The situation had escalated to an unprecedented frenzy on the campus forum.
Wen Erya had never anticipated such a turn of events.
Putting aside the possibility of Huang Xiu being her rival in love, Wen Erya actually held a favorable impression of her.
Huang Xiu was exceptionally talented, brave and determined, yet possessed a gentle demeanor.
Therefore, dragging her into this mess was truly not Wen Erya’s intention.
She had initially considered clarifying the situation.
However, upon reflection, what good would a clarification do?
Would she confirm that she, Wen Erya, genuinely liked Yun Ning? This would undoubtedly add fuel to the already raging fire of public opinion, only fanning the flames further.
Thus, Wen Erya chose silence.
The essence of the matter was simply bored gossipers indulging in idle chatter.
As long as a new hot topic emerged, it would easily overshadow the current controversy.
This was the most gentle and straightforward approach.
In her opinion, Yun Ning and Huang Xiu would likely have chosen the same course of action.
But what Wen Erya hadn’t expected was for a new hot topic to arrive so swiftly.
Overnight, news swept through the forum, becoming the new subject of discussion: [A massive Void Realm related to film and television has been confirmed to be Shushan, an ancient Void Realm that appeared three hundred years ago. The school has partnered with the Jurisdiction Bureau and is preparing to send students inside].
The matter concerning her, Huang Xiu, and Yun Ning, while still being discussed, had visibly diminished.
If her predictions were correct, it would soon be drowned in the tide of new information.
‘Someone is definitely manipulating public opinion behind the scenes of the forum.’
Wen Erya saw it clearly and could even guess who was responsible.
Among the student body, only Song Xueyou, the president of the Seekers’ Society, possessed the ability to shift forum opinion overnight.
It was no secret that Song Xueyou liked Li Qinyue.
The former had made several high-profile declarations of love, only to be ruthlessly rejected.
And Li Qinyue was Yun Ning’s senior female student…
‘It only required a moment of patience, yet Yun Ning, you couldn’t even wait a second? Are you truly that worried about your junior female student?’
A mix of emotions churned within Wen Erya. She didn’t resent Huang Xiu, but rather herself for falling for Yun Ning.
‘So, falling in love with someone truly is an inexplicable thing!’
She sighed, glancing at her phone. Yun Ning had sent a message, asking to talk and clear things up.
‘Clear things up… isn’t that just another way of rejecting me?’
****
On the rooftop terrace of Ducheng Tower.
Wen Erya leaned against the railing, her right hand clutching her phone, gazing out at the entire campus.
Yun Ning’s voice came through the phone.
“Your affection honors me, but I genuinely don’t reciprocate your feelings. I am not someone worthy of love.”
“If you feel honored, then continue to feel honored!” Wen Erya shouted, her voice ringing out. “Whether you’re worthy of love is something you might believe, but as long as you’re not married and don’t have a girlfriend, I won’t give up!”
Yun Ning on the other end fell silent for a moment, listening to her slightly hurried breathing. After a long pause, he continued, “Then do me a favor. Let’s clarify online that you and I are senior students. This pressure shouldn’t fall on a junior female student.”
“Okay.” Wen Erya agreed without hesitation.
****
The storm passed more quickly than Huang Xiu had imagined.
Yun Ning had only sent a message yesterday, promising to clarify things online.
By the next day, few people on the forum were still discussing the trivial matters involving Huang Xiu, Wen Erya, and Yun Ning.
After all, the students in the school weren’t foolish.
They could naturally see that the entire incident was not entirely reliable or true.
Despite this, Yun Ning still collaborated with Wen Erya to publicly post a statement.
It declared that everything was a rumor, malicious fabrication by outsiders.
Their stance was undeniably firm.
Wen Erya later apologized to her and even presented her with a tablet as compensation.
Huang Xiu’s lingering dissatisfaction with Wen Erya vanished like smoke.
“Hmph, what’s so great about Yun Ning? A tablet is much better! If you send me a car next, I’ll totally tie up Yun Ning and deliver him to your bed!”
Huang Xiu lay on her bed, happily playing with the tablet, a blissful expression on her face.
A free tablet was indeed wonderful!
“Master, I want to play too.”
Huang Xiaoxian leaned beside Huang Xiu, craning his head, his eyes fixed longingly on the tablet in her hand, full of desire.
“You want to play?”
Huang Xiu looked at Huang Xiaoxian, who was nodding frantically. “Then the tablet is yours.”
A phone or a tablet, that was the question.
Huang Xiaoxian fell into deep thought.
A phone was portable, easy to use, and had many functions, but it existed only in the ‘pie in the sky’ promises of his master, with no telling when it would materialize.
