Not Her Fault

Zhehai Province, Hanggang City.

Wencheng Middle School, Class 3-7.

"Everyone's improvement in this mock exam has been clear for all to see. Qin Shou, especially, came in second in the entire grade, only two points away from a perfect score. Everyone should learn from him."

"Most of you did well, but a few students showed no desire to improve and actually scored zero, dragging down the class average."

"I won't name anyone here. I only hope that this student will reflect on their actions. There are only twenty-one days left until the High School Entrance Exam. With grades like this, forget Pet Beast High School—you won't even get into an ordinary vocational high school."

The balding Class Teacher glanced toward the window seat in the third-to-last row on the far right. The ponytailed girl sitting there was upright and proper, her back ramrod straight, looking every bit like a model student.

The corner of his mouth twitched. What was she pretending for? He was talking about her!

Of course, Qiao Sang knew the Class Teacher was referring to her, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't the Qiao Sang of this world.

She had only transmigrated here two days ago, and before she had even adjusted, she got hit with a mock exam.

It was just a middle school mock exam. Naturally, she hadn't been afraid. In her previous life, she had gotten into a top-tier university.

But the moment she received the test paper, she was dumbfounded.

What did the awakening of the human brain domain produce?

What Extraordinary Creatures were attracted to Heart Scales, and what effects did they have?

What was the final evolved form of a Stinky Mudfish called?

Which planets had humanity already colonized?

What... what kind of questions were these?!

In the end, she had no choice but to pick the shorter option whenever three answers were long and one was short, pick the longer one whenever three were short and one was long, fill in the blanks at random, and hand in the essay section blank.

Over the past two days, Qiao Sang had adjusted to her new body, and the original owner's memories had gradually surfaced. She now had a rough understanding of this world.

This was a world centered around pet taming. Since humanity discovered its ability to tame beasts, 32.05 million years had passed, and a fully mature Pet Tamer Association system had formed.

Though it was called the age of pet taming, not everyone could become a pet tamer. At fifteen, a person's brain domain could be stimulated by Magnetic Waves to awaken a Pet Beast Codex.

This Pet Beast Codex was both a contract and a space, capable of perfectly connecting humans and Extraordinary Creatures.

If one's brain domain failed to awaken at fifteen, then they would most likely have nothing to do with pet taming for the rest of their life.

Even though the age of pet taming had developed for tens of millions of years, humanity still could not guarantee that everyone would awaken a Pet Beast Codex.

Just last year, only 73% of students taking the nationwide High School Entrance Exam awakened a Pet Beast Codex. The remaining 27% did not. Even if some of them were academic prodigies, they were destined to never enter Pet Beast High School.

And those unable to tame beasts could only become ordinary people, spending their entire lives at the bottom of society's hierarchy.

It was a very realistic issue. If you couldn't tame beasts, you might not even be able to work construction.

With Extraordinary Creatures capable of carrying hundreds or even thousands of kilograms of bricks at once, who would still hire people to do it? It was slower and more labor-intensive.

The same went for carrying dishes.

Even if their wages were several times higher than a human's, restaurants would rather hire Extraordinary Creatures, because they could attract more customers that way.

In a world whose common sense was completely different from her previous one, Qiao Sang, a middle school student on the verge of the High School Entrance Exam, was frantic.

In the past, knowledge changed one's fate. Now, pet taming changed one's life.

Though she had inherited the original owner's memories, the original Qiao Sang had been an academic underachiever!

Her grades had remained firmly third from last in the class for years. She had improved in last month's mock exam, though, placing fourth from last.

But that was because the previous fourth-from-last student had diarrhea on exam day and skipped two subjects.

The High School Entrance Exam was only twenty-one days away. Qiao Sang did not expect to get into a prestigious high school. She would be thankful just to get into any high school.

Qiao Sang listened carefully in class and took notes. Even after class ended, she kept reading her textbook, displaying the same last-minute determination she had once had before the National College Entrance Examination.

"Qiao Sang, the duck egg Old Class Teacher mentioned was you, right?" Her deskmate, Fang Sisi, leaned over and lowered her voice.

She was not asking but confirming. Though Old Class Teacher had not named anyone, Qiao Sang had openly taken notes on her zero-score test paper without even bothering to hide the grade.

Qiao Sang nodded.

In Qiao Sang's memories, she and her deskmate got along well. They ate together, went out together, and did plenty of things together.

The biggest reason they were so close was that Fang Sisi was also an academic underachiever.

Fang Sisi was the student who had become fourth from last in the previous mock exam after diarrhea had taken her place as third from last.

"Impressive. You answered every multiple-choice question and still didn't get even one point. That's about as difficult as getting a perfect score." Fang Sisi gave her a thumbs-up in admiration.

Qiao Sang choked, unable to speak. Could she be blamed for that? Blame the rule about choosing the short answer when three were long and one was short!

"How many points did you get?" Qiao Sang asked.

"Two hundred sixty-three. That's ninety-eight points higher than last time." Fang Sisi looked rather proud.

As expected of an academic underachiever. She had taken two more subjects and only gained ninety-eight points.

Of course, Qiao Sang only complained internally. They were both academic underachievers, so there was no need to hurt each other.

"You did pretty well."

