Chapter 72

Ji Qing found himself missing You Xingluo.

Compared to Jiang Cuo’s noisy way of doing things, You Xingluo’s approach had a much clearer sense of boundaries and was far more respectful of basic etiquette. The contrast between the two of them was especially obvious in social situations. Ji Qing had a feeling that if this kept up, Jiang Cuo was about to become the first classmate he crushed with gravity.

He was seriously irritating.

Ji Qing wearily took off his baseball cap and outerwear, tossing them onto the inn’s sofa. He lay weakly on the bed and stared blankly at the old ceiling.

The athletic down jacket he had just bought was also lying on the sofa.

Because of the unpredictability of the winter break field assignment, and because the companion beside him had been so unbearably loud, Ji Qing had bought his clothes with remarkable speed and precision. To the stunned disbelief of the other two, he had swiftly finished his shopping trip and left his still-not-very-familiar teammates to wander around by themselves.

However... it still felt like he had overpaid.

Ji Qing got up and walked over to the sofa, expressionlessly picking up the tag on the down jacket to check it again. Since he did not want his resting space invaded by the other two, he had deliberately chosen a single room for himself as well.

With those two expenses added together, his conscience was in agony.

“Forget it. The inn can probably be reimbursed by the school...” Ji Qing comforted himself. “As for the down jacket, you get what you pay for. Don’t grieve over money that’s already gone...”

The more he thought about it, though, the more painful it felt.

Ji Qing hurriedly tapped his head a couple of times and forcibly shifted his attention elsewhere. He pulled out his travel toiletries from his suitcase and prepared to wash up properly first. Once they reached Snow City, they would not have the luxury of so much free time.

At this point, fifteen days had passed since the end of the island trip, four days had passed since the end of the final exams, one day had passed since the promotion list had been announced, and the gathering and self-introductions of the new Class S had taken place just this morning.

“So much really has happened,” Ji Qing said with a sigh, rubbing his brow.

But even though so many important things had happened, to Ji Qing, they had all passed in the blink of an eye. He had already been a member of Class S to begin with, so there was no need for him to say goodbye to his former classmates, nor did he need to be called in by his homeroom teacher for a promotion talk.

Ji Qing was still Ji Qing.

Aside from preparing for the final exams, he had spent the last few days further studying the patrol routes of the teachers staying on campus.

Their homeroom teacher, Li Xuehua, also happened to be among those staying behind this time.

Ji Qing guessed she was planning to go home after Class s' winter break field assignment ended, but his book-snatching plan happened to need to be carried out during the field assignment itself. From the bottom of his heart, Ji Qing did not want to go up against such a dedicated female teacher. Fortunately, Li Xuehua’s ability was support-type, so she would not be going to the front lines.

Ji Qing thought: that counted as one piece of good news.

After washing up, Ji Qing finally sat back down on the bed. He picked up his terminal and checked the unread messages marked with red dots.

From his companions’ descriptions, Ji Qing learned that the other two teams from Class S had both successfully left Yancheng and were already on the way to their destinations. Song Xiaoran’s team had chosen to buy clothes in Yancheng, while Shao Huayu’s team had chosen the same plan as Ji Qing’s.

Team One: Shao Huayu, You Xingluo, Liu Mu, Ling You’er;

Team Two: Song Xiaoran, Feng Youyou, Zhou Que, Gu Lingxue;

Team Three: Ji Qing, Xie Chang’an, Jiang Cuo.

Ji Qing silently recalled the composition of the three teams, and a wave of helplessness rose in his heart.

Compared to their three-man squad, which had hurriedly set off in a rush, the other two teams were obviously more thoroughly prepared, though their progress had fallen behind because of it. Ji Qing set the terminal aside and could not help covering his face with a sigh. “Sigh...”

He really was not suited to being a team leader.

But if his teammates were not these two, he would not be this irritated right now.

That was enough discouraging talk.

Ji Qing reached out, turned off the bedside lamp, and pulled the blanket over himself. Tonight, he planned to read through the manga in one go. Even if nothing much had happened on his side, Xie Chang’an’s side had probably gone through quite a lot.

And Ji Qing really was a little curious about what Xie Chang’an was thinking.

This damned manga protagonist only became slightly more talkative and expressive when facing Li Yuan. In every other situation, he was basically a block of wood. Ji Qing was already starting to lose track of what Li Yuan even meant in Xie Chang’an’s heart.

How was it that he even acted a little restrained in front of Gu Lingxue?

Ji Qing gave himself a headache just thinking about it and tapped his forehead. Soon after, his vision gradually sank into darkness.

When Ji Qing opened his eyes again, the space around him had already been replaced by a field of pure white.

He walked straight to the computer and headed directly for the directory of 《Ability Hunter Academy》. Six new chapters had been added to the manga.

“Six chapters?” Ji Qing murmured softly. “That’s actually quite a lot.”

The scene of the newest chapter was Xie Chang’an’s conversation with the investigators from Central City. In the cold, monotonous meeting room, Xie Chang’an sat stiffly in his chair, forcing himself to appear calm, while opposite him sat the two investigators Ji Qing had encountered before.

Compared with Ji Qing’s one-on-one questioning, the atmosphere of this round was much more official.

The male investigator lightly tossed out one sharp question after another, and Xie Chang’an repeatedly wracked his brain trying to recall the answers. He keenly sensed that the investigators were paying a great deal of attention to Song Xiaoran’s actions, but they also deliberately asked about Ji Qing.

That was a very strange thing. Xie Chang’an thought.

Why were the investigators more curious about the top student than Song Xiaoran? It was as if they had seen examples like Song Xiaoran before, and that was why they could handle him so calmly. But because Xie Chang’an had testified that he was not familiar with the top student, the investigators did not continue down that line of questioning.

