Fang Chen sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Huan Chen, if you interrupt me again, I shall—"
"You're literally in my body, old man!"
"That is our body now," Fang Chen corrected flatly. "Yours by birth, mine by conquest. You should be grateful. You house the soul of the greatest cultivator in existence!"
"You mean the same cultivator who got himself sealed for knocking up the Jade Emperor's daughter?"
"…You have quite the tongue for someone who's never kissed a girl."
"Hey—!"
Fang Chen smirked faintly before folding his arms. "Listen, boy. I require silence to refine my soul essence and gain back my full strength. If you wish to remain a bottom-feeding mortal for the rest of your life, then by all means, continue your senseless chatter."
"I don't care about cultivation!" Huan Chen shot back. "This is the 21st century! Cultivation doesn't decide everything anymore. People become celebrities, politicians, billionaires — without even touching qi! I was fine being normal!"
That response earned a low, humorless chuckle from Fang Chen. "Ignorance… what a luxury. You speak of modern occupations as if they can rival the Dao. Child, even your 'billionaires' would prostrate themselves for a single pill from my hand."
"Then why don't you go make some of those pills and move out?!"
"…Because your mortal currency system confuses me."
There was a pause. Then Huan Chen sighed. "You're hopeless."
Fang Chen exhaled slowly as the last of his patience faded. "Fine. Since you refuse to cease your constant buzzing, let us negotiate."
"Negotiate? You mean you'll finally give me my body back?"
"I will allow you," Fang Chen said with the tone of a monarch bestowing mercy, "two hours of control per day. During those hours, you may… eat, walk, bathe, or whatever mundane acts bring you joy."
"Two hours? You've got to be kidding me."
"Two hours," Fang Chen repeated calmly before closing his eyes once more. "Take it or—"
"Four."
"…What?"
"Four hours," Huan Chen said firmly. "Half the evening. I want to live my life too."
"Or I shall just evict your soul like I should have in the first place. Now your body will be mine fully," Fang Chen stated with a straight tone.
"I may be a virgin but I am not stupid. If you could have evicted my soul, you already would have done so. Four hours or I'll keep interrupting your cultivation and you won't ever regain your full strength," Huan Chen voiced from within with a smug tone.
Fang Chen remained silent for a long moment and then, with an irritated sigh, he muttered, "Four hours. No more."
"Deal."
"Finally," Fang Chen murmured while pressing his palms together once again. "Now be silent."
This time, as he sank back into meditation, the qi stirred more violently. The air itself vibrated with a rhythm that no mortal system could replicate. A faint golden aura began to shimmer around him, causing the old apartment lights to flicker.
Inside their shared consciousness, Huan Chen's eyes widened as he felt the energy gather without the help of any government-issued cultivation system.
'How…?' he whispered in awe. People need technology, spirit chips, or artificial nodes to even feel qi nowadays…
Fang Chen's voice echoed faintly, smug and calm. "Because I am not 'people,' boy. Remember this well — even after twenty thousand years, the Dao still answers to Fang Chen."
'Once I regain 30% of my strength, I shall seek my treasure vaults... I can faintly sense the presence of one in this city...'
...
...
The morning sun of Pekking City spilled through the windows of Class 3-B, coating rows of students in warm golden light.
Birds chirped faintly outside, and the sound of conversation filled the classroom.
At the back of the room sat Huan Chen — or rather, Fang Chen pretending to be Huan Chen.
He leaned lazily on one arm with his eyes half-lidded and an easy smirk playing on his lips. The sunlight caught his face at a perfect angle, highlighting sharp cheekbones, long lashes, and a faint glint of mischief in his gaze.
His face was better looking than the last day.
And although, it was nothing compared to his original looks, there was still a certain charm exuding from him.
"Why," Fang Chen muttered under his breath, "must I sit in this… dull arena of despair?"
"It's called school," Huan Chen replied from within their shared consciousness. "And you promised I'd get four hours a day. You already took my morning."
"Yes, yes, I remember," Fang Chen said with a dismissive wave. "But what is the point of sitting here and listening to a man drone on about… al-gebra? I mastered the art of creating life from death, yet here I am, learning about the number x."
"Because it's my body and my school! You'll get me expelled if you—"
"Silence, boy," Fang Chen said with a grin. "Observe. I am about to turn this mortal establishment into my new sect."
