Chapter 220
Chapter 220
“Fine, fine. Hurry up and tell me. You have too many damned demands!”
Roundy planted its wings on its waist, looking displeased.
“First, you can’t ride on my shoulder into the school or classroom. We’ll go separately. Once I arrive, you can fly over on your own. No one pays attention to a bird anyway.”
“Second, the school is crowded, with eyes everywhere. You can’t do anything too extraordinary. Keep a low profile, understand?”
“Third, once you’re at school, you must obey me. You can’t oppose everything I say.”
“Can you promise that?”
Roundy immediately thumped its chest with a wing.
“Don’t worry! Your big brother only wants to look around a human school and have some fun. I definitely won’t cause you trouble.”
Are you sure?
I was doubtful.
But the fatty looked utterly serious, so I agreed.
…
I arrived at school.
Classes began.
Morning reading, first period, second period…
Strangely, two periods passed, and Roundy still had not appeared.
“Has that damned fat bird developed a conscience and decided not to come make trouble at school? Good. If it came, it would be a ticking time bomb.”
I relaxed inwardly.
But to my utter surprise, during Pan Ming’s chemistry class in third period,
a sudden knocking sound came from beside me, as if someone were tapping on the glass!
With no warning, it startled me.
Our classroom was on the fifth floor, and I sat directly beside the window. How could anyone be outside knocking on the glass?
I instinctively turned my head.
Roundy’s huge, round face filled my view.
It was pecking the window with its beak.
I was instantly speechless!
“Stupid bird. Why did you choose class time to come?”
And this was Pan Ming’s chemistry class. Nicknamed Big Pan, he was even fiercer and more hot-tempered than the English teacher and often berated students mercilessly.
Even if Roundy had to come during class, why could it not fly around the school on its own first? Why come straight to our classroom?
It even wanted to enter through the window!
Roundy nearly angered me to death on the spot.
Was this a household guardian spirit?
It seemed more like an infuriating monster to me!
…
The classroom had been fairly quiet. The instant the tapping sounded outside, everyone turned to look in unison–including Big Pan.
Yao Nan whispered to me in surprise,
“Deskmate, why is Roundy here? Is something urgent?”
“No! I think the stupid bird is simply here to cause trouble.”
I practically ground the words through my teeth.
I never should have trusted it!
Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
Roundy continued pecking tirelessly at the window while contacting me through our mental link.
“Hey, why are you just gawking, Wu boy? Hurry up and open the window for your big brother.”
Me: “…”
I was too angry to speak!
At that moment, however, the students began making a commotion.
“Wow! What an adorable big bird!”
“Yeah! It’s huge, round, and white. It looks like something from a cartoon.”
“What kind of bird is it? I’ve never seen one before.”
“Does it want to fly into the classroom? Or is it lost?”
I had to admit Roundy’s appearance was highly deceptive.
A group of girls who did not know how awful it was were instantly captivated. They thought its fluffy, round appearance was adorable.
Big Pan’s face darkened. He slammed a hand on the lectern and roared,
“All of you, quiet! Class is in session. What is this uproar?”
The classroom instantly fell silent. Only the sound of the damned fat bird Roundy persistently pecking the window remained.
Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock.
Big Pan pointed at me.
“Wu Zhong! Open the window and let that large bird fly inside. It may simply be lost and unable to turn around. Perhaps it’ll fly out through the classroom door or a window by the corridor.”
“But…”
I knew Roundy’s obnoxious personality all too well. Once it flew inside, it certainly would not leave so easily!
I dared not imagine what kind of chaos the class would descend into.
“Didn’t you hear me? Open the window!”
Big Pan frowned, and his gaze toward me had already turned unfriendly.
Helpless, I could only open it.
Whoosh!
Roundy flew inside like a white cannonball and began circling above the classroom.
Its excited cheers rang out in my mind.
“Oh! So this is a school. So many humans gather in one little room to learn things. Fascinating! This is fascinating.”
“And there are so many young people. Wonderful, so full of vitality! Unlike back in the Northeast, where this lord was always surrounded by a bunch of lifeless old fellows. So tiresome.”
“Oh-ho! Little lady over here, do you like this lord? Come, this lord will let you pet me.”
Roundy chose a rather pretty girl named Yang Yumin. With a dive, it landed directly on the desk before her and put on an obedient act.
Yang Yumin was instantly delighted.
“C-can I pet you?”
Coo, coo, coo.
Roundy’s gaze looked innocent and pure, nothing like its usual sleazy manner around us. It was a master of disguise with astonishing acting skills!
Yang Yumin happily stroked its head, and the surrounding students grew excited too.
The entire classroom became noisy once more.
Big Pan was about to lose his mind!
“Quiet! All of you, quiet! That damned bird actually dares disrupt my class.”
