"Let's get acquainted now, with those poetic flowers of the past." Yao Pei's melodious voice reached everyone's ears.
Everyone followed Yao Pei's figure, their gazes directed towards the large screen. As blank white appeared, a few images materialized, flowers that these students had never seen before. The entire class instantly became captivated, their eyes fixed.
Since entering the interstellar era, the human population on Blue Star had drastically reduced. Some plants could only be found in ancient illustrations, while others were in the clutches of the Zerg. Interstellar inhabitants rarely had the chance to see such exquisite pictures.
Yao Pei observed these eager learners and felt a renewed sense of purpose. Her gaze swept across every corner of the classroom, then paused in one direction.
Lin Hao!
That little brat was sleeping again!
"Yao Pei, don't get angry, don't get angry. Getting angry causes wrinkles, yes, getting angry causes wrinkles," Yao Pei silently soothed herself.
Having composed herself, Director Yao slowly walked to the front of the large screen, pointing to an image and said, "This is the peach blossom. Its flowers grow singly, in colors like white, pink, and red. They can be double or semi-double, blooming from March to April. There are two types: fruiting peach and ornamental peach."
After speaking, she used her psychic energy to project a peach tree in full bloom. The petals covered the ground as a gentle breeze rustled through the branches. She then said softly, "This is a peach tree from the archives. There might be some discrepancies in the projection, and whether it's accurate cannot be verified," a hint of regret in her tone.
"It's so beautiful," Zhang Jia exclaimed, looking at the projected peach tree by Teacher Yao.
"It's really lovely," another girl replied.
"It's so magnificent."
"I want to be under a peach tree when I get married."
"Me too."
"Heh, only you girls would be swayed by such superficial things," a boy remarked, though his eyes hadn't strayed from the projection since it appeared.
Yao Pei, seeing the commotion, said, "Quiet, please. Next, we'll discuss its flower language, which is 'captive of love.' If you are fortunate enough to find one of these flowers in the future, you can give it to your admirer," she added with a chuckle, her eyes filled with amusement at the young students.
"'Captive of love,' hehehehe," a boy exclaimed loudly upon hearing this.
The entire classroom erupted. Some students' gazes slowly drifted towards a particular person in the class, their eyes filled with caution and a hint of affection.
Hearing Yao Pei's teasing and the entire class's playful uproar, Zhang Jia's face flushed. Her eyes would often dart back, looking at the person she admired.
The boisterous sounds even carried outside the classroom.
In the entire class, only the back corner remained quiet. Qin Mohan was carefully observing the peach tree, then lowered his head to take notes, lost in thought. Lin Hao, however, was still slumped over his desk. The red presence in his Divine Sea had finally quieted down and retreated to a corner.
The Divine Sea was a weapon everyone acquired after awakening. The size of the spiritual sea determined the amount of mental energy, but the amount of mental energy did not determine physical strength. The division in the second year involved not only mental energy tests but also physical strength assessments. Only those with higher scores would be placed in classes with lower numbers.
"Quiet, everyone, quiet. Next, we'll discuss another flower." Yao Pei interrupted the chattering classroom and moved to the large screen to play the next slide.
The entire class fell silent, looking at the image below, with gasps of surprise.
"What is this? Why is it so ugly?" a girl exclaimed, looking at the small white flower on the screen, her tone filled with disdain.
"Yeah, it's not as pretty as the peach blossom. It's really ugly," Zhang Jia agreed, finding the flower to be rather insignificant and ugly.
Yao Pei smiled at the class's discussion and stepped forward, using her psychic energy to materialize the flower on the screen. "This little white flower is called Balloon Flower. Its flowers grow singly at the tip, or several clustered together in a pseudo-raceme, or in a compound raceme with branching inflorescence; the calyx is bell-shaped and five-lobed, covered in white powder, with triangular or narrowly triangular lobes, sometimes toothed; the corolla is large, 1.5 to 4.0 centimeters long. It's not ugly at all."
The flat image on the screen became three-dimensional, appearing before the entire class. She continued, "This is a currently existing flower species, mostly white. Its flower language is eternal love." As she spoke, the smile on her face deepened.
"Really, Teacher Yao? Where can we find this flower?" a boy asked loudly, having heard about its flower language and its existence.
"Yes, yes, where can we find this flower?" Zhang Jia, who had initially found it ugly, quickly inquired.
"Wonderful! Once I find out, I'll have my bodyguard retrieve it and give it to classmate Qin. That way, classmate Qin will surely be moved, and then..." Zhang Jia looked at Qin Mohan's face, her thoughts making her blush deeper, her head swimming.
Lin Hao, who had been sleeping soundly, slowly raised his head upon hearing this. He stared intently at the projection materialized by Yao Pei, as if trying to imprint the image in his heart.
Qin Mohan, sensing Lin Hao had woken up, glanced at him before turning back.
Lin Hao saw this glance and turned back, smiling at Qin Mohan. "Brother Qin, you see I'm awake, why don't you say something to me? I'm so heartbroken. I was just thinking of picking flowers for you, and you're so cold." He put on a sad expression.
However, the expression on his muscular face looked rather comical, making one want to laugh.
Qin Mohan still ignored Lin Hao, but a hint of emotion appeared in his eyes, vanishing as quickly as it came.
"Of course, I can't tell you where that place is. There are high-level Zerg lurking there. If something were to happen to you, your families would tear me apart," Yao Pei said to the class with a smile, making a frightened expression that successfully steered the class away from their previous questions.
Lin Hao didn't listen to the rest of the lecture, his mind preoccupied with the small white flower from earlier.
If only, if only I could find that flower.
Over the next two weeks, Lin Hao seemed to vanish without a trace, along with Hu Tu from Class Two.
Half a month later, Lin Hao appeared at the school gates again. He didn't enter, but stood quietly by the entrance, looking at Qin Mohan, who had suddenly appeared, with a cold demeanor. Not a word was spoken.
Qin Mohan, who was on his way to a meeting, seemed to sense someone's psychic energy fluctuations. For some reason, he didn't go to the conference room. Upon arriving at the school gates, he saw Lin Hao, covered in blood, limping towards the entrance.
"You..." Before Qin Mohan could finish asking where he had been, a small white flower appeared before his eyes. The pristine white petals were stained with crimson blood. The sight of this flower caused Qin Mohan's mind to go blank, rendering him speechless for a moment.
Seeing Qin Mohan's inaction, Lin Hao held up the flower and asked, "You... you don't want it either?"
Qin Mohan was about to refuse when he saw Lin Hao, inexplicably in tears, and inexplicably took the flower, carefully placing it in his pocket.
Lin Hao, seeing that his flower had finally been accepted, breathed a sigh of relief. Then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
Seeing Lin Hao suddenly fall, Qin Mohan looked around. As there was no one nearby, he resigned himself to carrying Lin Hao to the school infirmary.