“It’s 10:30, son. It’s time for you to go to bed,” Yin Baiquan urged.
The young boy, who was studying and doing homework at his desk, obediently responded with a soft acknowledgment. He then turned off the desk lamp, climbed into bed, and pulled the blanket over himself.
At midnight, prompted by some emotion he couldn’t quite express, Yin Baiquan furrowed his brow. With graceful movements, he opened his son’s bedroom door.
The small room remained unlit, with tightly drawn curtains that blocked out any trace of light. However, he could still vaguely make out the young boy’s fair face on the bed, half-buried in the pillow, with soft strands of hair spread out. He appeared to be sleeping soundly. Upon closer listening, there was the gentle sound of his quiet breathing.
Everything seemed perfectly normal.
The child hadn’t sneaked in some computer or phone time; he had gone to sleep early.
Yin Baiquan’s eyebrows relaxed, and he closed the door with satisfaction. Little did he know, as he turned to leave, the young boy on the bed instantly opened his deep, dark eyes, gazing at the tightly closed door. The young boy let out a small sigh of relief, lifted his blanket, and leaped out of bed.
He walked to the window and pulled back the curtains.
Outside, everything was silent. The night was blurry, with only a few gem-like stars twinkling in the sky. Most prominent among them was the enormous floating city, appearing even more colossal under the cover of the night.
It floated in the clouds, overlooking the residents below, as if a deity scrutinizing the ants on the ground. No matter how brightly the lights shone on the surface, or how towering skyscrapers reached into the clouds, it seemed nothing could touch it. It remained aloof, unshakeable.
For many, this floating city existed from the moment they were born. It was profoundly mysterious, and no one knew exactly how many epochs it had witnessed. Apart from the few lucky individuals chosen to visit each year, including the former owner, nobody knew what the inside of the floating city was like.
However, as Yin Minglu stared at the city, he couldn’t shake the feeling—that it could devour people.
【Ding~ A highly intense distress signal has been received from the suburban area 7.8 kilometers away and the mountainous region 14.8 kilometers away. Evolver N, please proceed immediately for rescue! Do not hesitate, go for the rescue at once!】
The familiar alarm bell rang, and Yin Minglu shuddered. Without even changing out of his pajamas, he immediately opened the window and jumped out.
Due to the distance, the round trip took quite a while. When he wearily returned to his room, it was already five in the morning. Exhausted, he hugged his blanket and almost immediately fell asleep.
At six-thirty in the morning, Yin Baiquan came to knock on his son’s door to wake him up. He knocked several times, but the son remained sound asleep, stubbornly clinging to the bed.
He had no choice but to twist the door open himself. As soon as he entered, he saw his son with bleary eyes in bed. Yin Baiquan was immediately astonished, almost blurting out, “Why do you have those massive dark circles again? What were you up to last night?? Weren’t you supposed to sleep early? And I even quietly took away your phone after checking your room. Why do I still see such heavy dark circles on you?” Yin Baiquan couldn’t help but question the meaning of life.
However, looking at his son’s face, which seemed as if he had stayed up all night, with a dull complexion, he found himself reluctant to wake him up. He ended up indulging his son with an extra half-hour of sleep.
As a result, they ended up leaving the house late.
Day and night cycled on. The sky, adorned with cloud-like scales, hid the radiant sun behind them. Yet, that city remained unchanged, still floating in the air, overseeing the hustle and bustle of people on the ground.
Watching his son hastily open the car door from the passenger seat and rush towards the school gate, Yin Baiquan scorned himself. He deeply felt that he had let down Teacher Wang’s expectations and had, unwittingly, become an accomplice in indulging his son’s late-sleeping and tardiness.
The bell rang.
The automatic gates at the school entrance were slowly closing, sending a group of late students sprinting with desperate cries.
Unfortunately, their legs were not fast enough. The automatic gates heartlessly shut, mercilessly trapping them outside. Moreover, for some unknown reason, several uniformed disciplinary committee members appeared at the school gate today. Each of them wore glasses, had serious and upright expressions, and systematically called out late students to check their student IDs, record their information, and announced that they would deduct a certain number of regular points. This was a new school regulation.
The scene instantly filled with sighs and lamentations.
After a few futile pleas for mercy, the individuals realized it was in vain and obediently produced their identification cards.
One of the disciplinary committee members was exceptionally good-looking. They wore a white shirt impeccably, with hardly a wrinkle in sight. Clearly an outstanding figure, while registering other people’s information, their fair fingers were long and well-defined, combined with the graceful and lively handwriting. Everything about them was pleasing to the eye. Yet, inexplicably, the onlookers couldn’t help but associate them with terms like “restrained allure” and “pure as jade.”
