Rest three

Huang Yaya's monthly exam results were in, and they were pretty average. According to the school's cutoff score, her grades should be hovering around the first-tier line, which is pretty average. However, the overall class performance didn't seem ideal, so the homeroom teacher dedicated a valuable lesson to explaining how hard the teachers worked and how inattentive they were, to the point of having been complained about by multiple teachers. They were also told that if they continued like this, they'd be doomed: they wouldn't be able to get into a good university, wouldn't be able to find a good job, etc.

"The last time the Dean of Studies came in to inspect, a bunch of people in our class were dozing off. What do you do at night? You don't sleep during bedtime, you sleep in class. Did your parents work so hard to support you in school just so you can sleep in school?"

"If you want to sleep, go home and sleep. Some people don't study, but other students still have to study."

…

Huang Yaya admired her class teacher who could come up with thousands of words of new ideas every time. But she thought about her daily routine: she had to get up at six o'clock and rush to the toilet and faucet in the dormitory, run exercises at six-thirty, read in the morning at seven, and have breakfast at eight. She had five classes from eight-thirty to twelve o'clock, and there was a half-hour break to do exercises on the playground. There was a half-hour lunch break at noon, and now there is more than an hour for a nap at noon, and four classes in the afternoon started at one-thirty. At five-thirty in the evening, she had lunch after school, listening at six o'clock, and evening self-study from six-thirty to ten-thirty. The lights in the dormitory were turned off at eleven o'clock, and she had to wash up in half an hour. Even if she fell asleep immediately after the lights were turned off, she could only sleep for seven hours at night. In the hour at noon, everyone only slept for more than ten minutes, and the rest was spent on practicing questions!

The above is an ideal situation. The reality is that she and many of her classmates only sleep six hours or less per day, spending more than twice as much time studying as sleeping. Huang Yaya really wants to give her all in every class; after all, she wants to get into a good university. But she's so sleepy!!! Who else can listen to the cries of high school students who want to sleep?

The head teacher continued to criticize them, his face showing a look of disappointment and frustration. He said earnestly, "If you can't get into a good university, how will you find a good job? If you can't find a good job, how will you support yourselves?"

Speaking of deep emotions, Huang Yaya saw several classmates secretly wiping away tears. After all, after the second year of high school, it would be the third year, and there was only so much time left until the college entrance examination, which would determine one's future. Yet, they still had the mood to doze off.

No one dozed off in the last few classes taught by the head teacher. The moral education class was very useful. Huang Yaya also felt sorry for her parents who had to get up early and go to bed late. She must study hard, get into a good university, and find a job so that her parents don't have to work so hard.

The days raced by at a brisk 208km/h. Huang Yaya felt so bad seeing her grades hadn't improved that she cried in bed the day after her holiday. She'd barely made it past the second-tier entrance exam! And yet, she'd been working so hard.

"Yaya, it's time to eat."

"Mom, I don't want to eat. Please leave me alone."

Huang Yaya felt like she'd eaten shit. She'd clearly memorized the material and listened attentively to the lectures. Even when she felt like dozing off, she'd consciously stood up and listened. She'd worked so hard, why was the result like this? If the Gaokao had been like this too, she couldn't bear to think about it; she'd be devastated!

Huang Yaya cried until she fell asleep. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw an ancient building draped with white silk and lanterns, with white candles lit every few meters along the corridors. It was night, with a dim moon hanging in the sky. The occasional breeze brought a cool autumn air and the scent of candles and incense.

This isn't a horror story, is it? Huang Yaya was a little scared. She looked around and saw a servant wearing a linen shirt and a white cloth on his head dozing off by the doorpost a little way away. Looking further ahead, it seemed brighter over there, but there was a faint sound of crying, though it wasn't clear. But not being able to hear it was the scariest thing. The faint, white candlelight gave Huang Yaya goosebumps. Then, a bright and sad cry reached her ears, startling her. She thought such a clear sound must be from a person, so she bravely walked towards the sound without anyone noticing.

Huang Yaya was shocked when she saw him. Was it him? He was the man she had dreamed about two months ago. Although she had been busy studying and had forgotten about him after waking up, she would immediately remember him when she dreamed about him again. How could she easily forget such a face that looked like a banished immortal?

Even if it was a horror story, seeing the person in front of him so pitiful, wearing mourning clothes and squatting in the corner of the flower wall with tears, like an abandoned little white cat. Huang Yaya boldly walked to his side and asked with concern: "Are you okay?"

Huang Yaya was prepared for any horror movie scenario. For example, he might suddenly transform into a ghost, a zombie, a werewolf, or something else entirely. But she wasn't prepared for a young, beautiful man to look up at her with tearful eyes. He was filled with a broken heart and asked, "Fairy sister, is there really a hell after death?"

How to reply, how to answer, does this person hope for something or not? He was crying so pitifully, could it be that someone close to him had passed away? Huang Yaya thought for a moment and gently replied, "There's not only hell, but also the immortal world. People who do good deeds don't go to hell after death. Instead, a white crane will take their soul to the immortal world, where they will be among the immortals from then on."

The young master in front of him was filled with disbelief and asked happily, "So, did the fairy sister come down from the sky to see my father? Was he taken to heaven by the white crane?"

"Your father asked me to tell you that he was taken to the heaven by a white crane, so you don't have to worry. Also, don't spread this matter to anyone else. The heaven has its own rules. I'm only telling you this."

"Sister Fairy..."

Before she could hear what the person in front of her wanted to say, Huang Yaya's head became dizzy and she opened her eyes, and saw her brother holding a bowl of green pepper, pork and tomato scrambled eggs rice beside him.

Seeing that her elder sister had woken up, the person in front of her said unhappily, "It's time to eat, Princess."

After a good sleep, Huang Yaya felt better. Looking at the delicious meal in front of her, she felt hungry again. She took the bowl from her brother and said modestly, "I'm going to eat now. Little Huangzi, please leave."

…

That day, the teacher was lecturing on the Red Cliffs, and when he came to the line "Knowing it cannot be achieved suddenly, I entrust my legacy to the sad wind," Huang Yaya felt an indescribable sadness, a sadness she didn't know where it came from. Perhaps this was the charm of the ancients, who could express a lifetime of helplessness in just a few words.