165: Chapter 165 Huh? High school?

"A K kuli hou ya hou ben!"

...

"Ya li gei shei hao da hei!"

"Lu lu lu... Lu lu lu... Lu lu lu!"

A strange piece of music filled with a strong curry flavor, like demonic sounds piercing through the brain, echoed continuously in her ears.

"A-Li..."

"A-Li!"

"Wake up! What's wrong with you?!"

Xia Li slowly opened her eyes.

Her brain felt like it was stuffed with a tangled mess, dizzy and heavy.

The scene before her eyes seemed to be covered by a thick shadow, hazy and illusory, impossible to see clearly.

She rubbed her eyes hard before her vision finally focused bit by bit.

A youthful, vibrant face filled with a hint of anxiety clearly came into view.

This face was familiar to the bone, yet it also carried an indescribable sense of strangeness.

"Xiaoya..."

Xia Li subconsciously murmured her deskmate's name.

It was also her childhood best friend, Su Xiaoya.

"Eh? Where... where am I?"

No sooner had the words left her mouth.

"Tsk!"

Xia Li suddenly clutched her head, her fingers digging painfully into her hair.

A sharp, piercing pain surged from deep within her mind, as if something was being forcibly pulled out.

Su Xiaoya was terrified; she quickly dropped the gel pen in her hand and supported the swaying Xia Li.

"A-Li, what's wrong? Is your migraine acting up again?"

Su Xiaoya's voice cracked with anxiety, "Come on, come on, I'll take you to the Infirmary!"

Xia Li's face was as pale as paper.

She didn't move, just stared blankly at the living, concerned Su Xiaoya before her.

As she watched, she suddenly froze.

Immediately after.

Two lines of clear tears burst from her eyes without warning, silently sliding down her cold cheeks.

Tears dripped onto the test paper on the desk, blooming into a wet patch.

"Eh? Why are you crying, A-Li?!"

Now Su Xiaoya was completely flustered, frantically pulling a handful of tissues from the desk drawer.

She leaned in, gently wiping away Xia Li's tears while muttering with heartache.

"Don't scare me, my ancestor! If your head hurts, just tell me!"

"I'll ask the teacher for leave for you!"

"Hey! Was it because you stayed up too late doing practice problems yesterday?"

Xia Li shook her head numbly.

She didn't know why she was crying either.

It was just that the moment she saw Su Xiaoya's vivid smile, a huge part of her heart suddenly felt empty.

An indescribable wave of immense sadness completely submerged her like cold seawater.

It was as if...

The bright-smiling, talkative girl before her had gone to a very, very far place...

And would never return.

Su Xiaoya stood up and pulled Xia Li up!

"Hey! Don't push yourself!"

"Come on, I'm taking you to the Infirmary!"

Supported by Su Xiaoya all the way.

Xia Li walked through the long corridor of the teaching building in a daze and arrived at the school Infirmary.

The sun was bright along the way, and the breeze was just right.

The corridor was filled with the laughter of students chasing and playing.

But Xia Li felt that everything before her, though beautiful to the point of being unreal, carried an indescribable sense of dissonance.

The female School Doctor took out her equipment and gave Xia Li a careful examination.

In the end, she helplessly put down her stethoscope.

"Student, your physical indicators are all normal; I can't find any problems."

The School Doctor poured a glass of warm water and handed it to Xia Li, her tone gentle.

"Is the Gaokao approaching? Is the pressure from revision too much?"

Xia Li held the paper cup, feeling the warmth from her palms, and gently rubbed her temples.

After taking a sip of hot water, that piercing headache did indeed feel a bit better.

"How about having your parents take you to the City Hospital for a comprehensive brain check-up this weekend?"

The School Doctor suggested, somewhat worried.

Xia Li nodded and whispered, "I understand."

Beside her, Su Xiaoya's face was full of worry as she tightly held Xia Li's hand, constantly comforting her with soft words along the way.

Xia Li didn't know how she made it back to the Grade 12 classroom.

She sat quietly in her seat, looking at the mountain of revision materials piled on her desk.

The classroom was filled with a dull and oppressive atmosphere.

In the upper right corner of the blackboard, "Gaokao Countdown: 30 Days" was written in glaring red chalk.

All around was the rustling sound of pen nibs scratching against test papers.

A few boys in the back row were lowering their voices, excitedly discussing last night's basketball game.

The old ceiling fan overhead creaked as it turned.

Outside the window, the sunlight was blinding, and the chirping of cicadas blended into one.

All of this was so normal.

This was the most ordinary and realistic daily life of a Grade 12 student.

But as Xia Li looked at the mock exam paper filled with math formulas, she felt it was incredibly strange and absurd.

She subconsciously picked up a gel pen, wanting to write her name.

But as soon as her fingers applied pressure.

*Snap!* A crisp sound rang out.

The fragile plastic pen barrel was actually crushed to pieces by her bare hands!

Black ink splattered onto the snow-white test paper like spots of blood, shocking to the eye.

Xia Li stared blankly at her ink-stained palm.

Her strength?

When did it become so great?!

Her beautiful brows furrowed tightly.

She always felt as if she had forgotten something very, very important.

Forgotten a very important person.

At this moment, faint flashes of yellow sand filling the sky, the pungent smell of blood, and... a red figure... flickered in her mind.

She couldn't see clearly, nor could she remember...

Whenever she tried to recall carefully, a wave of dizziness would hit her brain...

"Lu lu lu... Lu lu lu... Lu lu lu!"

Just as she was deep in thought and her head was splitting with pain.

That strange piece of music filled with a curry flavor suddenly exploded in her mind again!

Immediately after, the class bell rang.

The class teacher, holding the lesson plan, walked into the classroom looking radiant.

"Class begins! Stand up!"

"Hello, Teacher!..."

The class teacher smiled slightly and waved his hand.

"Students! Everyone be quiet for a moment and put down your pens!"

The class teacher tapped the lectern and looked around the room with a beaming smile.

"Today, our class has a new transfer student. Everyone, please welcome him with applause!"

Upon hearing there was a transfer student, the originally lifeless Grade 12 classroom instantly became restless.

Under the curious and expectant gazes of the entire class.

A slender boy, with his hands casually stuffed into his school uniform pockets, walked into the classroom with lazy steps.

When Xia Li raised her head and her eyes fell upon the boy for the first time.

All the noisy discussions around her seemed to be instantly cleared away at this moment.

It was as if a beautiful shoujo manga filter had been automatically applied to her vision.

The bright sunlight happened to stream through the window, spilling onto the boy's profile and outlining his sharp, cold features.

He exuded a wildness that was out of place in this quiet campus, with a faint, cynical smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

The boy walked to the center of the lectern, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote his name on the blackboard with two swift strokes.

Then, he turned around.

Those deep and aggressive eyes cut directly across most of the classroom.

Unwaveringly and precisely, they landed on Xia Li.

He looked at her, the smile on his lips gradually widening.

"Hello, everyone."

The boy's deep and magnetic voice rang out in the quiet classroom.

"My name is Lu Yuan."