Throughout the rest of the day, Gu Luo couldn't help but think that this whole story was probably far-fetched.
Or rather, he forced himself to think that way. In reality, it was just as the doctor had told him. He had already accepted the situation the moment they had told him about it.
Gu Luo was used to obeying without saying a word.
Or rather, he had no particular desire to do anything.
To be honest, he didn't understand when the heroes in manga talked about the goals they wanted to accomplish or the values they wanted to uphold.
As far back as he could remember, he had never had any kind of dream or particular desire.
He basically didn't believe in anything, and his only desires were limited to his basic needs, if even those.
Gu Luo was the kind of person who watched life slowly pass by.
He was the kind of person who let the day pass before his eyes without making a fuss, waiting for it to end so he could go to sleep and then start all over again.
He was the kind of person who did nothing but wait for the hour, then the day, then the month, then the year to end.
That was his only expectation and desire.
To wait for the end of the hour, then the day, then the month, then the year to arrive.
It was his one and only desire.
Otherwise, he was devoid of what people called purpose.
His existence had no purpose.
Of course, he had preferences and tastes.
There were certain dishes he didn't like and certain activities he hated.
There were things that didn't bother him, but nothing he actually wanted to do.
His sole desire was simply to watch time pass, preferably as quickly as possible.
This one desire also came with an inherent problem.
The more he wanted time to pass quickly, the slower time seemed to pass.
This additional reason made his days incredibly painful and only strengthened his desire to see time pass even faster.
So Gu Luo spent the rest of his day staring at the clock and counting, during every period, the minutes remaining until the next one, until the liberating bell finally rang through the hallways, announcing the end of classes for the day.
When Gu Luo finally reached the school gates, he recognized Leolia's silhouette waiting for him.
"Gu Luo!"
Leolia waved enthusiastically, which had the effect of attracting the attention of all the students around them.
Gu Luo continued walking without hurrying until he was close enough for Leolia to hear him.
"You know that now that the students have noticed you, everyone will witness me following a suspicious individual on the evening of my disappearance."
Leolia pretended to sweep invisible evidence away with her hand.
"Ohhh, don't worry. The VEIL will take care of the rest. It'll teach those old fossils a lesson. Well, let's go, because it's starting to get chilly."
Leolia crossed her arms and vigorously rubbed them together to warm herself.
Gu Luo followed her to a large black German sedan parked a few streets away.
"Very discreet."
Leolia replied irritably.
"It wasn't me who chose the model. I would have chosen something less conspicuous too."
Leolia started the vehicle and headed toward the highway.
After a few minutes of driving, Gu Luo wanted to break the silence.
"Wáng Jùnjié didn't come?"
"No, he came with me this morning because he had a free period in his schedule, but he's usually in high demand. You wouldn't think it from his personality, but he's the strongest mage in our division."
Gu Luo wondered what was wrong with Jùnjié's personality.
If he had to choose someone with a problematic personality, it would be the woman sitting next to him in this car.
But for obvious reasons, he refrained from voicing his thoughts.
"Don't you have any questions?"
"Questions?"
"Yes, about what we're doing or what your classmates are like."
"No."
"..."
Leolia seemed to stare thoughtfully at the road for a moment before speaking again.
"You're not very talkative. You remind me of someone I was friends with when I was little. He didn't talk much at first either. It was really difficult to get him used to our presence before he finally started talking normally with us."
Gu Luo never knew what to say when someone told him personal anecdotes.
To be honest, he didn't really understand their purpose or usefulness.
After several years of thinking about the subject, he had come to the conclusion that these people were simply looking for comfort or recognition in their personal experiences.
So he had developed the strategy of nodding or making small "hmm" sounds whenever that happened.
He always refrained from giving his opinion and, to be honest, he didn't really have an opinion on the matter.
"I'm sure you'll like the dormitory. Since there are only a few students, we have plenty of rooms available, so you can choose whichever one you want. Also, the school is located away from the VEIL's facilities, so you'll see, it's very quiet and peaceful. I'm sure you'll like it there."
Gu Luo nodded in approval.
The landscape around them changed several times, going from urban to rural before they eventually found themselves in the middle of a forest.
Leolia left the highway and turned onto a bumpy road.
Despite the vehicle's high-quality suspension, the car was shaken in every direction, and Gu Luo inside grabbed the door handle to keep himself steady.
Branches flew past on either side, while the overgrown bushes that had clearly never been maintained scraped against the bodywork.
In the distance, a large wooden entrance appeared alongside a long stone wall.
Leolia slowed down as they approached and passed through the gate.
The vehicle entered a large paved courtyard where several vehicles similar to the one Gu Luo was in were parked.
With his face pressed against the window, Gu Luo could see a stone staircase rising into the heights.
Once parked, Leolia turned off the engine and got out of the vehicle.
Gu Luo did the same.
Leolia stretched for a long moment.
"Ahhh, I didn't think getting all the way to Shenzhen would be this exhausting, and yet..."
Leolia headed toward the stone staircase, and Gu Luo followed her.
An archway that gave the place the appearance of a Shinto temple bore the inscription '和 - Harmony.'
"Come on, I'll introduce you to your classmates."