Chapter 179 - 178: The Last Day
Yang Shen left the subsequent arrangements to Yuan Rui, who would handle the acquisition of Cangwu Garden under the name of Changshen Biotechnology.
Of course, Yang Shen himself would handle the final payment; he held the purse strings. Yuan Rui was responsible for all the tedious legwork. It was a disciple’s duty to take on such tasks.
As for the renovation of Cangwu Garden, after some consideration, Yang Shen decided to entrust the project to Cao Wei’s father’s company.
People who are confident in creating mutually beneficial relationships aren’t afraid of owing favors. Yang Shen didn’t know what kind of person Cao Wei’s father was, but he knew one thing.
His daughter was truly obedient.
’As my only female disciple, what’s wrong with spoiling her a little?’
The renovation of Cangwu Garden would be divided into three main parts. The first was the rezoning of the "park" area. The Yang Family couldn’t possibly use the entire massive space, nor could they plant that many Spirit Plants.
Of the 80 acres, the Cangwu Tea Garden took up about eight. Yang Shen planned to section off an additional twelve acres behind the tea garden, isolating it from the public areas to serve as a preparatory Spirit Field.
Physical barriers and spatial separation would also grant the Yang Family sufficient privacy for their daily lives and future development.
As for the remaining 60-plus acres, they would be left as they were for the time being. A park was a park, and it’s not like anyone visited anyway.
Twenty acres was more than enough. What other family had twenty acres? You couldn’t ask for more!
Once the family developed further, he would find a way to make the entire Cangwu Garden completely private.
Besides, the upkeep wouldn’t cost much. With their Spirit Plant Inheritance, the Yang Family had no need to hire outsiders for landscaping.
Within the 20 acres they would use, the only area with actual buildings was the Cangwu Tea Garden, which was divided into a front and back courtyard.
The front courtyard wouldn’t require major alterations—just some enhancements for privacy. It would continue to serve as a reception area for guests.
The back courtyard contained four buildings in total, arranged in a hollow square pattern and staggered in height.
The main building, which was also the tallest in Cangwu Garden at four stories, would be converted into the ancestral hall and council chamber for the family estate.
Of the remaining three buildings, one would be more than sufficient for living quarters. It would need to be renovated to include bathrooms, a kitchen, storage areas, a living room, and other amenities.
To be clear, that’s an entire building, not just a single room.
Even the smallest building in the inner courtyard was two stories tall, with over 900 square meters of usable space.
It was an extravagant amount of space, so much that it would feel empty. Their family wasn’t that large.
But if he didn’t want to deal with the hassle of constant renovations year after year, it was best to be thorough the first time around. At the very least, the foundational work had to be completed in one go.
The ancestral home of a Martial Arts Clan didn’t need to be excessively luxurious. The existing Cangwu Tea Garden was already beautiful, with its flying eaves, dark roof tiles, red corridors, and painted pillars. It had a lotus pond out front and a clearing in a bamboo grove out back that could serve as a Martial Arts Arena.
He handed the renovation requirements to Cao Wei, whose side would produce the design blueprints. Once Yang Shen gave his approval, construction would begin immediately. He hoped to have it all finished before the start of the school year.
Yang Shen also acknowledged the significant role the "Yang Family Army" had played in the recent events.
After the college entrance exams, the members of the Yang Family Army had gone down different paths. Most of them hadn’t been able to get into Jiangti. Yang Shen had initially planned to let the "eight disciples" situation lie low for a while.
He wouldn’t have minded if the group had gradually drifted apart; after all, it had originally been formed for a specific mission.
However, this recent affair showed that the Yang Family Army’s cohesiveness far exceeded his expectations. They hadn’t grown distant just because they were heading off to different universities.
On the contrary, as top students from Jinshui District, they had all applied to universities within Jianghuai City.
Especially after Yang Shen became the Champion Scholar, the Yang Family Army had gained the new, prestigious aura of a "Martial Arts Gate."
They remained a tight-knit group, their devotion their greatest strength!
They were going to take the prestige of being a "Champion Scholar’s Disciple" to their new schools and completely dominate!
And spread the name of their esteemed master!!
Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Yang Shen was still wrapping up various commercial engagements related to his exam success, doing photoshoots every few days to bolster their finances. He would take his aunt and the four little ones to the yet-to-be-renovated Cangwu Garden to dream about their future.
This summer vacation may not have had the carefree, youthful vibe of others, but for Yang Shen and the Yang Family, it was incredibly productive.
It wasn’t until the special date of July 1st that Yang Shen was pulled from his busy schedule, reminded of his identity as a student.
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In Yanhua, the long vacation after the college entrance exams was the longest of the year.
The students had taken their exams in early June, received their scores in the middle of the month, and submitted their university applications in the latter half. They had been away from school for nearly a month.
However, July 1st is Yanhua’s National Day, and it’s also traditionally the day when most graduating high school seniors return to campus.
