Who left their last words here?

Chapter 90 Your homework got a perfect score!

Chapter 90 Your homework got a perfect score! (Two parts combined)

"Buzz!"

"Exam King's School Uniform" spontaneously flew out of Bai Zhou's arms and hovered in mid-air.

The notebook left behind by Class Monitor Xiao Fang also began to glow and slowly rose from the ground.

The light on the school uniform was a dull gray-black, while the notebook shone with a pure white, translucent luster.

The dark gray light was filled with negative emotions that evoked sadness, grief, guilt, and depression; while the translucent white light from the notebook faintly conveyed joyful laughter and carried a warm hope.

"Notebooks and school uniforms... these can be made into a matching set?"

One black and one white, reflecting each other in the air, caused Bai Zhou's expression to change slightly. He quickly turned around and stood in front of the two objects.

Fortunately, the grove was quiet enough that no students came over when I looked around.

"This realm is like an egg, untouched by the dust of the outside world!"

Bai Zhou silently raised his right middle finger, bit it, and the blood soaked into the lines etched on his finger.

After a sharp pain, the miniature ritual was activated.

Bai Zhou chanted the incantation in a low voice:

“bloqueo—!”

Thus, an "∞" symbol composed of countless tiny characters was lit up at Bai Zhou's fingertips.

"Buzz!"

Three semi-transparent curtains were stretched out around the perimeter, blocking the view of passersby.

The rituals concerning the 'veil' and 'blockade' are reenacted.

A rudimentary, miniature version of the secret ritual that Crow once set up at the base.

The art of ritual is profound and extensive.

Even though Raven was a seeker in this regard, she was still worlds apart from the ritual master she spoke of who could change the course of world wars simply by altering words.

As for Bai Zhou... he was an apprentice among apprentices.

Therefore, even the most basic introductory versions of many rituals are still beyond Bai Zhou's current ability to master.

For a beginner like him, setting up these complex and diverse rituals requires time and materials, and success is not guaranteed.

But now is the time to escape, and time is of the essence.

To solve this problem, Crow simply simplified several convenient and commonly used rituals, creating miniature rituals with significantly reduced effects, and engraved them on White Boat's fingers.

For example, the hypnotic ritual on Shirashu's right index finger, and this one now.

The other eight fingers correspond to the miniature rituals that Bai Zhou often uses to strengthen himself.

For example, adrenaline rush, acceleration, physical enhancement, etc.

Although the effect is much worse than the original ritual, it is instantaneous!
Instant!

These rituals can be triggered instantly with just a little bit of the appropriate medium when needed, making them quick and convenient.

Bai Zhou himself couldn't draw such intricate instant-cast ritual symbols. These were micro-carved one by one on Bai Zhou's ten fingers by Ya, who used her Tang Dynasty sword, which was longer than herself, to guide him.

At first, when Bai Zhou saw Ya pull out such a big knife and brandish it at his finger, his face turned as green as a goblin.

He spent half a day trembling and racking his brains, going through all the bad things he had done and said recently, but he still couldn't figure out where he had offended the boss to the point that he had to cut off his finger as an apology.

Even inside the black robes, this is a rather severe organizational punishment!

...But later, Bai Zhou only regretted that he didn't have a few more fingers.

"Om..."

The wind has stopped blowing here, and everything in the grove has returned to stillness, with only the sound of school uniforms and notebooks echoing in the air.

Bai Zhou made an unexpected discovery: there was a clear connection between them.

When the two emotions are combined, they vaguely reflect the silhouette of a school.

This school looks somewhat similar to Yuanmeng Middle School, but the students inside seem very lifelike.

"This is……?"

The moment Bai Zhou saw the school, he felt a suffocating sense of oppression.

Despite his complete indifference to schools, upon seeing this school, he felt a sense of awe, like a prisoner facing trial seeing an open prison gate, wanting to stay away from it.

"What is this!"

Forcibly shifting his gaze, Bai Zhou realized that, without realizing it, even just looking at that "school," his whole body had stiffened, as if he had willingly put on heavy shackles and had no other thoughts.

The only regret is that Bai Zhou is not yet clear on what the reflection of this school can be used for, because it is not "complete".

Is it a projection? A map? A prison? Or can it simply summon a school to smash someone's head in?

No one knows.

The school, reflected by the combined image of the two objects, casts a shadow so faint it is almost invisible, and in the daytime it nearly blends into the transparent air.

It cannot be driven, cannot be used, and has not been truly reflected.

