It's an assassin's job to kill and many in the field have a policy; all witnesses must be terminated. Purga, whose real name only the dead are aware of, follows said policy religiously. That's until she is caught during work by a young man who is happy to know he'll be put to death and actively encourages it. To him, being a witness was a blessing, to Purga it was a curse.

Curly Hair worked even harder in order to advance from his learning console to a game console. However, there were some things such as reading comprehension and writing essays that were really too difficult to learn.
Curly Hair wasn't even able to obtain a C each time and didn't know whether he was making any progress.
After yet another test, Curly hair had to defend himself when Fang Zhao checked his learning progress.
"I feel I have made great progress. Not far from a C- now."
Because of this sentence, Fang Zhao changed the grading system to score from 100 marks. On the next day's test, Curly Hair's reading comprehension received a grade of 21 marks.
He wasn't even able to meet the passing criteria of 50/100 marks.
The weather was fine. Nanfeng and Zuo Yu had been looking at a few houses for Fang Zhao and came over to report their findings. Upon entering the dormitory, Nanfeng saw Curly Hair crouching in the corner with his head drooped. There were clearly tear marks beneath his dog eyes.
"Why is our Little Curly Curls crying again?" Nanfeng was about to say "Did you receive a scolding again?" but caught sight of Fang Zhao from the corner of his eyes and changed his tune. "Feeling heaty again? Here, have some fruits."
Nanfeng then brought out a paper box filled with little fruits. He saw Fang Zhao looking over and explained hastily, "Got them from the fruit store outside of HuangArt. I asked already; dogs can also eat these fruits. They are rather cheap too. One box only cost 21 dollars."
Curly Hair cried even harder.
With that, Nanfeng could only have Zuo Yu bring Curly Hair out for a walk. If the dog wasn't in a mood, walking one round would make him feel better. If that wasn't enough, then two rounds was needed. As for everything else… what could he say as an assistant?
Whoever paid the wages was the boss!
Curly Hair didn't seem to be in better spirits after walking two rounds. However, the dejection of scoring 21 marks was quickly forgotten when he regained his self-confidence after taking a math test at night.
The learning console also had reference books compiled by various teachers of various continents. Unless the user loved doing questions, most students would simply have psychological scars from those reference books.
Curly Hair had similar sentiments, but his were slightly more complicated. Practice questions in the sciences were a piece of cake. He could do ten sets of science practice questions in the same time he took for a reading comprehension question. Even then, he might get the reading comprehension question wrong.
After Curly Hair finished the primary school curriculum, Fang Zhao looked through Curly Hair's grades. Curly Hair scored close to full marks on math and science. The only blip on his report card was a narrow pass on language, but overall, it was good enough for him to start the secondary school curriculum.
To celebrate graduating primary school and being one step closer to his own personal terminal, Curly Hair happily devoured five kilograms of dog food.
Secondary school curriculum was more complicated. Fang Zhao added some money to the account to purchase some of the online classes. After watching a few videos, Curly Hair chose the online classroom of a very popular teacher.
The microphone was also turned on.
Sometimes, students would have questions. Of course, there were also students unwilling to turn on their mics and would just type questions out in text.
This type of classroom mode was rather novel to Curly Hair. This was the first time in his dog life that he was acting as a human. He needed to be on his best behavior.
Curly Hair pretended that he was a secondary school student and started his journey of attending online classes.
However, this unique student still gave teachers some headaches.
For example, when a certain teacher that specialized in tackling test and examinations questions said, "Encountering a tough question is like a stumbling block in the middle of a road. How would you go about solving it?"
Curly Hair: "Eat it up!"
"Can this student please be more serious?"
As the other online students roared with laughter, the teacher took note of the online student ID [Little Curly Curls].
Afterwards, Curly Hair felt that the stuff this teacher taught was too simple so he went over to the next classroom and stumped the teacher with his questions.
He wasn't purposely causing trouble. Even though he asked seriously, the kind of questions he asked were either from unorthodox perspectives or were beyond the scope of the syllabus.
For students, those that could stump teachers by asking questions had a "cool" halo in the eyes of others. Some students also took note of [Little Curly Curls]. But, this bookworm seemed to not like accepting friend requests.
It wasn't that Curly Hair was unwilling to add friends. Rather, he remembered what Fang Zhao had said. 
"No adding friends before 'graduating from university' or scoring at least 85/100 for a language examination." Fang Zhao was worried Curly Hair would reveal his identity in a fit of carelessness.
The teacher of this classroom didn't know this. He had spent the past few days studying this student who had asked many crafty questions. Although there was a voice, the student couldn't be seen. The voice sounded young, and the questions were sometimes very naive.
Nonetheless…
There would surely be a vile and sinister face behind this innocence! A wide mouth and sharp teeth were just waiting to bite a huge chunk of his flesh!
Some people were just the best at pretending to be innocent!
"Don't think you can deceive me!"
A question solving genius? He didn't believe it!
How could there be so many geniuses in the world. If this were really a genius, he would have been snatched up long ago. Those at schools weren't stupid. Nowadays, every continent and district were competing for talents. There was no way such a talent would use a learning console's platform to attend classes.
Therefore, it definitely had to be a professional troll!
This sort of situation was commonplace. Currently, competition among online classes was intense. Mutual sabotage occurred frequently. He reckoned that surely this ID had been sent by someone from the same industry. He couldn't keep this fellow any longer!
Right now, what he needed was to think of a reason to kick this person out of the classroom.
After another round of questions left him stumped, the teacher sent a private message to Curly Hair. The main idea was this: You are already very impressive. I have nothing more to teach you. I can recommend you a teacher, for example XXX[link]. Since you have only attended half of the scheduled classes, I will refund you the remaining half.
Don't bring me down. If you want to harm others, then go ahead, the teacher thought to himself.
Curly Hair was also surprised when he saw the message.
"This teacher is really great! Introducing a new teacher and even giving a refund! Woooo!"
The refunded money could be used to buy dog food!!
Curly Hair felt that this transaction was rather worthwhile and agreed to leave the original classroom. He even sent a red packet to that teacher as thanks when he left the classroom. It was mentioned in literature that one must respect their teachers.
That teacher was thinking of agreeing to a full refund if the other party didn't agree. He could only count himself unfortunate this time. He never imagined that the other party would really agree. When he glanced at the classroom's online enrollees, he no longer saw [Little Curly Curls].
There was even a virtual red packet attached to the private message that wrote, "Thank you teacher! You are a really good person!"
The teacher: "???"
Is there poison in this red packet?
Curly Hair didn't know what the former teacher was imagining. After exiting the classroom, Curly Hair clicked on the link the previous teacher had recommended and entered another online classroom.
The new classroom mainly targeted the upper secondary students. There were many people in this online classroom, and more than half had been attracted by the teacher's background and experience at a university that had many essays and lots of lecture videos. A large portion of the introductory web page displayed various awards and honors the teacher had received. These online classes were just a part-time job for him.
Parents were very satisfied with the awards and honors of this teacher, but students were different. They felt that listening to this teacher's lessons was very tiring. Every lesson touched on complex knowledge that left them blank ank unable to keep up, especially when the teacher threw out complicated and rare jargon that wasn't in their secondary school textbooks. Every concept and formula required a lot of time to absorb. There were also many questions that combined the covered material. The students simply couldn't keep up when the teacher spoke too quickly.
However, for Curly Hair, such content was easy to receive. Thus, after adapting for two days, Curly Hair once again started to hunger for more knowledge and had a debate with the teacher over his question response that was marked wrong.
After that, on his third day at this new class, Curly Hair was kicked.
The teacher had forcibly kicked him out of the classroom and left a message. "I will return the money. Leave."
Curly Hair left rather happily.
"You are a really great teacher for teaching without accepting payment!"
Fang Zhao said, "… The newly released 'New Reading Compilation' has good short essays. Go take a look at the first ten."
As before, Curly Hair still couldn't distinguish certain words and sentences. He was also unable to perceive some words with derogatory connotation. However, speech was fine for him. Outside, Curly Hair could listen to someone's tone, mood and body language to determine whether the other party had any malicious intent. However, Curly Hair was still particularly sluggish when facing written words.
While Curly Hair drooped his head and analyzed the short essays, Fang Zhao received a call from Mo Lang.
"The dissertation committee list has already been finalized. The time slot to to defend your thesis will also be set in the next few days. According to the sequence of submitted applications, you will be the first. Prepare early."
There was still time before the dissertation. However, Fang Zhao would the first postgraduate from the advanced studies course to defend his dissertation. Furthermore, there could also be pressure from various other sources, so Mo Lang was worried whether Fang Zhao would be nervous. It was easy to make mistakes during the dissertation defense if one was nervous. Thus, he had informed Fang Zhao beforehand so that Fang Zhao would be able to mentally prepare himself.
Fang Zhao wasn't nervous. The dissertation touched upon his thesis that was completely written by himself. Points that needed to be taken note of had already been discussed with Mo Lang already. Fang Zhao was sufficiently prepared.
Mo Lang then analyzed the dissertation committee chairperson and the members of the committee before hanging up.
Fang Zhao brought up his virtual calendar and checked his schedule. Nanfeng would indicate if there were any new work related matters or things to take notice of. However, there was a period coming up without any events. Many people knew that Fang Zhao would be defending his dissertation. They wouldn't seek him out if it wasn't anything important. Other small matters could be handled by Nanfeng on his own.
Fang Zhao marked out a row of dates on the calendar. This would probably be the period where he would defend his dissertation.
While he was doing so, he received another call notification.
Fang Zhao picked up the call and had yet to speak when the other party shouted, "Hello, Fang Zhao! It's me, Samoyed!"
Fang Zhao: "…."
What sort of stimulation had this Zaro child received recently?


