Just when Qiao Sang was having a goofy smile, her phone vibrated. It was a message from Fang Sisi.
Qiao Sang's expression sobered up, and she clicked into the conversation, only then noticing that her desk mate had sent her eight or nine messages since yesterday.
[Why didn't you come to school today?]
[I just heard that the teacher called your mom in yesterday, is that true!!!]
[Your mom found out you got zero on the test?]
[Why are you ignoring me]
[Are you there, are you there]
[Why didn't you come to school today either!]
[Your mom came to school again, nothing's happened to you, has it!]
The last message had just been sent.
[Have you evaporated from the face of the earth?]
Qiao Sang tapped on her phone.
[Still alive]
She got a reply soon after.
[Wow, so you are still alive]
[Why haven't you been to school these past few days, you have no idea how dark our teacher's face has gotten]
Qiao Sang thought for a moment.
[It's summer, are you sure he's not just tanned?]
...
After a bit of small talk, Qiao Sang told Fang Sisi the reason for her absence.
Fang Sisi didn't believe her at all.
It wasn't that she looked down on Qiao Sang, it's just that magical awakenings invariably happened to those with exceptional talent.
Typically, it was the students with the best academic performance, and even those rare few who didn't care about their studies often excelled in other areas.
As for Qiao Sang, with grades worse than hers, it just wasn't possible.
Qiao Sang didn't argue, just going into her room to take a photo of her magical awakening certification and sent it over.
There was no response from the other side.
It took about fifteen minutes before Fang Sisi sent a message.
Qiao Sang looked down at it and her mouth twitched.
[Don't forget me when you're rich and famous]
...
...
Qiao Sang hadn't forgotten about the chubby homing pigeon, she went to the cupboard to get its special food and placed it in front of the bird before she remembered herself.
She quickly made a bowl of fried rice with egg to solve her hunger, by then it was already 14:07 in the afternoon.
Perhaps it was because of the morning's events, but the Fire-Toothed Dog was curled up quietly sleeping on the couch.
Qiao Sang didn't disturb it.
She had planned to go to the Beast Taming Center with her certification that afternoon, but seeing the Fire-Toothed Dog sleeping so soundly, she changed her mind.
Qiao Sang tiptoed to her room, picked up a copy of "Extraordinary Creatures Analysis for Ninth Grade: Second Semester", and started reading it while leaning against her bed.
It was only while checking the Beast Taming Codex and reading about magical awakenings on her phone did she realize that the middle school exams were not as simple as her front-desk classmate had made them seem.
The exams only covered what was on the paper, but once someone was stimulated by magnetic waves into awakening, they would also get a score for brain area development, 1% development equaled 20 points, 2% was 40 points.
In an exam with a total score of 650, this percentage of points really didn't count for much.
The Ministry of Education did indeed place a great emphasis on those with magical awakenings, issuing a series of policies every year to recruit such students, but not a single one allowed someone who scored zero to enter Beast Taming High School.
While she could go to a vocational high school, Qiao Sang didn't want that.
Magical awakeners could enter Beast Taming High School through either a direct recruitment or a special admission process.
Apart from quota recommendations, direct recruitment also required looking at the student's grades from the past three years of junior high. The respective schools would send the relevant student information to the Beast Taming High School of their choice for entrance qualification review.
Giving Qiao Sang, who had consistently ranked third from the bottom of her class, a recommendation would probably be too embarrassing for the school, even if she was a magical awakener.
The remaining option of special admissions was Qiao Sang's choice.
Beast Taming High School No. 108 in Hangkang City implements a special recruitment policy every year, where each person is limited to applying for the special recruitment of two Beast Taming High Schools, and once their materials are approved, they can go take the respective exams.
Those who pass the special recruitment exams still have to participate in the middle school exams.
Only those who achieve the designated scores in the middle school exams have the chance to attend Beast Taming High School.
Although the required scores for each Beast Taming High School are different, one thing is the same—the middle school exams.
Qiao Sang felt somewhat helpless; after all was said and done, she still had to take the middle school exams.
...
...
As sunset dimmed into twilight, the barking of the Fire-Toothed Dog could be heard from the living room.
Qiao Sang put down her book and walked out of her room.
"Teeth!"
The Fire-Toothed Dog leapt into Qiao Sang's arms with a bound.
Qiao Sang stroked the Fire-Toothed Dog's head, her heart melting.
Out of options, she chose the Fire-Toothed Dog with whom she felt a connection. She hadn't expected it to be so well-behaved; perhaps this was what they called fate.
A girl and her beast companion sat on the sofa, watching television.
The plump homing pigeon took up its large spot on the floor.
The Fire-Toothed Dog had never seen such a novel thing before and its eyes gleamed with excitement.
If it hadn't been for Qiao Sang holding it in her arms, it might have already run up to the television and pressed its face against the screen to watch.
The television was currently broadcasting the weather forecast.
A neatly dressed woman, speaking in standard Mandarin, said, "According to the constellation doll detections, tomorrow's weather in Panta City will be sunny turning to partly cloudy, with temperatures from 30°C to 36°C. It is recommended to wear..."
The Fire-Toothed Dog's eyes widened, questioning why there was a person inside the box.
Qiao Sang switched the channel.
In a Beast Taming society, high viewership ratings are bound to Beast Tamers and extraordinary creatures; they are the correct codes for traffic.
The major television networks had clearly grasped this essence, as flipping through channels would invariably show something related to Beast Tamers.
"Mr. Wang Dian'ao, is your romance with Ms. Luo Tang real?" a reporter asked, nearly shoving the microphone in the young man's face.
"It's real," the young man admitted generously.
"Both of you are about to participate in the Yuhua Region's grand competition. If you are matched against each other, will you go easy on her?" another reporter followed up.
"No, Luo Tang is an outstanding Beast Tamer. If I end up facing her, I don't have full confidence in myself," the young man replied with a smile.
"Could you please tell us about your Armored Bear..."
Qiao Sang changed the channel again, and an image of a dark blue Thunder Horned Rhinoceros appeared on the screen in front of the Fire-Toothed Dog.
It looked fierce, its thick hind legs plowing the ground, purple arcs spreading across its body, crackling noises accompanying them as if it was about to leap out of the TV the next second.
The Fire-Toothed Dog stiffened, its fur slowly standing on end.
"The Thunder Horned Rhinoceros has held its own against the Black Wind Wolf's tornado! It's not backing down! It looks like it's about to launch a powerful move, it's unclear what move the Beast Tamer Xu Zhou will make next!" the commentator exclaimed excitedly.
This was a rerun. Every year, various regions hold competitions, and the channel Qiao Sang was watching specialized in broadcasting Hangkang City's Beast Tamer competitions.
The camera switched to a fully black Black Wind Wolf.
The wolf's blue eyes radiated a murderous intent. It was covered with blood, breathing heavily through its nostrils. Due to its black fur, the wounds weren't obvious, only the few drops of blood on the ground revealed its injuries.
The Fire-Toothed Dog relaxed.
"After using the tornado, the Black Wind Wolf is clearly weakening..."
Before the commentator could finish, the screen switched back to the Thunder Horned Rhinoceros.
The purple arcs on its body became more and more intense, and when they extended about two meters outside its body, it charged forward.
"Bang!"
The television emitted a loud explosion sound and broke down...
The air seemed to freeze.
Qiao Sang mechanically turned to look at the Fire-Toothed Dog, her gaze vacant, opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.
"Tee!" The Fire-Toothed Dog turned and nestled in Qiao Sang's arms.
The large creature inside that box just now had scared it terribly!