Chapter 273: NO．35：Qianming also didn't sleep

NO．35：Qianming also didn't sleep

"You heard it too, that's what she said."

When that presence was neither the Ludaofu Symbol, nor the Emperor, nor the President, after restoring the Emperor's etiquette and bidding farewell to Aomo, Aomo also turned his head to look at Zhouri Ningjing, who had emerged from the screen.

Fortunately, the one interacting with her was Aomo; otherwise, someone else might not have been able to tolerate her such distinctive way of appearing.

It's easy to startle people by popping out of the screen; when asked about the motive, one can only conclude that 'this way makes traveling fast.'

Truly making good use of the spirit‑body trait—Aomo couldn't help applauding.

Of course, that was back when we were still at the office.

As long as there were nearby devices with seamless internet, she was too lazy to even walk up a floor, and when going out, everyone carried mobile terminals or similar contact gear, making her even lazier.

"Isn't this pretty much what I said at the beginning?"

Zhouri Ningjing's face showed utter disdain for 'useless information'; after popping out of the screen she leaned back onto the bench, then turned and rifled through Aomo's briefcase.

Within a few seconds she pulled out two bottled waters, then turned back into black mist and dove into the screen.

But that obviously doesn't mean the topic is over, for on the screen she passed through, audible text remained:

"And surely it's not the case that you just listen whenever she speaks?"

From Morrison's astonished glance nearby, this kind of trick is something he couldn't do.

"I have indeed considered whether to lie low for a while."

"?"

The field on the screen turned into a question mark; clearly she was still delivering bottled water to Chazuo and Bourbon, yet it seemed as if they were constantly interacting.

"My warnings don't work, but Ludaofu's warnings can make you behave?"

"After all, you've never dropped your Zhouri Ningjing identity to say something to me." Aomo said calmly, raising his hand to draw Bourbon's line on the light screen.

He typed "Not bad at running," clicked send, and saw the other party far away pull out a phone to glance at it, then look over here.

Although the phone still had an 'artificial cracked‑screen skin,' it didn't hinder reading the message.

After waving at her, Aomo again asked the light screen, "Did you hear that?"

"How did her change in tone and form of address constitute advice given from what stance and sincerity?"

Aomo turned his head, gazing toward the distance where the Ludaofu Symbol was departing.

That was the exit of the training field, also the direction of the student council. She said she was out for a stroll to clear her mind, but it didn't seem to have worked, and she still had to hurry back to the Emperor's throne.

Having just seen her, then seeing her strike a pose of president and Triple Crown horse to say farewell, one feels that her imperial attire is far more strained than imagined.

Even so, her ability to break free of the Ludaofu Symbol and also of the Emperor's title counts as a victory over many who can't take off their masks.

And there are still those who can't put down their airs:

"Fine, then are you going to withdraw? That's fine too—anyway, thinking back to the start, I never expected you to do anything; it'd be best if you just stayed honest!"

Her voice file wasn't just a voice file; her whole person popped out of the light screen again, greatly invading Morrison's personal space.

Aomo began to consider whether to report some training class to his foster father… after all, even the Digimon world has subtle training programs, let alone the data‑usage profession of cyber‑hackers.

The latter's teaching system is fairly standardized.

"Don't rush to decide for me," Aomo replied, as Zhouri Ningjing sat down on one side of the bench and crossed her legs; he also rested his hand on the light screen and moved it, saying, "Doing so would only reveal your timidity."

"Timid? Who? Me? Are you saying I'm timid?"

Even the ingrained Amibei‑area phrases got mixed in……

A plain utterance outweighs the fiercest verbal provocation; Zhouri Ningjing is clearly no longer tranquil, or perhaps she was never a serene person, giving Aomo reason to suspect that the otherworldly horse‑spirit she bears was, in life, a fiery steed.

At that moment the fiery steed kicked the ground with its hooves, impatient, snorting loudly, baring its teeth.

But that's a horse; in the girl's form she merely stood up, biting her lip, with dark‑gold eyes flowing with lava‑like fervent light.

Yet such a fierce reaction is hardly anything less than an answer that surpasses words.

"Hey, you need to calm down." Aomo said in Amibei‑area speech.

At the same time he leaned back slightly, his fingers making a silent motion.

