Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva-Chapter 749 - 2 Another Boy
Blue glass, a transparent blue ceiling, blue leaves, and power poles skim the top of the train car, while the teenager leaning on the seat quietly observes the scenery overhead. The carriage is exceptionally quiet, with no other passengers besides him.
The train clanks gently forward, and beneath the twilight sky, everything seems to be coated with a faint layer of blue. When passing through intermediate stations, mechanical announcements briefly break the silence of the carriage. frёewebnoѵēl.com
[The train has now arrived at Suoqing Station. Passengers disembarking at this stop, please exit in an orderly manner.]
The train doors slide open slowly, but nobody gets off. The station is empty, with only a few indistinct birds perched on the power poles, uttering several cries.
The young man turns his neck, his hollow eyes gazing out the window at the station. Here, covered with rust and appearing abandoned, only the display board above the platform remains in good condition, its orange dot-matrix announcing this as 'Suoqing Station'.
Seemingly recalling something, the boy lowers his head, fumbling in his pocket before pulling out a black personal terminal. Its metal casing is worn shiny at the edges, and the side is riddled with fine scratches, showing signs of weathering and long-time use.
Flipping the projection screen open, the teenager's fingertip glides to a particular news item and then stops.
"Regretfully, a genius boy commits suicide at home"
[On July 12, the Eastern Third District police received an alert from an Autonomous Unit and dispatched officers to the scene, where they found the 18-year-old male resident 'Ling' dead on a pine tree outside his home in Suoqing District. From the scene's images, 'Ling' was found lying on his back upon the branches, having bled to death. By his side was a small knife used for the suicide, as well as his personal terminal.
Recorded clearly in his personal terminal was the process of his suicide: first, he sat motionlessly on the tree for an entire day, then as evening approached, he listened to some music, afterwards taking out the knife to calmly and deliberately slit the artery under his arm, then lying back on the tree and closing his eyes.]
According to the reactions of 'Ling's' classmates and teachers, his grades had always been far ahead of anyone in his class, advancing to Withering Sequence 5 at the age of 16 and breaking Academy records. However, he was extremely aloof to his classmates and never interacted with anyone. The Academy had arranged for a psychologist to counsel him, but he remained clear-minded and calm during those sessions, showing no symptoms of depression, with regular lifestyle habits.
Following the incident, the Academy got in touch with 'Ling's' only known relative, an aunt who lives afar. She stated that she had only met 'Ling's' parents once at a wedding 20 years ago and had not been in contact with 'Ling's' family ever since.
Previously, this gifted young man had already secured a scholarship for free admission to the prestigious 'Lapis Lazuli' educational institution in the Central Star Domain, envied by countless others. Yet his departure has left many who knew him filled with regret and sorrow.
'Lapis Lazuli' Academy is currently ranked 237th among federated academies, having produced numerous noted scholars, doctors, and scientists. This renowned institution has only ten enrollment slots for the entire Southern Mountain Star Domain, with just one being a full scholarship.
Therefore, educational experts within the Star Domain argue that psychological issues among contemporary students cannot be overlooked and that appropriate measures must be taken to address these problems...
— The above is a report from the evening news in the Eastern Third District of Heisongjyu, Southern Mountain Star Domain.]
As his gaze fixes on the news project screen, the teenager remains motionless, resembling a pale corpse, until a fly hitting the train window glass causes his pupils to start moving again.
The train starts up once more, and as it rolls away with a clanking sound, it leaves the rust-covered station behind. The young man leans back into his seat again, looking up at the blue glass ceiling and the shadows of branches and power poles falling upon it.
The sunset gradually fades, and the blue of the ceiling deepens, becoming darker and darker until it turns into a dim shade like the feathers of a crow, its pattern indiscernible.
An hour later, the train arrives at a dimly lit station where the teenager stands on the platform, holding his personal terminal. The light from the projection screen casts his face in a ghastly, bloodless pallor.
Afterward, he puts away the personal terminal and walks through the dim, deserted station. Despite the lack of light, he neither stumbles nor bumps into anything—perhaps everything here is too familiar to him.
Thus, he exits the station and continues along the equally desolate streets, where buildings and other facilities are exceptionally old, and in the many high-rise buildings, only one or two units are lit.
Entering the dark apartment building, he stamps his foot, and the lights come on. He ascends the stairs, with lights lighting up one after another as if to welcome him, infusing the empty floors with a semblance of life.
Reaching the seventh floor, the boy pauses, inserts the key card he carries with him, and with a slight noise, the door automatically opens. He then enters.
The room is illuminated by the cold glow of a phosphorescent light. Only the sound of the boy removing his shoes can be heard. After slipping on his sandals, he approaches the bedroom door at the far end, pausing for a few seconds before knocking and pushing it open.
Inside the bedroom, a medical bed with white linens is placed, and a middle-aged woman lies on it, covered by a blanket. She lies on her back, breathing tube in her mouth, her chest rising and falling with the ventilator, her expression distorted, eyes half-open, seeming awake yet as if in eternal slumber.
