Six students from Class 4(1) did not participate in the autumn field trip to the aquarium.

Liu Xingjian was one of those six.

As everyone knew, Liu Xingjian had broken his leg at home during summer vacation, getting an early taste of elderly life, having to use crutches wherever he went.

One day in early November, Liu Xingjian went to the hospital to have his cast removed and finally discarded his crutches. The doctor told him that his leg injury had healed. Being so young, his recovery ability was excellent, and as long as he followed the doctor’s instructions, took proper care of himself, and did his rehabilitation exercises, there would be no lasting effects.

Liu Xingjian was in very high spirits. His era of glory was about to return.

After several months, Liu Xingjian no longer needed external support. Relying on his own two legs, he climbed the stairs step by step and entered the classroom of Class 4(1). Under the attentive gaze of his many classmates, Liu Xingjian said, “My leg is healed.”

It was a dreary, rainy morning. All the lights in the classroom had been turned on, the clear illumination a silent hymn of praise. Class monitor Dong Sunqi took the lead in applauding for Liu Xingjian: “Congratulations, congratulations! Congratulations to Liu Xingjian! He’s standing up! He’s standing up!”

The applause was scattered, rising and falling in waves.

Liu Xingjian walked toward his seat with his bookbag slung diagonally across his shoulder.

He wore a black Adidas backpack, making him look mature and stylish, even more refined than the sixth-grade seniors. After taking his seat, he placed a stainless steel water bottle on his desk, then slowly turned his head and gave Jiang Yubai a meaningful glance.

Jiang Yubai was still absorbed in drawing his “Exploring the Universe” comic series.

To better and more concretely depict the economic market of Orion, Jiang Yubai had recently been teaching himself some economic theories. His parents were eager for him to develop an interest in finance and management, promptly arranging a new home tutor for him, and even having Jiang Yubai’s semi-retired grandfather personally enlighten him.

Jiang Yubai’s knowledge system included some extremely valuable practical experience. And those things were completely unheard of and unseen by Lin Zhixia.

Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia were passionate about constructing mathematical economic models for the Orion market, often playing together with great enjoyment. Under Jiang Yubai’s management, the Earth Legion’s gross production value was rapidly increasing.

“This won’t work,” Lin Zhixia said. “We are the Earth Legion. Our development is too smooth, without any setbacks. Readers won’t like it.”

Jiang Yubai didn’t look up, continuing to draw: “I’m a reader. I like it.”

Lin Zhixia lay prone on her desk, staring at the rapidly moving tip of his pen. “The big villain Dong Sunqi has no role anymore, and neither does Navigator Lin Zhixia.”

“You have many roles,” Jiang Yubai’s pen stopped as he flipped back two pages. “You appear every day. Yesterday you led the Earth Legion and detonated an intercontinental missile in the molecular cloud…”

Before Jiang Yubai could finish, suddenly a finger pressed down on his desk.

He looked up to see Liu Xingjian.

Anyone with eyes could see that Liu Xingjian’s intentions were not friendly.

Liu Xingjian had his left hand in his pocket and his right hand propped on Jiang Yubai’s desk. This way, he could not only reduce the support needed from his legs but also create a sense of intimidation for Jiang Yubai.

Liu Xingjian’s face was expressionless, like Wu Qing from the TV drama “The Four Great Constables.” His skin was extremely pale, and classmates secretly called him “Pretty Boy,” but no one dared to call him that to his face.

No one knew why he was picking on Jiang Yubai.

Jiang Yubai recalled that not long ago, when Liu Xingjian still needed crutches, Jiang Yubai had somehow inexplicably angered him.

Liu Xingjian had told Jiang Yubai to wait for him. He declared that he

Teach Jiang Yubai a lesson.

What kind of lesson?

Jiang Yubai waited with anticipation.

Jiang Yubai closed his notebook and handed this precious volume of the “Exploring the Universe” comic series to Lin Zhixia. His movement was decisive yet maintained dignity, like Liu Bei entrusting his son at Baidi City.

“Can I help you?” Jiang Yubai asked first.

“Hmph.” A cold laugh burst from Liu Xingjian’s mouth.

Jiang Yubai was the acknowledged school heartthrob of Experimental Elementary School. Liu Xingjian’s appearance was also quite good. Their strange confrontation attracted frequent sidelong glances from classmates, especially the girls.

At eight o’clock in the morning, Teacher Qian would bring the first math class. It was now seven fifty-five, and in just five short minutes, Teacher Qian would step into the classroom.

Teacher Qian couldn’t tolerate the slightest misconduct. She hated it most when students in her class quarreled, roughhoused, or had disputes. If she discovered it, all troublemakers would face the punishment of standing in the corridor.

