Xie Ji thought for a long time before he remembered who Shen Ting was.
"Is that Shen Ting, Lu Xunji's former partner, the famous third-year mecha soldier?" Xie Ji was taken aback. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? She's actually here to see Lu Xunji? I haven't even spoken a word to her. What would she want with me?"
"Yeah, that's right." Jin Li said as she walked side by side with Xie Ji out of the dormitory building. "I also found it strange, but if I remember correctly, Senior Shen Ting specifically asked to find you, saying she didn't know your contact information, so she asked me to tell you."
Xie Ji nodded, thinking it made sense. Shen Ting and Lu Xunji had been partners for a while, so they must have each other's contact information. There was no need for Jin Li to tell them.
Jin Li said, "She said she's waiting for you at the coffee shop up ahead. I'll go with you; in case they come looking for trouble, I can lend you a hand."
Xie Ji looked him up and down. "If Senior Shen Ting really came to provoke us, your small frame wouldn't even be enough for her to press down with one finger."
Jin Li snorted at him, "You look down on me, don't you? I can at least stall her for a while, so you can come back and find Boss Lu!"
"Stop being so naive," Xie Ji patted his shoulder. "She's not here to cause trouble."
"How did you know?" Jin Li's cute baby face turned serious. "You shouldn't have a heart to harm others, but you can't be without a heart to guard against them. Don't underestimate Boss Lu's charm, you bastard!"
"I believe in the Imperial Military Academy's rigorous selection process." Xie Ji waved his hand. "The students in the individual combat department all admire this senior, which proves that Shen Ting is truly capable and definitely not the kind of person you think she is."
As they talked, they arrived at the coffee shop where Shen Ting had arranged to meet them.
As soon as Xie Ji entered, he saw Shen Ting sitting not far away, stirring her coffee with her head down. She was dressed simply, in a clean white shirt and jeans. Her bright and cheerful face was without makeup, which made her less flamboyant and radiant than when she was wearing makeup, but more delicate and charming.
"Hello." Xie Ji sat down opposite her, Jin Li quickly sat down next to him, with a very serious expression.
"I am Xie Ji. I heard you wanted to see me?"
Shen Ting looked up, her gaze falling on Xie Ji's face, and she gave a faint smile, "So you're Xie Ji, you're quite handsome, junior."
Xie Ji paused for a moment, then scratched his head a little shyly. "Thank you, senior. You're very pretty too."
"I didn't expect you to be like this." Shen Ting murmured, looking at him. "You really do seem very likable. Not to mention Lu Xunji, even I like you. By the way, have you guys had dinner yet? If not, let me treat you to dinner at the most expensive restaurant on campus. Order whatever you like, let's go."
"No, no, no, no, no need, senior." Xie Ji quickly waved her hand. " Lu Xunji cooked, and he'll be angry if I don't go back to eat. If you haven't eaten yet, you can eat with us. I'll ask Lu Xunji to cook more."
After Xie Ji finished speaking, he took out his personal terminal and sent a message to Lu Xunji.
Before Shen Ting could stop him, Xie Ji shook his personal terminal. "He said yes."
"This is really..." Shen Ting chuckled. "I can just imagine how sour Lu Xunji's face is. He probably doesn't want to see me right now, and he probably thinks I'm just some ordinary girl or something."
"Senior sister has confidence and ability, so I don't think there's anything wrong with that. She was also very beautiful back then." Xie Ji said seriously, "Don't mind Lu Xunji, that's just how he is. In his eyes, everyone is a slut, it's not targeting you."
Shen Ting stirred her coffee and chuckled, "It feels like Lu Xunji is hitting on the block. He's such a pretentious guy. I was hoping he'd help me make a date with you, but when I messaged him, I found he'd deleted me. What a jerk."
Xie Ji actually agrees with this point.
No one disputes the fact that "Machine Guy" is a born show-off.
"The reason I asked you to come here is to have you... tell my fortune."
Xie Ji paused for a moment, then exchanged glances with Jin Li.
Jin Li: "Huh?"
"Can't it count?" Shen Ting frowned. "I saw on the campus website that you possess some kind of unspeakable evil magic... oh no, secret art, the ability to see the future. I've only ever seen this secret art in ancient Earth records, and it was lost a long time ago. I thought you might know it, so I came to ask you. If you don't, that's okay too. Just consider it as me coming to visit you."
