Chapter 82: Popular Queen Shang Liuyu

Yang Wei, who normally prioritized a teacher's dignity, frowned. He was unaccustomed to such an atmosphere, but considering it was to deal with Zu An, he endured. "Since that's the case, I'd like all of you students to be witnesses, so that no one denies the result after losing."

Zu An, however, spoke up. "Wait."

"What, are you scared?" Yang Wei frowned, worried the other party might back out now.

"Scared?" Zu An chuckled softly. "I just want to find a witness for our bet."

Yang Wei pointed to the numerous students nearby. "What, aren't all these people enough to be witnesses?"

"Of course not," Zu An said indifferently. "If I lose, they'll certainly suffice, but if you lose, these students might not carry enough weight, since no one wants to offend a teacher."

"I'll lose?" Yang Wei laughed in exasperation. Although his cultivation wasn't high, he was absolutely confident in his mathematical abilities and wouldn't tolerate any doubts.

"There's nothing absolute in this world. If you're unwilling, then I won't bet." Zu An turned to leave.

Yang Wei assumed he was retreating and immediately grew anxious. He had finally cornered Zu An, so he couldn't let him just leave. He quickly said, "Alright, let's find another teacher to be a witness. But who's available right now?"

He was contemplating inviting some colleagues he was close with when, at that moment, a clear, gentle voice came from outside the door. "Let me be the witness."

Such a soft and pleasant voice instantly drew everyone's attention. As they turned to look, the previously bustling classroom, which resembled a marketplace, fell silent.

A woman in a plain dress leaned lazily against the doorway. With snow-white skin and vermilion lips, her features were as picturesque as a painting. Her gown, like gauze and mist, a thin layer, perfectly outlined the graceful and alluring curves of her body. Although only a small portion of her slender, snowy arms and fair, jade-like calves were visible, it was enough to make any man's breath quicken.

She possessed a unique aura; simply leaning against the door, she exuded an indescribably elegant and unrestrained grace, her charm like that of a celestial fairy.

Had it not been for the green wine gourd hanging from her waist, one might have thought upon first sight that she truly lived an ethereal existence, untouched by worldly concerns.

"Teacher Shang… Teacher Shang!"The classroom first fell into instant silence, then erupted in loud cheers as students rushed toward her, gazing at the woman with eager faces.

Even Yang Wei's breathing quickened. Originally, he had been reluctant to teach at the academy; the Ministry of Revenue had much work, and were it not for court regulations, he would never have bothered coming to teach these "little brats."However, ever since he first saw this woman at the school, he no longer considered part-time teaching a chore. Instead, he would frequently visit the school, just for another glimpse of her.

Zu An, however, was somewhat shocked because he had seen this woman before. That time in the pavilion, they had played the xiao... *Ptooey, ptooey*, they had bonded through music. At the time, he had asked for her name, but she refused to tell him, saying they would meet again if fate willed it.Back then, he had secretly scoffed at the idea, wondering how easy it would be to reunite in such a vast world. Now he finally understood that she most likely already knew he was a student at Brightmoon Academy, which was why she was so certain they would meet again.He wasn't stupid; these people called her Teacher Shang, and coupled with the infatuated looks of the male students, this woman must be Shang Liuyu, ranked third on the Beauty Scroll.No wonder the beautiful headmistress had asked him if he knew Shang Liuyu, saying she had secretly altered his aptitude test records, and he had replied that he didn't know her. As it turned out, she *was* Shang Liuyu, and everything suddenly made sense.

Yang Wei also changed his gloomy expression at this moment, putting on what he considered his best smile as he approached her. "Teacher Shang, why are you here?"

Shang Liuyu smiled faintly. "I was just passing by and heard it was quite lively in here, so I came to take a look."

Her smile instantly made Yang Wei's body go mostly numb, but remembering what was happening in the classroom, he couldn't help but blush. He quickly explained, "Mainly, there's a student who's very disobedient, and I'm trying to teach him respect for teachers."

Shang Liuyu glanced at Zu An from afar, her lips curving slightly upward. "I think I just heard you two were going to have a contest. Why don't I be the witness?"

"Alright!""Teacher Shang is the best!""We love Teacher Shang the most!"Loud cheers erupted in the classroom, showing how popular she was.

"This..." Yang Wei hesitated. Dealing with a troublemaking student was supposed to be easy for him, but if other teachers got involved, it might introduce unexpected variables.

"What, am I not welcome?" Shang Liuyu's beautiful eyes gazed quietly at him, an inexplicable charm naturally emanating from her brows.

Talking to her this closely for the first time, Yang Wei felt his heart hammered at the sight of her flawless face, and his breathing quickened. "Welcome, of course you're welcome!"

He then thought to himself, he usually had no interaction with Shang Liuyu, and this was a perfect opportunity to display his talent in front of her. Although he couldn't compare to others in cultivation, when it came to arithmetic, no one in the entire Brightmoon City could surpass him.Opportunities to show off like this didn't come by often; it wasn't like he could just pull her aside and say, "Let me teach you arithmetic!" Being able to subtly show off like this today would surely make her see him in a new light.

"Teacher Shang, this way, please." Yang Wei eagerly led her to the main seat on the podium.

