Chapter 239: Chapter 239 –Sunk Into It
“How-old-are-you-already.”
“Enough of those old jokes.”
In the restaurant, Qiao Muyi sat next to Dong Chengling. She was biting on the tip of a straw as she smiled at Ren Suo and said, “Why, are you unhappy to be eating with us? There are two beautiful tier 2 Practitioners at the same table as you now. It’s a rare chance for you to ask us any questions you may have with regard to Practicing.”
Ren Suo pursed his lips and said, “I originally intended to pay for the meal…”
Qiao Muyi waved her hand in the air and said, “Tch, it’s not like you need to pay much more for one more person. Don’t think that I don’t know how much you earn, your payroll is stored in the internal system of the Countermeasure Division, and it’s pretty easy to find out. Your bonus and base pay combined is almost twice that of mine, but you have more free time than me, and have more time to Practice than me…”
“I also want to watch ‘Ghost Blade’ ~ but unfortunately I don’t have time to spare ~”
Ren Suo knew that within the Countermeasure System, Qiao Muyi usually looked out for him especially, so he sighed and said, “Now that you mention, my conscience is not allowing me to not treat you now…”
“Well, I will definitely continue to look out for you in the Countermeasure Division, especially if there is any interesting news,” Qiao Muyi said as she waved her hand in the air. She took the cup of milk tea Ren Suo was holding onto and looked at it, saying, “Milk tea is very sweet and contains a lot of sugar, be careful not to grow fat drinking it.”
“I will just eat more salt later to neutralize the sugar,” Ren Suo replied.
“Do you think this is acid-base neutralization? What’s more, shouldn’t it be bitterness that neutralizes sweetness instead?” Qiao Muyi questioned.
After Ren Suo left the table to go to the toilet, Qiao Muyi supported her chin with her right palm and sighed. She looked helplessly at Dong Chengling and said, “Well, well, Miss Dong, I’d say that the atmosphere is decent, no? Why did you have to ask me over? You made it sound like it was a major emergency, I thought you guys encountered monsters.”
Dong Chengling replied very quietly, “I was just… a little nervous. If you hadn’t come, I don’t think I would be able to utter even a sentence later…”
She tugged at the hem of her skirt and finally showed a bit of her shy self in front of her friend. She said, “It’s also the first time that I wore this kind of clothes as an adult…”
Qiao Muyi rolled his eyes. She replied, “Oh, my lord. What did you wear when you were in university? Don’t you hang out with your friends outside school?”
Dong Chengling said, “I just wear long pants and a shirt. I’m usually always in the library, and I rarely participate in any of the activities. I don’t like to attend parties with my roommates either.”
Qiao Muyi remarked, “Tch, you are certainly not a model student then, in terms of the holistic development of morality, intellectual ability, physical fitness, appreciation of the arts, and labor skills… but haven’t you already watched a movie with him? Isn’t this progressing perfectly normally?”
Dong Chengling remained silent for a moment then said slowly, “When watching the movie… we didn’t need to talk.”
“To be honest, I was already not focusing on the movie halfway through it. I was trying to see from the corner of my eyes if he was looking at me…”
Dong Chengling looked down and her shiny, black hair covered her face. However, hearing her slightly trembling voice, Qiao Muyi knew that her heart was about to jump out of her chest.
Dong Chengling continued, “I think he finally noticed when we were shopping just now that I was wearing something strange. He did not talk after that, which was why I called you over… After all, we would have to face each other throughout the entire duration of the meal…”
“Miss Dong, it’s not that he noticed you are wearing strange clothes, but that he noticed you are very pretty and cute!” Qiao Muyi remarked.
Qiao Muyi sighed and Dong Chengling grinned. She turned to look at Qiao Muyi with her eyes wide open, then tucked her hair behind her ears. She blushed as she smiled and said, “Aren’t you my love advisor, Xiao Qiao? Of course, I would look for you when I need help.”
Qiao Muyi was momentarily stunned. In the blink of an eye, she whipped out her mobile phone and snapped a picture of Dong Chengling.