With life and death at stake, Liu Xingjian didn’t waste words. He got straight to the point: “Jiang Yubai, are you drawing ‘Exploring the Universe’?”

Jiang Yubai had thought Liu Xingjian wanted to fight him and had prepared to defend himself. He hadn’t expected Liu Xingjian to bring up the “Exploring the Universe” comic series.

Liu Xingjian had originally intended to fight.

But he’d heard that Jiang Yubai lived in an estate, woke up early every day, consistently exercised, and even had a dedicated martial arts teacher. And Liu Xingjian’s leg injury had just recovered. At this time, for Liu Xingjian to pick a fight with Jiang Yubai was an unwise move.

As the saying goes, winning through strategy is the best approach.

Liu Xingjian came up with a plan.

Recently, all the classmates had been obsessed with “Exploring the Universe,” the comic series created jointly by Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia. The class had been divided into two camps: one was the Earth Legion represented by Jiang Yubai, and the other was the Orion Resistance Organization led by Dong Sunqi. The Orion classmates had complained that the Earth Legion was too powerful. The Earth Legion not only had a military defense system but also economic resources to support it… Orion had no hope of winning.

So now, Liu Xingjian said to Jiang Yubai: “I want to draw your comic.”

Jiang Yubai responded calmly: “Why?”

Liu Xingjian looked at him sideways: “I will represent Orion and crush you to dust. I want to make Earth people go back where they came from!”

Just as Liu Xingjian uttered the bold statement “crush you to dust,” Teacher Qian happened to step through the classroom door. Some of the Orion classmates were so nervous they felt sick to their stomachs and wanted to vomit on the spot.

The situation was rather complex.

Teacher Qian’s face was ashen.

Liu Xingjian had his back to the classroom door and was completely unaware of the subtle atmosphere in the class, nor did he notice that Teacher Qian had arrived. The bell hadn’t rung yet, so Liu Xingjian thought he still had time.

He had chosen to confront Jiang Yubai before this math class, confident that Jiang Yubai wouldn’t dare lay hands on him. Growing more arrogant, he spouted: “Earth people are all cowards!”

“Liu Xingjian!”

Teacher Qian’s shout shattered the sky.

Jiang Yubai gloated and said quietly: “Please turn around, Earth people are behind you.”

Liu Xingjian whirled around to see Teacher Qian approaching him step by step. Teacher Qian held a teaching pointer in her hand, her expression extremely dour, her whole body emanating a terrifying aura. In that moment, nearby classmates felt that doomsday couldn’t be worse than this.

“Liu Xingjian! What are you saying?” Teacher Qian questioned with deep pain and indignation.

Liu Xingjian could have revealed the secret of the “Exploring the Universe” comic series.

But creating comics at school was not allowed.

Homeroom Teacher Wu strictly prohibited all activities related to “writing novels and drawing comics.”

“The foundation of novels is life experience and knowledge. At your young age, what can you write? Do you understand character creation and plot design? Don’t waste paper, I’m telling you.”—That was Teacher Wu’s earnest instruction.

“Exploring the Universe” had flourished under the tacit protection of the entire class, with all students in Class 4(1) instinctively becoming underground members.

No one informed about Jiang Yubai.

No one reported “Exploring the Universe.”

If Liu Xingjian revealed the existence of “Exploring the Universe,” then the entire class would face an unprecedented disaster. The homeroom teacher would solemnly criticize a large group of students during the class meeting. She would bring up old accounts, lecture them, and make everyone write self-criticisms.

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Liu Xingjian did not mention “Exploring the Universe” in front of Teacher Qian. He shouldered all responsibility himself. Taking a deep breath and clenching his fists, he loudly answered: “I was just kidding!”

“Get out!” Teacher Qian pointed at the classroom door. “Get out and stand there for the entire class! Don’t enter my classroom! At such a young age, to say things like ‘Earth people are cowards, make Earth people go back where they came from’! Liu Xingjian, have you been reading books until your head isn’t clear? You have no basic sense of right and wrong! You still think this is a small matter? Something to joke about? Don’t think that because your mother is the vice principal and your father is a bureau chief, no teacher dares to criticize you! Get out immediately! Keep your tongue tight and don’t say a word! Reflect thoroughly on yourself! There’s no law anymore, your brain has rusted!”

The whole class maintained a deathly silence.

It’s worth noting that Liu Xingjian had never been punished to stand in the corridor by any teacher.

He was proud, noble, and sacrosanct.

Only he bullied classmates; no classmates bullied him. He was petty-minded. He had always repaid the slightest grievance with a fountain of revenge.

