The distant sun had long since shifted from golden yellow to a deep red. Against the backdrop of towering skyscrapers, its blood-red glow began to spread across the ground, adorning this extraordinary academy.

Xialin and I crossed the playground and returned to the school gate. We walked in the direction opposite to the auditorium. Ahead lay the teaching area for our first-year high school classes.

This morning, I’d studied the school map. Comparing the sizes of different zones, I’d found the combined area of the teaching and living sections was only as large as the entertainment zone. Naively, I’d thought they’d be small. But I was wrong. Dead wrong.

Xialin took my hand and led me into the first-year teaching area.

Looking around, I saw seven- or eight-story teaching buildings forming a ring around me. Each floor had interconnected corridors between buildings, making it easy to move from one to another.

What surprised me most was the building at the center. From the outside, it looked almost identical to the others. But what lay inside each floor made me fall in love with this school.

Grand icons and text on its exterior proudly announced its name: Jinghui.

Countless flowers were visible inside. A few even stretched over the railings, blooming with their own beauty above us.

A pleasant fragrance enveloped the building. Even from dozens of meters away, we could clearly smell the intoxicating scent in the air.

“Do you like it?” Xialin asked softly after letting me admire it awhile. “What place does such a place hold in your heart?”

“I love it!” My voice trembled with excitement, unable to hide my joy. Like a little girl who’d just gotten a new toy, I couldn’t wait to go inside and explore.

“Want to go in and take a look?”

“Mhm mhm mhm.” I immediately grabbed Xialin’s hand, afraid she might suddenly leave and not take me inside.

“Alright, alright, no need to hold so tight. I won’t—” Xialin teased with a smile. But then a pleasant ringing sound came from inside her skirt. Hearing it, her expression shifted subtly.

*Ding ling ling, ding ling ling~*

I saw Xialin stop suddenly, so I turned to her. For the first time, her usually beautiful face showed a trace of embarrassment.

The phone was still ringing. I guessed she had something urgent but didn’t want to break her promise to me. After a moment’s thought, I suppressed my curiosity. Let her handle her business first.

“What’s up, Xialin? Answer the phone. If it’s urgent, we can come back another time.”