Chapter 63

The description of that room number is simple, no need to look at it again.

Of course, what Shen Cui wanted to see was the increase in the speed of time flow.

This precious thing needed to be utilized, but there were many rules and regulations. When the system sent her messages, it purely dangled it in front of Shen Cui like a carrot. It also hid some regulations—

Those mentioned before weren’t brought up again. This boost required everyone in the academy to maintain a high level of concentration. If even one person slacked off, the entire academy’s effectiveness would be compromised. Moreover, anyone in the academy could be absent, but as the Headmaster, Shen Cui had to stay within ten meters of the academy.

It’s known that everyone needs rest; it’s impossible to keep one’s mind in a state of tension all the time.

Lao Buyu and the others were somewhat better off. They were already accustomed to this self-discipline and high-intensity study life, had good self-control, and were more focused than others.

But Shen Cui herself was a master of idling. Previously, she could enjoy the refreshing boost of the academy while idling away, but those good days of idling would not return after this. As the Academy Headmaster, she had to pull herself together!

Of course, the system was also “considerate”. The items produced earlier weren’t just for cultivating objects, right? The items that enhanced attention could be used by everyone in the academy. Spend some points, buy some items, and everyone’s focused time would be greatly extended.

Also, the effect was said to last for three years, but it wasn’t calculated from the beginning of use; it had already started counting now and would end in August three years later.

If it failed due to some reasons in between, it wouldn’t be like those acceleration packs in later games, keeping it for you after it’s disconnected. If it failed once, you had to reopen it the next day. It wouldn’t make up for the time lost during that day.

Shen Cui rolled her eyes silently in her mind. If it weren’t for the fact that this boost was truly a heaven-defying treasure, and she had been fortunate enough to receive this reward, she would still have to argue with the system a bit more.

Shen Cui lay down for a while, gathered her energy, and then got up to go to the academy, ready to try out that time boost.

It wasn’t because Shen Cui had been busy for two days straight and still wanted to force Lao Buyu and the two children to treat the remaining half of the day as a full day of hard work. Instead, since today wasn’t going to be used anyway, it would count as one less day of time, so it was a good opportunity to try out this new feature.

When she arrived at the entrance of the academy and confirmed the usage, the time boost immediately took effect. In the interface of the academy, each cartoonish figure, in addition to the original mood value and physical fitness value, now had another blood bar called the concentration value.

So, it was obvious that if the concentration value fell below the passing line, the time boost would immediately fail, and the time flow would return to normal.

Mrs. Zhou, as a handywoman, was currently sweeping in the academy. She was meticulous in her daily tasks, although they were all very simple and handy chores, she was truly focused. When she finished her work, she didn’t linger and hurried back home to wash and mend clothes.

This was also good; there was no need to worry about Mrs. Zhou causing the boost to fail.

What surprised Shen Cui was that even after being busy for two days straight, Lao Buyu and the two children were now completely focused, gathered together and deep in conversation.

With both of them so focused, could it be that the system’s judgment in this regard is relatively lenient?

Thinking like this, Shen Cui stepped into the academy, and her cartoonish figure appeared on the screen of the academy interface as well.

Hmm… the system didn’t make a mistake; her concentration value was just slightly higher than the passing line.

Shen Cui quickly focused her attention on listening to their conversation, stabilizing her concentration value so it wouldn’t drop further.

Upon listening, Shen Cui learned that the three of them, teacher and students, were still feeling regretful for “Zhang Sheng.” They felt that it was because of their insufficient strength that the young man, who had gained the favor of the old headmaster, had to withdraw from the competition.

Now that things were settled, it was too late for regrets. They could only think about working harder to make the Cuiwei Academy flourish. This way, in the next big competition, they wouldn’t drag “Zhang Sheng” down again.

Moreover, if one day, Cuiwei Academy’s reputation rises greatly, like that of Hongle Academy, “Zhang Sheng,” as a member of the academy, won’t be overlooked for his talent just because of his disability.

The things they were talking about upfront made Shen Cui quite happy. By manipulating a dummy with 500 shopping points, not only did their academy achieve good results, but it also indirectly encouraged everyone to strive harder.

However, as she listened further, Shen Cui found something amiss—why were these three starting to treat “Zhang Sheng” as an official member of the academy?

