The Fierce Beast Transfer Student

Since Zhou Mu had just enrolled, his meal card and such hadn't been made yet. When they reached the Canteen, You Qi said: 'Use my meal card.'

That single sentence made Zhou Mu like him even more!

You Qi looked down and saw Zhou Mu's deeply moved expression, which made him feel almost unnatural. '...Why are you looking at me like that?'

'My mom isn't even this good to me,' Zhou Mu said, lowering his head.

You Qi looked at him in surprise.

Zhou Mu explained: 'She thinks I eat too much and won't give me food.' When he was little, he'd get lectured if he almost bit his dad. It was even worse after he grew up. If he took a bite from her bowl, she'd scold him. Zhou Mu felt like he'd be kicked out to fend for himself in a few years.

You Qi's parents, both being Fierce Beasts, had been recruited by the government and were often away on missions. His relationship with them wasn't close either. But hearing Zhou Mu's situation, it was clearly much worse than his own.

A teenager, in his growing phase—it was normal to have a big appetite, no matter how much. And Zhou Mu's family didn't seem to lack money. It was mostly that his parents were impatient with taking care of him.

'Don't worry. You won't go hungry at School,' You Qi said, stuffing his meal card directly into Zhou Mu's pocket as comfort.

Zhou Mu's mood indeed lifted. 'Thank you.'

He'd originally wondered if the Human Race city might be too boring. After all, Humans didn't taste great. His family would never choose Humans if they had other options. They actually preferred the dishes Humans had invented.

But, his deskmate was just too nice, wuwu.

'You're welcome,' You Qi said, then added after a thought, 'The teacher told me to look after you.'

Though Zhou Mu was small, he ate no less than You Qi. That's just how kids this age were. The Canteen auntie sighed but wasn't particularly surprised, even asking Zhou Mu if he wanted more rice.

You Qi also looked like he was fine with swiping his card again if Zhou Mu wasn't full.

Zhou Mu thought, isn't this much more generous than the canteen at my old school?

After they finished eating, You Qi took Zhou Mu to get his photo taken and his card processed, inputting his information. But making the card would take some time. Until it was ready, they'd have to keep eating together.

By the time they returned to the Classroom, almost all the classmates were already slumped on their desks for the midday nap.

The two of them tiptoed back to their seats, also ready for the nap.

'...%#￥#'

Zhou Mu had just laid his head down when he heard some noise. He followed the sound toward the lectern. It was coming from that Whiteboard Pen, which had already gained sentience. From being able to move, it had now gradually progressed to making sounds.

But this kind of sound was still between yin and yang; only non-Human Race beings, or those with keen sixth senses, could hear it.

Zhou Mu only glanced at it, not wanting to arouse You Qi's suspicion, and laid his head down.

As soon as he did, You Qi also looked toward the lectern. The Whiteboard Pen had now mobilized its language ability, organizing Chinese. Yao Race beings always started by imitating Humans. It just heard the pen shout super loudly: 'Odd changes to even unchanged—look at the sign of the quadrant—!!!'

Zhou Mu: '...'

You Qi: '...'

Damn, so noisy!

This Whiteboard Pen was born in a School Classroom. All it heard and learned was high school curriculum. Now, having coincidentally gained sentience, the first thing it did was parrot what it had learned—things practically branded into its soul.

If it could take certification exams, it should have passed the Senior High School Teacher Qualification Certificate.

And none of the other classmates could hear it. Only the two Yao Clan members could, and they couldn't let each other find out. Both pretended the Classroom was perfectly quiet, that they were resting very well.

Zhou Mu quietly blocked his ears, but could still hear the demonic voice drilling knowledge into his ears: 'Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou, Eastern Zhou splits in two. Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Qin unifies, then Han splits. Three Kingdoms: Wei, Shu, Wu!!!'

You Qi slowly stood up. He needed to call the 404 Office and have someone deal with this pen, which could now be considered a half-yao, this noisy pen.

As soon as You Qi left, Zhou Mu also slowly stood up, hearing the Whiteboard Pen still yelling, 'For object models use a mass point, ignore shape and size!!!'

...My brain is about to explode!

He pretended to pass by the lectern, casually brushing a hand over it. The Whiteboard Pen fell to the floor with a *thwack*, hurting so much it lost its voice. The chant stopped abruptly.

That'll teach you to yell.

Zhou Mu didn't show that he'd noticed it had gained sentience. He was enjoying his time here too much. The Zhou Mu who'd initially wanted to do as he pleased now didn't really want to cause any trouble or expose his identity.

He walked out of the Classroom as if nothing had happened.

Then he heard the Whiteboard Pen, lying on the floor, still squeeze out from its throat a phrase engraved in its soul: 'You are the worst class I've ever taught!!'

Zhou Mu: '...'

What a garbage half-yao.

