Chapter 27.1 – Code Name: I’m Going to Be a Top Student

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

Su Ling quickly stopped the girl.

From the sulking appearance of his own little Tuanzi and Ai Xi’s seemingly calm but actually guilty expression, Su Ling roughly guessed what had happened.

Between a pet and a customer, if he had to choose one… of course, the customer comes first!

“It’s okay, just wipe it clean if there’s nothing on your hands.” Su Ling said with a smile.

Not only did he generously let Ai Xi off the hook, he even criticised Tuanzi without any favouritism, “It just got stepped on, right? This Miss touched you a couple of times. Can that be called stepping?”

The silkworm baby tilted its head, lost in thought.

“How can a boy be so delicate?” Su Ling criticized seriously.

Chang Bai immediately seized on the point, “A boy?”

Shi Kongzang looked at Su Ling in amazement and said, “To be able to tell the gender of Tuanzi, that’s truly remarkable!”

Su Ling looked up, puzzled, “Isn’t it obvious at a glance? Tuanzi, act cute.”

The silkworm baby grumbled reluctantly and weakly moved.

Su Ling started talking nonsense with his eyes wide open, “See that? Tuanzi is so cute, it must be a boy!”

Cute???

Upon hearing Su Ling praise it, the silkworm baby instantly cheered up. Its chubby body happily rolled on the floor, sometimes stretching out pretending to be a dough stick, sometimes curling up into a ball pretending to be a carpet¹moisturize him, thoroughly enjoying itself.

Ai Xi raised her eyes, looked at Su Ling for a long time, and suddenly said seriously, “You’re quite amusing.”

Su Ling smiled helplessly, “Tuanzi has a simple nature, despite its sullen look, it doesn’t actually bite.”

Ai Xi nodded, “I know.”

Su Ling looked Ai Xi up and down, then said with a smile, “Don’t stand around here, go sit in the meeting room.”

Ai Xi took a deep breath, her right hand holding the strap of her backpack again.

“I encountered something strange and would like your help,” Ai Xi adjusted her glasses, and in a composed tone, said, “I don’t know how you charge for services here?”

Su Ling subconsciously tapped his index finger on the conference table, pondered for a moment, then spoke, “Tell us what happened first, and we will determine the price based on the difficulty of the situation.”

Ai Xi visibly breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back slightly, indicating that her body had also relaxed quite a bit. “I have a friend, his personality suddenly underwent a significant change, and I’m suspicious.”

“He used to be someone who didn’t like studying, but recently, he started going to the library to study every night…” Ai Xi’s speech was slow, as if she was carefully recalling.

“Hmm, it’s rare for a poor student to suddenly change for the better, but it’s possible, right?” Su Ling cautiously judged.

Ai Xi smiled, a faint dimple appearing on her left cheek, “Indeed. At first, I didn’t think much of it, and I was actually happy for him. But gradually, I noticed that his enthusiasm for learning seemed to reach abnormal levels.”

“Even if a normal person loves studying, they still have to eat, sleep, and rest, right? But it seems like he doesn’t consider these things, anything else is a form of interruption and disturbance to him.” Ai Xi unconsciously furrowed her brows, looking worried.

Listening, Shi Kongzang suddenly understood, “Your friend is a male, right?”

Ai Xi was taken aback, “How did you know?”

Shi Kongzang rubbed his chubby chin, chuckled softly twice.

Meng Xiaoman slapped the back of his head, “Don’t laugh so creepily, corrupting the kids.”

Shi Kongzang shrugged, “If he wasn’t male, would the young lady be so concerned?”

Meng Xiaoman paused, then nodded, seriously educating Ai Xi, “Right, kids shouldn’t fall in love early.”

Ai Xi’s face suddenly turned subtly complicated.

“He’s not my boyfriend, just my neighbour. We’ve known each other since we were very young, then went to the same school, so our relationship is close.” Ai Xi corrected.

Meng Xiaoman persisted, “Well, childhood sweethearts are also good.”

