XI CHEN JOINS THE SPECIAL CLASS

Xi Chen entered the classroom and made his way to his seat in the back row, near the window. He remained silent, not engaging with any of his classmates. Unbeknownst to him, there was an undercurrent of events happening in the world that he had just triggered. Exhausted from his nightmares, he rested his head on the desk, hoping to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Just as he was about to drift off, a tap on his shoulder interrupted his peace. The entire class fell into a hushed silence, and Xi Chen assumed it was a teacher waking him for sleeping in class. Slowly, he sat up and was taken aback when he found himself staring into the unique amethyst-colored eyes of the head teacher from the special class.

"Gu Xichen, gather your belongings and follow me to the special class building," said the teacher, whose name Xi Chen did not know. A wave of shock and surprise swept through the class, particularly among those who came from prestigious and aristocratic families who understood the significance of this summons. Xi Chen's face filled with shock, and all he could manage to say was, "Excuse me, sir, but I am not yet sixteen." The teacher stared at him for a moment, contemplating his response "He's a clever one, isn't he?" the teacher replied, slightly laughing, as he continued to stare at him with a strange expression. "I know, but you're a special case. Grab your things, and I'll explain it to you on the way," he continued, growing slightly impatient. Xi Chen noticed this and realized that he hadn't unpacked any of his school supplies into his locker yet, as it was his first day of school. Without hesitation, Xi Chen got up, grabbed his bag, and followed the teacher out of the classroom.

As they left the classroom, the silence was shattered by a flood of questions, answers, and speculations from the other students. It continued like that until their class teacher entered the room for roll call. The newly acquired peace was once again disrupted as the teacher called out Xi Chen's name, and everyone wanted to be the first to tell her about his departure.

However, none of this mattered to Xi Chen, as the teacher walking beside him kept turning to stare at him as if he could see right through him. As they walked, the teacher began to speak to him. "Student Xi Chen, what do you know about the special class program?" Xi Chen replied, "Lao Shi, I'm not sure I know anything. All I know is that students in the special class program receive unique education and opportunities; students are typically chosen randomly, and they are all over the age of 16. The rest, I am uncertain about," he responded. "That's a valid observation," the teacher muttered. "Have you ever heard of transcendants, or do you know anything about them?" the teacher asked. Xi Chen shook his head, confused about what all of this was about, and looked to the professor for clarification. The teacher smiled gently at him before replying, "Don't worry about it. Fortunately, we caught you on the first day of the next batch, so you won't have to attend a separate orientation class. You can all do it together. Don't fret; everything will be explained." This did not calm Xi Chen's nerves; instead, he became even more nervous. However, before he could become any more anxious, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and a strong sense of calmness and peace enveloped him. He looked up at the teacher's smiling face and somehow felt reassured that everything would be alright. "By the way, Lao Shi, what is your name?" the teacher chuckled. "My name is..." but before Xi Chen could hear the name, the door to the special building they were standing in front of and about to enter opened, and out walked his dad's boss, whom he had seen a few times when he went to visit his dad. A young girl, likely not much older than him, caught his attention. Her hair mirrored the silver hue of the man standing beside her. With their matching silver eyes, it was evident that they were related, presumably father and daughter. Although he was certain he had met her before, he couldn't recall when exactly. Perhaps he was too young to remember.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

As she turned her gaze away from her father to where he was looking, their eyes met unexpectedly. Startled, she hesitated for a moment before her eyes returned to their coldness. She whispered something to her father before turning back and retreating into the building without sparing them a single glance. If Xichen had been more attentive, he might have noticed a faint blush coloring the tips of her ears. Unfortunately, he was too preoccupied with his own concerns to notice.

Xichen respectfully bowed in greeting to Mr. Gu. "You must be Xichen," Mr. Gu asked. "Do you remember me?" "Uncle Gu, “Ni hao," Xichen replied. Uncle Gu smiled warmly as he responded, "Good boy! It's been a while since I last saw you. You've grown so much. Your dad often speaks highly of you. Today is your birthday, right? I've already given your dad your present; however, this is a special gift that I have for you, he said all in one breath as he handed Xichen an envelope. Xichen looked at the envelope in his hands, unsure of what to do. "Don't worry, just take it. Consider it my way of congratulating you for getting into the special class and my investment in your future," he explained, pushing the envelope into the surprised boy's hand. "Use it to take care of yourself and your family. You're going to need it, trust me. I have an important meeting to attend, so I must hurry," Mr. Gu continued, walking past Xichen towards his waiting car, remembering his meeting with the Premier that he couldn't be late for. He turned and smiled at Xichen, who bowed to him once again as he got into the backseat of the car, which quickly drove away.

"Don't worry about it; this is just the beginning. You'll receive more, and you'll understand why later," the teacher reassured Xichen as he opened the envelope and pulled out a black card from it. Xichen wasn't sure how much money was loaded onto this card, but he knew it was a significant amount—at least over a hundred thousand yuan; they only issued black cards for amounts exceeding that. He had learned this when one of the wealthy kids in his class kept flaunting the black card given to him by his parents for the spring festival red packet, or was it the mid-autumn? He couldn’t really remember, but at the time he had pondered over what their expectations were for a 13-year-old with such a substantial amount of money. What could a kid like that possibly have to do with all that money? Now, he found himself in the same predicament, and he was still perplexed by it all. He figured he would just give it to his parents, though he was not sure they would take it, or he could get them a house in a better neighborhood and his mom could quit her job. He thought of all the possibilities and things he could do with that money and found that he did have use for the money after all. As his teacher brought him back to reality, he cautiously stowed the card in his bag and followed the teacher into the building. The teacher guided him to the director's office, where he received a similar treatment as he did from Uncle Gu—another black card for his necessities. At this point, his head began to spin, and he desperately needed to sit down and gather his thoughts. Everything was unfolding too quickly for him to fully comprehend. While walking towards the orientation room with his teacher, he couldn't help but notice that all the doors were tinted. Each door had a retina scanner, and some were labeled with "S," "SS," or "SSS," along with other symbols that he couldn't decipher. Since he couldn't ascertain their meaning, he decided to stop dwelling on it. He figured he would likely learn more during the orientation than any speculation he could come up with at this moment. He accompanied the teacher until they reached a door located at the far end of the hallway. The teacher then utilized retina scanning technology to unlock the door, revealing a classroom resembling an auditorium in front of them.