Chapter 68.2: Misunderstanding
Nan Yu didn't pay it any attention. He simply continued helping him dispel the Mental Contamination. Only after every last trace of the contamination that had already fused with the patient's Mental Sea had been completely removed did the man truly wake up.
It seemed that the Mental Contamination fused with the Mental Sea had been the real culprit all along.
School started tomorrow.
The remaining Mental Contamination in the man's Mental Sea was now mild enough that Qiao Yu could completely handle it himself, so Nan Yu no longer needed to worry about it.
He walked out of the ward to find Qiao Yu, never noticing that the man lying on the hospital bed had slightly turned his head to watch his departing figure, his gaze looking as though he intended to remember Nan Yu for the rest of his life.
Walking outside, Nan Yu found Qiao Yu.
"The rest of this patient's purification treatments are up to you."
Qiao Yu nodded.
"Thank you, Nan Yu."
"You're truly incredible."
"If it hadn't been for you, he might never have recovered because of my negligence."
"And I would have become a sinner in this hospital..."
Nan Yu interrupted him.
"Alright, that's enough."
"That matter is already behind us."
"I'm sure you didn't neglect it on purpose."
"In that case, there's no point continuing to blame yourself."
"If you really feel sorry toward the patient inside, then just work hard and be more careful from now on."
Qiao Yu smiled bitterly.
"You're right."
"I'm clearly the older senior here."
"And yet you're the one comforting me."
Nan Yu studied him for a moment.
"You haven't been in a very good mental state recently."
"Has Wu Qin been secretly saying all kinds of things to you again?"
Qiao Yu had just opened his mouth when Nan Yu cut him off.
"But now the patient inside has been saved."
"No matter what Wu Qin said before, you probably won't take it to heart anymore, right?"
Qiao Yu froze.
Only then did he suddenly realize it.
That's right.
The patient had recovered.
Why was he still dwelling on all of this?
"You're right."
"I've been so foolish."
"I really feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."
"Thank you, Nan Yu."
"If you ever need my help in the future, just tell me."
"I definitely won't refuse."
Nan Yu glanced at the time.
"It's about time for me to go."
"School starts tomorrow."
"I'll probably have much less time to come to the hospital from now on."
"I guess we'll meet again if fate allows?"
Qiao Yu escorted him all the way to the hospital entrance before waving goodbye.
Nan Yu looked at Nan Yun, who had come to pick him up.
"What's wrong, Big Brother?"
"You don't seem to be in a very good mood."
Nan Yun sighed.
"Of course I'm not."
"Once school starts tomorrow, who knows where Bai Zhouyun will be waiting to ambush you."
During this period, they had still been able to stop the two of them from meeting.
But once school started...
Their class schedules would all be different.
Most importantly, they weren't even in the same grade as Bai Zhouyun, let alone the same class.
There was no way for them to control his movements.
At school...
Bai Zhouyun would definitely find opportunities to be alone with Nan Yu.
Not just one or two opportunities, either.
There would be plenty.
They couldn't possibly prevent every single one.
That was exactly why Nan Yun had been in such a terrible mood.
Nan Yu smiled.
"Big Brother, don't worry so much."
"Doesn't constantly thinking about it make you tired?"
"Can't you have a little more confidence in me?"
"I've always believed that all of you will become the strongest and protect me in the future."
Nan Yun shot him a helpless look.
"Those are completely different things."
"Don't change the subject."
Nan Yu shrugged.
"Alright."
"I won't say anything."
No matter how unwilling they were...
School still began.
Once classes resumed, they all had to report to campus.
After reluctantly saying goodbye to his three brothers, who looked as though they were being forced apart from him against their will, Nan Yu entered his classroom.
There, he immediately spotted Yang Zhou.
Yang Zhou walked over with a bright smile.
"Nan Yu."
"Long time no see."
Nan Yu smiled back.
"Yeah."
"You moved into your new home and never came to visit me."
Yang Zhou rolled his eyes.
"It's not that I didn't want to."
"You're a busy man now."
"Forget visiting you."
"I'd need special permission just to find out where you are."
"If you don't have enough clearance, nobody will even tell you."
"So I figured I might as well forget about it."
Nan Yu blinked.
"Seriously?"
Yang Zhou laughed.
"Come on, Nan Yu."
"Surely you don't still think you're the same ordinary student you used to be?"
"You're practically famous now."
"Just wait and see."
"Today there'll definitely be countless people trying to 'accidentally' run into you and strike up a conversation."
The goal, of course, was simply to establish a relationship with Nan Yu.
Nan Yu tilted his head.
"...Really?"
He thought Yang Zhou was exaggerating.
Less than two minutes later...
Reality slapped him in the face.
Yang Zhou hadn't even walked away yet when another classmate—someone from the same class whom Nan Yu rarely spoke to—walked straight over.
It was obvious he had come specifically to talk to Nan Yu.
"Nan Yu."
"It's been a long time."
"How was your vacation?"
"Oh, right."
"You also took several months off before."
"When you think about it..."
"It really has been a long time."
Nan Yu felt rather awkward.
He recognized the man's face.
He knew they were classmates.
But...
That was all.
He couldn't remember his name.
Or anything else about him.
All he could do was nod awkwardly.
"Yeah..."
"It really has been a long time."
Yang Zhou apparently noticed the embarrassment hidden beneath Nan Yu's calm expression.
He looked at the newcomer and let out a mocking laugh.
"So it's you."
"I didn't expect the very first person to come over and talk to Nan Yu would actually be you."
The student hadn't expected Yang Zhou to speak like that.
He stood there blankly for a moment before finally reacting in annoyance.
"I'm talking to Nan Yu."
"Why are you butting in?"
