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Footnotes
¹ Black Whirlwind: "Black Whirlwind" (黑旋风) was the nickname of Li Kui, a violent but loyal character from the classical Chinese novel "Water Margin" (水浒传). In Chinese school culture, teachers often receive colorful nicknames from students based on their personality or teaching style.
² Trigonometry Formula: This is a trigonometry mnemonic in Chinese mathematics. Chen Shu, having just woken from math class, instinctively recites a math formula instead of the beast taming incantation being asked for.
³ Test-Taking Strategy: This refers to a well-known piece of Chinese student lore—a rhyming mnemonic for guessing on multiple-choice tests. A famous line is: "三长一短就选短，三短一长就选长" (sān cháng yī duǎn jiù xuǎn duǎn, sān duǎn yī cháng jiù xuǎn cháng), which translates to, "Of four options, if three are long and one is short, pick the short one; if three are short and one is long, pick the long one." This saying is a humorous reflection of the high-stakes, exam-oriented education system and the clever strategies students develop to cope.
⁴ Chen Pi Nickname: This is a clever multi-layered pun. In modern Chinese slang, "皮" (pí) means "mischievous," "cheeky," or "playfully naughty"—a popular internet term among students for a lovable rascal. The nickname "Chen Pi" (陈皮) works on several levels: it replaces the scholarly "Shu" (书, book) in his real name Chen Shu with the cheeky "Pi" (皮), while "Chen Pi" also literally means "dried tangerine peel," a common household ingredient. So the nickname essentially calls him "Mischievous Chen" while simultaneously comparing him to a tough, distinctive everyday item—perfectly capturing his playful troublemaker personality in a way Chinese readers find instantly endearing.
"Hehe..."
"Hehehe..."
A bizarre giggle echoed through the classroom, drawing the bewildered gazes of every student, down to the back row. Among them, a male student sat with his head on his desk, his body trembling with excitement as he let out a continuous, strange laugh.
"Chen Shu!"
The teacher's face darkened as he called out coldly, "Chen Shu!" but was met with only more giggling. Finally snapping, the class teacher, Li Yuan, gripped a piece of chalk and hurled it directly at the source of the disruption.
Whoosh!
The chalk struck its target with perfect accuracy... if the target had just been Chen Shu's deskmate.
"Teacher Li... I..." Zhang Dali stammered, looking utterly wronged. How could he catch a stray bullet just for sitting there? He rubbed his forehead.
"Wake Chen Shu up!" Li Yuan's expression didn't change in the slightest. The teacher's glare was squarely on Zhang Dali.
"Chen Shu! Chen Shu!" Zhang Dali had no choice but to comply, shaking his deskmate vigorously.
"Don't bother me... hehehe..."
But Chen Shu just kept swaying with that perverted giggling of his.
Witnessing this scene, Li Yuan's face grew darker and redder with anger, clearly on the verge of eruption.
Zhang Dali knew he had to do something.
"School's out..." he whispered softly.
"What?!"
Chen Shu's reaction was pure instinct: he shot upright so fast his stool kicked back several feet, sending the entire class into a fit of snickering laughter. Still groggy from sleep, he could only stare back in complete confusion.
School's out? What's so funny about that? Can't you all be a little more composed?
As he rubbed his sleepy eyes, his vision was suddenly filled by a massive, dark face, causing him to yelp, "Holy crap! What the hell?!"
A second later, full awareness hit him with a violent jolt.
"Hello, Teacher Li..."
"Having sweet dreams, were we?" Li Yuan's face was burning red as coal set ablaze, it was so scrunched up anyone would worry that it might spontaneously combust.
"No... he... he..." Chen Shu quickly shook his head, but apparently remembering something from his dream, he actually started laughing again.
Li Yuan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his rage.
"Bro, you're absolutely fearless..." Zhang Dali gazed at him with pure admiration, practically worshipping his deskmate like an idol.
Chen Shu finally came to his senses, forcing himself to contain his laughter and keep quiet.
"Why were you sleeping during class?" Li Yuan's expression was stern.
“As a student, isn't it perfectly reasonable for me to sleep during math class?” Chen Shu couldn't help thinking, but seeing Li Yuan's furious expression, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Li Yuan's eyes flared with anger, but seeming to remember something, he suppressed it. He returned to the podium and pointed at the blackboard, his voice cold. "Answer this question or get out of my classroom."
Chen Shu's body trembled as he rubbed his eyes, but when he saw the question on the board, his mind went completely blank.
"What is the incantation for Beast Tamers to form contracts with their spirit beasts during the early Revival Period?"
Chen Shu stared in complete bewilderment as the philosophical trinity of questions flooded his brain.
Wait… huh…?
