Chapter 650 - Chapter 650: Chapter 650: The Shelved Spear (1/2)

chapter 650: chapter 650: the shelved spear

“ugh, i told my mom i wanted to go to peng city for middle school, but she brutally refused.” full from dinner, xiao mei slumped onto a booth sofa and lamented to her two friends, “our ‘custard pie protection association’ will not be able to gather till high school.”

da lu laughed, “aren’t you going to have an even harder time trying to take the high school entrance exam in another province? plus, getting into the same high school as xiao lingdang will definitely be tough.”

xiao mei’s expression soured, “what am i supposed to do then…”

liu shiling laughed, “no problem, even if we’re not in the same city, we can still chat online, video call, and play games together. we can even hang out on the weekends. my sister told me that super high-speed maglev trains are being built everywhere. star city to peng city should be connected soon. whether you come to visit me or i visit you, it’ll be as quick as taking a bus.”

leaning on her palm, xiao mei mumbled, “but i want to play with xiao lingdang every day, do i really have to wait until college?”

da lu laughed, “then you should start studying hard now, or you definitely won’t be able to get into the university that xiao lingdang attends.”

“humph, don’t underestimate me, da lu. if i put my mind to it, i’ll shock you all! even if we don’t end up in the same major, we could be at the same school. even if we don’t end up at the same school, we could be in the same city!” xiao mei declared with a determined expression.

da lu chuckled, “so you’re dead set on following xiao lingduang around like a shadow? be careful, she might find you annoying if you’re too clingy.”

liu shiling laughed as she embraced xiao mei, “don’t worry, i won’t. you guys should come and live with me during the summer break. i’ll help you study so we can all attend the same university.”

xiao mei, who had been grinning, flinched at liu’s words, making a sour face, “we don’t need to start studying this hard so soon, do we? we’re still young and we don’t have any entrance exams in middle school. we can talk about it when we’re in the third year of high school. that’s still a long way off.”

both liu shiling and da lu laughed. as longtime friends, they knew xiao mei too well; her playful nature, love for beauty, and especially her distaste for studying.

“sigh, i don’t think i’ll amount to much in the future. xiao lingdang, you have to study hard and become a big boss, then hire me as your secretary. i’ll drive for you, prepare documents, make coffee and all that.” xiao mei said while holding onto liu shiling’s arm, chuckling.

da lu reached over and pinched her cheek, “who talks about having no prospect in their own future?”

xiao mei opened her mouth to pretend to bite her hand, then said, “da lu, let’s do it together. you can become a bodyguard, ah lu a driver, and me as secretary. we can all band together and cling to xiao lingdang’s coat-tails. hehe!” da lu, two years older than them and zhang xiaoyan, had a taller stature, darker skin, short hair, and looked like a sporty girl.

liu shiling didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “you guys talk as if i am guaranteed to become a big boss. what if i end up begging on the streets?”

“then we’ll be begging together, the four knightesses of the beggar sect!” xiao mei said.

“what if i work construction?”

“then we’ll be the four golden flowers on the construction site!”

“what if i go back to chongyun village to raise pigs?”

“we’ll be the four pig herders of chongyun village!”

“ha ha ha ha! those are your words, not mine. this summer, you guys will come with me to chongyun village and i’ll take you to the farm, hehe!”

“let’s go see where rabbits are raised…”

“you think raising rabbits doesn’t stink?”

as liu shiling and xiao mei were chuckling and joking around, da lu suddenly said, “i’ve decided to apply to a military academy. i want to join the army.”

although da lu was a bit older than the other two, she had just started middle school. there were still five or six years to go before she could apply to a military academy. thus, liu shiling and xiao mei were quite baffled by her sudden serious decision.

“why did you suddenly decide to join the army?” liu shiling asked, confused.

“i can’t explain why exactly…perhaps it’s because my uncle showed me pictures of my grandfather during his military service and his medals. or maybe it’s related to the activities the troops held at our school last semester. in any case, i’ve been thinking about this for a while, and i’m definitely going to join the military,” da lu said.

“don’t you think it’s a bit too early to be considering this…” xiao mei began, but then realized she’d been talking about what would happen after graduation, and after finding a job. her plans were even further in the future than da lu’s. she quickly changed her tune, “but that’s good too. after a few years of training in the army, you’ll be even more qualified to be a bodyguard.”

da lu laughed, “are you really bent on having us all cling to xiao lingdang’s coat-tails?”

“yes! when we grow up, we should keep hanging out together, working together, gaming together, eating together, always together, like sister zhen’er, sister nana, sister xia, and sister apple! and of course, we need to protect sister xiao ran as she grows up!” xiao mei said with a look of longing. the “xiao ran” she was referring to is the super cute younger sister of liu shiling, xiang xinran, who often played with them.

the next afternoon, after liu shiling had seen her two friends off at the airport, she was about to turn around and head back to the car that had brought them there when someone grabbed her hand.

the touch was familiar, so even before she turned around, liu shiling knew who it was.

“alice?” liu shiling looked at the manifested “little old xia alice” standing next to her, puzzled. when alice first acquired the ability to co-manifest, she appeared to be at the same age as liu shiling. but now the former kindergarten plump girl had grown into a fifth-grade primary school student, making her noticeably shorter. the sight of her looked rather like a big sister leading her younger sibling.

“what happened?” panicked, but also slightly excited, liu shiling asked.

she knew that since alice now had “xiang shinran” as a “physical body”, she wouldn’t manifest her own physical presence for play unless necessary, especially in crowded places like airports with numerous surveillance cameras. when she manifests, she has to shield or modify all the footage filmed of her in real-time. although it’s easy and effortless for her, it’s still considered a “non-mission disturbance” as per the rules of the research base, and should be minimized as much as possible. besides, for alice to use her ability to co-manifest, she must get permission from old xia. so, alice suddenly manifesting without being called, rather than contacting her through a phone or other electronic device, meant that there might be imminent danger. liu shiling may need to enter combat mode!