Chapter 189: The First Day After Leaving Seclusion

5:30 PM, Ling'an Academy.

Lianyan Building is very lively.

Starting today, Ling'an Academy has fully suspended classes, and some majors have even begun their final assessments. Normally, at this time, the school cafeteria would have fewer people than usual, while the Commercial Street inside and outside the school would be livelier than usual.

However, the cafeteria is free today and tomorrow.

The deliciousness of the Golden Fin Fish has been certified by the current Emperor, and the cafeteria has developed many ways to prepare it, including all sorts of strange and exotic methods; some preparations are so good that you can't even taste that it's fish. Except for the few people who truly cannot eat fish at all, even those who don't like fish will come to have a taste.

Chen Shu walked around and ordered a portion of fried fish, a portion of steamed fish, and a portion of fish ball stewed with tofu, while Qingqing ordered chopped chili fish and pickled cabbage fish.

Chen Shu said she was completely unoriginal.

The little girl ordered fries with fried fish, plus ketchup.

But Chen Shu did not lecture her.

Qingqing was not very satisfied with this.

Sitting at the table, this person commented while eating: "Your Lianyan Building cafeteria really has a bit of a problem; for such good fish, the fish balls served aren't even as good as the ones made by the Military Academy next door..."

Ning Qing did not want to pay attention to him.

This person lowered his head and ate two bites, and after being quiet for just half a minute, he reached his chopsticks toward her tray again: "Let me taste yours..."

Ning Qing stopped her chopsticks to make it easy for him to pick up.

Immediately, he spoke in the tone of a food critic: "Your school cafeteria cooks too conservatively; it's neither sour nor spicy, don't you think?"

This time, even though Ning Qing was dissatisfied with him, she had to speak up:

"You cook it next time."

"Actually, I have a better way to make it." This person suddenly got excited, "Slice the meat into thin slices; this fish has no bones, so it's very suitable for slicing. Then, use the fish bones plus pork bones and chicken to boil a pot of soup, add good green Sichuan peppercorns, green and red chili segments, and a little tomato and lettuce stalks and cucumber slices for garnish to make a pot of soup that is both fresh and spicy, then put the fish meat in to blanch; it would be wonderful."

"Both fresh and spicy..."

"What's wrong?"

"Show me next time..."

"Sure."

"Aren't you afraid of failing?"

"Failing? How is that possible? At most, it's a question of whether it can reach the flavor I expect... but no matter what, it'll be better than what the cafeteria makes!"

"Show-off!"

Ning Qing rolled her eyes and lowered her head to continue eating.

Since the little girl hadn't ordered rice, she finished eating quickly; she put down her chopsticks, looked at her sister, then looked at her brother-in-law: "I'm done."

After saying that, she got up to return her tray.

When she came back, she grabbed her sister's meal card: "I'm taking food back for Taozi to eat."

Then she left on her own.

Ning Qing:...

Chen Shu:...

Ten minutes later.

The two of them also finished their meal, walking shoulder to shoulder to the Sports Field, strolling slowly along the track. The sunset on the horizon was beautiful, wild geese were flying in rows, and on the ground, a female teacher was running after her dog that had broken free from its leash; Ning Qing asked him about joining the Spirit Sect.

Until 6:30 PM, the two separated; Chen Shu returned to school, while Ning Qing headed to the exam hall, as she had an exam for "Moral Cultivation" that night.

Universities in Yiguo place great importance on the course "Moral Cultivation," which emphasizes how Cultivators who have mastered greater power should restrain themselves. Ning Qing's personal morality and sense of right and wrong differ slightly from most people, but this does not prevent her from filling in the correct answers on the test paper. Because these questions are phrased as "The correct action is," rather than "What would you do" or "How should we."

Nine o'clock.

Girls' Dormitory.

Zhang Suannai looked at the little girl on the sofa focusing on the TV and Taozi crawling all over the back of the sofa, and suddenly felt a moving sensation that made her want to cry—

After a month, there was finally life in the Dormitory again!

The days of "empty-nest Suannai" were truly hard to endure.

Zhang Suannai leaned toward Taozi, but Taozi stared at her vigilantly; she sat down next to the little girl, but the little girl didn't even look at her... This was exactly the scene she had missed every moment during the previous month.

Just at this moment, a sound came from the front door.

"Beep beep..."

Then the door was pushed open.

Zhang Suannai immediately went to the hallway entrance, looked at the tall figure walking in, her face blooming with a smile, and greeted her enthusiastically:

"You're back!"

"Mm."

"Have the matters at home been taken care of?"

"..."

"Why aren't you speaking?"

"Good evening."

"Oh my!" Zhang Suannai was taken by Surprise, then her smile became even brighter, "Good evening!"

"..."

"How did the exam go?"

"It's okay."

"Did you come back specifically for the exam? Or are the matters at home not finished yet?"

"..."

"Forget it if you don't want to talk."

Zhang Suannai quietly sized up her expression, feeling that this roommate likely had some unspeakable secret, and that it was best for her not to ask for the time being; she would wait until the roommate couldn't hold on anymore, then jump out with her identity as a Personal Disciple of the Sword Sect's Sword Master to help her settle things, move her to tears, and from then on turn her cold face toward her into a warm one, making her as considerate to her as she was to that silly vegetable, even peeling shrimp for her to eat...

Thinking of this, she subconsciously curled the corners of her mouth, wanting to laugh, but a blank stare from her roommate made her hold the smile back in.

"Uh..."

Zhang Suannai hesitated for a few seconds and asked, "Then when are you going back to Yuanzhou?"

