"Stop zoning out." Chen Tuizhi gave him a slap on the shoulder. "Old Zhou is calling for assembly!"
On the athletic field, students gathered in twos and threes as the homeroom teachers of each class began counting heads.
Old Zhou stood beneath the shade of a tree, holding a thermos cup as he slowly sipped his tea.
Watching the students return to their ranks one after another, he screwed the lid shut with a clatter, did a quick headcount, and nodded in satisfaction. "Everyone's here? Good. Great job today, everyone, go home and get some good rest. The census results will come out in a few days, and the school will notify you then."
A weak, scattered cheer went up from the students, who looked limp and drained, as though all their vital energy had been sucked out.
Jiang Zhaoye mingled with the crowd heading out, with Chen Tuizhi sticking right beside him like an auto-follow function, nagging all the while. "Look at you! Ice 62! My highest attribute is Metal, and it's only 48... That's two full tiers higher! Isn't this gap a little too absurd?"
"I thought I'd finally managed to outdo you when I got accepted into the affiliated high school, but now things have turned out like this! You won't start looking down on your humble brother who shared your hard times, will you?"
"I won't... Besides, is your stat even low? If I heard you say that last month, I would've beaten you up!" Jiang Zhaoye said, exasperated. "And what kind of wild vocabulary choices are you using anyway?"
"'Humble brother who shared your hard times'... Since when do people even put those words together? Who's sharing hard times with you!"
"Ayy~ Don't sweat the small stuff~ At least you've got a conscience." Chen Tuizhi nodded in satisfaction, then leaned over stealthily, lowering his voice with a suspiciously secretive vibe. "Seriously though, what about your eyes? Is it confirmed? Are they really a spirit eye?"
Jiang Zhaoye nodded. "Pretty much confirmed, but the examiners said it's still in the early stages of awakening, and the transformation isn't complete yet... so they don't know what specific kind of spirit eye it is for now."
Chen Tuizhi patted his shoulder like a deeply relieved old father. "Alright then, as long as there aren't any major problems, that's fine. Come on~ let's hurry home, it's scorching out here! I'll buy you an ice pop in a bit."
The two walked out of the school gates just as the noon sun was at its fiercest.
Jiang Zhaoye glanced back at the school. The silver-gray tents were still standing on the athletic field. Their graduating class had twelve sections in total, and most had finished their exams by now. Very few students remained on the field, and some of the staff were busy packing up the equipment.
He turned back around and followed Chen Tuizhi into a milk tea shop near the school gate, ordering a cup of iced lemonade.
The ice-cold lemonade banished a bit of the sweltering heat. Holding his cup, Jiang Zhaoye walked toward the subway station alongside Chen Tuizhi. As he watched the people passing to and fro on the street, the tension he had held all morning finally began to relax.
...
When Jiang Zhaoye pushed open his front door, Ms. Wen was leaning against a chair by the dining table, scrolling through her phone. On the table were four dishes and a soup—fish, meat, vegetables, and meat dishes—steaming hot and wafting a delicious aroma, clearly fresh out of the pan.
He froze for a moment, then an unconscious smile spread across his face.
Ms. Wen was usually busy with work and rarely returned home at noon, taking her lunches at her company's cafeteria. It was rare for her to be home today, let alone prepare a full table of dishes.
"Mom?" Jiang Zhaoye changed his shoes and walked inside. "What brings you back?"
Ms. Wen looked up with a warm smile, her eyes lingering on her son's face for a brief moment before she spoke. "I took time off today. Knowing your census was this morning, I wanted to come home and ask how it went. Wash your hands and let's eat."
Jiang Zhaoye answered, went to the kitchen to wash his hands, and sat down at the dining table.
The table was set with all his favorite dishes: sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried shrimp, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a bowl of winter melon pork rib soup.
Eagerly picking up a rib with his chopsticks, he took a bite. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with just the right balance of sweet and sour—mm, the familiar flavor, cooked in his mother's signature style.
Sitting across from him, Ms. Wen was in no rush to pick up her chopsticks. She watched him take a few bites with a smile before asking, "How were your test results today?"
