Chapter 602: NO．184：True Cleverness：I Will Mark Everyone First

NO. 184: True Machine Spirit: I'll mark everyone first.

Human-caused harm…

Zhen Jiling, who was standing on the playground, slightly lowered her phone.

The mock competition is something every class participates in once, but due to limited resources for the practice matches, rotation is required.

Fortunately, the girls have always been swift in their runs, so the few‑minute‑per‑round rotation is efficient, and during this waiting period, the warm‑up routine that keeps the body active and injury‑free is naturally indispensable.

The mutual‑assistance stretching done in pairs also does not last long; in this free‑activity waiting time, she never imagined she would receive news that could be called a "disaster."

She had to admit that telling her roommate about gaining an extra "older brother" was not a whim.

Rather, Zhen Jiling's every word and deed is the result of careful consideration; only thus can she shape flawless loveliness, and even her furrowed‑brow, worried posture evokes pity, prompting classmates to unconsciously ask after her well‑being.

This is something they cannot help with…… Zhen Jiling thought that, and so she would put on a spirited expression and say she had encountered a minor hiccup, thanking everyone for their concern.

Then she walked off by herself toward the edge of the crowd.

She also has her limits; when she is overly focused on pondering some problem, that unconscious seriousness appears less cute, and she does not want others to see it.

Of course, at this moment she has not yet entered that deeply focused state; she can still maintain composure in expression and step, recalling how it all began—two years ago, shortly after she was assigned to the Aimu Zhiji dorm in the high school division.

At that time, she quickly noticed that this roommate, who usually keeps to herself, also had an extremely scarce online social presence.

On the homepage where the invisible function was not enabled, there were only a few scattered updates and posts, and the follow‑list dwindled to single digits.

【umastar】was conspicuously listed.

Naturally, she was well aware that the teacher had many fans, not lacking horse‑girl enthusiasts, and not long ago she even overheard some passing strangers on campus chatting about the word "umastar."

But for her roommate, whose online social life was nearly desiccated, this was obviously noteworthy and worth digging into.

She naturally put to use her advantage of being cute.

Thus she verified that the other's aloofness and solitude could not be sustained forever.

Persistent pestering works, feigning fragility works; Zhen Jiling used this approach to linger and deepen her understanding of her roommate, even discovering that the roommate had a fondness for fluffy, soft things—

——whether facing a plush toy or a blanket pillow, the roommate showed obvious wavering, and even when the senior pipa player occasionally appeared on campus, she would gaze longingly at that seemingly fluffy hairstyle, which made Zhen Jiling worry she might rush up to ruffle the senior's head.

Aside from this hobby, which she hides well in public, the roommate once helped a lost child find their parents, and also urged her to rest early, offering a cold‑faced help to finish her homework quickly.

Referring to the "older sister" mentioned by Aomo was not a passing whim; Zhen Jiling indeed felt that her roommate often behaved like a feigned‑cold but genuinely warm elder.

Combined with the actual age difference, and the roommate's over‑the‑top reaction when called "sister," which piqued her curiosity, she therefore often used that term.

Of course, the other never once acknowledged it, often reacting with annoyance and admonishing her not to shout randomly…… but…… who could resist the teary‑eyed Ka Lian Jiang?

So she still learned of her roommate's past with the teacher, and even when Zhen Jiling first tried to "capture" the aloof roommate, "umastar" was a handy topic.

The conversational material each side possessed could build dialogue, and most importantly, both needed interest in this topic—after the teacher left the online world, it was clearly not only she who would often recall him.

And when hearing that she also did not know the teacher's recent situation, the disappointment and tiny smugness need not be mentioned; the petty temper upon learning that her communication with the teacher involved no "memory deletion" process also needs no elaboration.

But ultimately, the reason she brought up Aomo Lindun to her roommate was not merely the "teacher‑disciple affection" of having been guided by the same person.

In fact she never directly said her brother was umastar; she merely mentioned some things about Aomo Lindun from the angle of "I have gained an older brother," believing that as long as she phrased it that way, Aizhi sister would pay slight attention, yet not become overly preoccupied.

After all…… there is something she is not entirely sure about.

That is whether Aizhi sister will grow close to or distance herself from the umastar teacher.

In past conversations, she often complained that the teacher spouted too many grand principles, resenting the overly preachy tone, and said his words were excessively harsh.

When she brought these up, the other's annoyed expression seemed genuine, often making her sigh——indeed, there are people who cannot tolerate the teacher's way of speaking more than she can.

And compared to those old online stories, the recent strange feeling Aizhi sister gave her has been growing heavier, which is also a crucial point.

Just as JunChuan JiangSheng told Aomo, Zhen Jiling also feels her roommate's training intensity is abnormally high.

On this point, Zhen Jiling's contact frequency with Aimu Zhiji during summer vacation far exceeded that of JunChuan JiangSheng, so she knows the actual state of her training even better.

She will know which training ground she went to again, and will know which mountain she climbed for practice while also stargazing.

Even though there are differences in observational perspective and experience, she shares the same worry as Miss JunChuan.

But this worry stems only from the other's overdrawn training schedule and methods.

Putting it bluntly, the horse‑girl named Aimu Zhiji has always been like this in the past.

She herself drafted the training plan, submitted the debut‑race application herself, and handled all the paperwork herself.

That training knows no day or night, just as the tea‑seat Chazuo loves night‑time running; Aimu Zhiji likewise enjoys galloping under the gaze of the Weaver Star.

It seems as long as she can see those twinkling points of light, she gains endless drive, and this makes Zhen Jiling countless times gaze at the opposite empty bed, often filled with worry.

She can only worry.

She became a person relatively close to Aizhi sister through soft‑hard persistence and relentless pestering, yet she also could not advance further.

Aimu Zhiji remains relatively cold toward Zhen Jiling, and their conversations are mostly initiated by the latter.

She can know Aimu Zhiji's hidden little hobby, and can see Aimu Zhiji's delicate warm side, but that other's true secret, the reason Aimu Zhiji continues to this day to push herself, to squeeze herself……

She knows nothing.

This is obviously not because she lacks interest, but because she can only probe this far.

To go further would risk a sudden turn of events.

She does not want to gamble, so she has maintained this roommate relationship all along.

But the teacher…… no, the older brother……?

Zhen Jiling deeply dislikes his former icy rationality and decisiveness, yet now she needs to rely on that rationality and decisiveness.

She firmly believes that if it were him, he could accomplish what she herself lacks confidence in.

Perhaps it could improve Aizhi sister's condition.

But she never imagined she would receive such news……

Not the originally imagined——Aizhi sister being pressured by some force, becoming ever more extreme——this development, but rather someone tampering……?

Training and stationed locations before and during the summer vacation……

She tapped keys on her phone while organizing place names, thinking about the participant list from the competitions Aimu Zhiji had joined, wanting to pick out suspects from among them……

She could only say that anyone was worth suspecting.

(End of chapter)