Chapter 497: Departure

"Qiao Sang really turned out well — only in her first year of high school and she already has three high-level pet beasts. Unlike your cousin here, whose only pet beast didn't even evolve to intermediate until Gao San."

"Right? I even held you when you were little. Who'd have thought in the blink of an eye you'd be all grown up."

"When I saw her on TV back then I said, 'How does this kid look so much like Qiao Sang?' Turns out it really was her. If your mother hadn't thrown the banquet, I wouldn't have known."

"Champion of the National Campus Beast-Taming League, and in Gao San no less — does that mean you're the strongest high schooler in the whole country?"

"I heard you're going to Super Su Xing as an interstellar exchange student. What's that school called? Is it any good compared to Holy Water Middle School?"

"I've known since you were small that you'd grow up to amount to something. See? Just as I said."

The people around them chimed in, one after another.

Qiao Sang accepted the red envelopes, politely keeping a smile on her face.

In truth, apart from Third Aunt and Third Uncle, she had to search her memory for a good while to figure out which relatives the rest of them were.

Kinship is a strange thing — you might not see each other once the whole year, yet when you meet you can always act as though you're close.

You know her? Tang Yi thought for a moment and said, "Qiao Sang?"

But perhaps because she took after her mother, or perhaps because her grandmother had barely been present while she was growing up, she genuinely couldn't bring herself to feel close to her grandmother.

"Isn't that a Blazing Star Hound?" The old lady laughed and patted Ya Bao's head. "My, what a good-looking one."

As the most unaccomplished child in the Ye family now, even distant relatives knew about the situation outside Tang Yi's home.

The old lady's body stiffened slightly, her expression somewhat forlorn. After a silence of two or three seconds, she opened her mouth and asked:

The relatives who had been chatting at the same table instantly fell quiet.

And among those who could afford interstellar travel, beast tamers who possessed high-level pet beasts were few. Most of their pet beasts, like Ya Bao, were wearing heavy-duty shrinking bracelets.

"What? I just guessed off the top of my head."

Not a few large pet beasts moved about inside the starship.

Tang Yi looked at her smile and paused.

Tang Yi raised her head.

The starship's cabin was designed to be fully transparent, allowing a clear view of the scenery outside.

"Ya."

……

Tang Yi glanced in her mother's direction.

The next moment, the phone in Zhu An's pocket buzzed.

"Got it." Tang Yi replied softly.

Officer Chen said with evident approval, "Your guess was pretty accurate."

Caller ID: Grandma.

As everyone knew, for the vast majority of pet beasts, the larger the body, the higher the level.

After the old lady walked away, Ya Bao seemed to sense something and stuck out her tongue to lick her beast tamer's hand.

She knew that if her mother hadn't told her, there was no way her grandmother would have known and come here.

Under her mother's reluctant gaze, Tang Yi waved and stepped aboard the starship.

Tang Yi: "……"

"Zhu An." At that moment, an aged voice sounded from behind her.

It was Officer Chen, arranged by the state to escort the three exchange students.

In her previous life her parents had been divorced. When she was little she might still have harbored hopes, but as she grew up, she had long grown used to days without a father, without a grandmother.

Ye Xiangting: "……"

"Ya!"

Don't rush — let it get beaten up first!

The white-haired old lady fixed her granddaughter with a burning gaze, her expression unexpectedly somewhat tense.

Zhu An followed the sound and saw Qiao Sang and a girl with waist-length hair, a leather beret, a delicate face, and a fashionable outfit.

Zhu An nodded. "I will."

And in Qiao Sang's arms was a shrunken version of Parelulu.

Having said that, she took out her phone and briskly turned to leave.

Officer Chen stopped.

The two of them came to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"Don't scare people." Tang Yi rubbed Ya Bao's head and said.

"I heard from your mother you're going to Super Su Xing. Here, take this — there's 50,000 inside, the password is your birthday."

She hadn't told her mother about her plan to take the direct college entrance exam. It was the sort of thing better said after passing — after all, the odds of failing weren't small either, and mentioning it would only make her mother worry for nothing. Moreover, given her mother's habit of making phone calls, she was likely to spread the news everywhere, and if she failed in the end it would be rather embarrassing.

Ye Xiangting held her wine glass and went around clinking glasses with each relative, making small talk.

Tang Yi: "……"

Along the way, Ya Bao in her arms looked around curiously.

Of course she knew her — anyone selected as an interstellar exchange student must have been an opponent from the national tournament. Apart from her, the other one naturally was the runner-up… Tang Yi said modestly on the surface:

"Xunxun!"

The old lady laughed heartily. "Good thing you didn't drag me into it."

Little Xun Bao darted in front of Ya Bao at that moment, wearing an expression like a hero ready to die for a cause.

Tang Yi didn't take it, saying calmly, "No need. The money your mother gave me is enough to spend."

Her daughter was still so young — she'd only just started high school not long ago, yet she had to leave her for so long… An inexpressible sadness welled up in Zhu An's heart.

"Ya!"

Tang Yi looked up at his mother, who was raising her glass with a smile, and walked over.

The eyes of the people around followed, but no one went down to disturb them.

