Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Xiang Ning sped home. It was already midnight. Was Xiang Xiaoyu waiting up for him? It was late, she should be sleeping by now. As he thought about it, he unlocked the door and gently pushed it open, his heart warming at the sight that greeted him.

Xiang Xiaoyu had fallen asleep at the dinner table. His very soul ached when he saw the tiny figure hunched over.

He slowly walked up and gently picked her up, terrified of waking the girl. Since bringing her upstairs would wake her, he placed her on his bed and tucked her in. As he watched her soundly sleeping, the corners of his mouth subconsciously curled up. He sat aside and quietly watched. This… this was his world.

On the next day, Xiang Xiaoyu’s nose wrinkled, then her eyes sprang open. She looked around and found no colors in the blankets or the room. The blanket was a simple gray and a little hard, unlike her soft one, yet the smell comforted her. She realized this was her brother’s bed. She must have fallen asleep at the dinner table last night. Did her brother carry her to his bed when he returned?

Xiang Ning noticed when she woke. He was preparing breakfast, but turned around and saw his sister rubbing her sleepy eyes. He smiled, “Go wash up, breakfast will be ready soon.”

She nodded, then got off his bed. “Big brother, last night.…”

“Don’t worry, I was just cultivating with friends and forgot the time. Sorry for making you worry,” he said in embarrassment. He felt guilty having seen her sprawled on the dinner table, fast asleep.

“Oh, alright.” She didn’t dwell on the topic. After washing up and having their breakfast, she left for school.

Today, she went to school alone. She felt she was no longer a child. She must be independent, so she mustn’t make Xiang Ning worry anymore.

Naturally, he agreed with this development. While he could stay by her side for now, they must eventually separate in the future. No one knew when; their world was not a safe one.

When Xiang Ning arrived at school, what he heard shocked him. Apparently, Zhao Huatai had transferred to another school yesterday. He had left Qiling High School just like that.

Xiang Ning was shocked by that; it was weak of him. It was ridiculous that he had left just like that? To be fair, Zhao Huatai would not have chosen to transfer if he had merely lost the fight. However, he was still deeply humiliated because the fight took place before such a large crowd.

Losing the fight was only a small contributing factor. The main reason was due to arrangements made by his family. He didn’t know why his family wanted him to transfer; he had been planning to take revenge in the future until he received the infuriating news. But while he didn’t know who had decided he needed to transfer schools and was extremely against it, in the end, he was left powerless and still had to go through with the transfer anyway.

Xiang Ning, on the other hand, knew none of that. He didn’t express any opinions on Zhao Huatai leaving, nor did he feel guilty, because if he had shown weakness in the battle, he would have ended up far worse.

When he arrived in his class, many people greeted him. It seemed that the disgust and apprehension toward him had evaporated. To them, there was originally no value in nurturing a relationship with this part-time student. Furthermore, he insulted their egos when he scored the best in the first examination. They felt humiliated for scoring much worse than a part-time student. But now, Xiang Ning’s display of strength and power had won their respect. Which idiot would dare treat him badly now? They had just watched him beat up Zhao Huatai, who was so humiliated he transferred, hadn’t they?

Returning to his seat, he noticed the person sitting before him had changed. Fatty Wang was now seated in front of him.

“Eh? I don’t think you’re supposed to sit there?” Xiang Ning asked, confused.

“Ah, it’s nothing. The guy sitting here said he couldn’t see properly because of his eyesight, so we exchanged seats. Naturally, I agreed because I’m a helpful person,” Wang Zhe solemnly said.

Xiang Ning nodded without a thought, though the people sitting in his vicinity stared at Fatty Wang with some disgust. How shameless!

“Right, I heard we’ve got a transfer student coming in today. I also heard she’s very pretty, and a genius in both spiritual cultivation and combat. She’s now in Class 2, replacing Zhao Huatai, and I think she’s also in your special training class,” informed Wang Zhe.

Xiang Ning froze. Not because he heard she was both pretty and strong, but out of surprise that she could directly enter their special training. He knew how badly others wanted to join. Within two days of its commencement, some people had stretched themselves to their limits, leveling up to become martial artists, yet were still immediately rejected.

Xiang Ning knew that they were just lab rats, and the training would only continue if they showed some results from the wilderness activity.

“I wonder what she’s like.” He was curious.

“Yeah, me too.” Fatty Wang was grinning, obviously not on the same wavelength.

The morning class quickly ended. This time, Su Muhan seemed to have caught wind that the students in special training would be living in the wilderness in two days, so she taught them wilderness survival skills as best as she could, including how to defend themselves against different types of beasts. Xiang Ning thought it was a very useful class indeed.

After class, Wang Zhe dragged Xiang Ning to catch a glimpse of the new student, but unfortunately they couldn’t find her. As they headed for the canteen, he dejectedly sighed, “It’s too bad we missed her.”

Xiang Ning grinned. “It’s fine, you’ll meet her soon. We’re all in the same school, anyway.” This time, he didn’t let Wang Zhe buy him food, but instead paid for Fatty Wang. He felt he must return the favors he had been given. Despite his financial abilities, Xiang Ning was adamant about his principles.

After ordering a meat dish and three vegetable dishes, the two found a corner, ate, and chatted away.

They had only taken a few bites when a person appeared in the aisle next to them. Both of them had been looking down at their plates, though the glimpse they caught gave them the impression that this girl had delicate features with long legs and black knee socks. There was a blossom embroidered on her heels. As their eyes moved up to her black and red striped shorts, Wang Zhe knew she was going to be pretty without seeing her face.

But why was this pretty girl standing next to them?

Many people had already begun paying attention, for the girl shone. She looked like she was looking for a seat, and what she did next shocked the crowd. The girl with light pink hair took a seat right next to Xiang Ning.

“Hmm, looks delicious.” The girl picked up her chopsticks, reached into Xiang Ning’s bowl, picked a piece of meat he had obviously bitten from, and popped it into her mouth.

The entire crowd—guys and girls alike—all had the same thought: What the fuck?