Chapter 49
In the school conference room.
Xing Nuo, his little legs swinging, gripped the edge of the conference table, trying to see over it.
He looked around at the serious-faced teachers, then at his brother, Shen Baizhou, who was sitting at the head of the table in his blue and white school uniform.
Perhaps intimidated by the serious atmosphere, he hesitated for a long time before finally whispering, “Brother.”
Shen Baizhou’s monolid lifted slightly, his eyes softening.
“What’s wrong, Xing Nuo?”
Xing Nuo clutched his tummy and, pursing his lips, said shyly:
“Brother…Zaizai…needs…bathroom…”
Shen Baizhou hummed in response, interrupting the principal’s impassioned speech, and picked up Xing Nuo.
“We’re leaving. Continue your meeting. I’m taking my brother to the bathroom.”
The principal, eager to please the new instance boss, rubbed his hands and nodded repeatedly.
“Of course, of course, your brother is most important! These are just minor matters!”
The former school boss, now demoted to vice-principal, hurriedly stood up and opened the door for Shen Baizhou.
“Rest assured, there will be no more instance intrusions into your and your brother’s school!”
The vice-principal felt a pang of resentment.
It had been a normal instance intrusion into the human world; who would have thought they’d run into Shen Baizhou, disguised as a high school student?!
That menacing figure usually stayed put in his underwater lair.
Only when he was hungry would he emerge to randomly devour a few small monsters.
It was both unlucky and lucky. Unlucky that the school instance had a new boss, but lucky that, thanks to this new boss, their school had been upgraded to SSS+ level!
As a monster principal with aspirations, he felt a sense of pride and honor!
His slight resentment was easily overlooked.
The vice-principal and the disciplinary director obsequiously saw Shen Baizhou out, then, turning around, their expressions hardened as they saw the two monster teachers cowering in the back row.
“Are you two blind? Couldn’t even recognize Shen Baizhou?!”
The disciplinary director, patting his large belly, knocked the two small monsters on their heads.
“Didn’t the announcement say the instance had been upgraded?! Are you deaf as well as blind?!”
The two monster teachers wanted to cry, wishing they could turn back time and cling to Boss Shen Baizhou’s leg!
The moment they opened the conference room door and saw Shen Baizhou, feeling the oppressive aura of a high-level monster, they had almost prostrated themselves, begging for mercy!
Fortunately, Shen Baizhou, having already vented his anger by beating them up earlier, couldn’t be bothered with them anymore.
The two monster teachers, having narrowly escaped death, huddled in a corner of the conference room, not daring to move.
Meanwhile.
Shen Baizhou carried Xing Nuo out of the faculty building, his gaze indifferent, a hint of boredom in his eyes.
He had expected something more from the monster who created this instance, but it had been rather disappointing.
“Let’s go, back to kindergarten.”
Xing Nuo nodded vigorously, his voice soft.
“Kindergarten…has bathroom…and…baby hand soap~”
Shen Baizhou hummed in agreement, carried Xing Nuo, and, without looking back, left the school.
At the kindergarten.
The children were dozing at their desks.
Teacher Xiao Song walked in, carrying a stack of books, and, seeing the sleeping children, clapped her hands to wake them up.
“Children, wake up! Look what Teacher Xiao Song brought for you!”
The sleepy children yawned, their minds still foggy.
Little Fatty clutched his head and let out a loud cry.
“Teacher, I have amnesia! I don’t remember anything!”
His mind was completely blank!
Teacher Xiao Song, exasperated, rubbed her forehead, placed the books on the podium, walked over, and ruffled Little Fatty’s hair.
“There, there, did you get up too early for kindergarten and then fell asleep again?”
She knew Little Fatty was always sleepy.
“We haven’t even started our lesson yet, children…wait, where’s Xing Nuo?”
She looked around and saw Xing Nuo walking in through the doorway.
“Xing Nuo, why aren’t you in your seat?”
Xing Nuo scratched his cheek, a confused look on his face, and shook his head.
“Don’t know…Zaizai…maybe…went…bathroom…”
He had only regained consciousness in the kindergarten bathroom.
He didn’t know why he was there. After finishing his business, he had walked back to the classroom in a daze.
