"Oh."
"Who?!"
"Say that again!"
The three voices rang out almost simultaneously.
Zhang Jixin stood dumbfounded, as though he had been hit by a Body-Binding Spell. Fatty Xin, meanwhile, looked as if someone had struck the back of his head with a club. A trace of bewilderment showed in his confused eyes, and he even raised a hand to dig at his ear, as though he thought he had misheard.
Xiao Xiao and Jiang Yu, on the other hand, maintained a certain degree of composure.
However, Xiao Xiao's composure seemed more like something he was forcing himself to maintain. The jade bowl in his hands had tilted, spilling nearly half the Cold Dew he had collected inside, yet he did not notice at all. Jiang Yu's calm, meanwhile, held a hint of realization.
That hint of realization inexplicably made Zheng Qing uneasy.
"Su Shijun."
The young publicly funded student gathered himself and repeated the name word by word. Since he would have to tell them sooner or later, he might as well be direct. If he hemmed and hawed now, it would only make him seem guilty. At the same time, he thoughtfully explained, "...She's the owner of Qingqiu Mansion, that Senior Councilor from the Under the Moon Council. I checked. She serves as a research mentor at the Applied Magic Institute and meets the requirements to be a thesis advisor."
"Is this really a question of whether she meets the requirements?"
Zhang Jixin looked utterly lost. He looked at Zheng Qing, then at the other companions, as though trying to find signs that they were joking on their faces. "Requirements? Su Shijun?"
"Ahem."
Fatty Xin cleared his throat, shot the Red-faced Male Wizard a glare, then stepped forward. He walked to Zheng Qing's side, patted his shoulder, and spoke