Even when Huang Xiu was still a boy, a particular observation had always piqued their curiosity. Why did girls insist on venturing to the restroom in groups, like adventurers embarking on a dungeon raid, when a solitary trip would suffice?
“So… heading to the restroom, Sister Xiu?” Ying Zhiyu, seated to her right, extended an invitation to team up.
Jia Qianrou, who had already accepted the invitation, also turned her head to look.
From her left and right, two gazes intersected, striking Huang Xiu like laser beams.
Huang Xiu swallowed hard, then, after a moment of hesitation, agreed.
After all, when out and about, completely avoiding the women’s restroom was an impossibility.
‘It’s just a women’s restroom, hmph! I can even slay Touchpoints, going in and out seven times without issue. How could I possibly be afraid of this?’
Huang Xiu mentally braced herself, then, blushing slightly, followed Ying Zhiyu and Jia Qianrou into the restroom like a shadow.
This marked her first time entering a women’s restroom, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of being a thief.
The moment she stepped inside, Huang Xiu immediately sought out an empty stall and promptly locked herself in.
Her movements were as swift as lightning.
Ying Zhiyu and Jia Qianrou hadn’t even registered what happened, only seeing the wooden stall door snap shut with a thud.
The next second, the indicator swiftly switched from the green zone, signifying vacancy, to the red zone, denoting occupancy.
The two exchanged a glance, then shared a helpless smile.
They both felt that Sister Xiu was acting particularly strange today, wondering if it was perhaps due to her menstrual cycle.
After using the restroom, she changed her sanitary pad.
Huang Xiu felt as though she had been reborn; concentrating during class became noticeably easier.
It turned out that using a public women’s restroom wasn’t as difficult as she had imagined.
If there was one minor point to mention.
Perhaps it was merely the sound of girls chatting and water flushing in adjacent stalls that caused her a slight difficulty in urination.
Nevertheless, it was something she could overcome.
‘No more zoning out!’
Huang Xiu gently patted her cheeks, drawing her inadvertently wandering attention back into focus.
Losing focus during long classes was a bad habit she had possessed since childhood.
Leaning back in her chair, Huang Xiu stretched silently.
Her white school uniform’s short sleeves tightened as her shoulders moved upward, revealing a slender, fair waist.
She glanced towards the podium, where Hua Song was already explaining how to differentiate between large and ordinary Void Realms.
“Large Void Realms have historically reached depths of over 60. However, this isn’t a necessary and sufficient condition to distinguish them; at best, it’s merely a sufficient one.”
“To accurately determine if a Void Realm is a large one, the only effective method currently is to see if it has a symbiotic Void Realm. And a symbiotic…”
Hua Song abruptly stopped speaking mid-sentence, quickly glancing down at his watch.
“Alright, class will be dismissed in one minute. We’ll stop here for today.”
The students, eagerly awaiting the method for distinguishing large Void Realms, erupted in groans when their teacher unexpectedly cut off mid-explanation.
“Teacher, please finish explaining symbiotic Void Realms! You can dismiss class afterward; we’re not in a hurry.”
“Exactly! There’s still a minute, isn’t there? Keep going! We don’t mind staying a bit late.”
For these diligent students, having a topic cut short halfway through felt precisely like a ‘tease and denial’ challenge.
It was simply unbearable!
Hearing the pleas of these ‘study fanatics,’ Huang Xiu felt a pang of exasperation.
‘They’re all academic thieves, academic thieves! It’s already mealtime; wouldn’t it be better if the teacher just dismissed class properly?’
Having eaten little for breakfast, she was already famished, her stomach rumbling audibly.
All she wanted now was to transform into a ruthless eating machine.
Yet, these study fanatics actually wanted her to continue starving and listening to class – how utterly cruel!
“Do you all want me to finish it?” Hua Song smiled as he looked at everyone, seemingly seeking their opinion.
Upon hearing this, Huang Xiu cast a glance around the room.
Seeing that most people nodded in agreement, she reluctantly followed suit.
“It seems most of you want me to continue speaking! But I refuse!”
Hua Song’s words were astonishing, leaving Huang Xiu utterly shocked, her lips curving into an uncontrollable smile.
A scenario where students actively requested extended class time, only for the teacher to refuse, was something she had never witnessed before.
“Dismissal time isn’t just yours; it’s mine too. Don’t even think about exploiting my time!”
Hua Song finished with a smile, then picked up the whiteboard eraser and, with a few swift strokes, completely wiped clean the board filled with notes.
He then returned the whiteboard marker to its box and capped it securely.
Just then, the dismissal bell rang precisely on time.
He picked up his textbook, his steps echoing the rhythm of a guzheng melody, taking ten paces exactly, and in the final second of the music, pushed open the classroom door and exited.
Not a second more, not a second less.
“Professor Hua Song seems to have severe OCD,” Huang Xiu remarked while tidying her belongings.
“I think so too, honestly. When he writes on the board, every character’s size and spacing are identical, as if printed by a machine. Sister Xiu, did you notice?”
Ying Zhiyu’s face was filled with surprise.
“I noticed it too,” Huang Xiu nodded.
It was her first time seeing someone’s handwriting look exactly like a printout from a printer.
“Professor Hua’s precision is definitely A-grade,” Huang Xiu said with a grateful expression. “It’s like he’s possessed by Star Platinum.”
“Agreed!” Bu Chenghua interjected into the conversation.
Having packed their belongings, Huang Xiu and the other three headed towards the cafeteria for lunch.
However, before they were halfway there, Liu Lu, Yang Qu, and Chi Xue unexpectedly caught up to them.
Of the three, only Liu Lu was from Class One, while the others were students from Class Two and Class Three, respectively.
Despite not being in the same class, they attended major lectures together, and even for minor classes, the locations were usually nearby.
This brought a small measure of happiness to Yang Qu and Chi Xue, who hadn’t been assigned to the same class as Huang Xiu.
After exchanging greetings, the group of seven spread out, filling the entire path as they grandly marched towards the cafeteria.
On the way from the Capital Tower to the cafeteria, Huang Xiu encountered numerous freshmen, some heading to lunch and others already returning.
Smiles adorned the freshmen’s faces as they chatted with their classmates about the morning’s lessons, discussing the mysteries of the world.
Huang Xiu observed their bright, smiling faces.
Suddenly, it felt as though yesterday’s battle against the Touchpoint in the urban village had never occurred, leaving no trace of disturbance for these new students.
The freshmen had adapted with astonishing speed to life at Tiandu University, where yesterday was a battlefield and today was a classroom.
Even a mere month prior… they had all been nothing more than high school students.
Huang Xiu chuckled inwardly. ‘So this is why high schoolers are always the main characters saving the world in anime?’
Compared to adults with fully developed worldviews, high school students, still imbued with a touch of chuunibyo and fantasy, possessed an incredibly strong adaptability.
Especially herself; just a month and a half ago, she had been an ordinary high school boy.
Yet now, she had already adapted to her new life as a girl.