Ai Xi pursed her lips, a slight blush creeping up her ears, but this time she didn’t deny it.

“Xiao Meng, don’t digress. Ai Xi, continue, what happened to your childhood friend?” Su Ling asked.

Clearing her throat, Ai Xi continued, “He’s practically living in the library day and night now, not going home, not sleeping. Several times, he pushed himself too far, preferring to be carried out by emergency personnel rather than rest. Both his mother and I are very worried about him.”

After a couple of light coughs, Ai Xi calmed down a bit, then continued, “Thinking back, perhaps it wasn’t normal from the beginning. He hated studying the most from childhood to adulthood, even getting into H University was because his mother forced him out every day. There’s no reason why he would suddenly become more studious in college.”

Su Ling inquired, “Do you remember when he started changing?”

After a moment of thought, Ai Xi said firmly, “The day school started.”

“Okay.” Su Ling smiled gently, guiding the conversation, “What special thing did he do on the first day of school?”

Ai Xi furrowed her brow, “Not really… um, just went to the library, said he was borrowing a book for his desk partner.”

Su Ling keenly caught onto the key point, “After going to the library, he started going there every day? Is your childhood friend addicted to studying, or addicted to going to the library?”

Ai Xi puzzled, “Is there a difference?”

Su Ling hesitated, then beckoned to Shi Kongzang, “Come, Monk, explain the difference between being addicted to studying and being addicted to going to the library to this studious person.”

Shi Kongzang cheerfully agreed, explaining, “To love studying, like you, there’s not much to say. But if someone loves the library, well, there are many possibilities…”

Wu Pan interjected, “Yes, for example, he might be captivated by the pretty ladies in the library.”

Meng Xiaoman added, “He might also be captivated by the book spirit maiden inside the books.”

Chang Bai added, “Or he might be captivated by the painted skin female ghost.”

Shi Kongzang continued, “And there’s also the possibility…”

Ai Xi, feeling a headache coming on, quickly pinched her forehead and urgently interrupted, “Besides being captivated by the ladies, are there any other possibilities?”

The spirits exchanged glances, and after a while, Meng Xiaoman hesitantly said, “He might also be captivated by the handsome guys inside?”

Ai Xi:…

Su Ling helplessly interrupted the staff’s banter and began to explain seriously, “The main thing you mentioned was that your childhood friend is neglecting sleep and food, almost obsessively spending all his time in the library. It sounds like he might be under some kind of spell.”

Ai Xi’s eyes reddened. “What should we do?”

“If you want to determine the cause, it’s best to go and investigate in the library,” Su Ling suggested.

Ai Xi shook her head, feeling conflicted, “Our school library is not open to the public.”

“Can’t you sneak in and take a look?” Shi Kongzang raised an eyebrow.

“Our school has strict security; outsiders can’t enter,” Ai Xi said helplessly.

It was indeed a difficult problem…

Even if they managed to sneak in using deception, they wouldn’t be able to thoroughly investigate the library.

Perhaps the best solution would be to stay in the school for a while.

Su Ling rubbed his chin, his eyes slyly sweeping over the spirits, then smirked mischievously.

Meng Xiaoman, Wu Pan, the Chang brothers, and Shi Kongzang all shuddered.

After seeing off Ai Xi, Su Ling gathered everyone together, then clenched his fist, excitedly saying, “I’ve made a decision!”

Sheng Ze frowned, “…What decision have you made?”

“To protect Ai Xi’s childhood friend and to investigate the criminals hidden behind the library, I’ve decided to initiate an undercover operation—code name: I’m Going to Be a Top Student.”

Sheng Ze asked, “What kind of operation?”

“An undercover operation!”

Sheng Ze questioned, “How undercover?”

Su Ling looked around, scratched his chin, and mischievously hinted, “I suppose none of you have attended a modern high school?”

Sheng Ze promptly refused, “No, and I’m not particularly keen on experiencing it.”

Shi Kongzang added, “I’m not interested either.”

