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Chapter 103 : Chapter 103
Chapter 103
In the manga, Ji Qing quickly came back to his senses.
He could not help crouching down and laughing as he poked Xie Chang’an’s silly head. With his face pressed against the concrete floor, Xie Chang’an said weakly, “I tried to talk to them, but they would not listen to a word I said.”
Ji Qing was not surprised in the slightest. Back in the teacher’s office, he had already heard the contempt Gu Lingxue’s parents held toward Xie Chang’an. He deliberately offered Xie Chang’an a few words of comfort, then picked up the trash bag and prepared to leave. Xie Chang’an could not help calling after him, “When are you planning to leave school?”
Ji Qing replied, “Probably in a day or two? I still want to see some of the other classmates.”
【Ji Qing feels so gentle in this scene, sob sob sob】
【He responds to softness, not force】
【I really want Chang’an to get on good terms with the Valedictorian soon. This is the Valedictorian I should have been facing all along, sob sob sob TAT】
【You can really tell Ji Qing is very close with Class S (jealous to the point of going insane.jpg)】
【How did Class S win the Valedictorian over back then? Who was the first one to successfully get through to him? Please, can they release a strategy guide? Xie Chang’an is willing to sacrifice ten years of his lifespan for it QAQ】
【That hurts. Why are we not the favored ones?】
【Because Chang’an is reckless, prone to causing trouble, and he even used someone as a Substitute before. The fact that the Valedictorian is even giving him a decent expression now already proves how kind the Valedictorian is.】
【Isn't getting cold looks over and over again a kind of special treatment too? (desperately consoling myself)】
【Exactly. We are the most special ones!】
【If I cannot become the person you love most, then I will become the person you hate most (going crazy.jpg)】
Ji Qing could not help laughing a little. What exactly had the readers turned him into in their heads?
He had not been deliberately targeting Xie Chang’an. It was just that Xie Chang’an’s personality happened to be the kind Ji Qing would never go out of his way to befriend. Besides, Ji Qing had never intended to become close to Xie Chang’an in the first place. First, doing so would make it easier for his secrets to be exposed. Second, Xie Chang’an was too impulsive.
Because of that, Ji Qing felt it suited him better to keep moving through the manga’s main storyline without tying himself too closely to it.
In the manga, Xie Chang’an’s mood improved dramatically. He realized that his relationship with the Valedictorian had not worsened, and that they might even grow closer in the future. The happier he thought about it, the lighter his steps became.
He returned to his dorm room and began cleaning.
But while he was cleaning, Xie Chang’an received a Terminal message from Li Xuehua:
Lingxue’s parents’ return train had gotten into an accident.
The moment Xie Chang’an saw that, his expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he ran straight to where Gu Lingxue was. He got the detailed information from the teacher, though Li Xuehua’s original intention had only been to have Xie Chang’an help comfort Gu Lingxue a little.
Seeing the situation heading toward a complete loss of control, Li Xuehua firmly insisted that they ask Ji Qing for his opinion as well.
Only three members of Class S were currently on campus. Li Xuehua thought uneasily: since the two of them had already made up their minds, she had no choice but to consider the consequences of traveling at night. If Ji Qing went with them, things would at least be safer.
【Well, now the team is assembled】
【Why does this suddenly feel like a game party forming for an instance dungeon?】
【I am so excited right now, aaaah. This time we can finally fight side by side with the Valedictorian (the internal conflict last time does not count)】
【So that is why the three of them were on the cover?】
【Mission Objective: Rescue Gu Lingxue’s parents
Mission Members: Ji Qing, Gu Lingxue, Xie Chang’an
Mission Difficulty: Unknown】
【This really feels like picking up a quest】
【Why is no one worried about Lingxue’s parents?
I am actually getting a little scared of where the plot is going. The early plot of Ability Hunter was so oppressive. Yuexia would not really kill Lingxue’s parents off, would he?】
【What is the point of worrying? Wait until they get there first.】
【Are there really people who like these parents?】
Ji Qing blinked at that.
At this point in the story, he had not had a good impression of Gu Lingxue’s parents either, so he had not worried much about them. After all, the only ones he was familiar with were Xie Chang’an and Gu Lingxue, and as for how things would develop afterward, that was a future only Yuexia Cao could know.
All Ji Qing could do was handle what was right in front of him.
When the manga’s Xie Chang’an came to find Ji Qing, Ji Qing was wearing a set of pajamas.
The sight immediately made Xie Chang’an a little flustered, but he still hurriedly conveyed the teacher’s meaning. Ji Qing answered without hesitation, “I’ll go.”
But before setting out, Ji Qing asked a few key questions. Once he had a rough understanding of the situation, he smiled faintly and said, “All right. Please go ahead first. I’ll catch up soon.”