He came down from the lectern and casually picked up the triangular ruler the mathematics teacher had forgotten after the previous class, preparing to drive the inexplicable bird away by “force.”
Yao Nan grew nervous. She tugged my sleeve, leaned close, and whispered,
“Deskmate, will Roundy be all right? Big Pan looks fierce, and he’s holding such a large wooden triangular ruler.”
The silly girl was worried.
I answered helplessly,
“Don’t let the big fat bird’s appearance fool you. It isn’t really a fat free-range chicken. It’s a gyrfalcon, one of the fiercest kinds of eagle. And it’s a demon. If it truly turned ruthless, even three Big Pans wouldn’t be enough for it to eat. What are you worried about? The fellow is simply too mischievous and loves causing trouble.”
Only then did Yao Nan relax.
Meanwhile, Big Pan had already reached Yang Yumin’s desk.
He reached out to grab Roundy’s wing!
But caught nothing… The big fat bird had sensed him long before and immediately took off, flying above the classroom again.
Carried forward by his momentum, Big Pan staggered several steps and nearly fell.
The students laughed even harder.
“No laughing!”
He was normally a stern teacher with extremely traditional ideas. He always stood aloof and imposing, never interacting or communicating with his students in the slightest.
He demanded absolute control.
Making a fool of himself before his students left him fit to burst with rage!
“Drive that stupid bird out!”
Big Pan shouted while swinging the triangular ruler at Roundy.
He was tall and burly, over 1.8 meters in height. With the added reach of the ruler, he could almost reach Roundy beneath the classroom ceiling.
But how could the fat bird let an ordinary person catch it?
It flapped its short, thick wings and darted nimbly about, making Big Pan chase it throughout the classroom. He panted heavily without touching so much as a feather…
I covered my face in anguish.
“I was a fool, a complete fool! I never should have believed this obnoxious big fat bird would behave itself at school. It feels miserable unless it causes some trouble.”
It was a born troublemaker!
“Why are all of you just staring? Help me drive this stupid bird out! I’m furious!”
Big Pan roared at the entire class.
He must truly have been blinded by rage. Normally, classroom order mattered most to him. He even corrected and scolded any student who sat improperly during class. Yet now he was mobilizing the entire class to chase a bird!
Wang Dachun was the sort who delighted in chaos. He immediately raised a stool and shouted,
“Comrades, charge! Let’s help Big Pa–Teacher Pan catch the bird!”
He even forcibly dragged Zeng Jin into it.
Yao Nan and I looked at them with disdain.
The entire classroom instantly descended into chaos.
“Ha ha ha! Fun, fun! This is so much fun!”
Roundy’s obnoxious voice rang in my mind, making me want to catch it, pin it in my arms, and knead it mercilessly.
“Stupid bird, didn’t you agree to the three rules we laid down? Why are you breaking your promise? Are you even a man… no, wait, a male bird?”
I roared through our mental connection.
Roundy answered slyly,
“When did I agree? Think carefully about what I said. You asked if I could promise. I never said yes. I only told you not to worry and that I wouldn’t cause trouble.”
Uh…
Thinking back, that was true!
Damn, the fatty was frighteningly cunning. It had trapped me with wordplay.
“But aren’t you causing trouble now?”
“When you chatted over hot pot last night, didn’t I hear that all of you disliked Big Pan? I’m helping you play a trick on him. Watch this.”
The big fat bird suddenly dived.
It swept directly over Big Pan’s head, and a lump of white matter dropped onto his hair.
A faint, strange stench spread through the air.
Big Pan started.
He reached up and grabbed at his hair, then…
“Ahhh!!! That damned stupid bird crapped on my head! I’m furious! I’m furious!”
He erupted completely and charged out of the classroom, brandishing the triangular ruler.
Only the dumbfounded students remained.
Wang Dachun gave a thumbs-up.
“Roundy is mighty! This is the first time I’ve seen anyone make Big Pan this angry. Usually, even the principal seems less imposing than him.”
I covered my face in anguish.
This stupid bird… truly was an invincible troublemaker!
I would never let it come to school again.
Otherwise, I might develop high blood pressure at a tender age!
Thanks to Roundy’s rampage, only half of that chemistry lesson was taught. Later, the story of Big Pan chasing a bird all over the school with a triangular ruler became a humorous tale told at Lianghe District Middle School for years…
Apart from that incident, nothing special happened at school that week.
I carried a coffin with Old Cao once and earned several hundred yuan. It seemed rather little–although it was actually enough to cover an ordinary town family’s living expenses for a month.
The main reason was that earning one’s living from the dead paid quickly, and I had grown used to much larger payments.
On Friday, I returned to Wujia Village with Roundy.
I planned to take it to meet Master…
The previous week, Roundy had manifested only when I was already preparing to leave, so there had been no time. Several days had passed, yet Master still had not met it in the real world.
But the moment it heard about this, the normally fearless fatty lost its nerve.