Simon took photos of his finished artwork and uploaded them to his tablet. Teacher Shao had set up a temporary communication group, and he sent them directly to the group so all members could see.
6:32 PM "Shao Zhanqing: [Liked your post.jpg]"
6:32 PM "Su Xiangli: [Liked your post.jpg] +1"
6:34 PM "Yu Fei: As expected of you!"
Simon put the tablet Teacher Shao had given him into his backpack and looked outside. It was already light out.
Five hours, one front view, one back view, and one close-up of the head—the workload was truly immense, exhausting him completely!
Sigh, he'd probably fall asleep in class and get scolded again. It was only because his grades were good; otherwise, he'd definitely be made to stand if he slept in class.
Didn't they say they were going to reduce the burden on elementary school students? Simon sat blankly in his seat. Oh, right, that was from his previous life. There was no talk of reducing the burden on children in this life.
Nowadays, everyone talks about paperless offices, paperless teaching, paperless everywhere… No, that was a saying from the beginning of the century. Now, paper recycling rates are high, so there's no need for paperless. Even with e-books having an absolute advantage today, schools still primarily use paper books.
So, what's popular now?
Studying, of course. Study hard and strive for progress every day.
His robotic younger brother knocked on the door, notifying Simon to eat breakfast. Simon clutched his head, but he had already perked up when he opened the door.
Oh, right, Simon turned back and put away his manuscripts.
And those in the trash can, there were three discarded drafts.
Last night, he realized his skill was too poor halfway through drawing, so he spent Understanding Points (Enlightenment Points) in the learning space to master basic sketching. So, he actually experienced one hundred thousand and five hours last night.
Sigh, how could he not be tired? Even a man of iron would faint.
So, as expected of me!
Simon burst into laughter, which was met with a sharp rap on the head from his mother, Sun Hui.
"What's a little brat like you laughing about? Did you remember last night's lesson? Don't get complacent, understand? Go wash your hands before eating!"
Simon clutched his head, closed his eyes, and sang loudly: "Mama ~ ooo ~ Didn't mean to make you cry…"
Sun Hui chuckled, rubbed her silly son's cheek, "How can you understand Bohemian Rhapsody when you're so young? But listening to good music is good."
Lu Jiande was tidying up his belongings, preparing for work. Standing at the entrance to change his shoes, he heard his wife and son's conversation and couldn't help but smile, "Yes, music and writing are the same. You can listen to songs on your own software. There are some good songs you can't hear, but that's because you're young. You'll have the chance to encounter them later."
Simon turned his head, "Little brother, hibernation mode."
The robotic younger brother's facial display dimmed.
"What's wrong?" Sun Hui asked, surprised.
Simon asked, "Do you know Great-Grandfather's identity?"
Lu Jiande, halfway through changing his shoes, froze. "What did your Great-Grandfather tell you?"
"Nothing, but I found this." Simon pulled up a photo of the Roma Qin Ri Wan Sui Band on his phone. "This one here, that's Great-Grandfather, right?"
Sun Hui looked at her husband with a bewildered gaze.
Lu Jiande nodded to his wife, then called Simon over, squatted down, and placed both hands on his son's shoulders.
"Kang Kang, it's good that you thought to put your little brother into hibernation, but that's not enough. Also, your Great-Grandfather is a Social Credit Level 1 personnel. You must not discuss his past outside in the future; that's not good for him, understand? You children always have too much curiosity. This spirit is excellent if you apply it to your studies, but you must know that only science is worth questioning, okay?"
On the other side, out of Simon's sight, Sun Hui walked over to his robotic younger brother, opened its chest, took out a magnetic disk, turned to shred it in the household cleaner, and then quickly went to the storage room to retrieve another magnetic disk, which she placed back into his robotic younger brother's chest.
Simon indicated that he understood his father's words. Lu Jiande, seeing his wife complete everything out of the corner of his eye, felt relieved and responded to his son with a warm smile.
"Alright, give Dad your phone."
Lu Jiande deleted the photo completely right in front of Simon.
"Go eat. Dad's off to work."
Simon nodded, "Have a safe trip, Dad."
What was for breakfast today? His robotic younger brother's cooking skills were excellent. Oh, very good, steamed buns and small wontons! The wonton soup tastes even better with a few drops of chili oil, and the pork-filled steamed buns should be dipped in chili sauce and aged vinegar.
A wonderful meal, thanks to science.
"Ding!" A system prompt appeared before Simon's eyes.
"You have received a new Expectation Mission."
Expectation Missions are parents' requirements for their children, and completing them yields certain rewards.
Simon checked it.
[Mission: Silence is Golden]: Do not express any suggestions or opinions in public for seven consecutive days.
…
Simon noticed something different about his robotic younger brother, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Seemed dumber? Bah, it's always been like this, but if it gets dumber and dumber, I'll have to persuade my parents to replace it.
Simon tapped his Bluetooth earphone. The phone's smart operating system played a calm electronic synthesized voice. He had chosen the smart voice; he knew many classmates would choose a female voice, and he initially liked listening to it too, but later he thought it wasn't cool enough, so he switched to a neutral mechanical voice.
Neutrality has been an enduring trend in fashion circles worldwide.
Blurring gender symbols, it presents an ambiguous yet seemingly transcendent beauty. For artists, neutrality offers them more choices.
Just like Simon's own paintings, the human models he designed were genderless, or rather, neutral. They had no reproductive organs, no obvious sexual characteristics, yet their skeletons were broad like a man's, and their postures were gentle like a woman's.
Human existence is expressed through outline.
Even if this humanoid was composed of decaying skin, metal, and plants, those were actually just visual symbols. What he wanted to express was still human existence, time, science, and nature. Simon originally wanted to praise the charm of motherhood and fertility, but realized his age truly wasn't suited for such themes, so he stopped in time.
Shao Zhanqing thought highly of his drafts. He specifically and repeatedly asked Simon if he had received guidance from an expert, and Simon naturally told the truth.
In his own opinion, such works were by no means worthy of being called masterpieces; they were only impressive for a child.
Simon knew himself well: he was clumsy with words and had no artistic genes. His works were rated as 'artisan's work' by the system.
Because of this, a special skill was formed.
[Specialty: Human Scanner (Epic)]: Your sketching skills have reached a level that makes ordinary people exclaim loudly. Your drawings can rival the products of a printing press. You are not the most powerful, but you are definitely the one who draws the most accurately.
Effect: Charisma slightly increased, physical coordination greatly increased, visual memory slightly increased, instantaneous memory greatly increased, attention slightly increased, finger dexterity greatly increased, hair volume slightly decreased, emotional personality slightly developed.
Aside from the decreased hair volume, there was nothing to complain about.
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