All classmates avoided him like the plague.

Today, on Liu Xingjian’s first provocation of Jiang Yubai, it ended with “punishment standing in the corridor.”

Even Liu Xingjian could not disobey Teacher Qian’s orders. He glared viciously at Jiang Yubai, his gaze like a knife with its blade revealed, as if he wanted to devour Jiang Yubai alive.

Jiang Yubai unscrewed his water bottle, poured half a cup of clear tea, sat in his seat, and drank tea as if no one else were present. As the faint tea fragrance wafted about, Lin Zhixia softly asked him: “What tea is this?”

He answered: “West Lake Dragon Well, from the eight imperial trees.”

Lin Zhixia quietly asked: “Isn’t that very expensive?”

Jiang Yubai calmly replied: “It’s okay.”

Liu Xingjian couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t bear Jiang Yubai’s smug demeanor and wanted to punch him in the face.

However, Teacher Qian scolded loudly: “What are you still waiting for! Liu Xingjian! Don’t think I’ll negotiate with you! Get out and stand in the corridor right now! After class, I’m going to talk to your homeroom teacher and your mother, and give you a good talking-to!”

Liu Xingjian rushed out of the classroom in one breath.

He stood quietly in the corridor.

Today happened to be another rainy day. Fine misty rain fell from the sky, blurring the scenery. Cold wind carrying cold water blew onto him. He was shivering from the cold, but his bones were harder than usual.

Liu Xingjian instinctively stood by the window. He saw pendant lights, seats, and radiators inside.

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, he was dispirited, like a country farmer who had lost his grain before winter.

Through that window, Lin Zhixia noticed Liu Xingjian. She couldn’t help but think of Lebanese poet Gibran’s poem “My Heart Has Been Sorrowful Seven Times.” Gibran wrote in the poem: The seventh time, my heart reclined in life’s mud, reluctant, yet timid and fearful.

Reclined in life’s mud, reluctant, yet timid and fearful.

How fitting.

This was Liu Xingjian’s current state.

He was extremely reluctant. But he couldn’t rush into the classroom.

He poured all his discontent into his gaze, scrutinizing Jiang Yubai without a moment’s relaxation.

Jiang Yubai’s seat was in the corner of the last row in the classroom. He was enjoying himself there. He appeared to be listening attentively to the class, but occasionally he would say a few words to Lin Zhixia. Then, Lin Zhixia would lie on her desk and laugh.

What were the two of them laughing about?

Are they laughing at me? Liu Xingjian wondered silently.

Liu Xingjian felt a great humiliation. This heavy sense of humiliation could only be understood by Liu He, the seventh emperor of the Western Han Dynasty. According to historical records, Liu He was on the throne for a mere 27 days before being deposed as the “Deposed Emperor” and banished to a barbaric land.

Young as he was, Liu Xingjian already understood the desolation of being “deposed” and “banished.”

The dim sky could be measured by time.

To Liu Xingjian, seconds felt like years.

The school building was square-shaped, and he could see teachers passing in the opposite corridor, and those teachers could also see him. Since his mother was the vice principal of the school, in charge of educational funds for the higher grades, most teachers in this school knew Liu Xingjian.

They all knew Liu Xingjian!

This class, lasting forty-five minutes, was all torment for Liu Xingjian.

He endured a math class in an extremely embarrassing situation.

When he heard the dismissal bell ring, when he saw Teacher Qian walk out of the classroom, his figure moved as fast as a gust of wind. He rushed straight back into the classroom.

Classmates crowded around Jiang Yubai. Liu Xingjian shouted: “Move aside!” and no one blocked his way anymore.

Class monitor Dong Sunqi’s face was pale. He feared Liu Xingjian might lose control.

Dong Sunqi wanted to be a peacemaker. He prepared his speech mentally before saying gently: “Liu Xingjian, you preferred to be punished rather than reveal the comic, we all understand! We all remember your kindness! Next month, each fourth-grade class will select an outstanding class cadre. Let’s nominate you from our class! Nominate Liu Xingjian!”

Ding Yan echoed: “Nominate Liu Xingjian! Vote for our Brother Liu!”

“You bunch of people, don’t think you can bribe me!” Liu Xingjian coldly responded.

That math class might not have seemed like much to other classmates, but for Liu Xingjian, it was a great challenge. He attributed this grievance to Jiang Yubai.

He said to Jiang Yubai, “Jiang Yubai, the whole class is reading your ‘Exploring the Universe.’ You favor Earth people, you’re not fair.”

This was true.

Class monitor Dong Sunqi somewhat agreed.