The other person’s voice was equally cold, “Next, please show your ID.”
Unbeknownst to them, Yin Minglu, with a backpack slung over his shoulder and a meat bun in his mouth, was part of the latecomers. Though he found it odd to see a crowd gathering around a few people at the entrance, he was still half-asleep and he mumbled in a daze, “Can all of them be late?”. When he saw the automatic gate closing, without much thought, he rushed over and leaped over it like hurdling.
After all, the height of the automatic gate was no challenge for him; he could easily jump over it.
So, the disciplinary committee members at the entrance, along with a group of late students, watched as a black-haired teenager in school uniform sprinted toward their location. His movements were extremely agile and nimble, prompting involuntary thoughts of some large feline species running across the African savannah. Feeling a slight chill, they wondered if this young man, upon realizing they were about to deduct points, harbored resentment and planned to knock them aside. Immediately, the crowd instinctively moved aside.
However, to their utter surprise, the teenager’s trajectory wasn’t towards them at all. He was heading straight for the automatic gates!
The dainty-looking teenager, after a brief sprint, effortlessly leaped over the one-meter-high automatic gates with a meat bun still in his mouth. He appeared remarkably graceful and at ease, almost nonchalant.
This spectacle nearly dropped the jaws of onlookers, leaving them dumbfounded and staring at the scene. After landing inside the school gate, the teenager suddenly turned back, as if he had spotted something. Surprised, he exclaimed, “Class Monitor, why are you outside? Are you also late today? Hurry inside; we’re going to be late for class! I need to submit my homework, so I’ll go first!” With that, he sprinted away, disappearing like a whirlwind from the bewildered gazes of the crowd.
The well-intentioned reminder from the teenager, though appearing somewhat naive, caused quite a stir after he left.
Late students in unison: “!!! Chairman, that guy who just arrived late, aren’t you going to go and catch him? This isn’t fair!! We also want to jump the gate!! Well, okay, maybe we can’t jump it, and it might be risky for certain sensitive areas, but we’re still so jealous!! Wahhhh!!”
The members of the disciplinary committee felt the same way, engaging in a clamor of discussions.
Committee Member A: “Chairman Fu, that audacious latecomer just called out your name. Is he a student from Chairman’s class? Chairman, please make sure to reveal this person’s identity and name!” Jumping the gate in broad daylight and boldly escaping—this guy completely disregarded the dignity of the disciplinary committee! Once they knew the person’s name, they would definitely deduct points accordingly!
Committee Member B: “Although, however, this person’s physical fitness is too good. We might not be able to catch him if we try. Chairman Fu, why don’t we turn this into a good thing? Let’s introduce him to the school’s sports department. With his jumping ability, effortlessly leaping over a one-meter gate, he must be capable of representing the country, shining in our school’s sports endeavors and contributing to our nation.”
Fu Jinxiu, who was being protested by his subordinates, adjusted his glasses with a demeanor neither too thick nor too light. The reflection from the lenses covered his beautifully shaped phoenix eyes. He said, “He jumped the gate with his skills. Are we really going to catch him?”
“Next.”
In succinct terms, the nature of the incident was defined, and the commotion was quelled. Those who had to queue up to show their IDs were left feeling tearful but obediently lined up. They regretted not being able to jump and enter based on their skills. Seeing Chairman Fu’s response, even the reluctant comrades from the committee had no choice but to relent.
Over the next month, during their time on duty while checking IDs, they witnessed the various acrobatic ways this habitual latecomer employed to enter through the gate.
There were direct jumps without a run-up, hurdle jumps, scissor jumps, somersault jumps, prone jumps, and even backflips. The most extravagant of all was using a pole to vault over the gate. Damn it, did they raise the gate just for him to practice high jumping?
Sometimes, even when there was no lateness involved, the other party seemed addicted to jumping and would still leap over the gate even when it was wide open.
Admirable!
Especially after each jump, it seemed like a friendly greeting but was actually a provocation when he would say hello to their committee chairman, as if he didn’t regard them, the enforcers of campus rules and regulations, seriously. Infuriating!
Faced with the greeting, their committee chairman seemed visibly irritated. Placing his hand on his well-defined nose, adjusting his glasses, he turned his head away and coldly remarked, “All show, no substance.”
But no one saw the fleeting hint of amusement that flashed in his eyes behind the lenses.
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