The Obligations of the Elderly - Chapter 16

On September 17th, Gong Si got up early in the morning, and for once, took the time to tidy himself up, trying to look as formal as possible.

Today was the day he would take Qiu Xia to report to the new school.

Yesterday afternoon, he had already completed all the necessary procedures at the old school together with Qiu Xia. The old school uniform was put away deep in the closet, and the new uniform was not ready yet, so the two brothers were both wearing casual clothes today.

“Qiu Xia, are you nervous?” Before getting off the bus, Gong Si asked his brother, exhaling through his nose.

The only “special school” nearby-Chunhe Academy, which Qiu Xia was about to attend-was located in Shentan Town. They had to take a bus to the Threshing Ground, and then transfer to a shuttle to Shentan Town to get there.

It was said that the school had its own shuttle bus, but since Qiu Xia had not officially enrolled yet, hadn’t received his student ID, didn’t know the shuttle schedule, or whether he was eligible to ride it, they decided to play it safe and took the public bus instead.

There were even fewer people on the public bus in Shentan Town than in Lengshui Town, so it was still quite convenient for them.

“A little bit,” Qiu Xia replied to his older brother with a smile.

He had originally wanted to say he wasn’t nervous, but seeing his brother looking as if he was facing a great enemy, visibly tense, he changed his answer.

“Don’t-don’t be nervous, I’m here!” his brother immediately said, looking a bit less anxious.

Qiu Xia kept smiling, thanked the bus driver, and the two of them got off the bus.

The place where they got off was a forest-a forest of red leaves.

The maple leaves of Shentan Town were famous, and this was the season when the leaves began to turn red.

There were no villages or temples nearby; seeing this scene as soon as they got off, Gong Si was dumbfounded: “What kind of place is this?”

As he spoke, he looked around, and soon spotted a small bus, dark green in color, which didn’t look like a public bus, parked not far from them. As soon as Gong Si and his brother got off, a man standing by the bus immediately walked over.

“Excuse me, are you Gong Qiuxia and his guardian?”

Huh?! Gong Si was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to his senses and replied, “Yes, I am Gong Qiuxia’s guardian.”

The man looked him up and down a bit suspiciously, though he tried to do so as inconspicuously as possible.

But the process was quick, and when he saw Qiu Xia, his eyes lit up: “This must be Qiu Xia, right? He looks very outstanding.”

“I’m Qiao Nan from the Academic Affairs Office of Chunhe Academy. I’m here specifically to pick you up and help you with the registration procedures at the academy.” Seeing the brothers’ slightly wary expressions, the man remembered to introduce himself.

He looked to be in his twenties, slim, of average height, and ordinary-looking, but his smile was warm and made people feel at ease.

“There’s… someone to pick us up?” Gong Si was surprised.

The man smiled, “Of course. Chunhe is a special school, after all, so there isn’t a dedicated bus stop for public transportation.”

According to current principles for setting up bus stops, if a bus passes by a school, there will always be a stop named after the school, and it will be located very close to the school for the convenience of students. But clearly, Chunhe Academy didn’t have this. When Gong Si saw that the stop was called ‘Maple Forest Station,’ he found it a bit odd, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. After all, many rules that people take for granted in daily life aren’t recognized as rules until they’re pointed out.

“Whether you come by car or by public transport, this is the only way in, so I brought the school bus to wait here.”

Qiao Nan pointed to the school bus again, “Today, guardians can ride as well, but in the future, only students of Chunhe Academy can take the bus with their student ID.”

“Guardians who wish to drive to the academy must also apply for approval in advance,” he added.

Qiao Nan led the way, and the two brothers, carrying their luggage, followed him onto the school bus. Other than them and the driver, the bus was empty. Gong Si looked around: the seats were wide and soft, and the cushions were very clean.

Looks pretty good-he thought.

Along the way, the road was lined with red maple trees. The road was narrow, seemingly only wide enough for two Chunhe Academy buses to pass side by side. The area was deserted; Gong Si didn’t see a single person along the way.

After forty minutes of driving, they finally arrived at their destination.

The school gate was a modern black iron gate, tall and wide, perfectly blocking the view of the campus inside. Only the words “Chunhe Academy” were written on the stone pillar on the far right.

When their school bus arrived, the black iron gate opened automatically, and as soon as the bus passed through, it closed again. Gong Si took the opportunity to observe the school environment.

“This is the Primary School Division’s teaching building, over there is the Middle School Division, and starting from here is the High School Division…” Qiao Nan introduced the functions of some of the school buildings.

“…The music building is shared by the Primary and Middle School Divisions, while the High School Division’s music building is in a different direction…”

“The sports field is here.”

“Although Chunhe is a special school, its academic curriculum is no different from other schools, so there’s no need to worry about Qiu Xia’s studies. I heard he was admitted to Yude High School with the highest score in the whole town? He must be an excellent student, so there’s nothing to worry about here either.” To be honest, Qiao Nan’s words did reassure Gong Si a bit-he had been worried that the academic standards might be different between the two schools.