Once they had more or less finished clarifying the situation, the male investigator capped his pen.

Just as Xie Chang’an thought he would soon be allowed to leave, the man suddenly asked, “Student Xie Chang’an, do you really have an ability?”

Xie Chang’an froze.

“I think even you yourself aren’t sure, are you?” The male investigator curled his lips into a faint smile. “Because both your expression and your words give me that impression. I imagine... every now and then, you wonder whether you really belong in this ability high school?”

The barrage instantly exploded with all kinds of reactions:

【A killer opening move!】

【As expected of an investigator. He hit Chang’an’s confusion right on the head.】

【Officially certified by Li Yuan himself as infected】

【Don’t tell me the protagonist’s connection with Li Yuan is about to be exposed? Nooo—】

【Why aren’t you people curious about why the investigators are paying so much attention to Ji Qing? Ji Qing didn’t seem to do anything especially outrageous during the team match, did he?】

【Song Xiaoran is obviously the stranger one】

Ji Qing lowered his eyes thoughtfully at that: It seemed... these two investigators were fairly sharp as well.

But why were they still asking about him?

Ji Qing could not quite make heads or tails of it. He thought: if Shao Huayu’s words were right, then Central City was still very hung up on what had happened back then. All three people who came from Central City had unconsciously shown the same kind of vigilance.

In the manga, Xie Chang’an remained silent.

He did not really want to answer that question, but under the investigator’s pressure, he could only admit it directly. So Xie Chang’an laid bare his confusion, while keeping Li Yuan’s matter tightly sealed away. He had never been a man of many words in the first place, which made it easier to hide.

The moment Xie Chang’an opened up, the readers’ maternal instincts were instantly triggered. The comments flooded the screen wildly:

【Poor Chang’an, wuwuwu】

【What kind of hot-blooded manga protagonist is this supposed to be? Damn that old thief Yuexia Cao—】

【You bastard, hand over your life!!!】

【This is just too tragic. It’s so tragic I’m actually feeling pity now】

The male investigator, however, was not moved at all. He merely found Xie Chang’an increasingly interesting.

But as a high-ranking ability user himself, the investigator looked down on low-level ability users. His interest in Xie Chang’an was only superficial. Even if Xie Chang’an really wanted to earn his respect, he would first have to make something of himself out in the wasteland.

Still... the freshman class of the Third Ability Academy this year really was interesting.

So the male investigator deliberately chatted with Xie Chang’an about other things, and seemingly by accident, informed him about mutation.

Xie Chang’an froze where he stood after hearing it.

【Aaaaahhh, the knife from the start of the school term is still stabbing me】

【So it wasn’t just because of amnesia?】

【They’re both pretty miserable】

【It’s over. I feel like Chang’an’s going to spiral even harder now】

【A single moment of courage, endless regret】

That chapter ended there.

After reading it, Ji Qing casually rolled his eyes. To be honest, this shonen manga was pretty oppressive...

Things seen from Xie Chang’an’s perspective were all too often heavy and suffocating. His relationship with Song Xiaoran had only recently improved, and now he had learned about something like this. Ji Qing did not know what Song Xiaoran’s reaction would be if he found out, but the situation should still be all right, shouldn’t it?

The contents of the next chapter were about Xie Chang’an running into Song Xiaoran.

Song Xiaoran seemed to be in a good mood.

Judging from the manga’s background, Ji Qing guessed it was the afternoon after they had finished talking about their motivations for enrolling. Their exchange was actually quite plain. Song Xiaoran had already let the matter go, and in the end, he gently teased, “Have you always been like this?”

“It’s just... how should I put it? I think I’d probably like making friends with someone more lively.”

The barrage sighed over it endlessly:

【Song Xiaoran has already let it go, wuwuwu】

【He’s changed so much】

【Before the team match he was still avoiding contact on purpose, and now he’s comforting Chang’an...】

【Comfort from an amnesiac old friend】

【To be fair, I think that old thief drew this part really realistically. It wasn’t acceptance right from the start; it needed time to settle】

【Class S is pretty amazing too.】

【Because he’s already formed new bonds, he can now calmly accept the forgotten past too.】

That conversation was quite touching.

Ji Qing shook his head helplessly at that. He had noticed that that old thief Yuexia Cao especially liked using suffering to shape people. The experiences of both the male and female leads in this manga were pretty oppressive, and Song Xiaoran’s past was no exception. If you looked at it from that angle...

“A three-person protagonist group?” Ji Qing suddenly laughed.

Ji Qing quickly skipped over the subsequent chapters covering the final exams and the announcement of the promotion list. If the first two chapters had been meant to crush the readers’ enthusiasm, then the middle two were there to raise it again. Compared with the beginning of the term, Xie Chang’an’s status had already completely changed.

The attitudes of Class F’s homeroom teacher and his dorm roommates had all changed drastically.

In the final few days before leaving Class F, Xie Chang’an felt goodwill from both his classmates and teachers. When Xie Chang’an packed his things and prepared to move dorms, his roommates were also in the middle of moving out. For once, the four of them talked a little about their respective futures.

Then Xie Chang’an learned in surprise that two of his roommates were planning to withdraw from school and leave.

【Aaaaaaaaaahhh】

【A whole semester to accept one’s own mediocrity, and then wish for the companion beside you to keep moving forward】

【“You have to work hard for our share too!”】

【Chang’an’s roommates were actually pretty decent (sigh). There wasn’t any campus bullying. They just didn’t talk to Chang’an much.】

【And at the beginning of the term, there really was no way for them to become close either (sigh)】

【So this is the wasteland. The world is cruel, but it still preserves a trace of warmth】

【The last few chapters have left my eyes all wet】

【Do your best in the new semester too!】