Chapter 100: Wu Family Miss

Zu An's thoughts quickly returned to his upcoming arithmetic class in the Heaven Class. He figured his first appearance should be a bit dramatic; simply running to class wouldn't highlight how extraordinary he was.

After racking his brain for a while, Zu An's eyes suddenly lit up. He immediately rushed towards the administration building, only to be told by the staff there that Shang Liuyu wasn't in her office and was probably resting in the teachers' dormitory.

Watching Zu An hurry towards the teachers' dormitory area, the staff members couldn't help but mock him behind his back:

"Another one gone crazy."

"But Teacher Shang is truly captivating. Haven't you noticed how Director Lu goes out of his way to please her?"

"Doesn't that guy, Lu De, already have a family?"

"It's a middle-aged man's second spring, you know how it is."

"Director Lu is one thing, but this kid wants to pursue Teacher Shang too? That's way out of his league."

"Why didn't you tell him that Teacher Shang never allows outsiders into her yard? He's going there for nothing."

"Hmph, a student from the Yellow Class, who knows what connections he used to become a teacher here. It'll do him good to face some hardship."

Unaware that he was being laughed at, Zu An hurried to the teachers' dormitory area and, following the previous directions, arrived outside Shang Liuyu's courtyard.

*Knock, knock, knock.* Zu An began to knock on the door.

As he knocked, he quietly took out his key token and tried it, but there was no sign of the door opening.

Such a convenient "master key" was, predictably, just a pipe dream.

"Who is it?"

A deeply languid voice came from inside the courtyard, but it now sounded somewhat cold, as if the speaker was highly annoyed at being disturbed from something.

"It's me, Sister Shang."

Zu An quickly replied. Of course, he wouldn't call her "Teacher Shang" like everyone else; that would be too formal.

"Do you need something?" Shang Liuyu's voice echoed from the courtyard again.

Zu An looked at the unmoving gate, thinking, *What's the meaning of this? With our friendship, aren't you going to open the door for me?* However, knowing he was in no position to argue, he honestly replied, "There's a song I'd like Sister Shang to help me play."

Silence fell over the courtyard. After a moment, the courtyard gate opened a crack, and Shang Liuyu's cool voice invited, "Come in."

Zu An didn't think much of it and simply pushed the door open. He found Shang Liuyu's courtyard much more secluded than his own. What was most striking, however, was the large, shimmering pond within it, its water so clear that he could see straight to the bottom.

"A private swimming pool? That's so luxurious!" Zu An secretly clicked his tongue, thinking, *I should complain to the beautiful headmistress. Why doesn't my courtyard have one? Isn't this differential treatment? And more importantly, I didn't spend 7.5 million taels for nothing.*

"Do you have a new song?" a soft voice asked. Zu An turned his head and his eyes lit up.

Shang Liuyu was tilting her head, drying her wet hair with a towel, as if she had just bathed. Some moisture still clung to her skin; the glistening water droplets seemed dull compared to her snow-white complexion.

She was draped in a loose, bath-robe-like house dress, her delicate collarbone exposed, revealing skin as smooth as milk.

The dress was just the right length, revealing the graceful, well-proportioned curves of her calves and a pair of perfect, slender feet with nails painted a vibrant, luscious shade of impatiens flower juice.

Shang Liuyu casually tossed her hair behind her and reclined on a nearby wicker chair hanging from a tree, exuding an air of extreme languor. "You came all this way just to stare at me, didn't you?" she asked.

"Uh, no, I have a song I'd like you to play for me." Uncharacteristically, Zu An's old face flushed. He always felt that the woman before him possessed a unique aura. Most women, upon noticing an impolite gaze, would either blush or get angry, experiencing some form of negative emotion.

But in Shang Liuyu's vast, enchanting eyes, like the ocean, there was a calm detachment that seemed to see through worldly affairs, coupled with an all-encompassing gentleness that made Zu An feel rather embarrassed.

"What song?" Shang Liuyu's eyes were filled with curiosity. Over the years, many had used similar pretexts to approach her, as her love for music was no secret. However, most of their compositions rarely impressed her. It was only the boy she had accidentally met in the pavilion last time, whose music had surprised her and even stirred the deepest emotions hidden within her heart.

The style of the piece was clearly different from the music of this world, yet all musical paths ultimately lead to moving the human soul. Thus, she felt both curiosity and fondness for the young man, utterly bewildered by how someone so young could compose such emotional and beautiful music.

"This song is called 'God of Gamblers'!" Zu An had been pondering how to make a cool entrance later, mentally reviewing the grand entrances of powerful figures in various films and TV shows. He concluded that to be truly cool, powerful background music (BGM) was essential.

But there were no recording devices in this world, and he couldn't very well play an instrument himself while walking in; that would be too undignified. After much thought, Shang Liuyu was the only one in this world who could help him play it.

