Chapter 290

A hundred pages in.

“Master, lend me your life!”

Professor Shí patted the steering wheel of her beloved old Volkswagen Beetle.

The steering wheel had quite a vintage wooden texture and even faintly smelled like an old person.

I asked, “So this old-fashioned Beetle can also be considered part of your inheritance?”

She boasted, “Yeah, although it’s a bit old! But this old guy runs perfectly fine!”

Ignoring the age of the car, the Beetle’s design was indeed overly compact.

Due to the limited space, there wasn’t much comfort in the back seat. Xiao Lei, who claimed to have long legs, naturally took the passenger seat. Lin Hua and I could only squeeze into the back, sitting straight would make us hit our heads. There was even a pet ferret in between us, making it feel crowded.

Fortunately, Professor was quite petite, so her seat was relatively forward, preventing my knees from hitting the back of the front seat.

The Beetle, designed for looks over practicality, was only suitable for someone like Professor, who had been single all her life.

After crossing the river bridge over the commercial area, I asked again, “Professor, aren’t you supposed to go home with Bā Hé Mèi today?”

“I’ll come back to pick her up later tonight since it’s still early.”

Lin Hua suddenly asked, “By the way, have you retaken your driving test?”

“Of course, I’ve been driving all my life. Getting a driver’s license isn’t that hard.”

“But you just changed lanes improperly. That would result in points being deducted, right?”

“… Eh?”

Hearing Lin Hua, I suddenly felt uneasy.

“Watch out! There’s a car changing lanes ahead!”

…

“Be careful to avoid pedestrians!”

…

“Wait, didn’t you just hit a stray dog in the middle of the road?”

… Let’s mourn silently.

Thanks to Lin Hua’s efforts, we avoided several accidents and finally got onto the highway heading south of the city. The guilt-ridden Professor finally confessed.

“… Sorry, actually, I bought this driver’s license with money.”

“That’s illegal!”

But no one cared about this issue. Professor merely said, “Although I haven’t forgotten how to drive, my height is too short now, sometimes I can’t see the road ahead.”

Looking at her, her eye level was indeed quite low, barely above the steering wheel. Driving like this was like gambling with death, and we were her chips.

“How can you drive if you can’t see the road? This is too dangerous! Can’t you raise your seat higher?”

“If I raise it, my legs are too short, and I won’t be able to reach the pedals.”

Even if her legs were short, could they be that short?

“But you don’t look particularly short…”

Lin Hua also said, as if realizing something, “Professor, are you wearing platform shoes while driving?”

“Hehe, you noticed? It’s just a few centimeters.”

“That’s still too high! Too dangerous!”

When we first went to the Deep Research Institute, taking off her shoes (and clothes) made the Professor seem shorter. It turned out she had modified her shoes.

I asked, “So, what happens when you drive with platform shoes?”

“Kǎi-Chan doesn’t drive, so he wouldn’t know. Especially with this old manual transmission, you need to be precise with the clutch, brake, and gas, but thick-soled shoes affect the driver’s judgment… Don’t you think the speed was uneven just now?”

“It did seem a bit uneven, but isn’t Professor a veteran driver?”

Judging by her age, she probably spent more time driving than I did walking. This yellow Beetle might even be older than me.

Xiao Lei pointed at Professor’s chest and said, “It shows that Professor hasn’t adapted to her current young body yet. Although the skills are still there, she needs to accumulate experience again… Yes, this is called ‘reclassing’! From an old grandpa to a beautiful girl, the feeling of driving must be different!”

Ignoring the game brain, I looked forward.

“Professor, you should practice driving again. This way, something bad will happen sooner or later.”

Professor laughed it off.

“Haha, I just unlocked a new job called ‘female driver.'”

You’re a game brain too!

And this job sounds quite aggressive?

————-

Worried that Professor might send us to meet Heaven’s Path, Lin Hua kept holding onto the back of the seat, closely watching the road ahead to guide Professor away from danger. We safely arrived at the stationery store in the South Park, which was the entrance to Master’s temple.

Entering, Dog Sister and Mù Xī were working at the store. They separated, with Dog Sister organizing her shelves, and Mù Xī lying on the counter reading a book.

“Why are you here on a school day?”

“Good morning, everyone. Oh?”

Mù Xī’s attention was caught by Yòu Zi on top of Xiao Lei’s head. Even though she was strong, she was still a girl inside.

But Yòu Zi hid in Xiao Lei’s down jacket hood, wary of a full-body massage.

“We came to see Master.”

It was during class hours, the primary school across the street was closed, and there wasn’t much business at their store. Dog Sister decisively pulled down the roller shutter door. The store plunged into darkness, except for Dog Sister’s ears and tail glowing a sinister blue.

She turned around and said, “It’s rare to see you outside the underground lair, Professor Shí.”

They were old acquaintances, nothing unusual about that.

