Chapter 131

Chapter 2: Let’s Order Food First

　　On the beach of Tianhai City, the barbecue grill sizzled, and a pot of shrimp drunken in wine simmered over an open flame.

　　”Xiaoling, you really brought White Miss home to meet the family?”

　　”Of course! Not only the family, but also my uncle, second uncle, third and fourth uncles, and all my cousins—both male and female. Everyone who should’ve been met was met.”

　　”Really? That’s impressive!”

　　Roommates Gu Hui and Qiao Lili were amazed by Yuan Xiaoling’s summer vacation homecoming experience, mainly because it seemed so swift.

　　Thinking back, this blonde-haired beauty roommate had suddenly gotten a girlfriend just about a month before the end of the vacation.

　　Also, her transformation from a pure and graceful young beauty into a voluptuous blonde beauty occurred in the last month before the break ended… Maybe that’s what happens when you get involved in action-packed adventures.

　　”I’ll tell you, at first, all those relatives in my family—cousins, uncles, paternal uncles, maternal uncles—they had ideas about me until they saw Bai Ling, then they felt ashamed of themselves.”

　　Bai Ling, who was roasting skewers nearby, rolled her eyes and thought, “What does this have to do with me? It’s clearly because you scared them when you went to the Yuan family forest.”

　　”Xiaoling, you’re just boasting, making it sound real,” said Qiao Lili.

　　Of course, roommates didn’t believe it, thinking how could relatives even have such thoughts?

　　”Speaking of which, when you brought Bai Miss home,” asked Gu Hui, “what was the parents’ reaction?”

　　”What else? My dad was super happy, and my grandpa even gave her a jade bracelet from the Yuan family,” Yuan Xiaoling said proudly. “It’s already set in stone.”

　　”Wow, your family is so progressive.”

　　”No wonder. When I came back, Bai Ling seemed to become more virtuous. Now I know why.”

　　Bai Ling: “…”

　　For some reason, she felt like this scene was familiar, as if it happened not long ago.

　　Yes, Bai Ling remembered—it was when she went to the bar in Tianhai City to find Luo Zou Cheng and the others; the conversation flowed similarly. And being good friends in the same dormitory, Gu Hui and Qiao Lili liked to joke around more.

　　So, the white-haired maiden couldn’t sit still anymore.

　　”I’ll check if the juice is ready.”

　　Saying that, she got up and walked to the other side.

　　”Always thinking about your juice,” came Yuan Xiaoling’s voice from behind. “You can’t wait for people to know you’re the Juice Princess!”

　　”Oh no, Xiaoling, you say things that are… embarrassing.”

　　”Meeting the family really makes a difference, huh?”

　　”…”

　　The white-haired girl walked faster.

　　After Bai Ling left, the three girls giggled for a while, then suddenly became serious as if they had telepathy.

　　”Xiaoling, we have a surprise to tell you—no… actually two,” Qiao Lili said mysteriously. “Do you know how I helped you find out information?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling took a bite of grilled squid and blinked. “What ability did you awaken?”

　　”Hmm, you wouldn’t guess, I awakened… uh…” Qiao Lili paused. “How did you know I awakened an ability?”

　　”Why else?” Yuan Xiaoling matter-of-factly replied. “You kept saying no one else could do it, telling me there’s a surprise, laying the groundwork several times—it wasn’t hard to guess.”

　　And the system once told her that people close to spiritual energy manipulators have a higher chance of awakening abilities.

　　Qiao Lili pouted disappointedly. “If I knew you were this smart, I wouldn’t have held back. My awakened ability relates to a kind of electrical signal that connects my thoughts with online information, achieving a Quantum Fluctuation Speed Reading effect.”

　　Yuan Xiaoling thought for a moment; this should be a fringe branch of the elemental Foundation Stone’s Lightning type.

　　At first glance, it might seem useless, but in practice, it seemed quite useful.

　　”And you,” she looked at the other roommate, “Gu Hui, what ability did you awaken?”

　　”My ability… I’m not entirely sure, but I think I can hear a bit of others’ thoughts. Of course, currently, only shallow ones, those not well hidden.”

　　Gu Hui hesitated and said, “For example, I just heard Bai Ling’s thoughts: ‘How dare you talk about these things in public, too arrogant. I’ll deal with you properly when we get back.'”