A tablet was large, convenient for watching shows, not easy to hide in a suitcase to play, yet it was within reach.
“Good, I want the tablet!”
Huang Xiaoxian ultimately chose immediate gratification.
“Alright, it’s a deal then, no backing out!” Huang Xiu opened the tablet’s settings and began tinkering.
She had no need for a tablet; in her hands, it would likely end up as a noodle-pressing tool sooner or later.
It was better to put it to good use for Huang Xiaoxian.
“Master, hurry, hurry.”
Huang Xiaoxian was impatient, reaching out several times to grab it, only to be ruthlessly pushed away by Huang Xiu.
“Wait, I’ll be done in a moment,” she mumbled. “Where’s the parental control setting on this thing?”
Huang Xiaoxian, itching with anticipation and circling Huang Xiu, didn’t notice her words.
“Ah, found it! It was here all along!” Huang Xiu’s eyes lit up as she swiftly set up parental controls.
She handed the tablet to Huang Xiaoxian.
The green cactus figure cheered joyfully upon receiving the tablet, repeatedly exclaiming that his master was the best.
Watching Huang Xiaoxian eagerly dive back under the bed with the tablet, Huang Xiu stroked her chin.
With parental controls limiting screen time, she should be able to curb Huang Xiaoxian’s internet addiction a little.
“Sigh,” she lamented.
‘I have to worry about everything. It feels like I’m not being a master, but rather Huang Xiaoxian’s mother.’
‘This household would fall apart without me!’
As Huang Xiu uttered these words, she completely forgot who was responsible for cleaning the room…
****
Deep night arrived as scheduled.
Huang Xiu, stripped down to her underwear, wrapped herself in her blanket and slept soundly.
But suddenly, a wail erupted from beneath the bed. “What the heck, why can’t I play anymore?!”
Huang Xiu’s brow furrowed slightly. She didn’t wake, merely turned over, clamping the blanket even tighter between her thighs.
A rustling sound quietly emerged in the bedroom, followed by a pair of glowing green eyes appearing by the bedside.
The owner of the green eyes stared at Huang Xiu, silent.
Their sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the sleeping girl’s body on the bed.
For a long, long time, even the moon became obscured by clouds, yet the green eyes did not shift.
“Alright, alright, I’ll unlock it for you!” Huang Xiu finally conceded in this battle of wills.
Huang Xiaoxian was a plant; he didn’t need to sleep.
But she wasn’t a vegetable!
Lack of sleep would not only worsen her skin but also leave her drowsy and without energy.
After unlocking the tablet Huang Xiaoxian offered, Huang Xiu finally returned to her dreams.
****
The fifth week of Tiandu University’s summer training quietly slipped away amid the recent scandal.
This week, she began learning advanced spear techniques, increasing the proportion of her study time dedicated to their structure.
Aside from that, everything else remained the same.
During Wednesday evening’s psychological training class, no one spoke except Chen Molian.
Teacher Nanmen Xiu bemoaned this fact but was utterly helpless.
That night, the forum’s direction hadn’t yet shifted, and Huang Xiu was still embroiled in the public controversy, her expression far from pleasant.
Chen Molian seemed to want to say something to cheer Huang Xiu up, so she voluntarily shared amusing anecdotes from her high school days.
During her sharing, Jiang Qing asked a question that also greatly concerned Huang Xiu and Li Yurou.
That was… why Chen Molian always wore skirts and was never seen in shorts or trousers.
This held true even when they encountered her on campus.
Jiang Qing seemed to find it quite unbelievable how quickly Chen Molian had accepted wearing women’s clothing.
Some believed that if Chen Molian hadn’t already embraced wearing dresses, the three of them could have joined the betting pool together and fleeced Teacher Nanmen Xiu for gold coins.
Nanmen Xiu:
“I wear skirts… it’s actually out of necessity.”
Chen Molian offered a helpless smile.
It wasn’t so much that she always wore skirts.
Rather, due to her ability, skirts were the best choice for lower attire she could make.
She couldn’t fully control herself yet.
When she became agitated, it led to excessive use of her ability, directly transforming her into a mermaid.
Once she transformed into a mermaid, if she were wearing trousers, they would immediately rip apart into rags.
With a skirt, however, there was no such problem.
Don’t ask Chen Molian how she knew this.
When she first transformed, she nearly went bankrupt buying new trousers every day…
Chen Molian’s face showed a hint of chagrin. “At the time, I even considered getting a part-time job at an aquarium.”
“But… when you transform into a mermaid, your lower body isn’t covered by scales anyway, so you wouldn’t need to wear a skirt, right?” Huang Xiu asked curiously.