Qiao Sang was not saying that against her conscience. Though her deskmate's grades still seemed poor to her, they had indeed improved considerably compared to Fang Sisi's previous score of around two hundred.

"Of course. My mom has been watching me every day lately..."

Before she could finish, the student seated in front of Fang Sisi turned around and said mysteriously, "Do you think the rumor about Dai Shushu from Class Nine being recommended to Litan Pet Beast High School is true?"

Fang Sisi sighed. "If everyone's saying it, it must be true."

Qiao Sang flipped through her textbook beside them.

Dai Shushu, the person they were discussing, was first in the grade on this mock exam. In Qiao Sang's eyes, there was nothing worth gossiping about in a top student being recommended to a high school. What she needed most right now was to study and memorize the key points.

"I heard she was recommended because she awakened on her own." The student in front of Qiao Sang also turned around and joined the discussion.

That made Qiao Sang look up.

Pet Beast High Schools recruited future pet tamers, so whether one's brain domain could awaken was naturally their top priority. Those who awakened independently often achieved more in the future than those awakened through Magnetic Wave stimulation.

The first batch of pet tamers to awaken over thirty million years ago had all awakened independently. At the time, pet tamers accounted for only 0.01% of the population, truly one in ten thousand.

It was not until 2,563 years ago, when a researcher named Chen Leshen discovered that the human brain domain could awaken a Pet Beast Codex through Magnetic Wave stimulation, that the great age of pet taming truly began.

But those capable of awakening independently were still the cream of the crop.

"Awakening independently?" Fang Sisi fell into thought. "Do you think it's too late for me to start sucking up to her now?"

The student in front of Fang Sisi shook her head. "Forget it. If she was successfully recommended, she definitely won't stay at school anymore. If you knew in advance that you could get into high school, would you still come to school?"

Fang Sisi found that deeply reasonable.

"If I awakened independently, could I be recommended even if I failed my Academic Scores?" Qiao Sang took a deep breath, her expression extremely serious.

That question successfully drew all three girls' gazes toward her.

"Forget failing. Even if you scored zero, some school would want you," the student in front of Qiao Sang teased.

"Don't think about it. People who awaken independently are always academic geniuses. Academic underachievers don't get a chance." Fang Sisi patted Qiao Sang's shoulder. "I had the same dream two days ago."

Qiao Sang lowered her head and said nothing.

The three girls thought she had been discouraged, so they stopped talking about independent awakening.

Who knew how hard Qiao Sang had to work to suppress the urge to throw her head back and laugh wildly?

Independent awakening!

She had successfully awakened independently the moment she transmigrated here!

She just hadn't known what it was at the time and had thought it was some kind of Golden Finger. Only after her memories fused did she realize it was the Pet Beast Codex everyone awakened at fifteen.

Since most people awakened at fifteen anyway, she had not thought much of it. She had never expected the difference to be so enormous!

No wonder the original Qiao Sang had been an academic underachiever. Even after their memories fused, she had not known there was such a huge difference between awakening independently and awakening through Magnetic Wave stimulation.

With the pressure of the High School Entrance Exam gone, Qiao Sang felt much more relaxed while studying. When she came across certain facts, she was no longer merely memorizing them by rote.

Deep Fur Turtles were Earth Type, commonly lived in desert and tropical regions, had black circles around their eyes, and were poor swimmers.

Steel Rats should not get caught in the rain because their bodies rusted easily. They liked sunlight.

The sheer amount of common knowledge she came across made her want to complain.

But because of that, Qiao Sang did not find studying painful. Instead, she found it rather interesting, and she remembered the material without needing to force herself to memorize it.

School was dismissed soon after.

Qiao Sang packed up her things. Before she even left her seat, a girl in black-rimmed glasses came over. "Qiao Sang, the Class Teacher wants you in the office."

Qiao Sang froze for a moment. "Got it."

The girl with glasses was Ma Xiao, the class's academic representative. She was used to teachers calling Qiao Sang into the office.

As the class's permanent third-from-last student, this was routine for Qiao Sang.

The original Qiao Sang was used to it, but the current Qiao Sang was not.

Especially when Old Class Teacher's spit was spraying onto her face.

"What is wrong with you?! The High School Entrance Exam is almost here, and you got grades like this! How are you supposed to answer to yourself? How are you supposed to answer to your parents?!"

Qiao Sang silently took a step back. "Tea...cher, calm down."

That was close. She had almost called him Old Class Teacher...

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?! I've taught so many classes, but I've never seen a student as bad as you!" Old Class Teacher escalated his saliva assault.

As someone who had been called an academic genius in her previous life, Qiao Sang was experiencing this treatment for the first time. She silently took another step back. "There's a reason I did so badly."

Old Class Teacher looked at her coldly. "What reason?"

"Actually, I awakened independently. My brain hasn't recovered yet."

At that moment, Qiao Sang was impressed by her own quick thinking.

"Heh." Old Class Teacher sneered. "Looks like your teachers have been far too kind to you."

Qiao Sang was full of confusion. What did that have to do with whether they had treated her well?

Old Class Teacher took an address book from the drawer, opened it, and dialed a number from inside.

Before long, the call connected.

"Hello, is this Qiao Sang's parent? I'm Qiao Sang's Class Teacher. Do you have time to come to the school now?"

Qiao Sang: "..."