"Every time background music plays in my head, I feel like there is nothing to be afraid of." —Fang Zhao
Toward the end of the apocalyptic period, Fang Zhao lost his life. However, instead of dying, he found himself 500 years later in the body of a young and aspiring composer who shared the same name. Having received a second chance at life, Fang Zhao sets out to achieve the previous owner's dreams.
Armed with the experience of living through an apocalyptic age and his profession as a composer before that period, Fang Zhao uses his talent, wits, and knowledge to make his mark in the entertainment industry of the future.

- "Well, how is the trip a dumb thing, why did you stay there so long"? Aunt Feruzeh said with a note of anger.

"Why didn't you even call, didn't answer calls, yours must worry?"

"You didn't even call them when you arrived in town, you idiot," said the aunt.

"Go and call!" Aunt screamed at Dara.

Dara was dumbfounded, and why was this aunt yelling at him, he was young, did not understand that they were worried about him, although he was no longer a child, he was still a baby for his parents.

Dara returned five minutes later, with a embarrassed face, Barno thought with a smirk, "Cousin must have gotten from both Aunt Banu and Uncle Parviz and from grandmother Aba Biya with grandfather! Firuz!"

They lived in the house of an average aunt. Grandfather and Grandmother had their own house, it was on the same site with the average daughter. Since they lived in the same quarter, the old people visited each month for each of their children.

Echidna, Barno, could not restrain herself and loudly laughed - Hihihihihi!

"Well, that got stick from Grandparents!"

"And Aunt Banu, she will still be chewing on you for two or even three days!"

Barno said.

What she immediately got from Aunt Feruzekh.

"Stupid girl, how dare you laugh at my little sister!"

"Go better help set the table!"

"So the guests will look at you, and think that you are sharp on the tongue and rumors will go that you are that spiteful girl, the grooms will bypass our house!" Aiming at himself an imaginary rigor with a smile, Aunt Feruzekh noticed.

Barno, with a flushed face, ran into the kitchen. Thus, Aunt Feruheh defused the situation.

The whole crowd of drivers and travelers went to wash their hands and then eat.

On the table there were already steaming large bowls with meat broth seasoned with potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, celery root and large pieces of lamb on the bones. With finely chopped dill and celery leaves. Sour cream was in large bowls on the table right there, black bread is a legacy from the culinary preferences of the second empire. In Asia, it is usually not customary to eat brown bread, eat tortillas, but in Small Ahn, there was a mixture of European and Eastern traditions.

Barno, sat down at the table the same way, the sleepy cousin Shadydy left the room, he arrived late from the university, was busy writing an article on his work. Shady was writing a doctoral dissertation.

In Small-An, a two-stage system of obtaining degrees was adopted. Candidates of Sciences, and then Doctor of Sciences. After if the doctor taught, he was awarded the Professor. During the second empire - obtaining the title of professor, it took at least six months or even a year. But with gaining independence from the empire, Small-An began to assign the title of professor literally 3-4 days after the date of application for the assignment of the title.

Sometimes it was possible to see a very young doctor of sciences at the age of 25 at the university. This was due to the fact that the reforms of higher education also affected Small-An.

Because of this, a couple of years ago, the degree system was changed from the imperial Prussian system to the American one, but with its own local characteristics. And she became single-stage - just defended Ph.D. 

But they were already considered doctors of science. They immediately became professors, they managed to get two or three educations. In economics, law and information. Just getting a bachelor's degree. Some of the wealthy families that came from large clans or former political bosses sent their children and grandchildren to study at foreign universities in the EU, USA, UK and Singapore. Those that were poorer gave their children to foreign branches of universities in Small-An. They studied for two years in Small Ahn and two years in China or Turkey. Training was free.

Having received a master's degree or a Ph.D. there, they went through nostrification in Small-An ... and then went to work in those countries where they studied.

Then they came to Small-An, and began to implement the rules that were in those countries in which they studied. But these implementations were not systemic in nature. Therefore, we tried this, this or that. As a result, this did not affect the education of Small-An very well. Until finally it was not put in order, returning to the system of the second empire. And just Shady, now was going to defend a good work on the history of the Silk Road. He was very thoughtful, demanding of himself, a scientist. He was offered an easier way to become a candidate of sciences - a doctor, but he refused. Considering that this will not bring him any benefit as a scientist or science. He was told that he was too whispering to live, you need to be able to step over your beliefs and morality, then you can achieve great results.

But like the whole Mirza-Bobo family, Shady strove to follow an honest path, a path of enlightenment. The doctoral work and position obtained in such an easy way was a burden for him. Not honestly received, then you will be responsible to your soul

The second version. 

Agriculture is a very interesting activity. Like the sale of products. Not to mention the cooking, healing cooking. The development of tourism. 


All this will be in this novel. Perhaps the continuation of the first novel, but not a fact.

