Chapter 05: My Childhood Friend, the French Goddess
The bright sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the hospital room, Xu Yi stood by the bed, looking at the word panel, and let out a long sigh, "This is really tough!"
He had been in the hospital for five days, and while his other injuries were manageable, the gunshot wound was not something that could heal overnight.
Fortunately, his physique had greatly strengthened thanks to the "Combat Techniques" entry, allowing him to get out of bed and move around after three days.
The acquisition of the "Psychic" entry was not going smoothly.
Ever since he was able to move, he had started wandering around the hospital, and the place he visited the most was the morgue.
Normally, the morgue was not open to the public, but with the help of his "Cash" ability, he had no trouble getting in.
Unfortunately, the results were not good, as to gain experience for the Psychic entry, he needed to come into contact with "supernatural" elements. The stronger the supernatural source, the faster the entry would level up.
A corpse did not equate to supernatural, and he gained no experience in the morgue, whereas he did gain some from a patient.
The current progress was: Psychic (3/100).
"The journey is long and arduous!" Xu Yi realized that it was not possible to max out the Psychic entry in the short term.
Compared to the Psychic entry, the situation with the Scholar entry was quite different.
Stranded in the hospital and bored out of his mind, he began reading newspapers and magazines extensively to understand this world.
After he finished, his father brought him school books, saying that even if he was sick, he couldn't fall behind in his studies—this truly reflected the traditional virtues of Huaxia.
Idle, he was idle, and since "Scholar" was a prerequisite entry for "Hypnotism" and "Psychic Painter", he began to rapidly accumulate experience for "Scholar".
In just five days, the content of the entry had become: Scholar (23/100).
Compared to the leisurely pace of the Psychic entry, the Scholar entry was like riding a rocket!
Of course, this was also thanks to his predecessor's status as a top student, with strong abilities in reading and comprehension.
"This Blank Entry is truly domineering!" Xu Yi savored his own transformations and exclaimed.
Entries weren't simply about providing a progress bar; they were more like a "cheat". If the entry was "Scholar", then it was a "learning cheat".
Ignoring talent, ignoring shackles... as long as you amass the experience, corresponding knowledge and insights will emerge in your mind.
Each point of experience gained was a minor "Sudden Insight".
With a hundred points of experience on the progress bar, it meant that he could undergo a hundred Sudden Insights. What skill could withstand a hundred such epiphanies?
If the entry involved the body, it would also transform the body, making the power of the entries incomparable.
Xu Yi went back to the bedside and picked up the "brick" from his pillow.
It was a book titled "Introduction to Psychology," which covered all the foundational knowledge of psychology, spanning over three thousand pages and incredibly thick—it could double as a weapon.
Of course, this was to progress through the Psychology entry, which now stood at 3/100.
He also discovered an issue, that when he studied psychology knowledge, the Scholar entry also gained experience.
This was like Emperor Qin Shi Huang touching an electric wire—overwhelmingly lucky, double the experience, double the satisfaction.
"Xu Yi, time to eat. Today it's your favorite twice-cooked pork!"
As the voice rang out, a burly man with slightly dark skin swiftly entered the room, carrying two insulated containers as if they were weapons.
The man was Xu Yi's father, Xu Changrong, a chef who ran a small restaurant in Chinatown.
Xu Yi looked at his robust father, with a frame that could shoulder a horse, who seemed not like a chef but more like a fighter in a ring.
Chinatown was very chaotic, but perhaps it was thanks to his well-built body that Xu Yi managed to pull through without too much trouble.
"Dad, the prize money from the police station has been deposited into my account, here you go!" Xu Yi pulled out a bank card from his pocket.
He was genuinely surprised that the police station issued the prize money so quickly. He had thought it would take several months at least, and that was if they even paid the full amount without deductions—it was like a myth come true.
Xu Changrong waved his hand dismissively, "Money that my son risked his life for, how could I take it? Keep it for yourself and spend it!"
Xu Yi looked at Xu Changrong with astonishment. Their small restaurant in Chinatown, with an area of less than thirty square meters, mostly catered to regulars from the neighborhood and had to pay protection fees to the triads every month, leaving hardly any money to spare.
Twenty thousand dollars was an enormous sum for their family.
Yet Xu Changrong didn't hesitate at all to let him spend it, unaware that his son was a transmigrator. On the surface, Xu Yi was just a high school student, one year shy of being an adult.
"Big-hearted!" Xu Yi raised his thumb in approval.
This old man was easy to get along with!
The aroma of the meal filled the hospital room. Xu Yi voraciously devoured the food, befitting of someone raised in a restaurant. The Sichuan cuisine was particularly authentic, attracting even the visiting nurse, who said she would drop by the father's restaurant when she had the time.
"By the way, your little girlfriend is going to visit you later," Xu Changrong hinted to Xu Yi with a wink.
Little girlfriend? Xu Yi was taken aback. According to the memories he inherited, he didn't have a girlfriend.
Seeing Xu Changrong winking and gesturing, he suddenly understood that this so-called "little girlfriend" was not quite as it seemed.
"Xu Yi! I finally found you!" A girl suddenly peeked into the hospital room.
The girl had neat short hair and rare pale green eyes, as clear as gemstones. Her face was distinctive; although she was Western, she also carried an Eastern aura.
She wore a pale blue shirt and black trousers. Simple clothes that, on her, seemed exceptionally youthful and vibrant.
"French Rose!" Xu Yi exclaimed.
"What rose? No French Roses, but there are some Orlando Apples, do you want some?" The girl pursed her lips, carrying a basket of apples into the room.
Xu Yi had seen this person before, not from the memories he inherited, but from those of his previous life.
He had been struck by her beauty when he saw her video online, especially since the French Rose in front of him was about the same age as when he first saw her at fourteen or fifteen.
From his memories, he found information related to her.
Lisa, her family owned a grocery store in Chinatown, right next to his family's restaurant, separated only by a wall.
When she was younger, Lisa spent more time at his place than at her own house.
Because Lisa's family favored sons over daughters, she wasn't treated well at home, but Xu Changrong was very kind to her, often cooking delicious food for her, so naturally, she was even less willing to go home.
One could say that Lisa and Xu Yi grew up together, always by each other's side to and from school.
What kind of development was this? I was childhood friends with the French Goddess?
The original Xu Yi apparently only saw Lisa as a sister. Xu Yi shook his head vigorously. Some wood cannot be carved!
Lisa set the apples on the bedside table and glanced at the thick stack of books with a wistful look, "Xu Yi, you've been secretly studying! When can you tutor me?"
The original body was a top student who often tutored Lisa, but Xu Yi only inherited part of those memories, with much of the knowledge missing. Tutoring her under these circumstances would surely give him away.
"I'm injured right now, next time for sure! Next time for sure!"
To avoid damaging his perfect image in Lisa's eyes, Xu Yi could only resort to promising next time.
Once he acquired the "Scholar" Blank Entries, he would be back on top as a peak student.