Negative Score! Get Out!

Why do birds fly?

Upon hearing this question, all students in the circular classroom, including Mei and Klein, jolted awake.

Wait... why do birds fly?

What kind of nonsensical question is this? What does it have to do with the lecture's topic, "Biology," even remotely?

"In my class, I don't want to hear questions, I only want to hear answers!"

Xu Ziling clapped his hands sharply. Beneath his extremely feminine appearance lay muscle strength comparable to an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. The intense sonic boom created by the immense force in his hands instantly made all the students hold their breath again.

Here it comes, the typical corporate echo chamber from the Dog Boss back in my previous life. First, hype up the enthusiasm, then show off his superiority. A classic "pie in the sky" move combined with asserting dominance.

I used to find Xu Ziling's arrogant demeanor disgusting, but now it's his turn to be arrogant... Hmm... this feeling is actually quite nice?

"No one wants to answer?"

Xu Ziling's unfathomable emerald green eyes swept across everyone in the classroom, then he sighed deliberately and said, "Sigh! I'm truly disappointed in this batch of students... But it's okay. Just like the Doctor said, even if you don't answer, I can still be happy reading my slides myself—Why do birds fly? Because they have to fly into the sky!"

Saying this, Xu Ziling picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the large characters "HAVE TO" on the blackboard.

"Assistant Instructor Xu, are you implying... that if they couldn't fly, they wouldn't be able to hunt and would starve to death?"

After thinking for a moment, a student asked Xu Ziling on the podium, "But... isn't that too superficial? Organisms need to forage for survival. Isn't that common biological knowledge everyone knows? You wouldn't need to emphasize it again, would you, Assistant Instructor Xu?"

"Has no one told you that you are currently in high school, not university?"

Xu Ziling looked at the student expressionlessly, then pushed up his non-existent glasses and said, "You ask questions in class without raising your hand, did I ask you to speak? This student, negative points! Get out!"

"Huh?"

The student, who was given negative points, looked utterly bewildered. Before he could even process it, the next moment, a piece of chalk whizzed through the air and accurately hit his forehead. It was as if a god from ancient Greece, in charge of chalk, had directly knocked him down. With Xu Ziling's precise control over his strength, the chalk strike would only hurt, not injure him.

"Now, other students, listen to the next question."

Xu Ziling's stern voice brought all the students still in the classroom back to reality. They all realized that the person standing on the podium now... well, she was probably a goddess with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was no longer the "Professor Serpent" from before, who only lectured and didn't manage things. If this young lady with blonde hair was displeased, she would hit you with her chalk!

Realizing this, all the students in the classroom immediately became... even more excited?

This reaction completely baffled Xu Ziling. Wait... shouldn't you be feeling fear or anger? Like how the Dog Boss's employees felt towards him before?

Becoming more excited is a...

Casually, Xu Ziling glanced at his current, National Goddess-level feminine form and the exceptionally elegant white and gold bishop's attire.

Xu Ziling suddenly understood.

After a three-second silence, Xu Ziling felt there was no need to explain anything to these students of Chiyu Academy, with whom he wouldn't have much connection in his life. He automatically skipped over their heightened excitement and returned to his topic.

"Pay attention! Where are all your eyes looking? Now listen to the next question—Following 'Why do birds fly?', students, please, listen to me... Why do birds want to fly?"

This question appeared to be identical to the previous one, but the focus had shifted from "can do" to "want to do." A word game, one of the most basic rhetorical techniques.

And following the precedent of the student who was hit with chalk, no one immediately answered after Xu Ziling asked the question. Instead, after a moment of thought, they raised their right hands.

Xu Ziling nodded at one of the students, indicating he could stand up and answer.

"Um... Assistant Instructor Xu, how should I put it, I think... birds have wings, so they naturally fly, because they 'can do' it, therefore they 'want' to."

"Incorrect, zero points! Next!"

"Because they are forced to by survival, they have no choice but to fly?"

"Zero points! Next!"

"Because of their competitive spirit? They yearn to fly higher in the sky?"

"Zero points, zero points, zero points!!"

In just a few minutes, the vast majority of students in the circular classroom had been labeled "zero points" by Xu Ziling. This excluded Klein, who had voluntarily abstained from answering, and Su, who had given up struggling. The only ones left who hadn't answered and were still hesitating were Mei.

Xu Ziling on the podium watched Mei, and Mei below the podium thought.

After about ten seconds, Mei raised her right hand.

"Speak."

"Um..."

Mei's answer was a bit complicated. After thinking for a moment longer, she finally said, "Teacher Xu, my answer is: Because they have to fly to escape predators and avoid 'disasters.' Birds can only fly, they must fly. Because that's the only thing they can do."

"The second half is correct, the first half is wrong."

Xu Ziling waved his hand, signaling Mei to sit down, and said, "However, compared to your classmates, your performance is quite good. I'll give you five points."

"Five points..."

Upon hearing this, Mei sat down with some disappointment, unaware that five points was actually the maximum score that man would normally give.

"Are there any other students who want to answer?"

Xu Ziling's slightly gloomy emerald green eyes swept across the classroom, then he waved his hand and said, "Alright, then I'll answer... The student with purple hair just now was actually very close, but they got the subject wrong. My answer is—even if the birds 'don't want' to fly, they must 'fly'. After all, they've been protected too well.

They've all forgotten that when the meteor of Finality fell from the Cretaceous period, only free birds could escape predetermined extinction. Flying was the only thing they could do. Even if they 'didn't want' to, they had to 'want' to. There are too many things in this world that you can't avoid just because you don't want to do them, do you understand, prodigies of Chiyu Academy?"

