Chapter 45: Targeting Me?
The plot had deviated too much. The F4’s storyline was different, but that was nothing strange.
Jian Yu wanted in on the gossip too, so she quietly opened her Star Brain and browsed the forums.
To make sure she got the full story and could clap back immediately if she got angry, she logged in with Ling Yanzhi’s account.
After searching for a long time, she couldn’t find any photos of Duan Feiye. Instead, there were a ton of candid shots of that new special enrollment student.
Long legs, fair skin, and striking features. She possessed a certain androgynous beauty, making her the same type of beauty as the novel’s heroine.
Jian Yu casually clicked on a trending post.
Title: Who’s the person the F4 brought back?
[Yan Qin. I looked her up, and she’s definitely a new student. But she’s a B-level student from Linxing Noble Academy, so what’s she doing here?]
[But she’s wearing our academy’s black brooch, engraved with the school crest. That’s exclusively for special enrollment students.]
[Latest news: she transferred to our school. I heard she’s a minor noble, too—from a Middle-class Planet, and the daughter of a Planet Master.]
[Chairman Sheng finally made an appearance, and the first thing he did was handle the transfer procedures for this special enrollment student.]
[That’s nothing. She just got into Chief Pei’s private research institute.]
[She wasn’t assigned a dorm. She was given the title of "academic assistant," and her luggage was moved to Chief Duan’s villa.]
[Where is she now? Oh, I see her. She’s with Chief Ling and the others, heading to Cafeteria Number One. Chief Xi Yu is there too.]
[A certain special enrollment student named Jian has never even eaten with the four chiefs, has she?]
[...]
’This is ridiculous. How did I get dragged into the gossip?’
Jian Yu scrolled a little more. ’This whole scenario feels really familiar,’ she thought.
’A special enrollment student, an academic assistant, living in a villa, eating with them, even getting a personal tour of the research institute... ’
’Isn’t that all standard treatment for the heroine?’
Jian Yu looked up, wanting to find Xu Jianjuan, but then belatedly remembered they weren’t in the same major.
Her breath hitched, and the sounds around her suddenly vanished.
She accidentally made eye contact with someone, who then cracked a smile at her.
Jian Yu silently lowered her head.
After a long moment, rustling sounds finally broke the silence.
The tension eased, and Jian Yu moved her stiff legs.
They’d fallen asleep.
Her expression turned cold as her gaze returned to the Star Brain, and she scrolled down the page.
[Linxing Noble Academy is only a little worse than ours. Why would she give up her B-level status to become a special enrollment student here?]
[Her family’s rich. At Linxing, she could buy her way into a B-level rank. Here at Weis Lan, even calling her a special enrollment student is a stretch. It’s not like she passed the actual entrance exams.]
[She’s a special enrollment student for now. I bet she’ll be re-evaluated for a new rank later, right?]
[No way. She’s a commoner. She’s destined to be nothing more than a special enrollment student.]
[There are plenty of people at Weis Lan Noble Academy richer than her. My dad’s a Planet Master of an Upper-class Planet, and I still haven’t even made it to B-level.]
[One Jian, one Yan... I wonder who’s next.]
Jian Yu backed out of the thread and refreshed the page, revealing a new one.
Title: Place your bets. When will a certain special enrollment student make way for Yan Teng?
[I bet one week.]
[I haven’t seen the Chief giving her rides for days. Maybe it won’t even take that long.]
[At this rate, she might get kicked out of the villa tonight.]
[Do you guys think the Chief would beat me up if I tried to swoop in?]
[...]
Jian Yu didn’t bother reading the rest of the comments. Her eyes fell on the name of the original poster.
Another special enrollment student, and from the same planet as Yan Qin.
Lock thread.
’It’s fun having privileges.’
After a brief, silent flash of anger, Jian Yu lowered her head and tried to review her theory notes.
But she couldn’t focus on the material, even though she knew it like the back of her hand.
’I must have gotten here too early. Why isn’t the professor here yet?’
Her classmates were whispering, shooting her strange looks.
