HDRDTH -Chapter 4 The “Master” Has a Bit of Morning Grumpiness

The atmosphere in the classroom seemed completely frozen.

The old principal trembled slightly as he walked toward the last row, as though making a pilgrimage.

Teacher Wang followed behind him, her expression uglier than crying.

The “unemployed drifter” she had just tried to throw out was actually the “master” the principal spoke of?

The reversal had come too quickly. Her teaching career was probably finished.

Su Wanyi’s palms were slick with sweat from nervousness.

She wanted to rush over and wake Yu Xian up, tell him to stop sleeping and quickly deal with the situation.

What if his act fell apart?

What if he woke up drunk and started causing trouble?

But the crowd surrounding him was full of worshipful gazes. She was squeezed outside the circle and couldn’t move at all.

The old principal stopped in front of Yu Xian’s desk.

Looking at the young man sleeping soundly with his head on the table, the respect in his eyes only deepened.

“A true master hidden among ordinary people…” the old principal sighed emotionally. “Look at this sleeping posture—relaxed yet controlled, with such long and steady breathing. What a transcendent state this is! Unburdened by worldly judgment, with only truth in his heart!”

The surrounding parents nodded repeatedly in agreement.

“Exactly! Look at how plainly he dresses, yet somehow his clothes carry an immortal aura on him!”

“This is called returning to simplicity! Great masters never care about appearances!”

Blinking her large eyes, Su Xi whispered to Su Wanyi:

“Mom, is Uncle Yu drooling in his sleep also some kind of advanced realm?”

Su Wanyi: “……”

She was so embarrassed her toes practically dug into the floor.

The old principal adjusted his collar and carefully reached out a hand, intending to gently wake this “master.”

“Sir… Sir?”

No response.

Yu Xian was dreaming.

In the dream, he sat aboard a million-yuan fishing yacht, holding a top-tier Shimano fishing rod while an enormous grouper weighing dozens of pounds bit the hook.

“It’s hooked!”

Dream-Yu Xian was overjoyed and jerked the rod upward violently!

In reality—

Yu Xian suddenly swung his arm.

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out.

That slap landed solidly on the old principal’s outstretched hand.

The entire room inhaled sharply!

He hit him?

He actually hit the principal?!

Su Wanyi’s vision darkened and she nearly fainted.

It’s over.

This is really over.

Assaulting a police officer—no, assaulting a principal—how could they possibly remain at this school now?

Yu Xian woke up from the interruption.

The “big fish” had escaped.

His eyes opened, and his waking temper instantly exploded. His brows knitted tightly as he glared viciously at the culprit who had interrupted his fishing.

“Who the hell is it? Tired of living? You scared my fish away!”

His voice carried the hoarse roughness and irritation of someone freshly awakened, overflowing with murderous intent.

The old principal was startled by the oppressive aura. Covering the reddened back of his hand, he subconsciously retreated half a step.

“Uh… my apologies for disturbing your rest, sir.”

The old principal actually apologized!

Looking at Yu Xian’s fierce expression, he became even more convinced that this was an eccentric genius.

“I’m the principal of this school. Earlier, I saw the problem-solving methods on the blackboard and was astonished beyond words, so I came specifically to seek guidance…”

“Principal?”

Yu Xian narrowed his eyes as his vision slowly focused.

Seeing the old man in the Zhongshan suit, then the crowd gathered around him like people watching a zoo animal—

His memories returned.

Oh right.

Still at the parent meeting.

The fish was gone.

His mood was terrible.

“Problem-solving methods?”

Yu Xian glanced at the blackboard and impatiently scratched his hair.

“What’s there to ask about with something at middle-school level? Does your school seriously have nobody competent left?”

Arrogant!

Too arrogant!

Calling a variant of Riemann geometry “middle-school level”?!

Yet not only was the old principal not angry, he became even more excited.

“As expected of a true master! Such an effortless attitude toward profound knowledge…”

He stepped forward eagerly.

“Sir, may I ask where you currently work? The Chinese Academy of Sciences? Or perhaps a university?”

Yu Xian yawned, stood up, and stretched lazily, his joints cracking loudly.

“Work?”

He snorted dismissively.

