Chapter 195: Daily Life With God And God
Madison’s phrase “the student chair sent by the old stone mason” was like a magic spell piercing the ears.
It echoed madly in Ian’s mind.
Stirring up huge waves of shock.
What old stone mason?!
Which vocational school graduate old stone mason could have seen the Sacred Oracle Seat in Heaven?! Not only seen it, but dared to replicate it exactly, even treating it as a “buy ten thousand get luxury gift” giveaway?!
Ian felt his scalp wasn’t just numb, but about to explode! He stared deathly at Madison, trying to find even the slightest trace of a joke or prank on her always sleepy face.
“You…” Ian’s voice was somewhat off-key, he lowered it, almost gritting his teeth as he asked: “Didn’t you notice anything off about this chair, or that old stone mason?!”
He waited for Madison to voice some reasonable doubt.
Like the old stone mason’s gaze piercing life and death, shop located in a dimension rift, speaking in philosophical nonsense, which would let him match the old stone mason perfectly.
“Anything off?”
Madison paused her attempt to press the door panel back onto the wall upon hearing this, tilting her head, seriously pondering, brows furrowed tightly as if solving a world-class puzzle.
Ian held his breathing, awaiting her insight.
“What are they saying?”
“No idea.”
“But it sounds like a little couple arguing.”
“Yeah, my mother and my father were like that when picking furniture.”
The surrounding classmates couldn’t understand, but that didn’t mean they held their breath with Ian. Eating melon doesn’t require understanding the melon itself.
“Cough cough cough~”
Someone was coughing.
But it seemed no one cared.
A few seconds later, Madison suddenly slapped her palm, her face showing a “I finally got the punchline” dawning realization expression, she said confidently and indignantly.
“Now that you mention it! It really is off!”
She slapped her forehead, tone carrying some resentment.
“What’s off?”
Ian led her patiently, trying to lock in the target.
“That old stone mason!” Madison’s tone was serious, as if exposing a massive scam, “His product-making speed is too fast! I said I wanted the most luxurious style, he went to the back yard and in less than three minutes carried it out! How is that possible? Even carving a rubber stamp wouldn’t be that fast!”
The more she spoke, the more she felt she’d uncovered the truth, her voice rising eight degrees: “I seriously suspect false advertising! Hanging a sheep’s head to sell dog meat! Claiming pure handmade carving, I think it’s factory assembly line batch goods! Maybe even some small workshop using inferior stone powder molds! Deceiving consumer feelings!”
What a dawning realization.
“…”
Ian angrily jumped up and patted Madison’s forehead a few times.
He opened his mouth, looking at Madison’s “I’m such a clever one” smug expression, all the words on the tip of his tongue about Heaven, divine seat, Seraphim, were stuck in his throat because the surroundings were full of melon-eating masses, and his three-year promise hadn’t arrived, so he couldn’t spit them out.
Nearly choking him to death.
“Endure!”
Ian also knew the Dragon King Secret Technique. After silence for a full five seconds, Ian painfully forced a smile uglier than crying, squeezing words through his teeth.
“Little punk girl… your focus… is so damn detailed… you’re really… the queen of detail monsters…” As he spoke, Ian raised two thumbs up.
Madison completely missed the helplessness in Ian’s words, instead thinking it was sincere praise for her keen observation, immediately becoming even more smug.
If she had a tail, it would probably be wagging to the sky.
“Of course!”
She proudly lifted her chin.
“Think you can fool my wisdom? No way! After school I’ll confront him! Pure handmade one price, factory goods must refund me at least half the money!”
“Short me a penny and I’ll flip his stall!” Madison was aggressive, already rubbing her fists, planning her after-school “fake-busting” action.
Truly bold as brass.
Sure enough.
Ian’s courage always couldn’t stand up in front of Madison. He thought he was unparalleled, but Madison was the real one full of gall.
“No… carving ten thousand stone tablets, are you paving all of America?” Not just the chair issue, Ian realized something else outrageous.
“One per person, didn’t you always say, either don’t act, or act big enough to shock, make others think we can’t afford stone tablets.”
Madison widened her eyes glaring at Ian, as if questioning why His Majesty【 betrayed his own ideals】. At that moment, a heart-wrenching, lung-searing violent cough came from the podium.
“Cough cough cough! Cough cough! Cough cough cough cough——!!”
The physics teacher, that white-haired old gentleman, was supporting the podium, face red from coughing. He was elderly, throat not great to begin with, tried using coughs to remind this pair of troublemakers of class discipline, ended up coughing over thirty times, yet the two students were fully immersed in their own world.
