Chapter Thirty-Five: Go Forward~~~You Can Do It~~~

Li Daoran forcefully brought the reluctant Xu Xingxing to the door of Liu Meng’s infirmary room. To his surprise, Xu Xingxing also had permission to enter.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in,” came Liu Meng’s slightly lazy voice from inside.

At the sound, Xu Xingxing instinctively shivered, earning a disdainful glance from Li Daoran.

Catching Li Daoran’s look, Xu Xingxing straightened up, and as Li Daoran opened the door, an ingratiating smile slipped onto his face.

Liu Meng had guessed Li Daoran might come, but she hadn’t expected Xu Xingxing to be with him, so she gave him a few extra glances.

Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Xu Xingxing said, “Good afternoon, Sister Meng. Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. Are you here scrounging for food too?” Liu Meng leaned back in her chair, scratching her cheek.

Xu Xingxing gave an awkward laugh, unsure how to respond, but Li Daoran asked, “You two know each other?”

“The Republic may seem vast, but our circle is really quite small. Little Star here is practically my sidekick,” Liu Meng said offhandedly, tapping her fingernails on the desk.

“Sidekick?” Li Daoran looked at Xu Xingxing. “Don’t you have anything to say to that?”

“Hey, it’s true. I’m Sister Meng’s little brother, nothing to be said.” Xu Xingxing replied, sounding a bit guilty.

“See that? You think everyone’s as clueless as you, daring to tease me,” Liu Meng said, standing up and pulling two roast chickens from a drawer, placing them on the table.

At the sight of the chickens, Xu Xingxing’s eyes lit up green. He leaped up and declared to Li Daoran, “You scoundrel! How dare you tease my boss! Prepare to be punished!”

“Hey, Liu Meng, must you keep bringing up childish mistakes? I’m your creditor now. If I can’t pay you back, you’ll be at a loss,” Li Daoran raised his hands in surrender, speaking to Liu Meng.

“All right, enough theatrics, you two. One each. Eat up. I’m dieting today, so I won’t join you,” Liu Meng vacated the table for them.

Xu Xingxing glanced at the food, swallowed hard, and feigned restraint. “This doesn’t seem right,” he said.

But as Li Daoran tore into his chicken without pretense, Xu Xingxing hurriedly snatched the other, eating even faster. Li Daoran had only recently enjoyed a lavish meal on Azure Star, so his craving wasn’t as strong. In the end, through deliberate or accidental competition, Xu Xingxing ended up with one and a half chickens.

Patting his barely rounded stomach, Xu Xingxing felt wholly satisfied—winning the contest against Li Daoran pleased him more than having both chickens to himself.

Xu Xingxing grinned triumphantly while Li Daoran, feigning resignation, went to wash his greasy hands.

“Li Daoran let you win and you didn’t even notice. Stop gloating and get out of the way,” Liu Meng said, shoving the silly Xu Xingxing aside.

Xu Xingxing obediently moved over.

“How do you know he didn’t notice? I must stand up for Little Star here. Honestly, my first impression of Xu Xingxing was nothing like how he is now,” Li Daoran said, arms crossed, as he saw Liu Meng seemed to be preparing a syringe.

Liu Meng glanced at Xu Xingxing. “He likes to play dumb. Sometimes even I can’t tell if he’s really that slow.”

Xu Xingxing scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

Li Daoran rolled his eyes. “Grease—is that for hair gel?” he quipped.

Xu Xingxing’s face changed, and he hurried off to wash his head and hands.

“Good sister, I’m not here for an injection,” Xu Xingxing called out as he left, leaving the two alone. Li Daoran dropped his act and also spoke ingratiatingly.

A smile played at the corner of Liu Meng’s eyes. “Weren’t you just acting tough?”

“I had to keep up appearances for my little brother,” Li Daoran said, rubbing his hands.

Switching from a large needle to a smaller one, Liu Meng said, “Stealing my sidekick and you want me to show you some face?”

“Aw, come on, good sister, be magnanimous,” Li Daoran said, shamelessly.

“All right, you give in too easily,” Liu Meng said, deftly administering the injection—before Li Daoran had even noticed, it was done.

“Hehe, you’re just that skilled, good sister,” Li Daoran said, pressing on the injection site.

Liu Meng raised an eyebrow, feeling his words sounded a bit suggestive, as if taking advantage of her.

“By the way, I’m here to thank you today,” Li Daoran quickly changed the subject, sensing danger.

“Oh?”

“Xiong Shan told me everything. You were a big help with the exam this time.”

“No need to thank me. I was just worried you wouldn’t pay me back,” Liu Meng brushed her bangs aside, inwardly blaming Xiong Shan for being too talkative.

“Regardless, thank you,” Li Daoran said.

“So you’re that confident you’ll pass?” Liu Meng looked at him with a half-smile.

Li Daoran shook his head. “You have to try, at least.”

“Honestly, I thought you’d pay me back with the one hundred merit points for Mecha Operation. I didn’t expect you to choose this route instead,” Liu Meng said, as if probing for something, turning away so he couldn’t see her face.

“Hm?” Li Daoran was puzzled.

“That one hundred points were actually prepared just for you,” Liu Meng suddenly turned and looked at him, saying something that shocked him.

Before Li Daoran could respond, the door burst open and Xu Xingxing stumbled in.

The atmosphere grew awkward until Liu Meng broke the silence. “All right, it’s getting late. The exam is about to start. You two should go.”

Thus, both found their excuse to escape, flustered for their own reasons.

Once outside, both clutched their chests to calm themselves, exchanging a glance.

“It wasn’t me.”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping.”

Then, in unison, “You go first.”

Li Daoran was the first to recover, urging, “Come on, we’re running out of time.”

Xu Xingxing followed, but soon couldn’t help himself. “Are you really that good at piloting mechas?”

“Maybe,” Li Daoran replied ambiguously.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Tell me straight, hey!” Xu Xingxing pestered.

Li Daoran ignored him; he himself didn’t understand what Liu Meng meant by her words. But one thing was clear: Liu Meng must have known his predecessor, who was likely very skilled at piloting mechas.

This was valuable information. On Azure Star, countless people were now making all sorts of guesses and plans based on that statement.

But one thing was agreed upon: Mecha Operation had to become a top priority.

That afternoon’s first subject was Mecha Energy Circuits, in Examination Room 3521.

Li Daoran stretched. “Ready?”

“Ready!” Xu Xingxing replied, full of fighting spirit.

Li Daoran glanced at him. Not talking to you, you know.

“Ready when you are. Don’t worry,” a synthetic voice sounded in his earpiece.

Li Daoran nodded, then shouted, “Charge! Let’s go!”

“Charge! Let’s go!” Xu Xingxing echoed enthusiastically.