In the cycle of studying, eating, and sleeping, a few days passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it was Friday afternoon.
Since entering the final stage for the College Entrance Examination, the time from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning was reserved for the Weekly Exam.
According to the teachers, this was to train the students’ “exam intuition” — that vague sense for the questions — so they could adapt to the testing environment and avoid underperforming during the actual College Entrance Examination.
Although Lin Yiyi didn’t know if that was true, she had indeed improved her problem-solving speed and ability through the constant Weekly Exams, so she had no complaints.
Having finished the cheat sheet early, she checked her answer sheet for any omissions or errors.
After verifying that everything was correct, Lin Yiyi handed in her paper early and went down to the athletic field for a walk.
The school was always lenient with top students like her.
As long as their grades didn’t suddenly plummet, handing in papers early to go eat or rest during a Weekly Exam was permitted.
She took out her mobile phone to check the time.
Seeing that there was still nearly half an hour before the dining hall opened for dinner, Lin Yiyi sat down on a nearby lawn, idly passing the time.
Just as she was considering whether to go back to the dormitory for a shower first or wait a little longer to go straight to the dining hall, an unexpected figure appeared on the field.
“Hmm… using this method, I should be able to find the range of a…”
It was Wang Zixian, the boy who had approached her before to ask about a math problem.
Holding a math workbook in one hand and a pen in the other, he walked across the field muttering to himself, completely immersed in his work.
Lin Yiyi was stunned. She hadn’t expected anyone to actually be able to solve math problems while walking.
‘Is this some kind of obsession?’
Though she couldn’t help but complain internally about his strange behavior, Lin Yiyi was actually quite envious of his ability to be so devoted to his studies.
Because of her identity as a Magic Girl, she always had to keep a bit of her attention on the outside world while studying, lest a Shadow Beast appear and she fail to arrive on the scene in time.
Therefore, since officially becoming a Magic Girl in the second semester of her third year of junior high, she had never experienced that state of being single-mindedly focused on studying at school again.
Thinking about it now, it was a bit of a regret.
At this thought, Lin Yiyi couldn’t help but sigh.
She planned to sit there for a while longer before returning to the dormitory to shower, then eat quickly and head back to the classroom to review.
As she was planning her evening, she saw the boy from her class out of the corner of her eye.
He was walking toward a utility pole, completely unaware that he was about to collide with the iron post.
Worse still, he was still writing in his book. No one knew where that pen would fly if he hit the pole.
“Hey! Watch out for the pole! Don’t run into it!”
Without a second thought, the instinct to save someone instantly replaced Lin Yiyi’s rational thinking.
She rushed over and shouted at him, hoping to wake up his subconscious.
Startled by her shout, Wang Zixian suddenly snapped out of it and stopped in his tracks.
Just as she was relieved that no accident had happened, she suddenly noticed him gritting his teeth.
His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at her, his right hand tightly clutching the pen as if he were blaming her for interrupting his train of thought.
Seeing this, Lin Yiyi’s heart tightened. She pursed her lips, suddenly feeling a bit sad, and hesitated to apologize.
But strangely, when she focused her attention on him again, Wang Zixian’s venomous gaze vanished completely, replaced by a look of blankness and confusion, as if he had become a different person.
‘This is…?’
“Oh, thank you, Lin Yiyi. I was a bit too absorbed just now and didn’t notice the pole. You saved my life.”
While she was still thinking, the shy boy she was familiar with returned.
He scratched his head sheepishly and approached Lin Yiyi to apologize, showing her the math problem in his hand to prove he wasn’t lying.
Lin Yiyi remained silent for a few seconds. After watching him for a while, she shook her head and replied.
“Ah… it’s fine. Just be careful next time you’re walking on the field. Don’t walk while thinking about things; it’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, I will. Oh, by the way, Lin Yiyi, do you want a drink? I’ll go to the canteen and buy you a bottle of water.”
“No, it’s fine. I was just taking a walk because I was bored. But you — how did you think of doing math on the field? Isn’t there a study room on the first floor of the Teaching Building? Wouldn’t it be better to go there?”
“That… I don’t really want to stay in the study room. I feel like the atmosphere there doesn’t suit me.”
“Doesn’t suit you?”
Lin Yiyi frowned, not understanding why he would say that.
He was able to immerse himself in learning anytime and anywhere, yet he said he wasn’t suited for the study room?
‘He’s got to be kidding.’
“Yeah, I don’t know why, but I just feel like this open environment is especially good for thinking about difficult problems. I can solve things in a few minutes that I couldn’t figure out for the life of me before. It’s very strange.”
Wang Zixian smoothed his hair, trying to make himself look more energetic, and confessed his thoughts to Lin Yiyi.
Upon hearing his explanation, Lin Yiyi’s gaze fell silently onto the Black Star Badge on his chest.
“Is something wrong? Is there something strange about this badge?”
“…Can I borrow this thing for a few days? I’ve noticed that ever since you got this little trinket, you’ve become more and more focused on your studies. I want to see if it’s really that magical.”
“Oh, you mean this?” A smile appeared on Wang Zixian’s face. “I just thought it looked nice, so I pinned it to my chest. If you want it, you can have it.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s nothing. You did just save my life, after all.”
Taking the Black Star Badge from him, Lin Yiyi tossed the small piece of tinplate and turned to say goodbye.
Wang Zixian waved to her, watching her walk away.
Then, he looked at the math problem and the pen in his hand with a look of pure, blank stupidity, having forgotten what he was supposed to do next.
Lin Yiyi, of course, knew nothing of his trivial confusion. She only wanted to uncover the secret of this badge.
After a quick shower in the dormitory and dinner at the dining hall, she took the badge to the Art Student Building.
There, she found a place with no people and no cameras and performed her Transformation.
After turning into Meteor, the girl applied a bit of pressure with her fingers. She could feel that the badge in her hand could be easily crushed.
She allowed her Magic Power to permeate the badge. Sensing the Magic Power flow through the object without any resistance, Meteor fell completely silent.
Whether in terms of material or texture, the Black Star Badge was an ordinary trinket, nothing special at all.
The problem, however, was that both students who had obtained this badge had displayed a study attitude so positive they could be models — it was as if they had become different people.
What exactly was going on…?