Chewing on his rib with his cheeks puffed out, Jiang Zhaoye mumbled, "Not bad. Metal 13, Water 36, Ice 62."
Ms. Wen, whose face was usually calm, showed a look of surprise. "Ice 62? I remember you were only at 16 during the high school entrance exam, and just 22 when your eyes first turned blue a while ago. And how did your Water attribute get so high as well?"
"That was almost a month ago!" Jiang Zhaoye complained between bites. "I told you afterward that my attributes have been rising every day. Did you think I was practicing over ten hours a day for nothing?"
Unable to handle hunger right now, he didn't even want to pause swallowing the meat in his mouth while talking. After thinking it over, he decided to tell the truth. "I told the examiners about my eyes. They did a deep scan on me and said there really are signs of a spirit eye awakening, but it hasn't fully taken shape yet. What specific type it is won't be certain until it's completely awakened."
Ms. Wen didn't interrupt, merely smiling as she waited for him to continue.
"And then..." Jiang Zhaoye hesitated slightly. "The examiners said my physical constitution also shows signs of awakening. My bone density, muscle strength, and meridian toughness far exceed those of people my age... They said I might be awakening a special constitution at the same time, but it's even less developed than the spirit eye and hasn't fully taken shape either."
After speaking, he lowered his head and shoveled another mouthful of rice, adding, "They said they flagged me as high potential and added a note. Someone from the Psionic Bureau might contact me later for further observation and evaluation."
Having heard this, Ms. Wen didn't reply right away.
She picked up a ladle, scooped a bowl of soup for herself, took a slow sip, and then spoke. "So how do you feel? Is there any discomfort in your body?"
"No," Jiang Zhaoye shook his head. "It's just that occasionally my eyes see... the trajectories of psionic energy flow. It's nothing troublesome."
Ms. Wen nodded calmly and didn't ask further. She used her chopsticks to place some vegetables in his bowl, her tone relaxed. "Eat first. We can talk after you finish."
The living and dining area fell quiet all at once.
The two ate peacefully, with only the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks filling the room. Outside the window, endless cicada chirps resounded wave after wave. The afternoon sunlight poured scorching heat through the floor-to-ceiling window, rolling across the wood-grain floor in a sea of gold.
Jiang Zhaoye was actually feeling a little anxious inside. He rarely lied to or hid things from Ms. Wen, as his mother had always been open-minded, tolerant, and wise.
However, something like transmigrating was simply too sensitive; the fewer people who knew, the less the risk.
He was somewhat nervous about Ms. Wen's reaction to the census results, but she hadn't pressed for details or shown excessive surprise, which gave him a bit of relief.
He finished his meal, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and was about to clean up the table when Ms. Wen's phone suddenly rang.
She picked up her phone, glanced at the caller ID, her brows twitching slightly, and answered, "Hello... yes?"
The person on the other end seemed to say a long speech. Ms. Wen didn't interject, listening quietly.
Jiang Zhaoye noticed the shift in her expression. Ms. Wen seemed slightly surprised, but quickly regained her calm.
He originally thought it was work-related for his mother and didn't pay much attention, preparing to continue clearing the table, only to hear an unusual response.
"Yes, I'm his mother," Ms. Wen said. "...Mm, right, he did the census this morning."
She paused, then added, "You're from... Huaicheng No. 1 High School?"
Jiang Zhaoye's hand froze in midair.
Huaicheng No. 1 High School—the best high school in the city, without exception.
Although his academic score on the high school entrance exam had been quite good, his psionic stats back then fell far short of Huaicheng No. 1 High School's cutoff line. When filling out his preferences in the end, he chose No. 2 High School, which had expressed interest in recruiting him. It was also considered a good school, but still a tier below No. 1 High School.
Ms. Wen continued listening to the call, her face unreadable. "Mm, mm... Let me look into it, and I'll get back to you later. Right, thank you."
She hung up the phone, but before she even had a chance to put it down, Jiang Zhaoye's watch suddenly vibrated.
Rate on N.U.