Zhou Mu walked out the Classroom's front door and saw You Qi holding a phone and a new Whiteboard Pen.

The person from the 404 Office on You Qi's phone was still spouting the standard line: 'Thank you for your call. We will respond within seven working days...' He saw Zhou Mu and quickly hung up, putting his phone away. 'Why'd you come out?'

When You Qi had come out earlier, Zhou Mu had still been lying on the desk, looking fast asleep.

Zhou Mu looked at him frankly, as if still a bit sleepy, or maybe just because his eyes were perpetually moist. 'No reason. Looking for you. Why did you disappear?'

You Qi: '...'

If Zhou Mu had attended a few more days of class, he probably could have rattled off a bunch of other lies—going to the bathroom, buying water, even saying he wanted to play ball. But this was his first day of class, so he gave a reason that was also perfectly reasonable, but left You Qi speechless.

'...I finished my call. Let's go back to sleep,' You Qi said, feeling like he was raising a kitten that hadn't been weaned yet, one that would whimper if it woke up and didn't see anyone.

It was a bit absurd. But when you looked at the other person, you had nothing else to say.

When You Qi went back in and saw the Whiteboard Pen lying on the floor, he thought it had rolled off by itself. He didn't care at all and didn't even think about picking it up.

The two returned to their seats again. Zhou Mu glanced at You Qi, as if only then feeling at ease, then half his body slumped over the desk, his cheek squished into a bit of plumpness, his long eyelashes resting down as he closed his eyes. He looked very sweet.

You Qi watched for a while, then also closed his eyes to rest.

.

The high school Zhou Mu attended had undergone a merger before, so it now had a junior high and elementary school division, with many students. For Zhou Mu, as long as they wore the same school uniform, they were all classmates.

Because when attending school in the Yao Clan, you couldn't determine age or grade by appearance. Lower grades weren't necessarily weaker than higher grades.

After a week, that Whiteboard Pen finally vanished without a trace. Zhou Mu thought it had grown legs and run away. Great—he'd been holding back from eating it.

At the same time, Zhou Mu's documents were all finished.

By now, he actually knew his way around, but You Qi still habitually took Zhou Mu to collect his meal card.

On the way, they passed the elementary school division. Zhou Mu heard singing and curiously moved closer. He saw that in a first-grade Classroom on the first floor, they weren't having a lesson. Instead, the teacher and a group of elementary school students were singing 'Happy Birthday' to a classmate. Led by the teacher, they held hands, circling the student in the middle. The teacher occasionally led them in clapping. The children's faces were all smiles.

'Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...'

Finally, led by the teacher, they all shouted together, 'Happy birthday!'

Then everyone dissolved into laughter. The birthday child also grinned happily, stretching his neck to emphasize, 'Don't anyone leave after school. My mom and dad are bringing a cake for everyone to eat.'

Zhou Mu watched the whole spectacle with fascination, then said to You Qi, 'So they sing birthday songs for classmates too. Everyone's so friendly.'

You Qi: 'Hmm...'

For a moment, he didn't understand what Zhou Mu meant.

Zhou Mu soon added shyly, 'My birthday is tomorrow. Will Lin Teacher sing and circle me after class?'

You Qi: '...'

You Qi fell silent for a moment, then said, 'Probably not.'

Zhou Mu's eyes widened. It wasn't that he absolutely wanted to hear Lin Teacher sing, but...

'Why? Did he pay more tuition than me?' Zhou Mu didn't see any fundamental difference between an elementary student and a high school student at all. He'd even seen thousand-year-olds in elementary school.

Besides, the age difference between that Human Race high schooler and the elementary student was only ten years—a gap that was practically nothing to the Yao Clan.

Zhou Mu's question left You Qi torn between laughter and exasperation. 'That's not what I meant, it's just...' He stopped halfway through.

But Zhou Mu had already caught the denial in You Qi's tone. He grumbled, 'Fine, if there isn't one, then there isn't.' But he was going to complain to the Principal. Why? Why the preferential treatment!

The next day.

Today was Zhou Mu's birthday.

Early in the morning, You Qi had already made a decision. He'd thought of it yesterday: Zhou Mu's relationship with his family wasn't harmonious. Maybe that was why he'd looked so expectant after seeing that elementary school birthday scene?

This had nothing to do with You Qi, but thinking of Zhou Mu's dejected look, he couldn't quite bear it.

Lin Teacher said to take care of him. You Qi thought of this again and felt his actions were perfectly justified.

For the first two classes, You Qi acted as if nothing was amiss, and Zhou Mu hadn't told anyone else it was his birthday. In You Qi's view, this was entirely because no one had ever celebrated his birthday before.

Zhou Mu had already forgotten yesterday's incident, but it was true—no classmate had ever specifically celebrated his birthday... or rather, no one had dared.

The business of birthdays, whether among the Human Race or the Yao Clan, meant treating others to a meal.

