Chapter 41

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Now, since a graduate student under the tutelage of the scholarly Professor Zhu Youxiang has offered to help high school student Xu Yan by smoothing things over to exempt him from the college entrance exam and directly enroll him as a preparatory student at the prestigious White Deer Academy, how could Xu Yan possibly refuse?

Xu Yan perked up and immediately expressed his willingness to become an unregistered disciple of the White Deer Academy, hoping to eventually pass the assessment and become a formal disciple. Zhu Youxiang was very understanding and did not insist on any complicated enrollment ceremonies—making Xu Yan an unregistered disciple was merely a temporary measure to allow her to teach him martial techniques, and she didn't take it too seriously herself. She didn't bother with any formalities, just took out a student travel log, asked Xu Yan for his name, place of origin, and his parents' names, and recorded the information in the log, completing his enrollment.

"Alright, Young Master Xu, from now on, you are an unregistered disciple of the White Deer Academy in Shaanxi. Your recommender is me—I am Zhu Youxiang from Qian'an Prefecture in Shaanxi. In the future, if you encounter anyone from our dynasty, you can tell them that you are an unregistered disciple of the White Deer Academy."

Xu Yan nodded meekly, but inwardly he was skeptical—apart from you, Zhu Youxiang, I doubt I'll ever meet another person from the Ming Dynasty in this lifetime.

Seeing Xu Yan's somewhat dismissive expression, Zhu Youxiang said earnestly, "Young Master Xu, don't underestimate this identity. The White Deer Academy is one of the three major academies in our dynasty, highly respected both by the government and the people. Being a student of the White Deer Academy is a position of great honor."

"Yes, yes... Xuan Yun, when will we start our studies and training? Now that I'm a student of the White Deer Academy, can we start training?"

Zhu Youxiang shook her head and pulled out two small booklets from her sleeve—Xu Yan was almost certain that Zhu Youxiang's long sleeves must have a pocket dimension like Doraemon's, otherwise how could she keep pulling out so many good things?

"Young Master Xu, since you are now a student of the White Deer Academy—albeit an unregistered one—you need to be familiar with some of the academy's teachings and history. These two booklets are essential reading for new students. One is the 'White Deer Disciple Conduct Code,' personally compiled by the founder of our academy, Scholar Lü Liuxian. The other is the 'White Deer Centennial Annals,' which covers the history of our academy over the past few centuries. Read these books carefully. After you finish, I will test you, and once you pass, I will begin teaching you the skills."

The 'White Deer Disciple Conduct Code' was thinner, less than a hundred pages, while the 'Centennial Annals' was much thicker, about three to four hundred pages. Xu Yan flipped through a few pages and saw the traditional vertical script, which made his head spin. However, as someone who had survived the college entrance exam and postgraduate exams, he gritted his teeth and agreed, "Xuan Yun, don't worry, I'll finish reading them as soon as possible! Trust me, these books won't be a problem for me!"

Zhu Youxiang smiled, much like the calculus professor who had given Xu Yan a failing grade last semester. She said, "Very well, I look forward to it. Young Master Xu, please do your best!"

With that, Zhu Youxiang returned to watching her military channel, while Xu Yan took the two booklets back to his bedroom to study. He started with the thinner 'White Deer Disciple Conduct Code.'

At first, reading the traditional script was a bit challenging, but as he read more, he gradually got used to it. The 'White Deer Disciple Conduct Code,' written in classical Chinese, was not too difficult to understand. It mainly taught disciples rules for living and interacting with others, such as being filial to parents, friendly to siblings, respectful to teachers, and diligent in studies. It also emphasized humility, generosity, and avoiding greed and arrogance. When interacting with the public, one should be equal and kind, often seeking the company of virtuous people and learning from them, and always being cautious and trustworthy in words and deeds.

In the latter part of the code, Scholar Lü Liuxian particularly emphasized loyalty and bravery. He taught disciples to respect and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, to fight bravely against natural disasters and foreign invaders, and to be willing to sacrifice for the greater good, stating that dying for a righteous cause would bring eternal glory. Xu Yan rolled his eyes and lost interest in reading further.

Xu Yan felt that Scholar Lü Liuxian was like a nagging old lady, still using such outdated ideas to deceive people—this kind of thing might have worked in Lei Feng's era, but for a 90s kid like him, he couldn't understand the idea of voluntarily sacrificing oneself for a noble cause.

He put down the 'White Deer Disciple Conduct Code' and picked up the 'White Deer Centennial Annals.' He had braced himself for a boring read, but to his surprise, the book was quite interesting. It recorded the history of the White Deer Academy, including the achievements of past chancellors, deans, teachers, and outstanding students, as well as the academy's recognition by the imperial court over the years.

Xu Yan found the book quite engaging. He had initially thought the White Deer Academy was a place for bookworms, but the annals revealed that he was wrong. There were many heroic tales of White Deer teachers and students battling demons and monsters.

For example, one entry recorded that in a certain year and month, a White Deer lecturer, Mr. Zhang, encountered a natural disaster during his travels. Mr. Zhang, with his sword, fought bravely and defeated a powerful monster, saving an entire county and earning the imperial court's commendation. Another entry described how a group of students, during their graduation travels, encountered a disaster and fought bravely, slaying five monsters and saving over thirty thousand people, also earning the court's commendation.

