Chapter 29: Did the Kid Sell the Iron Certificate?

Get up, wash face, brush teeth, head downstairs... it took Lin Sicheng less than ten minutes.

He sprinted the whole way, arriving at school like a gust of wind, his stomach already churning with acid.

It was all his mother's fault.

It was just six million—and six million that only existed in the realm of imagination, at that—yet she had interrogated him for half the night about it. By the time she remembered her darling son hadn't eaten, it was two in the morning. She had gone to cook noodles in high spirits, but in her excitement, she added salt twice.

Forget it, he would just go hungry...

Afraid of the long lines at the student cafeteria, Lin Sicheng headed straight for the faculty canteen.

It wasn't too crowded, but that was only relative. Picking the shortest line, Lin Sicheng squeezed in.

"Big sister, one large bowl of minced meat noodles. Extra broth, extra noodles, extra chili."
"One steamer of soup dumplings!"
"And two meat burgers!"

Lin Sicheng was a regular, and the attendant knew him well. Seeing him grab only one pair of chopsticks, she was startled. "Kid, it's early in the morning—can you finish all that?"

"Of course!"

The attendant was quick. Lin Sicheng made two trips to carry everything to a table, picked up his chopsticks, and dug in.

Just as he was enjoying his meal, two figures passed by the table.

"Huh, why is a student in the faculty canteen?"
"Don't worry about it. What are you going to eat?"
"Senior sister, I'll have..."

As they spoke, they walked toward the serving window. Lin Sicheng glanced over casually.

A man and a woman. The woman was around thirty, likely a counselor from the Heritage College. The man looked to be twenty-six or twenty-seven, a face he didn't recognize—probably a new hire.

Lin Sicheng didn't have time to worry about them and went back to his meal.

About ten minutes later, presumably finding no other seats, the two walked over with their trays. After asking, they sat down across from Lin Sicheng.

The man was very attentive, helping with the porridge and handing over chopsticks.

"Senior Sister Feng, I really owe you for the teaching assistant position! Let me know when you're free, and I'll treat you to a meal."
"We'll see."
"I'll need your guidance in the future. If I do anything wrong, please point it out!"
"Sure!"
"Professor Wang has a class later. Is there anything I can help with?"
"Just organize the students and keep track of attendance."
"Got it, Senior Sister. What is Professor Wang lecturing on today?"
"The composite reinforcement of bronze artifacts!"

They were sitting right across from him; Lin Sicheng couldn't avoid hearing them even if he wanted to.

Coincidentally, wasn't the practical class for the Heritage Conservation major later taught by this Professor Wang?

The male teacher kept talking, while the female teacher mostly just hummed in response. Lin Sicheng ate while listening. After finishing the dumplings and noodles, he began gnawing on the burgers with the remaining broth.

A few bites later, his phone rang. The male teacher's speech was interrupted, and he glanced at Lin Sicheng.

Lin Sicheng answered casually: "Brother Hao!"
"It's so noisy. You're at school?"
"I'm a student; where else would I be if not at school?"

"With your attitude, why even bother going to school?"
"Say that to my grandfather's face next time you see him!"

Hao Jun laughed. "The finance department is closing the books at the end of the month. If the funds aren't released today, it’ll take several more days. If you're comfortable with it, I'll sign for that three-hundred-thousand-yuan check on your behalf!"

He had helped him pick up a multi-million-yuan bargain?

"Why wouldn't I be comfortable? It's yours!"
"That's three hundred thousand, you know?"
"If you think that's not enough, Brother, I can add some more!"
"Lin Sicheng, if you're going to talk like that, three hundred thousand really isn't quite enough. My requirements aren't high—just help me find another pot like yesterday's when you have the chance!"
"One isn't enough? You should at least aim for eight or ten..."
"Lin Sicheng, say that again, I want to record it!"

They joked around for a bit before Lin Sicheng hung up.

The male teacher across from him looked strange, as if he were suppressing a laugh. His own monthly salary was barely over a thousand, and this student was tossing around "three hundred thousand" so casually? What a braggart.

Just as he found the situation amusing, another figure stopped by the table.