The corner of Yang Zhou's lips curled upward.
"You're right."
"I shouldn't interfere."
"But I think you've probably forgotten how you were secretly ruining Nan Yu's reputation while he was away from school last semester."
"We didn't make a fuss about it."
"Did you really think we didn't know?"
The student clearly hadn't expected Yang Zhou to expose everything right in front of Nan Yu.
Once those words were spoken...
Even if Nan Yu hadn't known before...
Plenty of people would soon volunteer to tell him exactly what had happened.
To Nan Yu's surprise, the student's eyes suddenly filled with tears.
"So what if I did!"
"I just couldn't stand it!"
"If he's so amazing, then he should just graduate early!"
"Why come back just to make us miserable?"
"Do you think I wanted to lower myself and come talk to you?"
After shouting that, he turned around and ran away, wiping away his tears as he disappeared from sight within moments.
Nan Yu withdrew his gaze and looked toward Yang Zhou.
"So..."
"Are you going to explain what that was about?"
Yang Zhou shrugged.
"There's nothing much to explain."
"Plenty of people in our class don't like you."
"Last semester, after you suddenly took such a long leave of absence, those people started making sarcastic comments behind your back."
"They said all sorts of disgusting things."
"The funny part is..."
"At first, most people didn't take them seriously."
"But when enough people repeat the same thing often enough..."
"Eventually..."
"Some people actually started believing it."
Yang Zhou hadn't lowered his voice while speaking.
As a result, most of the classroom heard every word.
Several students immediately turned bright red before hurriedly running out of the classroom.
Nan Yu let out a long sigh.
"They can say whatever they want."
"It doesn't really matter."
But...
There would never be any chance for future cooperation.
Just as Yang Zhou had said...
Not pursuing the matter didn't mean Nan Yu didn't know.
Nor did it mean he intended to let it go.
He would simply deal with those matters quietly behind the scenes.
Yang Zhou suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right."
"Bai Zhouyun was released a while ago."
"Did he come looking for you?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"Of course."
"He came to see me."
"He said a bunch of vague things."
"Then my big brother scared him away."
Yang Zhou became interested.
"Oh?"
"What did he say?"
"Tell me."
"There hasn't been any news about him lately."
"I have a feeling he's planning something."
Nan Yu shrugged.
"It wasn't much."
"He just promised he'd become stronger."
"He said he wanted to become a High-Tier Ability User."
"He also said he'd need my help."
"But before he could finish that last sentence..."
"My big brother frightened him off."
As he spoke, Nan Yu recalled every detail of that meeting once more.
He still felt that Bai Zhouyun had seemed somehow different that day.
Yet...
If he tried to pinpoint exactly what was different...
Nothing really stood out.
Yang Zhou nodded thoughtfully.
"I see."
"That does sound much better than the nonsense he used to say."
"So what are you planning to do?"
"He couldn't get anywhere with you before."
"Now he'll definitely..."
"...Wait!"
Nan Yu looked at him.
"What?"
Yang Zhou stared at him.
"Did he tell you he wanted to become stronger?"
"That he wanted to protect you?"
"That he wanted to become a High-Tier Ability User?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"Yeah."
"That's exactly what he said."
Yang Zhou let out a cold laugh.
"I knew it."
"I was wondering why he'd suddenly become so determined to get back together with you."
"So that's what this is really about."
Nan Yu already knew the answer, but he still asked,
"What do you mean?"
Yang Zhou snorted.
"What else could it be?"
"If he wants to become a High-Tier Ability User, the only thing he can do is train nonstop while consuming enormous amounts of Ability Beast meat."
"But eating huge quantities of Ability Beast meat rapidly increases an Ability User's Mental Contamination."
It wasn't that the Bai family couldn't afford to transform Bai Zhouyun completely.
That wasn't the issue.
The problem was...
They didn't want to pass up free labor.
Long-term employment of a Mid-Tier Mental Power User capable of continuously removing Mental Contamination was extraordinarily expensive.
Take Nan Yu as an example.
He had only accepted a few commissions whenever he happened to have free time.
Even so...
He had already earned more credits than he knew how to spend.
So it wasn't that the Bai family couldn't afford it.
But if they really had to pay...
Nobody knew how long it would take for Bai Zhouyun to succeed.
Maybe several years.
Maybe decades.
Over such a long period...
The cost could very well put the Bai family under serious financial pressure.
After thinking it over, anyone could easily conclude that the Bai family had no intention of paying that price.
If Bai Zhouyun wanted to get rid of the label of "good-for-nothing," his only option was to find a Mental Power User himself.
Unfortunately...
Excellent Mental Power Users were never easy to hire.
Moreover, after the previous incident...
Old Master Bai had stopped giving Bai Zhouyun any spending money.
The credits he used for daily expenses now all came from his parents.
That was enough for ordinary living expenses.
But hiring a Mental Power User?
That was far too expensive.
He simply couldn't afford it.
Therefore...
His only choice was Nan Yu.
If he succeeded...
The first day of school was mostly spent handling miscellaneous administrative matters.
Students who finished early left the academy and planned to return the next day when classes officially began.
Those who stayed moved into the dormitories one day ahead of schedule and began preparing for the assessment that would take place a few days later.
The purpose of the test was to determine whether each class's overall performance had suffered a cliff-like decline during the vacation.
The students who ranked at the very bottom...
As well as those whose rankings had fallen the furthest...
Would be transferred out of their current classes according to the academy's unified regulations.
Within each class...
The rankings determined whose names appeared at the top of the transfer list.
The advantage of this system was obvious.
Students who had been coasting by no longer dared to slack off.
They realized that if they continued like this...
They would eventually be abandoned by their current class.