The voice belonged to Alun, whom Xilin had seen aboard the Transport Aircraft. Alun had been coming down the passageway to pick someone up, and hadn't expected to see Xilin just as he was about to choose his food.
"What a coincidence, Alun." Xilin waved the tray in his hands and greeted him.
Seeing the empty tray in Xilin's hands, Alun hurriedly said, "Xilin, you haven't picked any food yet. Come on, let's go upstairs. I'm treating today. I've been wanting to tell you for ages, but I didn't have your Comms ID. What a coincidence that we ran into each other here." As he spoke, Alun grabbed Xilin by the arm and started dragging him upstairs, as if afraid Xilin might refuse.
Ever since seeing Xilin talking with Kangman aboard the Transport Aircraft, and the complicated formulas on that Writing Tablet, Alun had admired his peer. Alun was always enthusiastic toward people with real talent. "Don't bully the old; bully the young instead"—that was what his father had drummed into him.
"Hold on. I came with my roommates. I can't just leave without saying a word, can I?" Xilin set down his tray and said.
"Huh? Roommates? Xilin, how many people are in your dorm?" Alun had always assumed that with Xilin's means, he would have chosen a Single Villa. He hadn't expected otherwise.
"I only came to register today. There were only four-person villas left."
"Oh, I see. I only registered three days early myself, hoping to snag a Single Villa, but I still missed out and had to choose a Double Villa." Alun made a regretful face. "I'm treating everyone today to get to know my roommates and the people in the nearby dorms, as well as a few people I've met since coming here. Oh, right—hehe, I even managed to invite Pride. As for Kangman, he seems pretty busy and couldn't make it."
Alun had gone to great lengths to invite Pride, and he'd lost count of how many nice things he'd said. At the same time, he regretted that he hadn't managed to invite this year's Twin Stars of Qiyao to take a commemorative photo together. Kangman had turned down the invitation, saying he didn't have time.
"Xilin, get in touch with your other three roommates. I'm treating, so come along together! The more the merrier. We're all new students this year, so we can get to know one another. And, by the way, a few beautiful girls are coming today. Hehe, don't miss out!"
Earlier, in Long's car, the four of them had exchanged Comms IDs. Xilin pulled up the other three's numbers and called them together. After he explained that Alun was treating, Long agreed without hesitation. Ci Jincheng and Knight were less enthusiastic, but they agreed too.
Ci Jincheng and Knight mainly agreed for Xilin's sake. Otherwise, given Ci Jincheng's temperament, he wouldn't have liked such a chaotic atmosphere. Knight, meanwhile, couldn't be bothered to talk to those clueless show-offs who put on airs all day. It was lucky they didn't get a punch from him.
While Xilin was contacting the other three, Alun went to the entrance and looked around, as if waiting for someone. Before long, he returned with three pretty girls. Whatever he said made them laugh delightedly, their eyes sparkling and their charm growing. Several students nearby holding trays stared at them, completely oblivious as someone took the food right off their trays.
"Ladies, let me introduce you. This is my friend Xilin. Xilin, these three are..." Before Alun could finish, one of the girls cut in, "Alun, didn't you say everyone's been waiting ages?"
"Exactly, Alun. Hurry up and take us upstairs." Another girl flicked her hair and shot Alun a sidelong glance.
Xilin was good-looking and had a nice air about him, but there were plenty of people like that at Qiyao. They weren't particularly interested in him. Besides, weren't the big shots usually the ones who ate in private rooms upstairs?
Seeing Alun hesitate, Xilin smiled. "It's fine, Alun. Take them up first."
"Then... Xilin, wait for your roommates to arrive, and head up together. The Carefree Hall is on the second floor. I'll bring them up, then come back to get you."
When the three girls heard that Xilin had roommates, and more than one, they lost all interest in him. Someone living in a four-person dorm wasn't worth their attention.