"What—"
Just then, the classroom door slid open. Another teacher, Mr. Zhao, entered with glasses sliding down his nose and a mug of lukewarm coffee in hand.
"Alright, class," he said in a tone of a man who'd given up on life years ago. "Open your books to page 147."
As he turned to write on the board, a ripple of whispers moved through the class.
"Is it just me or did Huan Chen… get hotter?"
"His hair… it's longer, right?"
"Did he always have that jawline?"
"Wait, he's smiling? Huan Chen doesn't smile…"
Fang Chen chuckled quietly while brushing a strand of long black hair from his face. He could feel his essence transforming the vessel. Huan Chen's once plain features were being sculpted, day by day, into something divinely handsome.
He leaned toward the girl sitting beside him, Mei Lin, the class monitor. She was a modest girl with slightly above average looks, polite, straight-laced, top of the class, and known to reject every boy who confessed to her because she already had a boyfriend.
"Mei Lin," he said softly with a honey smooth tone. "do you know that your name sounds like poetry when spoken aloud?"
Her hand froze mid-note. "H-Huh?"
Fang Chen rested his chin on his palm and smiled. "Mei Lin… 'Beautiful Forest.' Fitting, for someone so radiant. I feel calmer just sitting beside you."
Her face turned red instantly. "W-What are you saying?! We're in class!"
"What are you doing old man? I've never even said more than two words to her before? Besides, she has a boyfriend, " Huan Chen yelled from within.
"Because you're too chicken... It's always sweeter when she already belongs to someone else. The real flavor comes from tasting what's supposed to be off-limits," Fang Chen responded with a light chuckle.
"Damn you! Isn't she too young for you?" Huan Chen groaned.
"Age is merely a number. Besides, my body is just as young as she is," Fang Chen answered with an unbothered tone.
Huan Chen was just about to respond when trouble erupted.
From a few desks away, Mei Lin's boyfriend, a broad-shouldered athlete named Liu Tao, narrowed his eyes. "Oi, Huan Chen! What's that supposed to mean?"
Fang Chen turned to him with a perfectly calm expression. "It means your girlfriend has a name as beautiful as her face. Do you disagree?"
Liu Tao slammed his fist on the desk. "You trying to flirt with her in front of me?!"
Fang Chen grinned. "I am not trying, young one. I am succeeding."
The class erupted in whispers and suppressed laughter.
Mr. Zhao sighed. "Gentlemen, can we please not fight before lunch?"
---
During the lunch break, Fang Chen strolled through the school environs, gazing around with an amused curiosity.
"So this is how mortals spend their youth now…" he murmured. "They gather in herds, stare at glowing rectangles, and gossip about one another's hairstyles. Fascinating."
He passed a group of girls giggling by the vending machine.
"Hey, isn't that Huan Chen? He looks… different."
"Yeah, like, really different."
"Did he start modeling?"
Fang Chen stopped and smiled at them, tilting his head just enough for his hair to sway. "Ladies, are you by chance discussing me?"
All three squealed in unison.
"U-Um—no! We were just—"
He winked. "Worry not. You can continue. It pleases me to be admired."
They nearly fainted.
Inside his head, Huan Chen groaned. "You're going to make me the most hated guy in school!"
"Nonsense," Fang Chen said before taking a sip from a can of soda and blinking in surprise. "Ah! The mortals have created spiritual elixirs in metallic gourds!"
"That's cola."
"Co-la…" Fang Chen repeated, savoring the taste. "Sweet, fizzy… addictive. I must acquire more."
"You're hopeless."
---
The day continued like this. Every period was a battlefield, every hallway a parade of stolen glances and whispered rumors.
Huan Chen might have still gone unnoticed by most even though his looks were slowly improving, but due to the sudden shift of his personality and his unbridled tongue, it was impossible not to notice him now.
By the time classes ended, half the female population of Pekking High class 3 had developed a crush on "the new Huan Chen," and the other half was pretending not to.
But of course, this beauty came at a price.
As Fang Chen left the building, a group of angry male students confronted him near the gates, led by none other than Liu Tao, the class monitor's fuming boyfriend.
"You think you can flirt with my girl and get away with it, huh?!" Liu Tao snapped.