Chapter 8: The Plump Sheep

Knowledge points: 290
Pages flipped: High School Runes (206/862)

As Chen Meng silently recited the command to flip pages, he watched as the high school runes, drifting amidst the starry sea, rapidly turned before his eyes. One page, two pages... In the blink of an eye, the book had reached page 496—more than halfway through. A flood of knowledge about high school runes poured into Chen Meng’s mind, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

“Come on, Chen Meng, you’re the best.” After a brief moment of self-hypnosis, he remembered something and picked up the High School Alchemy textbook. Having already absorbed all the content of the High School Runes into his mind, he wondered if the same could be done with High School Alchemy.

“Absorb this book?” Chen Meng silently intoned, but the High School Alchemy textbook before him remained absolutely still.

“Come on, High School Alchemy!”

“Is my method wrong? Maybe I need to put my head against it?”

“Why is there still no reaction?”

“Could it be that I can only study one book at a time?” Chen Meng muttered. If that were the case, it didn’t really matter; for him, studying one or several books at once made no difference—he wouldn’t understand them anyway.

He reviewed the circumstances when he’d last absorbed the High School Runes into his mind. At that time, the alchemy teacher, Zhang Dali, had suddenly entered the classroom, and he’d pretended to be deeply engrossed in the book. Then, the content of High School Runes, which he hadn’t had time to put away, had flown straight into his brow.

Maybe he needed to pretend to read attentively?

Or perhaps it wasn’t just about pretending. He considered another possibility, lifted the High School Alchemy textbook with both hands, and silently declared in his heart, “I want to study this book.”

No sooner had he formed this thought than the High School Alchemy textbook before him transformed into a beam of white light, shrinking rapidly until it was no larger than a fingernail before zipping straight into his brow.

The process was identical to when the High School Runes had entered his mind.

“It worked.” Chen Meng murmured, though not particularly surprised. “Let’s try High School Forging next. These three are my priorities; as for the other general subjects, there are six classes totaling only 300 points, yet their page counts rival these three volumes. There’s no point in studying them for now. With limited knowledge points, I must focus first on runes, alchemy, and forging.”

He then took out the High School Forging textbook. Repeating the process, he watched as it too became a white light and shot into his brow.

Focusing his mind, he saw that the vast starry sea within his consciousness had changed. Where once there had been a single drifting book, there were now three: High School Runes, High School Alchemy, and High School Forging. However, the latter two remained unopened.

The data before his eyes also shifted:
Knowledge points: 290
Pages flipped: High School Runes (206/862), High School Alchemy (0/909), High School Forging (0/712)

He finally tried to bring in the Primeval Language textbook, but found it could no longer be absorbed into his sea of consciousness.

He surmised that three books must be the limit.

Understanding this, Chen Meng realized the ingenious use of his system: In the future, should anyone possess an unparalleled secret manual, as long as he held it—even without reading a word—he could silently absorb its contents into his mind without anyone being the wiser.

By the time others realized their secret manual had been pilfered, they might have no idea how it happened.

…

The next morning, Chen Meng awoke with only 500 yuan left and a heavy heart. It wasn’t a matter of how to spend the money, but how to get more. He had already borrowed as much as he could from relatives, and even tricked his parents out of 20,000 yuan. Where else could he get money? Continuing to scam his parents would be the easiest, but since they’d just handed over 20,000, they were probably still fretting, so it was best to wait a while.

With his backpack on, he made his way to school, his mind preoccupied with money.

How was he supposed to become a top student—or get into a prestigious university—without money?

At that moment, he saw a familiar luxury car parked at the school gate.

“A big spender!” Chen Meng muttered, his eyes brightening. If he wanted to make money, he had to find someone with money. Of all the people he knew, the wealthiest was undoubtedly Tang Wenjing.

“Should I rob her?”

Chen Meng eyed her carefully, guessing that she had a fair amount of cash on her and probably tens of thousands in her mobile payment balance. But Tang Wenjing arrived and left school punctually every day, giving him no chance to rob her.

Besides, he was a good student—how could he stoop to robbery? And robbery wasn’t even that profitable; kidnapping would be more lucrative. The real money wasn’t with Tang Wenjing, but with her family.

If he kidnapped Tang Wenjing and demanded a hundred thousand or so from her parents, there probably wouldn’t be a problem. The trouble was, he might not live to spend the money!

Lost in these wild thoughts, Chen Meng entered the school and began his classes. Today’s runes lesson brought him comfort; his recent efforts hadn’t been in vain, for he actually understood the material.

After class, he went to eat as usual.

At the cafeteria, Chen Meng saw the line stretching out the door and was speechless.

Did the school administrators have water in their brains? Why not open a few more windows? Ten minutes to eat, twenty minutes to queue.

“Is the ‘fat sheep’ also in line?”

Seeing Tang Wenjing in the queue, Chen Meng was surprised; he hadn’t expected the rich heiress to have no special privileges.

At that moment, a plan formed in his mind.

But there was no rush to act. First, he headed straight to the school’s recharge window, intending to put his last 500 yuan on his card. Each knowledge point mattered—every little bit helped.

The recharge window was crowded too; he had to wait nearly ten minutes.

