Qiao Sang felt a sense of crisis creeping in, and the joy of receiving the special offer for first place had faded quite a bit.
At that moment, Zheng Yining said, "Qiao Da, do you want to celebrate together later? I heard that a new snack shop opened on Rongchang Street, and their signature dish, the Fried Cloud Ham, is made by a Magmagong."
Qiao Sang was stunned. "They're actually using a Magmagong to make Fried Cloud Ham? Is that allowed?!"
In this society, using extraordinary creatures as ingredients wasn't unheard of, but it was always done secretly. Never had she seen something so blatant being advertised as a signature dish. Plus, isn't a Magmagong a creature made entirely of magnets? Can it even be eaten?
Zheng Yining paused for a moment. "The Magmagong is the chef at this snack shop... Did you misunderstand something?"
Looking to the sky, Qiao Sang forced a few awkward laughs. "Haha, it seems like the weather is really nice today; we should just head home early."
Zheng Yining: "…"
Was this big shot's thought process really that hard to understand?
After rejecting Zheng Yining and the others’ invitation to go to the Wuzui Sparrow fight, Qiao Sang immediately took out her phone as soon as she parted ways with them. Wanting to prepare well for her exams, she had chosen to turn her phone off when entering Holy Water Middle School.
As soon as she powered it back on, she noticed two missed calls from her mother.
Qiao Sang hesitated to call back immediately; she took a deep breath and, with trembling hands, opened the Interstellar Betting Network.
"I won!!"
The next moment, the Fire Tooth Dog heard its Beast Master’s excited voice.
“Ya!”
The Fire Tooth Dog wagged its tail, also delighted.
Qiao Sang calculated her winnings. She had lost 5,000 Alliance Coins on a previous bet, but this time, deducting her initial investment, she won back 1,200 Alliance Coins. So in total, she lost 3,800...
Better not to dwell on it.
Trying to brush off her disappointment, she called her mother back. Her mother didn’t ask about the exam; she only wanted to know when Qiao Sang would be coming home.
Since her mother didn’t inquire, Qiao Sang didn’t elaborate. After all, the High School Entrance Exam was still uncertain. No need to get ahead of herself and later feel disappointed.
…
That evening, sitting at her desk, Qiao Sang was checking answers for the recent exams she had just completed. These were last year's High School Entrance Exam papers for Huanwen City.
Since both Huanwen City and Hanggang City were under Zhehai Province, the papers were mostly similar, except for a few variations in focus.
After checking her answers, Qiao Sang sighed. Although she had made significant progress, she still missed quite a few questions. With only a week until the exam, it seemed she would need to return to school tomorrow. After all, the correct approaches to the questions were easier to ask others about.
"Ya ya."
"Pigeon, pigeon."
In the living room, the sounds of the Fire Tooth Dog and the Plump Dove playing together reached her ears.
Listening to the noise from the living room brought a smile to Qiao Sang's face; these two little guys seemed to be having a good time.
Half an hour later, after correcting all the questions, Qiao Sang opened an online shopping website.
She remembered the vice principal had said she needed three Vitality Herbs, two jin of Relaxing Powder, seven liang of Fire Ash, and six liang of Red Honey.
[Vitality Herb]
Qiao Sang entered those words.
Soon, a purchase page for Vitality Herb popped up.
Qiao Sang blinked.
3888.
Not disheartened, she scrolled down a few pages, but each one displayed the same price.
Was there really no price variation for this item?!
She found the low-to-high price option and clicked on it. At the top of the page, there it was, boldly printed: 38 Alliance Coins.
Was the price difference so vast? Would she risk buying it?!
Qiao Sang hesitated, then, with a flicker of hope, she clicked on it.
However, upon checking the reviews, all she found were negative comments.
[Did the merchant’s conscience get eaten by a dog? Is this Vitality Herb?!]
[I gave it to my Cotton-Soft Rabbit, and it pooped for a week, losing weight (image)]
[What kind of Vitality Herb is this? What a wild weed!]
[Fake, fake, fake, fake, fake!!! Bad review after bad review!!!]
