Chapter 257 - 196: Breakthrough
Inside his room at the lodging, Su Zhi was chowing down.
[Assignable Attribute Points (Yu Bao): 0.34... 0.44]
[Assignable Attribute Points (Shan Bao): ...0.10]
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Seeing the change on the Attribute Panel, Shan Bao got so excited it forgot all about eating. It hopped over to Su Zhi’s side, its mind solely focused on getting its points assigned.
’I can’t believe I earned Points just by running! Why don’t we go out and run a few hundred more laps!’
"I know you’re eager, but just hold your horses," Su Zhi said, exasperated and amused. He gently moved Shan Bao aside and went back to his meal.
This was what happened when your Pet Beast was too much of a tryhard; it could make a Beast Tamer feel a bit overwhelmed.
Besides boosting its physical strength, adding points to Constitution had also greatly improved Shan Bao’s athletic ability.
Those twenty laps might have been tiring for Su Zhi and Yu Bao, but for Shan Bao, it was nothing special.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Seeing that Su Zhi wouldn’t play along, Shan Bao went to find Yu Bao with a Bling Bling, nudging its head with a foot.
’Brother Yu Bao! Don’t be sleepy! The twenty-lap warm-up is over. Let’s train together, okay?’
"Zzzzzz... Zzzzzz..."
Yu Bao lay on its back, all four paws in the air, looking for all the world like a corpse in stable condition.
Xiaoyue lay nearby, watching the drama unfold with a hint of schadenfreude, its paws tucked neatly beneath it.
’You stupid little mutt, now you know what it feels like to be pestered by a little follower, don’t you?’
Shao Ya poked her head over to watch Su Zhi eat. "Is that enough? I can get you some more."
"It’s plenty, it’s plenty!" Su Zhi said while eating, looking at the girl beside him. "Thank you."
"We all ordered the food together, you don’t have to just thank me!"
"I know."
A small smile played on Su Zhi’s lips. "I mean... thank you for running those last few laps with me. After you joined, I suddenly didn’t feel tired anymore."
Shao Ya hadn’t expected him to be so direct. Her cheeks flushed red, and she quickly turned her head away, ignoring him.
Cao Mingyu and Liu Yuhang were lined up on the other sofa, enjoying the show like gossipy onlookers. When they saw this, they both curled their lips in distaste.
’Damn them!’
"What are you looking at?" Su Zhi asked, craning his neck curiously to peek at Fang Yuan.
The guy had been glued to his phone, typing away. Su Zhi had no idea who he was chatting with, but in his experience, Fang Yuan wasn’t the talkative type. Even if he did chat, he was more of an "oh" or "mm" kind of person...
Seeing Su Zhi lean in, Fang Yuan bristled like a startled cat, slapped his phone face down, and put on a stern expression.
"Hey, peeking at other people’s screens is not a good habit!"
"Who’s ’Ruo’? The profile picture is pink, too. Must be a girl?"
Fang Yuan remained silent.
Su Zhi’s expression turned mischievous. "Or... is it a guy? You’re into that?"
Shao Ya’s jaw dropped.
"...It’s a girl!" Fang Yuan snapped, as if his tail had been stepped on.
"She’s a classmate who sits in front of me! She had some questions about training, so she came to me for a discussion. That’s all. It’s not what you’re thinking!"
"A ’di-scus-sion’~"
Su Zhi and Shao Ya exchanged comical, eyebrow-wiggling glances before simultaneously turning back to Fang Yuan with innocent looks on their faces.
"But we didn’t say anything. What did you think we were imagining?"
"..." Fang Yuan’s face darkened. Not wanting to be annoyed by the lovebirds any longer, he scooped up Lilith and went back to his room.
Seeing him slam the door in a huff, Su Zhi and Shao Ya broke into wide grins.
"By the way, Class Rep, have you scheduled the second evolution?" Su Zhi asked, remembering the important stuff after teasing Fang Yuan.
"Yeah, it’s scheduled. We’re going again next Friday."
Liu Yuhang nodded, patting Xue Li’s head.
"Even though we didn’t succeed the first time, we believe persistence pays off. Xue Li will definitely be able to evolve."
"Yeah, I wish you both the best!"
The three from Class 10 clinked their glasses.
Shao Ya said, "Oh, by the way, Class Rep, I sent your WeChat ID to Katie."
"Her?" Liu Yuhang sat up straight. "What does she want my WeChat for? Wait, how did she add you?"
"I was taking some sand art photos for Yu Bao, and she asked me for them, so we added each other. Then she said she wanted to add you too, so I sent her your contact."
"What does that have to do with me..."
"You both booked appointments at the Storm Strait for the same time; you could call it fate. Besides, maybe she was drawn to some of your fine qualities. You two can schedule a Pet Beast Battle to spar sometime."
Shao Ya blinked, her eyes suddenly turning mischievous.
"You didn’t think she added you because she has a crush on you, did you? Don’t fall for one of life’s three great delusions, Class Rep~"
"I—I did not!"
Even though his cup was only filled with juice, Liu Yuhang looked as if he were drunk. His face flushed bright red, and he too returned to his room in a huff.
’Wow, she got rid of two of them the exact same way...’ Su Zhi was exasperated. His gaze fell upon Cao Mingyu’s intense stare, and his smile faded.
’And this one was the main event.’
"My friend Su Zhi, the hour is late. I shall retire to my chambers to rest. Do remember to sleep early and rise early. I look forward to our encounter on the morrow!"
"Okay, see you."
’I’ll try to wake up as late as possible tomorrow...’ Su Zhi added internally as he watched Cao Mingyu also go inside.
And with that, only he and Shao Ya were left in the living room. It was almost as if the others had intentionally created this private moment for them.
The girl suddenly scooted closer to Su Zhi, blinking her eyes. "I’ve got something cool to show you!"
Shao Ya recalled Xiaoyue, then summoned it again.
Su Zhi was surprised to see that her Beast Taming Light Array had turned a soft green.
Su Zhi was pleasantly surprised. "You broke through to Tier Three?"
"Mhm! I felt something change after I finished running with you. It really was a breakthrough!"
Shao Ya wiggled on the sofa, happiness written all over her face like a little girl.
"That’s great." Su Zhi smiled too, then looked at her. "Have you thought about your second pet? What are you going to contract?"