　　Yuan Xiaoling’s lips twitched as she glanced at the gleeful Qiao Lili. “This is better discussed privately, cough cough…”

　　There’s nothing you can do—rain will fall, Bai Ling will dominate, anyway arrogance is arrogance. Might as well think of a plan tonight, drag it out for a couple of days, until the Weekly Task refreshes.

　　That way, at least it won’t be a loss.

　　Thinking carefully, the awakened abilities of the two roommates fit their personal styles quite well.

　　Qiao Lili loves surfing the net, always holding her B mobile phone and playing around; her ability lets her enjoy it even more.

　　Gu Hui has high emotional intelligence, now it’s even higher.

　　”So, it seems each person’s awakened ability is somewhat related to their own characteristics,” Yuan Xiaoling murmured.

　　”Then what about you, Xiaoling?” Qiao Lili curiously asked. “What’s your ability?”

　　Although the blonde-haired maiden never mentioned having an ability, she seemed mysterious to her roommates, as if she knew everything, so she must have awakened long ago.

　　”My ability is controlling water elements,” Yuan Xiaoling said frankly. “And it’s very strong.”

　　There’s no need to hide this; all spiritual energy manipulators in Tianhai City know the power of the Water Goddess.

　　”I see, that makes sense,” Qiao Lili recalled something and nodded knowingly. “Once, you dried three blankets in one day, was that due to losing control of your ability?”

　　”Lily, you forgot,” Gu Hui whispered, reminding her, “that was after Bai Ling visited.”

　　It was Bai Ling’s doing, not related to the ability.

　　”…” Yuan Xiaoling sat there stiffly, speechless.

　　Qiao Lili realized she said something wrong and quickly changed the topic: “By the way, Xiaoling, what did you say earlier about everyone’s awakened ability being related to their personal characteristics?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling: “…”

　　Honestly, it would’ve been better not to change topics.

　　In the end, Gu Hui couldn’t bear it anymore and spoke up: “Xiaoling, isn’t Bai Ling also a Spiritual Energy Manipulator? What’s her ability?”

　　At this, Xiaoling had plenty to say.

　　”That goes without saying, but Bai Ling’s ability… this cannot be told to you yet—not just you, anyone else either.”

　　She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Anyone who asks dies!”

　　The two roommates were stunned.

　　Gu Hui: “So Bai Ling is that mysterious, huh.”

　　Yuan Xiaoling: “Exactly, and she’s incredibly powerful.”

　　Qiao Lili: “If she plans to deal with you tonight, are you okay?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling: “Let’s not mention that for now…”

　　On the other side of the beach, using the excuse of juicing, Bai Ling took the opportunity to sit quietly alone, enjoying the sea breeze.

　　Chatting with relatives and friends about family matters was still too unfamiliar, especially when it was about herself.

　　Why couldn’t it be the other way around—why couldn’t Bai Ling chat with her relatives about Xiaoling? If that were the case, she’d have a lot to say—from Xiaoling’s 108 True Words of Debt to the Overconfident Tidal Waves Thirteen Styles, talking for three days and nights wouldn’t finish.

　　But the question was, where were her relatives and friends?

　　Bai Ling picked up a freshly squeezed pineapple juice and sighed silently.

　　Buzz buzz buzz, buzz buzz buzz, her mobile phone rang. She wondered who would send her a message for no reason.

　　Thus, she picked it up and saw—

　　[Xin Lan: Miss Bai, I’ve returned. The last time we parted, I didn’t get a chance to complete your task, for which I sincerely apologize. How are you all doing now?]

　　Uh, who are you?

　　Before Bai Ling could reply with these words, the other person sent another message.

　　[Xin Lan: By the way, how is Yi Jie doing, my previous companion? I tried contacting her later but couldn’t reach her.]

　　Xin Lan? Yi Jie? Oh, Bai Ling suddenly remembered.

　　Weren’t these her “relatives and friends” from her past life—the ones who stabbed her in the back?

　　When they last met in Tianhai City, she gave them an “evaluation task”—to investigate the intelligence of the Hai Tian Yi Se Chamber of Commerce. But after some time passed, one defected, and the other ran away.

　　She personally strangled the one who defected in a mountain tea pavilion. As for the one who ran away… Bai Ling had been curious about why someone disappeared so inexplicably.

　　Now sending a message, she hadn’t remembered for a moment.

　　[Bai Ling: As for her whereabouts, I don’t know either. Both of you left without a word, leaving me clueless.]

