Today is April 7, 2090, the eighth day of the third lunar month, a Friday, three days after Qingming Festival.
Nowadays, activities commemorating ancestors are becoming increasingly ritualistic; cloud-based ancestor worship has long been nothing new, and there are even incredibly bizarre 'Underworld Email' services.
Because each person's email is unique and will never reappear even if deleted, living people can send emails to deceased relatives and friends.
And as long as the 'Underworld Email' function is enabled, the emails will be marked as '(Read)'.
Just thinking about it is terrifying, isn't it?
Grave sites are extremely rare now.
The remains of the deceased are either scattered into the sea to be consumed by fish and shrimp, or collected in a cargo container and launched into space, drifting alone for decades or centuries, eventually melting away as they approach the sun.
Therefore, in these times, most people worship ancestral tablets and have no graves to sweep.
Simon's family has a small room with an electronic display screen.
When powered on, it shows ancestral names, photos, and other information, playing like a slideshow, one after another.
The electronic screen also plays music, including the Great Compassion Mantra and other tunes.
There's no sense of sadness; every time Simon kneels and kowtows on the cushion in front of this electronic tablet, he just feels like laughing.
Life is too disillusioned, even more so than the slideshows on the electronic memorial tablet.
Early dismissal on Friday is the happiest for first-year students, as they get to rest for a day and a half, with classes resuming only on Sunday afternoon.
This is already considered a very leisurely time.
Simon stopped Bai Fengjiu at Chunhua Station.
"Hello, Class Monitor! What a coincidence, you're also taking the train to the school gate?" Simon smiled, harmless like a Shar Pei basking in the sun.
Bai Fengjiu stood ramrod straight, like a utility pole for dogs to pee on.
When she turned her head, her eyes were wide like surveillance cameras, but her speech was unhurried, "Where's Su Xiangli? Aren't you two inseparable?"
Simon coughed twice, holding up his backpack, "She's staying at school this week.
Oh, by the way, Class Monitor, look, my homework..."
"Don't even dream of me letting you copy it."
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant.
What kind of person do you take me for? Oh dear—wow! What kind of look is that?"
"The look for a liar," Bai Fengjiu said indifferently.
"Hahaha, you're really funny." Simon laughed for a while, but Bai Fengjiu still didn't react.
"Is this a joke? It's just the truth."
Simon was again amused by this remark, "You're too amazing, I can't resist a deadpan comedian, ga ga ga..."
Bai Fengjiu stopped talking; everyone around them was watching.
Simon chuckled awkwardly for a while, his voice unconsciously softening.
He shrugged at everyone, "It really is funny!"
The people around them also laughed, and the small station, inside and out, was filled with cheerful air.
Only Bai Fengjiu remained standing tall, like a utility pole, or a desert poplar.
Simon tilted his head, "Do you really not think it's funny?"
Bai Fengjiu averted her gaze.
Zou Jiaqi suddenly darted out from the crowd, "Yo, everyone's here? Want to go together?" Behind him, several of his mischievous friends were secretly observing.
Zhang Yingxuan: "It seems we've successfully infiltrated enemy territory."
Wei Changjun: "Excellent, excellent.
Although this operation is bold, we will definitely gather a lot of inside information."
Zhou Ping: "..." Why am I here? Oh, right, leaving school.
The train had been stopped at the platform, waiting for its scheduled departure.
The chatterbox finished speaking just as it was time for passengers to board before departure.
The airtight doors of the train cars popped open simultaneously with a hiss, and the doors slid open to both sides.
The ramps extended onto the platform.
The students cheered, queuing up and flooding into the train, finding their preferred seats, placing their backpacks in the overhead compartments, and then calling out to friends, the atmosphere growing lively.
Simon followed Bai Fengjiu.
She sat by the window at the edge of the carriage, looking out, without much to say.
Simon sat right next to her, while Zou Jiaqi was separated from them by an aisle.
"Class Monitor, can I come to your house to do homework?"
When this was said, others didn't react, but Zou Jiaqi almost jumped up.
[Zou Jiaqi:??? How much did we miss? Has it already progressed this far? And who exactly is Simon, to directly suggest going to a girl's house? Shouldn't such things be discussed in advance, hey! Isn't he afraid of being seen as a pervert by her family?]
Bai Fengjiu turned her head, her expression serious, making Simon's heart tighten.
She sincerely and softly asked, "You don't have a home?"
[Zou Jiaqi (holding back laughter): Oh my, what a wonderfully straightforward answer from a'straight girl'.
Simon, didn't expect your opponent's level to be so high, did you?]
"No, no, that's not what I meant.
You see, Teacher Wei said we should form study groups, and I thought the Class Monitor would be a good choice," Simon explained gently.
[Zou Jiaqi: What kind of nonsense answer is that? Who would you fool with that?]
"Alright then," Bai Fengjiu pulled out a copy of'Selected Poems of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms' from her small satchel, her voice warming up.
[Zou Jiaqi: What? What do you mean 'Alright then'? That's it?]
He looked helplessly at the front row; his mischievous friends not far away made a 'How was it?' gesture, but he just shook his head.
Zhang Yingxuan: "What does shaking his head mean?"
Wei Changjun: "Maybe he can't hear us? It's normal not to hear across the aisle."
Zhou Ping: "..." Internet cafe, here I come.
The train slowly traveled along the wide, tree-lined avenue.
It was the month when peach blossoms were in full bloom, and a gentle breeze would turn into a red rain.
Cool petals flew into the train window, landing on Bai Fengjiu's book page, precisely on a poem bathed in the setting sun.
She picked up this one sorrowful floral tear and softly recited, "Thousands of peach trees in Xuandu Temple, all planted after Liu Lang left."
Simon turned his head to look at the girl who cherished the flower.
Her often indifferent face was, at some point, filled with thoughtful ripples.
Sunlight passed through Bai Fengjiu's dense black hair, a deep orange hue.
She shook her head gracefully, the scent of shampoo wafting, shaking off a faint trace of melancholy from her heart.
Twirling the petal, she gently tossed it out the window, watching it remain a drop of red rain, fluttering and disappearing into the wind of the moving train.
Simon asked, "Are you unhappy?"
She didn't answer, looking out the window, just smiling, the silhouette of her smile full of the tenderness of spring.
Zou Jiaqi stared blankly at them, his gaze drawn to Bai Fengjiu, his heart and lungs trembling.
[Zou: Class Monitor is truly beautiful.]
...
Simon walked with Bai Fengjiu the whole way.
He always wanted to strike up a conversation, but Bai Fengjiu's answers became fewer and fewer.
Halfway there, Zou Jiaqi popped out from who knows where again, asking, "Can I do homework with you two?"
Simon shrugged, looking at Bai Fengjiu, who thought seriously for a moment, "You can."
"It really is that simple!" Zou Jiaqi was stunned.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"