Trembling At A High Altitude

Upon hearing Li Teng's words, chaos erupted at the scene once more.

Liu Yin?

Some didn't know Liu Yin, but with rapid explanations from others, they quickly understood that Liu Yin was the youngest daughter of He City's wealthiest man, Liu Qian, and the sister of Liu Hui.

How dare Li Teng, this audacious toad, entertain the thought of pursuing Liu Yin?

Where did he muster such courage? Even Liang Jingru couldn't provide that level of boldness, could she?

"So, have you made your relationship with her official yet?" Shen Mengying continued to ask.

"Not yet, she seemed to be mad at me after our last movie, and she hasn't replied to my WeChat messages for the past few days," Li Teng shook his head while continuing to observe Shen Mengying's expressions.

The classmates' faces were all filled with utter shock after hearing the exchange between Li Teng and Shen Mengying.

Li Teng saw a movie with Liu Qian's daughter, Liu Yin? And they had already added each other on WeChat?

Why him? What makes him worthy? What did Liu Yin see in him to agree to date him?

Looking at his clothes, his conversation skills, he's just a poor geek—how could Liu Yin possibly date him?

He must be bluffing, right? Could it be that he set up some sophisticated scam among these brainless rich girls and made them fall prey to emotional entanglements with him?

This scumbag! We must find a way to expose him! We can't let any more innocent rich girls get hurt!

The righteous indignation of the male classmates did not affect Li Teng in the slightest.

He mentioned Liu Yin in front of Shen Mengying mainly to figure out the relationship and connection between Liu Yin and Shen Mengying.

According to his observation, when he mentioned Liu Yin, Shen Mengying seemed to betray a hint of jealousy.

Could it be that all this wasn't orchestrated by Liu Yin?

But rather... another separate and bizarre incident?

This is too strange!

Liu Yin was using Mother Li to approach him, while this Miss Shen was using his classmates to get close to him.

Clearly, they both had ulterior motives and were trying to use a relationship with him to cover up their unspeakable purposes.

If it was just Liu Yin alone, it might have been a minor scheme.

But now, it implicated two people, and both were rich girls.

The conspiracy behind this felt somewhat significant!

The waters appeared to be getting deeper.

Li Teng had a bad feeling, feeling like he might accidentally get drowned by these rich girls' machinations.

"It's okay, I won't interfere with your relationship with her. As long as you're not married, I still have a chance, right? It's fair competition!" After hearing Li Teng's words, Shen Mengying replied with a smile.

The male classmates' hearts shattered upon hearing Shen Mengying's words.

Why? Miss Shen, why would you demean yourself like this? Why fight over this jerk with Miss Liu? Behind you, so many pure-hearted and handsome guys are eagerly waiting! Just say the word, and we promise to go through fire and water, willingly becoming your loyal followers, until death do us part!

"Let's... set another time to talk about this," Li Teng thought for a moment and answered Shen Mengying.

To uncover the truth behind the scenes, he would have to start with these two women.

The truth could only be coerced out of their mouths.

Now certainly wasn't the time for a good conversation.

"Alright, then let's add each other on WeChat so we can arrange the time and place for our next meeting," Shen Mengying took out her phone.

"Miss Shen, he's just a poor loser and also poor and lame; he's really not worth your effort. I think you might have been deceived by him..." a male classmate with the surname Wang couldn't restrain himself and stepped forward to speak a few words to Shen Mengying.

"He's a poor loser? What about you?" Shen Mengying turned to look at Mr. Wang.

"I'm the owner of one of your Huayao Game City franchise shops," Mr. Wang quickly introduced himself.

"Oh," Shen Mengying nodded.

"Miss Shen, you're too naive; you mustn't be fooled by this kind of scumbag," Mr. Wang continued to persuade.

"He might indeed be a scumbag, and he looks poor and lame," Shen Mengying mused.

"Exactly!" Mr. Wang, seeing that his persuasion seemed effective, was quite pleased.

"However, you're not even fit to carry his shoes! Get lost! Trash! You're just polluting the environment!" Shen Mengying, having nowhere else to vent her pent-up anger and unable to bear it anymore due to Mr. Wang's interruption, started scolding.

