Ji Zhixing followed Xiao Mingyue down Rain City University's long, tree-lined avenue toward the Villa District.
The plane trees on either side of the road were lush with foliage. Sunlight spilled through gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on the ground.
Ji Zhixing glanced at Xiao Mingyue beside him. They had not exchanged a single word at their first meeting, and he had assumed she was a girl with a cool, aloof disposition.
He had never expected her to be so outgoing.
"Here we are."
After walking together all the way, Xiao Mingyue stopped in front of a detached villa.
Ji Zhixing looked up.
The villa had three stories and a simple, modern exterior, its pale gray stone walls complemented by large floor-to-ceiling windows.
A small courtyard lay in front of the entrance, planted with a few flowering trees he did not recognize. They were in bloom, their pink-and-white petals swaying gently in the breeze.
"Come in."
Xiao Mingyue pushed open the courtyard gate and led Ji Zhixing inside.
The villa's interior was more spacious than its exterior suggested.
The first floor housed the living room and dining room. The decor was simple, but quality showed in every detail.
"The Gravity Training Room is underground." Xiao Mingyue pointed to a door beside the stairs. "Follow me."
She pushed the door open, revealing a staircase leading down.
They descended twenty-odd steps, and the space before them suddenly opened up.
It was an underground chamber of roughly fifty square meters. The walls and ceiling were made of heavy alloy, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.
A layer of dark gray, nonslip material covered the floor, yielding slightly beneath their feet.
"This is the Gravity Training Room." Xiao Mingyue walked over to a control panel on the wall and tapped