Chapter 57: Who Stole My Egg
Jian Yu had a feeling she was being followed.
She’d always been more perceptive and alert than others when it came to things like this.
Especially since the feeling of being watched from behind was so intense.
Jian Yu felt as if she had been transported back to that afternoon she was being stared down by Xi Yu.
A chill ran down her spine.
Ling Yanzhi and his group had been her high-profile escort for a week, but they were busy today, so Lin Yu and his men had to take over.
She hadn’t expected to get this terrifying feeling of being secretly watched on the very first day.
She wanted to ask Lin Yu, who was walking her to class, for help, but she opened her mouth several times and couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
Instead, it was Lin Yu who thoughtfully noticed her subdued mood.
"Jian, is there anything you need to tell us?"
"No, I have nothing to tell you," Jian Yu said, lowering her voice and signaling to him.
Lin Yu waved the men behind him back, then bent down. "Please, go ahead."
Jian Yu asked hurriedly, "Have you noticed anyone following us?"
Lin Yu didn’t even blink.
Only after confirming he understood her completely did he begin to explain.
"Jian, you look very beautiful today, absolutely adorable. There are a lot of people behind us watching you. A few have even been following us this whole time."
It was just a casual dress, but it was a delicate pink. A pink ribbon was wrapped around her wrist, and even her hair clip was a pink butterfly.
Even he couldn’t help but take a second look when he picked her up from the villa.
Lin Yu’s voice cracked slightly, failing to hide its usual roughness. "Jian, are you asking about that male student who was following us and then tripped into the flowerbed?"
"I’m not talking about him." Jian Yu looked down at her dress, the tips of her ears turning red.
After seeing a post saying she looked good in pink and blue, she’d gotten an idea and picked out a pink dress last night.
As soon as she’d found it, Xi Yu and Ling Yanzhi had personally selected a pile of accessories to go with it.
The morning had been a little embarrassing. She felt like a doll as they dressed her up from head to toe.
Jian Yu did her best to be clear. "I mean someone in the back, hiding. The sneaky kind."
"I apologize. It’s my fault; my abilities are limited." Lin Yu didn’t doubt her, but he honestly hadn’t noticed anyone like that.
He glanced at the men he’d brought with him and gestured to a few of them. "You, go check over there."
’Lin Yu’s Soul Beast is a Level S tiger. If even he couldn’t detect them, they must be a higher Level than him.’
"It’s okay, maybe I was overthinking it."
When they couldn’t find anyone, Jian Yu didn’t press the issue.
But she trusted her instincts.
Back in her first year of high school, she’d told a classmate that two men were stalking and spying on her.
The classmate took her to a teacher, but later said behind her back that she was just a narcissist with a persecution complex.
When it was later proven that she really was being stalked, that same classmate had just scoffed dismissively and said she was making a mountain out of a molehill.
The experience had left a deep scar. Even though she knew Lin Yu wouldn’t say such things, Jian Yu still wanted to avoid being a bother.
She touched the new terminal on her wrist, her fingertips brushing over the spot where a tracking device was hidden.
Xi Yu didn’t have Red Snake’s innate ability to track people, so he had to resort to installing various trackers on her.
He thought she didn’t know, but in reality, she just didn’t care.
To her, it might even be a good thing.
’At least if something happens in the future and Ling Yanzhi isn’t around, Xi Yu won’t be running around like a headless chicken.’
The various Planet Academies were going all out to prepare for the Planet Beast Taming Elite Challenge.
The F7 members had gone out for the sole purpose of capturing Alien Beasts for this annual challenge.
In the Beast Taming Arena, everyone had to rely on their own skills.
It might get bloody, but those were the rules.
With Weis Lan as the main venue, the Seven Chiefs were bound to be there.
An Awakener with a 3S Soul Beast was a once-in-three-hundred-years sight, yet Imperial Capital Star had farted out seven of them in a row.
’What if someone, green with envy, decided to kidnap her to threaten Ling Yanzhi and the others?’
Lost in thought, Jian Yu arrived at her classroom.