When Lao Buyu and the others were chatting, they hadn’t been completely open. When they saw her coming over, they invited her in as well.

The topic then revolved around “Zhang Sheng.” After all, Lao Buyu and the others didn’t know where the young man was staying or what his family situation was like, or if he wanted to stay in Shuiyun Village.

Wei Xi spoke up, “If Zhang brother is willing to stay here, I can cover the expenses.”

Lao Buyu added, “As his teacher, I should set an example. I’ll take care of his expenses and living expenses.”

This pushed Shen Cui into a corner, so she could only say, “I haven’t seen him for two days straight. Tomorrow, I’ll go look for him and ask in detail.”

Seeing that the three of them were eager to try it out, Shen Cui quickly added, “He’s a cheerful and likable person, but actually… he’s a bit shy. Only I get along well with him, and he… gets along with me.”

This was true; “Zhang Sheng” always left immediately after the competition for two days in a row, without any attachment. If it were anyone else, it might make people think he was arrogant and not easy to get along with. But when it came to “him,” people wouldn’t think that way, they would just think he might be really shy. So Lao Buyu and the others didn’t bring up going with Shen Cui again.

Afterward, they started their classes as usual. According to her usual routine, Shen Cui should have gone outside to lie on the recliner by now. But wasn’t that too distracting? She had to find something to do to keep herself focused.

Although the main hall was spacious, there wasn’t much space left after setting up four desks.

Wei Shu was particular about things, and Shen Cui didn’t want to touch his stuff without permission. In the end, it was Wei Xi who noticed that she seemed to want to stay inside and listen to the lecture, so he gave up his desk for her to use, and he went to use his older brother’s desk. Wei Shu wouldn’t mind such a trivial matter.

After Shen Cui sat down, Lao Buyu began the class. They had just finished participating in the academy’s big competition, right? He gained quite a bit from it; just looking at several excellent students’ handwriting today gave him deep feelings.

Lao Buyu usually spoke very colloquially, but when teaching, he was really different. He cited classics and talked eloquently, revealing his vast knowledge.

But these verbose words, to Shen Cui’s ears after two days of exhaustion, were as effective as the hypnosis music the system played. Soon, she felt her eyelids getting heavy, and her concentration value plummeted.

At this point, the system sneakily sent her a pop-up window, pushing items that could improve attention.

Shen Cui waved away the pop-up and, at the same time, pinched herself hard to snap out of it. Then, she took the calligraphy copybook from Wei Xi’s desk and started practicing calligraphy.

Learning calligraphy shouldn’t make her feel sleepy, right?

In the future, “Zhang Sheng” definitely couldn’t appear frequently. Long periods of “splitting” were not only unsustainable for spending shopping points but also harmful to Shen Cui’s health. However, the old headmaster owed “him” a favor, and Lao Buyu and the others truly appreciated “him.” While real-life interactions might be scarce, correspondence couldn’t be lacking.

By then, they could use “Zhang Sheng’s” identity to obtain some mathematical materials for exchange, providing some assistance to the two children in this aspect.

After this practice session, Shen Cui realized that her mind felt clearer in the academy compared to other places. When she really focused, she understood how precious this “clarity” was.

Before, she had secretly written several times in her room, but her hands were too clumsy. She didn’t know if her original self had poor talent or if she was affected by the original body, but in any case, her handwriting was truly unattractive.

Today, practicing in the academy, she felt a mysterious sensation. The ugliness remained the same, but she could sense subtle progress in herself.

After finishing writing one sheet, Shen Cui saw that no one was paying attention, so she neatly folded the sheet and switched to using her left hand to write—she needed two types of handwriting.

Lao Buyu and the others in the room naturally noticed her intentionally hiding her handwriting, sometimes using her right hand and sometimes her left. The teacher and students exchanged a tacit glance, both realizing that she was probably just learning to write, and her handwriting was ugly, so she was afraid of being embarrassed. So they didn’t expose her, deliberately avoiding looking at her practice.

Seeing that they weren’t paying attention to her, Shen Cui felt even more relieved and focused solely on practicing her handwriting, occasionally glancing at everyone’s concentration values on the screen.

Half the afternoon passed, and everyone was studying very seriously. Even during break time, everyone’s concentration values dropped slightly for a while, but none fell below the passing line.

