Chapter 7

Chapter 7: You’re Really Ridiculous

Seeing Mo Yin Qiu’s stunned face, Qian Qi knew her reputation would make this request a hard sell, so she stepped forward and delivered the speech she had prepared as she said: “Instructor Mo, you may not believe it, but I just had a wake-up call. I realized I can’t keep wasting my life. I worked so hard to get into Awakener University. How can I waste such a good chance to learn?”

She pressed on, voice ringing with feeling as she said: “The school gives us a great place to study. It doesn’t demand we become famous or pay it back. It only wants us to survive in this cruel world. How could I waste the school’s care for us?”

She slapped the desk lightly, eyes full of firm belief as she declared: “I’ve decided to make a name for myself in magiplants! I will be the pride of the Magiplant School, and the pride of Awakener University. Today I am proud of my school; tomorrow my school will be proud of me!”

Mo Yin Qiu stared at her for a long moment and thought: [Big words. I truly do not believe it.]

She still nodded and said evenly: “It’s good that you have the heart for it.” She knew Qian Qi had a strong ego, and for a kid like that to force herself to say all this was something.

She picked up an application form from the desk and handed it over as she said: “Write down which magiplant seeds you want.”

Qian Qi sat to the side, pulled a carbon pen from the holder, and, copying the original owner’s messy handwriting, filled in the names of ten seeds. After signing her name, she passed the form back.

Mo Yin Qiu skimmed it and saw nothing special. They were all ordinary E grade magiplants. Besides Three Scale Orchid and Zhuyan Grass, which had a tiny hemostatic effect, the rest were basically worthless.

She gave a few simple instructions in a brisk tone: “Before planting, read the book’s planting methods and learn each magiplant’s attacks and weaknesses. Don’t plant blindly.” Then she went to the storage room to sort the seeds.

A few minutes later she returned with ten small bags and tossed them to Qian Qi.

Qian Qi tucked the seeds away and thanked her, but when Mo Yin Qiu thought the girl would leave, Qian Qi suddenly leaned in close, sniffed lightly, and said with pretend surprise: “Instructor Mo, why do I think I smell alcohol?”

Mo Yin Qiu’s body went stiff. Even though rules for Magiplant teachers were loose, the school still clearly banned drinking on campus. She kept her face calm and waved her off as she said: “You smelled wrong. Take your seeds and go.”

Qian Qi put on a hesitant face and began with the same line as she said: “Instructor Mo, you may not believe this…”

A bad feeling pricked Mo Yin Qiu’s mind for no reason.

Qian Qi looked at the little table on the balcony with pure eyes and explained sweetly: “My nose is sometimes sharp and sometimes not. If Instructor Mo gives me one more Three Scale Orchid seed, then my nose is not sharp today. But if Instructor Mo doesn’t want to…”

She sighed with great pity and said: “Then my nose will be very sharp.”

Mo Yin Qiu almost laughed from anger and asked with a raised brow: “Classmate Qian Qi, are you threatening me?”

Qian Qi waved both hands quickly and protested with a sunny grin: “No, no, never! I’m just trying to change for the better and follow the rules. I’m sure you also want me to turn over a new leaf and be a good person, right?”

Seeing Qian Qi play the cheeky rascal, the corner of Mo Yin Qiu’s mouth twitched. On a normal day she would have pulled rank and pushed back. After all, a teenager with a bad reputation could not outfox an adult. But today Qian Qi felt different. She used to be like a stray cat with its fur up, jumpy and hot tempered. Now she felt more like… a sly, shameless old fox.

Curious about this sudden change and wanting to find out what Qian Qi planned to do with the seeds, Mo Yin Qiu finally clicked her heels into the storage room again and came back with one more Three Scale Orchid seed. To keep Qian Qi from catching her on a rule break, she pointed at the form and said with a huff: “Change the quantity of Three Scale Orchid to 2. In special cases, one extra seed is allowed.”

Qian Qi brightened and answered fast: “Yes, yes.”

Leaving the office, Qian Qi sighed with real feeling as she said: “Instructor Mo is so nice. I should visit her often.”

The Blue System Panel snorted with contempt and groused: “I’m not a dog, but you really are a dog.”

Qian Qi patted the panel with a straight face and answered earnestly: “Don’t say that. You’re not a dog, but you’re truly the dog of doggy systems.”

The panel buzzed with confusion and flicked up a single reply: “???”

Qian Qi spent the whole afternoon reading her textbook and searching the Light-Brain, copying every bit of public info about the ten magiplants.

The next morning, after a full sleep, she jumped out of bed and shook the bunk across from her as she called: “Miao Miao, time to get up. Breakfast.”

Chen Miao Miao woke with a start, saw Qian Qi’s face inches away, felt her heart pound, and snapped as she rolled over: “I’m not eating!”

Qian Qi tugged her to her feet with good cheer as she said: “Don’t. People are iron and food is steel. Skip a meal and your stomach will squeal. Breakfast is good for you.”

Chen Miao Miao was not as strong as Qian Qi, and since Chen Tong had no new orders yet, she didn’t dare push it. She dragged herself up and got dressed anyway.

Seeing that, Qian Qi slipped into her sun-dried T-shirt, tucked the not-too-thick, not-too-thin textbook Magiplant Studies under her arm, slipped on flip-flops, and headed to the cafeteria.

Chen Miao Miao followed, glaring so hard it felt like her eyes could poke holes in Qian Qi’s back.

The Blue System Panel jittered in front of Qian Qi like a street hawker and tempted her: “It’s not too late to unlock for 70 yuan now.”

Qian Qi ignored it and wolf-whistled toward the window of Canteen No. 1 as she called: “Beautiful sister, two tea eggs please.”

The canteen aunt laughed and scolded in a friendly way: “You brat, who are you whistling at? Two yuan.”

Qian Qi flashed a grin and corrected her with pride as she said: “What are you saying, I’m a girl.”

The aunt squinted, then looked embarrassed and waved it off as she said: “Oh dear, auntie’s eyes are bad. Here, have a soy milk on the house. It helps you grow.”

Qian Qi took the tray with heartfelt thanks and said: “Thank you, auntie, you’re a good person.”

She turned to Chen Miao Miao and asked, puzzled: “Miao Miao? Why are you spacing out?”

Chen Miao Miao blinked and muttered: “What?”

Qian Qi held out the tray like it was obvious and said: “Pay the bill.”

Chen Miao Miao gaped. Had Qian Qi gotten even more shameless? Before, she at least only mooched a meal. Now she wanted Chen Miao Miao to pay outright?

When Chen Miao Miao didn’t move, Qian Qi pressed a hand to the bandage on her neck and winced as she said: “Ow, hurts. When it hurts, my hands get itchy.”

Chen Miao Miao stared for a beat in silence, then ground her teeth, pulled out her student card, and swiped to pay.

Qian Qi patted her shoulder with great satisfaction, turned to go, and waved as she said: “I have to run. I’ve got class at ten. After class we’re eating lunch together.”

Chen Miao Miao jolted and blurted in her head: [What? Who wants to eat lunch with you!!!]