Dong Sunqi was the main villain in the “Exploring the Universe” comic series. Compared to Jiang Yubai’s Earth Legion, Dong Sunqi’s troops were very poorly equipped. What could be done? Would Dong Sunqi have to watch his Orion companions lose to Earth people?

Impossible!

Dong Sunqi strongly supported Liu Xingjian: “Liu Xingjian! You’re a classmate in our Class 1, you should have a role in the comic too! Join us in Orion, let’s attack the Earth people together!”

“Good,” Liu Xingjian reached out a hand toward Jiang Yubai. “Give me the comic, let us Orion people draw the Orion storyline.”

Jiang Yubai disagreed.

Liu Xingjian was furious, his eyes bulging with rage.

The confrontation between Liu Xingjian and Jiang Yubai was reaching a white-hot stage.

Although classmates didn’t often discuss it, they all had some understanding of each other’s family backgrounds and vaguely understood the reason for the homeroom teacher’s differential treatment. When facing Liu Xingjian and Jiang Yubai, the homeroom teacher always had a spring-like warmth.

Getting involved in the dispute between Liu Xingjian and Jiang Yubai was a thankless task; even class monitor Dong Sunqi had to think thrice before acting.

However, Lin Zhixia suddenly spoke up: “Liu Xingjian, you can prepare your notebook as a new chapter of Orion for the ‘Exploring the Universe’ series. But you must maintain consistency with our story; you cannot destroy the integrity of the comic plot.”

Many Orion classmates were reinvigorated. They were very willing to appoint Liu Xingjian as the new scriptwriter for the Orion story. After all, Liu Xingjian was one of their own from Orion.

Liu Xingjian readily agreed.

Jiang Yubai hesitated slightly. Lin Zhixia exchanged glances with him, and he couldn’t voice any objection. He silently expressed his agreement.

Liu Xingjian wasted no time. He opened a brand-new leather notebook and wrote the seven large characters “Exploring the Universe Orion” on the title page. Following Lin Zhixia’s guidance, he wrote his character setting on the first page: Liu Xingjian, Orion Legion’s…

“Deputy Leader,” Lin Zhixia suggested.

“Yes!” Dong Sunqi enthusiastically echoed. “Liu Xingjian is our Orion Deputy Leader!”

A circle of people surrounded Liu Xingjian’s seat. An Orion classmate reached out and touched Liu Xingjian’s notebook. Liu Xingjian slapped the student’s hand away and said viciously: “Get away! Don’t interfere with my plot thinking!”

Jiang Yubai reminded him: “Don’t forget what you just promised. You can’t destroy the story’s integrity; your plot must have logic.”

“Must have logic” was a point Jiang Yubai emphasized.

The “Exploring the Universe” comic series was rooted in Lin Zhixia’s rich and extensive knowledge. According to the comic content, both Earth people and Orion people had developed their production systems and economic values—they could establish factories, mine gold, create schools, and produce troops. Every morning at seven o’clock, Lin Zhixia would update each camp’s data based on yesterday’s economic growth rate, technology research and development rate, and population expansion rate.

Until now, Dong Sunqi had been working hard to develop the economy and people’s livelihood. He dreamed of revitalizing the economy, expanding cosmic space, and defeating the Earth Legion.

Liu Xingjian seemed to be of one mind with Dong Sunqi. His first drawing showed Liu Xingjian drawing his long sword and pledging allegiance to Dong Sunqi.

Dong Sunqi applauded with satisfaction: “Liu Xingjian, our Deputy Leader, you’ve just joined Orion, let’s have a welcome party for you!”

Liu Xingjian frowned and drew a rough hall. In his drawing, Liu Xingjian was in the great hall, facing Dong Sunqi and raising a toast.

Jiang Yubai commented: “Like Li Lianying paying respects to Empress Dowager Cixi.”

Li Lianying paying respects to Empress Dowager Cixi?

Who doesn’t know that Li Lianying was the chief eunuch at the end of the Qing Dynasty? Liu Xingjian threw down his pen and immediately flew into a rage: “Jiang Yubai! You’re calling me a eunuch!”

“What I meant was,” Jiang Yubai explained, “you’re a loyal soldier, you respect your leader very much!”

Lin Zhixia chimed in: “Loyalty is the highest medal of honor. The spirit of knighthood in medieval Europe promoted loyalty and bravery!”

Liu Xingjian caught his breath. He wrote his lines in the notebook: “Earth people on Orion, are you afraid? I won’t let you return to Earth unscathed!”

