The classroom was bustling during the break, but the moment Teacher Mu appeared at the door, it instantly fell silent.
Huo Yan immediately sat upright in his seat, terrified of becoming Teacher Mu’s target again after possibly failing yet another quiz.
“Class, for our composition lesson today, I’ll assign you to read an article and then write a Star Beast-themed essay based on your reflections.”
As soon as Teacher Mu finished speaking, many students, already struggling with language arts, visibly wilted.
Huo Yan felt his scalp tingle. Writing essays was his worst fear, and he just had to encounter it this week.
“Huo Yan, what should we do? What are you going to write about?”
Huo Yan’s deskmate, also weak in this subject, glanced at the “Star Beast World” magazine distributed to everyone and couldn’t help asking his fellow struggler.
“Ugh, Star Beasts… my favorite Star Beast?”
Huo Yan muttered, but the image that popped into his head was a mermaid.
However, mermaids didn’t really count as Star Beasts, did they?
If he could write about Yu Mian, he definitely wouldn’t feel so stuck… but he had promised Yu Mian not to reveal his existence.
“Everyone, please turn to page 78 and read carefully,” Realizing that this group of kids wouldn’t obediently start reading without some stern prompting, Teacher Mu’s tone became noticeably firmer.
Hearing this, Huo Yan obediently flipped to page 78, and the first thing he saw was a picture of a snow leopard in the magazine.
‘Wow, it looks so majestic.’
Just looking at the pictures like a comic book was actually not bad…it was definitely more enjoyable than reading.
But when Huo Yan noticed the accompanying article titled “The King of the Tian Mountains-Snow Leopard”, his attention was immediately drawn to it. After all, the title resonated with him— “king”, huh?
As he started reading, Huo Yan quickly became engrossed and unusually quiet.
When his deskmate tried to whisper something to him, he was surprised to see Huo Yan sitting completely still and deeply absorbed in reading.
Was the article really that good?
With half belief and half doubt, almost all the kids in the class started reading the article in their hands one after another.
Before long, the classroom grew unexpectedly silent, broken only by the occasional rustle of pages turning.
It was a rare and remarkable sight.
Teacher Mu felt a surge of satisfaction as he watched silently from the front of the room.
After all, this author’s article was simply perfect for these kids to read.
The author eloquently presented various star beast facts, making them vivid, accessible, and full of charm. Yet, the content never fell into childish simplicity; even adults would find themselves reflecting deeply after reading.
After about ten minutes, a voice of disbelief suddenly broke the silence in the classroom.
“…How could this happen? Ban was actually killed by poachers!”
It was the class president, Greya, sitting in the first row. Her eyes were already sore as she stared at the page.
To be honest, when they had read earlier about the cheetah repeatedly opposing the protagonists and stealing their food, even almost biting Da Xi to death, the whole class had been itching for Gredo to completely defeat and drive Ban out of the territory.
But when they reached the part where Ban wasn’t defeated by his old rival, Gredo, but was instead killed by human poachers, an indescribable sadness welled up.
After all, Ban had only come to the unfamiliar territory of the snow leopards because his original habitat had been encroached upon.
Moreover, every fight with Gredo had been intense and exhilarating, vividly painting a scene of two formidable beasts battling fiercely.
Now, Ban had died silently, his body dragged through the snow like garbage by poachers. The stark contrast struck everyone’s hearts with a pang.
“Ban was so powerful and proud before! How could they do this to him?”
Some of the more emotional students nearly burst into tears.
“Yes! I’m so angry. I really want to catch all these bad guys in the future!”
As the little readers sniffled in indignation, the plot of Gredoo and Da Xi’s desperate flight across the snowy plains only heightened their tension.
The human poachers, like relentless pests, used every means to hunt down the two snow leopards, blocking every possible escape route.
They even went so far as to blow up the cozy den where Greedo and Da Xi had once lived, forcing them out of the cliffs and toward human settlements.
When Da Xi took a last reluctant look at the ruined den and let out a mournful cry, and Gredo covered his eyes with his tail and dragged him toward the next unknown horizon, many readers found their eyes reddening.
The increasingly intense and tragic atmosphere, paired with the lingering sorrow of Ban’s death, imbued this tale of the snowy cliffs with a chilling sense of cruelty.
Yet, amidst the vast, desolate snowfields, the mutual dependence between Da Xi and Greido became all the more moving.
Just as everyone’s hearts were tightly wound, the plot finally took a turn for the better. The teacher and classmates, who had been searching for Da Xi, rescued him, and even the poachers were ultimately captured in one sweep by the Federation’s forces!
“Wow, thank goodness Da Xi and Gredo were saved!”
The classroom erupted in delighted exclamations, the students entirely immersed in the author’s words.
Such a plot felt like the first ray of dawn breaking across the snowy plains, instantly dispelling all the chill from their hearts.
Hope and beauty once again flourished vibrantly before their eyes.
“I declare this my favorite story of the year!”
“Those despicable poachers deserved to be crushed by our federal army!”
Huo Yan let out a deep breath, wishing he could rush home that night and beg Huo Ting to eradicate all the interstellar poachers.
He couldn’t bear for a story like Da Xi’s to happen in real life!
“Quiet down, everyone. Keep reading to the end…after all, there’s one question I’d like to ask you after that,” As Teacher Mu looked at the cheering little ones, a complex emotion emerged in his eyes.
