I asked you to write a light novel, but you wrote about living?

Seeing Yu Yin smile, Chang Yandao also laughed, his bright eyes curving into two crescent moons.

As the school bell rang completely, Teacher Lin brought up the holographic projector on the podium.

The projection unfolded in mid-air, displaying neat grammatical structures, rhetorical devices, and complex mathematical formulas on another secondary screen.

Yu Yin straightened her back and stared intently at the knowledge she had never encountered before.

The classes here teach pure Chinese, mathematics, and logic, not things like "Practical Guide to Low-Level Prosthetic Body Maintenance" or "Repair Guide for Assembly Line Robotic Arms".

In this cyberpunk era of class divisions, the free public schools in the downtown area were never established for the purpose of "education".

That was nothing more than an "ironclad" welfare policy established by conglomerates to mass-produce obedient low-level laborers.

The teaching philosophy in Xiacheng District emphasizes practical skills rather than knowledge.

This is like an electrician who spends his days on the streets; he can connect complex circuits and live wires with his eyes closed, but he may not know what Ohm's law or Joule's law are.

The children in the downtown area know how to secretly dismantle a scrapped third-generation constant-temperature chip from a blind spot in the surveillance system, and know how to avoid high-risk radiation components, but they can never touch the computing logic and physical formulas behind the chip.

The schools in Midtown teach the "rules of operation" of this world, while the schools in Lower Town only teach you how to become a qualified "cog."

I can do it, but I don't need to understand it.

This is another invisible wall between the two urban areas.

However, these things that are part of the adult world are a different story when they come into contact with two children.

Just as Yu Yin was engrossed in listening, Chang Yandao quietly leaned closer to her.

He covered half his face with a book, lowered his voice, and asked curiously:

"Hey, Yu Yin, I looked it up online last night, and it said that the school you used to go to in the Seventh Slum taught prosthetic body disassembly and mechanical repair? Is that true?"

Yu Yin turned her head, looked at him, and nodded honestly: "Yes, I will also teach basic waste sorting and how to repair the robotic arms on the assembly line."

Upon hearing this, Chang Yandao's eyes lit up immediately, as if he had heard of some extraordinary martial arts technique.

As a little boy with a natural passion for mechanics, circuits, and electronic components, these words held immense appeal for him.

"That's so cool!"

As the saying goes, I was so excited I almost couldn't control my voice. I quickly covered my mouth and said in a breathy voice:

"I've loved taking things apart since I was little! Last month, when my dad wasn't home, I took both of the service androids in the living room down to their parts! But..."

He coughed lightly and scratched his head somewhat awkwardly: "But later I couldn't put it back together no matter what I did, and my dad gave me a good scolding."

He looked at the petite, slender girl of his age before him, his eyes revealing undisguised, heartfelt admiration:

"You even know how to disassemble a third-generation constant-temperature chip, so you must be really good at repairs, right? If you have time... could you teach me how to assemble those things?"

Yu Yin was slightly stunned when she heard his words.

At the black market junkyard in the downtown area, I followed Scarface to fight for a sorting spot in the garbage heap, rummaging through discarded prosthetic bodies stained with unknown oil with my bare hands. It was all to earn a few more coins, to survive, and to save money to buy better inhibitors for my brother.

But in the eyes of this young master from the central district, it was an extremely cool and remarkable "hobby".

However, looking into Chang Judao's eyes, which were pure and full of expectation, Yu Yin didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

She was already used to dealing with those cold metal parts. Whether it was making heating pads for her brother's wheelchair or disassembling old capacitors, it was all an instinct that came naturally to her.

So she nodded slightly and said softly:

"sure."

"It's a deal!"

As if afraid she might change her mind, he immediately raised his wrist and brought out his AI bracelet, which was flashing blue light. "Come on, let's touch it and add each other as communication friends!"

"Beep—"

A soft electronic notification sounded.

The two became friends.

……

The school bell rang precisely on time in the afternoon, echoing through the campus as gently as a breeze.

As the saying goes, she quickly packed her schoolbag and naturally followed Yu Yin out of the school gate.

Having made new friends, this young master, who usually dominates his class, seemed exceptionally happy. He kept talking non-stop the whole way, telling Yu Yin where to find good food at school and which holographic game pod was the most popular.

Several little boys who usually liked to hang around him followed curiously behind him.

Although they didn't quite understand why this "older brother" was so concerned about a transfer student from the lower city, they still surrounded the two of them in a very friendly manner, judging from Chang Yandao's demeanor.

Stepping out of the school gate, the wide streets of the central district were already filled with all kinds of hovercars picking up and dropping off children.

"Yu Yin, wait here for me, please don't leave!"

Just as he stepped out of the school gate, Chang Ju seemed to suddenly remember something, uttered a sentence, and strode towards a low-key yet luxurious black hovercraft parked on the side of the road.

Chang Liren and his family do not live in this high-level executive apartment complex; he is picked up and dropped off by a private car every day.

A short while later, Chang Yandao came running back, panting, and carefully carrying something in his arms.

It was a pot of red roses in full bloom.

Although it's called a flowerpot, it's actually more like a sophisticated miniature ecological cabin.

A faint blue breathing light flickers on the silver-gray metal base, and a nearly transparent nanofilm envelops the flower.

It is equipped with a state-of-the-art micro temperature control and nutrient automatic adjustment system, which can accurately simulate the most suitable natural environment, allowing this delicate rose to bloom for a long time and greatly delaying its withering.

Beneath that high-tech film, the red rose bloomed with unparalleled vibrancy and passion, its velvety petals even adorned with glistening dewdrops.

As the saying goes, this pot of roses was handed to Yu Yin.

Yu Yin stared blankly at the flower.

In the Seventh Slum, where sunlight never shines and only acid rain and radioactive dust fall, this is a legend that exists only in holographic images and old-fashioned scrap books.

She had seen rusty iron flowers and flashing neon lights, but she had never seen such a vibrant flower that was truly alive and breathing.

"What a nice view……"

Yu Yin murmured unconsciously. She didn't even dare to reach out and touch it, afraid that her hands, which were used to handling scrap metal and bore tiny scars, would ruin this fragile beauty.

"This is our first time meeting, and I don't know what to give you."

As the saying goes, scratching his head, his eyes filled with sincerity, he explained like a little adult:

"My mom and I both really love the story of 'The Little Prince' written by your brother. In that story, the Little Prince also has a rose that belongs to him."

At this point, Chang Yandao's tone carried a hint of a young book lover's sentiment:

"In the end, because he missed the rose on asteroid B612 so much, the Little Prince made a pact with the serpent in the desert, letting the serpent bite him, thus abandoning his heavy human body and allowing his soul to return to his own planet..."

He paused, looked into Yu Yin's clear eyes, and pushed the miniature eco-pod forward again, saying softly:

"I suppose there aren't any real roses in the Lower City, so I'm giving this rose to you."

In this cold cyber age, in this city built of steel, cybernetic bodies, and capital, a little boy uses a state-of-the-art technological pod to present a rose from an old era to a little girl from the wasteland.

Yu Yin pursed her lips, then solemnly extended her hands to accept the somewhat heavy pot of red roses.

"Thank you, as the saying goes."