"Who am I?"
"Where am I?"
"What the hell is this supposed to be?"
Wasn't this supposed to be math class? Wasn't Black Whirlwind¹, Li Kui, supposed to be the math teacher?
Seeing his dazed expression, Li Yuan's face grew increasingly dark, crushing the chalk in his hand to powder while his rage meter climbed high enough to unleash his ultimate technique.
At that moment, Chen Shu knew he had to say something—anything—to salvage the situation.
“Incantation... incantation…”
Finally, he tentatively spoke up: "Odd changes, even stays the same, sign... depends on the quadrant?"
SMACK!
Li Yuan finally lost it completely, slamming his palm down on the lectern.
"What in the name of trigonometry² was that?! Are you solving for X in my beast taming class?!"
"Teacher Li, don't be angry! Give me one more chance!" Chen Shu quickly interjected, trying to temporarily quell his homeroom teacher's fury. "That question was beyond my knowledge range—multiple choice is where I really shine!"
"Multiple choice, multiple choice! Are you telling me the only thing you can do is multiple choice questions?!" Li Yuan roared so loudly the ground seemed to shake.
[System Notice: Beast Taming Choice System Successfully Activated!]
The voice that suddenly echoed in his head left Chen Shu stunned as three options materialized before his eyes:
[Option 1: Honestly admit your mistake and promise never to do it again]
—Reward: Small amount of Beast Taming Power
[Option 2: Spread your hands wide and say with heartfelt sincerity: "I originally wanted to get along with everyone as a top student, but all it brought me was distance. I'm laying my cards on the table—I'm a complete slacker who doesn't know anything!"]
—Reward: Low-Grade Flame Potion
[Option 3: Remain silent and keep your head down]
—Reward: Contract Spirit Obedience +1
“Main character treatment?!”
Though confused, Chen Shu's reaction speed was quick—this was obviously protagonist-level perks right here. It seemed like he just had to make a choice to get various rewards.
While he had no idea what these rewards were actually for, whatever—just pick one and be done with it.
He glanced over the options and instantly reached his conclusion. All three rewards looked pretty mediocre, with words like “small amount,” “low-grade,” and “+1” seeming disappointingly stingy.
"What a cheapskate system."
Though all the rewards looked subpar, the Low-Grade Flame Potion should probably be the most useful. As for the actual content of the choices, Chen Shu couldn't care less—he only cared about the rewards.
“Society expects men to be fearless and bold…”
Besides, following the universal rule of 'when in doubt, pick the longest answer,'³ he should choose the second option anyway.
Chen Shu's expression grew composed. He scanned the room like a leader conducting an inspection, looking as if he were about to clasp his hands behind his back and launch into bureaucratic jargon. Instead, he simply spread his hands wide with a completely serious look on his face.
"I originally wanted to get along with everyone as a top student, but all it brought me was distance."
At this point, Chen Shu even let out a sigh.
"I'm laying my cards on the table—I'm a complete slacker who doesn't know anything!"
Silence!
Absolute dead silence. You could even hear a pin drop somewhere.
Even the air in the classroom seemed to freeze solid. Everyone stared at Chen Shu with admiration practically overflowing from their eyes.
“What a role model for our generation!”
Tell me, who else in the entire grade would dare to charge straight into Black Whirlwind's line of fire? This was like standing at the eye of the storm while grasping the rotation of the sun and moon itself!
"Chen Shu, come with me to the office!"
Li Yuan's expression suddenly became eerily calm, yet somehow infinitely more oppressive.
As Li Yuan stalked out of the room, Chen Shu calmly straightened his shirt just as a new voice echoed in his mind:
[Choice Successful! Reward Obtained: Low-Grade Flame Potion!]
[Due to the host's exceptional bravery, bonus reward: Contract Spirit Obedience +1!]
[Potion has been automatically stored in system space!]
Like a warrior heading into battle, Chen Shu stepped slowly out of the classroom, followed by the respectful gazes of every student awaiting his triumphant return. The curtain had just risen on what promised to be an epic confrontation.
After the two left, the students' discussions immediately erupted:
"What's going on? Did Chen the Rascal take some kind of medicine? How's he this brave?"
"This is straight-up challenging Black Whirlwind's authority—even the geniuses in the Beast Taming class wouldn't dare be this bold."
"Dali, what's the deal? You're his deskmate—do you know what's happening?"
Though Chen Shu's name sounded respectable enough, his personality was way too mischievous, with a thought process that didn't quite level on the same frequency as normal people—that's how he earned the nickname "Chen Pi⁴."
Zhang Dali straightened up with a proud expression.
"Please, my deskmate is obviously no ordinary person. I already told you—he's super brave."