Awakening Elementary School System in University
Chapter 26 - 25: I’ll Give You a Saying, Too

Chapter 26: Chapter 25: I’ll Give You a Saying, Too

Holy shit!

Chen Lin’s heart leaped.

The Little Red Flower’s effect was simply insane!

A permanent doubling effect!

Even with the restriction of one use per title, this was without a doubt a god-tier item!

Suppressing his elation, he used the Little Red Flower with a thought.

Instantly, the system interface changed. The Little Red Flower floated to the top of the screen. Below it, his three current titles appeared side by side, each followed by a new, shimmering golden preview description.

[Enhance "Little Mathematician": Title effect improved! When solving any math problem, the Host’s stamina consumption is halved!]

[Enhance "Little Love Saint": Title effect improved! When facing any member of the opposite sex to whom you are not blood-related, your charm increases by 100%!]

[Enhance "Little Champion": Title effect improved! Your physical attributes, such as strength, jumping ability, and speed, are increased by 200% from their original base!]

Looking at the three options, Chen Lin’s mind started racing.

The enhancements for "Little Love Saint" and "Little Champion" were basically what he had expected. They were already percentage-based buffs, so using the Little Red Flower simply doubled those percentages. The effects were straightforward, powerful, and clear at a glance.

But what truly gave Chen Lin a pleasant surprise was the enhancement for "Little Mathematician."

’I was wondering about that,’ he thought. ’"Little Mathematician" is already a game-breaking, rule-bending ability. It always gives the correct answer to any math problem. How could that possibly be enhanced?’

’I never expected the system’s enhancement to be so practical. Halving the stamina cost!’

This meant the amount of time he could use the "Little Mathematician" ability at full capacity each day had just doubled!

This was an absolutely massive boon!

Take his current math tutoring service on the online marketplace, for example. Chen Lin had set a maximum session length of three hours, priced at 2,000.

In reality, three straight hours of solving graduate-level problems like the ones Shen Yan brought him last time would completely drain his stamina for the entire day.

Afterward, he couldn’t do anything but collapse into bed and sleep.

But with this enhancement, the situation would be completely different.

He could easily take on two three-hour tutoring sessions in a single day! With a short break to eat in between, his stamina would recover.

This meant his maximum earning potential would double! From 2,000 a day to 4,000 a day!

The temptation was immense!

Chen Lin’s finger hovered over the "Little Mathematician" option, almost pressing down.

However, at the last second, he forced himself to calm down.

’Wait a minute.’

’Is it really that simple?’

He leaned back against the taxi seat, closed his eyes, and forced himself to think more deeply.

’Doubling my maximum earning potential isn’t the same as doubling my actual earnings.’

’Enhancing "Little Mathematician" only raises my earning ceiling; it doesn’t mean my income will instantly double.’

’Because right now, I simply don’t have enough clients to book two three-hour, high-intensity sessions every day.’

’In fact, ever since I helped that fellow who seemed to be from Jiangsu Province with his exam paper on Wednesday, it’s been three days, including today, without a single new client on the marketplace.’

’In other words, even if I used the Little Red Flower right now, my actual income might not see a significant short-term increase. That makes the cost-effectiveness of this enhancement questionable.’

Furthermore, Chen Lin thought back on how he had obtained this Little Red Flower.

’I’ve done quite a few awesome things this past week, in my opinion.’

’But the system didn’t react to any of them.’

It wasn’t until today, when he saved a little boy in front of a crowd and earned the praise of passersby and the admiration of Yaoyao, that this reward was triggered.

’What does that mean?’

’It means the trigger condition for a "Little Red Flower" is extremely demanding, perhaps even something you can only stumble upon by chance, not actively seek out.’

’This thing... even if it’s not the only one, it’s definitely a super-rare resource. Once it’s used, it’s gone.’

’That being the case, I can’t make this decision lightly.’

Chen Lin decided to play it safe.

He would wait and see.

He set two benchmarks for himself to observe.

First, he’d see if his online marketplace business would pick up in the short term. If he could get more high-quality clients like "Black Whirlwind is not the McDonald’s Vortex" or Shen Yan, and the frequency of his tutoring sessions stabilized at one per day, then using the Little Red Flower to enhance "Little Mathematician" would maximize his profits. That would be making the best use of it.

Second, he’d see if he would acquire any new, more powerful titles soon.

This damn frustrating "elementary school" system had unfathomable trigger conditions for both its missions and rewards, and the strength of its titles varied wildly.

Although the "Little Mathematician" ability was already incredibly overpowered, who knew if he might trigger something like "Little Investor" or "Little Inventor" in the future—titles that were even more practical and had a higher ceiling?

If that really happened, he’d have no one to cry to if he wanted to use the Little Red Flower then.

Besides, the system’s information about the Little Red Flower didn’t mention any expiration date. It wouldn’t go bad just by holding onto it.

’I really can, and should, wait a little longer.’

Having figured all this out, Chen Lin’s excitement gradually subsided.

He took a deep breath, canceled the use of the Little Red Flower on the system interface, and then exited the system.

Just then, the taxi made a smooth right turn and pulled over to the side of the road.

"We’re here, young man."

Chen Lin glanced at the time on his phone: 5:57 PM.

There was still over half an hour before the bar’s evening session began.

He scanned the code to pay, pushed the door open, got out, and walked into the bar with practiced ease.

There were no customers in the bar yet. With only half the lights on, it seemed a bit dim. A few employees in uniform bustled between the bar and the booths, wiping tables and chairs and preparing drinks and fruit platters.

A slightly chubby young man with a mustache was standing behind the bar giving directions. It was the bar’s manager, Brother Wang.

Seeing Chen Lin walk in with his bag, Brother Wang immediately broke into a warm grin.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in! Our star performer has finally arrived!"

He wiped his hands, came around from behind the bar, and gave Chen Lin a bear hug. Then he slapped him heartily on the back and teased in a slightly exaggerated tone,

"You punk, you flaked on me last Saturday. Do you have any idea how many of our beautiful regulars were disappointed when they didn’t see our handsome resident singer?"

Chen Lin had been working with Brother Wang for over half a year and knew him well, so he didn’t stand on ceremony. He grinned and said, "Brother Wang, can I bum a staff meal?"

"No problem!"

A moment later, Chen Lin was sitting at the bar, digging into a plate of beef and potatoes over rice. Brother Wang had put in a good word with the kitchen, so the portion was generous.

Brother Wang handed Chen Lin a bottle of mineral water and continued their earlier conversation. "Chen, you’ve been at my place for several months now, right? I’ve seen more than a dozen girls add you on WeChat. How come you haven’t thought about finding a girlfriend?"

Chen Lin choked, spraying out a mouthful of rice and coughing several times.

When he finally recovered, he chose his words carefully. "Brother Wang, the reason I don’t look for a girlfriend who hangs out at bars definitely isn’t because those girls often don’t go home until after midnight."

"And it’s not because a lot of those girls like tattoos."

"It’s certainly not because those girls want to buy any handsome guy they see a drink, add him on WeChat, and then hit on him."

Brother Wang laughed. "Alright, alright, you little rascal... But speaking of which, there’s nothing wrong with a top student from a major university like you having high standards. But Chen, let me give you a piece of advice."

Chen Lin asked, "What’s that?"

Brother Wang said, "Don’t miss out on the good girls, and don’t let the bad girls go to waste."

Chen Lin: "?"