"Hey, Miss Shen, why are you cursing at people..." Mr. Wang truly couldn't understand why his well-intentioned advice had resulted in being insulted.

"Hurry up and leave, don't upset Miss Shen here..." others quickly pulled Mr. Wang away.

Although other male classmates also disliked Li Teng, and were envious and resentful that Miss Shen might have a soft spot for him, they knew the basic truth.

Mr. Wang, weren't your words a bit too much? After all, we're only enjoying tonight's feast thanks to Li Teng, and the benefactor is Miss Shen. Even if you're upset, wasn't that an inappropriate way to speak?

Li Teng, who was eating lobster, was also a bit stunned.

This Miss Shen has quite a temper!

It's best not to choose such a type as a wife, but rather go for someone like Liu Yin who has a more endearingly naive charm.

Shen Mengying, in a bad mood after adding WeChat with Li Teng, left with her entourage, leaving the rest of the arrangements to the class president, Elsa.

Of course, the PBOX2 full-set gaming console was left for Li Teng, as a gift for their meeting.

The other male classmates also received gift boxes with original game controllers.

...

Evening.

"Has Yin Yin replied to your WeChat messages yet?"

Mother Li leaned on the door frame and asked Li Teng.

"No... she hasn't," Li Teng took out his phone to show Mother Li.

"She was at school today," Mother Li continued.

"Oh."

"Aren't you going to ask about her situation?"

"If I don't ask, you'll tell me anyway," Li Teng walked over and sat down on the living room sofa.

Overeating at the buffet, his stomach felt as if it might burst.

"She seemed to be in a good mood, not looking angry. I subtly tried to ask her opinion of you, and she just smiled without saying much, so I didn't press further," Mother Li too came into the living room and sat opposite Li Teng.

"Oh."

"Did you ever mention to her about your sister's leg?" Mother Li asked Li Teng.

"That... I think I did?" Li Teng tried hard to recall.

"She said that her father's company is researching a new model of intelligent alloy prosthesis, even more advanced than the one her dad is using now. They're currently in the final testing phase and there are two test slots available. If your sister is willing to participate in the test, she can get a set for free.

"The type of alloy prosthesis they're developing uses very high-end technology, which is leading globally, and it's made-to-order. If your sister participates in the test, they'll customize it for her. Such a set would cost at least tens of millions, which we simply can't afford.

""What do you think—should your sister participate in the test?" Mother Li asked for Li Teng's opinion.

"So... act as their company's guinea pig?" Li Teng furrowed his brows.

"I want to go, I want to stand up," Anna said as she wheeled herself out of her room.

"Chairman Liu, Liu Yin's dad—apparently he lost both his hands and legs from mountain climbing, but from the outside, he looks just like a normal person, you can't tell he's disabled at all, even more flexible than an average person. I think the technology from their company is reliable, and it's an opportunity for your sister.

"Moreover, I think Yin Yin is willing to help your sister because of you," Mother Li raised her point of view.

"You all decide," Li Teng's mind was a bit in turmoil.

He truly couldn't understand why rich girls like Liu Yin and Shen Mengying were suddenly showing goodwill towards him.

But if his sister Anna could stand up, he couldn't stand in the way of it.

This was Anna's happiness for life.

He would have to owe Liu Yin a favor and figure out a way to return it slowly later on.

"Their company's laboratory is in the suburbs, quite some distance from our home. If Anna goes there for the test, she might have to travel back and forth frequently. It's not convenient for her in a wheelchair. I'm thinking of renting a place nearby, what do you think?" Mother Li sought Li Teng's opinion again.

"But your school is nearby, and you need to work as well," Li Teng reminded Mother Li.

"There's no other way, her legs are more important. If it comes to that, I'll just have to ask for an extended leave from school," Mother Li shook her head.

"There's no need, Mom. I can rent a place there by myself. I can take care of myself," Anna disagreed with Mother Li's suggestion.

"How can we let you go there alone? Absolutely not," Mother Li shook her head vigorously.

"How about this—I'll accompany Nana there to rent a place. I'll look after her daily life. You keep going to work as usual, and Dad needs your care too," Li Teng proposed after some thought.

As their children grew up, it wasn't convenient to always live with their parents. It might be a good opportunity to separate and give their parents some personal space.

