The faint rustle of paper was the only sound that filled the small apartment.Sunlight poured through half-closed curtains, scattering lines of gold across a cluttered desk stacked with novels and notebooks.At the center of it all sat Zhen Kaixu, his long black hair falling past his shoulders like threads of shadow.He turned another page of Chronicles of the Celestial Dao, his sharp eyes tracing each line with the calm intensity of someone lost in another world.
Outside, traffic hummed, horns blared, and somewhere a street vendor shouted the day's breakfast menu—but Kaixu heard none of it.His mind drifted with the words describing ancient sects and sword saints ascending beyond the mortal sky.In this world, cultivation existed only in fiction, yet for Kaixu it always felt oddly… real.Every tale about spiritual energy or transcending mortality resonated within him, like an echo of something long forgotten.
A faint tick from the wall clock finally pierced the haze.His gaze lifted, calm as always, but his expression froze when the numbers sank in.
"...Seven-fifty?"
The realization hit him like a sword strike.
He exhaled slowly, closed the book, and stood up with unhurried grace."Late again," he murmured. His voice was quiet, steady—neither surprised nor panicked.He tied his long hair into a loose tail, slung his school bag across one shoulder, and stepped outside.
The early-morning air carried a crisp chill.Students in identical uniforms rushed past, some running, some chatting noisily, their laughter echoing between concrete buildings.Kaixu moved among them like a ghost in slow motion—tall, refined, silent.Most didn't notice him; those who did quickly looked away, sensing a subtle pressure that made conversation feel unnecessary.
When he reached the school gates, the bell had already rung.
"Late again, Kaixu."A familiar voice cut through the crowd.
Turning, Kaixu found Lin Qiyuan leaning casually against the wall, grinning like he had been waiting there all along.Messy brown hair, half-buttoned collar, and the ever-present air of friendly mischief—Qiyuan was the opposite of Kaixu in every way.
"You're observant as always," Kaixu replied, tone flat but not unfriendly.
Qiyuan chuckled. "Let me guess—you were reading again?"
Kaixu nodded once. "I was… a little too focused. Time slipped away."
Qiyuan sighed dramatically. "You always say that. One day, your obsession with novels will make you miss graduation."
Kaixu's crimson-tinged eyes flicked toward him. "Says the one whose eyes look like he hasn't slept."
Caught, Qiyuan laughed sheepishly. "Alright, fine—you got me. I stayed up reading the novel you recommended last week. It was too good to stop."
Kaixu allowed the faintest curve of a smile. "Then you're no different from me."
"Heh, maybe. But at least I socialize once in a while." Qiyuan pushed off the wall and straightened his tie. "Speaking of which, I want to introduce you to some friends."
Kaixu blinked. "You… have friends?"
"Ouch. Cold as always, aren't you?" Qiyuan smirked. "Not everyone lives in their own silent bubble, Kaixu. Come on, they're in the literature clubroom."
The two walked through a corridor lined with sunlight.Students whispered as they passed—mostly about Kaixu, though he never noticed nor cared.His presence drew attention without effort: long hair tied neatly, posture perfectly straight, and eyes that looked through people rather than at them.
Qiyuan stopped before a door marked Literature Club – 3-B.He turned with a grin. "Try to be polite, okay?"
Kaixu's expression didn't change. "I always am."
"That's… debatable," Qiyuan muttered, then opened the door. "Hey everyone! I brought someone I want you to meet."
Inside, sunlight filtered through dusty windows, catching the drifting motes in the air.Three students looked up from their desks.
Su Qingyue
The first was a girl with long silver-blue hair tied by a white ribbon, her eyes a shade between moonlight and frost.Her presence felt calm, refined—like still water that could hide unmeasured depth.She set aside a novel in her hand and smiled faintly."Hello," she said softly. "I'm Su Qingyue. It's nice to meet you."
Kaixu met her gaze.For a heartbeat, something subtle passed between them—a recognition neither understood."Zhen Kaixu," he replied simply, bowing his head slightly.
Her expression flickered, intrigued by his old-fashioned courtesy.
Han Ruyin
Beside her sat a girl with shoulder-length dark red hair and bright amber eyes that carried a mischievous glint.Unlike Qingyue's grace, Han Ruyin radiated restless energy.She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand.