“Eh? What’s wrong?” Dong Chengling asked curiously.
“No, it’s nothing…” Qiao Muyi said.
Qiao Muyi turned away from Dong Chengling and uploaded the picture to cloud storage. At the same time, she set the picture as her phone screensaver and wallpaper, and thought to herself—you’re going to be my wife this week.
“I will invite him to Practice with me at the Practice Stadium later, would you be able to come along as well, Xiao Qiao?” Dong Chengling asked. She clasped her palms together and begged, “You’re already here, why not…”
Qiao Muyi waved her hand in the air and said, “Honestly, I would rather you guys go to the karaoke box to sing, or go ice skating together. Otherwise, you guys could even continue shopping, or visit the Lianjiang Spire…”
Dong Chengling replied, “I would rather Practice than spend time on those activities. Ren Suo also made it clear that he did not like those activities. He did not want to join them either when it was Zhao Huo who invited him.”
Qiao Muyi pursed her lips and remarked in heart: ‘They are two such hardcore OL players in life’. She asked, “Does that mean that you have not told him about your plan later?”
“Well, Xiao Qiao, didn’t you say that I should only tell him about my plans one step at a time?” Dong Chengling replied.
Dong Chengling blinked. She drew circles in the air with her index fingers as she said, “It would seem like I was asking for a date if I disclosed all of my plans at once. However, if I revealed my plans step by step, there would be a cooldown buffer time… although it seems that this cooldown buffer is not very effective.”
(I did not know that I had inadvertently come up with such a logical reason…) Qiao Muyi threw up her hands in the air. She suddenly thought of something, then pretended to ask casually, “By the way, how’s that female student who sticks to you frequently?”
“She has something on tonight and told me in advance that she would not be coming over for dinner,” Dong Chengling replied.
“You are on such good terms with her,” Qiao Muyi remarked.
Dong Chengling explained, “She is the first friend I made when I first came to Lianjiang City. She is just like my sister.”
She laughed and added, “I’m the only child in my family, and I’ve always wanted to have a sister.”
Qiao Muyi asked, “I can tell. Out of the two Type 3 Reiki storage devices that the Countermeasure Division gave you, one of them is worn by her… Of course, the other one is with Ren Suo. However, she’s just a friend, is it worth giving her that much? It has only been two months since you guys got to know each other, no?”
Dong Chengling explained, “It’s worth it. Two months ago, when I first started teaching students as an instructor, I was still quite nervous and flustered. It was Xiaoyan who helped me to keep the class well-behaved. Xiaoyan’s help is a big part of the reason why I was able to teach the class with ease subsequently.”
“She cares for me, helps me, approves of me, likes me, and agrees with the pursuit of my goals in life wholeheartedly and genuinely. I’m not made of steel, how can I remain indifferent towards her?”
Dong Chengling stirred the cup of iced black tea with the straw and continued, “It might be because I have no friends, which is why I cherish the current relationships and feelings I have now very much.”
“I have goals which I want to pursue, friends which I can open my heart to, a sister which I can care dearly for, and… Perhaps all of these things will change in the future, but before that happens, I want to enjoy these encounters to the fullest.”
Qiao Muyi fell silent momentarily. At that juncture, Ren Suo finally returned and sat down. He said, “For some reason, suddenly…”
“Stop, we are about to eat, don’t talk about anything involving the toilet,” Qiao Muyi interrupted disdainfully.
The dinner proceeded smoothly and peacefully. After he had his fill, Ren Suo looked at the time and said, “It’s time to go back.”
“Do you have something on later?” a stunned Dong Chengling asked.
Ren Suo replied, “Yeah. I want to—”
“That’s good!” exclaimed Qiao Muyi, interrupting their conversation. She pulled Dong Chengling up from her seat and said, “It’s our girls’ night out then. Remember to pay the check, if you don’t have enough money, just wash the plates in the kitchen or sell your lungs or kidneys.”