What is the story about? The story of a graduate student who decided to become a farmer. He sold his apartment and started to run his business with the money he received. Farm, online shop, farm shop. Decided to sell organic food.

Who is this guy? Former student of the Faculty of History. His relatives are historians and artisans, scientists. Great-grandfather Farmer. Grandfather - oriental sweets manufacturer. His ancestor ... Dara is the hero of another novel "'Jiang' Magic Coin" ...

What happens to him? He finds magic coins that have already become a magic entity, he has an all-powerful system. The main character does not immediately use it ...

Why should I care? It is interesting. But not at once. Not from the first pages, there is interesting historical information, there is an understanding of everyday life, traditions, oriental subtleties of doing business.

Almost reality but in a fantastic wrapper.

Pros - good content, many different historical facts about the Silk Road, Eastern Trade, Household reflections on politics and economics, there are interesting ideas for organizing your own business in tourism and farming.

Cons - bad form, that is, the text of the novel is rough, grammar and syntax is lame. There are mistakes.

Overall assessment of the story if to be objective:

Writing Quality - 2 stars
Stability of Updates - 4 stars (3-4 times per week from 500 to 3000 words for one chapter)

Story Development - 4 stars
Character Design - 3 stars
World Background - 3 stars

Overall result: Who wants to learn new things about farming and about the world after the Cold War, who is interested in the first place content, can be sure that he/she will not waste his/her time in vain.

Whoever likes the good form of the syllable, he/she can immediately leave, having pulled his hat, striking his/her horse sideways with spurs, plunge into the depths of the prairie.


Tags - Farming, Cooking, Health, Folk Medicine, Magic, History


-----------------------------
This is a work of art. Any resemblance to real people or real events is purely coincidental.

Of course, that was a big fat lie. Baiyi planned to create a little diversion so that by the time the dust had settled, he would be back after December 5th. That way he would miss Grace Day completely; it should suffice, right?
It did not really matter that the kids wanted to celebrate the festive season. Grace Day celebrations would last 10 days, so with only one day taken out, they would still have 9 days left to play.
That way, he would not have to celebrate the festival alone, and the kids would get to join the celebratory gala. Baiyi had to admit that he was very pleased with his own plan.
However, before they hit the road, Baiyi had to finish two issues he had on hand. First, the issue regarding his Power Level Examination. The Association was going to take a break for the 10-day celebratory period of Grace Day, and after the holidays were over, it would be saddled with a heap of work, which it would have accumulated during the break. Because of this, Baiyi reckoned that it would be much better just to finish his theses as soon as possible.
That night, the Scholar-led group of Voidwalkers writing the dissertations finally completed them all. Baiyi copied them down onto papers and attached a letter, where he requested a speedy process, to the written dissertations.
The next thing Baiyi had to do was find a vacation destination. However, he had already taken care of this; he had found quite a location.
Back when Baiyi had just finished off Thaas, the Fifth Walker had directed his newly-smuggled energy — which was twenty percent of the total energy he had in the Void — to roam in and out of realms, slowly searching for undiscovered small, habitable realms, like some sort of scout.
However, quite amazingly, this stream of smuggled energy had recently returned to Baiyi with a report on a miniature realm for human habitation that had not been visited by humans!
Compared to other realms, this new realm could be considered a baby. It was only as big as five Arfin cities. It was also too small to host a country. These were probably the reasons why humans had not bothered to visit the realm. It was just too small an environment to act as the cradle to any hypothetical civilization with sufficiently high intelligence.
However, this did not stop the realm from being bewitchingly beautiful. The realm had every marvel that nature had to offer. Valleys, rivers, forests, meadows could all be found in the realm; it was a paradise.
This made it the perfect spot for the kids to frolic and explore. It had the scenic wonders of an adventure but possessed none of its uncontrollable risks. The returning part of Baiyi's consciousness had already surveyed the realm and confirmed that there were no intelligent life forms there, neither were there any reactions that suggested the use of unnatural powers. The only lifeforms that it had detected some adorable critters.
All the Voidwalkers agreed that this realm was a good place to travel. This time, Baiyi was sure that he was not being subliminally persuaded.
Baiyi did not just consider this realm a perfect place to play. If everything went well, he would like to build his academy right there. After all, the nosy Church was not there, and the annoying hustles of the common folks did not exist there as well.
Baiyi would be free to do whatever he wanted. Would it not be awesome?
Naturally, the only way to be sure of that would be to go there in person. That was one of the reasons why Baiyi wanted to complete his Power Level Examination quickly. Another reason, of course, was because many materials that were needed to build the trans-realm transporter portal formation were controlled by the Association. Thus, in order to build his own portal, Baiyi would need to buy materials from the Association itself, and that would only be possible if became a member first and submit a detailed request report.
The next day, class was once again conducted by Professor S because Baiyi had to rush to the Association's Arfin branch to submit his thesis, seeing as it was still early in the morning. Furthermore, he was in a hurry because Aya had sent him a letter telling him that she would be arriving at noon for a wholesome family reunion lunch. 
Baiyi was not planning to disappoint his first full-time employee.
Hence, Baiyi soon returned to the very same building he had created a havoc in a few days before.
The front desk had already been replaced by a sturdier metal desk. The receptionist was gazing at with a strange look from behind her new desk, but Baiyi ignored her. He went straight into Fatty Joe's office and stared at the branch manager with a weird expression.
"Can you submit these for me? These are my dissertations for the Examination," Baiyi asked, waving the five papers in his hands.
Fatty Joe was stunned. He asked Baiyi to take a seat, then he began to address Baiyi's request.