It's like... something's missing!
"This deficiency must stem from the notebook left behind by Fang Xiaoyan," Bai Zhou pondered.

The answer was quite simple, because Bai Zhou saw a large, continuous mass of gray-black light emanating from the school uniform, but the light emanating from the notebook was much weaker.

The lack of balance between black and white might be the reason why the "set effect" cannot be truly reflected.

So, Bai Zhou carefully reached out and took the notebook down from mid-air.

As expected, the school's projection disappeared, and the school uniforms slowly floated down, where they were caught by Bai Zhou.

Holding a yellowed notebook in one hand and an old-fashioned school uniform in the other, Bai Zhou had a feeling that if he infused both with spirituality, he could reflect that school once again.

With a solemn expression, Bai Zhou put away his school uniform and looked down at the yellowed notebook.

As far as I can remember, every time I saw Class Monitor Fang, I would see this notebook.

He thought this was Xiao Fang's signature move, just like the stereotype of elementary school students as hopping and skipping around with big backpacks.

But I never expected that this thing would be so "important"!
If the school uniform is the embodiment of the exam king, then this notebook is perhaps the embodiment of "Class Monitor Fang," the "lost ideal of Fang Xiaoxia."

With a touch of curiosity, Bai Zhou opened the notebook and, sure enough, saw Fang Xiaoxia's name on the first page.

The handwriting was very childish, crooked and slanted, similar to the drawing paper Bai Zhou had found earlier...

Drawing paper?

Bai Zhou suddenly froze, took out the crumpled drawing paper from his pocket, and found that the size of the paper was exactly the same as the notebook in his hand, and there were torn marks on the edges.

This drawing paper...

Was it also from this notebook?

"Wow..."

Bai Zhou flipped down to the next page of the notebook.

The title that catches the eye is—

Homework: What kind of person do you want to become in the future?

So, it's just homework assigned by the teacher...

Bai Zhou stared intently at the paper. It was covered with crooked pencil writing, interspersed with numerous eraser marks, and a bunch of typos and pinyin errors.
Become class monitor! ヾ(▽)ノ (I want to be as awesome as the characters in anime!)
Help the children on the island of decline (><)
Let's all stop arguing and become good friends! ヾ(@^▽^@)ノ

Solve all problems and troubles! (Become an all-powerful person!)
May everyone in Zhouwei be happy because of me!

Growing up according to five principles: never going to school hungry, sleeping in a warm blanket when the weather is nice, being careful of cars when crossing the road, never relying on others, playing barefoot on the ground, and then becoming everyone's light!
……

"Full of typos... Xiao Fang."

Bai Zhou muttered to himself.

Each wish seemed to be preceded by a small checkmark neatly made in red pen.

Those bright and clear checkmarks, contrasting with the child's immature handwriting, seem to be a silent testament to the years of quiet dedication.

Without a doubt, this must be the work of "Fang Xiaoyan".

Each checkmark records every action that "Class Monitor Xiao Fang" took in this school.

Every little thing that "Class Monitor Fang" did to protect this campus is here.

As she said, every innocent and grand dream that Fang Xiaoxia had listed on her homework list was fulfilled by Fang Xiaoyan in her own way.

For some inexplicable reason, Bai Zhou recalled Fang Xiaoyan's relieved, relaxed, and joyful expression once again. In a daze, Bai Zhou seemed to hear Fang Xiaoyan's satisfied laughter each time she drew a red checkmark:
"All done... (～￣▽￣)～"

...Then, Bai Zhou's gaze fell on the last line of the list.

There was another line of text there, written in the same handwriting as before, but it stood alone, except that it lacked the red checkmark that signified "complete."

"Fang Xiaoxia, you must become a strong and resolute adult!"

The girl wrote "坚抢" (jianqiang) instead of "坚坚" (jianqiang), and after the sentence, she drew a small fist to cheer herself up: (_)

This one is different.

It is not about "becoming" a certain kind of person, but rather Fang Xiaoyan's expectation for the "original" Fang Xiaoxia.

Fang Xiaoyan can become class monitor for her, help others for her, and fight against the "exam king" for her, but she cannot become a strong adult in her place.

Perhaps it is this unfulfilled wish that has led to the notebook's imperfection.

This reminded Bai Zhou of the last words Fang Xiaoyan asked him to convey before she left.

That's a perfect match.

This was an unexpected turn of events for Bai Zhou, because he hadn't anticipated that the matter would ultimately fall back on the shoulders of an ordinary person like Fang Xiaoxia...

