4: Chapter 4 Awakening

Stepping out of her home, Ye Qingzhu stood at the doorway, surveying her surroundings.

Although she said she was fine, deep down she felt very uneasy.

The area she lived in was the Old City District of Rainbow City. The buildings in the entire Old City District were old and dilapidated, mostly in poor condition, with bad environment, poor sanitation, and terrible public security. Most of the people living here were lower-class citizens at the bottom of society.

During the day, it was somewhat okay, but at night, it was truly fraught with danger.

Usually, she was very careful and never went out after dark.

What happened yesterday was purely an accident.

Taking a deep breath, she tried hard to suppress the unease in her heart and strode toward the bus stop.

She boarded the bus and arrived at Rainbow High School, three kilometers away.

She was currently a twelfth-grade student, with only two months left until the major exam.

This exam would determine her fate.

If she did well, she had a chance to enter a decent company and get a clerical job, or even become a teacher like her parents.

But if she failed, there was a high probability she would be assigned to work as a miner in the underground mines, doing the hardest labor for the meagerest wages.

Therefore, she placed great importance on the major exam two months away. Even though she wasn't in the best state now, she insisted on going to school to study.

By the time she returned to her classroom, she was already a full hour late.

A teacher was lecturing in class—the math teacher she disliked the most.

The math teacher was a middle-aged woman, obese with a mean-looking face.

As soon as she saw Ye Qingzhu appear at the classroom door, she immediately picked up her pointer and slammed it hard on the lectern. Her beady eyes instantly flashed with anger and disgust.

She shouted furiously, 'Ye Qingzhu, look at what time it is! As the class monitor, you're setting an example by being late. No wonder the whole class's math scores can't improve!'

'Then again, you're pretty. Even if you don't do well on the exam, you can rely on your good looks to marry into a nice family and live a prosperous life. But have you considered the situation of your classmates? Everyone is hoping to do well on this major exam and get a good job!'

'If you don't want to take the exam, please don't hold others back!'

Ye Qingzhu's face turned extremely unpleasant!

When had she ever said she didn't want to take the exam?

And what did her being late have to do with anyone else?

This was truly 'give a dog a bad name and hang him'!

For a moment, she was so angry and anxious that her face flushed crimson, and her delicate fists clenched tightly!

Perhaps it was an illusion, but in that instant, Ye Qingzhu suddenly felt a surge of power erupting from within her body.

This power gathered from her limbs and bones to her back, making her feel an intense heat behind her, as if something was about to burst out of her body!

The next second, the heat reached its peak, and she couldn't help but let out a low growl.

Uh-ah~

With her growl, all the windows in the classroom suddenly shattered. At the same time, two bloodied bones extended from below her shoulder blades, one on each side.

This scene terrified everyone.

But it wasn't over yet!

The two bones began to tremble violently. A smaller section of bone extended from behind the larger ones and slowly unfolded like a folded fan.

It was actually a pair of bloodied fleshy wings!

Even more bizarrely, as the wings unfolded, they rapidly grew tendons and skin tissue as if by magic.

Once the skin tissue completely covered the fleshy wings, feathers grew from beneath the skin, covering the entire wings in an instant.

Amidst everyone's exclamations, they transformed into a pair of pure, holy white wings.

These wings were a full two meters long, each white feather emitting a faint divine glow, looking extremely mystical.

At that moment, someone shouted, 'Oh my god, she's awakened!'

These words immediately reminded everyone.

Yes, Ye Qingzhu had awakened.

The strange phenomenon she had just displayed was her awakening process.

When everyone understood Ye Qingzhu's situation, they all looked at her with endless admiration and envy.

An Awakened One—that was an unparalleled existence.

From now on, her life status would surpass everyone present.

Her life would also undergo a dramatic change. Like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, her fate would be completely reversed.

Even the math teacher looked at Ye Qingzhu in shock, her gaze completely changed.

She timidly walked over and said in a trembling voice, 'Qingzhu, congratulations. You're an Awakened One now. Your life will be much better from now on. I meant no harm earlier. I hope you won't take it to heart!'

At that moment, Ye Qingzhu had no mind to pay her any attention.

She had just completed her awakening and was still in a state of intense shock, trying hard to feel the wondrous sensation the wings on her back gave her.

These wings were like an extra pair of arms, incredibly smooth to control.

With a gentle flap, the wings immediately stirred up a gust of wind, blowing the math teacher in front of her back several meters and slamming her hard against the classroom wall.

The classmates nearest to her, along with their desks and chairs, were blown back half a meter. Several students were crushed between the desks in front and behind, letting out cries of pain.

Ye Qingzhu covered her mouth in shock, apologizing repeatedly, and instinctively took a step back, intending to put some distance between them.

However, that step back caused her wings to collide with the classroom doorframe and wall.

Boom~

The entire doorframe was broken by her wings, and even the classroom wall was smashed.

Strangely, she didn't feel any pain at all.

Clearly, her wings could not only create gusts of wind but were also as hard as iron, usable directly as weapons.

Ye Qingzhu retreated to the corridor outside the classroom, at a loss and confused.

Especially since the commotion she caused had attracted people from other classes to come out and watch.

When the crowd saw her holy white wings, countless gazes fell upon her.

Some were admiring, some were envious, and some were even hostile.

Clearly, not everyone liked Awakened Ones.

Just as Ye Qingzhu was at a loss, a petite girl with a cute face walked up to her and said gently, 'Qingzhu, don't panic. Try to see if you can retract your wings!'

This was Ye Qingzhu's close friend, Chang Huanhuan.

Hearing Chang Huanhuan's words, Ye Qingzhu gathered her thoughts and tried to retract her wings.

The wings immediately folded back obediently, gathering behind her.

Not only that, but the wings automatically retracted into her body, leaving only two shallow vertical marks below her shoulder blades.

With her wings retracted, Ye Qingzhu immediately felt a coolness on her back. Reaching back to touch it, she realized the clothes on her back were gone, and her entire back was bare and exposed.

This made her gasp softly. She quickly crouched down, leaning her back against the wall to avoid exposing herself.

Seeing this, Chang Huanhuan immediately took off her school uniform and draped it over Ye Qingzhu.

Ye Qingzhu looked at her gratefully and said softly, 'Huanhuan, thank you!'

Chang Huanhuan gave her a harmless, sweet smile and replied, 'What are you talking about? We're good sisters!'