"It's not impossible," Xie Ji said. "... What do you want to calculate?"
Shen Ting's expression quickly turned serious. Looking into Xie Ji's dark blue eyes, she spoke heavily after a long pause, "Future, or to put it another way, life and death."
Xie Ji was startled by the bloodthirsty undertone in her words: "Why are you calculating this? Has something happened?"
"I don't actually know the specifics. In principle, this matter should be kept absolutely secret from the outside world." Shen Ting's knuckles twisted together, her eyes lowered, looking anxious and fearful. "But I'm really scared. You're by Lu Xunji's side, so you'll find out sooner or later anyway—it seems something has happened in the Empire recently. The senior students at the Imperial Military Academy who are still on campus seem to have received secret missions from the school these past few days."
Jin Li was eating Little Cake on the side. He didn't plan to go to Xie Ji's dormitory to eat with Lu Xunji; that would definitely be harder to swallow than a knife.
So he had just ordered a large latte and a chestnut chocolate cake from the coffee shop waiter, and was enjoying his meal when he heard Shen Ting's words and couldn't help but interject, "Isn't it normal for military academies to assign missions to senior military academy students who are stranded on campus? Why is it strange?"
"I have a senior classmate I'm very close to," Shen Ting lowered her voice. "We're in contact almost every day, even when we're on missions at the military academy, he'll still message me every day. But after he took on a secret mission at the military academy last week, he's been acting strangely, and he's completely out of contact for the past two days. I can't reach him at all."
Jin Li said, "Perhaps they're busy at the front?"
"That's not how it is," Shen Ting said. "I suspect he had an accident, but the school has suppressed the news. There were many senior students who stayed behind before, but recently none of them have been seen. I originally just suspected it, but at noon today, I received a mission from the school, asking me to set off for the war zone in three days."
Jin Li paused for a moment. "Do third-year students now also need to complete tasks assigned by the school in order to continue living on campus?"
Shen Ting took a deep breath. "So I have a feeling that the Empire might be in big trouble this time. Although I'm a little scared, as a student of the Imperial Military Academy, the Empire needs me, so I still have to go to the front line... Xie Ji, can you take a look for me? Just to put my mind at ease."
Xie Ji nodded, and after asking Shen Ting for her birth date in detail, he took out a horoscope.
Jin Li had seen this before. In the primeval forest during the special exam, Xie Ji used this to avoid many patrolling soldiers!
After reviewing Shen Ting's birth chart, Xie Ji fell into an eerie silence.
Shen Ting's birth chart is broken.
"How is it?" Jin Li eagerly leaned closer, but not understanding, she could only anxiously ask Xie Ji.
"Greedy Wolf and Honest Star are both trapped in Si and Hai, opposing the Life Palace, indicating..." Xie Ji murmured, then quickly shut his mouth and didn't continue.
The master's wings were clipped mid-flight, and he died young.
Although Xie Ji didn't say anything, judging from his expression, the outcome probably wasn't good.
"Although I expected this outcome," Shen Ting gave a wry smile, "Thank you anyway."
Xie Ji frowned, and said somewhat dejectedly, "Is this mission absolutely necessary? Doesn't the school assess the level of danger? Is a mission that threatens students' lives really reasonable? With my current abilities... I'm not capable enough to protect you. I have no other choice but to advise you not to go."
Shen Ting smiled and said, " Xie Little Ji, you are really cute, but do you know that under the school's training, we are prepared to give our lives for the people of the empire at any time?"
Xie Ji leaned forward somewhat excitedly. "Why? You're all still students, some haven't even graduated from military academy yet. There's no reason for you to go to the battlefield so early."
After listening to Xie Ji's words, Shen Ting's expression gradually darkened. She slowly stirred the coffee, which hadn't been tasted yet, with her small, delicate spoon, making a clinking sound. "You're right. If the school is sending even third-year students like us, who are about to graduate, to the front lines, then it means the war may have reached a very unfavorable situation."
Xie Ji sat in his seat and pursed his lips. He had no concept of war in this world and did not know what it meant, but in any case, it was not a good thing.
"But you will...!" Xie Ji paused, swallowing the word back. "You will be in great danger, and even so, you still insist on going?"