“I stay home taking care of the kid while researching how to make scrambled eggs taste better. Why? Does your school cafeteria need a cook?”

The crowd nearly collapsed from shock.

A cook?

You call this a cook?

What kind of cook casually solves calculus-level mathematical problems?!

Everyone assumed he was joking—mocking the injustice of a world that failed to recognize genius.

“Sir truly has a sense of humor.”

The old principal laughed awkwardly.

“Well, our school has always been dedicated to discovering and nurturing gifted students. As for your daughter Su Xi… we were negligent before. Given your family’s academic background, I would like to invite you to join our school’s honorary advisory group. Perhaps you could occasionally give lectures to the children…”

“No time.”

Yu Xian rejected him instantly.

“I need sleep. And I need to fish. Who has time to lecture a bunch of little brats?”

Picking up the empty backpack he had brought purely for appearances, he turned to leave.

“Excuse me. Move aside. You’re blocking the sunlight.”

The crowd automatically parted for him.

Yu Xian walked up to Su Wanyi and Su Xi. Seeing the mother and daughter standing there like wooden chickens, he frowned.

“What are you spacing out for? Is the meeting over yet? I’m hungry. Let’s go home so I can cook.”

Su Wanyi nodded mechanically.

“Oh… oh…”

“Wait! Sir!”

Unwilling to let such a “master” escape, the old principal hurried after him.

“Since you don’t have time, then could we at least… exchange contact information? In the future, if we encounter academic difficulties, we could seek your guidance…”

Yu Xian stopped and looked back at the old principal’s eager, knowledge-hungry eyes.

What a hassle.

If he refused, this old man would probably cling to him all the way home.

“I don’t have a mobile phone,” Yu Xian said flatly. “There’s a landline at home. Ask her for the number.”

He pointed at Su Wanyi.

Then he walked out of the classroom without another glance.

His back looked carefree and elegant, without the slightest attachment.

The old principal reacted as though he had obtained a priceless treasure and immediately turned toward Su Wanyi, his attitude even friendlier than toward city officials.

“Mrs. Su Xi, quickly—please give me the number! From now on, if Su Xi needs anything at school, just come directly to me! Full tuition waiver! Highest-level scholarship!”

Beside him, Teacher Wang trembled violently.

She knew that from today onward—

Su Xi had become the one student in the entire school who absolutely could not be offended.

Dazed and lightheaded, Su Wanyi gave the principal their phone number, then led the equally dazed Su Xi out of the school gates.

Only after boarding the bus home did Su Wanyi finally regain her senses.

She looked at Yu Xian, who sat beside the window staring blankly at the scenery outside.

Full tuition waiver.

Top-level scholarship.

The principal personally trying to keep him there.

Everything felt like a dream.

And all of it had happened because this man wrote a few lines of chalk on a blackboard, took a nap, and insulted a few people.

“Um… Xiao Yu…”

Unable to hold herself back, Su Wanyi cautiously spoke, her voice full of tentative curiosity.

“You… do you really understand that… Riemann geometry thing?”

Yu Xian turned to look at her.

Sunlight fell across the side of his face, sharply defining his features.

“What Riemann?” Yu Xian looked confused. “That fat old guy’s name is Riemann?”

Su Wanyi: “……”

“Then what you wrote on the blackboard…”

“Oh, that.”

Yu Xian waved it off casually.

“I saw a similar problem once at some secondhand bookstall and memorized it. Just happened to use it to scare that menopausal woman. So? Did I act convincingly?”

Act?

Su Wanyi’s eyes widened.

Memorized?

“But… but the principal said it was…”

“Ah, those old scholars love making simple problems sound complicated. The moment they see something they don’t understand, they call it a miracle.”

Yu Xian waved dismissively.

“Forget about that. That fat guy earlier—oh wait, that parent—not only apologized to us later, didn’t he?”

Su Wanyi remembered how, when they were leaving the school, President Wang—the man driving the “Tiger Head Benz”—had actually run over personally, smiling obsequiously while offering Yu Xian his business card.

He had even invited Yu Xian to dinner to seek advice on health preservation.

Meanwhile, Yu Xian had merely taken the card casually, stuffed it into his pocket, and said:

“Eat fewer oysters. Run more.”

