Planting a Strawberry

The Magic Awakening ceremony was drawing to a close. Only a few students had yet to awaken their magic.

Suddenly, a student shouted across the field.

"Oh my god! Someone in the class next door awakened the Lightning Element!"

"Where? Where? Wow, that purple looks incredible! Their homeroom teacher must've gotten the shock of his life."

"Damn, how many lifetimes of good luck did he save up? Why didn't I get the Lightning Element?"

"No way, another one? That makes three Lightning Element students at our school. Since when was it this common?"

The appearance of another Lightning Element user sent the whole field into an uproar.

Mo Xie and Mo Fan had awakened the Lightning Element too, but they hadn't done it in front of the entire school. It wasn't nearly as spectacular.

Besides, given Mo Xie's background, people instinctively felt it was only natural for him to awaken the Lightning Element.

But this boy was just an ordinary student. Of course everyone was stunned.

Every eye in the school turned toward the boy from Class Seven.

By coincidence, he was wearing purple, making the faint arcs of purple lightning around him stand out even more.

The confident, aloof-looking boy became the focus of thousands of people, and the whole school buzzed with excitement.

"Is that him?"

Standing behind the crowd, Mo Fan stared at the boy who had awakened the Lightning Element in surprise.

He happened to know the boy. More precisely, as with Zhou Min, he knew him from his previous life.

The boy was Xu Zhaoting, one of Mo Fan's high school classmates in his previous life. They had met on the school basketball team.

Both had been starting players, and they had gradually become friends.

Mu Bai and Zhang Xiaohou had been starters on that team too, and both had gotten along well with Xu Zhaoting.

Mo Fan remembered that when their college entrance exam results came out, Xu Zhaoting had gotten into the same university he had. His grades had been excellent.

He hadn't expected Xu Zhaoting to awaken the Lightning Element after they crossed into a world of magic.

"What? You know him?"

Mu Bai heard Mo Fan and asked in confusion.

"Oh, I know him. He doesn't know me."

Mo Fan's answer only confused Mu Bai more.

"What does that mean?"

"Ah, you wouldn't understand."

Mo Fan couldn't explain it, so he waved the question away.

He couldn't exactly say he had come from another world. That would sound ridiculous!

"Weirdo..."

Muttering under his breath, Mu Bai stopped paying him any attention.

"How did that student end up in Zhang Jianguo's class? Zhang Jianguo really struck gold."

Xue Musheng sounded envious, but then he thought better of it. His own class had two Lightning Element students, plus Fire and Ice Element students. Wasn't that even better?

He smiled proudly. The bonus for first place was as good as his.

A few minutes later, the first-year students' awakening ceremony came to a successful close.

For Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and the others, the ceremony had really just been a chance to watch the excitement.

They had awakened their magic two months early. They were already ahead of the pack.

His first day of high school had gone pretty well overall. After school, Mo Xie didn't leave with Mo Fan. He rode his bike to Inscription Girls' School instead.

Ye Xinxia had messaged him after school to say her wheelchair seemed to be broken and that he would have to come get her from her classroom.

Mo Xie didn't go straight to the school gate, though. He stopped to rest at a pavilion in a nearby park.

Ye Xinxia had told him to wait until most of the students had left her classroom, so he was in no hurry.

After all, he had been recognized and mobbed more than once while picking her up.

That went back quite a while.

His songs and music videos had needed a female vocalist and a leading lady, but he had been an unknown newcomer at the time. No one had wanted to work with him.

Ye Xinxia was beautiful and had a sweet voice. The songs didn't demand much technical skill either, so he had asked her to be the leading lady. To his surprise, she had gained a modest following.

With her ethereal beauty, innocent charm, and soft, sweet singing voice, Ye Xinxia had become countless people's unattainable first love online as soon as she debuted.

She was a minor celebrity, after all. People knew about her connection to Mo Xie, so they could recognize him too.

Before long, an energetic-looking young man jogged over and stood respectfully beside him.

"Boss, you wanted to see me?"

"Hey, I'm not your boss. Watch what you call me."

The young man had once been a well-known thug around Bo City. Then one day, he had crossed Mo Xie and received a thorough beating. He had behaved himself ever since.

Not only that, he had developed enormous respect for Mo Xie afterward and wanted to make him his boss.

Mo Xie had refused, of course. But then he had wondered whether he could use one gang leader to keep all of Bo City's thugs in line.

So he had told the young man to turn over a new leaf. Who could tell that this bright-eyed young man used to be a yellow-haired punk?