　　Directly pretending to be ignorant and passing the moral pressure back to the other party—a trick learned from Xiaoling.

　　[Xin Lan: Sorry… At that time, I, indeed, had some urgent family matters.]

　　Bai Ling curled her lips.

　　Wow, even Xin Lan, such a scheming woman, couldn’t withstand this move—it was truly effective.

　　[Bai Ling: What’s the urgent matter with your family? Tell me.]

　　Yuan Xiaoling taught her—if you have an advantage, chase it relentlessly, emphasizing audacity.

　　[Xin Lan: This… um, there are many things, and it involves him… I’m really sorry, I was too eager to go back.]

　　The reply came slowly, clearly thought out for a long time.

　　But, him?

　　To anyone else, it wouldn’t raise suspicion—after all, which young girl doesn’t dream of love? However, Bai Ling knew this two-faced traitor liked one of the future leaders of the Yun family.

　　Since she ran back then, now returning to Tianhai City, it definitely wasn’t her own choice. Perhaps someone from the Yun family also came.

　　[Xin Lan: Are you free tomorrow? I want to talk to you about Yi Jie.]

　　Bai Ling’s fingers hovered on the phone screen for dozens of seconds before finally replying briefly: [Okay.]

　　She wanted to know what this person planned to do.

　　Putting away her phone and picking up the freshly squeezed juice, the girl headed back.

　　Yuan Xiaoling and her two roommates were still chatting.

　　”My mom was thrilled when she found out I awakened an ability. She said the country would definitely need someone like me. In the future, I’d have an iron rice bowl job, five insurances and one fund, housing allocation, and the whole family would benefit from me.”

　　Qiao Lili, munching on skewers, said: “The next day, she went around asking everywhere. In the evening, she came back dejectedly, saying she had asked around everywhere, and the country didn’t need such talents. She told me to find something to do myself, as long as I don’t break the law.”

　　Yuan Xiaoling couldn’t hold back laughter, laughing loudly, ha-ha-ha, and Gu Hui couldn’t help but laugh too.

　　”Stop laughing, Gu Hui, what about you?” Qiao Lili asked. “What was your family’s reaction?”

　　”I didn’t tell them because I didn’t want to be a psychologist.”

　　”…Alright.”

　　Not finding resonance in others, Qiao Lili was very reluctant. Just then, she noticed Bai Ling coming back with the juice, her eyes lit up.

　　”You, you, Bai Ling, did you tell your family about your mysterious and powerful superpower? What was their reaction…?”

　　Gu Hui quickly pulled her aside and said to Bai Ling: “Sorry, she speaks her mind and doesn’t usually follow forum discussions much.”

　　Qiao Lili also realized and hurriedly apologized: “I’m sorry, I forgot.”

　　It wasn’t that they hadn’t seen it; during the time when Bai Ling’s reputation wasn’t good, forums were full of cruel jokes about her.

　　”It’s fine, it’s been a long time.” Bai Ling put down the items and exchanged a glance with Yuan Xiaoling.

　　It meant come over, there’s something to say.

　　Yuan Xiaoling understood and handed her skewer to her roommate before getting up and walking with Bai Ling to the side.

　　”Xin Lan just messaged me, she’s back,” Bai Ling said.

　　”Eh… Who’s Xin Lan?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling reacted exactly the same as Bai Ling did just moments ago.

　　”The wind-type one, the one I asked along with another girl to investigate the chamber of commerce.”

　　But Yuan Xiaoling still couldn’t recall, instead wondering if such an event even happened.

　　”The companion from the last timeline, the one who would eventually betray me.”

　　”Oh, if you say it like that, I remember now,” the blonde-haired maiden pictured a pure and innocent-looking girl in her mind. “It’s her, huh.”

　　Bai Ling continued: “She wouldn’t return alone. Previously, she went for a certain important figure from the Yun family, and now it’s highly likely that he’s also come to Tianhai to take over after Yun He.”

　　She paused and added: “Besides, she also invited me to meet tomorrow to inquire about Yi Jie’s situation… That’s what she says.”

　　Bai Ling’s implication was clear to Yuan Xiaoling. Someone like Xin Lan wouldn’t care about a casually discarded companion; there must be another purpose.

　　”What do you think?” the blonde-haired maiden asked.

　　”Gathering information is a two-way street,” Bai Ling didn’t answer directly but laid out the current situation first. “She doesn’t know we know her intentions, even if she guesses a little, it doesn’t matter. Because she can never imagine that we already know the identity of the man she likes.”

