Chapter 87 p2
Lou Mi paused for a moment, then said as Zhuo Jinglan opened the app:
“No need to call the trainees, I have the perfect candidate.”
Zhuo Jinglan stopped: “Who?”
Lou Mi tilted her head towards Chi Lin: “My little sister.”
All eyes turned to Chi Lin.
Zhuo Jinglan: “??”
Lou Mi said, “Sister Lan, what’s with that expression? Have I ever lied to you?”
“You’ve lied to me plenty of times…”
“??”
“I know Little Chi is skilled, she can even sword dance, but that doesn’t mean she can just jump into a holographic battle. We’ve all been in this industry for years, let’s be honest, Little Chi, don’t take this personally, there are prodigies in this field, but they’re incredibly rare. Jun Jun was a once-in-a-decade talent, but now she’s gone, we should be realistic and choose someone from the trainees.”
“Let’s try it.” Lou Mi insisted. “We’ll try it right now. Buyu and Fu Tu, you two team up, and my little sister will take you on alone, how about that?”
Xie Buyu and Fu Tu scoffed: “Quite the boast.”
Zhuo Jinglan realized Lou Mi was serious and was puzzled.
Looking at Chi Lin, the young girl seemed to agree with Lou Mi’s suggestion, showing no signs of panic, her eyes bright, her back straight, like a soldier ready for battle, waiting for Lou Mi’s command.
Having been a manager for so many years, Zhuo Jinglan had developed a keen sense for talent.
She said to Xie Buyu and Fu Tu, “Why don’t we try it?”
Xie Buyu and Fu Tu said, “Fine, we won’t hold back.”
Lou Mi turned around, facing away from Zhuo Jinglan and the others, making sure they couldn’t see her expression, and playfully stuck her tongue out at Chi Lin:
“The fate of Nine Heavens rests on your shoulders.”
Chi Lin said seriously, “Don’t worry. Sister, can I borrow your account?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
They returned to Lou Mi’s room and took out their access crystals, entering the game.
Lou Mi logged into a random alt account and watched the match with Zhuo Jinglan.
Fu Tu chose the tank class, and Xie Buyu chose mage.
As Chi Lin held the flame spear, she felt the power of the flames surging through her hand, a sense of oneness with Lou Mi.
The randomly selected map: Silent Swamp.
Zhuo Jinglan and Lou Mi floated in the air, watching the match from three floating windows, providing a full, three-dimensional view.
Zhuo Jinglan asked, “Has your little sister played competitively before?”
Lou Mi: “Has she? Probably.”
“Who are you asking…”
Half an hour later, Xie Buyu and Fu Tu, exhausted, removed their access crystals and stared at Chi Lin in disbelief.
Chi Lin also returned to reality, removing the access crystal from her temple and taking a deep breath.
Zhuo Jinglan and Lou Mi also logged out. For a moment, they were speechless.
Finally, Zhuo Jinglan broke the silence:
“Are prodigies on sale now or something…”
If they hadn’t seen Chi Lin enter the game with their own eyes, Xie Buyu and Fu Tu would have suspected they were playing against Lou Mi herself.
Chi Lin’s reflexes were lightning fast, her attacks ruthless. Although her lack of experience and unfamiliarity with the map put her at a disadvantage, she still managed to hold her own against Xie Buyu and Fu Tu.
“Little Sister is amazing.” Xie Buyu, rarely giving genuine praise, said, “She’s even fiercer than Jun Jun.”
Lou Mi had never felt so proud, even when she herself was praised.
Xie Buyu’s seriousness lasted only three seconds, then she added, “We don’t have to worry about Sister Mi’s future happiness anymore.”
Lou Mi: “Do you want me to jump up and beat you right now?”
Zhuo Jinglan quickly prepared Chi Lin’s application and submitted it to the Esports Association.
Chi Lin had already started school and had to attend classes, but the club’s preparations for the upcoming matches couldn’t be delayed.
Zhuo Jinglan arranged to pick her up after school, supervise her homework on the way, and then go straight to a meeting at the club.
“We still have to prioritize your studies.” Zhuo Jinglan asked, “Can you finish your homework on the way? Will it be too stressful?”
Chi Lin reassured her, “I can finish it before school ends.”
Zhuo Jinglan: “…It seems prodigies are prodigies in all aspects.”
Chi Lin had taken a day off and returned to school on Tuesday. As expected, everyone was whispering about her.
The video of the original Chi Lin’s disastrous sword dance had been posted online, attracting a wave of ridicule. Chi Lin had seen it too.
Honestly, it was hilarious. Even Chi Lin laughed when she watched it.
The original Chi Lin was truly a master of self-sabotage.
The good image Chi Lin had painstakingly built had been destroyed by the original Chi Lin in just a few days.
However, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
Today, as Chi Lin walked through the school grounds, she experienced a long-lost sense of peace.
Before, she would be stopped multiple times on her way to the teaching building.
People asking for interviews, handing her love letters, giving her breakfast, asking for Lou Mi’s autograph. She would stop every few steps.
Today, however, her journey was smooth. Aside from a few whispers, no one approached her, no one stopped her.
She finally realized that it only took one minute to walk from the school gate to the teaching building.
As she stepped out of the elevator, someone followed her.
Chi Lin didn’t turn around; she recognized the footsteps.
“Lin, Lin, did you see the video?” Lin Xiaozhi asked gleefully.
Chi Lin stopped and looked at her, exasperated.
