Coming in first in the Grade Group meant she wouldn't have to do any homework after class until the next exam.
Mo Xiaoxue was in a good mood as she walked out of school with her childhood friend, Mo Hanhan, their schoolbags on their backs.
Under the setting sun, Mo Xiaoxue and Mo Hanhan walked side by side, chatting and laughing.
A plane tree leaf fluttered down in the breeze and landed right on Mo Xiaoxue's head.
Feeling something, Mo Xiaoxue curiously reached up to touch her head.
A moment later, she had the plane tree leaf in her hand. She looked up at the huge tree, which was said to be over a hundred years old.
Ever since she started school, Mo Xiaoxue had paid attention to this plane tree—the biggest tree on campus.
From conversations with her classmates, she'd learned that the tree was not only ancient, but had been there even before the First High School was built.
First came the plane tree, then the school.
The reason it had grown so enormous was that there had once been something very unusual beneath the campus.
At first, Mo Xiaoxue had thought it was just a story people told. But one day, out of curiosity, she casually asked Zero about it.
Zero's answer had left her speechless. Ever since, she made sure she was never the last one to leave the classroom after Evening Self-Study.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Mo Xiaoxue staring blankly at the plane tree, Mo Hanhan waved a hand in front of her, puzzled.
Mo Xiaoxue looked away and smiled faintly. "Nothing. I just think the plane tree looks nice."
Some history was better left unknown to Mo Hanhan. She didn't want the girl to get scared like she had.
"Let's go."
"You came first in