Aileen’s Realization and the Expanding Poolside Talks

Aileen walked silently back to her dorm, her long, slender legs, clad in white stockings, gracefully treading upon the tiled path. Her steps, as elegant as ever, now carried a hint of perplexity.

Just moments ago, Yan Rui had revealed the truth about Elemental Recharge Efficiency to her. This was a term originating from a video game.

“Only when your Elemental Recharge is full can you unleash your ultimate move, your Elemental Burst, just like this.”

Yan Rui had specifically pulled out her phone to give her a live demonstration, controlling a white-stockinged girl named Barbara as she unleashed an ultimate move. In an instant, a torrent of Hydro elements surged forth; the ground became drenched, and even the sky began to drizzle.

“To spray out such a vast quantity of healing Hydro elements, your ultimate move’s energy must be completely full. The speed at which this energy replenishes is called Elemental Recharge Efficiency.”

Aileen understood, yet still felt a lingering sense of uncertainty.

Recalling the hushed conversation between the two sisters in the gym, she pressed on with another question: “Can others help with the recharge?”

“Of course. Just link up! Teammates can use their skills to help you recharge your energy faster and unleash your ultimate move.”

délicately Gazing at the white-stockinged girl on Yan Rui’s phone screen, who had covered the ground with Hydro elements, Aileen nodded subtly.

She finally understood completely.

But then, a new question arose: What exactly were Xi Yao and her sister, Xi Ruo, doing at the ‘Hou De Zai Wu’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning ‘great virtue carries great responsibility’) hall over the weekend? Were they simply playing games online together?

While computers were available there, they were primarily for research. The Wi-Fi wasn’t fast either. If they wanted to play games online, why wouldn’t they go to the computer lab instead?

Aileen remained puzzled.

As she reached the dorm building, she saw numerous girls, clad in simple clothes, carrying plastic or wooden basins as they headed upstairs. Towels and shower gel rested within the basins.

“Come on, come on, hurry up! It’s still early.”

“Don’t rush, don’t rush! Have you guys drawn a number in the group chat? If you don’t have a number, you can’t go. Just wait for news in the dorm.”

“Wow, the world truly is treacherous. Even for a bath, you need to draw an internal test code first.”

“I got one, haha! Let me go up first!”

With many girls ascending the stairs, Aileen wasn’t in a hurry and stepped aside slightly to let them pass.

Several girls passed by her.

Upon noticing her impressive ‘Tuantuan’ (TL Note: A colloquial term referring to breasts, often used playfully), they paused in surprise.

Then, glancing upwards, they shook their heads, muttering things like, “Mistook her, she’s a blonde,” or “Not a silver-haired one,” before continuing their ascent.

Aileen couldn’t help but chuckle.

She knew, of course, that these girls were heading to the top floor to participate in the ‘Poolside Talks’. This was a gathering dedicated to discussing strategies against Yun Caiyi.

Xi Yao was the undisputed core of the Poolside Talks.

Everyone would only feel at ease entering once Xi Yao had entered the water and her ‘snow peaks’ (TL Note: A metaphor for breasts) were visible, floating on the surface.

Aileen’s figure was comparable to Xi Yao’s.

Indeed, they were the only two girls in the entire high school with such ample chests.

The girls who had just passed by, upon a quick glance, had naturally mistaken her for Xi Yao.

Only after seeing her golden hair instead of silver did they realize their mistake.

Unbeknownst to her, the Poolside Talks had expanded to such a significant scale.

Aileen couldn’t help but sigh in wonder.

She recalled Xi Yao mentioning that it had initially begun with just a few girls casually chatting while bathing, and then…

‘Wait, I think I understand now.’

Aileen’s realization dawned.

Xi Yao inviting Xi Ruo to play games online wasn’t solely about the game itself.

Instead, it was a pretext to create an opportunity for casual conversation, a chance to seek guidance and wisdom amidst their gaming chatter.

‘Brilliant,’ she mused.

After a while, the stairs became less crowded.