Lin Xiaozhi had initially planned to encourage her to “be herself,” to tell her that her friends found the video adorable and that she should embrace the cute persona—basically, she was there to add fuel to the fire.
But the Chi Lin who returned after taking a day off was the Chi Lin she knew.
Lin Xiaozhi observed her carefully, then sighed, slightly disappointed, and walked towards the classroom:
“So you’re back.”
Chi Lin followed her to the classroom and found that they were still deskmates:
“You noticed?”
Lin Xiaozhi said, “It would be hard not to.”
Chi Lin had returned quietly, and Lin Xiaozhi was slightly unhappy about her quick return:
“I still wanted to mess with the other Chi Lin a bit more.”
Chi Lin was curious: “Why can you accept the concept of soul transmigration so easily?”
“Years of exposure to novels and TV shows, it’s perfectly normal.”
“But Zhuoning writes novels herself, why didn’t she notice?”
“She’s an idiot.” Lin Xiaozhi said with a smile. “An adorable idiot.”
Wei Zhuoning, passing by, overheard the word “idiot” and immediately protested:
“Who’s an idiot?! You’re the idiot!”
Lin Xiaozhi: “So you did notice?”
Wei Zhuoning: “Notice what?”
Lin Xiaozhi burst out laughing: “Still saying you’re not an idiot.”
Wei Zhuoning: “??”
Knowing Lin Xiaozhi’s habit of teasing her at every opportunity, Wei Zhuoning ignored her, took out her phone, and squeezed next to Chi Lin:
“Did you see the news?”
Chi Lin glanced at it. It was undoubtedly about the highway incident.
Wei Zhuoning asked mysteriously, “Was that heroine you?”
At her words, several classmates gathered around, asking about Lou Mi’s injuries, what had happened, why the autopilot malfunctioned, and who the person flying across the cars was.
They all agreed that no one but Chi Lin had such skills.
It seemed her hoodie had done its job; her face hadn’t been captured.
Chi Lin denied it again: “It really wasn’t me.”
“Being modest, I see.” Gao Xiang leaned in from behind. “I noticed our Chi Lin has learned to be humble. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you for Sister Lou’s private photos anymore, just admit it.”
Chi Lin: “…”
A blessing in disguise.
To somewhat restore Chi Lin’s image and dispel the “idiot” persona, Lin Xiaozhi planned another sword dance performance, having her play the fool again.
“But this time, we’ll do it with a bit more finesse. Do a sweep or a flip or something, then slip and fall. Everyone will know you’re doing it on purpose, and they’ll understand your previous blunder. Then I’ll tell everyone that you were sacrificing yourself to relieve their stress, and that will smooth things over.”
Chi Lin looked at her enthusiastic face: “Why do I feel like you’re just indulging your own mischievous tendencies…”
Despite her reservations, Chi Lin went along with it.
After entertaining her classmates, the whispers and mockery subsided significantly.
In the afternoon’s math exam, Chi Lin focused and scored a 71, higher than she had expected.
Ms. Qi, furious, dragged her to the office.
Seeing Ms. Qi’s reddened face, Chi Lin knew her score was a bit too high of a jump.
She had checked the original Chi Lin’s past scores, a consistent string of single digits, a truly hopeless sight.
She had thought that since she hadn’t studied for a while, a score in the 30s or 40s wouldn’t be too out of place.
But jumping straight to 70, she was worried Ms. Qi would suspect her of cheating.
Ms. Qi brought her to the office, closed the door, and her lips and the finger pointing at Chi Lin twitched:
“What are you doing? Testing my heart’s limits? Why are your test scores like a roller coaster?”
Seeing Chi Lin’s silence, Ms. Qi realized she had overreacted. She took a deep breath and said earnestly:
“I don’t know what’s been going on with you lately, but today’s score is decent. You’re in your senior year now, this is the most important year, a turning point in your life. I can see that you’re a very capable student, and I’m afraid you’ll go down the wrong path again. If you have any problems or worries at home or at school, remember to tell me immediately, okay? You can call or message me anytime, no matter how late it is.”
Ms. Qi’s forehead was beaded with sweat; she was genuinely worried about her student.
Chi Lin smiled and nodded.
Just as Ms. Qi felt a bit relieved, Chi Lin said, “I need to take another day off tomorrow.”
Ms. Qi: “…”
“I’ll pass all subjects in the monthly exam.” Chi Lin added.
“You promise?”
“Yes, I promise.”
Ms. Qi demanded a pinky swear: “It’s a deal!”
Chi Lin: “…”
This felt like a scene from a children’s show… She really didn’t want to be treated like a child anymore.
Chi Lin finished her homework during break time with Lin Xiaozhi’s help.
Zhuo Jinglan offered to pick her up, but she declined, saying she could drive herself.
Chi Lin attended meetings and discussed strategies at the club, finally leaving around 11 pm.
She had seen Lou Mi during the video conference, but she still wanted to see her in person.
They hadn’t seen each other all day…
Chi Lin didn’t tell Lou Mi she was going to the hospital, braving the cold night air as she rushed there.
Thinking that Lou Mi must be bored after spending the entire day in the hospital, Chi Lin quickened her pace as she stepped out of the elevator, unconsciously using her Qinggong.
Two little girls passing by were stunned.
Chi Lin quickly landed and walked normally.
The little girls looked at each other.
“Did you see that?”
“I did…”
“It must have been a hallucination… Let’s never have another hangover again.”
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