Wu Pan chimed in, “Come on, studying is fun, you can immerse yourself in the ocean of knowledge every day…”

Meng Xiaoman interjected coldly, “…and then accidentally drown in it.”

Wu Pan pursed his lips, feeling unhappy, “How can none of you have any thirst for knowledge?”

“We’re more superficial,” Meng Xiaoman patted Wu Pan’s shoulder, speaking seriously, “In terms of knowledge, who among us can match you? So, for this undercover plan, it’s all up to you!”

“No way!” Before Wu Pan could speak up, Su Ling voiced his opposition.

Su Ling waved his hand in front of the spirits, trying to get their attention, “Wu Pan is right, the meaning of our ghostly existence lies in that moment when we are submerged in the ocean of knowledge. So, starting next week, everyone in the company will be attending H University!”

Wu Pan: ???

I’m not, I haven’t.

I’ve never heard of this before, stop making things up.

Su Ling observed the varied expressions on the spirits’ faces and added, “If you really don’t want to go…”

Meng Xiaoman’s face lit up, about to say something, but then heard Su Ling leisurely add the second half of the sentence, “Your salary will be deducted completely.”

Meng Xiaoman steered the conversation in a different direction, nodding seriously, “Going to school is good, it allows us to immerse ourselves in the ocean of knowledge. Let’s all dive into the ocean together!”

Su Ling grinned at Shi Kongzang, “And someone’s hidden stash of alcohol, if you don’t go, it’ll all be gone…”

The wine and meat monk, Shi Kongzang, put his palms together and said, “Amitabha, I think going to school can broaden our horizons and enrich our lives, it’s definitely worth a try.”

Su Ling then turned to look at Chang Wu and Chang Bai.

Chang Bai instantly turned his head when he received Su Ling’s gaze, and seriously said to his brother, “Study hard.”

Chang Wu added, “Strive for progress every day.”

Su Ling looked contentedly at the last person—Sheng Ze.

Sheng Ze raised an eyebrow calmly, meeting Su Ling’s gaze directly, showing no signs of backing down.

After some thought, Su Ling suddenly said, “That red electric scooter downstairs…”

Sheng Ze’s eye twitched, he calmly straightened his posture, stood up gracefully, and nodded, “Since the root of this matter lies in the school, we must take the lead and overcome all obstacles to investigate the cause for Miss Ai.”

Su Ling nodded approvingly, applauding, “Exemplary courage! Admirable resolve!”

The employees were deeply moved by the noble qualities of their Ghost King, enthusiastically joining in the applause.

—After all, being slow could lead to life-threatening situations.

Shi Kongzang sneakily opened his phone, entered the chat group named 《Absolutely no  Ghost King and Boss gossip group》, and complained, “This guy is pretending so well that I almost believed him! Take a good look, everyone, let’s all study hard from now on…”

“Shi Kongzang,” Sheng Ze’s calm voice interrupted.

Shi Kongzang: ?

Sheng Ze looked at him, a deeper smile playing at the corners of his mouth, “You accidentally spoke out loud just now.”

Shi Kongzang: …!

That afternoon, it was rumored that Shi Kongzang and Sheng Ze had gone to the restroom to “exchange their thoughts”. After their conversation, Shi Kongzang came out looking dejected.

All the employees looked at Shi Kongzang with deep sympathy, then shivered as they wrapped their coats tightly, conscientiously muttering “Long Live the Ghost King” in their hearts a hundred times.

Only Su Ling, observing this harmonious and friendly scene, felt truly content, “It seems like everyone has already accepted A-Ze.”

No reuploading anywhere else.

Support the author 此山有鬼 by buying chapters on jjwxc!!

Your ko-fi donations would be greatly appreciated.

If you want to try out a Quick Transmigration novel, you can try out ‘[Quick Transmigration] The Paranoid Villain is Coveting the Beautiful Cat Again‘

You can also try out ‘After leaving the entertainment industry, the Ge’er became famous for his embroidery skills‘

I’m currently translating these novels as well~

Ko-fi goals? Extra chapter release once we reach our goal!!

• 1
  moisturize him