Garlic Paste and Lao Gan Ma

Garlic Paste and Lao Gan Ma

By then, Jiang Xiao had joined Flat Top Bro's team and started their morning training with them.

The pretty girl Liu Ke naturally became the substitute. The girl didn't seem to have adjusted her mindset yet. In fact, she opposed getting up early to exercise.

If Yi Lena hadn't dragged her out by force, the girl absolutely wouldn't have come out to train on her own.

Everyone had their own way of living. Liu Ke wasn't interested in the special identity of an Awakened.

Despite having decent aptitude, she felt that becoming an ordinary person after graduation and living a normal life, while learning a couple of practical Star Skills for self-defense or the like, was also a good choice.

As far as Jiang Xiao was concerned, a girl like that held little appeal for him. Only crazy, ambitious female Awakened could pique his interest, such as Xia Yan and Han Jiangxue.

But Flat Top Second Brother liked pretty girls like Liu Ke. Though she was a little willful, she was adorable no matter how he looked at her. Especially those two dimples that appeared when she smiled—Flat Top Second Brother was already drunk and delirious in them.

After running two laps, Liu Ke stopped again and sat down on the rubber track, leisurely watching the others continue running.

With Jiang Xiao's addition, Liu Ke had even more reason not to train. She finally didn't have to tag along just to help Yi Lena fill out the numbers.

In fact, Liu Ke wasn't unambitious. On the contrary, she was very devoted to her dream and worked hard for it.

Liu Ke truly didn't want to become an Awakened. She especially loved drawing and wanted to get into Huaxia Academy of Fine Arts in the future. It was a very good university, and because of that, she worked very hard on her cultural studies as well.

As an art student who had already determined her path, her middle school entrance exam results had even placed her among the top hundred in her hometown. That was good enough to get into Honor Class.

According to her original plans, she would eventually enter a university and pursue her own artistic life.

But then she awakened a Star Map and was forcibly sent away from the small town by her parents. They were afraid she would stay home talking about life and art with a group of ordinary children, so they sent Liu Ke directly to a top school that trained Awakened and began her life as a boarder.

Sigh, life really was unpredictable.

So many children cried and begged to become Awakened, yet Liu Ke didn't want a Star Map at all.

Liu Ke's break was no small matter. Flat Top Second Brother seemed to feel that he had an audience, and he ran faster and faster. If someone hung a pair of wings on him, he could probably take flight.

"You're friends with her?" Jiang Xiao asked Yi Lena beside him as he ran.

"Mm. We were middle school classmates, and we both came from small places. We weren't originally this close. She was a good student who sat in the front row, while I sat in the very last row. After coming here, we discovered that we'd been assigned to the same class, so we naturally became close." Yi Lena didn't complain about Jiang Xiao disrupting her breathing rhythm. Instead, she introduced them in a very friendly manner.

He figured she wanted to help Jiang Xiao quickly fit into the team as well.

After all, the class selection would be held the day after tomorrow, and they would take the field the day after that.

"Your class seats are arranged according to height, right?" Jiang Xiao looked up at Yi Lena and asked with a grin.

"Heh-heh, she's arranged according to grades, while I'm arranged according to height." Yi Lena patted Jiang Xiao on the shoulder. "You sure know how to talk."

"Why did you transfer here? Doesn't your hometown have schools for Awakened?" Jiang Xiao looked at Yi Lena beside him. From the side, her features appeared even more defined, with a high nose bridge and deep-set eyes. She had an almost sculpted look.

"They do, but they aren't as good as the ones here. Our home is in a city near Russia, a border city called Fen City. Have you heard of it?" Yi Lena turned her head and smiled brightly. "My parents met there. There are lots of mixed-race people like me in our area."

"Fen City?" Jiang Xiao's footsteps gradually slowed to a stop.

"Hm?" Yi Lena slowed down as well and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Is there a Dragon Cave there?" Jiang Xiao asked quietly.

"Uh, supposedly there is. I've only heard about it and never seen it myself." Yi Lena answered casually.

The Dragon Cave was where Jiang Xiao's parents, whom he had never met, had disappeared.

"You haven't seen it?" Jiang Xiao murmured for a moment.

"Of course not. I live in the city, while that Other Dimension Space is located on the border between the two countries. If I wanted to go look, it would count as sneaking across the border." Yi Lena covered her mouth and giggled. "Our country has border checkpoints, and Russia has them too. Besides, the boundary between the two countries is drawn as a line on the map, but in reality, there's a huge stretch of wild, deserted land between Huaxia and Russia that serves as a large buffer zone. If you dared to sneak out, there might be several guns pointed at you from some hilltop."

