The fading light of dusk streamed through the glass in pale orange, spilling across the floor and over the girl and the Fire Fang Dog.
Everything was so peaceful and quiet...
"You really were too careless. Now look what happened—we're both being punished by having to stand here." Qiao Sang stood against the wall with both hands raised in surrender.
The Fire Fang Dog stood by the wall in the same pose.
"Fang, fang."
Its Pet Tamer was far too fickle. Just moments ago, she had said that as long as it was okay, nothing else mattered.
"Both of you, be quiet!" After scolding them, Mother turned around and began gathering the shattered pieces of celadon from the floor with a pained expression.
"Mom, let me help." Qiao Sang tried to show her well-behaved side.
Mother said mercilessly, "Stand there. Don't move."
Qiao Sang sighed inwardly. How was she supposed to bring up the fact that she had not been at school for the past while in this situation?
It seemed today was not a good day to reveal the truth...
The Old Class Teacher probably would not choose this exact moment to call, right...
Mother carefully picked up the fragments from the bottom of the vase. When she saw that the section with the signature had shattered into three pieces as well, her eyes nearly turned red.
Qiao Sang could not bear to see her like this. "Mom, isn't it just a signature? The next time I run into Wang Dian'ao, I'll get you another one."
She remembered that the Pet Tamer her mother was a fan of was called Wang Dian'ao. A while ago, when she and the Fire Fang Dog had been watching television, she had even seen news of his romance with a female Pet Tamer named Luo Tang.
However, Mother did not seem affected by it at all. She still ate and drank as usual, and whenever Wang Dian'ao appeared on television and summoned his ace Pet Beast, the Jia Ta Jian Bear, she still got just as excited.
Qiao Sang guessed that Mother was probably a career fan.
Mother glared at her with reddened eyes and roared, "What Wang Dian'ao?! This is the Jian Jian Bear's signature! It's out of print! There'll never be another one! It has already evolved into a Jia Ta Jian Bear!"
Qiao Sang: "..."
She had better shut up and stand quietly.
Qiao Sang thought Mother was a strong woman. Even after losing the out-of-print Jian Jian Bear signature, she still called Qiao Sang and the Fire Fang Dog over for dinner.
Even if she did not look too pleased...
That evening, Qiao Sang worked through practice questions while the Fire Fang Dog trained downstairs in the residential complex under the Fat Domestic Pigeon's supervision.
The Fire Fang Dog had asked for it itself.
After training over the past few days, the Fire Fang Dog had clearly felt its own improvement. It did not want to stop just like that.
Naturally, Qiao Sang was happy to see the Fire Fang Dog being so motivated, but nighttime was not suitable for reading downstairs in the complex, so she had the Fat Domestic Pigeon accompany it instead.
With the Fat Domestic Pigeon, the family elder, keeping the Fire Fang Dog company, she felt at ease.
Before it left, Qiao Sang had also put a 15-kilogram Weighted Ring on the Fire Fang Dog. The 10-kilogram Weighted Ring no longer had much effect on it and could not serve its training purpose anymore.
The days repeated themselves like this until, in the blink of an eye, June 15 arrived.
Two days before the High School Entrance Exam, it was their final day at Wencheng Middle School.
Class 3-7.
The students were taking advantage of their last bit of time together to grow closer.
After all, once today was over, the next time they met would be on the day the results were announced. Once they left Wencheng Middle School, unless they got into the same high school, even classmates who were close now would no longer see each other often.
"Qiao Sang, have you decided which school you want to attend?" Fang Sisi asked.
"Saint Water High School," Qiao Sang answered honestly.
"Hahaha, you're so funny." Fang Sisi slapped the desk and laughed.
Qiao Sang: "..."
"How about we all apply to Haomu Pet Tamer Middle School? Then we can look out for each other," said the girl sitting in front of Fang Sisi as she turned around.
Haomu Pet Tamer Middle School was a private school. High School Entrance Exam results were not important; as long as one had enough money, anyone could attend.
