Chapter 16: Lending a Hand

The corridor outside the door was decorated in a style completely different from the laboratory. Unlike the somewhat stark silver tones inside, the long hallway was bathed in warm yellow lights. Vast hydroponic green plants covered the entire balcony area, and the faint sound of nutrient liquid flowing through pipes added a unique sense of vitality.

Ye Jingqiu was currently chatting animatedly with Aether. Over the past few days, she had discovered that the little cat was incredibly knowledgeable and sharp-minded. As long as she coaxed it properly, Aether could, to some extent, help her finish her summer homework!

However, the little cat wasn’t easy to fool. Right now, it was only willing to provide hints and ideas for solving problems, not even bothering with simple calculations. This left Ye Jingqiu convinced that someone backstage had enabled a teen protection mode for her.

Teasing Aether yielded no results, so Ye Jingqiu regretfully gave up on the homework shortcut. Instead, she asked the little cat to check her online shopping records—specifically, whether the candy she’d bought for Teacher Xiao Xu had shipped yet.

“Sigh, looks like I won’t be able to hang out with Teacher Xiao Xu this summer,” Ye Jingqiu said with a shake of her head, a surge of tragic resolve welling up inexplicably. This was just like another epic quest doomed to failure!

She began her dramatic performance, muttering lines aloud: “If I don’t enter the base, no money for chocolate. But if I do enter the base, I can’t even see you.”

Aether was listening attentively, tail swishing, its pointed cat ears perked up straight. The pale golden fur looked so soft and inviting. Having finished her act, Ye Jingqiu couldn’t resist the urge to pet it—but remembering that the cat was just a hologram, sorrow overwhelmed her. She let out a mournful wail and lamented, “Why hasn’t anyone given our Aether a physical body?”

Aether crouched obediently and replied, “Because only like this can I stay by Xiao Ye’s side at all times.”

Moved, Ye Jingqiu clutched her chest and let out a couple of boo-hoo sounds, pretending to wipe away nonexistent tears to show how comforted she felt.

The moment Shi Zui stepped out, she spotted Ye Jingqiu like this. Her little teammate, leaning against the window, was brimming with energy, her emotions swinging wildly. Those pitch-black eyes were now filled with laughter as she chattered nonstop to Aether.

She really did talk a lot.

Shi Zui thought, not without some regret.

But it wasn’t unbearable. High schoolers were full of youthful vigor, after all. Besides, following the principle of “positive communication,” she’d have to interact more with Ye Jingqiu in the future. If they were both the taciturn type, getting along would be a real challenge.

From a guardian’s perspective, Ye Jingqiu was definitely easier to accept than Xie Pingzhi.

Having reassured herself, Captain Shi turned to her happily engrossed teammate and called out in her usual tone, “Xiao Qiu.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but Ye Jingqiu reacted as if thunderstruck. She shot to her feet at attention and bellowed, “Here!”

At the same time, she slyly shooed Aether back into the wrist ring.

Shi Zui: “…”

They’d already spent nearly seventy-two hours together directly. From the evening of the fourth onward, aside from sleeping at night, Shi Zui had hardly left Ye Jingqiu’s side. They’d even eaten breakfast and dinner facing each other. Shi Zui considered herself a model “stand-in guardian,” displaying exceptional patience and approachability.

So why was Ye Jingqiu still so afraid of her?

Shi Zui paused silently for a moment before setting the matter aside. She said slowly, “We can go now.”

Then she added, “I don’t have anything urgent, so you can speak a bit softer.”

Don’t strain your throat.

That last part was only in Captain Shi’s mind, so Ye Jingqiu had no idea of her intent.

Her eyes lit up instead. She quickly jotted a note in her mental “Captain Dislikes List”: Captain doesn’t like people speaking loudly to her.

Then she nodded solemnly. “Got it, Captain!”

Shi Zui: “…”

Got what?

For the second time, Shi Zui felt a pang of “I’m not young anymore” frustration around her little teammate. They were eight years apart—nearly three generations, according to Loteria.

Her path to becoming a proper teen guardian was still long.

Shi Zui decided to start with a topic young people liked. She tried to soften her expression. “Barring surprises, you’ll be spending your summer here. Any plans?”

Ye Jingqiu thought for a moment. “Sleep!”

Shi Zui faltered, striving to keep her tone smooth. “The base has comprehensive facilities. Think about your hobbies.”

Ye Jingqiu blinked. “Sleep.”

Shi Zui was speechless. After two seconds of silence, she drew on Ning Wan’s advice and said calmly, “Too much sleep is harmful.”

