While Fatty Xin munched on snacks and rambled on, Dr. Xiao kept his head down, intent on the work before him.
Heavy reference books and textbooks of varying thickness lay beside him, but they showed almost no sign of having been opened. From where he sat, Zheng Qing could only see a pale green Feather Pen dancing across the parchment, leaving behind line after line of elegant handwriting. It was a pleasure to watch.
"...I thought the Doctor always finished his homework first. I've never seen him making it up while everyone else was taking a break!" The Fat Wizard chewed on a bean, his face full of confusion. "And I don't remember Magical Cosmology requiring us to draw a star chart."
He and Xiao Xiao had both taken Magical Cosmology this semester, which was why it bothered him. It wasn't so much that he cared why Xiao Xiao was doing homework; he was more worried that he'd zoned out in class and missed an assignment.
"This isn't homework."
The Doctor raised his eyes and glanced at Fatty Xin over his glasses. "...It's just a set of practice exercises. Like how what you're eating isn't dinner, but a snack."
"What a remarkable distinction." Fatty Xin grinned, immediately relieved. He stopped worrying about those damned star charts and popped another broad bean into his mouth.
The young scholarship student, busy drawing talismans, couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
The "practice exercise" Fatty Xin was concerned about was the task Zheng Qing had given Xiao Xiao: "Draw a star chart and mark an expedition route." It seemed two Jade Coins had provided plenty of motivation.
After finishing his first Invisibility Talisman, he looked up and noticed the dancing Feather Pen again. Something suddenly occurred to him, and he leaned close