Jiang Xiao's expression turned a little strange. The way this girl said "our Huaxia" and "that Russia" sounded strange no matter how he heard it.

Yi Lena said with a laugh, "Besides, you couldn't sneak out anyway. The border guards aren't pushovers."

"Our city hasn't been locked down, and everyone still lives as usual, so..." Yi Lena shrugged. "I've only heard that there's a Dragon Cave over there. I've never seen it with my own eyes."

"Oh, thanks." Jiang Xiao sighed. He had no idea when he would gain enough solid strength to explore the Dragon Cave.

Fen City was the city closest to the Dragon Cave. Jiang Xiao had originally planned to ask the locals about it, but the Dragon Cave was located in the buffer zone along the border between the two countries. He guessed that even if he asked everyone in Fen City, no one would have seen the Dragon Cave.

Yi Lena's eyes shifted, and she smiled. "I can't take you to the Dragon Cave, but I can show you around the city. Our city may be small, but it's very clean and beautiful, with lots of European-style buildings. I can even introduce you to a few Russian girls. What do you think? Why not visit my hometown during winter break?"

"No need for introductions. I'll visit your home if I get the chance." Jiang Xiao repeatedly refused. Looking at Yi Lena's face, he felt that he already knew a Russian girl.

Although the girl in front of him had a red heart, her skin was white. As long as one didn't get to know her too deeply, anyone would take her for a foreigner.

At that thought, Jiang Xiao suddenly felt hungry and wanted to eat steamed buns.

White skin, a plump filling, oil dripping with every bite, paired with a bowl of hot soy milk.

Tsk, tsk. Just imagining it made him feel wonderful.

In the blink of an eye, it was six o'clock. The five-person team immediately set off for the school cafeteria. Military training would begin morning exercises promptly at 6:30, but everyone was already truly hungry from getting up so early.

Fortunately, the school was quite considerate and opened at five-thirty.

In fact, the Second Year and Third Year of High School students worked even harder than this group of military trainees. The number of people on the field made that obvious.

Jiang Xiao followed everyone to the cafeteria. He had planned to pay in cash, but Flat Top Bro rushed to swipe his card.

Jiang Xiao happily mooched off a meal of soy milk and steamed buns. He secretly planned to wash his sheets and bedding after returning, then come back to the cafeteria office after eight o'clock to get a meal card.

While Jiang Xiao was biting into a steamed bun, two girls walked in through the cafeteria entrance.

Without a doubt, the two tall girls were absolute centers of attention.

Apart from the adorable new First Year students, nearly every student in the cafeteria knew the pair, so no one went over to strike up a conversation.

They were both figures on the level of "school tyrants," each more powerful than the other. They were the kind of people everyone looked up to from below.

Xia Yan took a bowl of millet porridge, a dish of pickles, and two red bean cakes. Impatiently, she bit into one, but the moment she turned around, the red bean cake fell from her cherry-red lips onto the tray with a soft plop.

Han Jiangxue said unhappily, "Watch your image."

"Look, isn't that Little Pi!?" Xia Yan ignored her completely and poked Han Jiangxue's arm, gesturing toward the distance.

"Hm?" Han Jiangxue followed her gaze and saw Jiang Xiao eating steamed buns with great relish. Across the small table sat a youthful and beautiful foreign girl, propping her face up as she watched Jiang Xiao wolf down his food. Her short brown hair had gained a halo of light under the sunlight, making her look exceptionally beautiful.

Xia Yan clicked her tongue in amazement. "How long has it been!? We only brought him in last night, and he's already paired up!?"

"Maybe he found a teammate? We did tell him to find teammates as soon as possible." Han Jiangxue sounded uncertain. "That pair of twins beside him look quite imposing. They might both be teammates Little Pi found."

"Ah, look, look! He's feeding her a steamed bun!" Xia Yan stamped her feet, watching helplessly as Jiang Xiao fed the bun into the girl's mouth.

Han Jiangxue's eyes narrowed. "I'll go find him after morning class."

Over there, Jiang Xiao looked at Yi Lena and asked, "How does it taste? Have you accepted it yet? You have to dip steamed buns in garlic paste. Aren't you a native of North River?"

Yi Lena covered her mouth, trying her best to keep Jiang Xiao from smelling the garlic on her breath. She mumbled, "I—I still prefer eating them mixed with Lao Gan Ma."