Chapter 62 : Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Shao Huayu’s gaze settled on Ji Qing in a lingering, unreadable way.
“What is the problem this time?” Ji Qing blinked, pretending to be troubled. “I really did not do anything. Or were you planning to drag me along with you?”
“No, it’s nothing.” Shao Huayu slowly shook his head. After straightening his collar, he said coolly, “See you tonight.”
“See you tonight.”
After saying that, Ji Qing quickly waved goodbye.
Once Shao Huayu had walked some distance away, the taut string in Ji Qing’s heart finally loosened a little. Covering his face helplessly, he thought: Shao Huayu actually wanted to drag me along to see the teacher…
But the one with the biggest problem was obviously Song Xiaoran.
Compared with him, a Valedictorian whose position was still somewhat ambiguous, the Third Seat who had already come into direct contact with Aberrants was clearly in a much more serious situation.
Why had Shao Huayu been staring at him? Could it be that Song Xiaoran was more trustworthy than he was?
Ji Qing tilted his head in puzzlement.
But since it had already happened, there was no point thinking too deeply about it. In the future, he just had to be more careful with his words and actions. Even he had not expected Shao Huayu’s reaction to be so intense…
Ji Qing turned his thoughts back to the scene before him.
The sky outside the window was bright and clear.
Orange-yellow maple leaves drifted lightly down onto the stone road. From beneath the eaves in the distance came the crisp chirping of birds, and now and then he could see people passing through the courtyard.
Leaning by the window, Ji Qing closed his eyes and felt the autumn wind brushing past him.
The Team Competition had already ended.
Although humanity had failed to see the true appearance of the intelligent lord, the event had still sounded an alarm for their future actions. Ji Qing himself also had to recover his memories as quickly as possible.
His top priority right now was the World Book.
Ji Qing suddenly opened his eyes and calmly gazed into the distance. He turned neatly and left, preparing to inquire into the situation of the school’s teachers, just as he had originally planned.
Of course, since he was going out, he was definitely going to take a proper look around.
As he walked toward the main gate, Ji Qing thought helplessly: Otherwise, there would be no way to shut Shao Huayu up. Sometimes he really wanted to swap identities with Song Xiaoran, but then he thought of the fact that Song Xiaoran was currently sharing a room with Zhou Que…
Better not. Ji Qing arrived at that conclusion decisively.
Zhou Que was more troublesome than Shao Huayu. Whether or not he could get a peaceful night’s sleep depended entirely on how considerate his roommate was.
As he strolled along, the face of Xicheng gradually unfolded before Ji Qing’s eyes.
As a town that lived off fishing, Xicheng’s buildings looked more ancient and solid. Along the way, Ji Qing saw quite a few tools and ornaments used by fishermen to pray for blessings.
Fish-bone wind chimes, fish-shaped brooches, shell chimes, and other ocean-themed crafts filled the stalls in dazzling variety.
Ji Qing quietly crouched in front of one stall and listened to the vendor talking with other customers about Xicheng’s history. Out of the corner of his eye, he could not help catching sight of the laughing children nearby.
He really was starting to hesitate a little. Ji Qing thought calmly.
If Xicheng’s population of more than ten million had once been nothing more than an abstract number to him, then now they had become countless living human lives.
The Deep-Sea Monarch was wise and powerful, but it did not regard humans as living beings equal to itself.
That was only natural.
The two races stood in opposition and could not coexist. The other Intelligent Aberrants were probably in the same position, but what about Ji Qing himself? At present, he still had not even figured out his own identity.
“Why did I make so many different identities for myself…” Ji Qing rested his chin in his hand and sighed softly.
It really was troubling.
Just when Ji Qing had finally begun to accept the wasteland and accept his classmates in Class S, this matter had suddenly been thrown at him. The current situation left him no choice but to think about the future.
Before the conflict became truly extreme, he had to find his own place again.
His brief time of leisure quickly passed.
By the time Ji Qing returned to the residence, dusk had already begun to deepen.
Ji Qing hastily finished dinner in the cafeteria and headed back to the dorm. By then, Shao Huayu had already finished washing up. He sat at the desk in his pajamas, his half-damp white hair hanging over his shoulders.
Shao Huayu asked, “How was your walk?”
Ji Qing replied, “It was fine. What about you? What are you doing?”
Shao Huayu looked at him with a faintly deadened gaze and said in an even tone, “Handling some family matters remotely.”
Ji Qing chuckled. “Oh.”
He had previously heard You Xingluo complain about similar things. On this point, the two of them had displayed exactly the same instinctive aversion.
But that had nothing to do with him.
Ji Qing picked up the towel beside him and prepared to wash up.
