CHAPTER 432: CHAPTER 3: YEZI COMES KNOCKING

While Xiao Xian was still in Meijia Village, shielded from the blistering heat outside, the students of Sacred Heart Middle School had entered the final week before their end-of-term exams.

The PE representative of Class 1-3, "Zhu Xiaoxian," was still the same as always, partnered up with Zhang Yiyi after class. Zhang Yiyi glanced at the now more silent "Xiao Xian" beside her, feeling that something about her was off lately.

Specifically what was off, Zhang Yiyi couldn’t quite pinpoint - the basketball practice went as usual, and going home was the same. But she felt that "Xiao Xian" was lacking the vigor she used to have.

When they reached the stairwell, Zhang Yiyi bumped into Zeng Xuerou and hurriedly gestured for her to come over. "Xiao Xian" also followed, greeting her.

"Xuerou, don’t you think something’s not quite right with Xiao Xian?" Zhang Yiyi, tugging at Zeng Xuerou and not letting go, preferred sticking with Zeng Xuerou compared to being with this current "Xiao Xian."

Zeng Xuerou hesitated slightly and glanced at "Xiao Xian" standing beside them. "There’s nothing different; you’re just making a fuss over nothing." Despite Zeng Xuerou herself being bewildered about what had happened that night, along with what Mei Nian said afterwards about Xiao Xian being out of the ordinary and the existence of cultivators, including Dr. Zhou and the PE teacher Aisha, who were not ordinary people and had come and gone.

Though Zeng Xuerou didn’t quite understand, she still brought the impostor "Xiao Xian" back. In a few days, when more strangers began to roam around the school, Zeng Xuerou became even more cautious. This "Xiao Xian," transformed from a rose, could eat, sleep, and speak like a human being; she was almost a complete replica of Xiao Xian’s appearance and temperament, only she was tamer than Xiao Xian. For instance, when the three of them went out to eat, if you asked, "Should we have boiled fish or rice topped with meat?"

She would nonchalantly reply, "Whatever."

Or take basketball practice, for example. When practice is over and Bai Xue wants to add an extra thirty minutes of training, while others sigh and complain, only Xiao Xian would cheerfully respond with, "Okay." No wonder Zhang Yiyi was suspicious.

"Okay, stop worrying needlessly. Come to my place this weekend; I’ll help with your final review. It’s hot lately, and there’s no air conditioning in the school, uncomfortable to stay in. In the second half of the year, you’ll be in second year; instead of letting your mind wander, better focus more on your studies," Zeng Xuerou’s words seemed to reassure Zhang Yiyi, yet she herself wasn’t entirely convinced. She wondered if Xiao Xian had woken up yet, and whether the one calling herself "Plum Rice Ball," the owner of the pharmacy, was reliable.

Zeng Xuerou planned to visit the herbal medicine wholesale store after the finals to get to the bottom of it, hoping that nothing slips through the cracks in the meantime.

The three chatted and laughed as they left the school gate, heading towards Zeng Xuerou’s home.

Because of the hot weather and the approach of finals, the school gates quickly emptied.

After a stifling day, at the gates of a key middle school in Beijing, the security guard on duty pulled out a hose, spraying water at the gates to dispel the heat.

"Excuse me, is there a female student named Xiao Xian here?" The query sounded somewhat anxious.

"With such a large school, how could I remember every single person’s name," the guard replied indifferently, after all, their school was just like Sacred Heart Middle School with both junior and senior high sections, totaling thousands of people. He couldn’t remember every Tom, Dick, or Harry.

"She’s surnamed Zhu, has pale skin, big eyes, and is about this tall—no, it’s been a year, she must have grown, probably this tall now," the inquirer persisted.

The guard was forced to stop his task, frowning as he asked, "Like I said, there are thousands in the school, how could I remember everyone’s name? Which class is she in, or what’s her homeroom teacher’s name? If you don’t clarify, how do you expect me to answer?"

A cigarette was offered his way, and Uncle Lu patted the security guard’s shoulder, "Sorry, my nephew here is a bit impulsive. We didn’t ask clearly before heading out; we only knew our little cousin was studying at some ’key’ middle school. With Beijing being so big, we’ve been searching district by district for several months. If we hadn’t been busy nearby these past few days, we wouldn’t have known there’s a key school here."

The guard didn’t accept the cigarette, eying the two warily, muttering to himself, hoping they weren’t troublemakers. Their school was a closed campus with fairly decent internal management, although occasionally there were young people from society loitering around.