Chapter 2 – Profession [Student]

Lu Yuan’s dad is named Lu Xinghua.

The Small Shop mainly sells grain and oil, along with cigarettes, snacks, beverages, and daily necessities.

Lu Yuan finds it hard to accurately describe the nature of their shop.

When Lu Yuan reached the entrance of the Small Shop, he saw his mom, Zheng Qiuling, watching TV while sitting in front of a fan.

He glanced at the TV screen, which was showing a somewhat old family drama.

“Mom,” he called out, then helped himself to a bottle of the cheapest drink from the upright freezer at the entrance.

“You’re back.”

His mom smiled when she saw him.

She was about to say something when a customer came in to buy cigarettes.

She quickly said to him, “I’ve prepared the food upstairs. Go eat.”

“Got it,” Lu Yuan replied.

He walked into the shop, maneuvered through stacks of rice bags, barrels of cooking oil, and shelves filled with snacks and condiment bottles, and exited through the back door of the shop.

There was a staircase leading up, with several bicycles and electric bikes parked in the hallway beside it, which ended in a small courtyard.

The building was quite old, the stair railings rusty and cobwebs hanging from the corners.

The building had five floors in total.

The shop on the first floor was rented, but the second-floor corner unit had been bought by Lu Yuan’s family.

Lu Yuan climbed the stairs step by step.

When he reached his front door, he took out his keys and unlocked it.

The small apartment opened directly into the living room, followed by a dining room that was visible from the entrance, all furnished in an old style.

The house was quiet. Despite it being lunchtime, no one else was home.

Lu Yuan silently changed his shoes and entered.

After washing his hands, he sat down at the dining table.

Three dishes and a soup were laid out on the table: stir-fried bitter melon, braised pork, smashed cucumbers, and a bowl of winter melon sparerib soup.

Lu Yuan served himself some rice and began eating quietly.

Lately, he had gotten used to eating alone at the table.

Mom, Zheng Qiuling, had to stay in the shop almost all day, from the time it opened at seven in the morning until it closed around nine or ten at night.

Meals had to be brought to her in a bowl by family members, and she had to take bathroom breaks whenever there were no customers.

Dad, Lu Xinghua, had been at the hospital these past few days, taking care of grandfather.

Lu Yuan could tell that Dad had made lunch today.

As for his elder sister, Lu Jing.

She was studying archaeology at university and had gone on an expedition with an archaeological team some time ago and hadn’t returned yet.

She called via video chat a few days ago, saying she had reached a place called Xixu, which was full of deserts and rocky terrain.

Lu Yuan looked it up on the map and found that Xixu was over three thousand kilometers away from his current location in Jiaoyan, almost at the border of the Xia State. It was really far.

Lu Yuan quickly finished his meal.

He ate a lot of the stir-fried bitter melon and braised pork but didn’t touch the winter melon sparerib soup, intending to bring it down to Mom.

He then watched TV on the sofa for a while.

He flipped through the channels with the remote, eyes on the screen, but his mind was still pondering the Extracurricular Class situation.

He was still not giving up on the martial arts class.

Lu Yuan was considering telling his parents that he wouldn’t enroll in any class for now.

After the family’s current situation settled down, it wouldn’t be too late to enroll in any class.

He also planned to use all the money he had saved up.

“I’ll talk to Dad about it when I visit grandfather at the hospital this afternoon,” Lu Yuan finally decided.

With that thought, he quickly turned off the TV, went to the kitchen, and washed the accumulated dishes, placing them neatly on the drying rack.

Then he headed to his room.

He pulled down the blinds, turned on the air conditioner, and sat at his desk.

Lu Yuan checked his phone for the current time.

12:05 PM.

“Finish by 3 PM!” he set an alarm for two and a half hours later, took a deep breath, and stared at the pile of worksheets and homework in front of him, his eyes becoming calm and sharp like a veteran warrior.

“Activate•[Absolute Concentration]!” Lu Yuan silently chanted in his mind.

In an instant, all the noise around Lu Yuan faded away.

The occasional car horn from the street, the loud conversations from downstairs, the hum of the air conditioner in his room—all these sounds vanished.

It was as if Lu Yuan had entered a space where only he existed, with nothing but the books and worksheets in front of him.

“Beep beep beep—”

The piercing alarm from his phone broke the silence, vibrating and lighting up to display 2:35 PM.

At the sound, Lu Yuan, who had been sitting upright at his desk, writing furiously, suddenly slumped like a deflated balloon, collapsing into his chair.

“Whoo—”

Lu Yuan let out a long breath.

His face was pale, and he was enveloped in a deep sense of fatigue.

With some difficulty, he raised his hand, opened the drawer of his desk, and took out a box of gold-wrapped chocolates.

He unwrapped one and tossed it into his mouth, washing it down with some water he had prepared earlier, barely chewing before swallowing it.

After eating four or five pieces of chocolate in quick succession, Lu Yuan finally felt a bit more energized.

He straightened up a bit and massaged his temples slowly with both hands.

In front of him, messages that only he could see quickly appeared.

[You focused on studying for ten minutes, professional experience points +1]

[Your mathematics skill has improved, experience points +2]

[Your Physics skill has improved, experience points +4]

[You focused on studying for ten minutes, professional experience points +1]

“In two and a half hours, I gained 9 points of professional experience in mathematics, 12 points in Physics, and 15 points in chemistry.

I’ve nearly finished all the homework assigned by the school. Not bad at all.”

A satisfied smile appeared on Lu Yuan’s face. Then, his eyes flickered, and a light blue virtual screen appeared before him.

[Name: Lu Yuan]

[Age: 17]

[Profession: Student Level 3 (233/400)]

[Strength points: 7]

[Agility points: 8]

[Constitution points: 7]

[Intelligence points: 10]

[Professional Basic Skills: Language Level 3 (203/400)]

[Mathematics Level 3 (329/400)]

[Physics Level 3 (209/400)]

[Chemistry Level 3 (224/400)]

[Biology Level 3 (150/400)]

[History Level 3 (78/400)]

[Geography Level 3 (137/400)]

[Information Technology Level 3 (238/400)]

[Professional Core Skills: Absolute Concentration Level 1 (Active)]

[Attribute Points: 0]

[Skill Points: 0]

The style of the entire virtual screen was very simple, much like a character panel from an online game.

This was Lu Yuan’s golden finger1.

When he first crossed over and saw this virtual panel, he thought it was some kind of auxiliary system that everyone in this world had.

After all, the technology in this world was much more advanced than in his previous life.

After a period of repeated confirmation, he realized that this was something unique to him.

The ability of this professional panel, as the name suggests, exists to better enhance a person’s professional abilities.

Footnote:

1. Golden Finger(金手指): In Chinese web novels, a ‘golden finger’ (金手指) refers to a special ability, cheat, or tool that gives the protagonist an unfair advantage. It’s like a personal superpower or a unique system that helps the main character succeed in their adventures.