“There’s already over 500 on your card. No need to add more!” said the middle-aged woman.

“No, I need to.” Chen Meng looked at her with utmost seriousness. “No one needs to top up more than I do. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Alright, alright,” the woman replied, thinking he was a bit odd.

“Foolish woman, once I get into a top university, you’ll see why I need to recharge,” Chen Meng thought. He spent another 500 yuan, feeling quite pleased. Another five knowledge points earned. He’d even transferred his remaining phone balance to make sure he could recharge today. Unlike the shameless apps of his previous life that charged withdrawal fees, everything here was free, and cash could be withdrawn directly from mobile devices.

Empowered by runes, the world’s technology had already surpassed that of the old Earth.

Now that he’d recharged, he needed to spend the money quickly so he could ask his family for more and recharge again. He splurged on three of the most expensive dishes in the cafeteria—a single meal cost nearly thirty yuan, when he usually spent less than fifteen.

After getting his food, Chen Meng scanned the hall and quickly spotted Tang Wenjing eating alone.

Everyone at school knew about Tang Wenjing’s family background and kept their distance: boys felt outclassed, girls couldn’t compete. Tang Wenjing herself exuded an unapproachable air, reinforcing everyone’s impressions.

Having made up his mind to get money from Tang Wenjing, Chen Meng no longer cared about embarrassment or saving face.

From now on, call me Chen Shameless.

Tray in hand, Chen Meng walked over and sat opposite Tang Wenjing.

The people around looked on in shock—who was this audacious fellow daring to sit with Tang Wenjing?

“I hope you don’t mind me sitting here,” Chen Meng said cheerfully, glancing at her lunch. A balanced meal, nothing extravagant, costing just over ten yuan. So even the wealthy didn’t always eat delicacies—assuming the school offered them, of course.

“As you wish,” Tang Wenjing replied, glancing at him. Seeing it was a classmate, she said no more.

“So cool, so reserved,” Chen Meng mused, but he wasn’t here just to make small talk. He was on a mission.

He smiled. “Tang Wenjing, how about we make a deal?”

Tang Wenjing froze, curiosity piqued. Two high schoolers—what kind of deal?

Chen Meng pointed at the cafeteria queue. “I’ve done the math: from entering the cafeteria to getting your food, it takes ten to twenty minutes—let’s say fifteen on average. That’s fifteen minutes a day, seventy-five minutes a week, and with thirteen weeks left until the college entrance exam, that’s 975 minutes—16.25 hours. Considering we only have about four hours of actual class time a day, that’s a lot.”

He paused for effect.

Impressed? My math is pretty solid.

“What’s your point?” Tang Wenjing asked, eyebrow raised, as if wondering if he’d lost his mind.

“My point is, I can queue for you. You’d save all that time for studying or resting. I know your grades—they hover around the top university cutoff. Saving this time could directly boost your score, maybe enough to get you in. Of course, you’re rich, but money can’t buy college entrance exam points—not directly, right?”

Chen Meng thought it was a proposal she couldn’t refuse. He certainly wouldn’t, if someone offered to queue for him every day. Who could tolerate such lines?

Tang Wenjing was stunned; she’d never expected him to propose such a deal. “Since this is a business transaction, what do you want in return?”

“Money. I need money!” Chen Meng answered without a trace of embarrassment. “One hundred yuan a day—I’ll queue and get your lunch. I can even bring it to your classroom to save you travel time. If you prefer to eat in the cafeteria, I’ll get your food and wait for you, and you can order whatever you like. It’s a bargain for you; for someone as wealthy as you, it’s pocket change in exchange for a possible increase in your score, even if just by one or two points.”

By the end, Chen Meng was almost convinced himself. Clearly, he was a marketing genius in his past life and should have gone into sales.

“I see…” Tang Wenjing considered. “But one hundred yuan is too much. I could find someone else to do it for fifty, maybe even less.”

Was she bargaining?

Chen Meng thought he understood. “Fine, I’ll go further—you won’t have to pay for lunch at all. I’ll cover it, saving you even the time spent recharging each month. And I guarantee no one else will provide better service.”

Tang Wenjing nodded. “I’m not sure why you’re doing this, but I agree. You’re right, the money means little to me, and if you’re willing to swallow your pride for it, you must really need it.”

Was this charity, not the result of my persuasive sales pitch?

“There are two things you got wrong,” Tang Wenjing added. “First, college entrance exam scores can be bought—they’re just expensive. Even if I scored zero, my father could buy my way into a top university. I just don’t want to get in that way. Second, I don’t need to recharge monthly; my card is already loaded with enough for the entire year.” She tossed her card to Chen Meng. “No need to buy my lunch. I’ll never use up the balance, and I won’t bother to get a refund after graduation. Handle it.”

With that, Tang Wenjing packed her things and left.

“She really is a ‘fat sheep,’” Chen Meng thought, watching her go. “Wait, you didn’t say how you’ll pay me!”

…

That night, Chen Meng received a transfer from Tang Wenjing.

Thirteen weeks—6,500 yuan!

Not only prepaid, but she even included payment for the day already past. Are all rich people this extravagant?

If only I knew a few more like her, Chen Meng thought to himself.