"Master Hope, you have your thesis already? I… I just heard the news of you joining the Exam yesterday! I myself made a small bet… The betting polls have not even closed and here you are, already done with your work!"
Baiyi replied, "I have a lot more time in my hand now, remember? This has enabled me to spend many nights working on this."
With this, Baiyi was reminding the man that he was, after all, a Soul Armature who did not need to sleep.
Then, Baiyi asked, "Anyway, about that bet you mentioned…"
"Just some office entertainment," Fat Joe replied, with a smile on his face. When Baiyi mentioned how he had managed to complete his dissertation so fast, there was no doubt on Fat Joe's face, only bewilderment. He believed that it was possible for Baiyi to have already finished his dissertations. If a researcher wrote down a few key ideas everyday for the duration of his academic career, it would take only a little amount of time for the researcher to flesh out his ideas and use them to write a coherent essay. In fact, this was any easy method to write any thesis.
Fat Joe proceeded to explain to Baiyi why the betting polls were set up. Sorcerers enjoyed little thrills just as much as common folks did. Therefore, whenever there were big headlines making rounds, sorcerers would usually place bets on the parties involved.
This time, Baiyi made the news, and the sorcerers set up a bet on whether or not Baiyi could pass the Immortal-level power examination. 
Surprisingly, a lot of sorcerers actually bet against Baiyi success because, to them, the odds of him failing was more plausible than the other outcome.
It seemed like there was only so much a reputation fueled by the Church's claims could amount to.
"As you already knew, sorcerers are a proud bunch. Sometimes, that pride can turn into outright complacency and overconfidence." Fat Joe explained, feeling embarrassed.
"I hope that there would no dirty ploys in this exam." Baiyi could not care less about what others thought of him; instead, he dryly commented on another issue.
"Don't worry about that. When the Examination is conducted for those with a power level equal or beyond Legendary-level, the entire process became quite strident. It will be completely fair, transparent, and balanced. No one will be able to rig the outcome just to win some minuscule bet," Fat Joe replied reassuringly.
Then, the branch manager picked up Baiyi's thesis which had been sitting neatly on his desk and asked, "May I?"
"Oh, sure. Please. You can correct me if you spot any errors," Baiyi said, feigning humility.
Fat Joe flipped through Baiyi's first thesis which was titled "The Efficiency, Accuracy of Formulation, and Malleability in the Practical Usage of Rohlserlian Formations and Modern Runes: Differences, Strengths, and Weaknesses."
Just that mouthful of a title made cold sweat drip down Fat Joe's forehead. When he opened up one of Baiyi's dissertations, Fat Joe felt that he was reading something that had been written in some sort of proto-language. Despite knowing the individual terms used in this paper, he still found the entire content unrecognizable.
'This thesis is way over my head…' With no choice but to give up on that dissertation, Fat Joe shifted his focus to the next one: "A Discourse on the Application of Simplified Runic Magic in Battles by Modern Sorcerers."
'The hell is a "Simplified Rune"?' Fat Joe had to dig deep into his memory to remember that simplified runes were runic magic used by a bizarre sect of sorcerers who called themselves the "War Druids".
This paper, however, did not require an understanding of intricate formations, so Fat Joe could still understand parts of the essay, albeit with great difficulties. More importantly, just the first few paragraphs made him feel like his mind had been blown wide open.
Finally, he finished the paper and exhaled with fulfillment. "Such a marvelous way of utilizing the technique; who knew! Although these war druids have different philosophies, unlike we sorcerers, the ways by which these simplified runes are applied are very interesting. Many parts of this dissertation were particularly enlightening…"
Fat Joe had already decided to use his privilege to make a copy of that dissertation for himself so that he could learn even more from it. He had reasons to believe that if he could completely understand the wisdom embedded in it, his own power would most certainly see a marked improvement.
Baiyi did not say anything. He only waited for the branch manager to finish reading all the dissertations.
The other three dissertations were about alchemy, engineering, and astrology, which inevitably made Fat Joe feel like he was reading ancient texts. Although he had not studied any of these three subjects, he could still easily detect the professional countenance of the author who used these jargons. He was sure that Baiyi's knowledge in these subjects was second to no other person.
"I did not expect Master Hope to possess such deep understanding on these subjects. Your perspectives in many aspects of these subjects are unique," Fat Joe said coyly.
Baiyi could only laugh internally. He was sure that Fat Joe had not understood a single word, but he chose not to blow the branch manager's cover. Instead, he replied courteously, "If it is alright and does not require any corrections, then please help me submit them."
"Rest assured, I will get on it right away!" Fat Joe replied reassuringly. Then, he leaned into his chair and said to Baiyi, "After reading your thesis, I'm sure that those hundred gold coins are as good as mine already!"
'The fella didn't hold back at all, did he? But then again, he is the Branch Leader of a city, so betting a hundred gold coins should be considered as small entertainment.'
As soon as his matters were taken care of, Baiyi saw no reason to stay any longer, so he stood up. However, at that very moment, Fat Joe asked, "Um, Mr. Hope? Forgive my curiosity, but you can't possibly be… the Great Unmoving Sage himself, right?"
"He was considered the most knowledgeable Great Sage in the history of the Doors of Conundrum — a man who had dyed the pages of academia with his pen, and a man who had inscribed his name and prestige into history. From what I heard, from the moment he joined the Doors of Conundrum, he never stepped outside of their libraries again. Not many saw his true face. We only recognized him through the thesis stamped with Great Sage's Mark. No one even knew his real name! Sir Hope, it was you, wasn't it? Only a man like that would match your prestige," Fat Joe finished.
Baiyi shook his head sideways and replied, "There are way many people like me in the Doors of Conundrum, you see. It's just that everyone has always been so engrossed in the ocean of knowledge, that they had not given much care for other things. The mundane could not possibly best the wonders that lay between the pages."
However, on the inside, Baiyi cried, 'Open your eyes and look at me. What part of me looks like a fossil-aged hikikomori now?'


