The business management course at Donghai Evening College was designed for office workers and professionals seeking career advancement. It was not meant for teenagers.
Yet in the third row of Classroom 402 sat a boy who looked no older than seventeen.
Leo looked out of place among the others. His youthful face seemed fragile in comparison to those who carried the fatigue of full-time jobs and bills to pay. Still, his calm eyes stayed fixed on the lecture. Though his clothes were plain, he carried himself with such quiet dignity that others glanced at him from time to time.
When Leo had first walked into her class, Professor Xu Meilin had been stunned. She had almost stopped him at the door. In her decades of teaching experience, she had seen many who mistook the evening lectures for open seminars, but Leo was the first boy who handed her valid enrollment documents. Identity, transcripts, and tuition receipts, everything was in order. She had no choice but to accept him.
At first, Leo seemed the weakest student in the class. He understood the flow of wealth but struggled with the technical details of Earth's business world.
When Professor Xu lectured on financial reporting, he asked, "Why do companies in different countries use different accounting standards? Shouldn't numbers speak the same language everywhere?"
When the topic turned to intangible assets, he frowned. "If something cannot be touched or stored, how can it be worth billions on a balance sheet?"
Later, during a lesson on taxation, he asked, "Why must a company pay taxes on profit it has not even received? Does that not weaken growth?"
The older students chuckled. To them, his questions sounded naïve, the kind of confusion only a boy with no real-world experience would have.
But Professor Xu did not laugh. Because whenever he raised such doubts, his eyes shone with deep curiosity.
He stumbled at first, but within weeks, he adapted at an incredible pace. By the end of the month, the boy who had once been mocked was raising points so sharp that even seasoned professionals struggled to answer.
He absorbed knowledge with terrifying speed. Concepts that took others weeks to grasp, he mastered in a day.
Professor Xu often found her gaze drawn to him. His handwriting was clean. His notes were filled with diagrams she did not recognize. His eyes were calm yet sharp. And when he met her gaze, she sometimes felt a chill, as if she were staring at something far greater than a teenage boy.
In her heart, she knew this boy was not ordinary. What she did not know was that Leo's true path had only just begun.
As the class ended, Professor Xu wished everyone all the best for the upcoming examination. Today marked the last lecture of the course. The next time they met, it would be inside the examination hall.
A wave of relief swept through the classroom. Some students stretched their stiff shoulders, while others exchanged jokes about how their bosses would finally respect them once this certificate appeared on their résumés. A few were even excited, talking about promotions, career shifts, and bonuses.
But Leo was quiet.
He closed his notebook slowly, his gaze sinking into the neat pages filled with diagrams, charts, and symbols only he could understand. His face carried no joy, no relief, only a faint sense of loss. For the others, this course was a stepping stone, a tool to climb the corporate ladder. For him, it was different. Each lecture had been a bridge to a world he did not fully belong to, yet desperately needed to understand.
As usual, Professor Xu's eyes drifted toward him. She expected to see calm determination, the same sharp focus that had impressed her time and again. Instead, she found a boy with a strangely desolate expression, as if something essential had slipped through his fingers.
Her steps slowed. She was surprised by the weight in his gaze.
"Leo, can you follow me to my cabin?" She called gently.
Leo nodded silently and followed Professor Xu into her cabin. The room was modest, with bookshelves lining the walls and neatly stacked papers on her desk. She motioned for him to sit. Her eyes studied him for a long moment before she finally spoke.
"Leo, are you nervous about the examination?" she asked gently. "Or is there something you don't understand? It's normal to feel unsettled before something so important, especially at your age."
Leo's expression remained calm, and he shook his head slowly. "I'm not nervous, Professor. It's just that I won't be sitting for the exam."
Her eyes widened. "What?" The word escaped sharper than she intended. "What do you mean you won't sit? Without the exam, you'll have no certificate. Why would you attend the course in the first place?"
Leo looked down for a moment, then lifted his gaze again, his tone steady. "I came only for the learning. That's why I'm a little sad because the lectures have ended. I never intended to take the exam."
Professor Xu leaned forward across her desk, her voice rising despite herself. "Leo, don't be foolish. I understand that knowledge is important, but the certificate is proof of it. Without it, you can't apply for good jobs. No company will recognize what you've learned."
Leo's calm voice cut through hers. "I'm not planning to apply for jobs."
The cabin fell into silence. Professor Xu opened her mouth, but no words came out. She had seen countless students waste potential, but never had she met someone who dismissed the very foundation of the system so easily.
Leo rose from his chair and gave her a respectful bow. "Thank you for your guidance, Professor. I've learned much. I won't forget it."
Before she could find her voice again, he turned and walked out, leaving her stunned in her seat.
Outside, the evening breeze brushed against Leo's face. The city lights flickered in the distance, alive with ambition and struggle. He paused, turned back, and bowed once toward the college building. Then, without hesitation, he walked into the night, his steps steady, as if the path ahead already belonged to him.