Lin Zhixia immediately replied: “As an Earth person, I recall that Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote in his work ‘Meditations’—’ What troubles us is not things themselves, but our attitude and reaction to things. What makes us waver is not the things themselves, but our hopes and fears.’ As long as we have hope, we can overcome all fears.”

The Earth people were amazed and applauded Lin Zhixia.

She became the well-deserved center of attention.

Outside the window, the rain continued to fall. Thunder rumbled and rain poured down. The drifting rain curtain reminded Liu Xingjian of that day when he was scalded in the hot water room, and Jiang Yubai not only didn’t formally apologize to him but also sarcastically mocked him for his limp.

This was beyond tolerance. He would make Jiang Yubai pay the price.

Liu Xingjian coughed gloomily and declared in his notebook: “I want to declare war on the Earth people! Attack their base!”

Dong Sunqi held Liu Xingjian’s shoulder: “Deputy Leader! You’ve just joined the organization, and you already want to go to war?”

“Catch them off guard!” Liu Xingjian eloquently stated.

Vice Class Monitor Tang Leqin was also from Orion. Almost all the class cadres in Class 4(1) belonged to the Orion camp—except for the Chinese Language Representative. The Chinese Language Representative was Lin Zhixia. Everyone knew that Lin Zhixia was the Earth Legion’s chief strategist.

The position of Deputy Leader of the Orion Legion had been vacant for a long time. Tang Leqin had originally thought that as the Vice Class Monitor, she would naturally become the Deputy Leader. She never expected that Liu Xingjian, who suddenly appeared, would snatch her position.

“Deputy Leader!” Tang Leqin angrily questioned, “Have you read ‘Exploring the Universe’? Do you know how much money our organization has now and how many people are in the army?”

Liu Xingjian’s expression changed.

He didn’t know.

Of course he didn’t know.

He hadn’t had time to read the “Exploring the Universe” comic series.

But he was a qualified Deputy Leader.

A qualified Deputy Leader would not expose his ignorance. Undoubtedly, the Deputy Leader should play a role in stabilizing the army’s morale. Moreover, this cosmic war was imminent and inevitable.

Liu Xingjian stood up from his seat, with his back to a window. Outside, wind and rain raged, and the light was dim. He stood firm in this darkest moment and improvised a speech: “Without money and people, you dare not fight? Are you willing to be a cowards with Dong Sunqi? Jiang Yubai is bullying you, and you still go around with your tail between your legs? Have you got any guts! Do you dare to fight?”

“Fight!” A nearby boy was the first to respond.

The phrase “be cowards with Dong Sunqi” deeply offended Dong Sunqi himself. When watching movies, Dong Sunqi most admired clever villains, like the gangster boss in “Infernal Affairs.” He hoped that when leading the Orion army, he could display the same style.

However, Liu Xingjian was a complete fury-monger.

Dong Sunqi tried to stop him: “Liu Xingjian! You’re the Deputy Leader! You must know that Jiang Yubai’s military force is stronger than ours!”

Liu Xingjian was firm: “I don’t care! I want you to start the war immediately! If you don’t start the war, I’ll…” He grabbed Vice Class Monitor Tang Leqin and demanded: “What powers does the Deputy Leader have?”

Tang Leqin revealed like a double agent: “Reporting to the Deputy Leader, you can open the military weapons arsenal.”

“Good!” Liu Xingjian glared coldly at Dong Sunqi. “If you don’t start the war, I will open the military weapons arsenal and blow up Orion’s base.”

“Ah! You traitor!” Dong Sunqi let out a desperate cry.

Dong Sunqi’s deskmate grabbed him for support and comforted him: “Leader! Leader! Hold on! You must hold on! If you fall, thousands and thousands of Orion comrades will…”

“Have no future,” Lin Zhixia helped him find an adjective.

Dong Sunqi, after painful reflection, stood up forcefully. With his hands behind his back, he walked along the aisle formed by desks. He recalled a TV drama he had watched last year called “Love Across Time and Space.” “Love Across Time and Space” told a vivid story—two beautiful older sisters traveled back to the Ming Dynasty and witnessed the social development and historical changes of the Ming Dynasty.

Dong Sunqi remembered that in the TV drama, the Ming Emperor Zhu Yunwen was unfortunately usurped by his fourth uncle, Zhu Di, and the entire empire underwent a dynastic change. Drawing lessons from history, Dong Sunqi calculated secretly that he would not make the mistakes of Zhu Yunwen, nor would he repeat Zhu Yunwen’s failures.

“Liu Xingjian!” Dong Sunqi boldly called out Liu Xingjian’s full name. “If you want to fight, then let’s fight. However, on the battlefield, you must follow my command! I am the leader of the Orion organization, I can control magnetic fields! I can detonate cloud nuclei, you can’t handle that responsibility!”

