DEM Chapter 49: I’m Willing!

Hearing the girl’s calm yet earnest words, Su Yuan was momentarily stunned.

At that moment, Chen Nuoyi turned her head, meeting his gaze.

Their eyes connected briefly before she looked down, her voice soft as a whisper. “If you think about it, going back to the Chen family isn’t so bad. I’d have no worries about food or clothing and could focus entirely on cultivating to aim for the top ten academies.”

“Though my dad’s been kicked out of the family, he’s got his hands and feet, he won’t starve. I don’t need to worry too much about him.”

She paused, then slowly raised her head to meet Su Yuan’s eyes again, a hint of apology in her voice. “The only pity is I wouldn’t be able to work part-time with you anymore.”

“Maybe after we get into university, we could still…”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Su Yuan interrupted before she could finish.

“W-What’s wrong?” Seeing Su Yuan’s expression grow serious, Chen Nuoyi felt a twinge of nervousness.

Su Yuan took a deep breath and asked solemnly, “Class monitor, whether you return to the Chen family is your personal matter, and I shouldn’t interfere. But I need to ask you one thing, and please answer honestly.”

“Do you really want to go back to the Chen family?”

Chen Nuoyi: “…”

Her delicate hands unconsciously fidgeted with the hem of her clothes. After a long hesitation, she gave a slight nod. “I do…”

“Tell the truth!” Su Yuan’s expression remained neutral, but his tone sharpened noticeably.

Chen Nuoyi: “…”

When she looked up again, her bright, clear eyes were misted with a faint layer of tears.

This time, she shook her head firmly. “I don’t want to go back to the Chen family.”

“After my mother passed, the Chen family has only felt oppressive and cold to me… Every cent I spend from them feels like another debt I owe.”

“If I spend too much of their money, when my grandfather brings up marrying me off to another family, would I even have the right to refuse?”

“What would I have to achieve to finally be free of the Chen family?”

“Since leaving the Chen family, I may not eat well and have to work part-time to cover my living expenses, but earning enough to support myself through my own sweat feels so fulfilling.”

“Only like this can I stand tall and say no to the Chen family’s orders.”

Hearing Chen Nuoyi’s heartfelt confession, Su Yuan fell silent.

He hadn’t realized her mother had passed away. No wonder her father, a son-in-law by marriage, had been expelled from the family.

Without close relatives to back her, Chen Nuoyi’s days in the Chen family must have been tough.

On the surface, she might still be the glamorous Chen family heiress, able to command millions, but she’d forever lose the chance to choose her own fate.

To put it bluntly, returning to the Chen family would make Chen Nuoyi more like a commodity than a person.

“If that’s the case, then we’re not going back,” Su Yuan said with a sudden smile after a long silence.

Chen Nuoyi froze.

Su Yuan continued earnestly, “Joining the special advanced class means a maximum of one million a month in cultivation expenses. For two people, that’s just two million.”

“Starting today, we’ll focus wholeheartedly on working hard. I’ll come up with a plan to make us ten thousand a day, or even twenty, thirty thousand!”

“Creating and executing such a plan might seem nearly impossible, but I’ll try my hardest and take on the challenge.”

“The more we earn, the better our chances of getting into the top ten academies!”

With that, Su Yuan flashed a smile at Chen Nuoyi and asked, “Class monitor, are you willing to join my work plan?”

Chen Nuoyi: “…”

At that moment, Su Yuan’s image in her eyes became towering, as if he were glowing!

Attempting to challenge a million a month?

Even most Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t earn that much.

It might end in failure, but it could also be her chance to break free from the Chen family and stand on her own!

“I’m willing,” Chen Nuoyi nodded firmly, and the two shared a smile.

Their earlier worries and melancholy vanished completely.

Before afternoon classes, Su Yuan made a request to their homeroom teacher, Yue Lin.

“You want a nine-to-five schedule?” Yue Lin frowned.

“To be precise, both the class monitor and I want a nine-to-five schedule,” Su Yuan said, gesturing to the silent, cool-acting Chen Nuoyi beside him.

He continued earnestly, “Teacher Yue, you know our situation. We need to work part-time to earn tuition, but school takes up too much time.”

“If we could work nine-to-five, or even go out during lunch breaks, we’d have a lot more time for work!”

“Of course, rest assured, we absolutely won’t neglect our studies because of work. Besides, working is part of cultivation, isn’t it?”

Yue Lin fell into thought.

After a long pause, he said, “I’m not worried about Chen Nuoyi’s grades, but Su Yuan, your scores…”

Chen Nuoyi interjected, “Teacher Yue, I can tutor Su Yuan in my spare time.”

Yue Lin: “…”

His gaze shifted oddly between Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi, making them uneasy, before he finally said, “Alright, I’ll agree for now. But if your grades slip in the monthly exam, you’re both coming back to regular classes.”

“Thank you, Teacher Yue!” The two beamed with joy.

But for today, they still had to leave school on time.

The afternoon classes passed quickly.

After Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi hurriedly prepared four dragonscale geese and left campus, it was already nine o’clock at night.

As they exited the school gates, they rushed toward the Peach Oolong Sect.

But just as they were about to grab shared flying swords by the roadside, a tall figure blocked their path.

“Su Yuan, you really are cozying up with the school beauty,” the figure said.

Looking up, it was Huang Sheng, the guy Su Yuan had sent flying with one punch in the Martial Arts Competition.

Huang Sheng’s face bore several scrapes, and one arm was in a brace, looking utterly pitiful.

But his expression carried undisguised malice.

He wasn’t alone. Behind him stood a nearly two-meter-tall young man with a triangular physique.

The young man was bald, his face full of rugged features, his muscles sharply defined.

His appearance screamed, “I got bald, and I got stronger!”

Seeing this scene, Su Yuan immediately recognized the classic plot.

Beat the small fry, and the big shot shows up, truly a timeless trope!

“Su Yuan, you didn’t give me any face in the Martial Arts Competition! Now I’m going to make you taste humiliation!” Huang Sheng sneered, spouting standard brainless villain lines. “My cousin’s a peak Qi Refining university athlete. In front of him, you’re as weak as a chicken.”

“I’m giving you two choices!”

“First, kneel and apologize in front of me and the school beauty.”

“Second, let my cousin beat you until you kneel, so you can taste what it’s like to have your bones broken!”

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