Chapter 17

Opening her eyes, she found herself still in a grimy, cluttered alleyway.

Calling it an alley wasn’t quite accurate—judging by the space it occupied, the place was fairly wide; it just felt cramped because of the darkness and disorder.

Du Zhengxuan blinked and looked around for a minute, noticing the temperature here seemed a bit warmer than in H City.

This region must have a temperate monsoon or subtropical monsoon climate—hot and rainy summers, cold and dry winters. Along the coast, there would be natural fishing grounds formed by the convergence of cold and warm currents… She couldn’t recall the exact latitude and longitude; she would have to check her textbooks later.

She ran through this knowledge in her mind, switched to geography mode, then pulled out her test paper and pen to find a spot with some light.

Du Zhengxuan was cautious as she stepped out of the alley—after all, she had heard that people abroad lived in constant hardship.

Thankfully, nothing like “a bullet flying the moment you peek your head out” happened.

The street felt a bit like the old pedestrian streets of H City—cleanliness and greenery were mediocre, but there was a lively, nostalgic vibe. Half the shops on either side were open, the rest closed, and pedestrians strolled along. Compared to the school uniforms from her affiliated high school, everyone here dressed quite fashionably.

Noticing how much her own uniform attracted attention, Du Zhengxuan took it off, carrying it in one hand and holding her test paper and pen in the other as she began scouting for a place to settle in.

Her luck held—after only a few steps, she found a bookstore.

The shop owner was an elderly man, wearing glasses and reading a book behind the counter.

Du Zhengxuan forced herself to appear calm as she entered. The owner glanced up at her once, then went back to reading.

Perfect—just the kind of shopkeeper she liked!

She silently cheered, happily finding a corner and diving into her work.

Her efficiency had been low these past few days; every time she heard the sound of pages turning nearby, her mind jammed. The most embarrassing part was that the class monitor seemed to have noticed, becoming extra cautious when flipping pages.

Du Zhengxuan wished she could become invisible and slip out of the class altogether.

Fortunately, the subject divisions were approaching. Some students would sneak out during classes they didn’t plan to take to study elsewhere.

She had planned to do the same but hadn’t expected to wander a bit too far. Luckily, she was quick to adapt and knowing she would return, she furiously scribbled down her answers.

The bookstore was quiet; the occasional street noise outside sounded like white noise.

This place was a homework sanctuary—her efficiency skyrocketed. After finishing her test early, she regretted not bringing her backpack.

Such a perfect spot! Not being able to tackle all the “Essential Gaokao Questions,” “Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Simulation,” and “One Lesson, One Practice” books was a real waste.

Du Zhengxuan rested her chin on her hand, elbow on the completed test paper, twirling her pen idly as she daydreamed.

Perhaps it was late, or maybe people here just didn’t like reading, but no one else had entered since she arrived.

Curious about the new environment, she didn’t dare wander off and instead sat on the steps, scanning the surrounding shelves.

Most books were in Japanese—unreadable to her.

Bored, she shifted her gaze outside.

Perhaps knowing she was under a foreign sky, Du Zhengxuan looked on with wonder. The night was dark, punctuated only by the occasional blinking navigation light of a passing plane… Wait—what?

Spotting five tall buildings resembling skyscrapers suspended in midair, her eyes widened.

Those must be landmarks; she was itching to take a photo with her phone.

She closed her eyes to “read” the books again, wondering if she could somehow use this method to bring her phone over.

While she was mulling over a countdown, the wind chime at the bookstore’s door jingled softly. Someone greeted the owner with a “good evening.”

A new customer?

Du Zhengxuan immediately opened her eyes and saw a man in a white lab coat standing at the counter with a young girl.

The man appeared to be in his thirties, tall and slender, with a well-maintained figure. From her angle, his hairline was intact—no signs of balding.

“Oh my, it seems there was already a guest before me,” he said with a smile, turning to look at her. The foreign little girl accompanying him also looked curiously at Du Zhengxuan.

She noticed his eyes had a slight purple tint, and under the plain white coat, he wore a stylish purple shirt.

This was the first time she’d seen a shirt other than white under a lab coat.

So trendy—it almost felt like she might catch a chill.

Du Zhengxuan, shy and intimidated by fashionistas, bowed politely and smiled, then averted her gaze.

She was still staring at those five buildings, curious about their purpose.

They looked somewhat like the hideouts of villains in anime.

But realistically speaking, judging by their location somewhat away from the city center, such places were usually industrial zones—chemical plants or other secondary industries… No, wait, she had to consider the prevailing wind directions here.

She was lost in geographic speculation, unaware that the newcomer had quietly come to her side.

“Miss, are you from another country?” the man asked.

Startled, Du Zhengxuan jolted and instinctively replied, “Sorry, my English is poor.”

The man smiled, clearly wanting to say more, but she quickly cut him off:

“Sorry, my Japanese is also poor.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, then spoke in the language she was familiar with:

“Well then, Miss, can you understand this?”

Du Zhengxuan wanted to shake her head and continue pretending not to understand, but at that moment, the man tapped twice on her completed test paper.

Seeing her detailed analysis of the chemical plant’s site selection, she changed her stance.

“Mm-hmm, I understand. Please go ahead.”

The man maintained a gentle smile and, with the little girl, sat down on either side of Du Zhengxuan.

The girl looked curiously at the finished test; Du Zhengxuan grew anxious, afraid she might try to put the paper in her mouth or fold it into a paper airplane.

“Miss, are you interested in those five tall buildings over there?”

“Sort of…” Du Zhengxuan half withdrew her gaze from the girl, thinking maybe a local would know about those buildings. “Do you know what they are used for?”

The man didn’t answer directly but instead asked, “Are you interested in that place?”

Observing her reaction, he continued, “If you have time later, how about I take you there to have a look?”

Du Zhengxuan shifted uncomfortably, sensing something odd about him. She looked at him suspiciously and asked, “Is that possible? Aren’t there security guards around? And it seems quite far from here.”

His response was a little slow but still he smiled: “I know the guards there. Maybe they’ll let us in for a visit.”

Du Zhengxuan stared silently for a moment before asking, “Does your company have any new products being tested that I could try for free?”

She thought to herself: “Free to try, but when it’s time to clean up, you have to leave everything valuable behind—this trick is everywhere, huh?”

The man didn’t know her thoughts and looked thoughtful as he slowly said, “If you’re interested, the company does have some…”

“No, no, I’m not interested,” Du Zhengxuan interrupted hastily, standing up nimbly and snatching the test paper from the girl’s hands, stuffing it into her pocket. “Uncle, I advise you to stay on the right path. Being a translator is a decent job. Relying on scams to get rich has no future.”

The teenage girl moved swiftly and smoothly, clutching her test paper and coat, and in two or three seconds, she dashed out of the store.

By the time the man caught up, the place was empty.

…

Just before the class bell rang, Du Zhengxuan sneaked back into the classroom and took her seat.

No sooner had she sat down than the bell rang, and she poked the girl in front, Long Wan, slamming two test papers on the desk with a flourish:

“Here!”

“Wow, you’re amazing—writing so much in one class,” Long Wan said, leafing through the papers in astonishment. “Breaking through your mental block and ascending?”

“No,” Du Zhengxuan replied, “I ran into a scam on the street.”