"So you're the mysterious guy Qiyuan keeps talking about," she said, smiling slyly."I thought he made you up."
"I'm very real," Kaixu answered without emotion.
Her grin widened. "And you really talk like a protagonist."
Qiyuan groaned. "Ruyin, behave."
Xue Ranxi
The last person was a quiet boy near the window, Xue Ranxi, pale and thin, glasses reflecting the sunlight.He had an air of gentleness but spoke with clear precision."It's good to meet you, Kaixu. I've heard you read a lot of cultivation novels."
Kaixu nodded. "I do. They're… peaceful."
Ranxi smiled faintly. "Most people find them thrilling. You find them peaceful?"
"Perhaps," Kaixu said. "They remind me that silence has power too."
The room fell briefly quiet, the kind of silence that carries meaning.
Qiyuan clapped his hands to break it. "Well, there you have it. My best friend, the philosopher of fantasy himself—Zhen Kaixu."
Ruyin laughed; Qingyue covered a small smile; Ranxi merely nodded thoughtfully.
"You know," Qiyuan continued, "they all love cultivation novels too. That's why I thought you'd fit right in."
Kaixu's eyes moved from face to face.For a moment, the world outside—the city, the noise, the ordinariness—felt distant.Something stirred faintly in his chest, a whisper too quiet to name.
Maybe this small connection, fragile as it was, would matter someday.
The air inside the Literature Club room grew warmer as morning sunlight crept higher, gilding the stacks of books that crowded every shelf.A half-finished novel lay open on the table where the group now sat in a loose circle, cups of instant coffee steaming faintly between them.
For a while they simply talked—about school, exams, and stories. Then, almost out of nowhere, Xue Ranxi set his book down with a soft thud.
"This world is so dull," he murmured, voice low but clear. "Every day repeats itself. Classes, grades, rules. Sometimes I wish I could just… leave it all and live in a cultivation world like in the novels."
His words lingered in the sunlight, half joke, half yearning.
Lin Qiyuan laughed lightly.
"Ranxi, you're dreaming again. We're born in this world—no spiritual energy, no sects, no immortals. That's reality."
Su Qingyue, always composed, nodded gently.
"Qiyuan's right. Fantasy can be beautiful, but it's still fiction. Cultivation realms exist only within pages."
Han Ruyin stretched her arms over her head and grinned.
"Still, it'd be amazing, right? Sword-flying across mountains, controlling lightning with a wave… oh!"Her eyes sparked with excitement."I once read a novel where an entire class was transported to another world! What if that happened to us?"
Qiyuan groaned, half-smiling.
"You're letting your imagination run wild again, Ruyin."
Ruyin pouted.
"Come on, admit it—you've imagined it too."
Qiyuan scratched his cheek but didn't answer.
Ranxi leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Honestly, I'd take that chance. Even if it's dangerous. Better than living in a world that never changes."
His tone carried a quiet bitterness. For the first time, Kaixu looked up from the book he'd been silently reading.
Ranxi noticed the motion and tilted his head.
"Oi, Kaixu. You've been silent this whole time. Don't you have an opinion?"
Kaixu turned another page, his eyes calm.
"I don't speak much."
Ranxi smirked, though the edge in his voice was real.
"So cold… You act like you're above everyone."
Before tension could rise, Qiyuan raised both hands.
"That's just how he is, Ranxi. Kaixu doesn't talk much because he doesn't have many friends."He smiled teasingly at Kaixu. "Right?"
Kaixu shut his book with a soft click.
"That's one way to put it."
Ruyin chuckled, but Qingyue glanced at Kaixu thoughtfully.There was something about his detachment that drew her curiosity rather than annoyance—an invisible pull she couldn't name.The light from the window reflected off his dark hair, and for a moment, his unreadable eyes met hers.
Her heart skipped.An unfamiliar warmth fluttered beneath her ribs, quick and light like the rustle of turning pages.
"Kaixu?" Qiyuan's voice cut the silence, amused.
"Why are you staring at Qingyue like that?"
Kaixu blinked once, slowly.
"I only looked up because I felt her gaze."
The room went still for half a heartbeat.
Qiyuan grinned wickedly.
"Don't lie. Qingyue's one of the most beautiful girls in school—no guy can look at her 'by accident.'"
Kaixu tilted his head slightly, expression unchanging.
"Oh, is that so? No wonder. She is rather cute."