His spittle sprayed onto Liu Xingjian’s face.

Liu Xingjian lowered his head, raised his sleeve, and wiped the spittle from his face. His eyes were full of complex emotions, his expression changed rapidly, and his laughter was venomous and ruthless: “When do we start fighting?”

“After the next class, how about that?” Lin Zhixia seriously suggested. “It’s raining today, we don’t need to run during the long break, we have half an hour of recreation time. I’ll go make the war rules in a while. Tang Leqin, Ding Yan, you two are deskmates, you’ll be responsible for drawing the battlefield terrain map.”

Tang Leqin and Ding Yan readily agreed.

All the classmates eagerly awaited the long break.

The thirty minutes of the long break would be a cosmic war involving the entire class!

Liu Xingjian relaxed a little. He didn’t care at all about Orion, Deputy Leader, factories, and soldiers. He just wanted to concentrate all firepower on the virtual battlefield during the long break to beat up Jiang Yubai’s avatar in the comic.

He sat back in his seat, turned his head, and glanced at Dong Sunqi, Tang Leqin, and others. To his surprise, he found Tang Leqin playing cat’s cradle with Lin Zhixia!

Tang Leqin and Lin Zhixia stood at the back of the classroom. Tang Leqin’s hands held the string, and Lin Zhixia hooked it with her fingertips. She smiled especially sweetly, her eyes sparkling.

At the critical moment of a life-and-death battle! Tang Leqin had the mood to play cat’s cradle!

And she was playing with the enemy’s chief strategist—the most evil Lin Zhixia!

Was cat’s cradle that much fun?

This was simply an unforgivable act of collusion with the enemy!

Liu Xingjian’s anger surged. He grabbed his deskmate and questioned: “You’re also from Orion, right?”

His deskmate nodded timidly: “Yes, yes, I have… photocopies of the ‘Exploring the Universe’ comic.”

As he spoke, the deskmate opened his schoolbag and handed a stack of photocopies to Liu Xingjian.

Liu Xingjian treasured them like gold.

*

This class was Chinese Language.

Teacher Wu carried her lesson plan to the podium.

Today’s lesson was about two ancient poems, titled “Seeing Off Meng Haoran to Guangling” and “Seeing Off Yuan Er to Anxi.”

Teacher Wu first talked about “Seeing Off Meng Haoran to Guangling.” She recited the first line of the poem: “My old friend bids farewell at Yellow Crane Tower, in misty, flowery March he goes down to Yangzhou.” Then she commented: “Students, listen to how beautiful our ancient Chinese poetry is. The author of this poem is Li Bai. Who is Li Bai? Ah, right, Teacher Wu has told you before, Li Bai is the Immortal Poet in our history…”

Teacher Wu was enjoying her lecture on the podium.

Lin Zhixia was making the rules for the cosmic war at her seat. She was also feeling excited. She simplified the method of engagement between the two sides and listed a series of relevant data. She had long been prepared for the outbreak of war—Earth people would never be slaves!

Jiang Yubai quietly asked her: “Can you win?”

Lin Zhixia asked in return: “Do you want to win? I’ve said before, as long as we have fun, I don’t care about winning or losing.”

Winning or losing was external.

And Jiang Yubai’s focus was on: “What kind of game would make you have fun?”

“Haha,” Lin Zhixia giggled secretly, “the starting point of your question already makes me happy.”

Jiang Yubai repeated: “Starting point?”

“That’s your deeper intention,” Lin Zhixia explained.

While she was whispering with Jiang Yubai in class, a classmate to Jiang Yubai’s right passed a small note across the aisle. Just then, Teacher Wu was writing on the blackboard and didn’t see the small movements of the students in class.

That small note came from the class monitor’s deskmate.

The class monitor’s deskmate was named Wei Rongjie. Wei Rongjie was also a very special boy. He loved history and was well-versed in “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” His reading volume was astonishing. He read every issue of “Yilin” and “Reader” without fail, savored “Zhiyin” and “Story Club” repeatedly, and sometimes even took notes from “Modern Family,” an excellent magazine.

Wei Rongjie was knowledgeable and experienced. He was the chief strategist of the Orion Legion.

Everyone in the class knew that Lin Zhixia had read many books. And Wei Rongjie seemed to have read many books as well. His gap with Lin Zhixia should not be that large—this was how Dong Sunqi comforted himself.

So, in this Chinese Language class, Dong Sunqi consulted Wei Rongjie: “Wei Rongjie, what should we do? Liu Xingjian wants to attack the Earth people’s base, and Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia are both preparing. Our Orion Legion’s economy is poor, and we have few soldiers. Going to war now, isn’t that suicide?”

