A bunch of people who were asking for a beating came running over with great fanfare and just as quickly fled the scene. From arrival to departure, the whole thing took less than 5 minutes. Ji You really wanted to chase after them and give them a thrashing, but—
Ji You relaxed her clenched fists. As soon as she turned around, she saw Mu Jianling, Dr. Luo, and Principal Hong sitting on the couch at the coffee table, leisurely enjoying some fruit.
Dr. Luo crunched into an apple, smiling as he said, "This apple is not bad, it comes from the Beikena Mountains. Sword Spirit, have one."
Mu Jianling coolly refused. She was twirling her fingers, peeling grapes one by one, and said, "I prefer grapes from Yuna Star."
Principal Hong held a giant watermelon, and with a sharp little knife, sliced it—snap—the watermelon split into two halves, a fragrant scent wafting out. He gripped the knife, snap, snap, snap... sliced it into several pieces, then, while shaking his legs, picked up a slice of watermelon and began nibbling contentedly, "You all... just don’t know how to enjoy, watermelon is a heavenly delight."
After a moment of silence, Ji You couldn’t help but speak up, "Um... Principal Hong, teachers... if I remember correctly, those fruits in your hands were the consolation fruits sent by those guys to me, right?"
All were natural fruits.
Take that big apple for instance, it would cost over 800 credit points each, but look at Dr. Luo. He appears graceful and poised, but he eats so fast that within this short amount of time, he has already devoured at least three big apples.
Teacher Mu Jianling wasn’t falling behind either; in this short time, she had already finished a bunch of grapes, peeling them while not forgetting to watch a melodramatic TV show!
How about Principal Hong?
He wasn’t eating quickly, but given his size, obviously one watermelon wouldn’t be enough.
The teachers really lack elegance!
In the infirmary, the three enjoying the fruits, upon hearing Ji You’s voice, all rolled their eyes at her. Mu Jianling, with a cold look, pointed at the contract on the table, saying, "You’ve sold half your life to me already, what’s yours is mine."
This is so unreasonable, and she couldn’t even find the words to retort.
Principal Hong, like shooing away a fly, raised his hand towards the main door with a look of disdain, "Alright, stop standing here and disturbing our fruit enjoyment, scram."
Ji You opened her mouth.
None of these fruits can be taken back?
Ji You gloomily eyed the baskets of fruits laid out, her eyes heating up. Just looking at them made her mouth water so much that she couldn’t pull her feet away. Seizing the moment she turned around, Ji You bent down quickly, snatched a big apple, and was about to bolt.
Suddenly, Mu Jianling said, "Wait."
And you can’t even spare that?
Ji You quickened her pace, just about to slip out the door, when suddenly a gust of wind came from behind, and a distinct hand reached out—it was Mu Jianling—who grabbed Ji You and hoisted her up with one hand.
Ji You’s legs dangled and struggled in mid-air, but she couldn’t break free. She could only muster a stiff smile, "Tea... Teacher... it’s just one apple, no... no need to make such a fuss, right?"
Mu Jianling’s cold gaze slowly moved down from the top of Ji You’s head...
Her entire body shuddered, feeling a chill to her core!
Could it be that Teacher Mu has taken a liking to me? Is she thinking of a forbidden romance between a domineering teacher and a soft, cute student?
Ji You instinctively clutched her head, looking at Teacher Mu Jianling with a face full of grievance: "Teacher... why... why did you hit me?"
Teacher Mu Jianling coldly said, "Get rid of that mess in your head!"
Ji You whispered, "I wasn’t thinking of anything messy in my head."
Teacher Mu Jianling ignored these noisy words. Suddenly, she stretched out her hand, slowly approaching Ji You’s face, 100 centimeters, 50 centimeters, 10 centimeters... Ji You felt like her heart was about to jump out, and then—
She saw Teacher Mu Jianling snatch the ring hanging around her neck with a red string.
—That was the remains of a High-level Soul Device that had been declared scrap and rusted on the surface.
After grabbing the ring, Teacher Mu Jianling casually kicked it into her pocket and then threw Ji You aside, waving her hand, "Okay, you can get lost now."
Clearly, Teacher Mu was not interested in herself, and while Ji You was relieved to escape this predicament, she felt incredibly depressed:
These teachers are really so heartless and cold.
However, before leaving, Ji You still whispered softly, "Teacher... can I have that broken High-level Soul Device?"
Although the ring was already scrap, it was still a High-level Soul Device after all. Ji You wanted to research it, especially the broken Array Diagram on it.
Teacher Mu Jianling didn’t even turn her head, just sat down to eat grapes again, and said, "It’s useless to you."
Dr. Luo suddenly interrupted Ji You, laughing, "Ji You, don’t ask the teacher for it. This Soul Device was worn by your teacher for 50 years, even though it’s now scrap, let’s leave her a keepsake."
Ji You blinked, somewhat puzzled.
Teacher Mu Jianling suddenly cleared her throat and coldly said, "What keepsake? Nonsense."
Ji You did not understand, but cautiously noticed the expression on Teacher Mu’s face. She tactfully didn’t ask further or probe deeply, just stood with a smiling face, chuckled, and said, "Well... Teachers, I will take my leave now."
After saying that, she clutched the large apple in her arms and immediately scampered off.
It was already past dinner time, and the canteen had stopped serving natural food long ago. At this point, she could only eat synthetic food. Ji You simply picked a 2 credit points low-level nutrient solution from a roadside shop and headed back to the dormitory.
After more than three months, she tasted the low-level nutrient solution once again. It’s easy to transition from simplicity to luxury but hard to go in reverse; after getting used to meals of natural food, going back to a nutrient solution that costs 2 credit points per stick left Ji You feeling a mess of conflicting emotions.
Sigh! How did I end up bankrupt?
"Going bankrupt is one thing, but I owe a debt of 5 billion and signed countless contracts."
While muttering to herself, Ji You did not forget the most important thing. She took the Mid-level Soul Device she had made, the Clover Ring, selected a beautifully elegant gift box to package it, but upon completion, Ji You felt something was not quite right. She unwrapped it, took a small paper slip, racked her brain for a long time, and finally personally wrote a phrase:
[To the one and only Senior Shi Ya in the whole world.]
After a whole lot of careful thought, what Ji You came up with was such a simple phrase.
Ji You meticulously checked everything one last time, making sure nothing was omitted, before sending the gift to the address provided by Senior Shi Ya.