Chapter 125

After dinner, the group of boys went to the classroom to do their homework.

Shen Cui called Mu Er Pang aside to talk to him alone, reminding him to take better care of Cui Fei in daily life.

Thinking about it, from Mei Ruochu before to Cui Fei now, Mu Er Pang’s responsibilities at the academy had always been heavier than those of other students.

Shen Cui felt sorry for him, realizing that he had to work hard on his studies while also taking on these responsibilities for her sake.

But when she looked at Mu Er Pang with a motherly gaze, he patted his chest and said, “I am the young master of Cuiwei Academy. It’s only natural for me to do what I can! Besides, Fei and I get along best, and I understand the many inconveniences that overweight people face in life. Even if you didn’t say anything, I would still do it.”

Seeing him so sensible, Shen Cui didn’t need to say much more and went to the classroom with him.

Cui Fei’s desk was also delivered today. Shen Cui moved her own desk back a bit so that she and Lao Buyu could both see all the students.

Workers had come early in the morning and worked until evening, so there was still plenty of time left.

Shen Cui activated the time-enhancing array.

After the array took effect, the boys finished their homework one after another, and it was still early.

Cui Fei, experiencing this for the first time, was not quite used to it.

He looked at the clock strangely and said, “Normally, I would have finished my homework and gone to bed by now. Why is it still so early today?”

After saying this, he glanced at the night outside the window and felt a little scared—could it be that kind of thing?

Although Cui Fei hadn’t mentioned the “ominous house” in front of his grandfather, many servants in the Cui household knew about it.

Especially Cui Fei’s personal servant, who solemnly stuffed many talismans into his pockets.

Cui Fei had visited Cuiwei several times before and nothing had happened, so he didn’t believe it.

But the servant said, “Young master may not know, but those things usually come out when the night is dark. It’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s just a few sheets of paper, and it won’t take much effort to carry them with you.”

With the servant’s insistence and Cui Fei’s sister’s tacit approval, Cui Fei did indeed carry a pocketful of talismans.

Meanwhile, Mu Er Pang’s homework only needed to be handed over to Lao Buyu for evaluation, so he submitted it after finishing.

When he came down, he noticed that Cui Fei didn’t look right.

He approached him and asked softly if he was hungry.

The talismans were in a pocket on Cui Fei’s chest and abdomen.

He looked conflicted, as if he were really hungry and worrying about it.

After Mu Er Pang’s reminder, Cui Fei suddenly remembered. Oh right, he hadn’t eaten much for dinner today.

Normally, after finishing homework at home, he would be starving.

But today, he hadn’t felt hungry at all.

Cui Fei released his hand from covering the talismans.

He felt he had figured it out – the “secret recipe” for health in the Mu family, he didn’t get hungry easily when he ate meals made by Shen Cui.

With his hunger gone, his attention naturally focused, and his efficiency in doing homework naturally increased! He hadn’t scared himself for nothing!

After realizing this, Cui Fei shook his head and said, “It’s just that I’m usually hungry, but I didn’t feel hungry today. It feels a bit strange.”

“In our academy, there’s nothing strange about that,” Wei Shu turned around. As the ambassador of the academy’s “auspicious location,” he proceeded to educate Cui Fei thoroughly.

If it were someone else who had just arrived, they would probably think he was exaggerating and might even question it. According to Wei Shu’s words, the auspicious location should be the old mansion in Shuiyun Village, so how could it be the “ominous house” here?

But Cui Fei was simple-minded and believed in them.

He would believe whatever they said, and he even added, “I used to stay at home all the time, reading many miscellaneous books. The so-called ‘feng shui’ refers to the system of earth veins, the orientation of mountains and rivers, etc. But actually, I think the core of feng shui is the harmony between people and nature. Although the academy has changed its address, this ‘harmony’ still exists, so the ‘feng shui’ is still here.”

Shen Cui listened to his words from behind and felt a bit stunned.

She hadn’t thought about it that way before.

So she silently kept his words in mind, thinking that if someone asked her about “feng shui” in the future, she would just repeat what he said.

After the evening class ended, the boys washed up and went to bed.

The weather in late autumn and early winter was still a bit cold at night, but the boys were naturally warm. With their quilts next to each other, they didn’t need to light the stove so early.

Cui Fei was living outside for the first time, and he thought he might have some trouble adjusting.

Yesterday, Cui Wuniang had instructed him on many things, one of which was that she was afraid he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night because he had suddenly changed places.

But today, he had attended classes at the perfectual school for the entire day, then worked on homework and attended evening classes.

Afterward, he chatted with Mu Er Pang and the others for a while before quickly falling into a deep sleep.

Back at home, he would wake up hungry in the middle of the night every day. Given his physique, there was absolutely no midnight snack available, so he would tough it out by drinking water.

But here, with the good “feng shui,” he slept straight through until daylight.

It wasn’t until Shen Cui blew the copper whistle outside that he finally woke up, still feeling dazed.

As he struggled to get up, Cui Fei realized something was wrong—getting out of bed was actually quite difficult for him.

Back home, he needed the assistance of servants and servants’ boys to move around.

He hadn’t thought about it before, but now that he remembered, he felt extremely embarrassed and wished he could find a hole to hide in.

Mu Er Pang was already awake and had skillfully dressed and tied up his hair. Seeing Cui Fei awake, he didn’t say anything but immediately lent a hand.