【Aaaaaaaaaah】
【I like the Valedictorian so much, I like the Valedictorian so much, I like the Valedictorian so much, I really like the Valedictorian】
【Cold on the outside, warm on the inside】
【Ji Qing is really so wonderful, sob sob sob】
【That faint smile is so beautiful. Can you smile more, baby?】
【I was immature before, but now I have grown up. He is really so charming. No wonder he was able to secure his footing in Class S as soon as school started (dog holding a rose in its mouth)】
【Class S is eating far too well (sigh)】
【You all said the same thing about Li Yuan last time. Are you changing sides now? (not really)】
【Everyone move aside, I am switching sides】
【Wait for me, wait for me (hurrying after you)】
【Li Yuan is very charming too. Li Yuan feels like fireworks filling the sky at a summer festival. All it takes is a single instant for him to seize your gaze, which is why so many people—even those who only know one side of him—end up liking him.
Ji Qing, on the other hand, is like a secluded deep lake. Only in the silent middle of the night, when moonlight falls across the rippling surface, can you truly feel his charm, and then fall deeply in love with him—the kind that, once you do, you can never forget.】
【Whoa—amazing—】
“Wow, that was very well said,” Ji Qing murmured. “It just makes the person involved a little too embarrassed.”
Though Ji Qing himself did not really feel much about it.
In the manga, the three of them boarded the train.
Xie Chang’an crouched down and tried to comfort the seated Gu Lingxue, while after scanning the surroundings, Ji Qing headed toward the front of the Trial Train.
The manga delicately portrayed Gu Lingxue’s inner turmoil. But after calming down and thinking for a while, Gu Lingxue knew that she could not keep dwelling on it. Ji Qing then cut in at exactly the right moment. “In that case, go be the defensive device at the front of the train.”
Xie Chang’an abruptly stuck his head out, only to see Ji Qing sitting atop the carriage roof, idly toying with a coin.
The speeding train, the brilliant sunset, the high-spirited youth, and the coin flashing in his hand… the manga rendered that moment with extraordinary atmosphere. Ji Qing’s first appearance had also been on a train, and now the readers were once again seeing that striking youth standing atop one.
【So beautiful, aaaah】
【Sob sob sob, I can already picture their first encounter all over again】
【Xie Chang’an, you need to get on good terms with the Valedictorian! I just want to see the Valedictorian every single day!!!】
【The old thief loves Ji Qing so much. He gave him all the plot highlights, narrative importance, and CG close-ups】
【Because Ji Qing deserves it (at maximum volume)】
Xie Chang’an froze for a moment, but Ji Qing’s sharp words quickly snapped him back to reality.
So he soon returned to the carriage, standing there with a dejected expression. Gu Lingxue could not help laughing, because Xie Chang’an’s reaction made her think of a stray dog that had just been abandoned.
That chapter ended there, but most of the barrage comments picked up on a different sort of implication:
【To be honest, do any of you think Ji Qing’s cold expression feels strangely familiar?】
【Because Xie Chang’an is really dumb?】
【Li Yuan was like that too—moody and inconsistent. The things the Valedictorian said just now made me think of Li Yuan.】
【Yes, yes, yes】
【No wonder these two were explicitly linked together by the author for an entire volume. I sincerely hope they know each other. If they do not, that would be such a waste. They are practically soulmates.】
【I feel like if they ever met, they would definitely hit it off.】
【Pseudo-selfcest really does make for an irresistible pairing】
“Hm?” Ji Qing folded his arms and tilted his head.
He instinctively went back to that exact scene and carefully examined his own words and behavior. There was no problem. Those words and actions were indeed things he would have done. He had not even deliberately tried to echo anything, yet the readers had still picked up on a certain similarity?
“I guess that makes sense,” Ji Qing murmured.
After all, Li Yuan was a role he had played. Some of Ji Qing’s own traits were exactly what people recognized in Li Yuan. So Ji Qing said calmly, “Let’s just treat it as laying a little foreshadowing for the dual personality setup.”
The perspective of the next chapter then shifted.
Gu Lingxue’s parents were inside the overturned first carriage, avoiding the attacks of the flock of mutated birds. The manga not only showed the full view of the first carriage, but also deliberately depicted the fates of the other passengers on the train.
The passengers who escaped were surrounded and hunted by the flock, while the passengers cowering inside the carriages watched helplessly as the Infected shut down the security system.
The scene was practically hell.
【I suddenly understand why the Infected are denied human rights…】
【I used to think that was going too far, but now I sincerely think it is terrifying. This kind of inside-outside coordination is impossible to guard against】
【But the Infected are still people too】
【The premise for the Infected being treated as people is that their existence does not endanger the lives of normal people.】
【Now I do not even know whether I should feel relieved that Lingxue’s parents were the only two living people in that carriage. If there had been a third person who had a mental breakdown or got infected, both of them would have died, and Lingxue would have become an orphan afterward…】
【Lingxue’s Ability Rating is A. Even if her parents do not have Abilities, they should still have a certain amount of Infection Resistance, right?】
【Good grief, I get it now.