Wei Rongjie realized the seriousness of the situation.

He furrowed his brow, held his pen, and sighed: “Leader…”

Dong Sunqi also sighed: “Say it, I won’t blame you.”

Wei Rongjie said directly: “I have a plan!”

Dong Sunqi hurriedly urged: “What plan! Tell me quickly! There are only thirty minutes until class ends, and after class is the long break, and the war will start immediately!”

Wei Rongjie flattened his workbook: “We can form a marriage alliance!”

Dong Sunqi looked surprised: “A marriage alliance?”

“Yes, a marriage alliance!” Wei Rongjie explained, “War requires both sides to agree before it can begin. Now, Liu Xingjian wants to fight, but Jiang Yubai hasn’t said he wants to fight. In ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms,’ Sun Quan, to win over Liu Bei, married his sister Sun Shangxiang to Liu Bei! We should learn from Sun Quan! My lord, I am Zhou Yu, and you are Sun Quan!”

Dong Sunqi frowned: “Who is Sun Shangxiang?”

Wei Rongjie softly suggested: “Ruan Jingjing.”

Dong Sunqi gasped.

Ruan Jingjing was their class’s Arts and Literature Committee member. She had established her bank in the “Exploring the Universe” comic. She was a member of the Orion organization and also a formidable character. Dong Sunqi was reluctant to lose such a capable assistant.

Moreover, Ruan Jingjing was not easy to mess with. In the first semester of third grade, she argued with a boy and directly made that male classmate cry.

Ruan Jingjing’s nickname in class was “Lady Terminator.”

Someone once declared that the day Ruan Jingjing and Liu Xingjian fought would be the ultimate doomsday for Class 4(1).

Dong Sunqi questioned Wei Rongjie: “Will Ruan Jingjing agree?”

“She will,” Wei Rongjie said, “Ruan Jingjing told me she misses Earth! She wants to be an Earth person.”

After agreeing with Wei Rongjie, Wei Rongjie was very cautious.

Wei Rongjie first drafted a plan, then, based on the draft, he formulated a “peace treaty,” which was then successfully passed to Jiang Yubai’s hand in the form of a small note.

Jiang Yubai received the note, opened it, and saw written on the note: “Respected Earth Legion Leader, Jiang Yubai, hello. We have decided to assign Ruan Jingjing to the Earth people’s base! This is a marriage alliance! Hope you don’t launch a war! Peace forever!”

Jiang Yubai was stunned for a few seconds.

Lin Zhixia snatched the note, glanced at it, and asked puzzledly: “A marriage alliance? Why would they think of a marriage alliance?”

“They’re crazy,” Jiang Yubai commented.

Three feet above the podium, Teacher Wu was still passionately explaining “Seeing Off Meng Haoran to Guangling.” Teacher Wu placed both hands on the podium and recited with rapture: “The lone sail, a distant shadow, vanishes in blue sky, only the long Yangtze River flowing to the horizon can be seen. This is not a simple sentiment, students! In just fourteen characters, it captures the beauty of nature and the friendship of literati! You must carefully savor each character, experience Li Bai’s romanticism, experience the beauty of poetic rhythm…”

“The lone sail, a distant shadow, vanishes in blue sky, only the long Yangtze River flowing to the horizon can be seen, capturing the friendship of literati,” Lin Zhixia repeated this verse of the poem, then she quietly asked, “Jiang Yubai, do you accept the marriage alliance? This won’t affect our friendship.”

Jiang Yubai tore the note to shreds: “I’m going to war after class.”

Wei Rongjie’s strategy not only failed to ease the situation but also accelerated the progress of the war.

This was something Wei Rongjie and Dong Sunqi never anticipated.

After the dismissal bell rang, Teacher Wu left the classroom.

Jiang Yubai stood up from his seat and raised his arm high, shouting: “Earth people must counterattack!”

Lin Zhixia followed with an announcement: “This war was initiated by Liu Xingjian of Orion! We tried reconciliation, but Liu Xingjian disagreed…”

Lin Zhixia’s talent for rallying was first-class, and Dong Sunqi knew this well. As long as Lin Zhixia had that intention, she could make a group of people cry… He couldn’t let her continue speaking!

Dong Sunqi hurriedly interrupted Lin Zhixia: “Is there no room for negotiation at all? Lin Zhixia!”

“Go, Orion! Beat up the Earth people!” Liu Xingjian banged his water bottle on the desk, making a loud “bang bang” sound. Many of the Orion classmates were infected by Liu Xingjian’s emotions, and they all clamored for immediate war.