“Here’s the plan: We’ll do morning exercises together. I’ll train you in the mornings, you can work on practice tests in the Alchemy Department in the afternoons, and in the evenings, we’ll review the day’s progress and adjust goals accordingly.”

Shi Zui ignored Ye Jingqiu’s bewildered, terrified look and finalized it. “That’s the preliminary schedule. We can plan a detailed timetable together later.”

“Captain, I can’t get up in the mornings…” Ye Jingqiu stammered, racking her brain for her first excuse.

Shi Zui, well aware of her new teammate’s laziness, was prepared. “Aether will handle wake-up calls. Guaranteed quality.”

“Then can we skip the afternoon practice tests?” Ye Jingqiu bargained for freedom. “As the saying goes, I’m already here! Captain, teach me some fighting techniques instead!”

“You’ve got 334 days until Gaokao. You need to improve your grades,” Shi Zui rejected, eyeing her teammate’s physique. “Besides, your current physical condition has huge room for improvement. Prolonged training right now wouldn’t help.”

Ye Jingqiu ventured cautiously, “Isn’t it possible my grades have even more room to grow? Studying more might not yield much anyway.”

Shi Zui considered it and shot back mercilessly, “Compared to your physical fitness, your academic performance shouldn’t hit a bottleneck anytime soon.”

Ye Jingqiu: Okay, I get you, boo-hoo.

Resigned to reality, Ye Jingqiu plotted ways to slack off. She pondered Captain’s words and asked curiously, “So, Captain, what does preliminary training mean?”

Shi Zui replied, “Physical conditioning and basic combat techniques. I’ll get you capable enough quickly to maximize your Instinct’s potential.”

That sounds super cool!

Ye Jingqiu’s eyes lit up at once, and she spoke to the captain without a trace of her usual caution. “For example? What am I gonna learn, Captain?”

“Wushu, Sanda, Jujutsu, Kendo…” Shi Zui noted her cheerful tone and, for once, patiently explained. “Lots of things. I’ll figure out what suits you best based on how training goes. We’ll start with Baji Fist tomorrow—I remember you took Wushu as an elective back in your first year of high school.”

Ye Jingqiu felt a twinge of guilt. After all, that class had been watered down to the level of the Huangpu River.

But Baji Fist sounded so intriguingly old-school. Pushing past her reverence for Shi Zui, she blurted out eagerly, “Is it the kind where you learn it and can slam someone flat on their back?”

“As long as you train seriously.”

“Then Captain, show me a demo first! You can just slam me down!”

Shi Zui froze. She hadn’t expected her new teammate to make such a request.

In her twenty-six years of life, she’d never known a normal kid to beg an adult to hit them.

Ye Jingqiu seemed to read her concern and raised her right hand solemnly. “Captain, come at me with everything you’ve got! Don’t worry about me—I’m built tough!”

Seeing such determination, Shi Zui had no choice but to indulge the “kid’s” wish. Captain Shi didn’t hesitate any longer. She grabbed Ye Jingqiu’s wrist and said gravely, “All right. I’ll go easy.”

Then, with a subtle flex of her elbow, she twisted outward and upward.

“Thud—”

Ye Jingqiu hit the tiled floor in an instant, sprawling there in dazed bewilderment, thoroughly disoriented.

What had just happened?

Shi Zui stood rooted for a moment, equally stunned.

She’d only meant to spin her around, but her force had been a touch too much, and down went the new teammate like a sack of potatoes.

Her conclusion: Ye Jingqiu was out of shape.

Shi Zui found it disappointing that a middle schooler in the prime of youth had such feeble stamina. Her expression remained neutral, but inwardly she debated whether to help her up.

The girl was an underage teammate, after all—and Shi Zui was the one who’d thrown her.

After a moment’s hesitation, the ever-independent Captain Shi made up her mind. She turned her face away, her tone calm and faintly critical to mask her intent.

“Hmm. Looks like you need a lot more conditioning.”

All the while, she extended her left hand toward the fallen Ye Jingqiu.

But the moment her words landed and she reached down to pull her up, the teammate who’d just collapsed with a wail sprang nimbly to her feet, staring at her in blank confusion.

Ye Jingqiu, who had zero concept of needing assistance: “?”

And then it clicked.

Captain Shi… so this was Captain Shi!

In a flash, Ye Jingqiu flopped right back down without a second thought!

She thrust out a hand toward the still-processing Shi Zui, her tone utterly earnest.

“Captain Shi, lend me a hand.”

“I can’t get up by myself.”