The sky gradually darkened.
This small street was like a giant dragon that had just woken up on a mountain of gold, lazily stretching its body. Multicolored gems slipped from its scales, shimmering with captivating brilliance.
Zheng Qing sipped the milk tea from his paper cup, carefully avoiding every pearl.
He disliked their slimy texture.
The other Freshmen were listlessly sprawled on the bar, waiting for their Freshman guide to return.
Nicholas was queuing for dining numbers at a nearby restaurant for them.
It was said that the restaurant offered the most cost-effective buffet in all of Beta Town, and reservations were always tight.
“Don’t worry! I’m very familiar with the restaurant manager; I’ll get it sorted for you.”
Before this older Freshman confidently departed, he bought each Freshman a cup of milk tea.
Jingle, jangle.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The crisp sound of copper bells mixed with the clatter of hooves on stone slabs echoed down the street.
Zheng Qing looked up.
A Black Sheep with coiled horns, pulling a small four-wheeled wooden cart, ambled unhurriedly down the street.
A small boy with a mushroom cut sat on the cart.
Around the corner, there was a small open space.
The boy clapped his hands.
The Black Sheep with coiled horns calmly stopped, turning its head to glance at the boy.
The boy jumped off the cart and gently stroked the Black Sheep’s back.
“That little rascal, coming to mooch my milk tea again.” The uncle at the milk tea shop cursed with a smile, pulling a large paper cup from behind the counter and beginning to prepare milk tea.
“Who is he?” Zheng Qing asked with interest.
“Lin Guo, the youngest entrant to First University in nearly a century.” The milk tea shop uncle raised his head proudly: “He’s also the pride of Beta Town.”
Xiao Xiao, who had been resting his head on his notebook nearby, snapped his head up and turned sharply to look.
Zheng Qing glanced at his neck with concern.
On his cheek, the deep red mark left by the Edge of the notebook was very prominent.
“He’s Lin Guo?” Xiao Xiao opened his notebook and asked urgently.
“You don’t know him?” Zheng Qing was a little surprised; he remembered Xiao Xiao had introduced him to this youngest First University entrant on the private plane.
“I just knew of him.” Xiao Xiao rubbed his face, and the deep red marks on his cheeks quickly faded.
At the street corner.
The boy removed the saddle from the Black Sheep’s back and set up the canopy of the four-wheeled cart.
A simple five-tiered bookshelf appeared in the cold wind of Beta Town’s streets.
He pulled a brown leather four-legged stool from the cart and placed it in front of the bookshelf.
Then he sat down with his knees bent, his back perfectly straight.
“What is he doing?” Zheng Qing was a little curious.
“Setting up a stall—obviously.” Xiao Xiao gave him a disdainful look.
“Has he been selling for a long time?” Zheng Qing looked at the milk tea shop owner, ignoring Xiao Xiao’s sarcasm.
“On and off for a few years.”
“That long! How old is he?”
“Ten? Eleven at most.” The owner nodded affirmatively.
Zheng Qing looked suspiciously at Xiao Xiao; he still remembered this watermelon-headed boy mentioning this morning that the two twelve-year-old entrants this year were Li Meng and Lin Guo.
“Different calendar systems have different calculation methods. Eleven full years, twelve by nominal age,” Xiao Xiao analyzed very seriously.
“Where are his family members?”
The milk tea shop owner stopped what he was doing and sighed deeply:
“His family used to have a Lin Family Shop in Beta Town, which sold Alchemy items. It was an old shop, had been in town for many years.”
“Three years ago, a fierce fire demon escaped into Beta Town, burning down over a dozen shops along its path. The Lin Family Shop was also destroyed at that time. Decades-old shop, gone in a single fire, leaving only ruins.”
“His family all perished in the fire. The next morning, the Wizards who had been working all night saw Lin Guo singing in the fog-shrouded ruins.”
“Singing?” a Freshman nearby couldn’t help but whisper.
“Yes, singing ‘A Happy Little Frog,’ which was very popular back then.” The milk tea shop owner leaned on the bar, looking at the small boy not far away, his eyes also filled with confusion:
“He sat cleanly in that stroller, shaking the bell on the cart, singing the song over and over. The exhausted Wizards almost thought he was a malevolent spirit.”
Zheng Qing silently watched the slender figure, shaking a bell, sitting quietly on the street.
Thinking of that sad morning three years ago, thinking of that nursery rhyme piercing through the morning mist, a wave of bitterness welled up in his heart.
“Where does he live now?”
“The University arranged a dormitory for him. Don’t underestimate him; he is the youngest entrant to First University in three hundred years and has a very high talent in Alchemy; he is a true genius. It is said that his name appeared in the University’s roster two years ago, but the Chancellor said Lin Guo was too young, so it was delayed for two years. During these two years, the University provided him with food, clothing, housing, and helped him with various basic subjects. It seems he will formally enroll this year.”
“Two years ago…” Zheng Qing’s heart was overwhelmed by an even greater bitterness.
A Freshman who was less than ten years old, and in the same year as him.
It was a reality more despairing than despair itself.
“What does he usually sell?” a Freshman nearby pressed on.
“Old textbooks and exercise books discarded by upperclassmen; defective potions and talismans made by students; some talisman paper, talisman brushes, cinnabar, and herbs. University gossip and rumors; some students’ private commissions; recruitment plans promised by School Workers. And so on. His little cart is very famous at First University, and girls are happy to give him these things to handle.” The milk tea shop owner smiled as he looked at these Freshmen: “He’s very popular with girls.”
“Truly rich and colorful!”
“Amazing!”
The newcomers laughed, looking at the small boy not far away, full of praise.
“Excuse me, could you please hand the milk tea to that little friend?” The uncle from the milk tea shop patted Zheng Qing’s shoulder, pushed a fragrant drink across the counter, and pointed to the child who had set up his stall by the street.
The paper cup was a little hot to the touch.
Zheng Qing held the bottom of the cup and jogged to the boy’s sheep cart.
The boy sat very properly, with a thick, heavy book spread open on his knees.
Zheng Qing glimpsed the tiny print in the center of the page header.
“Principles of Alchemy · University Third Year”
His hand trembled, almost dropping the paper cup to the ground.
The boy looked up at Zheng Qing; his eyebrows were faint, and his eyes were dark and clear.
“Hello, this is from the milk tea shop owner.” Zheng Qing held the paper cup, handed it to the boy, and reminded him: “Careful, it’s hot.”
The boy closed the thick book on his knees and placed it on the small stool. He stood up, bowed slightly, then took the milk tea and placed it on a shelf next to the bookshelf.
“Please help me watch the stall.” The boy pursed his lips, explaining somewhat shyly: “I need to go thank the uncle at the milk tea shop.”
“No trouble at all, no trouble at all.” Zheng Qing waved his hands repeatedly.
Lin Guo meticulously tidied his clothes, pulled on his shoulder straps, and walked towards the milk tea shop.
Zheng Qing noticed he was carrying a blue backpack.
On the backpack, a Mickey Mouse was diligently stretching its neck, reaching towards the inviting aroma of the milk tea.
“This isn’t for you to drink.” Zheng Qing found it amusing and moved the milk tea further away.
The Mickey Mouse pattern angrily jumped around on the backpack, baring its teeth.
Zheng Qing couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
The coiled-horn Black Sheep pulling the cart wiggled its cheeks and turned to glance at him.
Its gaze was filled with disdain.