At home, Mother Li never allowed them to do any housework. She would work and take care of the household, always busy and exhausted.

"Can you really take care of your sister?" Mother Li seemed doubtful about Li Teng's capabilities.

"I can, don't worry!" Li Teng assured Mother Li.

"Brother can do it, Mom, don't worry," Anna added a few words.

"Alright, then you'll have to take the effort in the next few days to run around there, find a suitable place close to their laboratory to rent. I'll transfer ten thousand yuan to you for living expenses to start with. If you need more, just ask me," Mother Li agreed after much hesitation.

"There's no need, I've saved some money, and I've also earned some myself. It's enough for our expenses," Anna declined Mother Li's offer.

"Just take good care of Dad, that's enough," Li Teng also didn't want to take the money from Mother Li.

"Alright then! Sigh... The children are grown up, they can take care of themselves..." Mother Li sounded somewhat emotional and also somewhat reluctant.

…

Li Teng, the homebody, didn't fancy going out to rent a house.

With the internet available, why go through the trouble?

He posted a rental request online and also forwarded it to some WeChat groups he was part of.

A few minutes later, Li Teng received a private message from the class monitor, Elsa.

"Are you looking to rent a place?" Elsa asked Li Teng.

"Yes."

"The location you mentioned, I happen to live nearby, and there's a vacant apartment you can move into. You won't need to pay rent, just take care of the utility and property fees," Elsa offered to Li Teng.

"How can that be? I can't stay in your place without paying rent," Li Teng didn't want to take such an advantage.

"It's no big deal. If you insist on paying rent, then how about a thousand yuan a month? In the suburbs, it's hard to get a good rental price, and a thousand yuan is the going rate. If you're interested, come and take a look tomorrow," Elsa gave Li Teng a quote.

"Alright, I'll come and take a look tomorrow."

...

The next day, after arranging to meet with Elsa, Li Teng took the bus to the apartment Elsa was looking to rent out.

Although it was in the suburbs, the new neighborhood and new house were in very good condition.

The vacant apartment looked quite large, much bigger than Li Teng's seventy-five square meter home, at least a hundred square meters in size, he felt.

The furniture and home appliances were all new and complete, ready for someone to move in with just a suitcase.

"Renting this place for a thousand yuan a month? Are you kidding me, monitor?" Li Teng said after having a look around, feeling that the rent was really too cheap.

"The suburbs don't fetch a high rent. Moreover, it's most important that all the furniture and appliances here are new. If I rent them to someone who doesn't take care of them, it's as good as throwing them away. I'd rather rent to a classmate; it's more reliable! Stop fussing about it!" Elsa firmly stuffed the keys into Li Teng's hand.

After some bargaining, they agreed on twelve hundred yuan a month, and Li Teng finally agreed to rent the apartment.

"Such a new apartment, why aren't you living in it yourself but renting it out?" Li Teng asked Elsa one more question before he left.

"Our old family home was part of an urban renewal project, they demolished two buildings and we got over twenty apartments in return, just too many to live in," Elsa replied with a smile.

"Ah..." Li Teng didn't know what to say.

...

The new apartment was ready to move into, saving Li Teng a lot of trouble. He just packed up his computer and other personal items, called a ride-hailing service, and came to the rental spot with Anna.

The laboratory had also called for Anna. Li Teng had been ready to take her to the laboratory, but the staff said they had a car passing by the area and could just pick Anna up at the agreed time.

Worried, Li Teng accompanied Anna to the laboratory when the car arrived.

It was only about half a station away nearby.

It was a high-tech looking building.

The words "Galaxy Technology" were prominently displayed on it.

After entering, there was a large statue in the lobby of the building.

It depicted a person with prosthetics running, with a pair of metal wings on their back.

The staff were very polite and respectful towards the siblings.

Once inside, they immediately issued passes for them and then took them into the laboratory.

After entering the laboratory, the staff began to take measurements of Anna's limb and then input various data into the terminal equipment.

"Brother, don't worry, this is a very professional company, a very professional laboratory. You don't need to keep me company here. I'll contact you immediately if anything comes up," Anna said to Li Teng, who was standing around doing nothing.

"Alright then, contact me anytime if there's an issue. I can be here in a few minutes."