Top Student at Their Peak

At this moment, the sudden news of getting a day off surprisingly felt a bit unusual.

"Really? Teacher Wen, why the break? It's just four hours a day. It's not tiring for you to teach just me, and I don't find it tiring to learn, so why the day off?

Besides, the New Year is in half a month. Don't you want to finish teaching me before the year ends, then have a peaceful New Year? Why waste the time!"

Teacher Wen smiled and said, "That's actually what I was thinking. But yesterday, the grandmaster of your faction specifically told me that tomorrow is your birthday and asked me to give you a day off. We juniors should respect the opinions of our elders."

Hearing this, Qiao Yu was momentarily stunned. This period had been so fulfilling that he even forgot his birthday.

Oh, tomorrow is February 3rd, and he's another year older. Unexpectedly, even the elderly have remembered...

"Sigh... I often say there's nothing much to celebrate about birthdays. It's like a reminder that you're a year older, a year closer to leaving this world."

Qiao Yu sighed and then noticed Teacher Wen's expression was a bit off, so he quickly added, "Uh, I didn't mean you, Teacher Wen. You look quite young, not more than forty or so. You've still got plenty of youth to enjoy..."

"Alright, enough with the flattery, I'm already forty-eight! Enjoying youth is no longer possible for me. But you, tomorrow, you can splurge a bit. That's it, I'm off."

With that, Teacher Wen left the classroom with his hands behind his back. Yes, this teacher never needed to bring books or teaching plans to class. He did, however, give Qiao Yu more than ten books.

After Teacher Wen left, Qiao Yu sat quietly in the small classroom for a while.

Come to think of it, this is actually the first birthday he's spending outside of Star City.

Qiao Yu recalled that last year, his birthday was on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. He hadn't remembered it then either, but Keke dragged him out for lunch, and in the evening, he took Qiao Xi out for dinner.

He received two birthday gifts, one from Keke and another from his mom. Then, on the eighth day, he rushed to Beijing.

Keke gave him a pair of socks, supposedly the kind that effectively prevent odor, a gift light in value but heavy in sentiment. He happened to still be wearing them.

Now, thinking back, there's a certain feeling of how things have changed. Unexpectedly, the one reminding him of his birthday this year was Huaqing's grandmaster.

This made Qiao Yu feel a bit melancholy. After tomorrow, he'll be seventeen. Being older isn't all bad, but the downside is clear, only one more year to play cute.

Once he's eighteen, he'll be an adult, and continuing to act cute in front of a bunch of elders will be immature and less effective.

But on the other hand, being seen as an adult does have its benefits...

Thinking about all sorts of things, Qiao Yu took out his phone and called Qiao Xi.

Since the old man specifically asked Teacher Wen to give him a day off, there must be some arrangements.

But honestly, at this moment, Qiao Yu didn't really want to go out. Mainly because he wasn't used to the wind in Beijing.

Even on sunny days, the temperature is only a few degrees, and the Beijing wind is strong. When a gust blows, Qiao Yu feels like it could blow his brains out.

Before coming to Beijing, whenever Qiao Yu read depictions in literature describing the wind cutting into the face like a knife, he thought it was exaggerated. But after spending a winter in Beijing, he's come to a profound understanding.

It's really not an exaggeration; it's damn realistic!

No way around it, the winters in Star City are cold too, but it's a damp cold. Beijing's cold is dry and sharp, even the wind is dry, like it can crack your skin. Being indoors in the warmth is the most comfortable.

"Class over?" Once the call connected, Qiao Xi's lazy voice filled his ear.

"Yeah, class is over! Teacher Wen mentioned that the grandmaster got me a day off. Ah, without realizing it, I'm another year older."

"If you're itching for a beating, just say so. If you have nothing else to do today, come over. Tonight, let's have dinner at Class A Restaurant."

"No, tomorrow's my birthday. Why go to Class A Restaurant tonight? We shouldn't celebrate birthdays in advance!"

"Why so much fuss? You'll understand when you come, there's a surprise for you in advance."

With that, Qiao Xi hung up the phone...

A surprise?

Qiao Yu knew long ago that everyone's understanding of surprises is different.

For example, what Qiao Xi considers a surprise might very well be a shock to him.

Qiao Yu knows his mom well; she often doesn't play by the rules. These traits are mostly inherited from his grandfather...

In truth, many of his grandfather's ideas were unconventional back then, which might also be why Qiao Xi's ideas are different, and now he seems the same.

For instance, what kind of mom constantly thinks about her kid having a teenage romance?

Hmm, teenage romance... dinner at Class A Restaurant...

On the way to Qiao Xi's place, a possibility about the surprise suddenly popped into Qiao Yu's mind...

Braving the cold wind, Qiao Yu took out his phone, opened WeChat, and pulled up Xia Keke's chat window.

"Keke, you came to Beijing without even telling me beforehand, what are you thinking? Don't deny it, I'm telling you, I have intel all over Huaqing!"

After sending the message, there was no reply for a long time. So Qiao Yu directly started a video call on WeChat, but unfortunately, no one answered after a while.

Forget it, it's too cold. Qiao Yu put his phone back in his pocket, initially suspecting he might have guessed wrong...