Chapter 7 Winning with the Head
"This is Li Xiaogou. He will be joining the Special Investigation Bureau's pre-job training class starting today. Please welcome him with applause."
The white-haired old professor gave a serious introduction, and there was sparse applause from the audience.
This is the Youth Department of the Cultural Palace not far from the dilapidated stone bridge of the Special Investigation Bureau. The tables and benches are a bit too short for their age, and it looks a bit funny from Li Xiaogou's perspective.
I originally thought that the training for a mysterious department like the Special Investigation Bureau would be held in a more secluded place, but I didn't expect it to be hidden in the city.
"There are still many empty seats, please choose a place to sit."
Even the discipline is surprisingly lax.
Li Xiaogou bowed to the professor and glanced across the classroom.
There were about a hundred people sitting sparsely in the space that could accommodate two hundred people. These people had studied for a month longer than before, so he needed to work twice as hard to catch up.
When my eyes swept across the first row, a young man with brown hair combed back, revealing his gorgeous features, suddenly caught my eye.
The boy was sitting in the middle of the first row. The moment their eyes met, he suddenly curled up the corners of his lips, grabbed the backpack from the drawer and threw it casually - the black backpack with a gorgeous logo flew through the air and landed heavily on the empty seat next to him.
The action happened in a split second, and no one noticed it except the two people who were looking at each other.
The boy seemed to be very influential, and rustling sounds were heard from all over the classroom - the students in the front row suddenly felt that their water cups or textbooks were an eyesore, and in a blink of an eye, all the empty seats were occupied.
"Student Li?" The professor's urging voice came from behind.
Li Xiaogou took a last deep look at the boy, then walked straight to the last row with his schoolbag.
The last row was extremely empty, with only a person lying in a corner, half asleep.
When he sat down two seats away from the man, the iron desk was shaken by the collision.
The orange-red curly hair that was originally buried in the crook of her arms suddenly moved, and half of her amber pupils were revealed under her thick eyelashes. She lazily lifted her eyelids and glanced at him.
Li Xiaogou was about to put on a fake smile when the other person had already turned his head back into his arms.
A chilly breeze blew through the hall, and the boy's mumbling, muffled by the fabric, was heard: "It's so noisy..."
The achievement of offending everyone without saying a word is obtained√.
Thus began his pre-job training at the Special Investigation Bureau.
Although Yunlou always has a cold face, he arranges trivial matters such as meal card allowance and training schedule in every detail.
Apart from the fact that he could never fit in with the group, he lived a pretty comfortable life.
He had originally planned to get some information about the Ministry of Information from his classmates, but everyone tacitly erected an invisible wall to isolate him, so he crushed this idea and threw it into the trash can - it is best to learn to be sensible when being disliked by others.
And there is an even more serious problem right now - there are ten days left before the final exam of cultural subjects.
The examination areas drawn by Professor Yu could circle the planet if connected together.
The gold-stamped covers of "Introduction to the Basics of Superpowers", "Modern Criminal Investigation and Fusion of Superpowers", and "Psychology of Superpower Crime" glowed coldly under the desk lamp. The book "History of the Development of Superpowers" at the bottom was so thick that it pressed the wooden tabletop slightly.
Poking the pile of books with the end of his pen, he slumped them down in frustration, and suddenly understood the sufferings of medical students.
"The student in the last row." Professor Yu held up his tortoise-shell glasses, and his hawk-like gaze, which was inconsistent with his age, was fixed on the last row.
Li Xiaogou found that everyone was turning their heads to look at him.
"Mo Shang, tell me about the three most recognized taboos in the supernatural world."
The sunlight danced on Mo Shang's hair through the blinds. The boy slowly raised his upper body and blinked in confusion.
So the angry cat's name is Mo Shang. Li Xiaogou thought as he twirled his pen.
Mo Shang was like a sleep god sealed on the desk. Ever since Li Xiaogou entered the class, he had never been seen awake.
He still looks like he hasn't woken up yet.
Seeing Professor Yu's eyes narrowed behind his glasses, Li Xiaogou stretched out his legs and kicked towards the next table.
"Calling you to answer, page 17."
He warned in a breathy voice.
Normal people would be dazed for a moment after waking from a deep sleep, but Mo Shang was like a robot with a switch flicked on. The boy's fingertips, holding the textbook, were still etched with indentations, his pupils unfocused, but his clear voice flowed out: "There are three major taboos in the supernatural world: one is the prohibition of using banned drugs to assist in upgrading supernatural powers; two is the prohibition of using supernatural powers on ordinary people..."
When the bell rang, Li Xiaogou was biting the pen cap and marking the key points in "The History of the Development of Superpowers".
The person sitting next to me, who usually wakes up and rushes out the door the moment the bell rings, seemed to be pressed on the slow-motion button today.
Mo Shang slowly stuffed the textbooks into the wrinkled canvas bag, and then checked one by one to make sure the caps of all the pens were properly put on.