“However, he will need to take User-related courses, which is the biggest difference between Chunhe Academy and ordinary schools. But before that, I need to know Qiu Xia’s User level.”
Gong Si was taken aback for a moment and instinctively asked, “An exam? But Qiu Xia doesn’t know anything about this…”

He was too embarrassed to mention his own notes.

Qiao Nan laughed again. “Don’t worry, Qiu Xia’s brother.”

On the way, he had already asked about the relationship between Gong Si and Qiu Xia, and had also inquired about Gong Si’s age. When he learned that Gong Si was already eighteen, he seemed a bit disappointed.

“This does require a test, but it’s not a written exam.”

“We’ll use a standard method to measure Qiu Xia’s initial User level.”

“Although outsiders refer to Ability Users as ‘Users’ and ‘Vessels,’ in reality, these are just general terms. Internally, we have much more detailed classifications.”

“For example, Users are divided into the lowest-level Users, slightly higher Controllers, then Dominators, and at the very top, Rulers. All of these are called Users by the outside world, but internally, the titles differ completely according to rank.”

“This is the initial classification. Nowadays, each level of User is further subdivided to help everyone find the appropriate Vessel for their level.”

Gong Si listened intently.

While Qiao Nan was explaining, the car finally stopped.

They arrived in front of a red building that looked like a teaching building. It was probably class time, as everything was quiet.

“This is the main teaching building of the High School Division. The Academic Affairs Office is also in this building. Please follow me upstairs; the Testing Department is here as well.” Qiao Nan pointed to the elevator on the left.

Nodding, the Gong Brothers followed him.

On the way, Qiao Nan had already helped Qiu Xia complete the basic information registration. Now, only the test result was missing. Qiao Nan led them to the seventh floor, down a white corridor. It was only here that Gong Si finally saw other people.

A woman in a white lab coat, who looked a bit like a biology teacher, greeted them.

“You and Qiao Nan can wait here. Qiu Xia, please come with me to the room up ahead.” The woman smiled and pointed to a room with a large glass window. “Parent… You’re the parent, right?”

Perhaps because Gong Si looked young, she confirmed again. After receiving affirmation, she continued, “Please rest assured, the testing room has a transparent wall so parents can observe.”

Of course, it also meant to ensure the test was open, fair, and transparent, but she didn’t say that part aloud.

Exchanging a glance with his brother, Qiu Xia followed the woman into the testing room ahead.

It seemed to be a spacious area, all white, with a half-height cylindrical pillar in the center.

Gong Si couldn’t really describe the thing. To him, it was just a white cylinder about waist-high, with a ball on top, a bit smaller than a soccer ball, and also round.

Under the woman’s guidance, Qiu Xia stood in front of the cylinder. The moment he was in position, the ball on top suddenly floated up?! It hovered at Qiu Xia’s waist, spinning rapidly, but no matter how it spun, it never left its original spot.

The woman seemed to say something else to Qiu Xia, and suddenly Qiu Xia looked toward Gong Si inside the room.

Did this mean the test was about to begin?

His mind clear, Gong Si calmly nodded to his younger brother. Qiu Xia grinned at him, then looked away, focusing on the white sphere in front of him and placing his hand on it.

Separated by a wall made of special material, Gong Si obviously couldn’t sense what was happening inside the room.

But he could see it all~

He saw that the instant Qiu Xia placed his hand on the sphere-at the very moment his palm touched it-the ball suddenly stopped spinning!

It didn’t stop naturally. Gong Si saw a layer of white crystals rapidly spreading from the contact between Qiu Xia’s palm and the sphere. The crystals grew quickly, until Qiu Xia’s hand and the ball were completely frozen together.

Gong Si’s eyes widened.

That was… ice?!

He was still processing it when Qiao Nan beside him had already stood up, looking extremely excited!

The woman in the room with Qiu Xia was just as thrilled. At the same time, several people from neighboring rooms rushed over, all with excited expressions.

They crowded into Qiu Xia’s testing room, asking questions and fiddling with instruments. While Gong Si was still completely confused, someone finally came over to tell him the answer-

“Oh my god! A Special-A Grade Dominator! This child’s ability is Special-A Grade Dominator!”

“And it’s a rare Natural Ability!”

“Ice Ability!”

“Oh my god!”

With all the excited voices buzzing around him, Gong Si’s head was spinning. In the end, he could only turn his head as much as possible toward his younger brother, who was still in the testing room.

Inside the pristine white room, he saw the white-haired boy covered in frost smiling at him.

Even his eyelashes were frosted with crystals…

Yet, he couldn’t see the wings on his brother’s back.

Maybe the room was just too white? And his brother’s wings must be white, too.

That must be why he couldn’t see them.

But clearly, everyone else could.

Not only did they see them, but they were stunned by the beauty of those wings!

Although it was a bit of a pity, this was good enough…

Gong Si smiled at his brother as well.

He gave Qiu Xia a thumbs up.