Children’s emotions came quickly, and went quickly too.
Early the next morning, when she got up, Tushan Jingci had already put away her earlier feelings and headed for class on Elementary Learning Peak.
And as her book boy, Xiao Mo naturally had to go with her.
Elementary Learning Peak was full of demon children, and what the Elementary Learning Hall taught there was all introductory learning.
Once those younger members of the demon race had learned enough, they would go on to other peaks to study deeper and more advanced subjects.
Inside the schoolroom, Tushan Jingci did indeed see quite a few children her own age.
There were boys and girls alike.
These demon children were either descendants of royal houses in demon kingdoms or the children of certain sect masters, and their bloodlines were all astonishing.
Tushan Jingci even saw Chen Jue, the First Prince of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom, whom she had seen at her birthday banquet, as well as Lou Huo, the First Prince of the Fire Demon Kingdom, and Lei Qiu, the last disciple of the sect master of the Thunder Roar Sect.
When they saw Tushan Jingci, delight showed in their eyes, and they all stepped forward to greet her.
The other children in the schoolroom all looked toward Tushan Jingci as well.
Even the other little demon girls thought Tushan Jingci was pretty.
And pretty children generally had people who liked making friends with them.
Not to mention that the elders in their families had specifically told them to build a good relationship with Tushan Jingci.
So after seeing Tushan Jingci, all those children were thinking about how to start talking with her.
What puzzled them, though, was why the book boy following behind her was a human.
But then again,
that human was pretty too.
Still, no matter how pretty he was, he was only a human after all.
Before long, as the sound of a bell spread across Elementary Learning Peak, the teacher entered the schoolroom right on time.
This teacher possessed the fortune of the scholarly path, but the horns on his forehead made his demon identity clear.
Since book boys like Xiao Mo were not qualified to study inside the schoolroom, they could only step outside and stand in the courtyard, listening from the side.
As Xiao Mo listened to the teacher lecturing inside, he also took note of these other book boys.
They all looked at Xiao Mo with disdain.
Xiao Mo knew that they looked down greatly on his identity as a human.
The feeling was rather like food that ordinarily appeared on the dining table.
Only now, for no reason at all, that very food had somehow come to sit on a chair alongside them.
Xiao Mo even felt that if they were not afraid of offending the Tushan residence, they would probably already have been trying to make trouble for him.
Putting that aside, Xiao Mo looked into the schoolroom and continued listening to the teacher’s lecture.
At first, seated at her desk, Tushan Jingci really was listening attentively.
But before long, she started to find it boring.
“Obviously I can understand every single word this teacher says. So why is it that when they’re put together, I can’t understand any of it?”
Tushan Jingci propped up her little chin, looking somewhat troubled.
Very soon, Tushan Jingci’s gaze shifted to Xiao Mo, and she secretly waved at him.
When Xiao Mo saw it, he smiled and nodded, then shook his head, signaling for Tushan Jingci to pay attention to the lesson.
But Tushan Jingci lifted her chin with a little huff, then stretched out her fair little hand, wanting to play rock-paper-scissors with Xiao Mo.
Seeing how playful Jingci was being, Xiao Mo let out a helpless sigh. He could only pretend not to notice her and keep listening attentively to the teacher’s lecture.
“Honestly, what’s so worth listening to? Why is Xiao Mo being so serious? Could it be he’s afraid of being deceived by girls someday?”
Tushan Jingci puffed out her lips and muttered softly.
But since Xiao Mo ignored her, she could only keep listening obediently after all.
It was just that the teacher’s voice was like a lullaby, and it made Tushan Jingci sleepier and sleepier.
Not long after, the little girl’s head began drooping forward bit by bit, like a chick pecking at grain.
The drowsy little girl was quickly noticed by the teacher.
The teacher walked over, helplessly picked up his ruler, and tapped the edge of her desk.
Tushan Jingci jumped in fright, and even the fur on her tail stood up. She woke all at once.
Tushan Jingci looked around and found that the other children were all laughing at her. Her cheeks could not help turning red.
At last, after enduring the entire morning, class ended.
Completely worn out, Tushan Jingci immediately flopped down over her desk, feeling as if her head were buzzing.
It was as though she had listened to a great many things, but at the same time it was as though she had not remembered any of it at all.
“Are you Tushan Jingci?”
Just as Tushan Jingci was about to head back to the courtyard, several little girls walked over and asked her.
“Mhm, I’m Tushan Jingci. What is it?” Tushan Jingci tilted her little head, curious.
“Jingci, you’re so pretty. Do you want to go play with us?” another little girl asked. “I heard Peach Blossom Peak has a lot of peach blossoms blooming. They’re really beautiful.”
“Go see the peach blossoms?” Tushan Jingci froze for a moment, then happily nodded her little head. “Sure, sure. Once I’m done with lunch, Xiao Mo and I will come find you and go with you.”
“Xiao Mo?” a little girl named Huamei asked in confusion. “Who in our schoolroom is called Xiao Mo?”
“Xiao Mo is my friend. He’s standing outside the window. Look.”
As she spoke, Tushan Jingci pointed toward Xiao Mo, who was waiting outside the schoolroom in the distance.
“Jingci, he’s a human. He has no right to join our gathering.”
“That’s right, that’s right. My mother said humans are filthy. Why are you still friends with a human, Jingci?”
“Mhm, mhm. I’ve heard my father say it too. Humans are all lowly creatures.”
“Jingci, you can bring anyone you like, but you can’t bring a human...”
The moment those little girls saw that Xiao Mo was a servant, and a human servant at that, their expressions changed, and they all started speaking at once.
Listening to them one after another, Tushan Jingci’s brows knit tighter and tighter, and there was growing anger in her eyes.
“What are you saying? I won’t let you talk about Xiao Mo like that! Forget the peach blossoms. I’m not going! Move aside! I don’t like you!”
The moment she finished, Tushan Jingci hugged her books, jumped down from her chair, and stormed out like a little hen ready for a fight.
“Eh? Jingci...”
The other little girls stood there in a daze. No matter how much they thought about it, they could not understand why a demon would get angry over a human.
After Tushan Jingci walked out of the schoolroom, Xiao Mo asked in confusion, “What happened? Did they bully the Young Lady?”
“No. They didn’t bully me.” Tushan Jingci glanced back once, then withdrew her gaze. “They wanted to invite me to go look at peach blossoms.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Xiao Mo smiled. “The Young Lady can make a few more friends.”
“I’m not going,” Tushan Jingci said with an angry huff.
“Why not?” Xiao Mo was even more puzzled.
“There is no why. I’m just not going.”
Tushan Jingci tucked the books in her arms into the bamboo case on Xiao Mo’s back, then grabbed his sleeve and tugged him out of the schoolroom.
“Come on. We’re not playing with them. We’re going home!”
