Era of Mist

The cafeteria wasn’t far from the dorms, situated right next to the athletic field. The layout was convenient, allowing students to head to the field and relax after eating, or to rush straight into the cafeteria with their bags in the morning, saving every precious second.

The cafeteria started serving very early. When Shi Tiexin arrived, it wasn’t even 6:50 AM, but the entrance was already bustling. It looked like several groups of students had already finished eating and left. The pace here was completely different from Tumu Castle. ’Who are these guys, working so hard?’ he wondered. The tension within Shi Tiexin ratcheted up another notch, and he hurried inside.

Pushing aside a thick, translucent plastic curtain he’d never seen before, he was hit by the smell of food. The warm, steamy aroma wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was worlds better than the stench of stinky shoes back at the Ancient Tower. Besides, Shi Tiexin was famished. The smell made him smack his lips, and he nearly started drooling.

The cafeteria was packed with long tables, and across from them, numerous service windows were lined up in a row. Not all of them were open, likely because the breakfast menu was simple. A closer look revealed that the windows were clearly divided into two sections, with signs above them plainly reading ’Regular Class Section’ and ’Honors Class Section’.

Sure enough, the breakfast in the Regular Class Section wasn’t as good as the food in the Honors Class Section. The long tables there were also more crowded and of poorer quality.

A memory from his other self surfaced at the sight, and Shi Tiexin suddenly knew the cafeteria had a second floor. The conditions there were far superior to the first floor. It didn’t even have long tables, but rather square and round ones. The seats weren’t fixed, hard plastic stools, but actual wooden chairs—complete with cotton tablecloths and matching chair covers.

Legend had it there were even private rooms.

And most importantly, you could order off a menu!

That was practically VIP treatment!

But not just anyone could go up to the second floor. Only students from the elite classes and school faculty were allowed to dine there. It was pointless for anyone else to even try. The meal cards at Fengming First Middle School were tied to student data; if you weren’t authorized for the area, your card simply wouldn’t work.

Such blatant, preferential treatment really hammered home the saying, "Knowledge changes your destiny." If you mastered your studies, you were better than everyone else in every respect. If you didn’t, not even the most influential parents could get you a meal on the second floor!

At least, that was the theory...

’So what am I waiting for? Time to grab my meal card, eat up, and hit the books!’

’Speaking isn’t easy for me right now, so I’ve even rehearsed what I’m going to say in my head. That way, I can just spit it out when the time comes—’

’Ma’am!’

’I’m starving!’

’I want ten of those giant buns!’

’I’m about to go on a rampage! Here, let me swipe my card for you!’

’I’ll just... swipe... Where the fuck is my meal card?!’

Shi Tiexin patted himself down but found no trace of his meal card. Suddenly, a thought struck him. ’Right, I put the card in my schoolbag.’

’And my schoolbag?’

’It’s still sitting in the Year 1, Class 7 classroom!’

’Goddammit...’

’No, I can’t take this anymore. My limbs feel weak. I have to eat something, now.’ Shi Tiexin looked around frantically and suddenly spotted something free—soup! Several large vats of it were sitting in a corner of the cafeteria. No card required; you just helped yourself.

Shi Tiexin strode over, covering the distance in a few quick steps. He peered inside: it was thin rice porridge.

He stirred it with the large ladle. Mostly water, very little rice.

No, to be precise: a ton of water, and practically no rice!

But he was in no position to be picky. A couple of bowls of soup to settle his stomach would have to do. Shi Tiexin ladled out two bowls, turned, and planned to take a few sips to quench his thirst as he walked.

He took one step, raised the bowl in his left hand to his lips, tilted his head back, and GULP GULP GULP—it was gone.

He took a second step, raised the bowl in his right hand, lifted his head, and GULP GULP GULP—that one was gone too.

Shi Tiexin froze. He’d only taken two steps, and now both his hands were empty. The lightness felt strangely disappointing. Smacking his lips, he noted that the dishwater-like soup had absolutely no taste. Still, with two bowls of hot liquid in his belly, he felt a lot better.

’Right then, two more!’

So Shi Tiexin spun around on the spot, taking two steps back to the vats. A bowl in his left hand, a bowl in his right—he brought them to his lips, and with a bob of his Adam’s apple, they vanished. ’This won’t do,’ he thought. ’Just soup, no solids... my stomach feels hollow and lonely. It needs some company.’

Shi Tiexin monopolized the soup vat, ignoring the wide-eyed stares of the other students. He plunged the large iron ladle as deep as it would go. With a loud SCRAPE, he scraped it all around the bottom of the vat, managing to dredge up half a bowl of bloated, waterlogged rice. He poured some more of the soupy water over it, didn’t bother with chopsticks, and swallowed the tasteless grains in one go. Down the hatch.

BUUUUUUUURP—

He let out a long burp, one that felt distinctly different. A normal burp ends with a hint of food; this one ended with a splash of water and a touch of stomach acid. He patted his belly. It felt like it would slosh around like a water balloon. ’Well, given the circumstances, it’s the best I could do,’ he thought. ’Time to go. I need to get that meal card.’

He sprinted out of the cafeteria, crossed the athletic field, and made a beeline for the academic building. The honors classes and elite classes were in the same building—that "Knowledge Changes Destiny" building with the red roof—just on different floors.

The elite classes were on the upper floors, with the honors classes below. Every day, the fourth-floor landing was a major dividing line. Those who continued upward from there were often met with gazes of envy and awe from the students who stopped on the lower floors. Without a word being said, everyone knew that those heading for the fifth floor were the academic elites, the best of the best.

Year 1, Class 7 was on the third floor, and Shi Tiexin found it easily.

He walked into the classroom to find it was nearly full. The vast majority of students were at their desks, studying with a fervent intensity that made the room buzz. They were so focused that most didn’t even notice him come in.

But not everyone was so focused.

"Well, well! If it isn’t Champion Scholar Stone!" a boy suddenly exclaimed, his voice loud enough to make the entire class look up. The boy stood, a look of fake concern on his face. "Are you alright, Champion Scholar Stone? I heard your dorm room was completely cleared out. You weren’t actually expelled, were you?"

The classroom fell silent. Every boy and girl turned to look.

Shi Tiexin glanced at the boy. ’This is the guy who was spreading rumors in the hallway yesterday,’ he remembered. ’What was his name again? Let’s see...’ He couldn’t recall. It seemed his other self hadn’t bothered to notice the guy. ’Yep, just some nameless punk.’

’Though he did seem to be one of the top students in Year 1, Class 7.’

Shi Tiexin ignored him and walked over to his desk. He quickly packed up, stuffing all his books into his bag.

Seeing this, someone murmured, "He’s... not really getting kicked out, is he? He didn’t even do anything that bad."

"Heh, not expelled," the same nameless punk chimed in again. He was halfway across the room, but he answered the question as if it were directed at him, his voice booming so everyone could hear perfectly. "I heard his homeroom teacher, Teacher Jia, pleaded his case, so he avoided getting a major demerit on his record. But! Our esteemed Champion Scholar Stone has been ordered to transfer out of our Class 7. He’s being sent to Class 28!"