　　That’s how reborn individuals operate—an informational advantage brought by causality.

　　Yuan Xiaoling tilted her head up: “So, shall we accept the invitation?”

　　”She’s the guest,” Bai Ling’s lips twitched. “I sent her the address of a Grand Hotel.”

　　”Got it, hosting a banquet!”

　　Whether or not there will be a banquet, it’s definitely not happening today. Returning to her roommates, Yuan Xiaoling thought for a moment and said to Gu Hui:

　　”Tomorrow we’ll entertain a guest. Come with me. There’s something I need your help with.”

　　Isn’t this perfect? Having someone who can read minds around. Even though she can only read surface-level thoughts, it’s enough to handle Xin Lan.

　　”Is she the only one?” Qiao Lili slightly startled. “What about me?”

　　”Tomorrow, I won’t need you temporarily. I’ll call you if necessary,” Yuan Xiaoling said.

　　Lately, Qiao Lili’s ability had helped a lot, now it was Gu Hui’s turn to help—this was called fairness in lemon terms.

　　As the sun was setting, the beach gradually grew cooler, and the tide would soon rise, so it was time to leave.

　　Packing up, on the way back, Yuan Xiaoling confidently promised her two roommates that their family now had influence. Working with Xiaoling would be better than any insurance or provident fund. In the future, they would live luxuriously, eating Tianhai lobsters—one roasted, one stewed, one stir-fried, one boiled, and one kept as a pet.

　　”Then, are we not going to school anymore?” Qiao Lili suddenly asked.

　　Yuan Xiaoling paused, turning to look at Bai Ling.

　　She herself didn’t care, since she had already graduated before crossing over, and her academic qualifications were solid.

　　Bai Ling considered for a moment and said, “If it opens normally, we’ll go.”

　　Staying in the hotel all day was boring. Xiaoling was fine with games and mobile phones, but someone like Bai Ling who didn’t like gaming would get bored… So she’d… seek relief from Xiaoling.

　　As for those people’s intelligence, once found, they could send the information over and leave right away—they could even borrow the Academic Advisor’s car.

　　After settling the roommates, Yuan Xiaoling rushed off to the Grand Hotel where their previous base was located to meet several cousins.

　　”Little Cousin Xiaoling! Long time no see, we miss you so much!” Yuan Tong glanced behind the door. “Hmm, where’s your sister-in-law? Why didn’t she come with you?”

　　Although the term was a bit strange, it was clear he meant Bai Ling.

　　”She’s busy with something else,” Yuan Xiaoling made up an excuse.

　　Bai Ling didn’t want to come because she knew she would face another round of “family chatter.”

　　Fifth-tier Mental-type prediction!

　　”By the way, how did you arrive so quickly?” Yuan Xiaoling said. “I was just about to call you in a few days.”

　　”Look what you’re saying. We investigated and found out that Tianhai is in a state of chaos among various factions. You must be facing numerous difficulties. And we’re just next door outside the city, how could we just stand by?” Yuan Tong said with righteous indignation. “You’re our most precious cousin!”

　　Others chimed in: “That’s right, the Yuan family never retreats.”

　　”In the face of danger, there’s only responsibility!”

　　”Regardless, if it were any other member of the Yuan family… Well, probably not.”

　　”In short, we’re here to help you.”

　　Yuan Xiaoling looked at these mostly nameless cousins and smiled politely: “Thank you, thank you, everyone. But the difficulties and obstacles have already been resolved, so there’s no need to be so tense.”

　　Upon hearing this, the previously passionate brothers were momentarily stunned.

　　”Resolved?”

　　”Yep.”

　　Yuan Tong: “What about the local gangs?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling: “Subjugated. They’re now my subordinates.”

　　Unnamed Cousin: “Capital oppression?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling: “They self-destructed internally. The leader betrayed humanity, and now it’s a mess.”

　　A bit shy cousin: “Mysterious powerhouses?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling: “On my side, closely related to me.”

　　Someone whose gender was unclear: “Evil families?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling: “The leader was killed by me. They’re now leaderless, waiting for their next leader.”

　　The brothers looked at each other.

　　”So, what can we do?” Yuan Tong stepped forward to ask on behalf of everyone.

　　Yuan Xiaoling thought for a moment and pulled out a chair beside the dining table.

　　”Let’s order food first,” she said.