However, that would no longer be Fang Xiaoyan's story.

Slowly letting out a long breath, Bai Zhou looked at the list of dreams written in his homework notebook, complete with pinyin and misspellings, and his expression was complicated and hard to read.

Flipping further down, you'll see the marks of a torn piece of paper, with the rough edges of the scraps clearly visible.

Bai Zhou placed the drawing paper with the picture of "Proud and smug Class Monitor Fang" on it.

As expected, it fit perfectly.

Wearing an armband and saluting, the image of Fang Xiaoyan, the sassy and all-around class monitor, leaps off the page.

Although I've witnessed many partings deep within the Void Realm and experienced what happened with Section Chief Liu...

But Bai Zhou still couldn't stand such things.

Perhaps this is what parting is like. When Bai Zhou had just seen Fang Xiaoyan off and was watching the rain of light fall, he didn't feel much.

But when Bai Zhou saw the belongings left behind by the other party, he felt very uncomfortable.

All sorrows are not sudden flash floods, but rather a continuous, damp rainy season, which only becomes heavy in the heart when recalled occasionally afterward.

With a wave of his hand, Bai Zhou removed the triple barriers that had been covering the surroundings and looked up at the sky.

As night fell, the usually quiet time was instead filled with noise. It turned out that school was over, and some students were leaving the campus while others rushed to the cafeteria for lunch.

At this time, Bai Zhou should have left the campus to meet up with Ya and then started preparing for the major's compass to be repositioned.

But before that... there's one more important thing Bai Zhou wants to do.

So he walked against the flow of students leaving school and headed towards the office.

Even at the end of the school day, each student's tired face still carried a hint of numbness.

Because there is still evening self-study.

Everything on campus remained the same, and no student felt that today was any different from before.

Only Bai Zhou knew that something had quietly changed.

It wasn't just the exam king who died.

Even the ritual symbols hidden in those corners shattered and disappeared completely after Fang Xiaoyan vanished.

It seems that Fang Xiaoyan was right. These ritual symbols led to the birth of Fang Xiaoyan and the Exam King. However, after Fang Xiaoyan became deeply connected with the Exam King and the school, they themselves became part of the ritual.

With their disappearance, the ritual was naturally broken as well.

—The shadow that had hung over the school disappeared.

The negative influence that had been quietly spreading among the students, making everyone increasingly manic, had vanished without a trace.

From then on, year after year, Yuanmeng Middle School may no longer be able to guarantee a 100% success rate in getting students into top universities, but every student has regained the freedom to dream.

Although their futures may differ, they will ultimately forge their own paths and achieve their own brilliance.

...And all of these were the spoils of war left behind by Fang Xiaoyan.

—Every student in this school has witnessed Fang Xiaoyan's achievements.

As Bai Zhou walked among the students, he thought to himself.

Then, at this moment...

The students' discussion reached Bai Zhou's ears as he passed by.

"Have you heard? A toilet at school exploded! It was a huge explosion! There was a methane leak, and it even caused a power outage at the school!"

"Oh, so there's a break for evening self-study?"

"I don't know, it seems they're not releasing it, the school is adjusting the backup power supply."

"Oh."

"..."

A brief conversation ensued as students hurried past Bai Zhou.

With his eyes lowered and lost in thought, Bai Zhou returned to his office.

After closing the office door, Bai Zhou sat back down and reached into the pen holder to pull out a red pen.

There was a "crash" sound.

He carefully opened the notebook Fang Xiaoyan had left behind on his desk again.

In the quiet office, Bai Zhou held a red pen and solemnly drew something in red after the "(_)" symbol for the fist pump at the end of the list.

First, there's a large, rotating circle, then petals along the edge.

At the center, Bai Zhou gently tapped a few times, making the red flower look more like a child's innocent and bright smile, as if responding to the cheering little fist.

—If it's homework, how can it not be graded by the teacher?

Bai Zhou felt that he should do this.

This red flower, resembling a smiling face, is Bai Zhou's response across time and space.

It doesn't mean that Fang Xiaoyan's unfulfilled final wish has been achieved, but it is a reward for this clumsy yet sincere "effort" itself.

Perhaps, Fang Xiaoxia's story has not yet begun.

But Bai Zhou felt...

Fang Xiaoyan's story deserves such a red flower.

Fang Xiaoyan has already tried her best; she has really done a great job.

Class monitor Fang's hard work deserves the teacher's praise.

As for the rest of the homework, let me help you finish it...

Think so.

He put down his pen and closed the book.