The words were spoken plainly, without even a hint of flirtation, yet the effect was explosive.
Ruyin's jaw dropped.Ranxi nearly choked on his coffee.Qiyuan's grin froze mid-expression.
All eyes turned to Su Qingyue.
At first she simply stared at Kaixu, as though unable to process what she'd heard. Then color slowly rose from her neck to her cheeks, painting her porcelain face crimson.Her fingers fumbled with the edge of her sleeve, and she lowered her gaze, hiding half her face behind the curtain of her pale hair.
Qiyuan slammed his palm on the table.
"Wait—that reaction?! You're supposed to get angry, not blush!"
Ruyin burst into laughter.
"Oh no, I think our ice queen just melted!"
Qiyuan pointed accusingly at Kaixu.
"Look what you've done!"
Kaixu blinked again, genuinely puzzled.
"Did I… do something wrong?"
Ranxi's chair scraped against the floor as he stood abruptly.
"You idiot—you made Qingyue upset!"
Kaixu frowned slightly.
"Huh?"
"Ranxi, calm down." Qiyuan stepped between them, arms out.
"He didn't mean anything by it. You know how blunt he is."
Ranxi glared, his usual calm replaced by a flash of protectiveness.
"Still, he should watch his words."
For a moment, silence thickened like tension before a storm. Then Ranxi exhaled, shoulders relaxing.
"Fine. I'll let it go for now."
Qiyuan patted his shoulder. "Good choice, man."
As Ranxi sat back down, Qiyuan leaned toward Kaixu, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Don't take it personally. Ranxi's been into Qingyue since forever. He just doesn't like seeing any guy talk to her."
Kaixu's eyes didn't waver.
"I see. That's his concern, not mine."
Qiyuan chuckled softly.
"You really don't care about anything, do you?"
"Caring complicates things," Kaixu replied simply, reopening his book.
For a long moment, the room returned to the gentle rhythm of turning pages and quiet breathing.Yet beneath that stillness lingered something unseen—like the faint hum before lightning strikes.
Qingyue dared another glance at Kaixu.He sat completely still, every movement deliberate, his expression unreadable.And yet, that calm presence filled the room, pressing faintly against the edge of her thoughts.She wondered if there was more to him—something hidden beneath that composed silence.
Outside the window, clouds gathered over the schoolyard, shading the sunlight.
No one noticed the way the air trembled ever so slightly around Kaixu, as though reality itself shivered in anticipation.
The afternoon sun draped the classroom in a warm, golden light.Kaixu, as usual, sat quietly by the window, a book in his hands. The world around him—the hum of the fluorescent lights, the chatter of classmates, even the faint rustling of pages—seemed distant, secondary, almost irrelevant. His eyes were sharp, but calm, almost detached, yet fully present in the story he held.
Su Qingyue glanced at him from across the table, curiosity flickering in her silver-blue eyes.She noticed the way the sunlight caught strands of his long, dark hair, and how effortlessly he seemed to exist in another world while the mundane one carried on around him.
Finally, unable to resist, she leaned forward slightly, her voice tentative.
"Kaixu…"
He turned his crimson-tinged eyes toward her, and for a moment, the calm intensity of his gaze made her heart skip.
"What is it?" he asked, his voice quiet, steady. "Do you… want to read this novel?"
Qingyue blinked, a flush creeping onto her cheeks.
"If I may," she said softly.
Kaixu's lips curved in the faintest hint of a smile.
"Of course, if you wish."
Across the table, Xue Ranxi's amber eyes narrowed. He leaned forward, voice sharp.
"Oi! Why would you give her your book?"
Qiyuan, ever the peacemaker, raised a hand to stop him.
"Ranxi, calm down. It's just a book. Kaixu can do as he likes."
Kaixu slid the novel across to Qingyue with deliberate ease. She took it gently, almost reverently.
"Thank you," she whispered, turning the pages carefully. "What… is it about?"
Kaixu's gaze remained steady on her, his tone neutral but thoughtful.
"It's about a young man thrown into a cultivation world. He was abandoned for lacking talent, but a thirty-year-old cultivator took him in. After three years, he became the strongest and found a wife."
Qingyue's eyes widened slightly, curiosity mingling with a strange flutter in her chest.
"And… what if something like that happened to you?" she asked quietly.
