Survival in the Class: I'm the Only Boy on the Bus

[BGM: Farewell to the Faraway Star - Mingchao First Appointment Radio]

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Hazard was visibly stunned when he heard Jiang Chen's words. The smile on his face gradually disappeared, the corners of his mouth stopped turning up, and his pupils widened in shock.

The red ribbon she was holding in her left hand slowly slipped down and landed on the gray-black ground with a 'thud'.

The red ribbon was blown about by the wind, like a bright red flower blooming between Jiang Chen and Hazard, except that some of the petals were stained with dark red tear stains.

Startled by the falling red ribbon, the white doves around them fluttered their wings and flew toward the stone wall beside them.

They stood atop the stone wall, tilting their heads to look at Hazard and Jiang Chen, making soft "coo-coo-coo" sounds, seemingly not quite understanding why Hazard was unhappy.

Hazard stared intently at Jiang Chen, his pupils darting wildly in their sockets.

Her eyes were already brimming with tears, and the tears at the corners of her eyes were about to slip down. Even her throat felt sore and hard, as if she had suddenly swallowed a mouthful of white vinegar.

Hazard was still holding on, not wanting to cry in front of Jiang Chen, knowing that she wouldn't look good when she cried.

Hazard wanted to say something to cover up that she wasn't really unhappy; she wanted to force a smile.

But the phrase "it's tiring to keep laughing" kept echoing in my mind.

Her lips opened and closed repeatedly until finally they began to tremble.

She wanted to say, "I'm really okay," but she couldn't utter a single word; the words that came to her lips turned into soft sobs.

Tears could no longer be held back from her reddened eyes, welling up and sliding down her cheeks, finally gathering at the tip of her chin, each drop landing on the red ribbon in front of her feet.

No matter how much Hazard looked up at the sky or how hard he blinked, it didn't work. Tears just kept flowing uncontrollably, and he couldn't hold them back.

She knew she must look terrible, and she was afraid that Brother Jiang Chen wouldn't like her crying like that, so she could only lower her head, purse her lips, and let the tears drip down her chin.

Tears dripped down, staining the red ribbon at her feet a dark red.

Jiang Chen opened his arms towards Hazard, a gentle smile playing on his lips, and even his tone of voice was soft:

"Just cry if you want to..."

"I'm here...it'll be alright."

Upon hearing Jiang Chen's words, Hazard abruptly raised his head, looking at Jiang Chen with teary eyes.

She subconsciously lifted her foot and walked slowly towards Jiang Chen.

Even as Jiang Chen's figure gradually became blurred by tears, she could still see it clearly.

She had been thinking about this face for six whole years!

Hazard's sobs grew louder, her eyes were red, whether from crying or from her own injuries, it was hard to tell; even her red nose was twitching.

Her pace quickened.

The next moment, a sob that had been suppressed for six years burst forth from her throat.

Hazard finally burst into tears with a loud "Wah!"

The white doves around her were startled and flew up, landing further away, tilting their heads and quietly watching her cry.

Hazard's favorability rating: 85 → 90

Hazard's favorability rating: 90 → 95

As he cried, Hazard opened his arms and rushed toward Jiang Chen.

She crashed headfirst into Jiang Chen's arms, her forehead pressed against his chest, her left hand wrapped around him, gripping the back of his shirt tightly, causing the black fabric to wrinkle.

Hazard burst into tears in Jiang Chen's arms.

At this moment, she was no longer the city lord of White Dove City, nor was she the girl who forced a smile.

She was just a little girl who longed for her brother Jiang Chen and his sisters to come back and see her.

She was just that little girl who shouted in the rain, "I'll raise lots of white doves."

As Hazard wept, he poured out all the words that had been building up in his heart for the past six years:

"Brother Jiang Chen..."

"My aunt...she committed suicide, carrying her unborn child, so as not to be a burden on us..."

"And...and my seven companions...to protect me...to protect my talent...to allow White Dove City to be built...they...one by one, they all died...they all died right before my eyes..."

"I'm the only one left..."

Hazard was crying so hard he could hardly breathe, and he would sniffle hard after every few words.

"Now... now all the adults in White Dove City have left..."

"In the city...only the elderly and children are left...their children, husbands, and fathers have all departed..."

"I feel... I feel so useless as the city lord! My heart aches..."

"I'm so scared... that everyone will abandon me again... and never come back..."

She buried her face tightly in Jiang Chen's chest, her voice muffled:

"Thank goodness you came back to see me... Thank goodness I still have you, Brother Jiang Chen..."

"But I don't want you to know I'm not doing well, I don't want you to see me crying so ugly..."

"That's why I kept laughing... kept laughing..."

Jiang Chen looked down at Hazard in his arms, without saying anything to comfort her. He simply held her gently and stroked the back of her head, as if he were petting a kitten that had been wronged outside and was now crying at home.

Often, people who have experienced great ups and downs don't need comforting words; they just need a chest to cry on.

At this point, letting Hazard cry alone is the best option.

Crying it out makes you feel better...

The girls stood not far behind Jiang Chen, quietly watching this scene. They all tacitly gave Hazard some time and space to not have to force himself to stay upright.

After a while, Hazard's crying gradually subsided, turning into intermittent sobs.

She looked down at the wet patch on Jiang Chen's chest, sniffed several times in embarrassment, and raised her left hand to wipe away her tears with the back of her hand.

With red eyes, Hazard took two steps back and left Jiang Chen's embrace.

Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She took two deep breaths to calm herself down and pulled out two glittering gold cards from her waist.

The card had several large characters written in black on its surface:

NPC Location Card

Hazard held the card in his left hand and carefully handed it to Jiang Chen, his voice still carrying a cute nasal tone:

"Brother Jiang Chen, this is for you..."

Jiang Chen looked down at the two golden cards, and the [Map Fully Revealed] feature fed the information into his mind.

[Special Item - NPC Location Card] (Grade A)

[Active Effect: After entering an NPC's real name, a parallel road will be created that leads directly to the NPC's location, ignoring terrain, instance limitations, and distance restrictions.]