[I bought a real Vitality Herb to compare, and let me tell you, the imitation looks quite similar (images)]
So it really is a counterfeit... Qiao Sang searched for Relaxing Powder, Fire Ash, and Red Honey next.
Relaxing Powder was 2600, Fire Ash 6889, and Red Honey the cheapest at 1999 per Jin.
This meant that every time the Fire Tooth Dog took a bath, it would cost over ten thousand Alliance Coins!
Silently, Qiao Sang closed her computer.
At this time, focusing on the High School Entrance Exam was more important, and dealing with Fire Tooth Dog’s issue could wait. After all, the Fire Tooth Dog hated water and disliked bathing...
At 10:32 PM, the Fire Tooth Dog had played until it was tired and fell asleep.
Out of habit, before sleeping, Qiao Sang entered the Beastmaster Codex.
[Name: Fire Tooth Dog]
[Attribute: Fire]
[Level: Beginner (136/1000)+]
[Skills: Bite (Entry 74/100)+, Charge (Proficient 204/500)+, Fire Tooth (Proficient 188/500)+, Fire Spark (Proficient 256/500)+, Shadow Clone (Entry 5/100)]
[Points: 109]
Last time, during the battles at Hanggang Sixth Beastmaster High School, the Fire Tooth Dog gained 55 points over three fights. This time, it only gained 54 points after four battles.
The score gain varied for each beast it battled, so it seemed the points were indeed awarded based on the beasts' strength.
With a guess in mind, Qiao Sang soon drifted off to sleep. She was simply too tired today...
…
The next day.
At Wencheng Middle School.
When Qiao Sang appeared in Class 37 with her backpack, the class erupted in excitement.
"Whoa, Qiao Sang, you actually came back!"
"Where have you been all this time? Playing?"
"Hey, hey, what kind of talk is that? Maybe something happened at home?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying it could've been a relative's business?"
"We’ve missed you so much. With you gone, the teacher just berates me and Fang Sisi during class," said Guo Linze, who often ranked second to last in class.
The student ranked last had been basically given up on by the teacher.
After everyone expressed their feelings and then dispersed, Fang Sisi said with a serious tone, "Qiao Sang, you've changed."
Qiao Sang was taken aback. "What do you mean I’ve changed?"
"You used to share your good excuses for skipping class with me. Now you're sneaking off alone and leaving me out," Fang Sisi said, sounding a bit aggrieved.
Qiao Sang: "…"
"I'll include you next time."
Fang Sisi shook her head. "Why would there even be a next time? We don't have many days left at school. If I skip class, my mom would probably break my legs."
"By the way," Fang Sisi leaned in, and lowered her voice, "I have something to tell you, but you mustn’t breathe a word."
Seeing Fang Sisi’s serious expression, Qiao Sang nodded. "Go ahead."
"Last week, our homeroom teacher got some kind of stimulation and went to get a hair transplant. The result... haha." Fang Sisi couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “The anesthetic was replaced with a hair loss solution.”
Qiao Sang was stunned for a moment. "How could they possibly mix that up? The colors of the two solutions are different, aren't they?"
"The anesthetic was administered by Ji Ji Yan, the dermatology department’s attending physician’s contract beast. They're still not very familiar with this sort of thing," Fang Sisi explained.
Qiao Sang inquired, "How did you find out?"
"Did you forget? My mom works there as a nurse. She attended the parent-teacher meeting and met our homeroom teacher," Fang Sisi replied.
Qiao Sang's expression turned strange. Could it be that last time she mentioned the homeroom teacher's wig, it prompted him to get a hair transplant?
No wonder he wasn’t answering calls and had turned his phone off...
This medical accident was quite serious.
A man’s hair is often considered his life, especially for middle-aged men who need to wear wigs.
“Are you being honest? How many people have you told about this?” Qiao Sang suspiciously looked at Fang Sisi.
Fang Sisi paused and started counting on her fingers. "Lv Siya, Chen Jianjian, Wu Huanjun, Guo Linze, Xie Jiayi, Chen Yu...”
Qiao Sang: "…"
(End of Chapter)