"Looks like everyone in our circle knows about it already." Qiao Sang said with an expressionless face.
"Isn't it better to share happiness than to enjoy it alone?" Fang Sisi replied with a smile.
In the end, Qiao Sang couldn’t hold back her laughter. "Haha, you have a point there."
"Ha ha ha ha..." Fang Sisi also laughed aloud.
Though she had told this story to many people, it still felt amusing each time.
The two of them exchanged silly laughs until they grew tired of it. Then, Qiao Sang asked, “Why doesn’t the homeroom teacher just buy a bottle of root gel to use?”
The root gel was extracted from the root eggs of a specific creature.
Every night when the root egg creature closed its shell to sleep, it would release small amounts of gel when it opened up in the morning. This gel was known as root gel.
This gel had remarkable effects in promoting hair growth, saving a lot of time and effort compared to hair transplant procedures.
"A bottle of root gel could cost as much as half a year’s salary for the homeroom teacher; getting a hair transplant would be cheaper," Fang Sisi commented.
Indeed, in these times, anything related to extraordinary creatures was outrageously expensive.
Though hair was crucial for middle-aged men, the homeroom teacher had a family to support, so it was unlikely he could splurge on a bottle of gel for himself.
Thinking about it this way, Qiao Sang felt a bit sorry for him.
During the third period of the Companion Beast and Nature class, the teacher, Ji, loved to ask questions, especially to the students with lower grades.
Previously, Qiao Sang had often been called upon, but during her recent absence, the pressure had shifted to a few classmates near her rank.
"The Round-Spotted Bud has evolved into the Poison Powder Grass in the Lianhe Region." Teacher Ji stated, providing the answer for the second fill-in-the-blank question on the test. After adjusting her glasses, she asked, "Does anyone know what it evolves into in the Liao West Region?"
Some companion beasts have fixed evolutionary forms, while others adapt and evolve differently based on various materials and environments.
The Round-Spotted Bud falls into the latter category, and currently, it has four known evolutionary forms under different conditions.
The students below were all staring at their test papers, afraid to make eye contact with Teacher Ji.
This test had been handed out last week, and Qiao Sang did not have one, leaning to the side to look at Fang Sisi's paper.
Teacher Ji's gaze fell on Qiao Sang, Fang Sisi, and the group of students with poor grades, clustered together.
Guo Linze immediately tensed up; he had been called upon recently many times. His eyes wandered until they landed on Qiao Sang, sitting just in front of him to the left.
"Qiao Sang, you don’t have a paper, right? You can use mine," Guo Linze whispered, patting her shoulder.
The test had been discussed for more than ten minutes, and now he wants to share?
Qiao Sang nearly refused, but as she raised her eyes, she suddenly met Teacher Ji's gaze.
"Qiao Sang, you answer."
Qiao Sang thought: "……"
Guo Linze, you sly dog!
"Ice Powder Grass." Qiao Sang stood up to answer.
Seeing her respond, Teacher Ji asked another question, "And what about in the Xilu Region?"
"Grass Powder Grass," Qiao Sang replied.
"Good answer, sit down," Teacher Ji nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "Does anyone know where the last kind, Water Powder Grass, evolves?"
After sitting down, Qiao Sang turned to grab Guo Linze's test paper, laughing, “Then I’ll take this, no need to be polite.”
Guo Linze was caught off guard, reaching to push down the paper but failing, making quite the noise as his hand hit the desk.
"Guo Linze, get up and answer," Teacher Ji instructed.
Guo Linze: “……!”
Soon it was time for the break.
"Qiao Sang, the homeroom teacher is looking for you," the class monitor, Ma Xiao, approached.
What was meant to come would eventually come.
Qiao Sang set her book down and, with a completely different mood from last time, walked to the office.
"You've taken so many days off; please fill out this leave request form," the homeroom teacher said, pulling out a paper from the drawer.
Qiao Sang's gaze unconsciously drifted to the homeroom teacher's head.
Still a wig; who knows what’s underneath it...
"Qiao Sang." The homeroom teacher called her name, his tone somewhat dangerous.
Qiao Sang quickly picked up the pen to fill out the leave request form.
"Is your mom alright now?" the homeroom teacher inquired.
Qiao Sang was taken aback for a moment before replying, "She's fine now."
Once she finished the form, the homeroom teacher placed a notebook in front of her. "You’ve fallen behind in your review; this is my previous student's notes. He scored 632 in the High School Entrance Exam. Study it well."
The full score for the exam was 650, so 632 was certainly not a low score.
Qiao Sang fell silent for a moment, not refusing the offer since this was exactly what she needed at the moment. "Thank you, teacher."
The homeroom teacher waved his hand, signaling she could leave.
Qiao Sang felt a mix of emotions; the homeroom teacher had his flaws, but who didn't? At least he had no complaints about his students.
Even though it was because of her that he lost precious hair, he still didn't take it out on her.
Feeling deeply moved, Qiao Sang asked, "Teacher, your hair is alright, right?"
The homeroom teacher's expression froze, stunned in place.
After a moment, he took a deep breath and said, "Would your mom really delay coming to school for such a long time because of her illness?"
Qiao Sang: "……"
...
After school that afternoon, Qiao Sang decided to come clean to her mother.
Some things would have completely different consequences when spoken by her compared to being mentioned by the homeroom teacher.
However, to her surprise, her mother hadn’t returned home yet.
"Fire Tooth Dog, you drag here, and I’ll drag over there." Qiao Sang handed a damp cloth to Fire Tooth Dog, pointing to the right side of the living room.
Qiao Sang had already made up her mind: when her mother came home to see the tidy room, the clean floor, and a meal prepared, any anger she had would likely dissipate.
"Yah!"
Fire Tooth Dog responded cheerfully and began to follow her instructions.
With one paw on the cloth, it used its other leg to push off, gliding forward a distance.
"Yah."
"Yah yah~"
It continued to drag the cloth, happily calling out while cleaning.
Despite it being hard work, Fire Tooth Dog seemed to treat the task like a fun game.
What a good child.
Qiao Sang felt gratified as she picked up a mop to clean the left side of the living room.
During dusk, soft orange light spilled through the windows onto the floor, illuminating both the girl and Fire Tooth Dog.
All was so serene and beautiful.
Fire Tooth Dog joyfully pushed down on the cloth, moving faster and faster.
"Bang!"
A loud noise shattered the tranquil moment.
Qiao Sang looked up to see shards of porcelain scattered everywhere around Fire Tooth Dog.
Her heart dropped, and without thinking much, she set down the mop and rushed over to Fire Tooth Dog, picking it up as she worriedly checked, "Are you alright?"
"Yah!"
Fire Tooth Dog barked loudly and wagged its tail, indicating it was fine. It pointed with its paw at the pieces of green porcelain on the ground.
"Yah yah yah."
"Yah."
"Yah yah."
After explaining, Fire Tooth Dog looked somewhat guilty, its ears drooping down.
"It’s okay that the vase broke as long as you’re fine."
After comforting Fire Tooth Dog, Qiao Sang shifted her gaze to the shards on the floor.
She remembered that her mother had brought this vase back from a trip to Lianbo, and the bottom of it had her favorite Beast Master’s signature...
"Crack."
Just then, the door opened.
Qiao Sang turned to see her mother's face, four words flashing through her mind.
My life is over...
(End of this chapter)