"After the exams."

"So urgent?"

"Mm."

"How are you going to spend your summer vacation?"

"I don't know."

"You don't have any plans?"

"No."

"Then how did you spend your previous summer vacations?"

"..."

"Alright, alright..."

Zhang Suannai quietly sized up her roommate's expression and asked cautiously, "How about I come to Bai City to visit you guys?"

"Why?"

"Going back to the sect is too boring. You haven't been to that place; it's desolate and remote, not even an eagle can fly over it," Zhang Suannai said honestly. "The people in the sect do nothing but fight or play mahjong all day long, and I hate playing mahjong the most... I heard the scenery in Yuanzhou is nice, and I've wanted to go for a long time."

"..." Ning Qing glanced at her and pursed her lips, "I don't guarantee I'll accompany you every day."

"Are you that busy?"

"..."

"Alright, alright, then you have to come out to see me, right?"

"I can."

"Great! It's a deal!"

Zhang Suannai wore an excited expression and pressed further, "When do you finish your exams? When are you going back?"

"The third, after the exams."

"When are you going back?"

"I don't know."

"Hm?"

"I'm going to wash up."

Ning Qing walked straight into the bathroom.

Zhang Suannai stood where she was, blinked, and then glanced at the little girl sitting on the sofa reading a book.

As if sensing her gaze, the little girl tilted her head just a tiny bit, but her pupils shifted to the far right, giving her a quick glance before hurriedly pulling her gaze back to continue focusing on the television.

"Xiaoxiao?"

Zhang Suannai smiled brightly and sat down beside her again: "When are you guys going back to Yuanzhou?"

The little girl shifted to the side a bit, still staring at the scene of the Sword King and Sword Master fighting in the television, eyes fixed straight ahead:

"I don't know."

"Hm?"

"Why don't you know?"

"Because I don't know."

"Oh, I see." Zhang Suannai scratched her head, thought for a moment, "Then how do you determine when to go back?"

"Brother-in-law decides."

"Oh..."

Zhang Suannai dragged out the long tail of her voice.

The little girl glanced at her and continued watching the television.

Zhang Suannai still wanted to chat with her, but the little girl didn't really want to pay attention to her anymore. Zhang Suannai scratched her head, and just as she was feeling frustrated, her gaze darted to the side, and she set her target on Taozi, running over to Taozi's side to chatter away.

A door-opening sound came from nearby.

Ning Qing came out.

Zhang Suannai blinked her eyes, staring at Ning Qing, while simultaneously noticing that the little girl beside her was acting strangely, which made her feel a bit puzzled.

Immediately after, she watched with her own eyes as Ning Qing strode over, pinned the little girl down, and gave her a beating; the little girl kept her lips tightly pursed, not making a sound. By the time she reacted, Ning Qing had already walked toward the bedroom, and the little girl had sat up straight, continuing to watch the television.

???

Zhang Suannai's expression was blank.

It seemed like something had just happened, yet it also seemed like nothing had happened at all.

"Clang."

Ning Qing entered the bedroom.

The room was still as it had been before; because the doors and windows were closed tightly, there wasn't much dust. She opened the balcony door to let in some air, then returned to the room, lay on the bed, and took out that small Recording Device.

This Recording Device used Spirit Power for energy, and its battery life depended on the quality of the Spirit Crystal. She replaced it with a Natural Spirit Crystal, which could allow it to work continuously for over half a year.

She connected the earphones.

First, she found April 28th.

Ning Qing closed her eyes and opened them again, then immediately skipped the time to the evening and listened intently.

"Snap."

The bedroom light went out.

At first, there was a series of static in her ears, occasionally hearing a few bird calls, neighbors in the residential complex discussing the roses she planted outside the wall, and Taozi's cat meowing; after ten minutes or so, she finally heard the sound of Chen Shu chasing Xiaoxiao into the kitchen.

Ning Qing's expression was serene.

The singing began.

In the darkness, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Immediately after...

The smile froze.

Ning Qing gripped the Recording Device tightly, and after a few seconds, she smiled again, made a mark here, and continued to move the timeline to the next instance.

"Bang bang!"

A knocking sound came from the doorway.

Then came Zhang Suannai's voice: "Qingqing! I ordered a late-night snack, do you want to come out and eat?"

Ning Qing:...

She pretended not to hear.

After listening to all the songs, she carefully perceived them, confirmed there were no omissions, and only then began today's cultivation.

It was already midnight when she finished, but having spent time in a confined space recently had somewhat awakened her Night Person genes; in short, she wasn't sleepy, so she curled up in her quilt, took out her Mobile Phone, opened WeChat, and looked at the chat history between Chen Shu and her.

She started reading from the beginning.

She had already read through it once this afternoon and had already gained an appreciation for that idiot's stupidity.

But reading it again didn't seem to get old.

This time she still read very slowly; based on her understanding of Chen Shu, she could even imagine the expression on Chen Shu's face when he was messaging himself using two Mobile Phones.

It must be very idiotic...

Time slipped away unconsciously.

Until the Mobile Phone suddenly started vibrating.

"Ring-a-ling~~"

The harsh ringtone echoed in the room.

Ning Qing's expression was calm.

The Mobile Phone screen had switched to the alarm interface, and a line of text was displayed on it—

"Hahahaha!"

The time was exactly four o'clock in the morning.

"..."

Ning Qing silently turned off the alarm, then opened the alarm clock interface, turned off the two alarms for four-thirty and five o'clock as well, then covered herself with the quilt and closed her eyes.