Hearing this, Mei's eyes flickered slightly. The point Xu Ziling was making now coincided with an idea she had while gazing at the starry sky.

However, besides her, most of the other students in the class were utterly confused.

After thinking for a moment, Su raised his right hand.

"Speak."

"Teaching Assistant, the points you've shared in tonight's class have been incredibly insightful... However, I still have a question."

Su pondered for a moment before voicing the doubts shared by most of his classmates. "Teaching Assistant Xu, the knowledge you've shared... seems to be related to humanities and philosophy. Isn't this straying a bit from tonight's 'biology' class theme?

Also, returning to your earlier question, Teacher Xu... I believe flying or not flying should be the birds' own right. Even if disaster strikes one day, the birds can freely choose to flee or face death. This is their unique will to pursue freedom, and this will should not be branded with 'compulsion' or shackled."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ziling frowned and immediately said, "This student, negative points! Get out!"

A piece of chalk flew towards him. Amidst the envious gazes of his classmates, Su quickly raised his hand to block it, but the chalk still stung him as it sliced through the air.

Immediately after, Xu Ziling continued, "This student, perhaps you truly have the heart of a healer, but don't forget, in times of chaos, the first to die are the bleeding hearts. Birds are not individuals, but a species, a race! And a collective cannot be led by the will of a 'saint' cloaked in the guise of freedom. That would lead to too many tragedies and would kill everyone...

Have you read the book 'Three Days Ascending'? If not, go buy a copy after class. Once you've read it, you'll understand my good intentions."

"Ring ring!!! Ring ring!!!"

Just as Xu Ziling finished speaking, the dismissal bell rang. Xu Ziling waved his hand, packed up his USB drive, and said, "Alright, since class is over, I won't keep you. Students, dismissed!"

A little earlier, elsewhere.

Kevin, squatting outside the door waiting for class to end, stared at a pink envelope in his hand, lost in thought.

You might not believe it, but just moments ago, while he was zoning out, a lady calling herself "Pink Elf" had appeared before him, claiming she could grant his every wish using elf magic.

Although this "Pink Elf" lady had changed her clothes, Kevin recognized her immediately as the lady he had helped move things a few days prior. After all, her pink hair and goddess-level beauty were impossible to hide.

Still, Kevin was curious why she was looking for him for no reason and how she even got into Chiyu Academy. Since he had nothing else to do, Kevin played along with the "Pink Elf's" request to pretend he didn't know her.

The elf lady said she wanted to grant his wish... But what wish could Kevin possibly have? He just wanted to be with Mei. So, he asked the Pink Elf what he could do to salvage the image he had damaged with Mei a few days ago.

The elf lady's reply was that she could help him with that, but she would need a small "payment" from Kevin.

... It was strange, really, that someone would ask for "Mei's preferences" and "Mei's daily routine" as payment for a request.

As Mei's most steadfast admirer, Kevin naturally knew her preferences and daily habits like the back of his hand. Seeing that the "Pink Elf" was also a girl, he figured she posed no threat and told her everything, as long as she could truly help him restore his image with Mei.

After Kevin told the Pink Elf lady about Mei's likes and small daily matters to pay attention to, the Pink Elf lady smiled happily, took out a magic wand, and playfully tapped the top of Kevin's head a few times.

Then, there was a flash of light, as if someone had thrown a flashbulb in front of Kevin... In short, by the time Kevin came to his senses, the Pink Elf lady had vanished, leaving only a pink and white envelope floating down into Kevin's hand.

"Could it be... magic really exists in this world?"

Kevin leaned against the wall outside the circular classroom, fiddling with the pink and white envelope in his hand while waiting for Mei to finish class, muttering to himself.

"But that elf's radiance... the more I look at it, the more it resembles a small flashbang... No, flashbangs are military equipment. It's unlikely that the Pink Elf lady, a frail woman, would have any connection to the military..."

"So that means magic really happened just now?"

Kevin was baffled.

His gaze fell back on the pink and white letter in his hand. Kevin decided not to overthink it and see what method the "Pink Elf" lady had left him to restore the image he had lost with Mei a few days ago.

With that thought, Kevin slowly tore open the envelope.

A cute cartoon paper fell out. Kevin quickly picked it up and flipped it over. Several large characters met his eyes—

[Never gonna give you up]

[Never gonna let you down]

[Never gonna cry]

[Never gonna say goodbye]

"Never give up, never be discouraged, never cry, never say goodbye..."

Kevin mumbled the words on the paper, his confusion growing.

"What does this mean? Is she trying to tell me... to always believe in myself? To always show Mei my best side?"

"Yes, it must be that. There are no shortcuts in the path of love; only by believing in oneself can one succeed..."

With this possibility in mind, Kevin suddenly understood and then let out a helpless chuckle.

"What the heck, I thought there was actually magic! So it was just psychological encouragement, no wonder, no wonder... Of course, there's no such magical thing as magic in this world. But... psychological encouragement from Miss Elf? Haha! I'll take it.

Alright then, Kevin, since someone's encouraged you like this, you can't be too modest! Cheer up and wait for Mei to finish class."

With that thought, Kevin successfully convinced himself and reignited his fighting spirit.

At this moment, filled with confidence, the bright and cheerful eldest prince of Chiyu Academy, our classmate Kevin, had yet to realize the severity of the situation...

It wasn't until countless days later, when Kevin stumbled upon a video by chance, that he realized just how foolish the mistake he had made today was—

Hardcore explanation: Never be discouraged.