The students quickly picked up their magazines again, eagerly reading to the conclusion.
But when they reached the part where Da Xi called out to Gredo on the snowy plains, pleading for him to stay, only for Gredo to slowly turn and resolutely walk away, everyone was left with an empty feeling.
How could it end like this?
It was supposed to be a fairy-tale ending. The bad guys had been defeated, Da Xi had been saved by his teacher and classmates, and next, Gredo should have boarded the starship with Da Xi and returned to the Central Star!
“Why didn’t Gredo leave with Da Xi? Didn’t he like Da Xi anymore? Was it because he found out that Da Xi was actually a human turned into a little snow leopard…”
Huo Yan was so distraught he wanted to jump into the story and grab Gredo, who was walking away into the depths of the snowy field, and demand an answer.
Was it really so important whether one was human or not?
Surely their friendship and companionship were what mattered most.
“This is the question I want you all to ponder today: Why did Gredo choose not to leave the harsh snowfields with Da Xi?”
Even Teacher Mu, after rereading the story, still felt a lingering sense of melancholy.
It had been a near-perfect ending. The sunlight of dawn had finally illuminated the vast, silent snowfields, and the rescue starship had landed right before them.
But why, in the end, did they part ways?
“And by the way…the author of this story is someone you’re all familiar with.”
Teacher Mu made a playful remark to lighten the mood. The young readers quickly glanced at the author’s introduction, and their eyes widened in surprise.
It turned out to be Teacher Fish Soup Noodles who wrote “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King”!
Could this really have been written by the same person?
After Teacher Mu assigned the class to read “The King of the Tian Mountains- Snow Leopard”, countless readers who subscribed to “Star Beast World” discovered the article as well.
Like snowflakes, letters from readers poured into the magazine’s editorial office either in physical form or as emails sent to their inbox.
This issue of “Star Beast World”, with its snow leopard feature, received a wave of enthusiastic responses from readers, all because of the story “The King of Tianshan-Snow Leopard”.
Countless readers expressed their heartfelt sorrow in letters or on the “Star Beast World” message board, questioning why Gredo didn’t return to the Central Star with Da Xi but instead abandoned Da Xi to return alone to the snowfields.
[Wasn’t the time they spent together important at all? Just because Da Xi is human, does that mean Gredo doesn’t want to see Da Xi anymore? They relied on each other for so long, even surviving the pursuit of poachers together. Why did they part ways at the very end? This ending is so unreasonable! I sincerely hope the author revises it to give Da Xi and Gredo a perfect, happy ending!]
[Greedo cared for Da Xi so much, he taught Da Xi all the skills and knowledge needed to live as a snow leopard, and protected Da Xi like an elder. There’s no way Greedo would reject Da Xi’s invitation and return to the depths of the snowfield… Wuuu, this made me cry! I don’t want Da Xi and Greedo to part ways and never see each other again! It makes everything that happened before feel like a fleeting dream, gone upon waking!]
When editor-in-chief Wellington read out the passionate letters from readers, the entire editorial office was actually piled with various letters.
This situation had never happened in the editorial department.
Though “Star Beast World” had maintained its tradition of including a tear-out reader feedback page at the back of the magazine, allowing readers to vote for their favorite stories and leave messages for authors.
If you filled out the form and sent it to “Star Beast World” magazine, it was very likely to be selected by the magazine to be published in the next issue of the readers’ section. Lucky readers would have the opportunity to get the author’s signature and a small gift from the magazine.
However, with the declining circulation of “Star Beast World” and the increasing advancement of technology, this retro form of interaction seemed obsolete. The editorial team had even once considered removing it altogether.
“But look at this!” Editor-in-chief Wellington exclaimed. “As long as our content can still move readers, bringing them joy or emotion, we’ll continue to receive such profound responses. This kind of spiritual resonance is…”
“Editor-in-Chief, this isn’t the time for poetic reflections!” a staff member interrupted. “If we keep getting letters like this, our office is going to explode. The email inbox and message board are already flooded with readers crying for a sequel!”
As a result, just when editor-in-chief Wellington was expressing his feelings like a poet, the editors and staff beside him ruthlessly broke his rich emotions.
Although when they first read the story, they too were deeply saddened and bewildered by the ending where Da Xi and Greedo parted ways.
As one reader’s letter put it, Gredo’s final turn away made the whole story feel like a fleeting dream.
The separation of two beings who were so close, forced apart forever, was simply too cruel.
How perfect it would have been for Greedo to join Da Xi on the Central Star, living a life of comfort and happiness!
“Actually,” editor-in-chief Wellington said thoughtfully as he closed the letter in his hand, “I think we should publish a few of these letters in the reader’s section and invite everyone to discuss this issue together.”
Meanwhile, the hashtag #FishSoupNoodlesNewStory# surged to the top of the hot search, thanks to the release of “Star Beast World”.
No matter how large the physical circulation of “Star Beast World” was, it was undoubtedly a drop in the ocean compared to the online traffic on star network.
Many readers had no idea that Fish Soup Noodles had written a new story. They recalled the cryptic post on Yu Mian’s StarBlog hinting at a “reversal of identities” in his next work, so after seeing the hot search, readers rushed to the Huanyu Reading Platform.
Just when they were about to criticize Huanyu severely for not notifying them of the new book release of their favorite author, they soon discovered that there were no new books published in the column of “A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles”.
