"Haaa... what a boring class." 

Lin Mao yawned, trying his best not to drift off. The room was suffocating, and the teacher's voice was nothing more than a hum in the background. 

She was explaining something about philosophy that Lin Mao couldn't care less about. He glanced around, looking for anything to break his boredom.

His eyes landed on a group of three students sitting in the corner. All of them were staring at the teacher with focused eyes and taking notes as if their lives depended on it.

"Bunch of nerds," Lin Mao thought, rolling his eyes.

He shifted in his seat, his boredom growing with each second.

Then, his gaze fell on the twins who were sitting at the back of the room. Both were in the middle of applying their makeup.

They were using their brush with more focus than they had ever given to any schoolwork.

"Makeup can't save you, no matter how much you try." 

He turned his attention back to the teacher, Ms. Zhang, who was still going on about something unimportant.

Lin Mao yawned loudly, drawing a few glances from nearby students. He didn't care.

Why bother trying to keep up when none of this would matter in the end?

"Lin Mao," Ms. Zhang called suddenly.

Her voice cut through his boredom and made him jolt upright. 

"Yes?" he asked, blinking rapidly to clear his foggy mind.

"Could you answer the question?"

Mrs. Zhang's sharp gaze was on him, and the class waited in silence.

Lin Mao glanced at the board, then at his classmates, who were still glued to their books. He scratched the back of his head.

"Uhhh... pass," he said with a grin.

Ms. Zhang sighed, clearly used to his antics. "Lin Mao, this is not a joke. Pay attention."

"Sure, sure," Lin Mao mumbled, falling back to his seat.

But in his head, he was already somewhere else—far from the boring class, in a place where his skills and talent mattered, not this useless waffle.

As he let his mind wander, Lin Mao couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration building up. This wasn't the life he had imagined for himself. He wanted something more, something exciting.

But for now, he was stuck in this room.

A loud sneeze from the front of the class broke his thoughts. Lin Mao turned to see one of the nerds from the corner rubbing his nose.

"Bless you," he said with a lazy smile.

The nerd looked at him, clearly annoyed. "Lin Mao, can you stop disturbing the class?"

"Can you stop being such a teacher's pet?" Lin Mao shot back, barely caring about the response.

The nerd narrowed his eyes. He was clearly used to Lin Mao's antics but was unwilling to back down. 

"Maybe if you paid attention for once, you wouldn't be so lost in life."

Lin Mao couldn't help but laugh, loud enough for everyone to hear. 

"Lost? Nah, I am just finding my own way. You should try it sometime."

Ms. Zhang, who was already fed up, clapped her hands. 

"Enough. Lin Mao, focus! You are wasting everybody's time."

But Lin Mao couldn't be bothered. He leaned back in his chair and stared out the window.

 "Yeah, whatever," he said, already planning his escape once the bell rang. 

Ms. Zhang's voice faded into the background again as Lin Mao's mind drifted. He dreamt of something more than this place—something with action, adventure, maybe even a little romance and fun along the way.

I wish I had been born in the medieval period. Imagine fighting with swords, conquering enemy nations. That would be something worth living for.

He chuckled to himself, amused by his own thoughts. Who am I kidding? Would my lazy ass even survive in a place like that?

His daydream was cut short when Ms. Zhang's voice snapped him back to reality. She was talking about life again, which seemed to be her favorite topic.

Lin Mao rolled his eyes, already predicting the boring discussion to follow. But then, something caught his attention.

Ms. Zhang turned to one of the nerds sitting in the front row. "What do you think life is, Xi Ping?" she asked.

Xi Ping stood up gracefully as if he were a member of a royal family and cleared his throat dramatically. "Uhmm...uhmm."

"Ms. Zhang, life is a series of choices that leads from birth to death." 

He spoke as if he were delivering a profound truth.

Ms. Zhang nodded thoughtfully. She seemed pleased with the answer. 

"Good. Nice answer, Xi Ping." 

Xi Ping straightened his glasses and looked around the room with a smug grin. He was looking at the others as though he had just won a Nobel Peace Prize.

Lin Mao snorted, Oh please, this guy couldn't be more full of himself.

Xi Ping caught Lin Mao's glance and immediately frowned. But Lin Mao didn't care. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, not interested in the debate. 

To him, life wasn't about following a predetermined path—it was about doing what you wanted, when you wanted.

Ms. Zhang turned her attention back to the rest of the class. 

"Anyone else? What's your take on life?" she asked.

Her voice sounded melodious and had a childlike interest behind it, showing just how much she enjoyed talking about life.

Lin Mao lowly whispered, "Life is just a big joke. And we are all just puppets."

He didn't expect anyone to hear, but Xi Ping's nerdy ears immediately caught the mumble. 

"What did you say, Lin Mao?" he asked, daring Lin Mao to say it again.