Imagine being forced to live, after death, as incorporeal bodies trapped in a vast space of nothingness for thousands of years, with nothing to do but exchanging past memories with other cohabitants (read: weirdos).  Everybody wanted out, but there was no way to leave the Void... 
Until one day, a young man was finally summoned, as a powerful but reluctant mentor, by a bubbly and motivated but completely naive young girl. Baiyi, finally out of the Void, was the only one who could save all of the other 32 souls from their prison and his summoner might just be The Key to their freedom.
However, Baiyi had to use the techniques and abilities the other souls had taught him throughout the years, and together with his own extensive knowledge of anime and game tropes from his shady and dangerous past as an otaku, to face the biggest challenge of them all: training the clumsy young girl he was forced to partner up with… into a competent sorcerer!

New Year's Day—a new year and a new day.
Gu Nianzhi woke up in her dormitory but was still unwilling to open her eyes. The room was quiet, as Ma Qiqi had gone home to spend New Year's Day with her family.
In order to graduate early, Gu Nianzhi had taken on so many electives that her workload was at least three times that of Ma Qiqi's. In postgraduate studies, the bulk of her workload involved writing dissertations. Since she enrolled half a year later than her classmates and wanted to graduate a year and a half early, she actually was going to spend only one year studying.
Naturally, she had to make more sacrifices since she hoped to do within a year what others would take three years to complete. However, all her hard work would be worth it. If everything went as planned, she'd be able to graduate right after her final exams in the winter!
In order to do that, she first needed to complete the first draft of her dissertation and have it vetted by He Zhichu. She then needed to find a teacher before the start of her final exams to defend her dissertation. There really wasn't much time left. Chinese New Year fell on February 14th of the Gregorian calendar, which was Valentine's Day in the western world. #All the holidays are coming together #Feeling spent
Gu Nianzhi let out a long sigh and finally sat up in bed after rubbing her eyes. She glanced around dreamily before grabbing her phone from the nightstand and checking it. It was already ten o'clock in the morning.
Gu Nianzhi placed her pillow at the head of the bed and leaned against it, took out her phone, and proceeded with her daily activities. She went on social media, watched the news, texted, and checked on the progress of the cases that she was involved in.
Gu Nianzhi only switched her phone back into call mode when she received Huo Shaoheng's phone call. She picked up the call with a "Hi."
Huo Shaoheng had been working all night. However, instead of going home to sleep, he went out for a run. He then showered and called Gu Nianzhi after breakfast at around 10am.
He knew how busy Gu Nianzhi had been these days, burning the midnight oil every night, working on her graduation dissertation and homework. His heart ached for her, but he knew that she had to do this in order to graduate early. Huo Shaoheng also wanted her to graduate early.
He was on duty as usual, even though it was New Year's Day. During the New Year holiday, his subordinates were allowed to take turns going on vacation. As the Major General, however, he had to be on duty as usual. This had been the case without exception for seven years. He was only doing this so that his subordinates and the young soldiers, who had worked hard the entire year, could have more time off. Since he couldn't meet up with Gu Nianzhi, he could only call to wish her a "Happy New Year."
Gu Nianzhi held onto her phone as she smiled and said, "I wish you a Happy New Year, too, Young Master Huo! Keep getting better every step of the way!"
Huo Shaoheng laughed as he dusted the cigarette ashes off his hands. He shook his head and said, "I see you're becoming more glib-tongued." Then he asked, "So are you up? Have you had breakfast?"
Gu Nianzhi rushed and got up from her bed silently. She tried her best to maintain a stable tone and said, "Of course I'm up. What time is it already? And you're still talking about breakfast?"
The corner of Huo Shaoheng's mouth turned up as he said nonchalantly, "Ok, that's good." Then, he caught her off guard and asked again, "So have you brushed your teeth yet?"
Gu Nianzhi shook her head and said without thinking, "Not yet. I'm about to go brush my teeth now." She knew from the moment she finished her sentence that her cover was blown. Wasn't this just a self-induced confession? Moments ago, she just said that she woke up early today and that she had had her breakfast. In the end, Huo Shaoheng tricked her into blowing her cover...
Gu Nianzhi's face turned crimson as she hurriedly added, "All right, I'll end the call now. Time for me to head to the library!" She hung up the call immediately. She entered the bathroom while covering her bright red face and started washing up.
After washing up, she heard her phone ring again as she was standing in front of her closet, picking out her outfit for the day. She checked her phone and saw that it was He Zhichu. She swiped her finger across the screen to answer the call. "Professor He, Happy New Year!"
With a lunch box in hand, He Zhichu had called her up as he stood straight as a ramrod in front of the law department's female dormitory, "You must have burned the midnight oil again yesterday, right? Come down. I brought some food over for you."
Gu Nianzhi cheered as she dashed to the balcony with her phone in hand. He Zhichu was there indeed, standing under the big tree downstairs. She waved at him with a smile and went downstairs after casually throwing on a thick cashmere sweater with a big B logo on it. She paired the sweater with skinny woolen pants and fleece-lined UGG boots.
As she came out of the dormitory, He Zhichu noticed that she was without her coat and frowned ever so slightly. "Previously, you developed a fever from the cold you caught. Why are you still being so careless? Hurry back. Why would you come out without a coat on?" He said while handing the lunch box over to her, "I'm leaving. I still have some matters to deal with." Without a pause, He Zhichu turned around and left.
As Gu Nianzhi took the lunch box, she felt a sort of warmth washing over her soul, and it radiated from within her. As she stared blankly at his back, which was getting further away from her, she felt a sense of familiarity that she couldn't quite put her finger on. This feeling of familiarity didn't come from the recent interactions she'd had with him. It felt more like a scene that was etched into her mind from a long time ago.
She closed her eyes, and fragmented images flashed before her. She saw herself in a field of green, standing underneath a large banyan tree, holding onto a doll. She appeared to be about five or six years old, and she was staring blankly at the back of a young man that was gradually getting further away from her.
With the blink of an eye, she then saw herself at a boisterous birthday party. There, she was wearing a princess's tiara and looked to be about ten years old. She started bawling all of a sudden as she watched a youth turn his back to her with resolve. She threw the birthday cake that she was holding onto the ground and threw a tantrum, hoping that the youth who was leaving would turn back around and come back to her.
Hearing the commotion behind him, he slowed his footsteps. She then started crying even more loudly as she covered her chubby little face with her hands and secretly peered at the youth's tall and handsome back with her round eyes from between the gaps of her fingers.
The youth finally turned around. Gu Nianzhi shuddered as the vision in her mind disappeared instantly. It was as magical as a daydream. Unfortunately, she snapped out of her reverie too soon and didn't get to see who the young man was.
From the back, the young man looked a lot like He Zhichu but slightly thinner in comparison. He was tall and handsome like He Zhichu and exuded an unconscious aura of sturdiness when he walked. His contrasting charm was adorable.
Gu Nianzhi rubbed her forehead and went upstairs with the lunch box. Once in her dormitory, she opened the box and discovered three smaller food compartments in it, each containing a different dish. There was a piping-hot bowl of soup, three pieces of flavorful soup dumplings, and some shrimp dumplings.
The shrimp dumplings looked exquisite. Their slight crimson-colored filling was similar to that of a glutinous rice ball's red bean paste filling. However, unlike the thick exterior of a glutinous rice ball, the skin of shrimp dumplings was made of a thin layer of translucent dough, so they looked very appetizing.
However, Gu Nianzhi managed to resist her desire to gobble down the shrimp dumplings and started her meal in her usual fashion, by first eating the soup. She then picked up the shrimp dumplings with her chopsticks and savored them one at a time.
She really wanted to devour all of the shrimp dumplings but held back and stopped eating them after having only four. She ate all the soup dumplings, however. She licked the corners of her mouth when she was done and stretched her back, longing for more.
How nice! The first day of the New Year began with eating well and keeping warm.
Gu Nianzhi made a face in the mirror and found a small container, into which she scraped the remaining shrimp dumplings. She then washed, dried, and reassembled the lunch box so that she could return it to He Zhichu when they met in class.
After the sumptuous brunch, Gu Nianzhi checked her watch and realized that it was nearly 11am. If she headed to the library now, she would still be able to study for six hours if she returned at 5pm. So she packed her bag and headed downstairs with her laptop. After wrapping her scarf around her, she mounted her bicycle and sped to the library.
The campus was very quiet on New Year's Day. Most of the students had been at the countdown party last night and only returned to their dormitory late at night. They were all still sleeping at this hour.
She was the only person riding a bicycle through the spacious campus grounds. She felt happy and relaxed in that moment. She even tried riding her bicycle with only one hand and did so charmingly.
Once she arrived at the library, she parked her bicycle in front of the library and ran up the library steps with her backpack behind her. At that moment, a young man dressed in a long gray coat walked out from the library in hurried steps with his head down.
The young man was Ishihara Taro.
Gu Nianzhi was busy tidying up her scarf and was not aware of her surroundings. The two of them walked in opposite directions towards each other and almost knocked into each other.
Gu Nianzhi sensed something amiss as the two of them got closer to each other and took a nimble step to the side just in time. By doing so, she was able to avoid running into the stranger's arms at the very last minute.
She raised her eyes quietly and sized him up. He turned out to be a handsome youth who looked at most only 15 or 16 years old. Ishihara Taro raised his head and glanced at Gu Nianzhi. His only thought was that the pair of bright eyes belonging to the girl in front of him resembled the reflective brightness of dark black glass. They shone and were so bright that he could not help but feel slightly taken aback.
They looked at each other for a moment when she suddenly recalled that she had met him before. It was on Christmas day, and like him, she was walking out from the library when she was almost knocked down by a bicycle. She saw the same youth bowing to her when she turned back.
"Sorry for having bothered you," Ishihara Taro appeared to be very polite as he bowed his head respectfully.
Gu Nianzhi glanced at him silently, ignored him, and went straight into the library. Ishihara Taro waited until she was gone before turning back to stare at the library entrance. He murmured with a sneer, "How rude, but well, that's all there is to it." He shook his head and left B University for his condominium.
He checked his email inbox once he got to the condominium and replied to an email. "Could you help me get a place as a first year foreign transfer student at B University's Master of Law program?"
A reply came shortly after the email was sent. "Certainly, and with pleasure."
B University's Law Department was in a collaborative relationship with Tokyo University's School of Law. Ishihara's family was very influential in Japan. Ishihara himself was the last disciple of the Tokyo University's president. Getting into B University's Master of Law program through connections was a piece of cake.
What others found difficult was easy for him.
　　...
After New Year's celebrations, students started returning to school one after another. Gu Nianzhi usually attended her classes with He Zhichu, so she seldom interacted with her classmates. Therefore, she didn't hear news of the dashing Japanese transfer student who transferred into the first year of their Master of Law program. She only learned about this from Ma Qiqi.
"Nianzhi, let me tell you, this kid is just! His IQ is off the charts! His looks are off the charts! What's more, his demeanor is off the charts!" Ma Qiqi smiled then sighed. "I would've given him a full score if he wasn't Japanese!"