Jian Yu suddenly looked up, her expression defiant.
’Let them look,’ she thought. ’It’s not like their stares can hurt me.’
’At worst, I’ll just stare back at anyone who stares at me. Then we’ll be even.’
"Ahem." The professor entered, clearing his throat twice.
He glanced at the people helping him carry things in and gestured. "Students in the front row, please help pass these out in a moment."
Jian Yu subtly craned her neck to see.
There were so many eggs. They were reddish-gold, with shells that looked very hard, like golden eggs.
’Looks like everyone gets one,’ she thought.
"Last week, I had you all simulate the cultivation environment for Cloned Eggs, and we also studied genetic regeneration factors..."
The professor briefly summarized what they had already learned.
"Your seniors, by extracting the cartilage regeneration gene from a Star Ridge Beast and utilizing cloning technology, have cultivated thirty-six Cloned Eggs for you."
"Now, each of you will receive one Cloned Egg. This will be your assignment for the month. The student who hatches their egg the fastest will be rewarded with one hundred EV."
"Students whose hatched eggs meet the standards—low toxicity, no mutations in the core genetic sequence, and no fragment loss—will have their EV value payout doubled at the end of the month."
Jian Yu was filled with anticipation.
She cursed herself for sitting so far back; she wouldn’t even be one of the first to get her egg.
Just then, a cautious voice sounded beside her ear.
"The Star Ridge Beast is a Low-level Mutant Beast, so don’t get your hopes up."
Jian Yu turned her head to see a beet-red face.
"Th-this kind of Cloned Egg has genetic defects. Even if it hatches, it won’t have any reproductive capabilities or combat skills. It’s... it’s too expensive to even keep as a pet."
The boy explained, stammering.
’Damn it, she’s so cute,’ he thought.
’Her face is all cold and aloof, but she’s bouncing her leg in excitement.’
He gathered his courage. "Senior Lin Yu asked me to look out for you. I just haven’t had a chance to tell you before. Um, my name is Shen Gu."
"Oh... thanks. I’m Jian Yu." Noticing his gaze on her leg, she awkwardly pressed her knees together.
’So much for my cool-girl image.’
"I... I know," Shen Gu said, blushing.
The two socially awkward introverts stared blankly at each other.
The two students distributing the Cloned Eggs walked over, blocking their line of sight.
Shen Gu took an Incubation Chamber and carefully placed his Cloned Egg inside.
’Time to aim for that two hundred EV,’ he thought.
He glanced over at Jian Yu and quickly turned back to call out, "Hey, you forgot to give her an Incubation Chamber!"
The student ignored him and moved on to the next person.
Shen Gu started to stand up.
"I’ve got it." Jian Yu pulled him back down.
She took a coat hanger out of her Space Ring and gently poked the student twice. "Excuse me, I’m still missing an Incubation Chamber."
"I’m handing them out in order. Yours was broken, so you wouldn’t be able to use it anyway."
The student turned his head, his eyes following the hanger up to Jian Yu’s face, where they lingered for a few seconds.
He scratched his head. "Just wait a second. I made a note of it. After I finish passing these out, I’ll go ask the professor if there are any spares."
"Okay, thank you." Jian Yu breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, she’d thought he was targeting her on purpose.
’This stupid noble hierarchy is making me paranoid,’ she thought.
Jian Yu stroked the eggshell, lost in thought. ’It’d be nice if it were real gold.’
Shen Gu kept his eyes fixed on the front of the room. Only after he confirmed that the student had reported the issue to the professor did he relax and look away.
The social climate within Weis Lan Academy wasn’t the best.
He wanted to tell her that if she had to go pick one up herself, he could go with her.
But to his surprise, the professor was the one who spoke up.
A senior professor with eight years of teaching experience.
"Anyone who still doesn’t have an Incubation Chamber can come with me to get one now."
A total of four people stood up.
Two men and two women.
Jian Yu was one of them.
Jian Yu let out a secret sigh of relief.
Shen Gu also relaxed and began to earnestly prepare for the incubation process.