifeform. He was always the top student in our class, and getting into Jiangdu University was a sure thing for him. But now that he failed the physical, Jiangdu University definitely won't accept him. Even second-tier schools like Jiangzhou University probably won't take him either. He couldn't handle the blow, so he's trying to jump."

Chen Meng stood frozen for a long moment, struggling to process the news.

Honestly, he never would have expected Ni Hu to fail the physical. The probability of that happening to someone like him was astronomically low.

Up on the roof, Chen Meng's homeroom teacher was already trying to talk Ni Hu down, while the dean of students stood nearby, breaking out in a cold sweat. This was a school, after all; if a student died here, the fallout would be catastrophic.

"You're here."

Tang Wenjing walked over, having noticed him in the crowd.

"Yeah, what a mess," Chen Meng muttered. "First Mo Xiaoyi, and now another fallen genius. Stand back a bit so you don't get hit if he jumps. I'm going up to talk to him."

"I don't think you should," Tang Wenjing said after a moment's thought. "You took his number-one spot. He already holds a massive grudge against you."

"All the more reason to go. If he's going to hate me for that, I might as well give him a reason to die with his eyes wide open," Chen Meng joked. "Seriously, though, I'm the only divine-body lifeform here. If he actually jumps, who else has the reflexes to catch him? Only me. If I don't step up now, who will? Besides, I'm technically a temp for the Law Enforcement Bureau. If I just stand by and watch the show, they'll probably discipline me tomorrow."

With that, Chen Meng slipped into the building and made it to the roof in under thirty seconds.

"Chen Meng?"

The dean's face lit up with relief the moment he saw Chen Meng. A savior had finally arrived.

The homeroom teacher's eyes also brightened. He knew Chen Meng had already ascended to a divine-body lifeform; if anyone had the physical capability to pull Ni Hu back in time, it was him.

"Alright, leave this to me. You guys step back," Chen Meng said calmly.

He walked over to the safety railing near Ni Hu and glanced down. Spotting a specific figure below, a faint smile played on his lips.

He turned and approached, stopping less than three meters away from Ni Hu.

"Chen Meng!"

Ni Hu grit his teeth, his voice low and raspy. "Why did you have to take away my number-one spot? Why did I have to be stripped of even the chance to ascend to a divine-body lifeform? Tell me, why? Why did I have to grow up in a family like mine? Why is the world so unfair to me? Why?! Why does all of this have to happen to me?!"

Ni Hu's face was twisted in anguish; he was clearly on the verge of a complete breakdown.

The dean and the homeroom teacher were sweating bullets, but Chen Meng remained perfectly composed. "You ask me why? There aren't that many answers. The world is inherently unfair. If you think dying will solve all your problems, then go ahead and jump. From this height, it's best to go headfirst so you die instantly. That's my final piece of advice to you, for old times' sake."

The dean and the teacher stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. Who in their right mind encouraged someone to jump? And what kind of advice was "go headfirst"?

"You... you didn't come to stop me?" Ni Hu asked, momentarily stunned.

"Persuade you? Why would I do that?" Chen Meng replied coolly. "Whether you live or die has absolutely nothing to do with me. Your death won't harm me, nor will it benefit me. It's as simple as that. If you want to jump, get on with it. Your top spot is gone, your hope of becoming a divine-body lifeform is gone. You're just a coward and a waste of space. If you don't die, you'll just be wasting food. Dying is actually better for you—think of it as a relief. It's perfect."

Chen Meng spoke with such indifference that it sounded as though he couldn't wait for Ni Hu to leap.

"Chen Meng, isn't that a bit much?" the dean whispered anxiously.

"Shut up. This is none of your business," Chen Meng snapped. The dean shrank back in fright. Chen Meng turned his gaze back to Ni Hu. "What's wrong? Don't have the guts? Or were you just putting on a show to gain sympathy? You absolute coward, you're pathetic. I really overestimated you."

"That's a lie! Who says I don't dare?!" Ni Hu roared, pushed over the edge. "Since you all want me dead, I'll show you! I'll do it right now!"

With a desperate cry, he threw himself off the ledge.

Chen Meng smiled with satisfaction. "Well, at least you've got some guts. Guess you weren't faking after all."

Beside him, the homeroom teacher and the dean stood frozen in absolute horror. What kind of monster was this guy?!