I Saw It on the Moon

Li Mo opened the note and glanced at it. It read:

"Mr. Li Mo, I would like to purchase a copy of the notes deriving the definition of a limit in calculus from yesterday afternoon's lawn salon. I am willing to pay two shillings for the transcription. Cole Reynolds, Class Two."

There was another note beneath it.

"Mr. Li Mo, forgive the intrusion, but will the academic salon at four this afternoon continue discussing the control equations for the centrifugal governor on a steam engine? My father has recently encountered a problem with valve flutter and asked me to seek your advice. Vincent Costello, Class Three."

There was yet another note beneath that one.

Does this ever end?!

This note was written in a girl's hand, and the paper was of good quality too.

On the surface, it asked whether first-year girls were allowed to attend that afternoon's lawn salon as listeners. In truth, it was a covert expression of affection and a confession.

Li Mo folded the letter. He had no interest in women whatsoever.

Anna was an exception, of course. Anna was family.

At that moment, the class monitors were working their way along the lines with their registers, checking each student's attendance and appearance.

The monitor of Li Mo's class was named Colin.

He was an average student, but a very strict monitor.

Li Mo had heard that if Colin failed to get into his preferred school, he was considering staying on to work at the academy or something like that.

As Colin walked down the line, he said sternly:

"Howard, fasten the bottom button of your waistcoat. If I see it undone again, I'll mark you down for an untidy appearance."

"Yes, monitor..."

"Matthew Oliver? Is he absent today?"

Someone answered, "Monitor, I heard Matthew's stomach has been hurting ever since he went back after the salon yesterday afternoon. He couldn't get out of bed today."

The students around him all struggled to keep straight faces.

The same sentence came to everyone's mind: Damn... why did it have to be now...?

Seriously, that line was just too useful.

No matter what embarrassing situation you found yourself in, you could use it to save face. It was unbeatable.

Colin nodded. "Whatever the reason, if I haven't received a sick note, it counts as an unexcused absence."

When he reached the back half of the line, he came to Li Mo.

Colin was as stern as ever:

"Li Mo, you came to the morning assembly today as well? Actually, after yesterday's assembly, Mr. Harrison went out of his way to tell me that you're now working on Professor Bryce's academic project, so the academy has exempted you from classes and attendance requirements. From now on, even if you don't come to line up for morning assembly in the hall, I'll mark you present in the register..."

Li Mo replied, "Thank you. Since I'm at school anyway, it's no trouble to come and stand here for a while."

"Yes, you're right."

Colin nodded, then turned to Wayne, who was standing behind Li Mo.

"Wayne, pull your shoes back into line. Stand straight, and stop looking around."

Wayne protested, "Hey... I'm exempt from classes too, you know!"

Colin shook his head. "That's different. If you have a problem with it, take it up with Mr. Harrison."

Wayne muttered, "Tch... playing favorites..."

Once the monitor had finished checking attendance,

the morning assembly soon began.

The content of each morning assembly was much the same.

They would go over the school's autumn regulations, then encourage the students to prepare well for their entrance exams and so on.

Today, one point received particular emphasis.

The dean of students said the school encouraged everyone to attend the academic salons held on the lawn more often, and hoped this positive academic atmosphere would become part of the academy's culture...

At the end of the assembly, everyone prayed to the Goddess of the Moon together.

Li Mo quietly activated Focus for a moment.

Nothing happened...

He had thought to try it because something had occurred to him that morning.

If Mystical Artifacts drew energy from outside through silver threads,

then where did people get their energy when performing Mystical Rituals?

He planned to have Anna perform a Mystical Ritual when he got home that evening and observe her closely.

As they were leaving the hall, a student walking ahead turned and saw Li Mo.

He immediately stopped and stepped aside. "Mr. Li Mo, after you.

"Uh... thank you."

After collecting his cane and schoolbag from the cloakroom, he met up with Anna and the others.

Anna sounded puzzled.

"Why does everyone seem a little too polite today? Just now, at the cloakroom, a few girls I usually get along with the least actually came over to greet me and be friendly."

Helen quietly agreed. "Mm... just now... an older girl I didn't know even handed me a coat hook."

Wayne spun his cane and smiled.

"What's so hard to understand? They were blown away by Li Mo's mathematics salon yesterday, that's all."

Anna asked, "Did yesterday's salon really have that much of an impact?"

"Of course it did, Miss Anna. Don't you know what Mr. Harrison said yesterday? He said Li Mo was a mathematical genius that only comes along once in a century, that he would definitely join the Kingdom Mathematical Association someday, and that he would definitely use mathematics to change the world! And that's not all. Mr. Harrison and Professor Bryce reported Li Mo's achievements to the principal together, and the principal decided on the spot to give Li Mo the greatest privileges available at the school!"

Anna understood now.

She said admiringly, "Li Mo, you're amazing..."

"Isn't he?" Wayne said. "Everyone respected Li Mo a great deal before. Now... he's just returned to the position he belongs in. As for Lawrence and the others, I'd say they've gotten used to being dogs pretty quickly."

With that, Wayne glanced at Helen. "Miss Helen, what do you think of Li Mo?"

Helen froze. Her first thought was that Wayne was asking about her feelings, and it nearly scared her out of her wits!

Then she realized Wayne was probably talking about Li Mo's abilities.

Helen blushed and lowered her head. "He's amazing..."

In truth, the reason the students respected Li Mo so much

was partly thanks to Matthew, in addition to Li Mo's own achievements.

Nobody wanted to become a meme like Matthew...

People could graduate, but the meme would live on, and younger students would laugh at it for years. Just thinking about it was mortifying...

On Li Mo's way back to class, people kept lowering their heads, turning sideways and stepping out of his way.

He thought helplessly, It's only the first day, and everyone's already acting like this?

The Mondel Academic Salon was going to last seven days.

There were still tests for infinite series, Taylor expansions, ordinary differential equations, and even electromagnetism, which could truly reshape the entire industrial age.

If this trend continued,

by the time the seven-day salon was over, far more than the little Puxiu Academy before him would be blown away.

The four of them climbed the steps and entered the first floor of the main teaching building.

A girl approached from the direction of the academic affairs office and passed Li Mo.

The corridor was busy before morning reading, so passing another student was nothing unusual.

But after taking two steps, Li Mo stopped.

There was something about the girl who had just passed him that felt different...

The students along the way had all stepped aside and lowered their heads in greeting when they saw Li Mo.

Only that girl had looked straight ahead the whole time, her stride steady.

"What's wrong?" Anna noticed him stop and turned to ask.

Li Mo didn't answer. He turned and took another look in the girl's direction.

She was walking up to the second floor.

Morning light streamed through a window and illuminated her coat.

A silver emblem was etched on its back.

Li Mo's gaze froze.

Then-

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

The emblem was very familiar to him.

Late that night,

when he had activated Focus and looked up at the night sky,

on the Scarlet Moon hanging high overhead,

he had seen that emblem with his own eyes...

At that moment, the girl seemed to sense someone looking at her.

She stopped, then slowly turned around.

Li Mo met her gaze and felt that her pupils were like a lightless night.

The girl spoke softly. "Hello, is something wrong?"

Li Mo didn't know why, but he felt a sense of pressure weighing on him.

He almost blurted out the truth:

I saw the emblem on your back on the Red Moon!

But his intuition told him that nothing good would come of saying it!

In a flash,

Li Mo had an idea. He pressed a hand to his forehead and said, "Damn... why did it have to be now...?"

The girl on the stairs froze.

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