Gu Nianzhi had no idea how to get the aloof and handsome Major General to fall in love with her. 

His eyes were dark and serious. "...Seduce me. If you can do it, I’m yours." 

Gu Nianzhi: "!!!"

Disclaimer: The following stories contains sexual assault, rape, nonconsensual acts, mentally abusive relationships, and violence towards women. Readers are advised to proceed with caution.

This WebNovel "A Gatekeeper and the Celestial Sovereign" is nearing the end of its first arc/book. To celebrate it I'm thinking of releasing it as a book (self publishing) on Lulu and Amazon. The book will include all 100 chapters and prologue of the first arc and even illustrations from talented artists that I'll commission to create some cool art for the book. The book will also be fully proofread and edited. 

Pa.treon subscribers (On my Pa.treon Writing Pilgrimage /Alexia J Barrett) P.atreon subscribers who are Awakening or Dao tier will get access to the illustrations early. Dao tier will also get a free copy of the book.

Would you be interested in this? 

If interested comment or join the discord chat (https://discord.gg/3kWfcfp) or message me on Instagram @writingpilgrimage

P.S. Also I'm working really hard on finishing my dissertation, when I'm done I'll pump out chapters like crazy. In the meantime check out some other interesting stories I've started on WebNovel such as "Exsanguinate" and "Yummy" and check out the Webtoon (Shadow Man) that I and my friends have created. it's available on Webtoon Canvas.

Mao Lu is a regular Beijinger, well except for the fact that he's in a lot of debt and is best friends with a conglomerate heir.
 He works hard to make money and struggles with his daily life until one day he receives a letter. 
A letter that changes everything. 
Follow his adventures as he travels between dimensions, falls in love with a powerful prince and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy.

The first volume will soon be available as a fully proofread and edited eBook and Paperback with illustrations. To be ready for the pre-order and pre-release join the mailing list on my website: https://writing-pilgrimage.com or subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5vuT5l1K1uVnfLTQQpNAuw

Official cover: Art by Rodrigo Gil Chavez

Support me on Patreon for early access to my latest chapters! http://patreon.com/WritingPilgrimage

Discord chat: https://discord.gg/3kWfcfp
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This is a Danmei Novel

-Release schedule: Crazy, I am the worst at regular set updates.

-If ranked in the top 100, 1 bonus chapter
-Ranked top 50, 2 bonus chapters and some extra romance. 
-Ranked in top 10 (If that ever happens I would be so grateful.) 3 bonus chapters ***on the following Wednesday the week after rankings.

I reply and/or like every comment!

"But I haven't submitted my dissertation yet. I would be jobless if my submission doesn't pass," Wen Shan said while scratching her ear. 
"I should be able to help if you need data analysis for your dissertation," said Ding Junhui. 
Wen Shan looked at Ding Junhui in disbelief and began to wonder if her lecturer had a crush on her, then immediately crushed the thought. It had never occurred to her that Mr. Ding had a crush on her throughout the four years that she spent in university doing her degree, three years doing her masters, and until the end of her doctorate. She must be overthinking. 
"It's okay." 
"Right, I heard that you are close with Nalan Chunbo, who is a world-class mathematician," said Ding Junhui. 
Wen Shan finally put down her hand that was scratching her ear and started playing with the straps on her backpack. 
"I am not that close with him. I only got to know him because he is Brother Gu's wife's brother." 
"Still, you don't have to be worried. We are quite lenient on doctoral students who have been confirmed to stay to teach," Ding Junhui nodded at what Wen Shan said then changed the topic. 
"I have to take this seriously. I heard from Professor Zhao that we have to publish our dissertation on any international forum and win an award before we can pass our probation." Wen Shan stressed on the word "and" to emphasize how difficult it actually was. 
Ding Junhui knew about the requirements. After all, he was one of the lecturers who had passed his probation period. 
"It is not that difficult to write an award-winning dissertation. Write a few so you have higher chances." 
Wen Shan was speechless at Ding Junhui's suggestion, which she didn't find helpful at all. 
"I am serious. I published more than ten dissertations back then, and only one of them was awarded. I will send the link to you later so you can have a look at an award-winning dissertation," said Ding Junhui smilingly. 
Wen Shan nodded and saw Le Tian, who was looking for her when they arrived at the university. 
"Thank you, Mr. Ding. See you." Wen Shan quickly made Ding Junhui pull over and got down from the car. 
Ding Junhui nodded at Le Tian before he drove away. 
"I was just wondering how you managed to get over your Papa Nalan so fast. Looks like you are already seeing someone," Le Tian looked at Ding Junhui's car that was slowly driving out of sight and tutted. 
"What nonsense are you talking about? We bumped into each other in front of the hospital." Wen Shan rolled her eyes at Le Tian and walked with her to a bookshop nearby with her arm around Le Tian's neck.
"How is that nonsense? Ding Junhui was infatuated with you since you were doing your degree, and everyone knows about it. Also, aren't you obsessed with people who are good at maths? Ding Junhui has been promoted to assistant professor at the Department of Mathematics, how suitable for you!"
Wen Shan pushed Le Qian, who was ranting endlessly into the bookshop. What she didn't see was a car with its window wound down after they went into the bookshop. 
[Aren't you obsessed with people who are good at maths?] 
Nalan Chunbo gripped the steering wheel tightly. He found it ironic and found himself humiliated. She had made it clear when she first approached him that she was only obsessed with him because of how good his maths was, and stressed that mathematics is an essential tool for physics. 
Nalan Chunbo curled his lips sarcastically and drove away. 
He thought that he should at least try things out with her when he came to her university, but it looked like there was no need for that anymore. 
Wen Shan was browsing the books in the bookshop when she looked out the window unconsciously. She saw a car that looked like Nalan Chunbo's driving away and scoffed at herself for thinking that Nalan Chunbo had come for her. 


He was the powerful and influencing heir of B City, the merciless head of the commercial world, but the divorce papers made him lose his cool. 
“Sign the divorce papers, daddy,” said the 5-year-old boy. 
This man had the divorce papers thrown in his face by his wife six years ago, and was now being pushed by his own son to sign the papers. 
“That would make you a single-parent child,” said Gu Juexi coldly. 
“Mommy said unicorns don’t exist but men like you do,” the boy leered at his father and said. 
Gu Juexi’s face fell. ‘That damned woman.’
“You haven’t signed the papers,” the boy reminded as the man left. As usual, the door shut in his face. 
Good lord… Dad and mom are not getting a divorce and are giving him a baby brother? How worrying!

