High School! Activate!

September 1st, the first day of school.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan woke up early, finished their breakfast, and headed out together to report to school.

They didn't need their parents to accompany them; the two just set off as a pair.

After all, they were nearly sixteen and had enough independence; they preferred not to trouble their parents if they didn't have to.

Of course, the main reason was that the high school division of Shanhai High School was very close to home, only a few hundred meters away, reachable in just a few minutes on foot.

"Xiao Chen, the school is so close that we won't even get to use our bicycle. What a pity."

Shen Qinghan was wearing a light blue dress that revealed her fair, straight calves. As she walked alongside Lin Zichen on the street, she suddenly felt a bit unaccustomed to the change and couldn't help but sigh with regret.

Lin Zichen: "It's fine. We can still ride it on the weekends; nothing to regret."

"Then we'll ride the bike out to play on the weekends. I'll carry you then—my legs are really strong now, carrying you will be no problem at all!" Shen Qinghan said, looking at Lin Zichen with clear, sparkling eyes.

Lin Zichen smiled and said: "Sure, then I'll look forward to your driving skills."

The two chatted as they walked along the way.

As they neared the intersection ahead, Shen Qinghan pointed to a barbershop across the street and said with some uncertainty: "Xiao Chen, look at that barbershop across the road. Is that Zhang Kai inside?"

Zhang Kai?

That boy who used to be so boisterous in the Martial Arts Team?

Lin Zichen followed her gaze and indeed saw the Zhang Kai from the old Martial Arts Team.

However, the Zhang Kai of today was no longer the sunny, buzz-cut boy of the past; he had transformed into a "non-mainstream" punk with a stud in his left ear, his right eye covered by slanted bangs, and his hair dyed in a riot of colors.

Parked in front of the barbershop was a "ghost fire" scooter, which was likely his.

Did he fail to get into high school because his grades were too poor back then, and he ended up becoming a non-mainstream scooter kid? Thinking this, Lin Zichen couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy and reflection.

He didn't pay it much mind, however, and soon continued on to school with Shen Qinghan.

Shanhai High School, High School Division.

The orientation hall.

The so-called orientation hall was actually just a spacious corridor beneath one of the teaching buildings.

There, every homeroom teacher for the freshmen had their own desk and chair, sitting and waiting for the students of their respective classes to report.

At the same time, there were many upperclassmen acting as volunteers, making the scene quite lively.

Lin Zichen scanned the area and quickly found the orientation spot for his class—the Class 1 Grade 1 station—and immediately led Shen Qinghan over.

"Hello, Teacher. We are two new students here to report."

"Coming in so early?"

The burly man sitting at the Class 1 Grade 1 station responded casually. He finished replying to a WeChat message on his phone before putting it down and looking up at the newcomers.

When he saw the striking appearances of Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan, he was visibly stunned.

Afterward, while pulling out the registration form to have them check off their names, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "You two are so handsome and beautiful—are you siblings?"

"Not siblings, just childhood sweethearts who grew up together." Lin Zichen picked up the pen on the table, checked off his own name on the form, and then checked off Shen Qinghan's name below it as well.

The burly man glanced at where he had checked, his eyes widening before his face quickly broke into a broad smile: "So you are student Zichen. I have heard your name for a long time, and today I finally get to see you in person."

Lin Zichen had been the most dazzling student in the junior high division of Shanhai High School; many teachers in the high school division had heard of him, though few had seen him in the flesh.

"May I ask how to address you, Teacher?" Lin Zichen asked politely.

The burly man chuckled: "My surname is Han. You two can just call me Old Han."

Lin Zichen smiled: "So it's Teacher Han. Hello, Teacher Han."

"Hello, Teacher Han..." Shen Qinghan followed suit, her voice soft and giving the impression that she was a bit introverted.

"Haha, hello to you both!"

Han Yuanfeng laughed heartily, appearing very approachable.

After speaking, he called out to a volunteer not far away: "He Xu, please take them around the school and introduce them to the various areas."

"No need, Teacher Han. We'll just look around ourselves."

Leaving behind only those words, Lin Zichen led Shen Qinghan away from the corridor.

It took them about ten minutes to walk around the school.

They discovered that the high school division of Shanhai High School was essentially a magnified version of the junior high division.

Whether it was the landscaping style or the architecture, everything was exactly the same.

After a quick look, feeling there wasn't much to see, they headed toward their classroom.

Third Teaching Building.

Class 1 Grade 1.

When Lin Zichen brought Shen Qinghan inside, the classroom was completely empty.

The two of them had arrived too early; they had come to report in right after finishing breakfast, and it was likely that many in the class hadn't even woken up yet, let alone made their way to the classroom.

After all, the entire day was designated for registration, so one could easily sleep in at home and wait until after lunch to come by in the afternoon.

"Xiao Chen, there are photos of the teachers for each subject posted at the back. They look like they were just put up—let's go take a look!"

As Shen Qinghan spoke, she ran to the back of the classroom, gazing curiously at the photos hanging on the wall.

Lin Zichen walked over as well and saw that beneath each teacher's photo was a corresponding profile; he figured this had been posted to help the new students quickly familiarize themselves with the faculty.

He had to admit, the school was very thoughtful in this regard—a big plus.

There were four photos in total, all of male teachers, each corresponding to the four core subjects of their high school career.

The first photo: The Martial Arts teacher, who was also the homeroom teacher, named Han Yuanfeng.

The second photo: The Wilderness Survival Course teacher, named Cheng Bei.

The third photo: The Gene Fusion Course teacher, named Liu Deren.

The fourth photo: The Mechanical Modification Course teacher, named Cai Yuanfei.

In addition to the basic information about the teachers, there were also descriptions of the four core subjects beneath the photos.

Martial Arts: Primarily focused on physical conditioning and learning martial techniques; practical-oriented.

Wilderness Survival Course: Primarily focused on learning various survival skills, such as climbing, friction fire-starting, how to locate water sources, and so on; practical-oriented.

Gene Fusion Course: Primarily focused on learning the knowledge related to gene fusion technology; additionally, one must learn to recognize various Exotic Beasts and understand the attributes and habits of known species; mostly classroom-based instruction; theory-oriented.

Mechanical Modification Course: Primarily focused on learning the knowledge related to mechanical modification technology, recognizing various materials and alloy equipment; also classroom-based instruction; theory-oriented.

"Xiao Chen, there are so few high school courses—only four. It's much less than in middle school."

After reading the course descriptions under the photos, Shen Qinghan couldn't help but feel a bit delighted.

Lin Zichen poured a bucket of cold water on her enthusiasm: "Don't get happy too soon. The fewer the courses, the greater the difficulty. Besides, these are just the core subjects; there are elective courses to take later on."

"It's fine, elective courses are just hobbies and cultural studies; they won't be able to stump me at all," Shen Qinghan said, her face full of confidence.

After all, as a little academic star who had ranked in the top hundred of the entire district in cultural subjects, she certainly had the capital to be proud.

Lin Zichen just smiled without saying a word; he was very happy to see Shen Qinghan feeling proud.

Having been a shining star since he was young, he wasn't afraid of Shen Qinghan being proud; he was only afraid of her feeling inferior.

Because, at the very least, pride meant that Shen Qinghan was living happily, whereas inferiority meant she was living unhappily, and who knew when she might fall into depression.

He did not want his own brilliance to cause Shen Qinghan to lack confidence, become insecure, or withdraw into herself.

PS: Setting out my bowl, asking for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!