At the gate, a sign read in bold black letters: FUNDAMENTAL PAPER EDUCATION — Where Knowledge Is Perfected.

The words felt heavy. Final.

The gate groaned open before you could touch it, and beyond it, the courtyard stood empty. Silent.

Then footsteps.

A woman emerged from the main building, her heels clicking sharply against stone. She wore a fitted blazer and carried a clipboard like a weapon. Her smile was thin, practiced—like she had rehearsed it a thousand times and never quite gotten it right.