Even including the melon-eating classmates.
And that gnashing Emily.
No one paid him any mind.
The old gentleman had no choice, could only endure throat discomfort, raise his somewhat hoarse voice, with a pleading tone truly patiently leading.
“Mr. Kent! Miss Montgomery! That… that new trend of yours, or… fake-busting rights protection or whatever… could you… discuss it after class?”
“Now… now is class time…” His voice was weak and helpless, with a trace of imperceptible vigilance toward their discussion and that unusual student chair. This teacher, having received plenty of lessons in America, didn’t dare ask what was going on.
He feared it was some minority group’s spiritual faith, asking might lead to students complaining of rights violation, then messy organizations showing up.
Perhaps the teacher’s pitiful tone worked, or Madison temporarily planned her after-school route, anyway Ian and Madison finally quieted down.
“No, you gave me this hot potato, what am I to do.” Ian looked heavily at the “Sacred Oracle Seat” student chair before him.
He ultimately plopped his butt down on it.
Madison finally gave up wrestling the crooked door panel, patted dust off her hands, sauntered back to her seat, pondering whether to use hammer or wrench first to “reason” with the old stone mason.
The physics teacher saw the world finally quiet, let out a long relieved sigh, quickly drank warm water to soothe his nearly smoking throat. He adjusted his glasses, gaze sweeping over Ian’s bizarrely styled, clearly no ordinary stone chair, lips moved, ultimately swallowing all questions.
Didn’t dare ask, absolutely didn’t dare.
These days, students with weird outfits, performance art, bizarre faiths were too many. If this stone chair was some emerging niche culture’s holy object, or involved “stone chair gender identity” or “rock structure equality” movement, one extra question and tomorrow weird organizations might block the school gate with signs.
Frantically accusing him of discriminating stone furniture, oppressing students’ personalized choice rights.
Ian’s snitch pioneer reputation wasn’t just resounding among students. Though the physics teacher was old now, he still remembered why he had to re-memorize the new principal.
Precisely because of this.
Better no trouble than some, securing retirement pay matters more.
The old gentleman forcibly ignored that chair emanating invisible pressure, picked up chalk, trembling fingers, refocusing on Lenz’s law on the blackboard.
“Uh… let’s continue… when magnetic flux through a closed loop changes, an induced electromotive force is produced in the loop, and the direction of the induced electromotive force always attempts to oppose the change in magnetic flux that caused it… that’s the core of Lenz’s law, hindering change…”
His voice still hoarse, but striving to maintain class order.
Class discipline, under the physics teacher’s hoarse persistence and the two “trouble sources'” temporary quiet, was barely maintained. However, the whispers below surged like tides, impossible to quell.
Everyone’s gazes intentionally or not glanced at the exaggerated stone chair under Ian’s butt, and the Madison who just manually removed and reinstalled the door.
The whispering voices, though lowered, were clear enough.
“Did they two pool money for a castle? Else why use something so ostentatiously exaggerated?”
“Looks like it! Madison’s family is rich!”
“Tsk tsk, cohabiting so high-profile already?”
These gossips pierced Emily’s ears like needles. She jerked her head up, eyes red, like a cat with stepped tail, voice suppressed but sharp.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could Ian be that kind of boy who casually cohabits! He’s clearly so… so unique!”
Emily tried for a compliment, but it sounded more like cursing.
Classmates’ looks shifted from curiosity to pitying. Someone muttered: “Emily, give it up… the chair is right there…”
Emily bit her lower lip hard, nearly drawing blood, like making a determination, suddenly widened eyes, with utterly resolute will.
“Even if! Even if they really have something going on, so what?!!”
She took a deep breath, like declaring battle: “Seven-year itch! I can wait! When Ian gets bored, he’s still mine! I can even… help Ian raise their child! And absolutely not let that green tea bitch see the child! Piss off that green tea Madison!”
This shocking statement paused the whispers momentarily.
A boy couldn’t help reminding softly: “Um… Emily, I remember Ian said before, he has no emotions, and is infertile…”
Emily, hearing this, not only unfrustrated, but smiled proudly, as if seeing through all, patted her flat belly, tone with astonishing sacrificial spirit.
“No problem! Medical issues can be overcome! If Ian needs, I can transplant my uterus to him! Then he can get pregnant and fertile?! I can do this for Ian, that violent girl who only moves stones definitely can’t!” What earth-shattering words.
It was clear.