“Selling my lungs to the restaurant for them to make a dish of lungs in chili sauce? No way,” Ren Suo said as he waved his hands in the air. He continued, “So you would not be heading back, Chengling? Alright then, see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” Dong Chengling replied.
Dong Chengling, who was pulled to leave by Qiao Muyi, said nothing along the way out. It was only when they were far away from the restaurant when she asked, “Xiao Qiao, didn’t you say that…”
Qiao Muyi said, “The moment I joined you guys, your date has already! Failed! Completely! I would rather take you out to shop for other sets of clothes which you would not feel awkward in. I was confused the previous time, but I now know that your level is too low to wear this set of clothes.”
Dong Chengling (°ー°〃): “There are different levels too?”
“Only for you, but not for others,” Qiao Muyi said. She continued scornfully, “Moreover, Ren Suo coincidentally has something on as well, so don’t give him a chance to reject you.”
Dong Chengling smiled. She took Qiao Muyi’s arm and said, “Thank you, Xiao Qiao.”
Qiao Muyi turned away and muttered softly: “Tch… I don’t want to be the culprit…”
Dong Chengling questioned, “What did you say?”
“Nothing,” Qiao Muyi said as she turned back to look at Dong Chengling. Suddenly, she asked, “Speaking of which, I have always wanted to ask you, what exactly do you like about him? He is lazy, has a poor talent score, is not driven, has a low EQ, and does not seem to have a very high IQ either… There are so many shortcomings I can list about him.”
Dong Chengling blinked and pondered for a moment. She said, “He sent help when I needed it? He saved my life? He likes my cooking? He believes in me and respects me? His sense of responsibility? …”
She threw up her hands in the air and continued, “I don’t know either. This is the only thing that I can’t explain my reasoning for. It’s like everything fell into place so naturally that when I finally came to my senses, I had already… sunk into it.”
Qiao Muyi clasped her forehead and sighed, then she said earnestly, “Don’t worry, as your love advisor, I will definitely help you!”
Qiao Muyi secretly made a decision in her heart—she would not create any trouble, or at the least, she would not take the initiative to cause such trouble
She did not want to be the one who ruined their relationship, and of course, neither would she help to maintain their relationship.
It was her who initiated the trouble this time, so she had to be the one who resolved it without being found out.
Subsequently, Qiao Muyi would just play her part as a spectator on the spectator stand, cheering the competitors on as she waited in hope for—
The future she was looking forward to.
——————
“The Seeker whom the Mage mentioned is the heroine from ‘A Strong Warrior Ascends 10,000 Meters’, who is an official member of the Heavenly Palace…”
On the tall platform above the black sea stood a group of Extraordinaire warriors, who seemed as if they were on a sightseeing trip. They stood on the edge of the platform, watching as the clone of the female Seeker emerged, and both the Seeker and her clone ruthlessly rained punches on the two terrifying enemies.
They had thought that the Mage under the World Tree was already mighty: he could teleport, was not afraid of bullets, and had extremely strong abilities such as in combat, defense, movement, healing, and scouting. The battles could well be considered his one-man show. Many of the nations thought that, should the Mage embark on a sabotage mission in any city, subduing him was not going to be possible unless the best Awakeners were sent to surround and kill him—or unless decimating an entire city was an option.
However, the Seeker of the Heavenly Palace broadened their perspectives once again!
It was especially so for the Changjiang Practitioner Force, for the abilities which the Seeker used were all fundamental abilities that were sold in the Xuan Nation Knowledge Web!
Moreover, the intimacy they felt with the Seeker hinted to them that: that feeling of connection was that between those who practiced “The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan”!
At the same time, thousands of miles away, Ren Throne was looking at the report on his computer.
[Based on the conversation records of the four male mages, it can be deduced from their word use and sentence structures that their language habits derive from the coastal areas in the southeastern region of Xuan Nation. Narrowing down the possible areas, there is a 60% probability that they are from Lian Province, a 14% probability that…]
“Mmm…”