In the wasteland, if you are getting married, you absolutely need to marry an Ability User. That way, even if your descendants do not inherit an Ability, they will still possess a certain amount of Infection Resistance.】
The direction of the barrage discussion suddenly shifted elsewhere.
After reading that, Ji Qing nodded to himself. The idea of “marrying Ability Users” was already a common social norm throughout the wasteland. If that concept had not been so widespread, there would not be so many noble houses in the present wasteland.
The Federation was able to become the Federation in the first place because the earliest noble houses had tacitly accepted it.
The manga panels that followed then showed Gu Yueqing’s actions.
As a businessman and a father, even under the crushing pressure of a life-and-death crisis, he still maintained a calm mind. While rapidly reflecting on his parenting and thinking about how to handle the current danger, Mrs. Gu’s thoughts appeared rather narrow and petty by comparison.
【Whoa, whoa, whoa】
【All I can say is, no wonder he is Lingxue’s dad. It feels like the composure Lingxue showed after being kidnapped in Volume 1 was inherited from her father.】
【She was very calm just now too】
【Parents are a child’s first teachers. Lingxue’s personality definitely comes from her parents. I just do not understand why they chose not to let Lingxue inherit the company and sign her up for business and economics classes, and instead made her learn so much etiquette…】
【Maybe Lingxue does not have the talent for it?】
【Has it occurred to anyone that this may simply be what upper-class girls in the wasteland are expected to learn? Does Lu Qingyin not study the same things? The other girls from noble families in Class A all learn them too. Are you saying the etiquette classes they study are useless as well?】
【I am starting to dislike the mother now】
That was where the chapter ended.
Even though Ji Qing had not read it back then, he knew that week’s Manga Forum had probably gained a great many posts criticizing the Gu parents, as well as discussions reflecting on the treatment of the Infected. A single short chapter was still not enough to reverse the terrible first impression Gu Lingxue’s parents had made.
But the treatment of the Infected really could spark quite a lot of discussion.
Up to this point, Xie Chang’an had never truly come into contact with the Infected as a group. Of the few Infected he had met, one had been a cadre from an Infected Organization, and the other two had been surviving passengers unfortunate enough to become infected.
Ji Qing felt that Jiang Cuo probably understood them better than Xie Chang’an did.
The manga’s perspective shifted back to Ji Qing and the other two once again.
After traveling for a short while, the train finally arrived near the wrecked train. Before the battle, each of them stated their resolve, and Xie Chang’an also came to understand his own feelings. Perhaps it was precisely because the people who attracted him possessed the same qualities that he kept feeling they resembled each other.
【When you put it that way, it does not seem wrong】
【It is over. I ship Li Yuan and Ji Qing even harder now. They are basically a pair of soulmates personally certified by the protagonist】
【No, absolutely not—I refuse— (screaming wildly)】
【At this point, just make it a three-person pairing already (reckless remark)】
【Ji Qing is also a very flamboyant and confident person】
【He is a genius Valedictorian, after all. If I were Ji Qing, I would be even more arrogant than he is. Everything I have now, I earned with my own strength】
【That suddenly made me think—A person gentle by nature remains gentle no matter how far they go.】
Seeing that, Ji Qing suddenly felt a little guilty.
He felt that the manga readers had probably imagined him in a much better light than reality. After all, he had lost his memory before entering school. Back then, every step he took had been followed by a pause to think through the consequences. He truly had not been in any mood to swagger around.
The manga panels that followed showed Gu Lingxue taking the lead.
Under the brilliant sunset, the black-haired, blue-eyed girl walked alone toward the train wreckage on the Elevated Tracks. Two or three hideous Mutated Vultures were perched atop the wreckage, their bodies enormous, their talons sharp, and their eyes vicious.
The sunset stretched Gu Lingxue’s shadow endlessly long.
Even though the enemy before her looked terrifying, she still walked forward with unwavering steps, her gaze as resolute as it had been on the cover of Volume 6. At that moment, Yuexia Cao echoed the cover, and at that same moment, Gu Lingxue arrived at her turning point.
【! So cool!!!】
【It feels like Lingxue has grown so much compared to Volume 1 (wistful)】
【Looks like she has finally cast off the confusion of her first semester and welcomed a new beginning. It really makes me, as her manga mother, feel so gratified】
【Speaking of that—Since this is an ensemble cast, Yuexia should be drawing the stories of the other Class S members too, right?】
【Definitely! I want to see Ji Qing’s!!!】
【I want to see Li Yuan’s!】
【I am different. I want to see all of them (excited) (rolling all over the floor) (running around wildly)】
【If the old thief does not draw them when the time comes, we will protest together outside the editorial department! Brothers, please accept my bow!】
【Big Brother—】
【Second Brother—】
“Hahaha…” Ji Qing could not help laughing.
These readers were just too amusing. But speaking of the stories of his Class S classmates… Ji Qing curled his lips into an entertained smile and said, “I’ll leave you all to keep guessing.”
As far as Ji Qing himself was concerned, he thought the answer was yes.