19: Chapter 19 Cancer - Change - End

It was tense, and yet it was also thrilling.

It was just like a lottery; if luck was on your side, one shot was all it took to hit the grand prize. Congratulations, you're taking off.

But if your luck was bad, there wouldn't be a second chance.

“Clap, clap, clap...”

Huangfu Xinyu slapped the podium a few times, and the crowd stopped their heckling.

“Alright, get ready. Everyone come up in order to collect the medicine. We'll start from the left. Students who get their syringes, don't move yet and don't lose them.”

After Huangfu Xinyu finished speaking, she opened the safe.

The students on the left went up one by one to collect the Cancerous Mutation medicine.

Soon, it was Lu Qingfeng and his group's turn.

The Cancerous Mutation syringe had a very small needle, about the size of a thumbtack.

The needle was covered by a special protective cap, and there was a chip-like object at the base.

“Did everyone get one?”

“Got it!”

“Is there anyone who didn't get one?”

“Anyone who didn't get one?”

Huangfu Xinyu asked again.

Seeing that no one spoke up,

She continued:

“Step one: open your wristband and tap the base of the syringe against it. Once the base lights up green, it means your name has been successfully registered.”

Everyone followed suit immediately, and it was completed quickly.

“Any unsuccessful ones?”

“Any unsuccessful ones?”

Huangfu Xinyu asked twice more. Seeing no response, she continued:

“Step two: pull off the protective cap, then pick any of your ten fingers and prick it. Leave it in and wait for ten minutes.”

The students followed her instructions. The needle was very sharp and small; they could barely feel it go in.

Ten minutes passed quickly.

“Alright, pull out the needle and tap the base chip against your wristband again. If it lights up red, it proves the information has been read correctly.”

Everyone continued as instructed.

The transparent wristband was the most convenient electronic product of the New Era.

From the moment you were born, a suitable wristband would be adapted based on your DNA, integrating identity, communication, banking, transportation, and various other functions into one.

It could be said that one wristband allowed you to travel the world.

“Is everyone finished?”

“Finished!”

“Good. Those who are finished, hand in your syringes one by one.”

Everyone took turns handing their syringes back up.

In truth, these things were useless now, but syringes couldn't be discarded haphazardly; they had to be collected for centralized destruction.

Closing the safe again, Huangfu Xinyu showed a smile.

“Students, having been your class teacher for three years, I feel very emotional and very lucky.”

“Of course, don't think I don't know about those nicknames you gave me!”

Everyone felt quite awkward.

“Calling me Abbess Miejue... is there an Abbess Miejue this beautiful?”

Huangfu Xinyu brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

The crowd cooperatively shouted, “No!”

Today, Huangfu Xinyu seemed like a completely different person.

Gentle, beautiful, and radiating the charm of her long, straight black hair.

Many of the male students were dazed.

“Students, starting today, we will all go our separate ways.”

“Some will step into the sea of stars, witnessing the greatness of the cosmos and the insignificance of humanity.”

“Some will enter the mundane world, contributing their efforts to our harmonious society, giving their all until the end.”

“I wish you all a bright future. Even after traveling a thousand sails, I hope you return still as the youth you are today...”

“Do not forget your original intention, and do not forget the dreams you have today.”

The crowd fell silent, and a somber atmosphere began to spread.

Thinking about three years of time passing just like that.

Thinking that they might never see certain people here again in the future.

The sorrow of parting is always sentimental.

Some bastard used their wristband to play a song from over a thousand years ago.

“It’s time for the Phoenix flowers to bloom again, reminding me of an old friend I haven't seen in a long time... What has youth taken away, and what has it left behind? Only a sense of being moved remains in my heart...”

“The river of time flows into the sea,”

“Finally, we go our separate ways.”

“There is no port”

“Where one stays forever.”

“In my mind, there is a crossroad where Phoenix flowers bloom,”

“Where my most cherished friend remains.”

“Perhaps there aren't many things worth commemorating,”

“But at least this memory is deep enough...”

Then everyone started singing along, and as they sang, they began to cry.

Lu Qingfeng was speechless.

He couldn't understand—what was there to be so sad about?

As it turned out, his best friend Li Tianran hugged him and started bawling.

Lu Qingfeng looked at him helplessly. Seeing him cry so miserably, he decided to let it go.

It made him feel a little uncomfortable too.

To be fair, songs from over a thousand years ago were still popular now.

Classics were always classics, constantly being covered. Many of the songs they listened to now were still the classic hits from that era.

Of course, songs used for religious rites and the like had long since perished in the long river of time.

Amidst the crying and noise, the students were unwilling to end the gathering.

So they simply agreed to meet up in the evening for dinner and karaoke.

Don't ask why; some habits haven't changed in a thousand years.

He figured there would be more weeping then. He didn't really want to go, but then he thought that they had been classmates for three years after all, so he might as well go.

As for the Cancerous Mutation results, they would be out tomorrow morning. Very efficient.

And so, led by Huangfu Xinyu, the entire class of Senior Three Class Three went to a restaurant for dinner.

Fortunately, there were class funds; Lu Qingfeng didn't have a penny on him right now.

After a round of eating and drinking, some were boozing while others were making a racket.

Lu Qingfeng couldn't fit in at all. Firstly, he really didn't like drinking.

Secondly, he had started to prefer quiet places at some point.

Thinking of this, he gave himself a fright. No way, had Tianran's words actually hit the mark?

Was he really going to enter a monastery?

No, no, no... He shook his head and quickly poured himself a glass of wine.

He walked up to Huangfu Xinyu.

“Mie... *cough*, Teacher Huangfu, let me toast you. Thank you for your guidance over these three years.”

Huangfu Xinyu gave a charming smile, blinked, and said:

“Oh... isn't this our Top Scholar? You're actually thanking me? I'm the one who criticized you the most.”

“*Cough*... well, the results aren't out yet. Teacher, you scolded me for my own good. I'll finish this; you drink as you please.”

After saying that, he downed the drink and ran off.

Back at his seat, he thought about what he just said and wondered how he had even said it.

Whatever, she was his teacher and had taught him for three years. He'd forgive her for all the times she used to scold him.

After dinner, they went to a KTV. He didn't know why such places hadn't gone out of business yet.

But when Lu Qingfeng saw the fluttering young ladies in the lobby, he understood.

Any industry that endures forever has its reasons.

Inside the KTV, there was nothing but howling. Some were crying, some were laughing, and some were confessing their love—some successfully, some not.

The class monitor had been confessed to at least five times.

Meanwhile, Lu Qingfeng was like a spectator, sipping tea and coldly watching his classmates' various antics.

He was troubled by his own changes.

In the past, he would have gone up to belt out a few songs, then played around and pranked people.

But now, he felt like he wasn't the same kind of person as them; he felt out of place.

...

No matter how much one tries to hold on, time does not stop, and the gathering must eventually come to an end.