Of course, finding an excuse to see the beautiful teacher again was also a significant reason.

"'God of Gamblers'?" Shang Liuyu's expression was odd. "That name certainly suits you, but I wonder about the song itself."

Clearly, she had heard about Zu An winning 7.5 million taels at the Silver Hook Casino.

"I'll give you a rough demonstration; see if you can recreate it." Although Zu An remembered the melody, it was quite troublesome to play, as many of the tunes were synthesized in post-production and not simply played by instruments.

At first, Shang Liuyu looked relaxed and didn't take it too seriously, but after hearing the tune he hummed, her expression instantly changed, and she unconsciously sat upright.

After he finished humming, Zu An nervously asked her, "How was it?"

Shang Liuyu let out a long breath. "This tune seems to possess a magical power, making one's blood boil involuntarily. Even I felt a shiver run through my body. It's somewhat like the war songs of the Beastmen, yet different. How did you manage that?"

"Uh, don't worry about how I did it," Zu An hastily asked. "I'm curious if you can recreate it." His nervousness wasn't about whether the tune sounded good or if she liked it, as these things had already been proven in his past life.

"This tune is a bit strange. Let me try. Can you demonstrate it again?" Shang Liuyu brought out an odd instrument from the house. It looked somewhat like a harp, with a body made of an unknown material, translucent like jade, emitting a beautiful blue glow.

Shang Liuyu's slender fingers glided over it. The timbre was vastly different from the harps he had seen in his past life; the instrument seemed to have a much broader range, even producing sounds that no instrument from his previous world could.

As Shang Liuyu recalled the melody she had just heard, her delicate fingers moved across the harp. Whenever she was unsure, she would confirm with Zu An again. Gradually, the 'God of Gamblers' background music began to be recreated in this world.

"Why do you suddenly need this song?" With only a few details left to perfect, Shang Liuyu relaxed considerably, looking at the young man opposite her with some curiosity.

"Of course, it's for my entrance background music..." Zu An replied, then briefly explained that he would be teaching the Heaven Class soon.

Shang Liuyu couldn't help but smile. "You're really going to great lengths to impress Miss Chu."

Zu An waved his hand. "It's not just for her. More importantly, this is my first class as a teacher, so my entrance can't be careless. By the way, do you think I should wear some makeup, or maybe glasses and a beard, to look more mature?"

Before Shang Liuyu could answer, a girl's voice suddenly rang out: "Aha, so you, surnamed Shang, are indeed here!"

Her voice was actually clear and quite pleasant, but her arrogant tone made it less so.

Zu An looked over. Because the door had been left open, a girl in a red dress stood at the entrance. Around her neck hung a huge pearl necklace, which further accentuated her incredibly fair, cream-like complexion, almost as if it glistened with moisture. On her wrist was a jade bangle, clearly very valuable.

A quick glance revealed that she was adorned with expensive jewelry everywhere.

"Doesn't this woman worry about being robbed when she goes out?" Zu An maliciously wondered, though he had to admit that despite being laden with gold and silver, the girl didn't have the vulgar air of a nouveau riche. Perhaps it was because her eyes sparkled, her eyebrows were slender, and she was simply stunningly beautiful?

"And you are?" Shang Liuyu looked at the red-clad girl before her with some confusion.

The girl instantly bristled. "Shang, how dare you pretend not to know me! You've clearly taught my class before!"

Shang Liuyu calmly stated, "I generally don't memorize students' names."

The elegant composure about her caused the girl to gasp, leaving her feeling utterly unable to react.

At that moment, a man stepped out from beside her and introduced, "This is Wu Qing, the eldest young lady of the Wu family, from Duke Yangquan's estate."

Another person beside him chimed in, "She's ranked fifth on the school's Beauty Roll. How could Teacher Shang not have heard of someone like that?"

"Holy moly, ruthless?" In Zu An's mind, the familiar melody from his previous life played.

However, his sudden outburst immediately drew the gazes of all three. Wu Qing's face turned awkward. "How dare you take advantage of me?"

Fury from Wu Qing +233!

Zu An knew this was a huge misunderstanding and quickly explained, "I said 'holy moly, ruthless,' not that I want to... uh, anyway, it's not what you're thinking."

He suddenly realized that the more he tried to explain, the worse it got. Even with his usual eloquence, he had no idea how to clarify himself at this moment.

"How dare you insult Miss Wu with such vulgar language!" The two attendants beside the girl instantly looked incredulous, pointing and scolding him.

"Tell me your name. I want to see which family produces someone so audacious," Wu Qing said, her face as cold as frost, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

---The ending of my old book these past two days has disrupted my rhythm, leading to this late update. My sincerest apologies; I expect to return to regular update times very soon.

Also, I'd like to thank Brother Qingshu for the 100,000 Zongheng coins. I wonder when I'll be wealthy enough to experience the feeling of such generosity myself.