Being in the same college and both counselors, they obviously knew each other. Li Zhen nodded to Feng Lin and tapped on the table.

Lin Sicheng looked up, looking slightly dazed. "Senior Sister Li? Care to join me?"
"I've already eaten. I saw you from a distance and thought it was you," Li Zhen pursed her lips. "You keep eating. I'll talk to you about something when you're done."

Lin Sicheng paused. Was it about Professor Shang wanting him to pursue a Master's degree?

His grandfather must have called, but Professor Shang likely felt that a talent as "rotten" as his was still worth saving, so he wanted to work on his mindset in person.

He shook his head. "I have class right after I finish!"
"It won't take long, maybe one period at most."

That wasn't long?

Lin Sicheng looked at the two across from him. "Xiao Yuzhu said Professor Wang is a new hire and also a college leader; he's super strict!"

Li Zhen was both annoyed and amused. So what if he's a college leader? It wasn't like Lin Sicheng had never skipped the Dean's class before.

Just as she was about to say something, Lin Sicheng pointed across the table. "Don't believe me? Ask this senior sister and brother."

Li Zhen finally realized: these two must be the new teaching assistants for Professor Wang.

What a coincidence.

"Fine, I'll come find you after the next class," she smiled, pursing her lips. "Professor Shang doesn't have any classes all day anyway!"

As expected, Professor Shang had sent her?

Lin Sicheng sighed. "No need to trouble yourself, Senior Sister. I'll go see him myself after class."
"You promise?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"Good!"

Nodding to the other two, Li Zhen turned and walked away.

Being new to the workplace and relatively naive, the male teacher asked with curiosity, "Is this student from the Year 4 Heritage Conservation department?"
"Yes!"
"What does Professor Shang want with you?"
Lin Sicheng replied instantly, "I didn't turn in my homework!"

How could that be? A professor of his stature would never send his teaching assistant to hunt down a student in the cafeteria just for missing an assignment.

Instinctively, Xu Bo's impression of Lin Sicheng deepened: not only was he a braggart, but he was also full of hot air.

Lin Sicheng buried his head in his food, and Xu Bo didn't want to ask more. Just as he wanted to get closer to his senior sister, Feng Lin checked her watch. "Time's almost up, we still need to prepare the materials!"
"Oh, right!"

Swallowing his porridge in a few gulps, the two stood up.

At that moment, Lin Sicheng's phone pinged, and the screen lit up.

Purely out of reflex, the male teacher glanced over: *A transfer of 300,000.00 yuan has been credited to your card ending in ****. Balance...*

One, ten, hundred, thousand... three hundred thousand?

The male teacher felt his scalp go numb. Was it really three hundred thousand? His own monthly salary was only eleven hundred.

...

"How could he have three hundred thousand?"
"He's just a student!"
"That's three hundred thousand!"

Feng Lin paused. She hadn't realized this Teacher Xu had such a fragile temperament. Throughout the walk, he had been acting like a lost soul, muttering to himself without stopping.

Back in the lab, he was still muttering?

She sighed. "Teacher Xu, why don't you take a break for this class?"
"Ah? Senior Sister, why?"
"In your state, how could I dare let you assist with the experiment? What if you accidentally spill acid on the professor's hands?"

Xu Bo froze, then gave a sheepish laugh. "I just can't figure it out. How does a student earn three hundred thousand?"
"Teacher Xu, why are you fixated on this? Even if he picked up that three hundred thousand, what does it have to do with you or your work?"

Before she could finish, a voice from the doorway said, "Who picked up three hundred thousand?"

The two turned around. Wang Zhizhi was entering the lab carrying a laptop.
"Professor Wang!"
Wang Zhizhi smiled. "I heard you talking about someone picking up three hundred thousand?"
"It's Lin Sicheng... We were just at the canteen eating and happened to sit at the same table. Someone called him and transferred three hundred thousand..."
"Who?" Wang Zhizhi paused. "Lin Sicheng?"
"Yes, the student you ran into downstairs at the Academic Affairs Center last week, Professor Wang!"

Wang Zhizhi's face darkened. "Where did he get three hundred thousand?"

Did this kid sell the Iron Voucher?