"How much is the tuition for one semester?" Fang Sisi became interested.
Of course, she wanted everyone to attend the same high school if they could, but she only knew that Haomu Pet Tamer Middle School was expensive. She did not know exactly how expensive.
"Five hundred thousand." The girl in front held up her hand.
Fang Sisi looked at her hand, then immediately turned away. "Qiao Sang, what were we talking about just now?"
"You said I was funny," Qiao Sang replied.
The girl in front: "..."
Just as Fang Sisi was about to continue chatting, a boy's startled cry suddenly came from the other side of the classroom. "What? Your dad actually had a La Ousi shipped over for you?!"
At that shout, the whole class turned to look with envy, Qiao Sang included.
A La Ousi was a Psychic Type Pet Beast. That alone would not have made people so envious.
The La Ousi was not a Pet Beast from Dragon Nation.
Every region had its own local Pet Beasts. Fire Fang Dogs, Little Chubby Doves, Desert Tail Foxes, and the like were all exclusive Pet Beasts of Qiao Sang's region—the Yuhua Region.
It was not as though Pet Beasts from other regions did not exist in the Yuhua Region, but there were not many varieties or numbers of them. Some Pet Tamers would travel to different regions to contract Pet Beasts whenever their Pet Beast Codex awakened again, though most still stayed within Hua Nation.
Qiao Sang reckoned that among all the candidates in Hanggang City this year, Qin Shou was probably the only one with a Psychic-type Pet Beast flown in directly from another country.
"My dad insisted on sending it over. I told him I didn't want it, but he sent it anyway. There was nothing I could do." The speaker was Qin Shou.
What a beast. He actually had the nerve to say something like that.
Qiao Sang's fists clenched, but she had to admit that having money was great. With money, one could contract rare and powerful Pet Beasts and have an endless supply of resources.
Without money, one had to find a suitable Pet Beast within a limited range, and there would not even be enough resources for its later training.
That was why most powerful Pet Tamers in society now came from influential backgrounds, while grassroots Pet Tamers found it difficult to rise.
Luckily, she had a Golden Finger!
"Hasn't the brain domain awakening not even started yet? If you fail to awaken when the time comes, won't that be completely humiliating?" Guo Linze in the back row said sourly.
"Do you really think that's possible?" Fang Sisi turned around and asked.
Impossible.
If even the second-ranked student in the entire school could not awaken, then he, the second from last in the class, had no hope either.
Guo Linze chose not to answer.
The final lesson of the day was taught by the Old Class Teacher.
Looking at him, Qiao Sang felt a little reluctant to part.
The Old Class Teacher was truly a good man. He had not called Mother once all these days to mention that she had taken leave. Where else could she find such a good Class Teacher?
The Old Class Teacher delivered his farewell speech with great passion. "Students, the day after tomorrow, June 17, will be the day of our High School Entrance Exam, and June 20 will be the day our brain domains awaken."
"You will experience the first turning point of your lives. You are about to conclude three years of middle school and move on to higher institutions for further study."
"Three years of perseverance, three years of diligent study, three years of tempering have made you who you are today. I believe that at this moment, every student here..."
"Is holding back a burst of energy," Qiao Sang quietly continued.
"Is holding back a burst of energy."
Fang Sisi asked in surprise, "How did you know what the Old Class Teacher was going to say next?"
Qiao Sang paused before answering, "I guessed."
The Old Class Teacher was just using the usual farewell speech routine that teachers always used. Qiao Sang could find it all online, so she decided to save him some face.
"I believe that in a few days, everyone will use brilliant results to put a perfect full stop to your middle school lives."
"Finally, I wish you all smooth sailing through the waves! May you sail toward your ideal high schools! May your dreams come true this June!"
Thunderous applause erupted throughout the classroom, and Qiao Sang clapped wildly as well.
At that moment, Qiao Sang no longer cared whether it was a routine speech or not.
The atmosphere was real, and so was the excitement in her heart.
Before you continue