As dusk approached, Mu Er Pang’s stomach rumbled.

Although there were no outsiders present, Mu Er Pang still blushed and muttered softly, “It’s strange. I ate quite a bit at noon, and I even thought about eating less in the evening. But unexpectedly, just past mid-afternoon, my stomach is growling like crazy.”

“It is a bit strange. Today, I drank more tea than usual. Normally, I only drink two cups of tea in the afternoon, but today I’ve already had almost four.” Lao Buyu remarked.

This is natural because time flows slower inside the academy. Although only two hours have passed outside, it’s actually been four hours inside the academy.

If everyone hadn’t eaten so much at lunchtime, they would have been hungry long ago.

The items produced by the system are indeed powerful. It claimed that it wouldn’t be noticeable, and indeed, no one noticed anything amiss all afternoon. Even the homemade sundial used in the academy for simple timekeeping was affected.

This reminded Shen Cui again. Tomorrow, when she goes into town to find “Zhang Sheng,” she should buy some well-preserved snacks like peach pastries and baked biscuits to bring back to the academy to satisfy everyone’s hunger.

“Master, let’s not have class for Mu Er Pang tonight. Let’s all rest,” Shen Cui said as she noticed everyone looking tired after two days of busy work, and she promptly turned off the time boost. No matter how good something is, nothing is more important than everyone’s health.

Soon, Zhou Shi came over carrying a food box. Because she thought everyone had eaten a lot at lunch except Shen Cui, she prepared a simpler and lighter dinner than usual.

Four side dishes accompanied by thick congee were served. However, Zhou Shi didn’t expect everyone in the academy to be so hungry. They finished the whole pot of congee before finally stopping their chopsticks.

“Using the brain makes you hungry quickly,” Shen Cui explained simply.

When it was time to rest in the evening, Shen Cui went home and kept rubbing her sore wrists. Although she had been studying hard for three months, it was all simulated learning in her mind, and she had never actually written for such a long time with real pen and paper.

Seeing this, Zhou Shi offered to massage her wrists.

“What did you do this afternoon? Your meridians are blocked,” Zhou Shi said gently as she massaged Shen Cui. She had experience taking care of people, having raised her younger brother since they were young.

Shen Cui said there was nothing much, just practicing writing characters. Zhou Shi didn’t pay much attention at first, but soon, she noticed that Shen Cui was grimacing in pain.

Being a daughter-in-law, Zhou Shi didn’t want to tease her mother-in-law, so she suppressed her laughter and said, “You’re not taking the imperial examination, why put yourself through such hardship?”

“Well, it’s not about taking the imperial examination,” Shen Cui said after giving it some thought. “Mu Er Pang is becoming more and more educated, and his horizons are broadening. I know he won’t look down on me. However, I’m afraid that one day, he’ll be troubled by things that I completely don’t understand, and I won’t be able to help him, only feeling anxious. For this reason, I think I should learn.”

She paused for a moment and continued, “Besides, learning knowledge isn’t just for others’ sake; it’s beneficial for oneself too. If I can learn a little, even if it’s just to write well, I can help people write letters or copy books in the study. Isn’t that better than earning a few pennies a day by physical labor?”

As she spoke, she carefully observed Zhou Shi’s reaction.

During this period, she had intentionally or unintentionally mentioned to Zhou Shi about attending Professor Lao Bu Yu’s classes when she had free time. However, Zhou Shi was truly using herself as a workhorse and didn’t give herself any free time!

Shen Cui didn’t feel any resentment towards her. She still hoped for her well-being. After all, in the original story, Zhou Shi’s role as a concubine was limited, and when Mu Yunchuan became successful and no longer needed her to support the family, Zhou Shi became even more invisible.

The scenes related to Zhou Shi must have been about her being tormented by the evil mother-in-law and then enduring it to highlight the wickedness of Shen’s stepmother. Also, because she had ruined her health at a young age, Zhou Shi’s storyline would end even earlier than the original body owner’s!

Keeping her by her side to do chores wasn’t taking advantage of her. Shen Cui could constantly monitor her health and prevent any illnesses or ailments, but the rest was up to her.

Zhou Shi lowered her eyes, lost in thought, and it was unclear how much she had taken in.