"Of course not! I'm the most respected senior in the Mecha Soldier Department. If I'm a coward, what will the younger students think of me?" Shen Ting stood up and patted herself down. "Oh dear, I forgot to bring cash. I heard you charge cash for fortune telling, right?"
She carefully searched her jeans and found a very old coin, which she awkwardly handed to Xie Ji: "Uh, take this one yuan for now, I'll give you the rest when I get back."
After saying that, she clapped her hands, picked up the coffee on the table, and drank it all in one gulp. "Actually, I knew that this time I might not come back. I was really scared at first, and I wanted to find someone to hug and wail in despair. But now I feel much better. I feel that keeping this fear inside for too long will breed cowardice. It feels much better to say it out loud now. Thank you, Xie Ji. If I don't come back, after everything is over, the school should pick a few things from my belongings to give you as collateral."
Xie Ji looked at her without saying a word.
Shen Ting's forced smile finally crumbled. A weary expression settled in as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't know what happened in the Empire, but if even I received a dispatch order, Lu Xunji couldn't possibly have missed it. Although he's a first-year student, his abilities are undeniable."
Jin Li tensed up instantly, trembling as she picked up her personal terminal and checked her emails from the past few days to see if there were any assignments from the school.
"I didn't receive a dispatch letter." Jin Li breathed a sigh of relief, "I was so scared. I thought everyone who came in through the special admissions exam would receive one."
" Xie Little Ji. I won't eat. I need to go back and prepare some things." Shen Ting put down her cup and said softly, "May my empire prosper forever."
After Shen Ting left, Xie Ji lost interest in eating with Jin Li. He packed up the leftover Little Cake Jin Li hadn't finished and went back to his dorm.
Lu Xunji had already prepared the meal and was setting the table when he looked up and saw Xie Ji. He calmly asked, "Didn't you say a friend was coming over for dinner?"
Xie Ji noticed that there were indeed four sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table.
"... She's not coming." Xie Ji wiped his face, calming himself down. " Jin Li is also hesitant to eat with you."
"Hmm." Lu Xunji raised an eyebrow, his expression unchanged, and silently put away the other two sets of bowls and chopsticks. "Wash your hands and eat."
After washing his hands, Xie Ji sat down at the dining table and watched Lu Xunji serve him soup.
" Lu Xunji, is there something you're hiding from me?" Xie Ji suddenly asked.
Lu Xunji paused for a moment, then quickly regained his composure. "Why do you ask that?"
"Never mind that. I just want to ask you, is there something very important that you forgot to tell me?" Xie Ji said in a low voice, "You said you would be absolutely honest with me."
Lu Xunji poured himself a bowl, sat down, quietly took a couple of sips, and said, "It's nothing serious."
"Then what qualifies as a big deal?" Xie Ji suddenly stood up. "You also received your assignment letter from the military academy, right?"
Lu Xunji nodded and explained, "I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just felt there was no need to tell you about such a routine mission assignment."
"It's dangerous." Xie Ji instinctively reached out and grabbed Lu Xunji's hand. "I'll go with you."
"No way." Lu Xunji rejected Xie Ji's suggestion without even thinking, "Only students in their third year or above who have achieved excellent grades and a perfect score in mecha piloting are allowed to be assigned missions. You can't even pilot a mecha, what would you do there?"
"I'm useful," Xie Ji said. "I can help you."
"I can handle it." Lu Xunji probably realized he had been a bit forceful, so he softened his tone. "What I mean is, it's dangerous, and I don't feel comfortable putting you in that kind of situation. I'd be distracted."
Xie Ji pursed his lips. "I won't hold you back. I can really help you, Lu Xunji. Take me with you. I'm not afraid of danger."
Lu Xunji: "I'm scared."
Xie Ji: "..."
He lowered his head and ate his rice with his chopsticks. The two remained silent for a long time. Lu Xunji frowned, his expression cold and hard.
Lu Xunji looked up at him and said in a low voice, " Xie Ji, I don't dare to gamble. I'm someone who is absolutely confident in my abilities. If there's a 30% chance of success, I'll try it. But if it's you, even if there's a 99% chance of success, I'll still worry about that 1%."
"You are so important to me."
Xie Ji shoveled some rice into his bowl and nodded, "I won't go."