Girls attracted to Ian were indeed uniquely different.
Whole class: “!!!”
Everyone shocked speechless by this powerful logic and devotion, looks at Emily upgraded from pity to awe.
This was beyond simp territory.
In this weird, absurd, suffocating atmosphere, the physics teacher with strong professionalism and retirement obsession, arduously and stumblingly finished the Lenz’s law lesson. As for how much students absorbed, he couldn’t care, only consoling himself he’d done his duty.
Public school students, after all.
Even the top-performing class.
As for real promise, the physics teacher didn’t believe much. Even if a few, their parents squeezing into elite class would surely be elites.
Prodigies from poor families.
In America’s public schools, maybe one every ten years.
“Ding ding ding~”
The bell rang like heavenly music.
The physics teacher almost fled hugging his lesson plan out of the classroom, needing to rush back to the office, use his limited physics knowledge to calculate: that stone chair Madison manually lifted then easily placed, plus her door demo strength, what terrifying limit output level.
This seriously challenged his classical physics cognition!
Right after physics teacher left, as everyone wanted post-class indulgence, Madam Eli around forty entered hugging a document bag. She was the counselor managing this class for Miss Misha, absent due to Hannibal’s death. The forty-year-old lady wore a formulaic smile.
“Classmates, quiet down. Teacher Misha has sudden business, I’ll cover this class. First, we’ll hand out last phase test score reports.”
She read names by student number, distributing reports. Most got their scores, some happy some worried.
Ian as always, got a precisely controlled score sheet, just a bit better than grade two, glanced casually and stuffed in drawer.
As if mere waste paper. However, when Lady Eli finished last name, preparing next item, Madison frowned and raised hand.
“Lady Eli, where’s my score report?”
She frowned, standing up.
Lady Eli paused, flipped remaining files, checked list, puzzled: “Miss Montgomery? List shows you got it. I don’t have it here.”
“Impossible!” Madison seemed unhappy, even aggrieved, “I didn’t miss this exam! And I felt I did way better than before!”
“I definitely improved a lot! Did you lose my score report?” She stared at Lady Eli, eyes full of distrust for the unfamiliar counselor.
Lady Eli adjusted glasses, affirmatively: “No, Miss Montgomery, I don’t lose things. All score reports are here.”
“Are you sure you took the last exam? Maybe misremembered?” She also didn’t fully trust this underachiever girl defined by outfit.
Years of teaching told her such girls usually skip exams.
“Of course I’m sure!” Madison’s voice rose, increasingly dissatisfied, “That was the only exam I didn’t miss this year! I remember vividly!”
Lady Eli, seeing her so certain, grew puzzled. She took the score report document bag, flipped inside out several times, even shook it upside down.
“Strange… really not here…” She muttered, then to Madison: “Wait a bit, I’ll call Teacher Misha to check if overlooked on her end.”
Saying so, Lady Eli took her mobile phone out of classroom. Minutes later, she returned with odd expression, mix of helplessness, amusement, absurdity.
“How’d it go? Lady Eli, found my score report?” Madison eagerly looked at Lady Eli, needing it to triumph home.
Lady Eli looked at Madison, sighed, tone complex.
“Sorry, Miss Montgomery. I just asked Teacher Misha, and she immediately contacted all subject graders…” She paused, organizing words: “Result is… your test paper, no teacher graded it, so no score report.”
“Why?!” Madison shot up, voice indignant and confused, “Why not grade mine? Discrimination!”
The little punk girl was furious.
Lady Eli rubbed her brow, more helpless: “Because… all teachers said, among received papers, none named ‘Madison Montgomery’.”
“So everyone thought you skipped again.” She pulled out mobile phone, looking at Teacher Misha’s message, read the name that stunned the class.
“Teachers only received one paper signed【Dark Night Blood Clan·Annihilation Nether Phoenix·Tearful Eternal Love Highness】.” Lady Eli finished reading, felt it burned her mouth, looked at Madison: “So… teachers unanimously thought it some student’s prank, or unrelated paper mixed in.”
This made sense.
Hearing the name, whole class dumbfounded. Classroom fell dead silent. Everyone looked at Madison like a deity.
Madison felt zero issue.
She instead righteously akimbo: “Yeah! That’s my paper! As future big star, I value personal privacy, so used my Twitter nickname!”
This too was another grand reason.
Lady Eli nearly choked on the strong reason, strove to maintain professionalism, patiently explained: “Miss Montgomery, I respect your privacy concerns, but… in school formal exams, no need for online nicknames. Teachers need to verify identity.”
