In the classroom of Class 2-3 at No. 3 Junior High School in Ping City.
If the seats were ranked, his seat would be at the very bottom, right next to the trash can. If it wasn’t cleaned, this spot would reek all day long.
Similarly, even if Xu Zhongping was clean, everyone around him would still cover their noses and keep their distance, laughing and gossiping about him.
From time to time, crumpled paper balls were thrown at his desk and body, accompanied by the sharp laughter of those who threw them.
Xu Zhongping only kept his head down, picking at his fingers, and tearing off the dead skin around his nails until blood seeped into the cracks.
Please let class start soon.
He silently counted the time in his head, hoping for the class bell to give him a moment of respite. His chubby body made for a large target, and when he moved his bottom slightly, the chair with loose screws would creak.
The sound wasn’t loud, but it was like opening a can of laughter; as soon as it sounded, it would trigger thunderous laughter in the classroom. Xu Zhongping’s face remained numb, while more blood oozed from the small wounds on his hands.
So noisy…
He stared at his bleeding fingers, unable to resist the urge to bite his already chewed-down nails, wanting to use his teeth to smooth the jagged edges. Despite being mocked for this bad habit, he couldn’t stop doing it.
When his fingers bled from his picking, it felt as though something muddy inside him was also flowing out, even if just a little.
“Ding-ling-ling—”
The class bell saved Xu Zhongping’s miserable fingers. He placed his wrinkled, old textbook on the desk, forcing himself to perk up a bit.
He didn’t like class, but at least during class, everyone would quiet down.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The sound of the homeroom teacher’s high heels echoed at the door, followed by several unfamiliar footsteps as they walked into the classroom.
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Were those even people…?
Xu Zhongping couldn’t describe what he had seen. The brief glimpse had intensely impacted his perception, replaying infinitely in his mind.
The sight scared him so much that he couldn’t stop trembling.
The other students continued to chatter excitedly. Noise was always a hallmark of this class, and now Xu Zhongping felt they were also blind. Otherwise, how could he explain the girls’ excitement, exclaiming things like “They’re all so handsome!” and “Ah, they’re so good-looking!”
In his eyes, the several “new students” introducing themselves on the podium clearly had strange faces. Just one glance sent shivers down his spine. Their skin appeared stretched over their faces like uneven masks, with disproportionate features scattered across. Twisted muscles and wrinkled skin distorted into almost inhuman grimaces.
And the sounds they emitted, some were languages he could recognize, while others sounded like monster howls or the scuttling of insects, all mixed together in an unsettling atmosphere.
Xu Zhongping felt his heart constricting with pain as if squeezed by a vice. He struggled to breathe, afraid to lift his head even for a moment.
But at the same time, something in his mind whispered, denying his fantasy that these “new students might not be human.”
This ostrich-like denial was so apparent in the classroom that even Xu Yintang, standing prominently, couldn’t pretend not to see it.
Not because the other party’s unusual silence amidst the noisy crowd, nor because of Xu Zhongping’s odd seat by the trash can, but simply because in this room filled with fear, Xu Zhongping’s corner was clean. Compared to the overwhelming fear of others, Xu Zhongping’s own panic of seeing strange things could be easily ignored.
Standing on the slightly elevated podium, he had a clear view of the entire classroom.
Xu Yintang could clearly “see” the despair emanating from the excited murmurs of the students. Their eyes were clouded with a layer of deathly gray, their expressions a mix of laughter and tears, their stiff, pale faces devoid of any vitality.
The murky, gray eyes reflected Xu Yintang’s figure on the podium like a mirror. Through that dusty filter, what they saw was undoubtedly the bright and beautiful new students.
And they were of various styles and builds, like characters in a dream.
Little Darling rarely had someone stare at him so intently. Uncomfortably, he widened his eyes and looked back, while also playing the role of a protective older brother, shielding his younger siblings behind him and obediently holding onto his mother’s sleeve.
But as the most beautiful cub of the Xu family, Little Darling felt quite pleased with the compliments such as “so cute” and “so adorable” from these people. He grinned and responded with a polite smile.
His humanoid form inherited Xu Yintang’s full, beautiful lips and tender, affectionate eyes. When he smiled, his eyebrows and eyes curved gently, exuding a sweet and innocent charm like a little puppy.
Second Treasure, who is holding Xu Yintang’s arm firmly on the other side, looks nothing like his twin older brother. The human body he wears is quite similar, but he is shorter and whiter than Little Darling. With a pointed chin dark and bright eyes, fluttering thick eyelashes, and seemed to always be brewing some mischievous ideas in his head.
Unable to steal Second Treasure’s position, Third Flora could only sulk on the side. However, most of the attention from the boys landed on Third Flora—after all, in the current butterfly group, females outnumbered males, making the female characteristics of Third Flora’s humanoid form more prominent.
At a glance, she looked just like a doll.
Rounding up, Xu Yintang could also say that she was his daughter.
Of course, if Shi Yuebai had to choose which cub he liked the most, he would definitely choose Fourth Joy without hesitation.
There was no other reason; Fourth Joy looked so much like Xu Yintang and himself, blending perfectly to the point where anyone who saw them would suspect they had somehow managed to have a son together.
After introducing themselves one by one, the teacher assigned them seats.
As Shi Yuebai said, even if they didn’t know Xu Zhongping before, the plot would make them familiar. Xu Yintang’s seat happened to be right in front of Xu Zhongping. Although it was still a distance from Xu Zhongping, who was squatting alone by the garbage bin, it was already the closest seat to him in the whole class.
Before the teacher announced the start of the class, Xu Yintang greeted Xu Zhongping, curiously examining his appearance with some novelty.
He had indeed seen photos of Xu Zhongping as a child in the documents, but it wasn’t until he saw him face to face like this that Xu Yintang truly felt the sensation that Xu Zhongping hadn’t lied to him. The Xu Zhongping who was so thin in the hospital that no matter how much he was fed, he couldn’t gain weight, actually had the possibility of having chubby cheeks and a double chin.
But his personality hadn’t changed much.
Listening to Xu Zhongping’s faint and muffled responses, Xu Yintang guessed that his courage was probably only slightly bigger than the of Xu Zhongping in the hospital. After all, the Xu Zhongping in the hospital was almost like a mute; even when he was beaten bloody by the nursing staff, he didn’t dare to scream too loudly.
…
The teacher said, “Everyone quiet down, we’re starting class.”
With her words, the classroom, which had just been as noisy as a market, suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The students who had been excitedly discussing wanting to talk to Xu Yintang and the others just a moment ago turned expressionless, sitting up straight, their dull eyes fixed on the teacher at the podium.
Yet, despite the silence, the atmosphere of despair in the room grew stronger, so much so that a few of the children couldn’t help but swallow nervously.
Gulp.
Author’s Note –
Little Darling and Second Treasure resemble their mother more because they are his biological children.
Third Flora has some traits from her mother and some from the beautiful butterflies.
Fourth Joy, because of the assistance from Shi Yuebai during the birth process, looks like he is a child of both of them.
Awww so cute!! Hope they find their friends soul. I feel like that’s what was implied before? That the physical body and soul had separated somehow.
I want the others to see 4th Joy human form lol. Imagine the chaos XD