Su Xiangli struggled, "No, someone will see us."
"Sorry." Simon let go, his expression returning to calm and gentle. "I'll be on duty at the infirmary. You can come find me after your dance practice from now on."
The last class of the afternoon was self-study, a time for students to diligently catch up on homework. Simon's work shift was scheduled during that class. Although the Class Teacher's soul had been shaken by the 'Old Chinese Medicine Practitioner's Grip,' she still stubbornly insisted that Simon attend normal classes.
In her words, while the elite class indeed had many extraordinary individuals, she had never relaxed her stance on normal courses over the years. This subject knowledge was mandatory for every student, unless they applied to skip grades. But even if they skipped to university, classes still had to be attended. Not only did they have to study in the classroom, but after school, they also had to study online, without a moment's relaxation. This was to cultivate the spirit and habit of lifelong learning.
Su Xiangli tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her breathing rapid. The earlier dash was starting to recede, blood rushing to her head. She could feel his gaze on her earlobe; it must have turned completely red. So Su Xiangli quickly pulled her hand back, afraid that she wasn't… not dignified enough.
Dignified.
The expectations her parents had for her were something she never wanted to conform to. Yet, in front of outsiders, especially in front of him, she unconsciously wanted to appear dignified.
Every daughter hates her mother.
Every daughter longs for her mother.
As the mother's bones decay, the daughter's branches and leaves flourish upon her.
"Are you done talking?" Su Xiangli showed a hundred percent of her impatience.
[Su: Say something else, say something else, anything will do.]
"I need to think." Simon hesitated, "This morning, what did you and that dark-skinned number ten talk about?"
[Lu: What am I even saying?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻]
Su Xiangli relaxed, a mischievous smile appearing on her face, "You… Oh, are you jealous? He's really nice, and he's so good at talking, and very gentle too."
[Su: No matter how gentle, he can't compare to you.]
Seeing her expression, Simon understood. As the sky grew dim, he felt the evening breeze was a bit chilly. He thought it best to end the conversation early and send her back to her dorm to rest. They could always email each other about anything.
"No, no, why would I be jealous of you? Besides… sigh, never mind, it's getting late, I'll walk you back to your dorm."
"Didn't you say we should take a walk after dinner? We haven't even walked yet!"
"Walking you back to your dorm counts as a walk."
"Hmph, who wants you to walk them back? And what did you mean by 'besides'?"
"Nothing, ah, come on, let's go."
Simon and Su Xiangli said goodbye at the entrance of Apartment Twelve. He watched her disappear behind the door, into her world, before rubbing his shoulders. It was indeed a bit cold. It was only September, just the beginning of autumn. What was going on with the weather this year? He decided to check the NCAS (Climate and Weather Control System) announcements when he got back.
Back in the dorm, Zhang Yingxuan and Zhou Ping were eating popcorn in the living room, watching the projected TV. When they saw Simon enter, they simply raised a hand in greeting, "Did you have fun?"
"It was alright."
"Hmm, alright is good then."
"Cool."
They turned their heads back to their entertainment, looking quite nonchalant, very cool.
Simon looked at the projected content—"Understanding How the Universe Works? Season 74."
He was surprised. Is this documentary really that long-lived?
Simon shook his head, took a bottle of unbranded, campus-exclusive mineral water from the fridge, took a long drink, and shivered comfortably. When the weather got even colder, it would be perfect for ice pops.
Pulling out his phone and putting on his Bluetooth headphones, Simon browsed messages on the NCAS official website while listening to his phone's operating system read emails.
There was only one email in his inbox, from Comrade Lu Jiande, asking about his well-being. Simon had the AI automatically reply, saying everything was fine.
After searching for a long time on the NCAS official website, he couldn't find any news about abnormal weather, but he unexpectedly saw a notification.
"Good News: To all citizens nationwide, the development of the NCAS system, initiated by the United Nations and with our country's significant participation, has entered a new phase. To test the practicality of the new system, we will launch a nationwide online vote. The voting results will determine the weather conditions for your city for the next month. Voting options are: Sunny, Cloudy, Rainy, Snowy. The voting will start on October 1st, 2089, National Day, and end on October 7th, 2089. (Note: All citizens with a social credit rating of Level 2 or above can participate in the vote)"
That's so cool?!
Simon rushed into the living room, loudly announcing the news, but his roommates all looked at him with strange expressions.
"We already knew that. It was news from a week ago, the hype has already died down. Don't you usually watch weather news?"
"We don't have social credit ratings, so what's there to be excited about?"
"Your news is so out of date."
"Exactly, exactly."
Simon: XvX "Alright, alright, I was wrong. Tell me, what other news is there?"
Zou Jiaqi got excited, "The first civilian space elevator is about to be completed. What do you guys say, should we go to space to take a look?"
"You have to be fourteen and pass a physical exam. Don't dream about it." Zhang Yingxuan fiddled with his phone.
"Also, the simulation pods go on sale on the fifteenth. Have you guys pre-ordered?" The chatterbox didn't intend to stop there.
"What's the point of buying it? Youth mode, you know how it is. It'll definitely just be a travel simulator." Zhou Ping hit the nail on the head.
Simon pondered and nodded, "And developing virtual reality games will take quite some time." He sighed, "I wonder what it would feel like if those famous good games were ported to the simulation pods. I want to play the elder scrolls, a true-to-life world, as cool as transmigration."
Wei Changjun raised his phone, "Just ordered one, mid-range for sixty-nine thousand. Not bad, quite cheap."
"As expected of you!" × 4
Wei Changjun shrugged, "It's just for watching movies. I don't usually play games."
"As expected of you!" × 4
Zhang Yingxuan suddenly said to Simon, "Your backpack is in my bedroom. I'll get it for you. Hurry up and do your homework."
At the mention of homework, everyone simultaneously let out a "tsk."
Simon was the one who "tsked" the loudest, and it wasn't just one "tsk," but "tsk tsk tsk tsk."
"Homework!" Zhou Ping exclaimed loudly, "One of the most boring inventions! No, it is the most boring, most tormenting invention!"
"Endless homework!" Everyone sighed.
Simon took his backpack, said thank you, and returned to his bedroom listlessly. On his desk, he spread out his homework. It was the first day of school, and they had four classes in the afternoon, plus one self-study session, so there were only four assignments, and the math teacher's test paper.
Math, Chinese Language, Physics, Biology, spread out one by one, truly a dazzling array.
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