Silence and darkness blanketed the surroundings, filled with an eerie stillness.
The black figure suddenly drew closer, letting out a shrill, cackling laugh.
It had no limbs—only a body about the size of a human head, floating in midair. Dark red eyes stared at the girl in white as if she were prey.
In the next instant, a hand with only two fingers abruptly grew out of its limbless body and reached toward the girl's chest.
The hand passed straight through her body—empty.
The black figure stared in disbelief, eyes wide.
The girl slowly raised her head. A face with no facial features gradually appeared on the screen…
"Ya!"
Fire Fang Dog lunged straight into Qiao Sang's arms.
It didn't want to watch anymore!
Qiao Sang stroked its head, feeling a bit regretful…
...
...
The next two days happened to be the weekend. Qiao Sang turned down Fang Sisi's invitation to go out and stayed home studying alone.
Aside from taking some time to go to the Beast Taming Center to register her beast tamer status and Fire Fang Dog's household records, she spent almost all her remaining time buried in books.
Perhaps because of her brain domain awakening, her memory was much better than in her previous life. When reading, she could more or less remember everything after just one pass.
Before she knew it, it was time to go back to school.
"Fire Fang Dog, be good. I'll let you out once school's over," Qiao Sang coaxed.
Ever since Fire Fang Dog got bored of playing the in-and-out-of-the-Beast-Taming-Codex game, it had refused to go inside again.
This time, when Qiao Sang wanted it to enter, it showed clear resistance.
Compared to the Beast Taming Codex, it preferred staying outside.
"Ya."
Fire Fang Dog shook its head, indicating it didn't want to go in.
Qiao Sang felt helpless. The school didn't explicitly forbid bringing pet beasts, but when nobody else had contracted one yet, leaving Fire Fang Dog outside would be far too eye-catching.
Qiao Sang didn't want to be surrounded and stared at.
"If you go in, I'll buy you Red Fu Fruit after we get back," Qiao Sang tempted.
Fire Fang Dog turned its head aside arrogantly.
It refused.
Qiao Sang's mouth twitched.
Her mother had bought six Red Fu Fruits last time. Qiao Sang fed Fire Fang Dog four on the first day, then one each on the next two days.
Had it really gotten sick of them already?
"If you don't go in, I'll have to leave by myself."
"I'm leaving."
"I'm really leaving."
Qiao Sang went to the entryway, squatted down, put on her shoes, and pretended she was about to head out.
"Ya!"
Fire Fang Dog leaped straight into Qiao Sang's arms, lifting its watery eyes to look at her pitifully.
"If you want to come with me, you have to go in first. I promise I'll let you out as soon as school's over," Qiao Sang said.
"Ya…" Fire Fang Dog drooped its head and responded weakly.
Qiao Sang's heart melted into a puddle.
Still just a kid after all.
Qingcheng Jiayuan was a school-district residence for Wencheng Junior High, only about nine kilometers away. Buses 23, 36, and 57, as well as Metro Lines 5 and 7, all went straight there.
This time, Qiao Sang didn't choose the subway like usual.
On Bus No. 36—
Fire Fang Dog happily stuck its head out the window in Qiao Sang's arms. The wind rushed toward it, ruffling its fur.
It looked excitedly at the world outside.
"When we get to school, you have to behave and go inside, okay?" Qiao Sang said with a smile.
"Ya!"
Fire Fang Dog replied energetically.
Qiao Sang couldn't help rubbing its head.
After getting off at the stop, Fire Fang Dog obediently let Qiao Sang store it in the Beast Taming Codex, even wagging its tail happily.
...
Wencheng Junior High, Class 3–7.
"Have you finished your homework? Let me copy it."
"Can't you see I'm still copying myself?"
"..."
"Did you watch the Lianbo Region tournament yesterday?"
"Of course! I'd been waiting in front of the TV since 7 p.m. Lin Jinyang's Blood Cang Dragon was insanely cool!"
"Yeah, yeah! And that Scale-Eating Ant—golden! I've never seen a golden Scale-Eating Ant before! It almost blinded me!"
"..."
"I heard Dai Shushu from Class 9 got recommended to Shengshui High School."
"Wasn't it Li Tan Beast Taming High School last time?"
"Seems like the quota got brushed off."
"As expected of our province's ace high school. Even Dai Shushu couldn't get in."
"Then you go get into Shengshui High School for me to see."
"..."
A slender figure appeared at the classroom door.
As the figure walked in, the chatter in the room noticeably quieted.
Qiao Sang sat down at her seat and noticed some classmates secretly glancing her way.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, Qiao Sang rubbed her nose and lowered her voice. "Did you tell the class about my self-awakening?"
Fang Sisi was still furiously copying homework. Hearing someone speak beside her, she finally realized Qiao Sang had arrived.
"Boss, you're finally here." Fang Sisi leaned over with shining eyes. "Without your permission, how could I say anything? Want me to promote you in class?"
"Absolutely not." Qiao Sang shook her head quickly, then asked in confusion, "Then why is everyone staring at me?"
"Didn't your mom come to school twice? And then you took a day off and skipped another day. Everyone's guessing something happened to you," Fang Sisi explained.
Qiao Sang froze. "Skipped a day?"
"Yeah."
She'd guessed her mother might've forgotten to request leave, but when it was actually confirmed, Qiao Sang still felt a bit stifled.
Was homeroom teacher going to call her into the office again for another saliva assault…?
Just then, Fang Sisi added, "Also, everyone knows now that the one who scored zero on the mock exam was you."
The homeroom teacher hadn't named her publicly in class to spare her feelings. But afterward, he'd asked the study monitor to call Qiao Sang to the office—and then even summoned her parent to the school.
If things had stopped there, nobody would've cared much. After all, Qiao Sang's grades were bad; being called to the office wasn't unusual.
But calling in a parent made it serious.
Usually, unless there was fighting or serious trouble, the homeroom teacher rarely notified parents.
At that time, after school, Qiao Sang didn't say anything, the study monitor didn't say anything, and the teacher didn't say anything—so hardly anyone knew.
Then the next day, Qiao Sang took leave. On the third day, she outright skipped class.
Taking leave and skipping class at such a sensitive moment spoke volumes. Everyone's gossip instincts ignited, and before long, the entire story was pieced together.
Qiao Sang found it both funny and exasperating, but she didn't really mind.
In a place as small as a school, news traveled incredibly fast.
Her scoring zero and getting her parent called in wasn't a distortion of facts. Kids her age might feel ashamed being exposed like this, but Qiao Sang felt no such pressure.
"Oh right—did you finish your Spirit Plant Analysis homework? Let me copy it," Fang Sisi nudged Qiao Sang's arm.
"I wasn't even here. How would I know there was homework? Besides, you're ranked fourth from last copying from someone ranked third from last—aren't you embarrassed?" Qiao Sang said, speechless.
"Boss, I forbid you from talking about yourself like that," Fang Sisi scolded, then put on a mournful expression. "I just thought your mom came to school on Friday and brought your homework back for you. I'm so jealous of people like you who don't have to do homework."
Qiao Sang: "..."
Ignoring Fang Sisi's antics, Qiao Sang fell into thought.
She seemed to still not know why her mother had gone to the school last time.
—-----==============
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