Xu Yan found the predecessors of the White Deer Academy to be quite interesting, not at all the stuffy bookworms he had imagined. They seemed to enjoy traveling, adventuring, and fighting, much like modern urban hikers, with the teachers as the leaders and the students as the clumsy hikers. Xu Yan thought that if the White Deer Academy were renamed the White Deer Martial School, it would be a fitting name.

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In the morning, the sun was bright, and the air was fresh.

It was Monday, and Xu Yan had four classes in the morning, two of which were Western Economics.

Students who have studied economics know that Western Economics can be both shallow and deep—there are so many schools of economic thought, so many complex functions and curves, that very few students can truly understand the subject. During exams, if the teacher is slightly strict, the results are often disastrous. For economics students, Western Economics is as challenging as calculus and statistics, and very few can pass it on their own merit. Most rely on the teacher's leniency during grading.

Therefore, students in the economics department of Shudu University know that they must never skip Western Economics—since they can't pass the exam, they rely on the teacher's mercy. If they skip class and leave a bad impression on the teacher, they are doomed. The teacher doesn't need to deliberately fail them; just being fair during grading is enough to ensure they fail.

So, Xu Yan got up early and rushed to class without breakfast. He arrived at the lecture hall at 7:50 and saw Liu Yang, a chubby classmate, waving at him from the back row: "Yan, I'm here, I saved you a good seat!"

Xu Yan hurried over, but as he walked, he suddenly stopped because he saw a familiar face: Gong Xueting and a few other girls were sitting in the middle of the classroom.

"Xueting, are you also taking this class?"

Gong Xueting was organizing her notes and looked up, smiling when she saw Xu Yan. "Oh, it's Xu Yan, what a coincidence. You're also taking Professor Gu's Western Economics?"

"Um, um~" Xu Yan saw an empty seat next to Gong Xueting and sat down without hesitation—forget about the enthusiastic wave from the chubby Liu Yang behind him.

"Xueting, is this seat free? Is it okay if I sit here?"

Gong Xueting smiled, thinking that Xu Yan, whom she had just met yesterday, was quite bold. He had already sat down and was still pretending to ask if it was okay, as if she could kick him out.

"It's fine, Xu Yan, please sit. I never realized we were in the same class."

Xu Yan thought that was what he should have said. He smiled, "We just met yesterday, so it's normal that we didn't notice before."

Gong Xueting thought for a moment and smiled, "Yes, I almost forgot that we just met yesterday. It feels like we've known each other for a long time."

Hearing Gong Xueting's words, Xu Yan felt a warm glow in his heart and started to daydream—was this a hint? Did she have a good impression of him?

Because of their encounter yesterday, Xu Yan found it easier to start a conversation: "Xueting, did everything go well when you went back to the store yesterday?"

Gong Xueting nodded, "It was okay. When the crazy man caused trouble, the store manager and some colleagues hid, so we didn't suffer much loss. Later, we heard that he went crazy again at the East Gate and killed some people and police. When we went downstairs to evacuate, we saw blood everywhere—it was terrifying. Did you encounter that, Xu Yan?"

Before Xu Yan could answer, a short-haired, pretty girl sitting next to Gong Xueting interjected, "Ah, Xueting, is this the handsome guy you told us about yesterday? He really is handsome!"

Xu Yan was taken aback and looked at Gong Xueting, who blushed slightly, clearly feeling embarrassed about discussing him behind his back. She playfully hit the girl and said, "Let me introduce you. These are my roommates. The short-haired one is Chu Yan, and the one next to her is Chen Yaoyu—this is Xu Yan, a sophomore in the economics department, the one I told you about yesterday."

Chu Yan, dressed in casual clothes, looked energetic and lively. She smiled and greeted Xu Yan, "I'm Xueting's roommate and sister, I'm Chu Yan! Handsome guy, hello—did you encounter the murder at the mall yesterday?"

Chu Yan was very lively, and Xu Yan chatted with her about yesterday's events, which made her exclaim in amazement. Xu Yan found her a bit talkative but very friendly and approachable.

Chen Yaoyu, the other roommate, a tall girl with a long face and long hair, was much more reserved. She nodded slightly at Xu Yan but said nothing.

She was very beautiful, with a slender figure, and wore a gray suit that Xu Yan couldn't identify the brand of, but the quality was clearly high. She didn't say a word during the conversation, only listening when Gong Xueting talked about yesterday's events, but remained silent.

Chen Yaoyu exuded a subtle air of nobility, and her gaze was intense, as if she was indifferent to the people and events around her. Xu Yan thought her demeanor was similar to Zhu Youxiang's, but while Zhu Youxiang hid her arrogance behind polite manners, Chen Yaoyu was more direct.

Xu Yan was chatting with the girls when someone suddenly interjected, "Hehe, Xueting, Chu Yan, are you talking about the incident at the Wanhe Mall yesterday?"

Xu Yan turned to see a stranger sitting behind them. The man had thick eyebrows and a handsome face, was tall and well-built, and wore a blue Seven Wolves shirt and suit pants, looking mature and distinguished, not like a typical student. He smiled warmly at everyone.

Xu Yan didn't recognize the man, but Gong Xueting explained, "This is Senior Zhao Tianyu, an MBA student from Pengzhou, my hometown. He's from the same place as me—Senior Zhao, this is Xu Yan, a sophomore in the economics department."

For some reason, when introducing Zhao Tianyu, Xu Yan noticed that Gong Xueting's expression was a bit unnatural—not just her, but the other girls also seemed a bit strange. Chu Yan smiled ambiguously, and Chen Yaoyu, who had been indifferent, turned to look at them, a faint smile on her lips.

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