Aileen then began to ascend towards her own dorm room.

‘Perhaps I should make some time to play myself, lest Xi Yao and Xi Ruo start speaking in gaming slang that I can’t understand.’

****

Reaching the top floor of the dorms once more, she arrived at the bathhouse!

The large bath pool today was even more crowded than last time, verging on being packed.

With more people, the steam seemed to dissipate.

Faces that were once obscured by a hazy mist were now faintly discernible.

Thus, when a silver-haired, large-chested girl approached, the crowd instinctively parted, creating a path for her.

As the saying went, there were only two girls in the entire high school with such exceptional figures.

And with the group leader’s name being ‘A’Yao’, a moment’s thought was enough to identify her.

However, the very inception of the Poolside Talks was to maintain anonymity, allowing everyone to speak freely.

Therefore, no one dared to call out Xi Yao’s name aloud.

Everyone simply understood in their hearts.

Since the group leader’s nickname was ‘A’Yao’, those two ‘snow peaks’ (TL Note: A metaphor for breasts), regarded by everyone as the organization’s emblem, were affectionately dubbed ‘Big A’Yao’.

With a resounding splash, like an aircraft carrier launching, white waves and spray erupted.

Upon seeing the familiar ‘Big A’Yao’ floating on the water’s surface, the surrounding girls inexplicably felt a sense of reassurance and promptly entered the water themselves.

Those who couldn’t secure a spot simply spread their towels on the ground and sat upon them.

“So many people came today,” Xi Yao began, “Is this half of our group members?”

She recalled seeing over a hundred members in the group just two days prior, yet there were at least several dozen here.

Several girls exchanged glances, a peculiar expression flickering across their faces.

“Group Leader,” a girl on the left reminded her, “The group already has over a thousand members.”

“What?” Xi Yao exclaimed, startled, causing ripples to spread from her ‘snow peaks’ (TL Note: A metaphor for breasts).

“That’s nothing,” the girl on the right added. “On the boys’ side, their first two-thousand-member group is already full. They’re planning to open a second one.”

On the boys’ side, there was no suspense.

After the incident on the forum, they had assessed the opposing factions.

On one side stood a plain, gloomy girl.

On the other side were Jiang Li, Xi Yao, and Aileen.

With their photos displayed, they presented: a slender, goddess-like beauty, a pure and adorable silver-haired, large-chested girl, and a pure and elegant golden-haired, large-chested girl.

“Brothers, say no more. We’re unilaterally declaring our unwavering allegiance to this side.”

“As for Yun Caiyi? Who the hell is she?!”

“I, I’m just a little surprised,” Xi Yao managed, pulling at the corner of her lips. “I didn’t expect us to expand so quickly.”

She hadn’t anticipated such strong engagement from ordinary students.

However, a closer thought brought clarity.

After all, this wasn’t her original world.

The student council wielded significant power among the students.

It could dictate whether one’s club life was meager or abundant, and even decide if the Mid-Autumn Festival would feature a gala or simply self-study.

In the past, ordinary students could only cast their votes.

Yet, nearly ten thousand votes would eventually be condensed into just a hundred, resulting in an average of only a meager zero-point-something percent of voting power—insignificant and utterly powerless.

This time, however, word had spread that they could participate in the student council elections to a much greater extent.

Naturally, this led to enthusiastic participation.

Nevertheless, most people still harbored doubts, especially the students who had joined the group in the past two days.

“Group Leader, can we really influence the student council president’s election?” Someone from the crowd inquired.

As the mist thickened and the crowd pressed in, it was unclear who had spoken, but many shared the same sentiment.

“Absolutely.”

Xi Yao, without hesitation, projected her confident voice to every corner of the bathhouse:

“Trust me, that ‘Jerusalem’ (TL Note: A colloquial term here, implying a central, highly contested, or sacred place) of the student council—you know, Aileen, the Permanent Secretary? The one who scolded Yun Caiyi and her group so badly they couldn’t fight back? I chat and laugh with her!”