If nothing unexpected happened, they would be able to set out and return to school tomorrow. Ji Qing planned to read through the manga tonight so he could deal with the Investigator from Central City, then scout out a route for the World Book after arriving back at school tomorrow.
He still had to review for the final exams once he got back.
Ji Qing’s schedule for the coming days could only be described as extremely busy. Just as he was about to step into the washroom, Shao Huayu suddenly took off his earphones and said, “By the way, there’s something the teacher asked me to tell you.”
“Hm?” Ji Qing paused.
With a complicated expression, Shao Huayu repeated, “At the end of the semester, a transfer student will be joining our class. The transfer procedure is already underway, and the person will report in before the Winter Break Practicum.”
“Wait?” Ji Qing’s eyes widened in shock. “A transfer student for our class? And they’re coming in right at the end of the semester?”
Shao Huayu nodded. “Yes.”
“…”
Ji Qing fell silent.
What kind of absurd plot development was this? So there really could be a transfer student?
The story actually had reached the kind of point where a transfer student could appear, but in mangas, transfer students usually carried a great many secrets, and afterward they would also…
Ji Qing suddenly lifted his eyes. “If they’re transferring straight into Class S, then are they also an S-rank Ability user?”
Shao Huayu nodded again. “That’s right.”
Because of that question, his expression became extraordinarily perplexed. Shao Huayu explained, “They’re transferring over from the Second Ability Academy, and the person recommending them is a teacher who used to be at the Third Ability Academy.”
“When I went to talk to the teacher this afternoon, she told me about it and said we should prepare ourselves mentally.”
They really did need to prepare themselves mentally.
Ji Qing nodded as if remaining calm. This matter was truly unexpected. Being the homeroom teacher of Class S really was not easy. Earlier, he had still been wondering why Li Xuehua had vanished for the entire time after the competition…
So this was what had tied her down.
At noon, Song Xiaoran went to see her. In the afternoon, Shao Huayu went to see her. And in the evening, she still had to worry about the transfer student, the reception for the Investigator, and the point calculations for the Team Competition.
Li Xuehua really had no spare time to take the initiative to deal with her students.
An S-rank Ability user, a former student of the Second Ability Academy, and a transfer student… with those labels stacked together, this person was practically destined to become the Manga Forum’s next hot character.
Manga readers had always loved mysterious characters who appeared midway through the story.
“All right, I got it.”
Even though countless thoughts were churning in his mind, Ji Qing still nodded coolly. But the next second, he lost his composure and grumbled, “This school is really far too exciting.”
“Agreed.” Shao Huayu immediately echoed him.
At that moment, both of them lowered their guard almost in unison. Since the other already knew their true sides, there was no need to keep up appearances on purpose.
***
Ji Qing returned to the Pure White Space.
It had been less than seven days since the last time he had come here, but a sudden sense of unreality welled up in his heart. At long last, the Team Competition was finally over.
The promotion list had basically already been decided.
The only thing that surprised Ji Qing was the appearance of the transfer student.
At that thought, Ji Qing rolled his eyes reflectively and thought with some regret: Unfortunately, Xie Chang’an would only find out about this after his class promotion. Otherwise, Ji Qing really would have liked to see the forum’s guesses about the transfer student.
If the transfer student’s background was not complicated, then there was no way they would be changing schools at the end of the semester.
“What a headache,” Ji Qing muttered to himself.
Most of the students in Class S were fairly easy to get along with. Now that a completely unfamiliar classmate was suddenly going to appear, Ling You’er was probably going to become socially anxious again, and Zhou Que might end up getting into conflict again too.
Just thinking about it made Ji Qing feel as though his vision was darkening.
Still, since the other party was an S-rank Ability user, the situation should not be too bad. As long as their personality was not too difficult, they ought to be able to fit into the class smoothly enough. And if worst came to worst…
Ji Qing commented casually, “The practicum is already very close anyway.”
Once the Winter Break Practicum ended, everyone would go their separate ways. Ji Qing was not worried at all about how they would get along afterward, but that only made him even more curious.
The transfer student definitely knew how Class S of the Third Ability Academy was taught. Since they knew that and still chose to come, then they must be confident in their own strength.
A smile immediately curled onto Ji Qing’s lips. “Interesting.”
It was almost enough to make him look forward to the meeting.
After organizing his thoughts, Ji Qing quickly opened the manga platform. At this point, Ability Hunter Academy had already updated a full ten chapters.
Yuexia updated one chapter a week.
Converted according to the time flow of the real world, more than two months had already passed over there.
Ji Qing sighed. “Time really does pass quickly.”
He soon calmed himself and opened the manga directory. The last point he had read up to was just before the Team Competition. As expected, the next chapter jumped straight to the ship headed for the Island.
Xie Chang’an and Song Xiaoran were in one room, while the two girls were in the room next door.