And President Wang had thanked him profusely as though receiving an imperial decree.

This was all…

Far too surreal.

“An act… was it really just an act?”

Looking into Yu Xian’s clear yet unfathomably deep eyes, the doubts in Su Wanyi’s heart only grew heavier.

If he had merely memorized a problem, how could he remain so calm under that kind of pressure?

That aura.

That indifference toward authority and wealth.

That superiority emanating naturally from his bones…

There was no way someone could fake that!

He was lying.

He was hiding his true abilities.

Sitting between them, Su Xi hugged Yu Xian’s arm tightly, smiling like a blooming flower.

“Uncle Yu, you were so cool just now! Teacher Wang’s face turned green! My classmates are definitely going to envy me to death now!”

Yu Xian lowered his head to look at the little girl. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly for a brief moment before returning to his usual salted-fish expression.

“Envy my ass. If you score 58 points again, I’ll have your mother confiscate all your snacks.”

Su Xi stuck out her tongue, completely unafraid of him.

“That’ll never happen! The food you make is so delicious, Uncle Yu—you definitely wouldn’t bear to let me starve!”

“Tch.”

Yu Xian pulled his arm away in mock disgust.

“It’s hot as hell. Stop sticking to me.”

Even though he said that, he didn’t actually move away.

When they returned to the shabby rental apartment—

That familiar moldy smell somehow no longer felt as unbearable to Su Wanyi.

Because this home now had a pillar supporting it.

Even if that pillar looked lazy enough to collapse at any moment.

“I’m hungry.”

The moment Yu Xian entered, he sprawled onto the sofa.

“Go cook.”

Su Wanyi froze.

“Huh? Me?”

“What nonsense.”

Yu Xian spoke righteously.

“I overworked my brain today. My arms are too tired to lift. Ingredients are in the fridge. Figure it out yourself. Just don’t blow up the kitchen.”

Looking at his lazy-master attitude, Su Wanyi normally would have exploded in anger long ago.

But today…

“Alright, I’ll cook.”

To her own surprise, she obediently agreed, rolling up her sleeves as she walked toward the kitchen.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Whatever. As long as it’s edible.”

Watching Su Wanyi enter the kitchen, Yu Xian finally let out a long sigh of relief.

He had successfully fooled everyone.

That Riemann geometry thing really was something he had read in a science article during his previous life and happened to remember.

But he absolutely did not want to admit he understood it.

Once he admitted it, Su Wanyi would definitely force him to tutor the child, maybe even pressure him into getting a teaching certificate and earning money…

How would he lie flat then?

Being an occasionally lucky salted fish was much more comfortable.

He pulled the business card from his pocket.

“Hongda Real Estate — Wang Dafu.”

Rubbing the card between his fingers, Yu Xian’s eyes shifted slightly.

That name…

Sounded familiar.

Then he remembered.

In his previous life, Wang Dafu had been one of Jiangcheng’s biggest real-estate developers.

Later, he died young because of health problems, and his business empire was carved apart.

The reason his health collapsed—

Was excessive indulgence in alcohol and women, leading to kidney failure.

Earlier at the school gate, Yu Xian had merely spoken casually.

He never expected a blind cat to accidentally catch a dead mouse and hit the man’s sore spot perfectly.

“Hongda Real Estate…”

Yu Xian muttered softly.

If he remembered correctly, Hongda Real Estate would soon develop an artificial lake project.

And that lake…

Seemed to be an absolutely perfect fishing spot.

Moreover, the project had been delayed for a long time because of feng shui issues…

Yu Xian’s eyes lit up.

If he could get on good terms with that fat Wang guy—

Couldn’t he secure a lifetime VIP fishing spot for free?

Maybe even get the guy to gift him a lakeside villa as a fishing cabin?

His grand plan of lying flat seemed to have found a brand-new breakthrough!

Right at that moment—

Crash!

A loud noise erupted from the kitchen, immediately followed by Su Wanyi’s startled cry.

“Ah! The fire! The fire’s too big!”

Yu Xian shot upright from the sofa, his face full of despair.

“What a sin…”

With a resigned sigh, he dragged his heavy steps toward the kitchen.

“Let go of that spatula! I’ll do it!”