“They forced me out, I didn’t really want to come out myself.”

Professor spread her hands helplessly and asked, “Does Cāng’ěr know about Yueling entering the ICU?”

Dog Sister turned on the lights and replied, “Of course, Boss called last night.”

“Did she have any reaction?”

“She’s making final preparations.”

“What preparations?”

“That’s confidential… More accurately, I haven’t been informed.”

Professor turned to look at us and said, “Let’s go down.”

Pulling open the secret door behind the cash register, Dog Sister instructed, “Mù Xī, wait upstairs for now, don’t come down.”

“Okay.”

The long descending staircase was still unlit. As we felt our way down the wall, I was struck from behind—

“Oh!”

Just as I thought I was going to be seriously injured, Yǐng-Chan transformed into a soft cushion, catching me… and the person falling behind me.

“Professor?”

“… Sorry, the soles of my shoes are too thick, it’s inconvenient to go down the stairs. I twisted my ankle.”

“Can you go down first?”

“Wait, I can’t stand up properly.”

The petite girl sat cross-legged on my stomach, even knowing her true form was an old man, now she was in a young body. Contacting such a healthy and fit buttocks… I couldn’t help but react.

—”… You dare react?”—

This is proof that I am a normal male high school student! I can’t stop!

Professor tried to stand up, but her sprain was worse than expected. She winced and sat back down.

“Sis… It seems I’m hurt pretty badly, this is troublesome.”

“Hey hey hey! Shí Huǒróng, what are you doing to my grandson?”

A little blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl ran out of the living room, like a regular doll, and started pushing Professor away from me with a series of palm strikes.

“You stay still, I twisted my ankle!”

Professor sat down beside the hallway with the help of Lin Hua and Xiao Lei. Xiao Lei removed the thick-soled shoes with the built-in heels. Her ankles were already purple and swollen, clearly a serious sprain.

Master waved her hand and produced an ice pack from somewhere, applying it to Professor’s foot.

“It hurts! Can’t you be gentler, Cāng’ěr?”

“My kindness won’t be given to an old man.”

Master glanced at the shoes Professor had taken off and mocked, “Heh, you brought this upon yourself. Why didn’t you wear platform shoes? Are you that concerned about your height?”

“I don’t want to be mistaken for a little girl. Cāng’ěr doesn’t care about these things… Your dress is quite pink, isn’t it?”

Master was wearing a light pink dress, complemented by her unusually exquisite appearance today, like a fairy-tale princess who didn’t eat earthly food.

“Cough, cough, I just felt this body suits this outfit, I’m not influenced by it!”

Lin Hua unexpectedly complimented, “Grandpa is so cute!”

“Hehe, really? Am I really that cute?”

Master blushed and looked embarrassed.

Lin Hua: “That’s just a lame excuse. You’re already affected so deeply!”

“Little Lin Hua is so mean!”

We were then invited to the living room. Dog Sister brought some cola from the kitchen.

Skipping the pleasantries, I spoke directly, “Master, Grandma’s condition is very worrying. She was admitted to the ICU yesterday again.”

“… Bìfāng told me.”

“Then what are your plans?”

“I won’t let Yueling get hurt.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“… I can’t say.”

What’s going on?

Could she really have some hidden ace that can fool Heaven’s Path?

“Then let’s not ask about that for now.”

I looked at Lin Hua, who took over, “Grandpa, we hope you can meet Grandma and convince her to accept Boss’s surgery.”

“Yueling doesn’t want to undergo surgery?”

“She hasn’t agreed yet… Most importantly, if we don’t meet soon, there might not be another chance.”

Professor rubbed her foot and said to Master, “Yueling has a stubborn temper. If you don’t do something, she’ll never forgive you.”

“At this point, I don’t demand her forgiveness, I just hope she can live well…”

Professor also advised, “Then persuade her to accept the surgery. Although I don’t understand medicine, Bìfāng has many experts around him. This time, with powerful reinforcements joining in, the magical transplantation surgery will definitely succeed.”

Most of the main staff at the Magic Research Institute are doctors, is this the preparation done by the senior sister for this surgery?

“But I can’t leave at all.”

“It’s okay, I remember your equipment is quite complete, right?”

As a seasoned NEET, Master’s computer was a performance monster, with all sorts of peripherals like a camera included. It would be no problem to video call Grandma.

—”Regarding this, I have a better idea.”—

Yǐng-Chan suggested.

—”We can use Mother’s technology to project Grandma’s consciousness into someone else’s body here.”—

From the commercial area to the south of the city, this distance far exceeded two hundred meters.

—”Of course it’s possible. Before, you were in the low-rent apartment, and I was at home. Didn’t I transfer you over?”—

But it wasn’t that far.

—”Though not as good as that Jewel, I am a divine artifact created by Heaven’s Path!”—