Chapter 14: Promise!

The next day.

Ring-ring—

The phone alarm went off.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun opened his hazy eyes, and what met his eyes was still the familiar and cramped ceiling.

Waking up on time, he reached out his right hand to turn off the alarm.

Since school was starting today, Xia Xia Xia Mujun gently shook Natsume Ruri on the other bed, "Ruri, it's time to get up."

"Feels like I just closed my eyes... how is it already bright." Ruri sat up groggily, her hair messy, her eyes half-closed, her body swaying, as if she would fall back onto the pillow in the next second.

Looking at his sister's appearance, Xia Xia Xia Mujun smiled, reached out to ruffle her messy hair, and then got up to go to the bathroom to wash up and change clothes.

When everything was ready.

He looked at himself in the mirror wearing a school uniform, his expression a bit strange, clearly not expecting that he would have to repeat high school.

But since there was a chance to do it over, this time he had to get into a better school no matter what.

Although the school Xia Xia Xia Mujun attended before was already a 985 school, it wasn't a very famous university.

And the University of Tokyo in Japan, even in all of East Asia, was one of the top-tier famous schools.

Compared to the school he attended before, its ranking was much higher.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun felt that since he was living in Tokyo now, he would try his best to get into the University of Tokyo this time!

When he walked out of the bathroom, Ruri had already tidied up the bed and was preparing breakfast and a bento at the stove.

The small three-tatami room was filled with an enticing aroma, making Xia Xia Xia Mujun's stomach growl uncontrollably.

While eating, Ruri spoke cautiously:

"Although Father only paid your tuition for this semester before he passed away, you shouldn't think about finishing this semester and then going out to work part-time."

"Studying is still very important!"

"Only by studying hard can we have a greater chance of escaping our current poverty."

"Without the corresponding knowledge, even if the opportunity to make money is right in front of you, you might not be able to discover it."

"So Ruri was thinking, even if our family doesn't have money to pay your tuition for next semester, I plan to talk to the bank and get a student loan or something."

"There is gain only if there is sacrifice."

"The pressure of those student loans isn't great, and after Ruri gets into university, it'll be fine for me to help Brother pay it back!"

"It's just that Ruri hopes you won't give up on studying, Brother, and don't consider going out to work formally at this age; that's too hard, and the money earned isn't much, the return is inversely proportional to the study..."

"Brother, do you understand what Ruri is saying?"

Xia Xia Xia Mujun ate his breakfast without looking up and said:

"I know."

Natsume Ruri looked at his indifferent expression and couldn't help but pout, feeling that her silly brother definitely didn't understand what she meant.

She sat beside Xia Xia Xia Mujun and asked in the simplest way:

"Anyway, no matter what, you must promise me you'll finish university, absolutely no dropping out halfway, okay?"

Xia Xia Xia Mujun looked at his sister's serious expression and replied with a smile:

"Don't worry, my goal is the same as yours, sister, it's the University of Tokyo."

"I'm even thinking that when we're in university, I'll have you call me 'senpai' or something, so it's absolutely impossible for me to drop out halfway."

"You'd better be!" Natsume Ruri shyly and helplessly tapped Qianjing, feeling that her brother was not reliable at all.

Although she was a little happy in her heart to hear her brother say he wanted to attend the same university as her.

But she didn't have too many expectations for it.

She had seen her brother's grades since she was a child.

He was always at the bottom of the school rankings.

He didn't have any talents, so it was hard for him to even be a special student.

In this situation, wanting to get into the University of Tokyo was absolutely impossible.

However, she felt that since her brother had promised her he would honestly finish university, she didn't say anything else to dampen his confidence.

Anyway, she felt that as long as her silly brother had a university degree, it didn't matter if he made money in the future or not.

Although it was still her brother who was making money to support the family now, as long as she turned sixteen and could legally work part-time, it would be her turn to support her brother!

Inside the subway station.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun's gaze drifted involuntarily to the bracelet his sister was wearing on her hand.

He saw it in his eyes and craved it in his heart.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun sighed inwardly: until he could think of a suitable excuse, he was afraid it would be difficult to get this piece of special equipment from his sister.

With a slight movement of his mind, he pulled up the panel in his mind:

[Character: Qianjing]

[Age: 16]

[Strength: 4] (Normal adult attribute average is 5)

[Agility: 4]

[Spirit: 5]

[Constitution: 5]

[Charm: 9]

[Equipment: 'Boy's Sorrowful Diary', 'Dust-covered Chess Records']

[Distance to next attribute point reward: One more piece of equipment needed!]

One more piece...

Besides the one from his sister and the one from the Kondo family, where else could there be any?

Would there be any at school?

Xia Xia Xia Mujun thought for a moment and decided that at school, if he had extra time, he would wander around and see if he could discover any special equipment.

The two arrived at the train station platform.

Xia Xia Xia Mujun knew that the direction Ruri needed to take was opposite to his, so he whispered to her: "Ruri, if you encounter anything, remember to call me the first time, you know?"

Natsume Ruri nodded obediently: "Ruri knows."

She paused, her bright eyes looking at her brother, and added seriously: "But this point is the same for you, Brother. If you have anything, remember to tell me too, Ruri will also worry about you."

Xia Xia Xia Mujun felt a warmth in his heart and responded with a smile: "Mm."

At this time, a sound came from the tracks in the distance, getting closer and closer.

The train Ruri needed to take arrived faster than his.

The train stopped steadily at the platform, and the doors slowly opened with a "hiss" of exhaust.

Natsume Ruri turned around, looked at Qianjing, and said softly: "Brother, I'm going first then."

"Mm, be careful on the way, bye-bye." Xia Xia Xia Mujun waved, watching his sister's figure lightly step into the carriage.

The doors closed, the train gradually accelerated, and finally disappeared at the end of the tracks.

He withdrew his gaze, retreated to the opposite platform, and waited quietly for his own train.

A refreshing breeze swept across the platform, gently brushing Xia Xia Xia Mujun's hair on his forehead, bringing up a trace of thought.

He suddenly wondered if any of the classmates he knew before had also entered the Private Moonlight Academy.

This thought stayed in his mind for a moment, and then he shook his head helplessly.

It didn't matter whether they had or not.

In his previous school, his predecessor was basically a marginal person and didn't have much deep interaction with those people.

Perhaps it was very possible that no one would remember him after he went to school.

As for now... it was more important to take advantage of this moment of leisure to finish "The Devotion of Suspect X" as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Xia Xia Xia Mujun collected his thoughts, lowered his head, and his fingertips tapped rapidly on the phone screen.