Deng deng deng deng, deng deng deng deng~

The school dismissal bell echoed through the campus, clear and distant. Wang Congshan, pushing her bicycle along the tree-lined road outside the school, closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the flower-scented air. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah! What a free, fresh, and sweet scent!"

"The way you say that sounds a bit like a public intellectual's quote."

Li Ang, pushing his bicycle alongside the class monitor, didn't look at her, but calmly retorted, "But the flowers do smell nice. After smelling them, you feel a sense of a bountiful harvest, and your whole body is full of strength. They're much better than the flowers planted under the teaching building."

Hearing Li Ang's words, Wang Congshan's expression twitched.

The school had previously planted evergreen Photinia under the teaching building. For eleven months of the year, it was fine, but in April, the pure white, delicate umbrella-shaped Photinia flowers emitted a scent that soared to the heavens.

Every time you smelled it, you could feel the fragrant aura of prosperity and endless life.

At first, the curious students in the class who didn't know what was going on only thought that the flower smelled fishy and unpleasant, like seafood.

After some students with mischievous smiles explained it (for some reason, every high school always has a few students who are focused on being lewd, telling jokes, and are enthusiastic about popular science), everyone realized that this flower was actually the king of all dirty flowers.

To this day, in the minds of some former graduates of Yishi Experimental High School, "Why does the school plant Photinia?" remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of human civilization.

"Photinia is planted because it likes fertile and moist soil, and is also resistant to shade, drought, and barrenness. It grows slowly, is easy to prune, and is evergreen all year round, making it very suitable for use as urban landscaping and greening plants."

Li Ang explained casually.

The class monitor's eyes widened. "Why are you suddenly giving a science lecture?"

"Because you were thinking about why the school planted Photinia."

Li Ang glanced at her. "Don't worry, I can't read minds. It's just that your thoughts are too easy to guess. I can tell what you're thinking just by looking at your expression."

"Eh?!"

The class monitor took half a step back in fright, looking at Li Ang as if he were a pervert, her face full of vigilance. "Then guess what I'm thinking right now?"

"Based on my understanding of you..."

Li Ang pushed up his glasses, and a cold light flashed across the lenses. "You're probably thinking of asking me to treat you to a big meal, or to go shopping at the mall, or to see a movie."

The expression on Wang Congshan's face froze. She snorted coldly and said, "Wrong. I was just thinking, 'Your next sentence will be that you're probably thinking of asking me to treat you to a big meal.'"

"Stop, no nesting dolls."

Li Ang interrupted, "You seem very excited lately."

"Of course!"

Wang Congshan jumped twice, and the blue triangular cloth satchel behind her thumped against her back. She said, her eyebrows dancing, "I'm finally free from my cousin's place. Although I still have a lot of homework to catch up on, nothing can stop my determination to eat, drink, and have fun!"

"Have fun?"

Li Ang grinned. "The midterm exams are coming up soon. Have you reviewed the exam points? Have you finished the test papers? Have you vomited from doing the question bank? If not, how dare you call yourself a senior high school student?"

"Ahhhhh!

(╬?д?)"

The class monitor shook her head wildly, resisting the mind-numbing magic sound.

Seeing this, Li Ang showed a rare relaxed smile on his face.

It had been a long time since he had walked with Wang Congshan on the tree-lined road after school like this, without having to consider the intrigues between players, and without worrying about potential criminal records being exposed.

All of this was thanks to the Special Affairs Bureau's outstanding contributions to urban security. They had installed surveillance cameras in every corner of the city, connected to the "SkyNet" monitoring system, and greatly optimized the original urban security system.

In the event of an emergency, there was no need for bystanders to call and send out emergency signals.

The artificial intelligence SkyNet monitoring system could directly send information to nearby security personnel, allowing them to arrive at the scene in 1-2 minutes or even less.

Regardless of how Western media criticized "this is not freedom, this is anti-human rights," the newly launched urban monitoring system did greatly reduce the probability and impact of emergencies.

The hearts of the vast majority of parents, which were originally suspended because of the Killing Game, slowly calmed down.

With official armed vehicles at every crowded intersection in the city, they gradually felt relieved enough to let their children go home from school on their own.

The situation where the school gate was completely blocked by traffic during school hours was also a thing of the past.

"By the way,"

Wang Congshan remembered something and asked casually, "Are you still doing that tutoring job?"

"Yeah,"

Li Ang nodded. "But I turned down some of them."

"Eh? Why?"

The class monitor was stunned. "Could it be that you're being supported by a sugar mommy? You can afford the rent just by relying on the allowance given by the sugar mommy?"

"Bullshit."

Li Ang said casually, "Now it's mainly because of the Killing Game. Not only do junior high school and high school students have more homework, but the class time for elementary school students has also been extended.

After all, for the survival of the individual and the continuation of civilization, everyone needs to do their best.

With the reduction of all students' spare time, the job of tutoring has become more and more difficult.

I'm not the kind of person who takes the employer's money but fails to achieve the goal of improving the student's grades."

Seeming to notice the subtle expression on the class monitor's face, Li Ang explained with a smile, "Don't worry, I've saved some money before.

And now that there are online classes, I can take on the work of wealthy families further away in Yishi City, tutoring remotely, without having to commute by bicycle or subway.

So, the personal free time that I can arrange has actually increased a bit."

"Who, who's worried?"

The class monitor snorted and curled her lips. "Just take care of yourself."

Li Ang smiled noncommittally.

Looking at the dappled shadows of the trees overhead, feeling the gentle breeze passing through his sleeves, and listening to the sound of bicycle wheels rolling over puddles, he felt a strange emotion rising in his heart for some reason.

"I heard... the school will be demolished in a few years."

"Yeah..." The class monitor lowered her head and nodded slightly. "Yishi City is going to expand, and a new city built with new building materials will be built, with an educational center formed by the merger of several schools.

Our school should move in there at that time.

But by then, we should have already graduated and gone to college, right..."

"...College."

Li Ang scratched his head. This word seemed distant and unfamiliar to him.

For players who lived from day to day, not to mention a year, even half a year seemed long and arduous.

Could he really live to that time? Or rather, would he change by the time he lived to that time?

Li Ang silently pushed his bicycle, the wheels driving the chain, making a quiet rustling sound.

"Hey," Wang Congshan raised her head and asked, blinking her eyes, "Which university are you planning to apply to?"

"I haven't thought about that yet,"

Li Ang tilted his head. "I'll think about it after the college entrance exam results come out."

"Tch." Wang Congshan curled her lips, seemingly dissatisfied with this answer.

"Hmm? Do you want to know my college application choices?"

"Who wants to know? Surveying classmates' aspirations is the duty of the class monitor, understand? A salted fish commoner like you who has never been elected to any class committee position will never understand."

The two bickered back and forth, passing through the bustling city, and finally arrived at the Special Affairs Bureau's staff dormitory building.

Li Ang watched Wang Congshan enter the residential area with her ID card across the road, waved to her from afar, and turned to ride home.

A new system notification arrived. This time, it wasn't a mission.