If he doesn't use the card's power, he can hardly rein in this black Sunday; but if he does, the nature of this conflict should rise to an entirely new level.

For that, perhaps he should seek help from Chazuo.

"I'm very calm!" Zhouri Ningjing squeezed out through clenched teeth, a statement that contrasted sharply with her heaving chest and swaying hair.

This also made Aomo sigh.

"Trampling your good intentions is my fault, but regarding courage, you ought to examine your own state."

"'Friend'?"

Chazuo's greeting seemed like a stroke of genius, but in fact someone merely adjusted the fixed position of the terminal light screen and blindly typed out a string of text to send.

"……Is there some contradiction?"

"Some." She leaned back, as if shedding all her strength onto the bench that Aomo had long ago dried of moisture.

She knew Chazuo wasn't truly concerned about this matter; Chazuo didn't even know about it, and was only more worried about himself.

But she wouldn't lie to Chazuo.

Thus the well‑behaved, somewhat clumsy little girl turned to Aomo: "Trainer?"

"I'm just trying to apologize," Aomo said calmly, "but perhaps Miss Zhouri Ningjing needs your company more; please allow me to come back later to apologize."

He said that, and indeed picked up the briefcase at his side, then turned and walked toward the distant Meipu Bourbon, which was still undergoing status adjustments.

By the way, he also reset the light screen's position to the curved‑mode on one side of the front view, then moved it to bring up Qianming's line:

【Sorry to bother, got time? Want to ask a few questions, about the Symbol family】

The message was sent over, but no reply came—yet this was within Aomo's expectations, for the lady's recent dynamic pictures are indeed genuine forests, rivers, and even campsites.

It doesn't even look like a place that would have a signal.

But within the solar system, there's basically nowhere that network can't reach, unless it's an alien realm or space with an outright 'wall' in inter‑city or domain networks.

fine.

No specific names.

ellipsis is fine.

None.

fine.

None.

fine.

is purely a note about translation, no Chinese sentence to translate. So we skip.

But also note: The glossary includes tea seating, Sunday tranquility, competition arena, etc. So we will translate those as given.

fine.

No names.

fine.

Again beside the wave.

Aomo knows exactly how to handle people who are overly focused; it's basically the same as some of his classmates from his senior year of high school.

Names:... skip.

For someone driven by an intangible sense of urgency and who moves forward from the heart, the only thing that can make them pause temporarily is preparing to move forward more quickly.

No names.

Using emotion itself as persuasion isn't impossible, but Aomo thinks she needs her roommate Xianohua or her two friends Mi Yu and Yuzao Shizi to come along for it to work.

Names:... skip.

Eighty percent of Aomo's interactions with Bopan happen on the track; outside of that, during their free time, Aomo isn't idle either, and Bopan will even give herself extra practice.

Names:... skip.

Their daily interactions are few; at most, they occur at the dinner table.

No names.

Even the communication between Bopan's family and Aomo is more frequent than that between Aomo and Bopan—

Names:... skip.

—since Bopan doesn't go home for summer vacation, her family also reaches out to Aomo out of concern and to confirm contact—

Names:... skip.

Then Bopan's father reached a high degree of agreement with Aomo on various opinions.

Names:... skip.

Aomo herself thinks it's fine, but the other party seems to regret not having met sooner.

Names:... skip.

Especially regarding the issue of "changing how Bopan speaks and thinks," that forty-year-old retired trainer, when recounting the past—sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, and complaining—really embodies the stereotypical nagging mother.

Names:... skip.

It's also because Bopan isn't there listening; otherwise she'd be in that sorry state too.

Names:... skip.

However, Bopan's mother listening found it truly pathetic; she soon drove her husband away and began asking Aomo about electrical matters—this too was part of reaching an agreement.

Names:... skip.

Regarding matters related to Bopan, both sides are eating the same humble pie, and that's how their relationship has grown closer.

Names:... skip.

By comparison, contact with Chazuo's family is much more normal; they ask Aomo to look after Chazuo and such, due to the concern about a daughter living with an unmarried young man, and they subtly mention the existence of friends around Chazuo.

Names:... skip.

It's surprising that they mention "friends" instead of Zhouri Ningjing; we'll set aside the subtlety of that for now, but Ailisuzhi is quite the heavyweight.

Names:... skip.

—her family has never been in contact at all.