Teacher Xiao Song pinched Xing Nuo’s soft cheek, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.
“Alright, now that you’ve been to the bathroom, go back to your seat. I’m going to hand out storybooks!”
The children, their attention immediately captured by the storybooks, forgot about their memory lapse and looked up at Teacher Xiao Song expectantly.
The amnesia also affected Shen Baizhou’s high school class.
The high school students taking their physics quiz suddenly felt their minds go blank. When they looked up, most of the exam time was gone!
“Holy crap, time flies when you’re having fun!”
“I haven’t finished yet! What the—?!”
“My mind is blank! I don’t remember anything!”
Hearing the students’ cries, their physics teacher walked in, tapping his set square against the desk.
“I could hear you all the way from the corridor! Our class is the loudest in the entire school!”
The students lowered their heads, grumbling, and continued working on their tests.
Shen Baizhou entered through the back door, looked at his physics test paper, and raised an eyebrow.
He wasn’t going to get a single-digit score again!
Having used the high-level Time-Shifting Hourglass prop to erase everyone’s memory of the instance, he was filled with confidence.
He returned home with an eleven on his physics test.
Shen Wen, carrying a bag of carefully selected vegetables from the market, strolled towards the kindergarten and waited for Xing Nuo at the gate.
Sensing a lingering trace of an anomaly, he looked around, thoughtfully stroking his chin.
This anomaly…seemed to have already ended?
He was considering going inside to check when he heard his third-floor neighbor’s booming voice.
“Unauthorized personnel, stay back! Keep your distance!”
The third-floor neighbor, Qi Yao, his normally casual demeanor replaced by a serious expression, his thick beard making him look intimidating, especially to children, saw Shen Wen standing among the parents, his elegant, aloof aura setting him apart from the crowd, and paused mid-gesture, walking towards him.
“Shen Wen? What are you doing here…? Is this the kindergarten Xing Nuo attends?!” Qi Yao’s voice rose slightly as he realized.
Shen Wen nodded, turning his head slightly, sunlight catching his golden hair as it swayed.
“What are you doing? Why are you cordoning off the kindergarten?”
Qi Yao hadn’t expected the incident to occur at the kindergarten Xing Nuo attended.
His heart sank, thinking of Xing Nuo’s sweet little face. He felt a surge of anxiety, but he maintained a calm expression.
“It’s nothing serious. There was a malfunction with the playground equipment. We’re just taking precautions to ensure the children’s safety.”
He recited his prepared excuse.
A mother waiting to pick up her child gasped and asked anxiously:
“Is everything alright? My daughter is still inside!”
Another parent, even more frantic, tried to push past the cordon.
“No, something must have happened! Let me in, I need to see if my child is okay!”
As the parents clamored to enter, Qi Yao and his team members blocked the gate, shouting that no one was allowed inside.
Seeing that they couldn’t be reasoned with, Qi Yao, not wanting to waste any more time, slipped past the barricade and entered the kindergarten.
He cautiously made his way inside, his anomaly detector in hand, heading towards the source of the anomaly.
Halfway there, he was spotted by a group of children who had just finished class and were playing on the slide.
“Look, everyone! A big, bearded bad guy!”
“Chase him away! Bad guy!”
The children scattered, except for Xing Nuo, who, after much effort, had finally reached the top of the slide.
Xing Nuo wiped the sweat from his forehead, spread his small arms, and slid down with a happy squeal.
The wind ruffled his curls, and the sunlight filtering through the trees made his skin seem almost translucent.
Qi Yao, surrounded by a group of chattering children, frantically made his way to the slide.
Seeing Xing Nuo, his anxiety eased considerably.
Thankfully, the little one hadn’t been caught in the anomaly.
He breathed a sigh of relief, trying to make his way through the throng of children who were now hitting and kicking him.
“Alright, alright, I’m not a bad guy!” he said hurriedly.
The children didn’t believe him and continued their assault.
Xing Nuo, seeing the children hitting his third-floor neighbor, hid behind the slide, giggling.
Zaizai remembered!
That uncle had teased him until he cried this morning!
He snorted softly and, seeing the children distracted, ran towards the other slide.
His eyes curving into a smile, he slid down, happy to have the slide all to himself.
