48 Hours a Day

Zhang Heng received a system reminder in his sleep and learned that his quest time had been extended from 20 days to 140 days. Since it was set in the modern-day, the prolonged game time had undoubtedly more pros than cons. In other words, there was now more time to explore this dungeon. He could hone his skills, and at the same time, there was no need for taking additional risks.

However, was this quest as peaceful as it portrayed?

The alarm woke Zhang Heng up early the next morning

Having left high school life for quite a while, he would need some time to get used to the grind again-waking up early every morning, then gobbling down breakfast as fast as possible before the mad rush to school. Returning to high school all of a sudden made him a little uncomfortable, not to mention that yesterday’s homework was uncompleted.

After coming back from the river last night, he wanted to complete his homework, but the moment he looked at them, he found that he had forgotten a lot of things. So he gave up on doing it completely.

After breakfast, Zhang Heng grabbed his schoolbag, said hello to his grandfather, and left for school.

Although he knew who the person under the bridge’s pier from last night was, he didn’t immediately confront the person. The first reason was that the person would not run away from this place for now, and the second was that everything seemed normal in this dungeon so far. Nonetheless, Zhang Heng made sure that his guard stayed up all the time.

On the bright side, at least he had not done anything beyond his status as a student yet.

After waited for a while, Zhang Heng finally got on the bus. There were many students and office workers who went on the same bus. One of the girls with pigtails took advantage of the time to memorize some texts. When the bus became too crowded, the driver shouted, “Stand back a little! Stand back a little!”

Zhang Heng had no choice but to move half a step toward the pigtailed girl. The two were almost sticking together. She then raised her head and looked at Zhang Heng. Immediately, he showed an apologetic smile to her. The girl with pigtails quickly lowered her head to the point it almost got buried in the textbook.

Zhang Heng had been taking this route for some time now, and this wasn’t his first time encountering her. Judging from the textbook she was holding, she should be a year older than him. In reality, however, Zhang Heng had never spoken to her, nor did he know her name until she completed her college entrance examination.

The purpose of this quest was not for Zhang Heng to relive the memories of high school. Seeing that the girl was well into her textbook, he didn’t intend to disturb her. So, the two stood close together until they arrived at the school. Zhang Heng was encumbered by the crowd and had to squeeze his way to get off the bus. He tidied up his slightly messy clothes and looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar school gate. The current time was 7:15, only five minutes left before the day’s classes began.

Knowing he could be late, Zhang Heng picked up the pace like the other students around him. He found his class by memory, and not long after he put down his schoolbag, the bell rang. Zhang Heng had traversed many quests, and he had also done all sorts of odd jobs. However, the busiest job was none other than a high school student.

This was the kind of life where you opened your eyes every day, and the day was fully arranged. However, the magical part was that although everyone was super busy every day, they still managed to squeeze out some time to engage in relationships. It was as if everyone had 48 hours a day.

Zhang Heng felt a little dizzy after a day of class, not to mention his summoning to the office by many teachers since he failed to hand in his homework. Fortunately, he had not caused too much trouble, making a good impression of himself in front of his teachers. Zhang Heng told the teachers that he was not feeling too well, the most effective excuse to avoid reprimand. However, this was just a temporary solution.

Fortunately, Zhang Heng had someone that he knew sitting beside him. Her name is Bai Qing, a friend who happened to be the class study committee member.

“Are you okay? Did Teacher Song scold you?” asked Bai Qing with concern as she looked at Zhang Heng, who had just returned from the office. She was the one who had notified Zhang Heng to go to the office earlier.

“I told them I had a fever last night.”

“You were sick last night?” Bai Qing was a little surprised. “No.”

ILL

“Then, you’d better complete your homework next time. If you just get good grades, the teachers will stop coming after you. And you won’t be so lucky next time,” Bai Qing reminded. Apparently, she hadn’t forgotten her duties as a member of the study committee.

And Bai Qing could not figure out why Zhang Heng gave her a different feeling today. Unlike before, Zhang Heng was obviously absent-minded in class. He paid not the slightest attention to the lessons, whether it be math or English. He did not even bother to open the textbooks on his table. Although Zhang Heng would occasionally let his mind wander, this was Bai Qing’s first time seeing him being so disconnected for the whole day. She also noticed that he would write something down in the textbook with a pen from time to time, only to cross it out a moment later.

Zhang Heng acknowledged Bai Qing. The girl thought that he would heed her advice, constantly feeling that he was different from the other boys in the class. He had a kind of maturity that did not match his age, as if he knew what needed to be done all the time. After a while, she heard Zhang Heng asking her a shocking question.

“Can I copy your homework?”

IL11

Upon his request, Bai Qing was speechless. “The teacher is no fool. He can tell that you’ve copied someone,” she replied.

“It makes sense. I shall borrow another person’s homework to copy from it.”

It was troublesome enough to come to school every day without knowing what was going on. Zhang Heng was in no mood to do homework school like before. Although he had an extra 24 hours every day, he had no intention to abuse himself.

“Copying from multiple copies of homework... is not the solution, either,” Bai Qing frowned. “You will suffer in the exams. You can’t lie to yourself when it comes to learning.” As she spoke, she handed her homework and examination papers to Zhang Heng.

Ordinarily, Bai Qing could sit at her seat for a long time to finish up her homework. During the break, Zhang Heng had never once seen her leave except for toilet visits and fetching water. By the end of the school day, her homework would have been almost done.

“Thank you,” Zhang Heng nodded and took the workbook. “I will treat you to a cup of milk tea later.”

“Coco?”

“Whatever you want.”

“I want a double portion of boba pearls. How about English and Biology homework? I haven’t completed them yet,” Bai Qing offered.

“I can complete English by myself. As for biology, can you come to school early tomorrow morning?”

“Yes,” Bai Qing nodded. Seeing Zhang Heng grabbing his bag, she hesitated and let out a “Hmm...”

“Why? Is there anything else?”

“I will help you... for a week at most. After that, you will have to do your own homework.”

Looking at Bai Qing’s serious expressions, Zhang Heng did not defend himself. He simply nodded and said, “I will see if I can find another way then.”