Ding Yan and Tang Leqin had already drawn the war map. On two A3 papers, they had drawn four areas: cliffs, lakes, steep walls, and desert, labeled as a, b, c, and d, respectively.

“Each army can only occupy one area,” Lin Zhixia suggested, “I want area d!”

Area D was a treasure land surrounded by mountains on three sides, close to the lake.

Originally, Liu Xingjian didn’t want Area D, but he liked to compete with Lin Zhixia for things. He proposed to decide by flipping a coin. If the coin showed heads, area d would be his; if the coin showed tails, area d would belong to Lin Zhixia.

Lin Zhixia agreed.

“Who will flip the coin?” Lin Zhixia asked.

“I will!” Ding Yan volunteered.

Ding Yan took a one-yuan coin from Lin Zhixia’s hand. Liu Xingjian was not at ease and even took the coin to inspect it. When he handed the coin back to Ding Yan, his sinister gaze followed Ding Yan closely, threatening: “If you dare to play tricks, I’ll make sure you can’t leave this classroom.”

Ding Yan was so frightened by him that he got goosebumps and almost forgot he had practiced Taekwondo.

The one-yuan coin flipped in the air and landed on the desk with a “pa” sound.

The result was…

Heads!

Heads up!

Liu Xingjian won!

Liu Xingjian successfully won the right to use area D. He high-fived with Dong Sunqi, Wei Rongjie, and others.

The Earth Legion classmates all cast blaming glances at Ding Yan. Ding Yan shrank shamefully beside a desk, his entire face flushed red, stammering: “I didn’t… have adequate preparation.”

Lin Zhixia drew a circle near the cliff with a red pen: “Area B is better, we can station in Area B.”

Liu Xingjian slapped the table: “Fight, let’s fight now.” He selected weapons from the pictures in Lin Zhixia’s open notebook. Lin Zhixia’s weapon arsenal was rich in variety, and Liu Xingjian chose the fiercest “anti-gravity weapon” and “microscopic black hole.”

“Target Jiang Yubai!” Liu Xingjian said, “Wherever Jiang Yubai is, that’s where we aim!”

However, Tang Leqin reported to him: “Deputy Leader! We can’t afford anti-gravity weapons and microscopic black holes! These two weapons are too expensive! We can’t afford them!”

Liu Xingjian’s index finger straightened and pressed on the line of text that read “Orion Economic Reserve.” He said: “Orion’s money is enough, look, it’s enough.”

“No way!” Tang Leqin obstructed, “This is our principle. If we use up all this money, we won’t have money to take care of soldiers, buy food, or mine gold!”

Liu Xingjian smiled coldly: “Why worry about what happens after death! As long as we deal with Jiang Yubai, what’s this little sacrifice! Stop talking nonsense! I want to deal with Jiang Yubai today!”

Tang Leqin was furious: “You haven’t left any way out for our Orion!”

“You’re criticizing me!” Liu Xingjian exposed, “During the break last class, you were playing cat’s cradle with Lin Zhixia! Why were you playing cat’s cradle with Lin Zhixia? Are you a spy sent by the Earth people?”

Tang Leqin grabbed Dong Sunqi’s arm, pinching until Dong Sunqi’s entire arm went numb.

Without time to hesitate or think, Tang Leqin frantically shook Dong Sunqi: “Liu Xingjian is wronging me! Dong Sunqi, it was you who pulled me to join Orion! Your Deputy Leader Liu Xingjian wrongly accuses people at will, aren’t you going to do anything about it?”

Dong Sunqi was shaken dizzy by her and could only smooth things over: “There’s no help for it, we’ve already started the war now…”

While they were arguing, suddenly there came the sound of shoe soles stamping on the ground from the front rows.

Lin Zhixia reacted the fastest. She immediately found a seat and sat down, holding Jiang Yubai’s “Exploring the Universe” comic original manuscript notebook in her arms, pretending to be reading her Chinese Language textbook.

Except for Lin Zhixia, no one else left the scene.

Teacher Wu caught them all red-handed.

Teacher Wu held her teaching pointer in one hand and gave the desk a hard “tap tap” with it. She uncovered the A3 paper-drawn map, Liu Xingjian’s war declaration, and Wei Rongjie’s draft version of the “marriage alliance proposal.”

In that instant, the entire Class 4(1) seemed to have fallen into a swamp. This swamp swallowed all joy and sound.

Teacher Wu, holding that stack of incriminating evidence, walked to the podium. As she turned around, she shouted: “I am so disappointed in you! You are the worst batch of students I have ever taught!”