“But… wouldn’t that count as indecent exposure?”
Chen Molian’s face instantly flushed crimson.
She still couldn’t accept having nothing but bare scales on her lower body after transforming into a mermaid.
The stares directed at her tail always made her feel extremely uncomfortable, so unless she lost control, she was unwilling to transform.
Finally glimpsing a secret of a kindred spirit greatly satisfied Huang Xiu’s voyeuristic desires.
Her mood that day was excellent.
Then, the very next day, the forum’s direction took a dramatic turn, and Wen Erya sent her a tablet as compensation.
Huang Xiu’s mood became even better.
Of course, if Huang Xiaoxian hadn’t stared at her intently at night, disrupting her sleep, her mood would have been even better.
In short, her good mood lasted until the weekend, when Huang Xiu received some bad news.
[Green for a Day: Ah Xiu, I’m sorry, the perennial strawberries and kumquats in the potted plants have all withered…]
After three weeks, or twenty-one days of cultivation, the mutated plants in the pots had all withered!
The thought that the enhanced plant project might fail before it even began weighed heavily on Huang Xiu’s heart.
The enhanced plant project was not only crucial for the overall construction of her future combat power system, but it also held extremely promising economic prospects and development space.
She had discussed it with Fang Miaoging no less than ten times over the past three weeks.
It was foreseeable that if the enhanced plant project succeeded, its by-products alone could generate a market worth hundreds of billions.
Even with a significant share going to the school, she would undoubtedly make a magnificent transformation from an ordinary person to a self-made millionaire.
Not to mention…
Huang Xiu harbored even grander, more idealistic expectations for this enhanced plant project.
Perhaps, just perhaps… she could cultivate super-food to solve the hunger existing on this planet.
Of course, this expectation remained solely in Huang Xiu’s fantasies.
She had never mentioned it to anyone.
This was a beautiful vision unique to her—a youth who once dreamed of saving the world, with lofty aspirations and grand goals.
After all, between the ages of seventeen and nineteen, wasn’t this the best time to save the world and forge a great career?
Carrying complex emotions, Huang Xiu arrived at Fang Miaoging’s dormitory with a hint of disappointment, rushing without delay.
****
The weekend weather was splendid, with clear skies and bright sunshine.
On the balcony, eight potted plants were arranged in a neat row, evenly spaced, with a watering can and waste materials placed nearby.
Dazzling sunlight streamed from the sky, bathing all the potted plants.
Strawberries and kumquats were light-loving plants.
Therefore, Fang Miaoging had placed them all in the sunniest spot on the balcony.
Huang Xiu knelt before the potted plants, her brow slightly furrowed.
Four of the eight potted plants had already withered; these were precisely the four pots containing the mutated strawberries and kumquats.
The perennial strawberries, once vividly green and full of vitality in her memory, now had shriveled leaves and closed flowers on their stalks.
Though the calyxes had swollen outwards into strawberry shapes, they were entirely yellow, devoid of any red.
Turning to the kumquats.
All their leaves had fallen, leaving only bare branches.
The green young fruits that had so painstakingly formed were now shriveled and dry, falling off with a gentle shake.
Clearly, they too had lost all vitality.
In contrast, the two pots of non-mutated perennial strawberries and kumquats were vibrant and thriving, living life to the fullest.
A gentle breeze rustled their leaves, causing them to tremble softly.
Evidently, this was not due to Fang Miaoging’s care.
Huang Xiu frowned, staring intently, completely silent. Behind her, Fang Miaoging leaned against the sliding door with one hand, her face filled with remorse.
“Originally, both the perennial strawberries and potted kumquats had begun to bear fruit, much faster than these four control groups. I even compared them online, and they yielded more and quicker than any variety currently on the market,” she explained.
“I only reported the good news to you the day before yesterday, but this morning, they had withered…”
Huang Xiu stood up and asked, “Did you find the problem?”
“No.” A hint of shame appeared on Fang Miaoging’s face.
Failure wasn’t terrifying; the most important thing was to learn from it.
But the problem this time was that she had no idea why these mutated plants had withered.
“I took precautions against pests and applied fertilizer,” she said, trying to remain calm. “Both the normal group and the mutated group received identical treatment, yet only the mutated plants withered.”
Huang Xiu refused to give up easily. “Let me try to salvage them first!”
She pulled out the folding knife she carried with her from her pocket.
It clicked open.
Then, without changing her expression, though her eyes were slightly red, she cut open her palm.
Clenching her right hand into a fist, Huang Xiu sprinkled her blood onto the withered plants.