The students who hadn’t borrowed books got up and left the classroom.
A couple of students hesitated, refusing to leave.
The teacher called them out directly: “Yang Shuo, Li Meilin, didn’t you both fail to borrow a book?”
Reluctantly, the students who were trying to stay hidden also got up.
They went to the school’s book corner to fetch the books.
And they never came back.
The teacher didn’t seem to notice the growing absence of students in the classroom. She opened her book and smiled as she said, “Let’s start by learning about Ferdinand Milner. He wasn’t a typical writer…”
The atmosphere in the room grew heavier.
The weight of nearly twenty lives pressed down on everyone.
This wasn’t an A-level dungeon; it was hell.
The teacher’s gentle voice continued, but now it only sent shivers down their spines.
“Ferdinand was born during wartime. When he was young, his home was bombed, and his parents were killed. He became an orphan and was taken in by a local orphanage. The head of the orphanage was kind and paid for teachers to educate the children. As an adult, Ferdinand met his wife, Lilian—a gentle and kind woman who became the love of his life.”
“They got married and soon had a son. However, Lilian’s health was frail, and she passed away shortly after giving birth. At that time, Ferdinand was a teacher, balancing the responsibility of educating other people’s children while raising his own. But that peaceful life didn’t last long. War soon reached their town, and Ferdinand lost both his child and home to the war.”
“Furious, Ferdinand joined the battlefield, becoming a soldier. He realized that without a nation, he had no life to return to. The war lasted over thirty years, and by the time Ferdinand was discharged, he had lost a leg and had become a general. But instead of retiring, he returned to school and became a professor at a local university…”
“By then, the war had ended. Reflecting on his tumultuous life, Ferdinand decided to begin writing. He authored twenty-six novels and three autobiographies, all of which were published. These works not only conveyed his perspective on life but also chronicled his entire journey…”
The teacher slowly finished talking about Ferdinand's life, then looked up at the students in the classroom, smiling. "You should have already read the books in your hands. Let's do this: why don't you share your thoughts after reading these books? Hmm…"
The teacher scanned the room and then focused on An Heyan. "Let's start with you."
An Heyan stood up. After a moment of silence, he said, "I read a love novel called The Forest Spring. I think Mr. Ferdinand also loved his wife very much, just like the way love is described in the book. Unfortunately, he was an introverted man. When he first met his wife, he didn’t dare approach her, but this all stemmed from his love. It was because of love that he hesitated and was timid... but he was actually a very brave person."
An Heyan rambled on a bit, but since he said a lot, the teacher nodded in satisfaction.
As An Heyan sat back down, he noticed Gu Zhan looking at him. An Heyan had basically narrated the content of the book Gu Zhan had given him, and he flashed Gu Zhan an apologetic smile. But it didn't matter much, since Gu Zhan also had the two books that originally belonged to An Heyan.
Other students stood up one by one, sharing their responses. Their stories had little to do with Ferdinand’s life—some talked about love stories, fairy tales, and even dark horror stories. Some didn’t even have the same protagonist.
Gu Zhan originally had some ideas, but after hearing the others’ descriptions, he felt completely confused.
Soon, it was Gu Zhan’s turn to speak. He slowly stood up and said, "The story I read is about rescuing a little bird..."
Just like An Heyan, Gu Zhan retold the entire story. The teacher nodded and let him sit down before calling on Qin Yue, who was sitting beside him.
Qin Yue stood up nervously, stumbling through his words but eventually managed to tell the story of a spy.
At the end, Qin Yue said, "I’m not sure if the spy was real. Normally, you'd expect the spy to be a man, but she was a woman..."
Clearly, Qin Yue’s nerves had gotten the best of him, and he was speaking out of turn, unaware that his time to speak had already ended. He kept talking.
The teacher's expression became a bit odd as she stared at Qin Yue. When he finally stopped to take a breath, she quickly asked, "So, you think the protagonist killed the wrong person? That the person they killed wasn’t the spy who stole their information, but an innocent civilian?"
Qin Yue was stunned, only then realizing his mistake. From the teacher’s perspective, they were all just discussing books and their impressions of them, but Qin Yue had accidentally talked about getting too involved in the world of the story.
Quickly, Qin Yue tried to correct himself. "No, no... I just found it a bit strange. Maybe that’s the author’s point—war is cruel. Even a spy is a living person, forced into this situation. Regardless of someone’s role, in war, everyone is just swept along by the tide of history..."
Suddenly recalling some terms from political science class, Qin Yue blurted them all out. It didn’t matter what the author had intended; what mattered was raising the discussion to a deeper level!
Sure enough, after he rambled on with more incoherent thoughts, the teacher’s expression softened.
She said, "It seems this student has many insights from his reading, but due to time constraints, we’ll leave it at that for now."
She raised her hand for Qin Yue to sit down and said, "As you can see, Ferdinand's life was rich and complex. His life was divided into many phases, and in each phase, he had different ideas."
"If you want to understand this person, you must explore his life across all phases. Today’s appreciation class ends here. Before the next one, I hope you will read another of Ferdinand’s books."