All of the wedding party was perfectly silent as the wedding planner went over the ceremony draft and read the headings aloud so everyone would know what came when. The actual content was to be saved for the big day so the surprise wouldn't be ruined.
"Alright everyone, file out in two straight lines. I know you'll be coming down the aisle in pairs but that's not how you'll be leaving it!" the wedding planner ordered.
"Maid of Honor, hand the bride her bouquet before she goes! Walk straighter! Flower girl, don't let your basket drag on the ground!"
Once they completed their retreat from the wedding venue to her satisfaction, she had them practice walking in to their assigned places. Jeffrey and Keeley were less important than the family members in the wedding party so they were the second to last couple to head down the aisle before the bride made her grand entrance.
Though the venue was perfectly set up and ready for the next morning, everyone present was wearing regular dressy outfits rather than their wedding clothes because the rehearsal dinner at a nice restaurant was right afterward.
 It was a relief when the rehearsal was over. Keeley had been on her feet in heels too long and they were killing her. It also didn't help that she forgot to pack a snack and hadn't eaten since 10 AM.
Everyone headed to a seafood restaurant and she sat near Jeffrey and Keisha because Lydia had too many other people to entertain. Keeley had hardly spoken two words to the bride since arriving since she was so busy.
She didn't mind. She was here to support Lydia on her big day, not be catered to. Hanging out with Jeffrey was good enough.
"So Keeley, you haven't mentioned what you've been up to lately," he said as they waited for the appetizers to show up.
She shrugged. "Not much to tell. I'm drowning in school because it's my last year and in Maid of Honor duties for my old roommate."
"Drowning in school work isn't new," he replied with a laugh. "Keish, I think she might even have more schoolwork than I do."
"Impossible. You're always doing homework."
"Yeah but she has lab time to contend with and is writing a doctoral thesis."
Keisha made an impressed noise. "Girl, really? I knew you were in grad school but had no idea you were getting a PhD. What in?"
"Developmental genetics. My research is coming along fairly well. It should be finished by August so I can write the rest of my dissertation. It needs to be 200 pages long and since my research isn't done yet I'm not even halfway there."
She let out a low whistle. "Well look at you and your big beautiful brain. I'm impressed. I only ever got my bachelor's degree because I'd been volunteering with animals since middle school and had enough experience to get hired straight out of school."
Keeley smiled at the compliment. "Thanks! It's not as glamorous as it may sound though. I spend most of my days quadruple checking the same sets of numbers over and over."
"I know all about things not being glamorous. Last week I was bringing somebody their cat back after getting put under anesthesia for a tooth extraction and he peed on me! He was a fluffy one too so it got stuck allllll over his legs and tail. Super gross."
She pulled a face at the end of her story. "I didn't even have extra scrubs to change into so I had to walk around like that for two hours before my shift ended."
Jeffrey patted her hand consolingly though he was trying hard not to laugh. He obviously remembered that incident and thought it was hilarious.
"The worst part was that you sent him home like that. Those poor owners had to clean him up by themselves."
"What was I supposed to do?" she demanded. "They had already paid! A bath would have cost extra!"
He shrugged with a grin on his face. "Still."
Keisha rolled her eyes and chose to ignore her boyfriend because the crab dip served with warm bread had arrived. Everyone dug in with enthusiasm.
It had been ages since she had crab dip. The last time had been with Aaron years and years ago. She could never afford it on her own so it was nice that Lydia's parents were footing the bill.
She had thought about Aaron a lot as she had been out here. She worried that the wedding tomorrow would trigger even more unpleasant memories about her own way back when. It seemed like they only got worse the more involved in other people's weddings she was.
Keeley wanted to focus on enjoying good food with good company but worrying about her unwanted nostalgia took a bit of the fun out of it all. At least the bachelorette party tonight should help her snap out of it. She would be too busy to think.
"What are both of your best memories of Lydia?" Keisha asked out of the blue. "Since it is nearly her special day."
Jeffrey smiled and shook his head. "That's a tough one to answer. We've been friends since our freshman year of high school. That year she was in all but one of my classes. She noticed and asked me for all of the notes she missed one day after being out sick. I didn't even recognize her."
His girlfriend laughed. "So I guess you've always been oblivious then."
"Apparently."
He thought about it a little longer. "I've got it. My favorite memory of Lydia was probably our sophomore year when she accidentally cut her bangs too short and tried hiding it under a beanie, which was against the dress code. Uniforms, you know?
"I was on the student council at the time and she passionately presented a 30 slide PowerPoint on the importance of freedom of expression that she wanted us to show to the principal. Of course, he didn't budge, but the look on her face when she had to go to detention for a week will forever remain in my memory."
Keeley giggled. Lydia had been particularly irate that day at lunch. She exchanged her beanie for a hood, which was technically allowed during lunchtime and passing periods because nobody enforced the rule then.
She also had too many memories with Lydia to pick just one favorite.
The first one that came to mind was the time Keeley's period came early their junior year and she bled through her shorts during P.E. Lydia immediately pretended to faint in a scene worthy of an Oscar and distracted everyone long enough for her to escape to the locker room and change.
Lydia had always been such a good friend to her. Wedding memories aside, Keeley was happy to be here celebrating with her now.


Keeley, a simple plain Jane, hits the jackpot.  [No, she did not win the lottery!]  At least that's what she thinks when she marries the most eligible bachelor in New York City: Aaron, a wealthy cold-hearted heartthrob and Tycoon. 

She wants to show the world that she deserves her position and bends over  backward to fit into his world.

One beautiful day, Aaron hands her a document asking her to sign.  A divorce paper...

"She's pregnant, and I need to take responsibility."

That is the last thing that keeps on playing in her mind before she takes her last breath.

Keeley dies, a 'hit and run'. [End of story.  Not!]

For some unexplainable reason, she wakes up as her younger self.  A young high school girl, around the time when she first meets her cheating husband.

Remembering her life with Aaron before she died, she makes a promise to herself that she will do everything in her power to avoid him at all costs.

Will she be able to keep her promise when Aaron has his own plans as well, specifically for her?  Or will she repeat history and fall for him once more...

Why not journey with me and find out the truth behind their story.

"Leave him alone!"

With thundering footsteps, Subin rushed to the shorter boy's side with a threatening glare. She waved her bag about as she tried to swat the pair of taller boys who were preying on her friend. "I said, 'leave him alone'!" she shouted once more, her voice shrill and raucous. "Are you guys deaf?"

The pair of taller boys sniggered at her as they backed away from the shorter boy who was covering his head with his bag. "Look, it's the bin girl!" one of them taunted as he pointed at Subin. He smirked as he leered at the shorter boy who ran and cowered behind her, "You're lucky you got a tough girlfriend, though no one knows why she'd ever want to stick with a pathetic wimp like you."

"Yeah," the other boy agreed. "But I guess it's a match made in heaven: Bin girl and Junkpoop!"

Subin narrowed her eyes at them both. "He's not my boyfriend," she said through gritted teeth. "And if I catch you picking on him again I'll-" Subin approached the pair who started backing away.

"Chill!" one of the boys said. "Geez, you're like friggin' Amazon woman."

"Yeah," the other boy agreed once more. "We were just having fun-"

"You call that fun?" she retorted. "Get outta here before I get my brother on you!"

Upon hearing those words, the pair started slinking away but not before addressing the short boy who was using Subin as a shield. "This ain't over. We'll be back for you tomorrow, Junkpoop."

The other boy snickered, "Yeah, Junkpoop!"