Watching him bow and scrape, Zu An secretly disdained him, thinking, "What a brown-noser."

Shang Liuyu casually found a seat and then smiled slightly. "Everyone, please be quiet. Don't disturb their contest."

Her words seemed to possess an inexplicable magic; the boisterous classroom, which had resembled a noisy market, immediately became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Zu An marveled at the extraordinary charm of beautiful women.

Yang Wei rolled up his sleeves, feeling incredibly motivated and determined to perform well in front of his goddess. He used all the knowledge he had accumulated throughout his life to devise twenty highly difficult problems. He was confident that not only would the students be unable to solve them, but even he himself might struggle without careful thought.He could already envision the scene later: Zu An would gnaw his pen to bits and still fail to solve them, then shamelessly claim the problems were unsolvable. Then, Yang Wei would step forward, solving each problem meticulously while receiving reverent gazes from all the students in the classroom.Shang Liuyu, standing nearby, would surely have stars in her eyes and might even start seeing him in a new light.Lost in this beautiful fantasy, his small mustache twitched with a smile."No, no, so many people are watching; I must maintain my image!"

He lightly coughed, then hurriedly approached Zu An with the test paper. "It's still not too late to regret this now. If you can't solve a single problem later, you'll have to leave the school."He was merely saying this to display his magnanimity in front of Shang Liuyu, to show that he didn't intend to pick a fight with a mere student. But the atmosphere had been built up to this point; there was no way the other party could back out now even if they wanted to.

Zu An chuckled. "If I answer them all correctly, then it'll be *you* who has to leave the school."Not just Yang Wei, but all the other students present thought this guy must be out of his mind. Only Shang Liuyu watched everything with a subtle smile, as if she had guessed something.

"Ignorant junior, how arrogant!" Yang Wei fumed. "Today, I'll show you the price of your insolence!"Rage value from Yang Wei +541!

Clearly, having his professional competence questioned in front of his goddess infuriated him.

Zu An shrugged, taking the test paper from him with a relaxed expression.

"Is that all?" Zu An scoffed. To be honest, he hadn't been entirely confident he could solve every problem, as he wasn't sure how advanced mathematics was in this world. But upon seeing the questions on the paper, he realized he had vastly overestimated his opponent.

"Instead of wasting time with words, you'd better hurry up and work. If you haven't finished by the time class ends, heheh..." Yang Wei didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Shang Liuyu, from the side, spoke up. "There's not much time left until class ends. Won't that be too rushed? How about this: my class is next anyway, so I'll give you half of my class time. You two can take your time with the contest."

Yang Wei was momentarily stunned. However, he didn't believe Shang Liuyu was speaking up for Zu An; after all, they weren't related. It must be that the goddess was kind-hearted and instinctively sympathized with the weaker party, and also worried about him being accused of bullying.His goddess was actually considering him in this way; he was incredibly moved.Yang Wei was so excited that tears almost streamed down his face. He hurriedly nodded in agreement. "Excellent, excellent! Teacher Shang is right. Then I'll give you another half-class time."Anyway, with arithmetic, you either know how to do it or you don't; more time wouldn't help if you didn't.

Zu An ignored him and immediately began looking at the first problem:"If three people drink three barrels of water in three days, how many barrels of water will nine people drink in nine days?"

Wei Suo, standing nearby, his eyes lit up and he quickly exclaimed, "This problem is so simple, even I know it! If three people drink three barrels in three days, then nine people will naturally drink nine barrels in nine days."

As soon as he said this, the surrounding students nodded in agreement. Only a few vaguely felt something was wrong but couldn't pinpoint the issue.

Yang Wei secretly sneered. Would he have posed such a simple problem? However, he didn't interrupt the students' discussion, secretly hoping they would mislead Zu An.

Zu An shook his head. Elementary school students in his previous life would know how to solve problems like this. If three people drink three barrels in three days, then those three people drink one barrel per day, meaning one person drinks one-third of a barrel per day. For nine people over nine days, you'd multiply one-third by 81, which is exactly 27.

Seeing him write down that answer, Yang Wei's eyes instantly widened. How was this possible?!He had found this problem in an ancient text and had gotten it wrong the first time himself. Later, he had secretly used it to test many colleagues, and most of them instinctively answered "nine barrels." How had this guy gotten it right immediately?However, this problem wasn't too difficult; it was more of a word trap. It was possible that the opponent had just gotten lucky.*Hmph*, this is the easiest problem. Each subsequent problem will get harder. I don't believe you can be this lucky again!Still, the opponent had already solved one problem. It might be difficult to expel him from school now, according to their agreement. *Sigh*, I shouldn't have been so absolute with my words earlier.

In the background, Zu An received a burst of "999..." rage value from Yang Wei. Zu An thought, *He really lives up to his name; even his rage contribution is so stingy.*

Next, he looked at the second problem:"A peasant woman was washing dishes by the river. A passerby asked her why she was washing so many bowls. She replied that many guests had come to her house, and for every 2 people, they shared one rice bowl; for every 3 people, they shared one soup bowl; and for every 4 people, they shared one vegetable bowl. In total, 65 bowls were used. How many guests came to her house?"