Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Teacher, Shen Ningning Ran Out

There’s a drought right now. It hasn’t rained, and many of the wells have dried up!

Forget fruit trees; even the grain crops were struggling to survive.

Shen Ningning knew why everyone was so surprised.

She wasn’t the least bit arrogant. Instead, she offered a lovely smile. "Hurry and eat. Don’t be polite with me."

The six people at their table all got to eat their fill, thanks to Shen Ningning!

Other students who passed by were shocked and envious when they saw this.

After this incident, rumors began to spread that the newcomer, Shen Ningning, was the pampered daughter of a wealthy family.

Everyone thought her family must be incredibly noble, which was why the County Magistrate had recommended her for the academy.

The words reached Lan Qian’s ears.

She frowned immediately and, while Shen Ningning was out of the classroom, began to vehemently refute the rumors.

"That must be a lie! If her family had immense power, why wouldn’t she be studying at the National Academy in the Capital City? Why come to our Guangyang County instead?"

The classmates around her said, "But Shen Ningning is really generous, and she’s so fair-skinned and pretty. She must have been pampered at home."

Lan Qian snapped in annoyance, "She’s clearly an uncultured person!"

She still remembered the sharp remark Shen Ningning had made to her.

Besides, Lan Qian felt that she had heard the name Shen Ningning somewhere before.

But she couldn’t recall where just then.

The afternoon class was calligraphy.

Shen Ningning knew that this was something she could only master through hard work, so she practiced even more diligently.

When it was time for the evening meal, she declined, saying she wasn’t going to eat.

’The meager dishes in the dining hall are nothing compared to the red fruits I can eat in the Immortal Realm.’

The little girl simply stayed in her private room in the East Garden, practicing her calligraphy in peace.

Dusk fell, and night began to blanket the sky.

Mr. Huang was the teacher responsible for patrols and roll call tonight.

He came to check on Shen Ningning and saw her practicing her characters diligently.

He reminded her, "Scholar Shen, the academy has a rule. You cannot leave your room after 7 p.m."

This was for the safety of every student.

Shen Ningning looked up and said obediently, "I understand, teacher. I won’t run around."

Mr. Huang nodded and left.

After he was gone, the little girl stretched.

She glanced at the sky; it was almost 7 p.m.

"Wow, it’s already so late!"

She patted her little tummy, feeling a bit hungry.

So she blew out the candle, touched the small mole on her finger, and entered the Immortal Realm.

The first thing the little girl did was check on her orange tree.

Half of the previously green oranges had turned a golden yellow.

She casually picked one and, using a dagger she had grabbed from the armory, carefully cut it open.

With one slice, orange juice spurted out.

Shen Ningning took a big bite of a slice, and the sweet juice burst in her mouth.

’So sweet and delicious!’

It even had a slightly chilled texture.

Eating something so tasty instantly revitalized the little girl.

She began to till the fields again, sowing countless seeds.

「At that very moment.」

Lan Qian, who also lived in the East Garden, crept quietly to the outside of Shen Ningning’s room.

She seemed to have remembered why Shen Ningning’s name sounded familiar. It was because she had previously gone with her aunt to Landlord Du’s estate to celebrate Mrs. Du’s birthday.

During the event, she had run into someone named Qin Fangmei, who was complaining to others about a freeloader in her family named Shen Ningning.

Not only did she have no money and no backing, but she was also a little orphan!

But two or three months had already passed, so Lan Qian wasn’t entirely sure if she remembered correctly.

So she planned to stand at the door and call out Qin Fangmei’s name.

’If this Shen Ningning has an unusual reaction, then something is definitely wrong!’

However, when Lan Qian peered through the window,

she saw that the moonlit bed was empty!

There was no sign of Shen Ningning in the entire room!

Lan Qian was startled.

’This Shen Ningning is too bold. Did she actually ignore the academy’s curfew and sneak out?’

She was about to leave when she suddenly realized this was a perfect opportunity to force Shen Ningning out!

Lan Qian spun around and ran directly toward the courtyard where the teachers lived.

She shouted nonstop as she ran, "Teacher, something’s wrong! Shen Ningning isn’t in her room, she ran out!"

However, just as she ran off, Shen Ningning emerged from the Immortal Realm.

The little girl had been eating the sweet, delicious oranges while she planted.

Her little tummy was round and full, and she felt very satisfied!