After finding no more ways to delay time, the boy ruffled his already messy orange-red hair and mumbled, "You're not leaving?"
Li Xiaogou was stunned for half a second before realizing that this was a conversation: "The exam is coming soon, I still have to study for a while." As he said that, he patted the textbook that was about to be painted into a rainbow with a highlighter.
Mo Shang tilted his head and stared at him for a moment, then suddenly turned and left. As the sound of canvas shoes clacking on the corridor tiles faded away, Li Xiaogou suddenly heard a voice on the wind: "Fool."
???
I have to admit that his deskmate is indeed puzzlingly weird.
This tug-of-war lasted until the third day. When Mo Shang circled around him for the thirteenth time, hesitant to speak, Li Xiaogou finally put down his pen, crossed his arms, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Why don't you just say it directly?"
The orange-haired boy smiled with relief, a small dimple forming on his left cheek. He slammed the textbook on the table and said, "I can help you with your studies."
Could this be a thank you gift for saving me from class last time?
It turns out that he was being awkward for three days just to repay a favor, his innocence was so funny.
"I'll give you 20% off the tuition fee," Mo Shang added, his earlobes tinged with coral, "because of the length of your legs."
Li Xiaogou's pen rolled to the ground with a "click".
There was silence for a full minute.
"Fifty percent off." Li Xiaogou said.
The price of the deal is the reversal of day and night tutoring time.
That night, Li Xiaogou finally understood why his deskmate was always bleary-eyed. As soon as the school bell rang, Mo Shang dragged him onto the subway. By the time the neon lights came on, he was already wearing a panda costume and handing out flyers at the mall. At 8 a.m., he was a hot pot waiter, weaving through the steaming, spicy air.
Working four jobs a day.
"Is it time to call it a day?" Li Xiaogou asked, rubbing his eyes red from choking on butter. Mo Shang then rushed to the locker room, tearing off his apron. "The West Street Bar is still short of a bartender."
At three o'clock in the morning under the moonlight, the two finally returned to Mo Shang's partitioned room of less than 15 square meters.
When Mo Shang returned from the public bathroom wrapped in a towel, his orange hair still dripping wet, his face, shrouded in two shadows, was full of energy. "There are still three hours left before class," he said, wiping his hair and nodding at the book in Li Xiaogou's hand with the tip of his thin chin. "First, thoroughly study 'The Supernatural Threshold Curve.'"
"I realized I've overlooked a critical issue." Li Xiaogou circled the chart of the 'Superpower Threshold Curve' with a red pen. "How can you guarantee the quality of your tutoring if you only sleep four hours a day?"
Mo Shang glanced at him and slammed the three perfect-score papers on the table: "Intelligence-enhancing superpower, photographic memory."
Seeing the other person staring at his dark circles, he added, "It can also process information synchronously in sleep mode."
The tip of his pen suddenly jabbed at the textbook. "This problem requires the Lyman correction formula. The derivation you just used was too stupid."
At four in the morning in the rental house, Li Xiaogou looked at Mo Shang's profile, which was bathed in cold light, and suddenly asked, "Why do people in the class exclude me?"
"The Special Investigation Bureau's pre-job training class has never made an exception to accept transfer students."
"Last year, the deputy director of the Second Military Intelligence Department asked Mr. Yu for leniency, and was beaten with a ruler until he screamed."
He suddenly leaned forward, and the scent of jasmine essence and soapberry wafted into Li Xiaogou's nose. "And you...looked like nothing special, yet you just parachuted in with such brazenness."
Li Xiaogou's Adam's apple moved: "Yunlou and I actually..."
The cold can suddenly touched his Adam's apple. "Is it important?"
Mo Shang retreated back to the intersection of light and shadow.
"We're already standing on the Special Investigation Bureau's broken stone bridge. Holding on to the railing is far more important than wondering what the bridge piers are made of."
"Why would Professor Yu make an exception?"
"Professor Yu was invited to teach at Yunlou after three visits." Mo Shang twirled his highlighter. "In the entire General Administration, only the Yunlou team has the honor to have him make an exception and accept you."
Li Xiaogou paused his pen on the draft paper: "But Yunlou clearly..." He hated him very much.
"After the training course, we will be divided into four teams."
"Last year's evaluation was snatched away by Team One, where Team Yun is a member, and Wang Bo is the son of Team Two's captain. Why do you think he targeted you?"
The orange-haired boy suddenly sneered as he spoke: "Of course, it could also be pure jealousy - he hates all men who are more handsome than him."
Li Xiaogou nearly broke his pen. "Did you make up the second half of this sentence?"
"God knows what I am doing." Mo Shang raised three fingers and touched the ends of his orange hair. He suddenly lowered his voice and said, "But Wang Bo looks at Su Si differently..."
"Suse?"
"A true chosen one." Mo Shang raised the corner of his mouth sarcastically. "He was diagnosed with S-level potential at birth. He only showed up twice in training before being snatched away by Team Four. Three team leaders fought on the tarmac, and the captain of Team Four pruned three pots of Team Two's precious camellias before snatching him away."