Kaixu paused, lifting his gaze to the sunlight filtering through the classroom window.
"I don't know," he admitted simply. "I would… like to have a wife. After all, we are seventeen. Soon, this school life will end. There isn't much time left."
The word wife hung in the air. Qingyue's chest tightened unexpectedly, her pulse quickening. Her face warmed, and she looked down at the book in her hands, pretending to study the words as her mind raced.
Kaixu's eyes flicked briefly toward her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"No… nothing," Qingyue murmured, her voice small.
Kaixu simply nodded and returned to his reading.For a while, the classroom remained peaceful, filled with the quiet shuffle of pages and the faint hum of air conditioning.
Hours passed without warning.Kaixu's sharp senses, honed by countless novels of cultivation, detected something unusual.He paused mid-page, eyes narrowing slightly. A faint ripple of unease crawled along his spine.
The sunlight outside had dimmed strangely, though the clock still showed morning hours. Shadows deepened unnaturally across the classroom. The walls seemed to hum faintly, a low vibration almost imperceptible to the others.
"What… is this?" Kaixu murmured under his breath.
Qiyuan's brow furrowed.
"Something… wants to pull us. I can feel it too," he said, voice tense.
Ruyin's playful demeanor vanished. Her hands trembled slightly as she looked toward the window.
"It… it's dark outside. But the clock says it's morning!"
Qingyue's silver-blue eyes widened in alarm.Ranxi's fingers clenched the edge of the desk, protective instinct flaring.
"Don't worry, Qingyue. I'll protect you," he said firmly.
Qingyue's chest felt tight; the words were comforting, yet her gaze flicked to Kaixu, who sat silently, his expression calm as ever. She couldn't tell if he even noticed the darkening sky—or if he cared.
Kaixu's mind, however, was already analyzing.What is this anomaly? The natural laws of this world shouldn't allow the sky to darken at this hour. Something is… pulling reality toward another plane.
The others tried to open the classroom door, only to find it locked by an invisible force. Panic began to rise.
"Open it! Let us out!" Ruyin shouted, tugging at the handle.
No matter how hard they pulled, it wouldn't budge.
The air thickened, charged with an almost imperceptible pressure. One by one, the room grew heavy in their consciousness.Then, suddenly—everything went black.
Kaixu opened his eyes first.The light was different—softer, warmer, yet sharper in its clarity.The air smelled faintly of moss and ozone, carrying a strange energy that made the hairs on his arms rise.
He rose to his feet, moving cautiously. Before him lay a vast landscape he had only seen in the pages of novels: floating mountains, rivers of shimmering energy, and mist curling among temples that pierced the clouds.
This… is real, he thought, eyes narrowing with curiosity.The cultivation world exists. And we… are here.
The sound of shifting bodies drew his attention. Qiyuan blinked into consciousness, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Impossible… is this… really a cultivation world?!"
Ruyin groaned as she sat up, brushing the dust from her uniform.
"See? I told you! I said this could happen!" Her voice was half-exhilaration, half-terrified.
Qingyue's face paled, her hands gripping the grass beneath her.
"This… cannot be real…" she whispered.
Ranxi, still kneeling, reached out toward her instinctively.
"It's fine, Qingyue. I'll protect you. Nothing will hurt you."
Qingyue felt a wave of discomfort. Something about the way he said it pressed against her chest, but her eyes quickly darted to Kaixu. He stood apart, expression unreadable, gazing at the horizon as if nothing mattered, and yet—something in his mind was alive, calculating, analyzing.
He doesn't seem concerned about me, she thought.Perhaps it's because Ranxi is so close…
Kaixu, meanwhile, did not notice their glances. His long hair fluttered lightly in the wind, his crimson eyes taking in the surreal landscape.
This world… he thought, tilting his head slightly.It is exactly as it should be. Laws of energy, formation of the terrain, natural flow of spiritual energy… fascinating.
He took a slow step forward, careful yet unhurried.I need to understand it. Every rule, every law, every limit. Only then can I determine where I fit in this world.
Around him, the group was still recovering from shock, yet Kaixu's calm presence, as always, made him seem untouchable—someone already prepared for challenges that none of them could foresee.
For the first time, they realized: the ordinary student they had known was no longer ordinary here.And the world they had stepped into… was only just beginning to reveal its mysteries.