Chapter 263 The Real World (Part Two) What exactly is reality? ...

After resting at home for more than half a month, his health improved day by day.

Seeing how quickly Song Ce was recovering, Song Yuanshuang's smile visibly brightened. Every day after work, she would prepare a variety of nutritious meals for him, reminding him to take his medicine, eat, and rest on time.

When they went to the hospital for a follow-up checkup, the results astonished everyone—Song Ce's physical indicators were all normal, even better than some ordinary people in a sub-healthy state! Holding her son's test results, Song Yuanshuang finally relaxed after months of tension. After all, nothing made her happier than her son's good health.

The mother and son returned home. Song Ce changed his shoes and sat down next to Song Yuanshuang, softly expressing his thoughts: "Mom, you see, I'm bored staying at home alone. Besides, I've almost recovered now, and I want to go back to school. I missed a lot of classes because of my illness, and I want to catch up with my classmates as soon as possible."

Upon hearing the word "school," Song Yuanshuang paused for a moment before saying, "Xiao Ce, you've just recovered from your illness. Can you go to school? How about I hire a tutor for you to catch up? Once you're more settled, you can go back to school and attend classes with your classmates, okay?"

“Mom, Dr. Li said that as long as I rest well and have regular check-ups, I can live like a normal person in the future, and going to school will definitely not be a problem. Besides… I don’t want Mom to work so hard every day.”

"Silly child, Mom isn't suffering. As long as my little Ce can be healthy, Mom is willing to do anything!"

As she spoke, Song Yuanshuang sighed and patted Song Ce's head with a smile, "Xiao Ce, if you want to go back to school, then go! Mom just wants to tell you that whatever decision you make, Mom will support you."

"mom……"

Song Ce's eyes welled up slightly, and he gently hugged Song Yuanshuang. "Thank you, Mom."

"Silly child."

A week later, Song Yuanshuang got up early to make herself and Song Ce a nutritious breakfast.

"Xiao Ce, eat slowly, don't rush. Mom will take you to school later," Song Yuanshuang said with a smile after finishing her milk.

"No need, Mom!" Song Ce finished his vegetarian bun in a few bites, picked up his schoolbag, and prepared to leave. "Anyway, the school isn't far from home, I can walk there. Didn't Dr. Li tell me to get more exercise to keep my body healthy?"

Helpless, Song Yuanshuang could only walk him to the entrance of the residential area and carefully straighten his collar. "Xiao Ce, if you feel unwell when you get to school, be sure to tell Lao Shi honestly. Don't try to tough it out on yourself, okay?"

"Don't worry, Mom, I will." Song Ce smiled and nodded, waved to Song Yuanshuang, and turned to walk towards the school. The sun was shining brightly along the way, neither too bright nor too warm, and it shone on him... Everything around him, everything, felt both familiar and strange.

This feeling of unfamiliarity came without any reason. Song Ce looked down at his slender, fair hands and subconsciously felt a little dazed.

He's back?

No, that's not right. Why did I bring up coming back? Wasn't he bedridden the whole time? Where had he been? The thought made Song Ce's heart race.

Thump thump thump, bang bang bang...

The ginkgo trees by the roadside were lush and leafy, with a few leaves occasionally falling in the wind. A gust of wind would send the ginkgo leaves swaying and fluttering into the grass. Looking at all this, Song Ce suddenly smiled faintly.

Life is short and time flies, so taking care of the present is the best choice, isn't it?

Soon, fourteen-year-old Song Ce put all his messy thoughts behind him and went straight to school—Qingshi No. 3 Middle School.

Looking at the students in school uniforms coming and going at the school gate, Song Ce took a deep breath, straightened his back, and stepped inside.

At this moment, Li Wenzhu, the homeroom teacher of Class 4, Grade 8, smiled kindly at him and said, "Song Ce, welcome back! Are you feeling better?"

Song Ce smiled and said, "Thank you, Teacher Li. I'm fine now."

Li Wenzhu nodded and led him towards the classroom. "Your classmates are all thinking of you. When you come into the class, please say hello to them."

"Um."

After the two reached the classroom door, Li Wenzhu patted Song Ce on the shoulder to signal him to relax, then coughed lightly, and the classroom instantly fell silent.

"Classmates, Song Ce has returned to our class today! Let's welcome him!"

The next second, enthusiastic applause erupted in the classroom. Song Ce smiled shyly and bowed slightly to the students below the podium.

"Song Ce, you're still sitting there. If you don't understand anything in your studies, come and ask the teacher anytime, okay?" Li Wenzhu pointed to the empty seat by the window and instructed.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Teacher Li."

"Alright, go back to your seat! The first class is English, so get used to it by following your classmates."

Song Ce nodded and followed instructions to sit down in the third-to-last row by the window. After putting down his schoolbag, he took out his English textbook and started reading.

You wouldn't believe it until you see it! How could someone who had missed several months of classes understand sentences in an English book at a glance? It was as if English was his second language, something he could speak fluently without even opening his mouth.

Song Ce paused for a moment, then subconsciously read a short English story.

“I arrived in Penang in Malaysia this morning with my family. It was sunny and hot, so we decided to go to the beach near our hotel…”

His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of several classmates around him.

Zhao Xiaoya, the girl sitting in front of him, suddenly turned around and looked at him in surprise: "Song Ce, when did your English become so good?"

