Chapter 39

Although the Zhongzhou School was very lively during the competition, after the competition ended, the students gradually left, and the entire school suddenly became quiet.

Probably, apart from the university department, there were very few students left in the middle school department. The whole campus was filled with a sense of tranquility and tidiness.

Zhou Xian took off the black iron helmet on his head and looked at the empty school, feeling a bit melancholic.

Unlike other students, Zhou Xian did not leave the school but chose to stay. Among the middle school students, Zhou Xian's situation was quite rare. In fact, in the entire D-area dormitory, including Zhou Xian, there were only three students who stayed.

After looking out the window, Zhou Xian used his terminal to enter the school forum, but there were not many people there either.

"Except for the heat, staying at our school for the summer vacation is actually quite nice."

Zhou Xian muttered to himself, then looked at the time; it was already 6:30 in the morning.

"The Emperor player has finally gotten in touch, so the next steps should be easier to handle."

Due to Ying Tianlong's sudden coma and Li Zheng's disappearance, the previous matters had been left unresolved.

"But..."

Zhou Xian suddenly thought of Wang Dalei, who had fallen into a coma at the school. The official statement from the school was that Wang Dalei had suffered from heatstroke. However, in reality, he was still in the hospital, and his symptoms were the same as Ying Tianlong's.

If it weren't for overhearing a doctor's mutter, Zhou Xian wouldn't have connected these two incidents.

"If I could find that skinny monkey, maybe I could solve the problem..."

The line "It's the soul again" that the guy said had caught Zhou Xian's attention.

"Forget it, it's time to work now." Zhou Xian looked at the time and shook his head.

Zhou Xian participated in the summer job not for the money.

He simply had nowhere else to go and had to stay at the school. To stay, Zhou Xian needed a legitimate reason, and this was the real reason he joined the summer job.

Of course, because of this, Zhou Xian had to participate in the daily cleaning activities.

He found his swimming trunks, put them on, and headed toward the school's swimming pool—cleaning the pool was his task for the day.

"Good morning, Xiao Zhou! I didn't expect to see you again this year!"

As soon as he arrived, the class leader of the cleaning team greeted Zhou Xian.

Eighty percent of the students in the cleaning team were from Zhongzhou University, and they didn't really have much to talk about with Zhou Xian.

However, Brother Wang had also participated in the work-study program last year and was Zhou Xian's class leader, so they knew each other.

"Good morning, Brother Wang." After greeting, Zhou Xian took a cloth and prepared to head to the swimming pool.

These were all university students, and Zhou Xian, a high school student, couldn't really join in their conversation.

"Congratulations, Xiao Zhou, your club won the middle school championship this year."

"Did Brother Wang watch our middle school competition?"

"Yep." Brother Wang nodded. "Although I heard that the major clubs all withdrew from this year's middle school cup, your performance was still outstanding. If it were on our university side, you might have made it to the quarterfinals. Especially that Zhang Taihao on your team... tsk tsk, his level is really good, comparable to professionals."

"It's not that good. The main players from the Esports Club and the Changsheng Club didn't participate, so we were just lucky."

If it weren't for the special circumstances, the Longmu Club would have had a tough battle. It was only because of this year's unique situation that Zhou Xian's team smoothly entered the finals.

Of course, if Zhou Xian hadn't caught up at the last moment, the Longmu Club would have lost its qualification—well, in reality, Zhou Xian used his save/load ability to run nine times, almost dropping to level 64.

Zhou Xian's "luck" was indeed lucky.

"By the way, Xiao Zhou, you're really lucky."

Brother Wang suddenly winked at Zhou Xian with a "you're in luck" expression.

"What do you mean, Brother Wang?"

"Xiao Zhou, you won't be lonely this year. When you get to the swimming pool, there will be a surprise!"

"…Is there another high school student here?" Zhou Xian had already guessed.

"Ah, that's no fun. I should have let you see for yourself." Brother Wang shook his head. "Yeah, you guessed right, it's a first-year high school student like you. And she's a beauty. If I weren't graduating next year, I would definitely go after her!"

"…" Zhou Xian struggled to squeeze out two words.

"Ha ha! Xiao Zhou, you don't understand. When a man is lonely, what he needs most is a girl who can warm his heart! I've been determined to get out of being single since I started university, and although I'm still single, I still have hope! Xiao Zhou, you should seize this opportunity! She's a vibrant beauty!"