Subin had a threatening stance which made the dumber of the pair jolt. When they were finally out of sight, Subin turned to Jungkook who looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Thanks, Subin-noona," he said to her meekly in Korean. He pushed his round glasses further up his nose bridge as they started slipping down.

Subin sighed, "I've told you before, don't call me that."

He looked taken aback. "I'm sorry, Subin" he apologised once more. His brows furrowed as he tried to mentally remind himself time and time again how Subin hated being referred to as 'noona'.

"When are you ever going to learn to defend yourself, Jun?" She asked as she gestured for both of them to start making their way to the parking lot. "It's been three months since you transferred to our school and you still haven't made any friends in your class."

Jungkook stared at her timidly. "I'm sorry..." he replied in Korean again.

This irritated Subin. "Jun, you can't keep speaking in Korean. You're in London now. You have to try and speak English if you want to adjust faster."

Jungkook peered at her with an uncertain expression. "But, it's so hard, noo-"

Subin gave him a warning stare.

"I mean, Subin" he finished. "Can't I just speak Korean when I'm with you?"

"But that's the thing" she replied exasperatedly, "You always hang out with me so you won't improve your speaking because I can understand you."

Jungkook looked at her innocently. "But I can understand English better now! My listening has improved. Listening to you speak English has helped me a lot."

"That's great and all but practising your speaking is more important" she replied. "What's the point of you being able to understand everyone but not being able to express yourself?" Subin shook her head in dismay at Jungkook. "Sometimes, I wonder how you'll be able to cope once I leave school."

Jungkook looked at her anxiously. "You're not going to our school's sixth form?"

Subin shook her head. "Nope. I'm planning to go to college instead. Or maybe move to a better one near central."

A worried expression graced Jungkook's boyish features. "But... that means I won't see you anymore."

Subin glanced at his direction and saw that he looked like he was about to cry. She sighed, "Jun, you can't expect me to stick around forever. It's my final year in this crappy secondary school. You think I wanna stick around with all these arseholes for another two years? Hell no!"

Jungkook looked at her pleadingly and then sighed in resignation. "You're right" he murmured. "I know you hate our school a lot." He looked up at the grey sky, "Why couldn't we be in the same year? Then we could leave this school together."

Subin was about to reply when the sound of a car horn honking caught her attention. Both she and Jungkook turned and saw that Subin's older brother had finally arrived to pick them up.

"Get a move on!" he shouted as he leaned out his car window. "I still got a report to write!"

Subin and Jungkook rushed to the beaten up red car. Once they were inside, Subin couldn't help noticing the putrid scent of her brother's car that immediately triggered her car sickness. "Bloody hell," she complained as she climbed into the front passenger's seat. "When was the last time you cleaned this thing?"

"Quit your complaining and get on" he grumbled. He turned to Jungkook, who was sitting at the back, and gave him a friendly smile as he spoke to him in Korean. "You alright there, Jungkook?"

Jungkook smiled back politely. "I'm good, Yoongi-hyung."

Once their seatbelts were buckled, the car spluttered back to life and they started driving away.

Subin had a sly smile as she glanced at her brother, who she knew was dying to ask Jungkook the usual question whenever he was in the car with them. Inconspicuously, she started counting down the seconds to when he'd ask the question.

...Eight, seven, six, five-

"How's your sister, Jungkook?"

Damn it, Subin thought. Missed out by five.

"She's okay" Jungkook replied, oblivious to Yoongi's true intentions. "She's just started her dissertation now so she's been very stressed."

"I can imagine" Yoongi answered a little too keenly. Subin giggled under her breath at her brother's so-obvious behaviour. "Does she need any help with the citations or anything? I have some good references."

"I think Noona's almost done with it" Jungkook replied. "But she did say that the hardest part was writing the methodology-"

"Oh, if she needs help with that, I'm also writing mine so..."

Subin smirked at the sight of her brother trying so hard. Why couldn't he just be straightforward about it and ask her out on a date or something?

"Hey, Yoongi, is dad back home now?" Subin asked, to clear the awkwardness in the car when Jungkook failed to respond to Yoongi's indirect proposal.

Yoongi grunted, "Yeah, he arrived this morning." But then, he frowned at her. "Why can't you be like Jungkook and refer to me as 'oppa'? I'm your elder, you know."

Jungkook seemed to have snapped out of his daydream as he added, "Subin doesn't like it when I call her 'noona' either."

"Dad doesn't mind it" Subin replied dismissively. "And we're in the UK, it feels weird when I call you 'oppa' in public. I feel like a koreaboo."

Once they had dropped Jungkook off at his house, Yoongi and Subin continued their conversation.

"Why are you looking for dad?" he asked her. "You better not be asking for more money again."

"I'm not" Subin huffed. "I have this essay I need to write for my coursework so it's really important. It's about our family history and stuff and I figured dad will be able to help since he just came back from South Korea." Subin frowned. "It sucks to be Asian. Everyone else in class has it easy because they're all either part Irish or Scottish or Welsh or something."

Yoongi was disinterested. "A family history essay? Sounds boring as fuck."

"Better than some crappy report you gotta write" she retorted. Subin thought for a moment. "Maybe I should've just asked Jun. He's really into all that Korean stuff."

"Yah, that 'Korean stuff' you're referring to is actually our culture" Yoongi reminded her pointedly.

Subin hmphed. "Whatever. But anyway, how's dad? Did you talk to him yet?"

Yoongi grunted. "He's doing okay. It's not like he's the type to cry anyway."

Subin silently agreed with her older brother's statement. It had been two weeks since she had last seen her father after he had left unexpectedly for South Korea to attend her grandmother's funeral. As the plane fares were too expensive for all three of them, their father had decided to go alone leaving Yoongi, who was a university student, in charge of the house while he was gone.

When Subin found out that her maternal grandmother had passed away, she didn't feel anything inside. It wasn't like she was very close to her anyway. She had only met her a few times when she was younger. Naturally, she was closer to her paternal grandparents as her father kept in touch with them and so she and Yoongi did too.

"Hey, Yoongi. What was my mom like?"

Yoongi glanced at her briefly before fixating his eyes back on the road. "Why are you asking about her all of a sudden?"

"Nothing much. It's just that I have to write about my family history and dad doesn't like talking about her." Subin continued to stare out the front car window. "And with my grandma gone, you're pretty much the only person I can talk to about her."

Yoongi was silent for a moment. "She was a nice lady" he eventually answered. "She was a lot nicer than my mom, I can tell you that."

Subin smiled slightly. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I remember her giving me loads of chocolates when I was a kid. And she was quite a good cook too." His eyes softened as he spoke about her. He peered at Subin briefly again and mentioned, "You kinda resemble her, you know. You have the same kinda hair and the same kinda eyes."

Subin inspected her features in the rear-view mirror. "I wish I could have met her" she whispered wistfully.

Yoongi was silent.

"You should talk to your mom too. Invite her to your graduation next year."

Yoongi's lips thinned at the idea. "She's not worth the plane ticket" he muttered disdainfully. "Let's not talk about her anymore," he said as he parked their car outside their apartment building. "Talking about her just brings back bad memories."

Transported to an unknown era, Subin, a teenage girl raised with western values, wakes up in the body of a serf. In this unknown land, she encounters the aristocratic Kim brothers and finds herself entangled in the webs of deceit; woven by rivalry, politics and hunger for power.

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