On this day, everyone would return once more to the now-empty school grounds.
In reality, though Yang Shen hadn’t returned to Nanliang High School for a month, he had remained the school’s central figure. A banner with his name hung at the school gate, his photo was posted in the most prominent spot on the bulletin board, and everyone was talking about his achievements.
But someone constantly moving forward has no time to bask in the applause from behind.
So, when Yang Shen walked into the classroom, he felt a momentary sense of disorientation.
Over the past thousand-odd days, he had walked through that door thousands of times. Every time, the boys and girls sitting at the desks had been a sea of identical school uniforms.
But today, as he stepped through the classroom door, he saw dozens of classmates dressed in their regular clothes.
One of the boys had on a leather jacket, though wearing it in this weather was an act of pure self-torment.
One of the girls wore a pretty skirt and stockings, though at her age, such mature adornments were unnecessary.
As he looked around, he no longer saw a uniform color, but a scattering of varied, distinct individuals, like stars in the sky.
It was just like their future paths in society—each would walk their own unique way.
Before Yang Shen could shake off his daze, he heard a series of loud POPs.
With his enhanced reflexes and dynamic vision, he instantly saw what was happening. His wariness vanished, replaced by a smile.
A large group of students had been hiding in a blind spot. They, along with the classmates near the door, had all set off party poppers at the same time.
Countless bits of colored paper and glittery foil rained down, showering the classroom.
The pops were immediately followed by a torrent of cheers.
"Congratulations! The Champion Scholar has returned!"
"Our Champion Scholar is here!!!"
Amid the shower of confetti, Yang Shen savored his final moments of high school.
The classroom was packed, not just with students from Class Six, but also with many teachers and students from other classes who had come to join in the excitement.
His disciples from the Yang Family Army were there too. Tian Zihan was the most conspicuous, proudly wearing a "Jiangti Students" t-shirt.
He probably wore it everywhere, terrified that someone might not know where he was going to college.
Director Liang stood in a corner with his hands clasped behind his back, a smile playing on his lips.
He had reaped a bountiful harvest this year. Next year, Nanliang High School would become truly famous, and he would have a whole new generation to "cultivate."
His Chinese teacher, who was also his homeroom teacher, was beaming from ear to ear. Thanks to Yang Shen, all of the teachers for Class Six had received hefty bonuses. With a certain PE teacher from their class long gone, his share of the bonus had been split among the liberal arts teachers.
It gave the liberal arts teachers a taste of the "PE teacher’s life."
But amidst the chaotic scene and lively cheers, Yang Shen’s gaze cut straight through the crowd to a familiar seat by the window.
Xu Bamboo was waiting there, her eyes full of mirth, for the return of her deskmate.
Amidst the endless cheers and applause, Yang Shen tried to memorize as many faces as he could, even though he knew it was a futile effort.
He smiled. "Thank you... I’m back!"
There was no official agenda for the day. Students milled about, exchanging contact information and making promises to reunite many times in the years to come.
Yang Shen sat at his desk and, for this one last time, made an effort to chat a little longer with every classmate who approached him, reminiscing about shared memories of their time in school.
For many of them, this would be their last chance to speak with Yang Shen face-to-face.
The classroom buzzed with a tremendous amount of noise, but the homeroom teacher simply joined in the excitement, her days of disciplining them now over.
After chatting with people for a long while, Yang Shen suddenly felt something move in his hair.
He turned and saw Xu Bamboo carefully picking a piece of glittery foil from his hair.
Xu Bamboo’s slender, pale fingers held the piece of foil, yet she felt its shine was less than a ten-thousandth of Yang Shen’s own radiance.
"You... you seem to have gotten taller."
"Yeah, I’m almost six feet now."
"Congratulations. Oh, by the way, I’ve reached Late-stage Marrow Refining."
While Yang Shen had been busy, Xu Bamboo hadn’t been idle either. Reborn like a butterfly from its chrysalis, she was determined to "explore the pinnacle of Martial Arts."
Yang Shen gave her a thumbs-up. "Congratulations."
For a moment, neither of them knew what to say.
Too many memories lay behind them, and an even more exciting future lay ahead.
Suddenly remembering something, Xu Bamboo pulled two bottles of Initial Realm Passage from her bag. She stuck a straw in each one and pushed one toward Yang Shen’s lips.
"Here, drink."
Yang Shen looked at the small brown bottle, a wave of nostalgia washing over him. "You still have a stash of these?"
Xu Bamboo grinned. "I never stopped training, you know. Out of all the supplements, I’m just used to the taste of this one."
"Fair enough."
And so, in the middle of the boisterous classroom, the boy and girl—the two deskmates—sat quietly sipping from their little brown bottles.
With smiles in their eyes, they made soft sipping sounds, just like old times.
...
"Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"To move in and live together, of course."
"Is... is that really okay?"
"What’s not to be okay about? We’re just starting a new life!"
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