No new names.

It seems taken for granted that the daughter doesn't come home for summer vacation; adding a trainer isn't surprising either, and there isn't even a greeting.

No names.

Aomo could only type a "6".

Names: skip.

Under extreme laissez-faire, the only thing stopping Aomo from thinking her family doesn't care about her is the occasional interstellar delivery bearing the insignia of the Ai Li family.

Names: skip.

But we also have Ailisuzhi as a person's name, which we must keep as Ailisuzhi per glossary. So we need to differentiate.

Note: "Thus for line 85:..." skip.

But we also have Aomo which we translate as Aomo.

Note: "Thus line 85:..." skip.

Now continue.

But that's going too far off topic.

No names.

What needs to be considered now isn't the families of the horse girls, but rather a certain horse girl is worried about her:

No names.

Master, do you need sweets? I have preparations for that.

No names (master is English, keep as is).

When a conflict faintly erupted, she ran to Chazuo to stop it and naturally saw it as well.

Names: skip.

"The happiness from sweets isn't omnipotent; I just have a slight headache," Aomo said helplessly.

Names: skip.

Zhouri Ningjing and the Symbol family indeed have some connection, which can make her hesitant to plan long-term, and the family's dark side is even more severe than she expected.

Names: skip.

As for now, it's also unknown whether Zhouri Ningjing can still be useful; since he doesn't plan to just lie low, he naturally ends up with a headache.

Names: skip.

We're a bit short on cards in hand, so we need to actively seek out more.

No names.

In other words, do we have to get busy again?

No names.

Request permission to apologize.

No names.

「？」

No names.

He was still thinking about the problem when Bopan's sudden remark made him give her a doubtful look.

Names: skip.

"I haven't considered the role of sweets in happiness; it's just my physique—no, I analyzed the current situation and the only option is sweets; sorry, I've only learned how to make sweets."

No names.

"……" Aomo stared in disbelief at the girl sincerely apologizing, then became speechless, raised her hand and lightly patted her head, saying, "Lift your head up, Bopan, you really don't need to apologize."

Names: skip.

She doesn't necessarily want you to eat sweets; she just knows how to make sweets and can only think of this method to encourage you.

No names.

Even considering that she might break the kitchen appliances, the process of making sweets would also be more convoluted.

No names.

So…

No names.

Looking at her raised head, still devoid of emotional fluctuation, Aomo also just gave a helpless smile.

Names: skip.

"My worries stem from the current busyness; if your training goes smoothly, that would be the greatest help."

No names.

"However, according to Zhouri Ningjing's reported sprint data, there's some unease about running precision," the cyber horse girl said with a blank expression.

Names: skip.

And the trainer did not comfort her.

No names.

"Then let's just do as before, using 'effort' to cover the past."

No names.

"Your father should have said something like, 'Endurance can be made up for with effort,' right?"

No names.

"……Yes, please feel free to give orders, master. Effort should be able to overcome any difficulty."

No names (master).

"The prerequisite is to find the right direction," Aomo raised her index finger and waved it, "so there's no need to rush; later the slope training will build cardiorespiratory strength—first, take a rest."

Names: skip.

Qianming representative: 【Empty? The sky is everywhere, oh, where do you want to fly to?】

Names: skip.

Suddenly the bright light screen fed back someone's response; before, the empress young lady had gone on at length without producing any boring pun jokes, and it's truly unexpected that they'd appear here.

Note: skip.

Indeed, Aomo couldn't laugh, so she also dragged her index finger across the screen.

Names: skip.

【Is there a time difference?】

No names.

Qianming representative: 【It should be coming soon, right?】

Names: skip.

【Then let's head toward the night】

No names.

Qianming representative: 【Wow, will we get lost? Relying only on the moon won't do.】

Names: skip.

【Sunday night is very lively, not lacking in lights】

Names: skip.

Qianming representative: 【Huh? What do you want to do?】

Names: skip.

Night outing? Boldly and presumptuously inviting

Qianming representative: 【Very bold! I am a top-quality horse girl who hasn't privately contacted fans up to now】

【The location is the border of the Boundary Gate District's exotic frontier, surely not lacking in fun】

Qianming representative: 【If you say that, then our story begins!】

Qianming representative: 【Right, can I bring a friend?】

""

【Up to you to decide】