The others naturally followed suit, extending their hands to help. After spending so much time together, the boys had an unspoken understanding, with clear division of labor.

They quickly lifted him up, with some pulling his arms and others pushing his back.

Once they had helped him up, they quickly changed the subject. Mu Er Pang wondered aloud what they would have for breakfast.

Since Mrs. Zhou left, Shen Cui had been making porridge or noodles every morning. But now with A Yao, a capable helper, breakfast was bound to be more varied.

Before Cui Fei had a chance to express his gratitude, he went along with Mu Er Pang’s suggestion, saying, “A Yao makes noodles, as thin as hair strands, served with a broth that’s been simmering overnight. It’s delicious!”

Mu Er Pang was skeptical. “Did you smell the fragrance?”

Of course, Cui Fei hadn’t. He just laughed and said, “Because I used to love eating noodles for breakfast at home. It’s very filling.”

“I’ve never had noodles thinner than hair strands before. We owe it all to Ah Fei.”

As he spoke, Mu Er Pang bent down to put Cui Fei’s shoes on him. Cui Fei felt embarrassed letting him help with something as simple as putting on shoes.

But Mu Er Pang brushed it off. “What’s the big deal? Three years ago, I couldn’t even put on my own shoes, and my mother had to do it for me. Now that I’ve slimmed down, I don’t get that treatment anymore. So you should cherish the time when someone serves you. When you slim down like me, you won’t have the chance for someone to serve you anymore!”

In no time, Mu Er Pang had helped him put on his shoes, still not giving him a chance to thank him.

He urged everyone to hurry up and get ready, warning them not to blame him for eating all their food if they were late!

Thinking back to the scene of everyone fighting over food at the dinner table yesterday, even Cui Fei was infected by the atmosphere and quickly got off the kang.

Breakfast turned out to be the noodles that Cui Fei loved, hot and refreshing. Everyone enjoyed a big bowl each.

Cui Fei only ate half a bowl—after staying at Cui Wei for just one night, he felt like he had already caused too much trouble for everyone.

He was afraid that if he indulged too much, it would render the Mu family’s “slimming secret” ineffective.

In the end, it was Shen Cui who added another half bowl for him, urging him to eat a normal amount. Only then did Cui Fei agree to take a few more bites.

…

Since Cui Fei arrived, Shen Cui had upgraded the academy to level 4, increasing the daily routine rewards to 80 points. The medication for treating heart ailments, similar to the one Wei Xi took for his lung condition, still cost 50 points per day without any increase in price.

This meant there was a surplus of points every day, which Shen Cui saved up to deal with occasional cooking expenses.

After about a month and a half, the system showed that Cui Fei’s heart condition, which wasn’t particularly severe, had been cured.

Shen Cui then adjusted Cui Fei’s “schedule.”

Previously, Cui Fei didn’t participate in morning exercises, but now that his heart condition was cured, he could join in any activity except the more strenuous ones.

Cui Fei was genuinely obedient. When Shen Cui told him not to participate, he would obediently stand aside and watch everyone else practice.

Now that the instructions had changed, allowing him to join, he followed without question, practicing diligently without raising any objections.

Having been at Cui Wei for over a month, during this time, although Cui Fei didn’t participate in any physical activities, he still ate and drank according to his usual portion size.

Shen Cui prioritized treating his heart condition and rarely proactively provided him with food from the system.

However, as the system stated, Cui Wei Academy operated outside of the rules, and staying there gradually weakened the influence of the rules.

Consequently, Cui Fei had begun to slowly lose weight.

Shen Cui could clearly see his specific numbers through the system—his weight had decreased from 160kg to 155kg, and his overall health had stabilized after his heart condition was cured, finally reaching a passing grade.

Ten kilograms of weight loss would be quite noticeable on most people, but on someone of his large stature, it wasn’t as apparent.

Additionally, his robes were specially tailored to be quite loose-fitting.

Moreover, everyone at Cui Wei, except for Shen Cui, didn’t notice his changes as their attention was focused elsewhere—the annual end-of-year examination at the Prefectural Academy was approaching!

Mei Ruochu aimed to maintain his first-place rank from the preliminary exams, while Wei Shu and Wei Xi also aimed to compete for better rankings.

The title of first-place scholar not only came with monetary rewards and food supplies but also brought honor, which was highly valued by them.

Cui Fei had a genuine interest in learning. Earlier, he didn’t attend classes because he was bullied by his classmates at the Prefectural Academy.

However, now his mindset had changed. With every student at Cui Wei striving for excellence, everyone aimed for the top spot.

If he were to only aim for a passing grade, wouldn’t that lower the overall standard of education at Cui Wei?

Therefore, Cui Fei not only diligently attended the Prefectural Academy but also began to study hard.

During breaks, the instructors would occasionally come to check on the students’ progress.

Seeing Cui Fei’s transformation, the instructor who had previously advised him and prevented him from cheating, Mr. Huai Kuanwei, praised him in front of everyone, saying “A promising student indeed.”

Instructors and supervisors at the Prefectural Academy were usually reserved with their praises.

Apart from geniuses like Mu Yunchuan and Mei Ruochu, hardly anyone else received public praise.

Therefore, for someone like Cui Fei to earn such commendation, it inevitably stirred up some jealousy among others.