"Huaihuai, listen to your teacher. Definitely, the school said he can bring his phone, so don't bring it. Calling on the weekend is enough." Ye Xiangting continued: "Remember to take good care of Like Ya Bao's meals."

Holy Water Middle School, class was in session.

Zhu An turned his head at the sound, froze for a moment, then stood up and called out: "Grandma."

As time passed, the guests finally took their seats.

She thought rationally that compared to family affection, what grandma felt was more guilt. If she hadn't won the National Campus Beast-Taming League championship this time, she might not have thought of contacting her for a while, nor would she have reached out during this non-New-Year period.

"When you get there, remember to call me." Ye Xiangting said gently, looking at her daughter.

While seeing them off, they couldn't help glancing at the center of the banquet, wanting to see what kind of person those reporters in the hall were so eager to interview.

"Okay." Tang Yi nodded.

Not everyone managed to buy one, though. Before boarding the starship, Xinggang staff would issue heavy-duty shrinkable bracelets with codes based on the pet beast's data, which would be taken back upon arrival at the destination.

The personnel seeing Tang Yi off to Xinggang had arrived.

Unfortunately, the center of attention was surrounded by an eager crowd, so nothing could be seen.

"Did you block his dad?"

A cousin nearby asked: "Are you putting the Blazing Star Hound back into the Beast-Taming Codex?"

Like Ya Bao curled its lip.

Like Ya Bao turned its head, looked at the human who spoke, and bared its teeth.

"Originally, we should have departed from the Xinggang in the Central Hollow Region, but considering he's the youngest, we had everyone gather here. They arrived last night, and you can have a good chat with them later."

After petting for a while, the old lady looked up, pulled a red envelope from her bag, and handed it over somewhat awkwardly, saying:

Weekend morning.

Little Xunbao appeared, also curiously looking around.

Like Ya Bao: "???"

Officer Chen led the way while saying:

The phone's vibration suddenly stopped.

Zhu An hummed: "Don't worry, I know."

"Yaba..."

"Can we go somewhere else to talk?" the old lady asked.

……

As a woman who had been through a lot, she could naturally pick up on that unspoken meaning.

An interstellar trip takes at least a month round trip, and pet beasts can't stay in the Beast-Taming Codex that long. Therefore, the starship is designed to allow pet beasts to appear and move about, but their size cannot exceed 3 meters tall or 4 meters long.

Now everyone drinking at the banquet was from the Ye family, so the appearance of someone from the Qiao family made the atmosphere inexplicably awkward.

She took out her phone and glanced at it.

Tang Yi lowered his head and smiled: "I'm fine."

Yuhua Xinggang.

Like Ya Bao squinted its eyes in enjoyment.

Tang Yi said: "Maybe. The people who contacted you recently are all ones you haven't been in touch with before. If the number is unfamiliar, I blocked it."

"Okay." Zhu An replied.

Almost the instant their eyes met, Like Ya Bao and Parelulu's gazes were filled with fighting spirit.

In her arms was a cat-type pet beast, also dressed in clothes and wearing a hat, with green fur showing.

It looked completely out of place with some of the architecture in the Yuhua region.

"The starship has seating cabins, sleeping cabins, and room cabins. The leisure areas are also separated. The country booked room cabins for them to ensure they have enough space to rest." Officer Chen introduced as they walked:

As long as one family among the relatives produced a notable person—even the most distant of distant relatives—someone would always go out and brag to others, "So-and-so in my family is this person," to bask in reflected glory.

As a passenger starship capable of sailing through the universe, the hull was extraordinarily massive. The ship's exterior had a silver-white sheen, giving off a powerful futuristic sci-fi vibe.

Without anyone from her father's side, her life was still going just fine.

The old lady's body stiffened again for a moment.

Just as she was about to give more instructions, Tang Yi said: "Um, Mom, how about we talk while we walk? You could actually see me off at Xinggang."

"Remember to eat on time and go to bed early at night. You're tall now. Although you've fallen behind a lot in your courses because of the competition, don't try to make up everything all at once. Learning should be gradual, understand?" Ye Xiangting instructed.

Once the excitement and pride faded, what followed was worry and reluctance.

Ye Xiangting looked at her daughter with an unprecedented expression.

"On the starship, pet beast battles are prohibited, and offensive skills cannot be trained either..."

The old lady fell silent again for two or three seconds, then seemed to think of something, took out her phone, and dialed a number.

The cousin immediately stiffened, stood up, and said: "I'll go to the restroom first."

It just bared its teeth for a moment...

From the corners of her mouth that couldn't be pulled down, one could tell she was truly happy.

Just as she was speaking, a voice rang out: "Officer Chen!"

Logically, everyone should have been in their dorms, but the students were almost all standing in the hallway, whispering as they looked down at the figures below.

"There are two other exchange students going with you this time, one girl and one boy. They've already arrived. You should know one of them." The woman speaking was at least 1.4 meters tall, with a buzz cut, and a very sturdy build.

The place where the starship was docked.

Honestly, as a rational adult inside and out, she truly had no complaints about grandma.

Tang Yi held Like Ya Bao and ate the dishes.

Waiters streamed back and forth without pause, carrying wine and dishes to the tables.