Chapter Twenty-One: The Path of Growth

As time passed, the classroom gradually filled with students. With his head lowered in study, Lu Mingfei was ignored by everyone like a mere game NPC, just as always.

Shilan High School was an elite institution, with abundant teaching resources and a high caliber of students. Lu Mingfei, however, was an exception. He had been admitted thanks to his aunt’s connections for the sake of appearances, not because anyone intended to nurture him. A poor student who had slipped into a noble academy—that was who he was.

Before long, Chen Wenwen arrived as well. She greeted each of her friends with her usual bright and warm smile, including Lu Mingfei. Though she sometimes seemed a bit insincere, at least she made the effort. It was better than those who treated him as invisible; at least she gave him something to hold onto in his solitude.

“Good morning, Lu Mingfei.”

“Morning.”

After this simple exchange, they didn’t speak further. Chen Wenwen could sense that Lu Mingfei had changed. She assumed he’d simply given up after realizing he had no chance with her. It was nothing new—she’d seen it many times before.

Suddenly, a graceful figure burst into the classroom, her eyes locking onto Lu Mingfei’s seat.

It was Little Celestial. Unbothered by the stares of others, she strode straight to Lu Mingfei's desk, returned the workbook she’d borrowed yesterday, and said, “Not bad, you didn’t get a single question wrong. There were a few problems that even my tutor struggled with… Did you have a breakthrough?”

“I cheated. Copied the answers.”

“Come off it. Several of your solutions are different from the answer key. Clearly not copied,” Little Celestial said with a dismissive grin.

“You really have the answer key?”

“Of course.”

“Then why copy my homework?”

“It’s for comparison, obviously. Copying straight from the answer key would be too obvious—teachers can spot that a mile away.” Her gaze wandered, refusing to admit that she just wanted to see how Lu Mingfei solved the problems.

How embarrassing it would be to say that out loud!

“Fine, fine, you’re amazing, you’re pure. But are you free this weekend to help me pick out some new clothes? I’ve already withdrawn ten years’ worth of New Year’s money,” Lu Mingfei leaned back and smiled wryly.

“Wow, ten years’ worth! That’s bold! What made you decide that?” Su Xiaoqiang asked with curiosity.

“I just said it off the top of my head.”

“Geez! Are you free this weekend? I can fulfill our previous agreement anytime.”

“I’m free. Let’s meet at nine in the morning. As for the agreement… could you change it to letting me copy your math homework for a month? The high-quality kind?” Su Xiaoqiang’s eyes sparkled.

In her view, Lu Mingfei’s recent changes were obvious enough; there was no need to rush him into publicly declaring he didn’t like Chen Wenwen anymore. Before long, everyone would figure it out, and it would be a waste to use the agreement for that.

Copying homework—now that was truly valuable!

Her tutor didn’t come every day, and she wanted to relax and have fun sometimes. Being able to copy homework when she didn’t feel like doing it herself—that was real happiness.

“Deal.”

…

Two class periods of study slipped by quietly. As Lu Mingfei continued his low-key yet efficient studying, a soft cough echoed in his mind.

It was Furina.

Lu Mingfei’s eyes lit up. He thought, “Ah, Fufu hasn’t spoken to me all morning. It’s so dull and lonely. Could she be annoyed with me?”

Suppressing her shyness, Furina restarted their conversation, her mood immediately lifting. “Hmph! Am I, Furina, the petty sort? Today… today it’s just… poor signal, that’s all. We’re so far apart. It’s perfectly normal for this to happen.”

“So tonight can we…”

“No!!”

Hearing Furina’s shy yet resolute refusal, Lu Mingfei’s spirits soared. He relished this feeling, and adored the bashful Furina.

Liking and loving—these were the most beautiful things about youth. Yet, for Lu Mingfei, a great flaw lay hidden behind this beauty: he couldn’t witness this perfection with his own eyes.

Therefore, to mend this flaw, Lu Mingfei resolved to devote himself to studying the laws of space, striving to master the Language of Space. He often investigated spatial anomalies near his aunt’s house, searching for a path to another world.

Only a happiness completed by my own hands is truly mine.

Lu Mingfei believed this with unshakable conviction.

…

After school at noon, the students gradually dispersed. Lu Mingfei sat alone in the classroom, balancing a small eraser on his fingertip. “Spin,” he commanded.

Willpower drove the Authority, the Authority drove the elements, and with that, he wielded the power to alter space—psychokinesis.

With no external force, the tiny eraser spun awkwardly on his fingertip, as if it might fall at any moment.

The reason was simple: Lu Mingfei was only beginning to practice psychokinesis, and spinning an object in place was much harder than simply moving it in a straight line. Still, it was also less likely to arouse suspicion. Even if someone saw, he could easily explain it away.

After thirty seconds, the eraser slipped from his finger. He rubbed his temples and sighed, muttering to himself, “This is tough.”

This training method did enhance his understanding of space, but it also consumed a great deal of mental energy. Over time, his spirit would grow stronger through repeated recovery, but the process was undeniably grueling—the pain was the price of progress.

He didn’t linger in the classroom. After a quick meal, Lu Mingfei went straight to the spatial anomaly near his aunt’s house.

He crouched at the anomaly, carefully sensing every subtle shift in this node, exploring every possibility of crossing worlds, considering whether he possessed the strength to seize such a chance.

But the answer was no.

His power over space was still too feeble to achieve world traversal. Moreover, while he could sense the anomaly, it seemed that the world linked to this point was no longer Furina’s.

The contact between worlds was not fixed but in constant flux—like bottles adrift in the sea, occasionally colliding before drifting apart once more.

His bond with Furina allowed him to lock onto the coordinates of Teyvat, letting him sense whether the other side was her world.

But only vaguely…

To truly lock onto and cross into another world, the difficulty might be so immense that even if Lu Mingfei fully mastered his Authority, it would still be beyond reach. After all, it meant traversing between worlds.

At this thought, he felt a pang of disappointment, but he did not give up. He believed that so long as he kept striving, someday he would succeed.

Perhaps the miracle was not so far away.