"This story has already spread throughout the team."
Li Xiaogou looked out the window at the breaking light of dawn and asked, "Yunlou didn't participate?"
He couldn't imagine Yunlou snatching people with a poker face.
Mo Shang closed the textbook and said, "I wasn't there. I just heard this from overheard. Don't take it seriously."
Time passes very slowly in learning.
Seven years later, the first phase of assessment finally arrived.
Coming out of the exam room, Li Xiaogou spotted Mo Shang, who was waiting for him outside with his eyes closed. A smile flashed across his face, "The last threshold calculation question was exactly the same as the one you predicted."
Mo Shang's hazy amber eyes suddenly brightened, and the corners of his mouth dimpled. "Looks like I don't need to refund the tuition."
As he stretched, his canvas shoes kicked against the porch pillars, and he grinned. "But the one I should really thank is Professor Yu—the notes that old man secretly gave you last week are much more valuable than my own unconventional methods."
Professor Yu is 80 years old, but his work efficiency is heartwarming.
The results will be announced on time three days later.
The electronic screen was crowded with students who gasped in shock.
Li Xiaogou's name was stuck in the middle, while Mo Shang, who was at the top of the list, had a total score that was a full 20 points higher than the second-place Wang Bo.
"This is impossible!" Wang Bo punched the smart screen, and spider-web cracks spread from "Mo Shang".
Li Xiaogou was planning to use the living expenses given by Yunlou to treat guests when someone suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Mo Shang emerged from the crowd with dark circles under his eyes. "The hot pot restaurant where I work has a 20% discount coupon."
Finally, they sat in a booth filled with the aroma of butter, and Mo Shang skillfully tied aprons with the hot pot restaurant logo printed on them.
"Employee discount is 70% off," he said, pulling out a crumpled coupon. "But you have to help the kitchen staff skewer 500 skewers to pay for it."
Outside the glass window, Wang Bo's gloomy face was reflected by the neon lights, making it flicker.
Mo Shang suddenly put all the boiled tripe into his own bowl: "You can put it in later, I have to work after eating."
Li Xiaogou: ...
The neon sign of the hot pot restaurant flickered in the twilight, and Mo Shang, carrying a double-flavored hot pot, walked between the steaming booths.
Li Xiaogou watched as the orange figure passed by his table for the seventh time, and was suddenly tripped by an outstretched leather shoe and stumbled. Half of the red soup in the basin spilled out and landed on the limited edition sneakers of the customer who was blocked.
"Are you blind?" Wang Bo sneered, "This pair is limited to 30 pairs worldwide. You'll lose money."
"The surveillance camera is facing table 23," Li Xiaogou suddenly interrupted. "Do you want me to ask the manager to retrieve the footage from fifteen seconds ago?"
Wang Bo's sneer froze at the corner of his mouth.
Mo Shang took the opportunity to grab Li Xiaogou's sleeve and drag him to the side: "Don't confront him head-on." But his wrist was grabbed by the backhand.
Li Xiaogou met Wang Bo's sinister gaze and said, "It seems you are dissatisfied with your test results?"
"Aren't we supposed to form teams and compete in taijutsu class? Do you dare to take a big gamble?"
The crowd suddenly fell silent.
"What are you betting on?" Wang Bo asked with a gloomy face.
"If I lose, you will be kicked out of the training class immediately." Li Xiaogou felt Mo Shang's fingertips gripping the back of his hand almost digging into his flesh. "If you lose... I have no interest in whether you stay or go."
"How about saying this in front of the whole class, Boss, I, Wang Bo, can't even come close to you?"
Wang Bo suddenly kicked over the chair: "You fucking..."
"Don't dare?" Li Xiaogou raised an eyebrow. "It's fine if I can't beat Sus, but now I don't even have the courage to compete with the newcomer who just came in."
"No wonder my biological father doesn't want me the most..." Li Xiaogou spoke in a long tone.
He clearly saw the nerves on Mo Shang's temples twitch.
"Okay. You wait."
*
Late at night in the alley, Mo Shang walked silently ahead. Halfway through, he got so angry that he rushed back and pushed Li Xiaogou, who was lazily lagging behind, against the wall, angrily saying, "Are you crazy?"
Li Xiaogou laughed and said, "What's crazy about this? You don't have to pay for it, right?"
"You can earn money again, but if you quit the training class, it will be impossible to rejoin." Mo Shang said in a deep voice, "No, I must go tell the professor and stop you before the competition."
"Don't be impatient." Li Xiaogou pulled him back, "How do you know I will definitely lose?"
"People with a family background like Wang Bo have been trained since childhood. Do you think you can win with your head?"
The eye contact with Wang Bo when they first met came to mind. At that time, the melon in the dialog box in the air appeared. Li Xiaogou smiled confidently: "I really won by my head."
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