“This… troubles everyone.” Lady Eli was glad not assigned this class permanently, gaze sweeping notorious troublemaker students.
Madison, realizing, paused, then unwillingly ruffled hair.
“Damn.”
The dejected little punk girl wasn’t “reason-right unforgiving” type, so after fuming, sat back down.
But still depressed.
She sulked a bit, then leaned to Ian beside, whispered: “Hey, Ian, did I do wrong? Shouldn’t I worry teachers collect my signature to sell high?”
Alright.
Indeed, behind privacy protection, even harder-to-judge reason. Ian thoughtfully nodded, gave very practical, piercing answer.
“Yes, very stupid.”
As Madison sighed, Ian added uh-uh: “Using Twitter nickname on test paper is stupid, because many know your Twitter nickname.”
“Doesn’t protect privacy.”
Ian seriously gave his view.
“!!!!”
Madison paused, then pulled out her mobile phone, opened her Twitter account, saw over three million fans, fell into thought.
“True, makes sense, Ian, you’re smart.” Madison highly praised Ian’s “wisdom”, Ian unmodestly lifted chin.
The youth said in recitative tone: “Oh, my dear little punk girl, you’re just stating a cosmic axiom—Ian Kent equals smart.”
“Your knowledge is indeed profound, so, say more, my ears are ready.” Ian tilted ear listening, Madison missed the narcissism.
Her eyes lit up, remembered something: “Speaking of wisdom! Ian, I have a wisdom-needing big project! My old man bought an old villa in Japan days ago, said to hide shogunate era treasure! If your smart head finds it, we split fifty-fifty!”
Ian blinked, tone oddly: “Sounds good. But does your father know his villa and treasure will be fifty-fifty split by us?”
Madison matter-of-factly: “He bought the villa, not treasure. Treasure is unclaimed, finder keepers, that’s adventure spirit!”
Ian showed gratified elder expression, even patted Madison’s shoulder.
“Very good, excellent! Seems breathing my wisdom aura so long, you’ve gotten smarter.” He fully endorsed Madison’s logic.
Encouraged, Madison more excited: “So you agree? When do we go to Japan?”
Ian immediately tactically leaned back, skillfully changed topic.
“Uh… this grand adventure plan we can detail later. Urgent now, let’s deeply discuss that… supernaturally skilled ‘old stone mason’ issue.”
He spoke, deliberately wiggled butt, feeling the chair’s incredible comfort. Sat one class, pure enjoyment. Looked cold hard stone, felt sofa-soft, even damn self-heating constant temp seat and smart ventilation!
Tech tree more skewed than Batcave! Advanced mess!
“Old stone mason? What’s with him? His craft is great, else I wouldn’t get him to make your chair.” Madison blinked blankly.
“Where’d you find the old stone mason?”
Ian asked, still suspecting old stone mason was God.
“He’s our neighbor. Lives next street over, bangs ding-dong half the night every night, annoys to death.”
Madison complained.
Ian: “…Neighbor?”
Madison nodded: “Yeah. Days ago I saved his wife from bad guys, so he said, whatever I want made, he can make.”
“You saved his wife?!”
Ian’s voice suddenly rose, heart thud—Creation Goddess not bothering him these days, not conscience, but caught by God old man and grounded?!
“Yeah.”
Madison affirmed.
Ian hurriedly asked: “What’d his wife look like? Especially… beautiful? Busty hips? Radiating light?”
Madison tilted head recalling, pursed lips: “Nah, just ordinary middle-aged lady, average build, apron on, holding sirloin steak boxes, seemed heading home to cook.”
This answer left Ian confused.
“Then… do you know that old lady’s name?”
Ian frowned, sensing oddity.
Madison tried hard, finally shook head: “Don’t know name, didn’t ask. These days even relatives I forget, who remembers neighbor names.”
She made perfect sense.
Hard for Ian to refute.
As Ian’s brain overloaded.
Madison suddenly “ah”-ed, added: “But yesterday passing his yard, saw a business card in waste paper box in trash can.”
“What’d the business card say? ‘Jehovah’? Or ‘Yahweh’? Or ‘I Am That I Am’?” Ian was desperate grasping.
“No, if I met God, I’d know, I’m not idiot, I’m super witch.” Madison helplessly looked at Ian.
She paused.
Clearly and accurately read the name.
“Old stone mason named Rick Sanchez, yes, won’t forget, business card also printed ‘Interstellar Universal Craftsman, Dimension Repairman’ title.”
