Mo Yuan's Treat, a Team Dinner

The sun climbed overhead, heating the ground of the Special Training Ground until it was warm to the touch.

After spending the entire morning together, the seven had all but worn away their initial unfamiliarity.

When they first teamed up for practice battles, their coordination had been clumsy, their movements out of sync and their positioning a mess. Now, sitting together laughing and teasing one another, they hardly looked like a newly assembled team.

The camaraderie a team ought to have had finally taken root.

Without question, Li Jiaojiao was the most popular member of the team.

She was genuinely outgoing, unable to keep anything bottled up, and had none of the competitive vanity common among young people.

Once she got talking, there was no stopping her. Now, surrounded by the others, she waved her hands and acted out her past embarrassing mishaps, her broad gestures making her seem especially lively.

"You have no idea! Once, when I was practicing with my staff, I couldn't rein in my strength!"

Li Jiaojiao raised her arms, mimicking her staff swing from back then, her expression alternating between pride and sheepishness.

"One swing cracked a stone block in the training ground! The dean almost made me sweep the field for a whole week. I was scared to death!"

The others listened quietly, the corners of their mouths rising despite themselves.

Bai Ning was usually as cold as a block of ice, disinclined to talk or join the fun. Now, her expression had completely relaxed, a faint smile in her eyes as she listened with rapt attention.

Zhu Zhuqing, who had kept her body taut all along, also let her shoulders relax a little. Her profile softened considerably as she listened quietly, without a trace of impatience.

Yang Ke and Zhang Ting were shy