Xilin didn't care in the slightest about the three girls' attitude. He leaned against the passageway and waited for the others. If not for what Knight had said today, they might not have gone to choose their food in person. They might have ordered and had a robot deliver it instead. Remembering the looks on Ci Jincheng and Long's faces when they heard Knight's story, Xilin couldn't help smiling.
On the way to the cafeteria, Knight had shared something that had happened to him. Before attending secondary school, he had always ordered his food and had a robot deliver it. But once, he happened to see some pranksters sprinkling dandruff onto food that had already been portioned onto plates. When robots came to collect the trays, they only scanned the dish names and checked for other living organisms or toxic substances...
Ever since then, Knight had always picked up his food himself. Ci Jincheng and Long, on the other hand, had always let robots do it. At the time, both of them had felt sick to their stomachs. When they arrived at the cafeteria and saw that plenty of people really did carry their own trays, they were even more convinced: a lot of people must have had similar experiences. So they figured they'd try to carry their own food whenever possible from now on. Failing that, they'd get a dedicated tray-carrying robot and install extra scanning programs. Scanning for dandruff definitely had to be added.
Not long after Alun went upstairs, Ci Jincheng and the other two arrived one after another. They didn't look like they'd enjoyed carrying their own trays much.
"Xilin, where's your friend?" Long looked around but didn't see anyone else.
"He went upstairs with three beautiful girls." Xilin pointed above.
"Ooh, beautiful girls! But, Xilin, first tell me how close you are to that friend of yours."
Xilin briefly explained what had happened aboard the Transport Aircraft.
"So you two aren't even that close. Why's that guy being so enthusiastic? Alun Cheve? Cheve... Oh, I remember now—the family that founded Star of Tomorrow and Outlook. They're pretty decent. Both of those Electronic Publications have a contribution rating of over sixty." Long clearly knew a lot about this, though from his tone, the Cheve family was merely decent in his eyes.
Ci Jincheng and Knight had both heard of Star of Tomorrow. They had each appeared in the publication.
"So you've all been in that Electronic Publication?" Xilin asked.
Getting into an Electronic Publication with a contribution rating of sixty took more than money and connections. What mattered was real talent. Take Kangman, who came from an ordinary background: his personal ability and talent alone had earned him the same title as Pride—the "Twin Stars."
At this, Knight snorted. "You could get into those publications too. Don't think you can stay out of sight just by hiding your abilities. We'll have a match tomorrow."
"Definitely. We've got high hopes for you, Flying Skateboard Kid—you managed to keep up with two cars on an ordinary Flying Skateboard without getting left behind." Long waggled his eyebrows.
From Ci Jincheng's calm expression, he clearly knew that "Flying Skateboard Kid" was Xilin.
"You all know?" Xilin scratched his head.
"Hmph, that's not all I know. Not everyone can take down two cars with one lousy Flying Skateboard. So before classes start, let's have a proper match. It's not easy to find a good opponent at Qiyao." At the mention of it, Knight grew eager again, his fighting spirit flaring in an instant.
"Sure. Let's find somewhere to practice tomorrow." Xilin certainly wouldn't turn down a chance to spar.
"Huh? There's more to the Flying Skateboard Kid story? Knight, tell us!" Long immediately leaned closer.
As they went upstairs, Knight summed up what had happened in a few simple, clear words. Long's eyes widened in amazement and lit up.
"Xilin, be the spokesperson for my family's Flying Skateboards! We'll offer you great terms!"
The Andrela Family really did own a factory that manufactured Flying Skateboards, and their brand was quite well-known. Prices started at ten thousand Star Coins.
Xilin smiled without replying. After giving the name "Carefree Hall," a Flying Robot led the four of them over.
They hadn't gone far when they spotted Alun coming around the corner.
"Hey, Xilin, I was just about to come down and get you..." Alun's voice abruptly cut off. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped when he recognized the three people beside Xilin.
Before you continue