They didn’t find anything, but Lin Yu was thoughtful. "I’ll have my men monitor the surveillance feeds in shifts, and your lunch will be delivered on time. Unless it’s an emergency, please stay in the classroom after class and wait for us, Jian."
He hesitated for a moment. "If you need to use the restroom, you can ask Shen Gu to go with you."
Jian Yu stared blankly. "I’m not sure about that. He’s a boy."
"It’s fine. You can just have him wait outside for you." Lin Yu didn’t see any other choice. There weren’t many students in the incubation major, and Shen Gu seemed the most harmless.
He knew Jian Yu was too introverted to ask herself, so he added, "I’ll go talk to him about it later."
"Thank you." Other than that, Jian Yu was at a loss for words, unable to think of any other pleasantries.
"Well, I’ll see you at lunch, then." She gave a small wave and stepped into the classroom.
It was like walking into a freezer. The moment she entered, all sound vanished.
After a long moment, a collective gasp could be heard.
Shen Gu waved to her. "Over here, over here!"
’Don’t show any weakness.’
Jian Yu met the gazes of her classmates without flinching.
Head held high, she walked over and sat down next to Shen Gu.
As Jian Yu sat down, she asked, "Huh? What’s that?"
A green brooch was pinned to his white school uniform, and a few words hovered above it like a miniature Star Brain panel.
Jian Yu read it aloud in a low voice, "Executive Director: Shen Gu—[Chairman Xi Yu]."
Shen Gu whispered back, "Impressive, right? Chairman Xi personally picked me to be his Executive Director."
His lips curved into a proud, yet very subtle, smile.
"With my new status, I won’t have to come early to save seats anymore. As long as I want to sit next to you, no one will dare try and take my spot."
Jian Yu blinked. "Wow, that’s amazing."
She asked earnestly, "I heard that people who wear green, cyan, blue, and purple brooches all have Soul Beasts. Is that true?"
"More or less," Shen Gu said, his mood deflating slightly. "But my soul beast level isn’t high. Chairman Xi probably only chose me because of you."
"That’s still really impressive," Jian Yu offered, trying to sound comforting. "I mean, look at me. I don’t even have a Soul Beast."
Her fingers tightened on the page of her book. "What’s your Soul Beast? Can I see it?"
"This is my Soul Beast," Shen Gu said, holding out his palm.
Jian Yu squinted her big, beautiful eyes. "An ant?"
She looked up, her expression suddenly one of wide-eyed innocence.
Shen Gu shyly withdrew his Soul Beast. "Besides our major courses, Awakeners have a required Soul Beast class. The teacher said that being able to freely summon my Soul Beast already makes me better than a lot of people."
Jian Yu was never good with small talk or the pleasantries required for smoothing over social situations.
She forged ahead anyway. "So, what do they teach you in that required class?"
"So far, we’ve just learned how to summon and exert basic control over our Soul Beasts. The teacher says it’s up to us to discover their full potential."
Shen Gu thought for a moment. "Don’t be fooled by its size. It’s great at predicting the weather. Very accurate."
"Impressive," Jian Yu said, then asked, "Why didn’t you join the reconnaissance major, then?"
Shen Gu looked dejected. "Because the Interstellar Alliance’s weather forecast is more accurate."
He quickly changed the subject. "It can also move things! Things many times its own size!"
Jian Yu’s eyes sparkled. "How big can it get?"
Shen Gu froze. "...Didn’t I just show you?"
"I’m sorry." Jian Yu’s expression was instantly filled with innocent confusion.
It took a moment for Shen Gu to understand. "..."
Someone shouted, "The new teacher’s here!"
Jian Yu awkwardly scratched her cheek with a finger and quickly sat up straight.
After introducing himself, the new teacher brought up another matter.
"I’ve reviewed the practical assignment your last teacher gave you. If I’m not mistaken, you were supposed to be hatching the Cloned Eggs of a Star Ridge Beast. Judging from the submissions in the system, the results are... not looking good."
His gaze swept across the room. "Who was responsible for number 733?"
Jian Yu froze. Number 733 was hers.
’But... hadn’t her egg gone missing?’
Before she could process it, the boy sitting behind Shen Gu raised his hand and stood up.
"Sir, that was me."