Chapter 75: Her Eyes Were Long Since Dry of Tears [Seeking Support]

The homeroom teacher didn't say much, only glanced at her with a gentle smile, then continued reading out names from the list.

Tang Shen found the girl's timid nature a little baffling. She was not only shy but always cautious in everything she did. Still, he understood—after all, they were both orphans, and most of them suffered from a certain inferiority complex.

Her grades weren't good, so she never had much confidence.

Orphans are a vulnerable group in society, especially in these times. It's normal for them to struggle to hold their heads high, to be bullied, and to have no choice but to endure it quietly.

Life in this era is hard enough, let alone for an orphan.

"I'm afraid my name won't be called," came Xue Jiayi's barely audible voice, just as Tang Shen thought she wouldn't respond.

If his hearing hadn't been enhanced, he wouldn't have caught it at all.

Tang Shen was speechless—he wasn't a tiger, so what was she afraid of?

Xue Jiayi herself was puzzled. Her aloof desk mate had never spoken to her unless she initiated a conversation, usually about studies. If it hadn't been for her desire to learn, she wouldn't have dared to approach him. As an orphan, her lifelong dream was to become a Genetic Warrior and live a better life.

Only by becoming a Genetic Warrior could she escape the life of contempt and cold stares.

Among orphans, if not ninety-nine percent, at least one hundred percent shared this dream. Yet very few managed to achieve it.

Reality is cruel.

This was basically her opportunity to turn her life around. If she failed, she would spend her life struggling to survive, working tirelessly just for food, perhaps pinning her hopes on the next generation.

But today, Tang Shen not only smiled at her, he even asked about her well-being. It was incredible, yet warmed her heart.

If anyone in the class could understand her feelings, it was Tang Shen, because they were the only two orphans.

Only, Tang Shen had always had good grades, whereas hers were poor. Still, their goals were the same.

"Don't worry, your name will be called," Tang Shen couldn't help but comfort her.

He knew a bit about her circumstances: she worked more odd jobs than he did and studied harder, but simply hadn't found her stride yet.

Children from families rarely understood what orphans went through.

For them, no matter how poor, they never had to work to support themselves, never spent nights alone in a corner nursing their wounds.

Take this awakening serum, for example—even if children from ordinary families didn't qualify for the free distribution, their parents would scrape together the money, just to give them a chance to rise.

Orphans could only rely on themselves, on their own hands.

No one would pity you; that was your fate.

"Thank you," Xue Jiayi whispered, knowing full well her situation, and looked hopefully at the teacher on the podium, wishing her name would be called next.

"Li Wei, ranked one hundred in the grade, free Tier-3 Awakening Serum."

"Wang Min, ranked one hundred twelve, free Tier-3 Awakening Serum."

"Zhang Yan, Wang Min, ranked one hundred thirty, free Tier-3 Awakening Serum."

...

"These fifteen are the students in our class who qualify for free Awakening Serum," the homeroom teacher said softly after reading the last name and setting the roster aside.

As soon as the words ended, Tang Shen saw the little girl beside him wilt like a deflated balloon. The hope and anticipation in her eyes were utterly extinguished, replaced by thick despair. Even from her small frame, Tang Shen could clearly sense that aura of hopelessness.

She had once been sustained by hope, but now it was gone. Missing this chance meant the future held no promise.

Tang Shen sighed. This world was indeed cruel.

Looking at the girl now, it was clear she hadn't managed to save ten thousand credit points. As an orphan, she still had to attend classes, and surviving through odd jobs was already a feat; how could she possibly save up ten thousand? Even for ordinary families, that was a sizable sum.

The other students whose names weren't called were disappointed, but not despairing—forming a stark contrast to the little girl.

"Anyone who wants to purchase Awakening Serum or upgrade its tier, please come to me to register and pay," the homeroom teacher announced.

Immediately, a crowd of students surged forward, urgency written all over their faces.

A turning point in life!

With one awakening, life would be different forever.

Even ordinary families would scrape together the money, some even selling everything they owned to raise a hundred thousand, just to buy a Tier-2 Awakening Serum. As long as the child succeeded in awakening, everything else would cease to matter.

But how many actually succeeded?

Even Bai Xue quietly went up to the podium and transferred nine hundred thousand credits to the teacher, upgrading to Tier-1 Awakening Serum. For an ordinary family, such a sum was astronomical.

Of the free Awakening Serum distributed by the school, only the top-ranked student received Tier-1, second to tenth got Tier-2, eleventh to one hundred fifty got Tier-3.

The rest had to pay, either to buy it outright or to upgrade the tier by paying the difference.

Except for a few, most gritted their teeth and upgraded, and the rest purchased directly.

Only the little girl beside Tang Shen, Xue Jiayi, was left without Awakening Serum.

"Tang... Tang Shen, could you lend me a thousand credit points?" came a timid, barely audible voice. Tang Shen turned to see Xue Jiayi looking at him with intense hope and longing.

As he looked back, she hurriedly added, "I've already saved up nine thousand credits; I just need one thousand more. I'll pay you back as quickly as possible, I promise."

This was almost her last lifeline, the final straw.

Tang Shen stared in disbelief at the child-like girl beside him. He could hardly imagine how she had managed to save nine thousand credits—how many odd jobs had she worked, how much determination had it taken?

She was so thin, as if a gust of wind could knock her down. It must have required immense effort.

Even he had managed only two or three thousand, and most of it was spent in the past two months.

"Is it not possible?" Xue Jiayi's last hope faded from her eyes, replaced once more by despair and helplessness, so pitiful it tugged at the heart.

Tang Shen smiled bitterly and said, "It's not that I don't want to help, but I've nearly spent it all. I used some over the past two months and only have a little more than a hundred left."

Despair! Darkness! Helplessness!

Those were the emotions Tang Shen saw in Xue Jiayi's eyes. There were no tears left; perhaps they had long since dried up in this society.