Compared with the deathly silence in the boys’ room, the relationship between the girls was steadily warming up. Their communication quickly shifted from exchanging messages over their terminals to simple spoken conversation.
Ling You’er liked collecting refrigerator magnets and accessories, both of which Gu Lingxue often came into contact with. Although the atmosphere the manga portrayed was not as easy and natural as when Ling You’er was with Feng Youyou, it was still a fairly good start.
【The world really does need girls TAT】
【Yuexia really knows how to draw girls… though the boys’ side is bleak beyond belief…】
【Song Xiaoran’s expression has not changed even once, has it?】
【He looks like he’s been staring at the plant without saying a word the whole time. Does he like plants more than humans?】
【Wood type. Maybe he can communicate with plants?】
【That makes sense.】
【Chang’an is really having a miserable time. He keeps trying to start a conversation, and it keeps dying on the spot.】
“That really was pretty much what I expected.” Seeing this, Ji Qing gave a bitter smile.
He had guessed that the two of them would not become familiar with each other right away. Song Xiaoran was wary because of Xie Chang’an’s reaction at the beginning of the semester, while Xie Chang’an himself simply was not very good at communicating.
Although Xie Chang’an had been doing much better now than he had at the beginning of the semester, it still was not exactly great.
In the manga, the four of them soon landed on the Island.
On the surface, Song Xiaoran was the team leader, so the route the team took was naturally decided by him. He chose a relatively moderate route, one that would make it easier for the others in the team to adapt to working together.
At this point, the manga delicately revealed how absentminded he was.
Ling You’er noticed that something was off about Song Xiaoran and deliberately moved closer to him. After the two of them exchanged a few hushed words, Ling You’er’s expression turned grave.
What were those two talking about? Why were they deliberately avoiding him and Lingxue? Xie Chang’an felt uneasy inside.
【This team’s future looks shaky.】
【At this rate, they might as well split into two teams. Song Xiaoran and Ling You’er on one side, Chang’an and Xue on the other.】
【Hey, hey, the Team Competition requires three to four people.】
【The gap between the two sides is probably just too deep. From the way things look now, Class S seems to have a pretty good atmosphere internally, so barging in rashly is bound to cause problems…】
【I honestly think it would’ve been better to team up with Feng Youyou.】
【Since they all wanted to get promoted to Class S, they were going to face this kind of situation sooner or later. More importantly: teaming up with Feng Youyou would’ve been useless. You still would not be able to get into Class S.】
The barrage of comments beneath the manga instantly grew noisy.
Ji Qing skillfully ignored all of them and kept scrolling down.
After several clashes with Aberrants, Song Xiaoran’s expression grew increasingly grave. In the end, he could not help asking Ling You’er, “Are you confident you could lead the team on your own?”
Ling You’er immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum.
Being socially anxious, she quickly suggested telling the truth to the other teammates first and deciding on the route afterward. Ling You’er said firmly, “No matter what happens, I’m definitely going with you.”
Do not leave me alone with strangers, QAQ—
【Hahahahaha】
【Xiao You is really too cute.】
【I finally get it now. So Song Xiaoran was planning to act alone just now and was discussing the next steps with Ling You’er?】
【Ah, this…】
【That really is rough on someone with social anxiety.】
【I sincerely admire Feng Youyou. She actually managed to become friends with Ling You’er smoothly… I thought that conversation just now would already have brought Xue and You’er closer together, but it still did not?】
【Right, it actually didn’t.】
Ji Qing’s fingertip paused at that.
That part surprised him too. Judging from the plot so far, Feng Youyou’s relationship with Ling You’er was definitely better than Gu Lingxue’s relationship with Ling You’er.
That really did feel oddly subtle.
Under Ling You’er’s strong urging, Song Xiaoran decided to tell the remaining two the plan. From this point on, the focus of the story shifted from “the training of the Team Competition” to “the mystery of the Island.”
But because the road ahead was unknown, Song Xiaoran advised Xie Chang’an and Gu Lingxue to stay active in the nearby area. As for the remaining point gap, he could make it up by himself.
That naturally displeased Xie Chang’an. After a heated verbal exchange, the four of them set out again, but the expressions on both boys’ faces had turned much darker.
【Ling You’er looks like she’s about to split apart at the seams, hahaha.】
【A socially anxious little ghost.】
【How can there be such a cute girl? Wuwuwu.】
【Song Xiaoran is so arrogant.】
【Not really, though? The main thing is that even he himself has no idea what’s waiting ahead.】
【Rather than arrogance, it feels more like confidence in his own strength. If he had been teamed with someone who wanted to coast, they’d probably be crying with gratitude right now.】
【Too bad for him, he ran into the protagonist.】
【+1】