Thursday morning dawned cold and grey in Moon City, reflecting the mood inside the Lane Family villa.
The dining room was silent, save for the scraping of silver cutlery against fine porcelain. Madam Vivian sat at the head of the table, slicing a perfectly fried egg with more force than necessary.
News of Principal Shaw personally intercepting Ren at the school gate the previous evening had traveled fast in their social circles. A parent of a Class 1 student had mentioned it in a group chat, sparking a wave of speculation.
"Vivian," Vera asked tentatively, watching her sister-in-law's expression. "I heard about the Principal. Did Ren cause trouble again? Is that why he had to intervene personally?"
Vivian paused, a cold smile touching her lips. "What else could it be? Principal Shaw is a figure of immense stature. He doesn't lower himself to speak to students unless the situation is dire. Ren must have done something catastrophic—perhaps she's on the verge of expulsion, and he was delivering a final ultimatum."
Faye, sitting opposite her mother, took a slow sip of milk. Her eyes flickered with uncertainty.
She had been there. She had heard snippets of the conversation. It sounded like an invitation to the Physics Competition.
But that was impossible. Ren was a dropout who scored four points on English exams. The idea that the Principal would beg her to join an academic team was absurd. Vivian's explanation made much more sense.
"It must be," Faye agreed softly, convincing herself. "Ren has a terrible temper. She probably disrespected a teacher. It's normal for the Principal to issue a warning."
Vera let out a sigh of relief, her face relaxing into a look of vindication. "I knew it! She's nothing but trouble. Thank god I have you, Faye. You never make me worry."
***
At Wolven High, Class 9 was buzzing with pre-class chatter.
The bell rang, and Ren walked in. She looked as sleep-deprived as ever, her hoodie pulled up, her trademark baseball cap missing for once. In her arms, she clutched a notebook.
It wasn't a standard school notebook. It was old, with a cracked leather cover that was peeling at the edges. The pages were yellowed with age, and it looked like something salvaged from a recycling bin.
This was the "gift" Professor Zimmer had forced upon her the night before—a collection of his personal musings on quantum mechanics, which he had begged her to "proofread."
Ren walked to the back row, tossed the "trash" notebook onto her desk with a careless thud, and collapsed into her fifteen-thousand-dollar Herman Miller chair. She pulled her hood down over her eyes and went instantly to sleep.
During the morning break, Faye walked past the open door of Class 9.
Her eyes immediately landed on the decrepit notebook sitting on Ren's desk.
"Ew," Faye's friend giggled, covering her mouth. "Did she pick that up from a dumpster? The cover is literally falling off. Why would she bring garbage to school?"
Faye glanced at it, a flicker of disdain crossing her face.
"Maybe she uses it to balance a wobbly table back in the village," Faye said coolly. "Come on, let's go. I need to prepare for the Violin Association entrance audition."
In their eyes, it was a piece of junk.
Only Ren knew that if she took that notebook to an auction house in Zurich, the bidding would start at seven figures.
***
The second period was Physics.
Mr. Yates marched into the classroom, a spring in his step. Principal Shaw had just approved a new budget for his laboratory, and he was in a good mood.
He walked to the podium, scanned the class with his usual eagle eyes, and finally rested his gaze on the "Privilege Zone" in the back corner.
Ren was asleep.
But next to her hand, the old notebook was teetering precariously on the edge of the desk. One nudge, and it would fall into the trash can below.
Mr. Yates frowned.
He indulged Ren's sleeping habits because of her genius, but he had OCD when it came to books. He couldn't stand seeing knowledge treated so carelessly.
He tiptoed down the aisle, intending to push the book back to a safe position.
However, as his hand reached out and his eyes focused on the worn leather cover, he froze.
There, scrawled in faded, jagged ink, was a signature.
*Zimmer.*
Mr. Yates snatched his hand back as if he had been burned.
His eyes bulged. He took off his glasses, wiped them frantically on his tie, and put them back on. He leaned in closer, his nose almost touching the leather.
That signature... he had seen it on the cover of textbooks. He had seen it in academic journals. He had seen it on the Nobel Prize acceptance list.
It was the personal signature of Professor Zimmer, the living legend of modern physics.
Mr. Yates' hands began to tremble uncontrollably. He reached out again, this time with the reverence of a priest touching a holy relic. He gently opened the front cover.
The pages were filled with dense equations, diagrams of particle collisions, and frantic annotations in German. The handwriting was messy, energetic, and unmistakably authentic.
It was an original manuscript. A one-of-a-kind artifact. A bible of the physics world.
"My God..." Mr. Yates whispered, feeling lightheaded. He clutched his chest, fearing his heart might actually stop.
Such a priceless treasure... and Ren had tossed it on the corner of her desk like a used napkin? There was even a half-eaten bag of potato chips resting on top of it!
***
At that moment, Ren stirred.
She sensed a presence looming over her. She cracked one eye open and saw Mr. Yates standing there, his face flushed red, looking at her notebook as if he wanted to marry it.
"Teacher?" Ren croaked, her voice raspy with sleep.
"Ren!" Mr. Yates shrieked, his voice cracking. "Where... where did you get this? Is this real? Is this Professor Zimmer's manuscript?"
Ren yawned, stretching her arms. She reached out, grabbed the priceless notebook by a single loose page, and stuffed it roughly into her backpack.
The sound of crinkling paper made Mr. Yates flinch physically.
"Oh, that," Ren mumbled. "A naggy old man gave it to me. He wanted me to correct his typos."
Mr. Yates stopped breathing.
*Correct his typos?*
Professor Zimmer? The man who redefined quantum field theory?
Ren was correcting *his* work?
The students in the front row turned around, eyes wide. They didn't know who Zimmer was, but they knew Mr. Yates. They had never seen the "Tyrant of Physics" look so... broken.
"Teacher," Ren asked, "are we having class?"
"Yes! Yes!" Mr. Yates took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He looked at Ren not as a student, but as a mythical creature.
"Um... Student Ren," he stammered, his voice humble. "Could I... could I borrow that notebook? Just for a minute? I just want to photocopy one page. One page!"
The class gasped.
The terrifying Mr. Yates was begging?
Ren shrugged, kicking her backpack under the desk. "Whatever. Just don't get it dirty."
Mr. Yates looked like he had won the lottery. He picked up the backpack with both hands, cradling it like a newborn baby, and tiptoed back to the podium.
Outside in the hallway, Faye happened to be walking past.
She stopped, watching through the window.
She saw the feared Physics teacher treating Ren's "garbage" backpack like a sacred object. She saw the awe in his eyes.
The memory of her mother's words—"expulsion warning"—echoed in her mind, clashing violently with the reality before her.
Faye felt a sudden, sharp sting on her cheek, as if she had been slapped by an invisible hand.
The world, it seemed, was not spinning the way she thought it was.
**[Chapter 50 End]**