Faced with Brother Wang's flirtatious expression, Zhou Xian shook his head. "Sorry, I'm still a minor." "You're Zhou Xian, right!" At that moment, someone nearby recognized Zhou Xian. "Xiao Liu, you know this little brother too!" Brother Wang laughed and patted Zhou Xian's shoulder. "During the middle school cup, I was bored and went to watch. Zhou Xian is the main player of the Longmu Club. I heard from the middle school department that he's also known as a 'cold-blooded school flower killer'…" Just because he refused the school flower's invitation at the dance, how did even the university department know about this? Zhou Xian was speechless. "Brother Wang, I'm ready. I'll head to the pool now." With that, he quickly left.

Hearing Xiao Liu's words, Brother Wang almost tripped and fell. "At such a young age, to have the school flower's attention, how hateful… how hateful…"

The perennially single Brother Wang was now in tears.

...

"Hello! Zhou Xian!"

On the other side, as soon as Zhou Xian entered the pool, he heard a familiar voice. Looking at the source of the voice, his mouth twitched.

"Hello… Beidou."

This was indeed a "surprise."

Beidou was wearing a strapless swimsuit with a skirt, looking more like she was on vacation than cleaning.

"Beidou, why are you here? Aren't you from another school?" Zhou Xian couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Hehe~ I'm now a genuine first-year high school student at Zhongzhou School, with an official admission notice! After receiving the notice, I rushed over! You didn't know, but if new students participate in the work-study program, they can be assigned to dormitories early! And it's free during the summer!"

Beidou's discovery of this benefit surprised Zhou Xian. In Zhou Xian's impression, Beidou… well, although it might be impolite, Beidou was indeed a very carefree and oblivious girl. No, calling her a child might be more appropriate.

"…Why do I feel like you're thinking something ominous?" Beidou squinted at Zhou Xian.

"Cough, cough. You're overthinking it. Absolutely not."

Zhou Xian wouldn't tell her about his inner thoughts.

"Alright, let's start cleaning. After we finish, we can enjoy the cool pool!" Beidou suddenly got excited.

"Why do I feel like we're in completely different worlds…?"

Shaking his head, Zhou Xian also started working.

Zhongzhou School was very large, with all levels from elementary to university, so it required many people to clean.

Of course, the school could use automatic cleaning robots, but remember, it was summer. Using robots would be wasteful. Plus, many students were staying, so the school decided to have the students clean during the summer.

As time passed, the sun gradually rose in the sky.

"It's only 9:30 in the morning, and it's already so hot." Zhou Xian wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the half-cleaned pool. Although the sun was intense, everyone was working hard because once they finished, they could enjoy the pool.

"Everyone, gather!"

At that moment, Brother Wang came out.

Hearing his voice, Zhou Xian also walked over.

"Everyone, pay attention. Our class will clean the old school building this afternoon. After lunch, we'll go directly there and won't come back here!"

Hearing Brother Wang's words, everyone was unhappy. "Why?"

"We haven't enjoyed the pool yet!"

The commotion below made Brother Wang a bit awkward. "Everyone, we need to be considerate of the girls! And this is a requirement from the counselor and teachers!"

"Old Wang, that's why you can't get a girlfriend!"

Someone said, and the university students laughed, making Brother Wang lose his authority.

"Brother Wang, why the sudden change?" Zhou Xian quickly asked.

Brother Wang shook his head helplessly. "The girls say the old school building is haunted, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"Haunted?"

Beidou's eyes immediately lit up, and she curiously approached.

Brother Wang said helplessly, "There's no choice. Most of the cleaning team assigned to the old school building are girls, and they refuse to go. The teachers have no choice, so they assigned us, mostly boys, to go—Beidou, are you okay with this?"

Beidou, who was already eager, wouldn't refuse.

"Yep! I want to go! I love haunted places! If it's really haunted, I want to see it! I want to see it!"

Zhou Xian's mouth twitched.

Although Beidou was interested in haunted places, the others seemed uninterested. In the end, Brother Wang had to promise to give everyone a piece of equipment with a rating of at least 70 points to make them agree.

"Truly a peaceful day."

Looking at the noisy students, Zhou Xian couldn't help but sigh.

Compared to the time facing the Tiantian Club, this kind of life is what life should be…