CHAPTER 288: CHAPTER 288: I BELIEVE YOU

After seeing off the heroic spirits, the cafeteria quieted down for a while before bustling again. At this point, many people started gossiping:

"Hey, did you see it? It wasn’t just my eyes playing tricks, right? Did I see our school’s students in the team?"

"You’re not alone."

"Your eyes didn’t deceive you! I saw it too!"

"It’s those first-year kids!"

"Shen Changqing, Chu Jiaojiao, Yue Qiguang, those ones!"

"Damn! These little brats are too lucky, right? To actually meet Admiral Bai Ji!"

"What kind of dog’s luck is this?"

"It’s said that these little brats have already come back, we can’t let it slide, got to find a chance to beat them up!"

"Count me in!"

"You must count me in."

"Me me me..."

...

Hearing this, Ji You threw down her tray, silently turned around, and strode away. Fortunately, she wasn’t too famous among the first-year students, nor was she an eye-catching figure like Shen Changqing, Chu Jiaojiao, or Yue Qiguang.

She figured no one would bother her.

Ji You walked out of the cafeteria very calmly, not attracting anyone’s attention on the way.

Suddenly—

A faint voice came from behind: "Number 4444, you, lost in the big crowd, are really hard to spot. If Xuzhou hadn’t pointed you out to me, I would have thought you weren’t there."

Ji You: "..."

She turned her head and saw it was Zhang Ye, standing next to Xuzhou.

Ji You couldn’t help saying: "Even if I’m short, you can’t ignore the fact that I’m stronger than you! At least I was there, but you—"

Zhang Ye: "..."

Zhang Ye clutched his chest and said: "Enough, stop with the heart-piercing words, can’t you let me have a moment’s satisfaction?"

Ji You: "No."

Zhang Ye cursed: "Stingy."

After speaking, he pulled Xuzhou beside him and said: "Let’s go, Little Zhouzhou."

Ji You glanced at Zhang Ye askance, then looked at Xuzhou, her expression immediately softened, squeezing out a smile, she said: "Little Zhouzhou, see you in class."

Xuzhou stayed silent.

Here, Ji You met up with Sheng Qingyan and hitched a ride, heading straight to the Combat Department’s training room.

All afternoon, all the students were holding their breath, training hard.

After class, Ji You suddenly received a message from Senior Shi Ya. Ji You had set a special ringtone for her: "Immortal senior has sent you a message, open it up! Open it up!"

Ji You’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately opened it, only to see a short line of text: [Thanks for the invite, out and unable to contact.]

Hmm~

Although it was just a few words, Ji You was still ecstatic to receive a reply from Senior Shi Ya. At the very least, it showed that the senior was willing to pay attention to her.

Ji You originally intended to type just a few words in response, but as she wrote, she couldn’t help but ramble on: [Senior, senior, senior, I have to tell you, I met a VIP on my trip this time. Guess who it is? You’ll never guess, so let me tell you—it was Admiral Bai Ji! Oh my goodness, I discovered for the first time just how young Admiral Bai Ji looks. He seems to be only a few years older than us, and he doesn’t look serious at all. He even dared to pat my head and said I was short... Ahhh... I’m really upset!! I would have never imagined, him, an admiral, to be so informal! But that’s no excuse for him to mock my height! Hmph! I’ve decided, I’m going to defeat him! Let him see what I’m capable of...]

Blah blah blah—a long message was typed out. Seeing she had sent so much and accidentally revealed her high ambitions to Senior Shi Ya, Ji You felt a bit embarrassed and shy. She thought about deleting part of it but accidentally sent the message with a slip of the hand.

Ji You: "!!!"

That’s the end.

Senior Shi Ya would probably think she’s too talkative after seeing this.

Definitely.

Ji You paced anxiously, about to recall the message, when suddenly, she heard a notification sound. It was a reply from Senior Shi Ya: [I believe you.]

Huh?

Ji You widened her eyes and, feeling a bit embarrassed, couldn’t help but ask: [Senior, what do you believe me about?]

Senior Shi Ya: [I believe you can defeat him.]

Seeing the message, Ji You was already so happy she was beside herself.

It turns out—

Senior Shi Ya has so much faith in her.

Unexpectedly, a new sense of ambition surged in Ji You’s heart: Since Senior Shi Ya believes in her, Xiao You believes in herself, she believes in herself, then—she will definitely be able to do it.

Ji You happily replied to the message and casually asked: [Senior, when will you be returning to school? Can you tell me the exact day?]

Far away on a planet, inside a sealed laboratory, Shi Ya looked at Ji You’s message with an unnoticeable gentleness on her face, and her smile continued to rise, though she was oblivious to it herself.

At that moment, Shi Ya was slightly startled and couldn’t help thinking, did she talk too much to her today? To the point that she found it hard to cut off the conversation.

Silence.

After about five minutes, Shi Ya revised her message and eventually kept it to two words: [Unknown.]

Ji You saw this and was somewhat disappointed, so she could only reply: [Okay, when you have a confirmed time, be sure to tell me. I’ll treat you to a meal then. Let me tell you, I have a special friend. Its name is Mengmeng, the mascot of the hot pot restaurant on the commercial street. It’s super cute. I’ll introduce you when you’re back, and the food there is also very delicious. Of course, I think that the braised pork rice is the best!]

Lastly, Ji You didn’t forget to add a flattering remark naturally.

After a while.

Shi Ya replied with a single word: [Okay.]

Ji You thought for a bit and hurriedly said: [Senior, I won’t disturb you anymore. I missed several classes from the Material Department during the special training, and I need to catch up fast, or that nitpicky professor might fail me, which would be disastrous...]

After sending the message, Ji You waited and waited but never received a reply from Senior Shi Ya. She thought that the senior must be too busy to reply to her.

Then.

Ji You immediately spent points to download the lectures of Professor Ye Hong and planned to catch up on all the missed classes.

She had just sat down for a short while, maybe around fifteen minutes, when she suddenly received a notification. It was a message from Senior Shi Ya: [Okay.]

A brilliant smile instantly blossomed on Ji You’s face.

As expected—

Senior Shi Ya may seem aloof on the surface, but inside she’s such a gentle person.

On the other end, as Shi Ya looked at the word ’Okay,’ she couldn’t help but clench her fingers tightly.

—She had no intention of replying, but the thought of her waiting on the other side just made her unable to resist, didn’t it?