"Do you know the thugs around New Spring Street? I hear they call you Brother Dao."

"New Spring Street... I think I do know them."

The young man known as Brother Dao thought for a moment, then nodded.

"I saw a few of them harassing a girl today. What was that about?"

A cold glint flashed in Mo Xie's eyes as he fixed Brother Dao with an intimidating stare.

Brother Dao looked as though he had come face-to-face with a terrifying beast. His legs trembled, and his voice shook.

"I—I really didn't know about that. I warned them not to bully anyone. I swear."

"You'd better be telling the truth. I don't want to see anything like that again, or I'll hold you responsible!"

"Yes... I'll make sure it gets done."

Brother Dao breathed a sigh of relief, gave a solemn bow, and answered.

"Boss, is there anything else you need?"

"No. That's all. You can go."

Mo Xie waved him off, and Brother Dao respectfully withdrew.

Mo Xie checked the time. It was about right, so he got up and walked to Inscription Girls' School.

When he reached Ye Xinxia's classroom, she was the only one left, sitting at her desk.

"Xinxia."

Mo Xie walked over and greeted her.

"Brother Mo Xie!"

Ye Xinxia broke into a smile the moment she saw him.

Mo Xie crouched down and carefully inspected her wheelchair, looking puzzled.

"How did your wheelchair suddenly break...?"

Ye Xinxia lowered her head. Where Mo Xie couldn't see, a sly smile curved her lips.

"Well, if it's broken, I'll carry you home."

Mo Xie missed her expression and crouched beside her.

"Mm."

Ye Xinxia slipped her fair arms around Mo Xie's neck and climbed onto his back.

Mo Xie supported her thighs with his hands. Though Ye Xinxia had trouble walking, her legs were more beautiful than most: long, straight, and like works of art.

"All right, taking off!"

Mo Xie called out and pushed himself upright, lifting Ye Xinxia onto his back.

The close contact drew a soft sound from Ye Xinxia. Her lovely face flushed pink, as beautiful as a lotus blooming in spring.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Mo Xie turned his head and asked with concern.

"Ah, I... I'm fine. I'm just not used to it."

Ye Xinxia rested her chin on Mo Xie's shoulder and quietly watched his profile. The warmth of his hands made her feel terribly shy.

A strange feeling rose in her heart. Perhaps this was what people called a sense of security. She felt safe on her brother's back.

"Hah, it's not the first time I've carried you. What, is my little Xinxia getting shy?"

Mo Xie couldn't resist teasing her.

"I am not, Brother Mo Xie!"

Ye Xinxia pouted, looking adorably indignant.

She held tightly to Mo Xie's neck and gazed at his profile without blinking. What girl could possibly resist Brother Mo Xie's handsome face?

The sun sank toward the horizon. Crimson clouds stained half the sky, turning the white clouds red as the glowing sun slowly disappeared.

Against the red evening sky, the sunset clouds looked dazzling, awash in color.

Golden rays spread across the earth like a giant hand gently drawing back a curtain.

"Brother! Look, the sunset is so beautiful!"

Ye Xinxia pointed at the clouds with one hand while keeping the other around Mo Xie's neck.

"It is. But we'd better hurry home, or Mo Fan will start sulking again."

Mo Xie looked up at the sunset as he spoke.

"Heehee, yes. Brother Mo Fan's wounded little face is so funny."

Remembering his expression, Ye Xinxia laughed like a ringing bell.

Mo Xie smiled too.

After a moment of silence, Ye Xinxia seemed to gather all her courage.

"Brother!"

"Hmm?"

Smack.

Ye Xinxia kissed Mo Xie on the cheek. Her face instantly turned crimson, all the way to her ears.

Mo Xie froze. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind before he smiled.

"You little rascal. Taking advantage of me again."

Ye Xinxia stuck out her tongue. Brother Mo Xie really was dense.

"Hmph. That's your reward for coming to get me."

"Oh, that's all?"

Pretending to be disappointed, Mo Xie rubbed his cheek against hers.

Ye Xinxia flushed with embarrassment and pouted.

"Take it or leave it. I've already given it to you."

"All right, all right. I suppose your brother will reluctantly accept."

Ye Xinxia gave a few huffs, then buried her face against Mo Xie's shoulder and left a hickey there. Only then did she smile in satisfaction and close her eyes to rest.

Mo Xie said nothing about what she had done. He only smiled to himself.

In the evening sunlight, their shadows stretched long across the ground.