Chapter 325: Miss K’s Old Dream

Miss K rubbed her eyes. Her vision slowly sharpened, outlining the figures of the two other people in the classroom.

Then she greeted them.

“Good afternoon, Pandora. Good afternoon, Dr. Elias M. Brenner.”

Her tone was languid, carrying the slight nasality of someone just waking up.

By the window sat a girl with an aristocratic air. She was immaculately dressed—dark blazer, shirt buttoned to the top, and that plaid tie, all strictly complying with the school’s dress code.

That was Pandora. Her classmate, and her very dear friend.

The boy sitting nearby, despite his peculiar name, was also her classmate. He had a bookish look, a pair of fine tortoiseshell pince-nez perched on his nose, and his eyes behind the lenses always held a kind of scrutinizing intensity.

“Hello, Miss K. How are you feeling?” The classmate with the strange name lifted a hand to adjust his glasses, staring at her keenly through the lenses.

“I feel... pretty good.” Miss K thought it was a bit odd for him to ask that. She had only dozed off, not fallen ill. But she answered honestly anyway.

“Mhm... successful.” Dr. Brenner murmured something under his breath, indistinct, as if talking to himself or confirming something with someone else. Miss K didn’t quite catch it.

Then, his voice returned to normal volume. “So, Miss K, can you tell me what you see?”

This time, Miss K didn’t answer right away. She furrowed her pretty brows, thinking: Dr. Brenner is really quite rude, and he truly loves asking strange questions.

They’re clearly in the same classroom—what she can see is exactly what’s right in front of them.

Just then, Pandora, sitting beside her, suddenly smiled and spoke up. “Miss K, aren’t we playing a game? Tell him.”

Her friend’s voice was crisp and pleasant, like wind chimes gently swaying in a breeze, carrying a reassuring feeling.

Hearing her say that, Miss K’s irritation vanished. She always listened to Pandora.

“What else is there to see?” She shrugged slightly, her tone carrying that mix of exaggeration and resignation common to teenage girls. “The same as always, a boring, tedious classroom.”

Dr. Brenner nodded, his expression unchanged. Then, he took something out from under his desk and raised his hand.

“Miss K, I’m holding a photo of a student from our class. Can you describe his or her appearance to me?”

Miss K glanced at Pandora. Pandora offered her an encouraging smile, as if to say, “It’s fine, just do as he says.”

Only then did she turn her gaze to the photo in Dr. Brenner’s hand. It was a head-and-shoulders photo of a person. She looked at it for a while before speaking.

“A head, two eyes, a nose, two ears...” Miss K described nonchalantly, her tone like she was completing an utterly tedious assignment. Her pace was neither fast nor slow, and her words were exceedingly vague.

She was describing an abstract “person,” not a living individual.

No hair color. No pupil color. No details of facial contours. No features that could distinguish this face from any other.

Pandora and Dr. Brenner noticed this almost simultaneously. They exchanged a glance, their eyes thoughtful.

“Who is he or she? Do you still remember?” Dr. Brenner pressed on, his tone still steady, betraying no emotional fluctuation.

Miss K laughed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course I remember! She’s our good classmate, gets along well with me and Pandora. But... how did you get her photograph?”

She tilted her head, then suddenly seemed to realize something, her expression lighting up with understanding. “Oh, I get it! Pandora must have given it to you...”

Miss K chattered on, her tone light and cheerful, describing various past incidents of them attending class together, taking walks together, as if such a friend truly existed, so palpably real.

The two didn’t interrupt her. They just listened quietly, letting her finish. Until Miss K’s voice gradually trailed off, a reminiscing smile still lingering on her face.

“Then who else is around us?” Dr. Brenner continued to probe.

Miss K turned her head and looked at the classroom. The drowsy twilight streamed in through the windows, casting the desks and chairs in long, slanting shadows.

The classroom was empty. No one else was there—just the three of them.

Outside, it was silent too; not even the sound of birds. The whole world seemed to have shrunk to just this classroom filled with golden dust.

“Haven’t classes already ended for the day?” Miss K asked, puzzled. “No one else is in the classroom.”

“Right, what are we still doing here? If we don’t go out and play soon, there won’t be any time left! I don’t want to be stuck here until they force us back to the dormitories!”

She suddenly started complaining, a touch of petulance creeping into her voice.

“Mhm, we’ll leave shortly.” Dr. Brenner’s tone remained unhurried. “But first, there’s a student roster on the lectern. Can you look at it and tell me who’s on it?”

Miss K pouted. Dr. Brenner was really being very strange today. But she had agreed to play this game, so she couldn’t very well quit halfway.

Reluctantly, she got up, walked to the lectern, and picked up the roster. Her gaze swept over it, and she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha!” She laughed so hard she bent over, her hand holding the roster trembling slightly. “Isn’t this all just Pandora’s name? Pandora Douglas, Pandora Douglas... it’s all Pandora Douglas!”

“This has to be one of Pandora’s pranks, right?” She turned to look at her friend by the window, her eyes full of mirth.

Pandora, hearing this, showed not the slightest hint of awkwardness. She merely nodded slightly, her expression calm, as if this were indeed just a harmless joke.

Then, she looked toward Dr. Brenner. His expression had completely withdrawn. That gentle, accommodating demeanor that had matched Miss K’s rhythm was gone, replaced by a grave, serious look.

In a voice so low Miss K could barely hear, he murmured to Pandora, “It seems Miss K’s condition is even more severe than I imagined... She doesn’t even remember these things in her subconscious.”

“But...” He paused, a trace of perplexity in his tone. “Her thinking is still normal and logical. This indicates her cognitive functions aren’t significantly impaired—her linguistic expression is fluent, her reasoning ability intact. She simply... doesn’t remember.”

“Next, I suggest we try another angle.”

Pandora gave a slight nod, her gaze settling on the girl still laughing at the roster, her eyes tranquil. “Indeed. If possible, let me ask the questions.”

Dr. Brenner adjusted his pince-nez, was silent for a moment, then shifted slightly, silently giving his consent.