"That's right!" Chen Dingyu, the classmate sitting next to him, also put down his textbook, his eyes wide open. "Tell me, have you been secretly studying English at home lately? You've made great progress!"

"Chen Dingyu, what nonsense are you talking about? Song Ce is sick and recuperating at home. How could he have time to attend any tutoring classes? If you want to flatter him, at least come up with a better reason!" Another boy, Fang Lifan, glanced over and snorted.

"Hehe, I was just saying, just casually..."

Song Ce felt a little uncomfortable under the curious gazes of his classmates. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm not really sure either. I just looked at these sentences and naturally learned to read them."

Chen Dingyu scratched his head. "Song Ce, you're amazing! It's like an NPC in a novel suddenly having a breakthrough."

Fang Lifan scoffed, turned around, and muttered, "Tch, so you think you're the only one who can read it? What are you pretending for?"

Chen Dingyu was furious when he heard this. After all, Song Ce had often brought him breakfast when he was in school. Now that he had just recovered from a serious illness and returned to school, Fang Lifan was being sarcastic. This was truly intolerable!

"Hey Fang Lifan, aren't you being sarcastic? The teacher hasn't even taught this chapter yet, why don't you read it aloud yourself? Do you even know what 'decided' means?"

Fang Lifan's face flushed red and then turned pale after being confronted by Chen Dingyu, so he simply turned his anger towards Song Ce: "Hmph, Song Ce, if I were you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Song Ce closed his English book and retorted calmly, "But you are not, and there are no ifs."

Fang Lifan was taken aback.

"So, you should mind your own business, like studying hard."

Fang Lifan often offended people in class, and his classmates couldn't help but chuckle when they saw him looking so embarrassed.

Fang Lifan was even more embarrassed and couldn't utter a word for a long time. Just then, the class bell rang. He slammed his textbook on the table, turned his head away in a huff, and refused to say another word.

After lunch break, the first period in the afternoon was replaced by physical education class. Knowing that Song Ce had just recovered from a serious illness, the PE teacher specifically told him not to engage in strenuous exercise and to rest in the shade nearby.

Song Ce thanked the PE teacher and sat quietly on the steps by the playground.

The students of Class 4, Grade 8 were running and playing freely on the playground. Song Ce watched this vibrant scene and felt happy too. But just then, that annoying baritone voice appeared again.

"Look how happy they are! You want to play and have fun like them, don't you?"

"As long as you stay here, your dream will come true, and you can continue to be happy like this, without having to endure the torment of illness or leave your mother. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Your life is so wonderful now, don't you want to cherish it?"

"Stay! Stay! Stay!"

Song Ce frowned, shaking his head vigorously, trying to banish the voice from his mind. He didn't understand why this voice kept urging him to stay. This was his home, and he had never intended to leave!

Closing his eyes, Song Ce silently recited in his heart: "The human spirit loves tranquility, but the mind disturbs it; the human heart loves stillness, but desires pull it away. If one can constantly dispel desires, the mind will naturally be still; if one can purify the mind, the spirit will naturally be clear. Naturally..."

Wait! What am I carrying on my back?

The PE teacher, who had been closely observing Song Ce from a short distance away, noticed that something was wrong with him and quickly came over to ask with concern, "Song Ce, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Song Ce shook his head, "It's okay, teacher, I'm fine, I don't feel unwell."

The PE teacher was still a little worried, so he squatted down and carefully examined Song Ce's complexion: "Are you really okay? Don't be afraid, just tell me if you feel unwell. If you feel dizzy or have heart palpitations, don't try to tough it out, okay?"

"I'm really fine, teacher." Song Ce said helplessly, and deliberately stood up to move his hands and feet to prove that there was nothing wrong with his body.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be in any discomfort, the PE teacher added carefully, "That's good. Come find me anytime if you need anything!"

"...Yes, thank you, teacher."

After the PE teacher left, Song Ce sat back down on the steps, his mind filled with confusion.

The sentences he just recited had no recollection of where he had read them before, yet those memories seemed etched into his DNA, flowing naturally from his lips. He tried to recall them again, and sure enough, he remembered the complete passage.

The Heart Sutra?

I'm only in the second year of junior high school this year, and Song Yuanshuang is an atheist. When did he ever read the Qingxin Sutra? Most importantly, how could he recite it word for word? That's too strange!

As Song Ce was pondering, a commotion suddenly arose from the southeast corner of the playground.

"Zhao Xiaoya, how are you?"

"Wait, why is her arm limp and not moving?"

"Zhao Xiaoya, are you alright? Does it hurt?"

Zhao Xiaoya hissed, her face pale, and beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead: "Ouch, it hurts so much, I can't move my arm..."

Upon seeing the commotion on the playground, the PE teacher immediately jogged over and asked the students around him in a deep voice, "What's going on?"

"Teacher, Fang Xiwen lost her footing when she did the long jump and grabbed Zhao Xiaoya's arm, and that's what happened!" a girl said hurriedly.

Zhao Xiaoya sat on the ground, her arm aching terribly with every effort. She bit her lip tightly, and sweat poured down her forehead.

Seeing this, the PE teacher didn't care about assigning blame and immediately said, "You guys, come with me and take Zhao Xiaoya to the infirmary first!"

"Why!"

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Author's Note: [Cat emoji]