She had washed her hands in the Immortal Realm before coming out.

She had wanted to take a bath, but her grandmother wasn’t there, and she couldn’t heat the Spiritual Spring Water by herself.

So she gave up on the idea.

Shen Ningning wasn’t sleepy at all. The thought of all the seeds she had planted, which would soon yield vegetables and fruits, made her too excited to sleep!

She decided to practice her calligraphy a bit more and also review the lesson for tomorrow.

So she lit the oil lamp and focused on her studies at the desk.

Before long, she heard the sound of chaotic footsteps at her door.

Interspersed were Mr. Huang’s stern questions: "Are you sure she ran out? Did you see where she went?"

Lan Qian answered, "I don’t know! I only realized no one was there when I passed by her room!"

The students who had been woken up also came out of their rooms, craning their necks to see what was happening in the courtyard.

Mr. Huang, leading a group of people, stopped in front of Shen Ningning’s door.

He looked at the dim yellow lamplight inside the room; it was exactly the same as when he had been on patrol earlier.

’Isn’t she here?’

Mr. Huang shot a sharp glance at Lan Qian.

Lan Qian, however, was dumbfounded.

"Impossible!" she said, and without any sense of propriety, she slapped the door open.

She had to see with her own eyes whether Shen Ningning was in the room.

However, as the door flew open, Shen Ningning, who had been concentrating on her calligraphy, was startled.

Her small body trembled, and a faint panic rippled in her watery eyes.

After realizing it was Mr. Huang and the others, Shen Ningning put down her brush and walked to the door in confusion.

"Teacher, it’s so late. Is something wrong?"

Mr. Huang’s expression was unreadable as he simply asked, "Scholar Shen, did you go out just now?"

"No." The little girl was puzzled.

’I was busy planting in the Immortal Realm, how would I have time to go out?’

Lan Qian grew frantic. "I looked through your door just now, and no one was in your room!"

"I..." Shen Ningning was about to speak.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Huang snapped at Lan Qian, "Absurd!"

Lan Qian looked innocent, and aggrieved tears welled up in her eyes. "Teacher, I’m not lying."

"When I was pressed against the door looking in, Shen Ningning was not in the room, and there were no lights on."

A student to the side asked doubtfully, "It’s already past 7 p.m. Why aren’t you sleeping? What were you doing peeking into Shen Ningning’s window?"

Lan Qian’s throat tightened.

She couldn’t answer.

Facing Mr. Huang’s gaze, she lowered her head guiltily. "I... I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk."

Seeing her act like this, everyone already had a clear idea of what was going on.

Not even fifteen minutes had passed since Lan Qian went to notify Mr. Huang.

If Shen Ningning had really gone out, it would be impossible for her to have returned in that exact window of time.

"Scholar Lan, not only did you slander a fellow student, but by going out after 7 p.m. yourself, you have already broken the academy’s curfew."

Mr. Huang said in a stern tone, "You will copy the Thousand Character Classic ten times and hand it to me tomorrow evening."

Lan Qian burst into tears. "I’ve been framed! Even if I was wrong to go out, Shen Ningning wasn’t in her room either!"

Her loud crying in the middle of the night gave Mr. Huang a headache.

"No more excuses, the matter is settled! The rest of you, stop staring and hurry back to your rooms to rest!"

Urged on by the teacher, the crowd dispersed one after another.

Lan Qian was also led away under the supervision of two Attendant Students.

On the way back, Lan Qian cried sorrowfully.

’Shen Ningning must have set me up on purpose.’

’Maybe when I looked into the room, Shen Ningning was hiding under the bed just to get me punished!’

Mr. Huang looked at Shen Ningning.

A small, petite figure, delicate and fair-skinned.

Her bright, watery eyes were clear and shimmering.

Mr. Huang couldn’t help but say, "Scholar Shen, it’s very late. No matter how hard you study, you must also pay attention to your rest time."

Shen Ningning snapped back to her senses, her voice soft and sweet. "I know, teacher. I’ll go to sleep right now."

Mr. Huang nodded and closed the door for her.

After everyone had left, the little girl scratched her head. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Lan Qian was peeking through my window just now?" she muttered to herself.

’She must have done it while I was busy toiling away in the Immortal Realm.’

But, of course, that was a secret Shen Ningning could never admit.

She blew out the candle and had a wonderful dream.