"Alright, class dismissed."
As the teacher's voice trailed off, the bell rang. The teacher gathered her teaching materials and left, while Gu Zhan and the others sat in their seats, looking solemn.
Qin Yue whispered, "She asked us to switch books. Do you think we just need to swap the ones we have?"
Gu Zhan frowned and said, "No, the library's borrowing period is three days. The books we borrowed on Friday must be returned by Monday evening."
They could read each other’s books before heading back to the library, but after dark, they had to return them.
At the mention of returning to the ominous library, Qin Yue’s face turned pale.
Gu Zhan said, "Don’t stress too much. You already have two books."
He glanced at his schedule and noticed the last class was P.E. This school had an unusually high number of P.E. classes.
Gu Zhan said, "Let's skip the last class and find a quiet spot. I have two more books with me. I'll read one, and you read the other."
"Huh?" Qin Yue was confused. "We’re not reading together?"
Gu Zhan replied, "In these book worlds, different people experience different details. Only by personally entering the world can you understand it fully—it’s hard to explain the details to someone else."
"Okay... I guess." After all, the teacher’s assignment had to be completed individually. Gu Zhan wasn’t obligated to accompany Qin Yue into the book world. Sharing his books was already a favor.
They skipped class, and the gatekeeper seemed to have given up, watching the two of them head to the low wall near the sports field without any reaction.
After taking a bus to the library’s vicinity, they found a secluded spot and opened their books.
This time, Gu Zhan entered the world of the lost child that An Heyan had mentioned. Upon arrival, he immediately saw the child crying by the roadside. When he approached and asked, the child tearfully explained that he had been separated from his parents.
"They told me to wait here while they went to get me ice cream, but why haven’t they come back yet?"
However, the child's words made Gu Zhan feel something was off.
This child must have been abandoned by adults, right?
He could only promise the child that he would help him find his parents.
Based on the child's description, he lived in this city. Gu Zhan planned to take him home directly to ask those irresponsible parents why they had abandoned him.
But on their way, they encountered many nuns dressed in black and white long skirts.
Every time the child saw these nuns, he became visibly tense.
After several attempts to gauge the situation, Gu Zhan discovered that the child was indeed afraid of the nuns.
What could it be about nuns?
This reminded him of the last book he was in.
Gu Zhan didn’t believe that these stories were entirely unrelated, considering they were written by the same author. Each book must have its own significance.
In the previous book, the “school” where the nuns were located seemed very unwelcoming to children.
Right, the teacher also mentioned that Ferdinand was sent to an orphanage after losing his parents in the war.
Orphanages, churches, nuns, schools… these places were likely interconnected.
So this child didn’t actually want to find the parents who abandoned him; instead, he… didn’t want to go to the orphanage?
Thus, Gu Zhan chose to steer clear of the nuns.
Out of the nuns’ sight, the child relaxed significantly.
Gu Zhan didn’t rush to take him home; instead, he walked around the streets with him, asking about his family.
“Is there anyone else in your family besides your mom and dad?”
The little boy paused, looking somewhat confused. “Isn’t a family just supposed to have a mom and dad?”
“Well, not necessarily. Some families have two children, which means you could have a brother or sister, or maybe a younger sibling.”
The little boy shook his head. “My family only has one child; it’s just me.”
“Are your mom and dad good to you?” Gu Zhan asked.
The little boy still looked bewildered. “Good to me? Mom and Dad are just Mom and Dad. Why should they be good to me? Do they have to treat me well to be my parents?”
The child’s perspective was quite unusual.
Gu Zhan became more resolute in his thoughts. “They are your parents by nature, but if they aren’t good to you, you can choose to not have them and find someone who treats you better.”
The little boy didn’t seem particularly attached to his parents. He looked up and asked, “Really? Then I hope my mom and dad won’t be too strict, won’t set a bedtime for me, and won’t make me compete for food with other kids. I want to keep a nest of little birds on the windowsill and watch them live.”
Little birds… competing for food…
These words echoed in Gu Zhan’s mind once again.
He was further convinced that these stories were all connected.
It seemed the author had cleverly disguised their links.
“Yes, I can help you find new parents,” Gu Zhan said, picking up the child and heading in another direction in the city.
This was a story set against a backdrop of war, filled with displaced children, adoption agencies, and orphanages.
Since the little boy didn’t want to go to an orphanage, Gu Zhan took him to an adoption agency.
He was healthy, attractive, and well-behaved, quickly winning over the prospective adoptive couple. Before long, he was taken away.
The moment the little boy entered his new family, Gu Zhan's side quest was complete.
Before leaving the story world, he saw the title of this book: Ferdinand’s New Life.
Ferdinand… is this what you wish for?
You despise your previous life and want to start anew in this book world.
But the Ferdinand described by the teacher was a successful person.
Although he had gone through hardships and setbacks, it couldn’t be denied that he was a hero.
Do even heroes despise their lives?
Gu Zhan felt there was still something unresolved.