Who would dare treat a Fierce Beast to a meal?!

When his birthday came around, not looking mournful was considered good enough.

Every year at this time, they'd just have a big meal at home to mark the occasion.

So after hearing the negative answer yesterday, Zhou Mu had just grumbled internally about the School's unfairness. After this English class, Zhou Mu was called away by Wang Teacher—who You Qi had spoken to—for some extra tutoring.

While Zhou Mu was cramming his head full of sentence structures in the Office, You Qi stood at the lectern. 'Classmates.'

Everyone looked at You Qi curiously, wondering what he was going to say.

You Qi said slowly, 'Today is Zhou Mu's birthday. When he returns, I hope everyone can sing Happy Birthday to him. Also, I've invited Lin Teacher to join us.'

Had they heard right?

Their first reaction was actually surprise.

It wasn't that surprising classmates was rare, or that celebrating a classmate's birthday was unusual—teenagers loved celebrating these things.

What was unusual was that the one proposing it today was You Qi. He'd never been keen on such activities before. And this wasn't just a private gathering; it was being made so 'grand,' even involving a teacher.

'Wow, you really love him—' a classmate stood up and teased loudly, immediately sparking a wave of laughter.

Everyone had seen it this past week: You Qi's new deskmate was always sticking to him.

Hmm, it seemed even icebergs could melt...

Xu Tianyi turned to his deskmate and said, 'Their bond is really good. They've only been deskmates for a week and they're this close. When are you going to collude with a teacher to celebrate my birthday?'

His deskmate said, 'Because his deskmate is a little cutie, and you're a dog. I'd only collude with a teacher to give you a math test, hahahaha!!'

Xu Tianyi: '...'

Despite the teasing, everyone was quite willing and enthusiastically conspired. Someone immediately went out to keep watch.

Just then, Lin Teacher also arrived from the Office. She'd brought a cake with her and entered with a smile. 'There'll be cake to eat later.'

Usually, everyone was quite afraid of her. This was the first time she'd been invited to such an activity. Plus, it was a good opportunity for the new student to integrate into the group. So while Lin Teacher looked composed, she was actually especially happy inside and had specifically ordered a cake for delivery.

'Yay, cake!' The classmates, seeing there was cake to eat, cheered even more excitedly.

The atmosphere of the birthday surprise grew even stronger.

Zhou Mu returned from the Office, his head still full of English words, muttering 'may I come in?'

The lookout classmate was stationed right at the door and casually replied, 'Come in! Baby!'

'...' As soon as Zhou Mu pushed the door open, he heard a unified shout loud enough to lift the roof: 'Happy Birthday!'

The whole class was crowded at the front, surging forward all at once to give him their blessings.

'Happy Birthday, Zhou Mu! May your studies flourish!'

'Get smarter and smarter!'

'So you're a year younger than me~'

You Qi also approached, holding that massive cake—probably only he in the whole class could hold it steady. Since it was ordered last minute, choices were limited. The cake was cute-themed, with pinkish-purple frosting, topped with star-shaped cake toppers and sprinkled star-shaped candies.

Lin Teacher stood to the side and started, 'Happy birthday to you—'

The classmates joined in singing in unison.

Zhou Mu was stunned for quite a while.

For the reasons mentioned before, his birthdays had always been simple affairs at home with just the three of them. Those Human Race relatives would wish him happy birthday and send gifts, but since they didn't live in the same place before, they couldn't celebrate on-site, so it was never lively.

This was the first time so many people were celebrating Zhou Mu's birthday.

He knew You Qi must have been the one behind it. Only You Qi knew it was his birthday.

Zhou Mu walked over to You Qi, moved, and said, 'You forgot to teach Lin Teacher to circle?'

Lin Teacher: '?'

You Qi: '...'

He almost coughed. He'd thought Zhou Mu just wanted a birthday celebration, but it turned out he wanted a one-to-one reenactment. Just how rough had his deskmate's childhood been?

Lin Teacher was still puzzled. 'Circle what?'

You Qi simply said, 'Nothing. Time to eat cake.'

Right, there was still cake.

Zhou Mu immediately stopped caring about their incomplete ceremony. This was lively enough already.

'Hehe, Zhou Mu, happy birthday. The birthday star should cut the cake.' The song was finished. Lin Teacher handed the knife to Zhou Mu, still unable to figure out one thing. Circle what? What circle?

'Thank you, Teacher. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, You Qi,' Zhou Mu said, moved. The cake wasn't big, but the thought was what counted. He added shyly, 'No need for a knife and fork. I'll eat it directly.'

As he spoke, he opened his mouth wide and went straight for the intact cake, aiming to take a bite—

'!!'

Everyone's eyes widened, expressions horrified.

In a flash, You Qi's hand grabbed the back of Zhou Mu's collar.

Zhou Mu froze, his mouth a palm's width from the cake. 'Awoo...?'