The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’

The class dismissal bell rang, and the classroom immediately turned chaotic as the students began packing their bags.

Zhou Yuan stood there, bewildered, with a dazed look on his face. Instinctively, he scanned the entire classroom with a wary gaze, only for a perplexing thought to arise in his mind: Why was he so on edge?

"Hey, what’s up with you?" The girl sitting next to him noticed his odd status and waved her hand in front of his face. "Had a nightmare?"

"No..." Zhou Yuan rubbed his face. "It just feels like I forgot something very important, but I can’t remember what it is no matter how hard I try."

"Must’ve slept too much. You slept through three classes straight until the end of school. Didn’t you sleep last night?" The girl asked as she packed her bag.

Zhou Yuan couldn’t help but recall last night’s scene—a drunk man causing a ruckus at home, wailing and shouting nonsensically until 3 a.m., making it impossible for him to get any sleep.

"I had insomnia," he replied helplessly.

"No wonder." The girl handed him a sticky note with today’s homework neatly written on it. "I noted down the homework for you."

"Oh, oh, thanks."

Soon, Zhou Yuan slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom. He headed to the bike parking area, slowly pushing his bike toward the school gate.