Lu Xunji lowered his eyes and did not continue the discussion with Xie Ji about this issue.
After the two finished their meal, Lu Xunji accompanied Xie Ji on the swings for a while. Xie Ji, feeling bored, looked up at Lu Xunji and asked, "I remember mecha piloting is a third-year course, right? You not only finished it, but you got a perfect score?"
Lu Xunji grabbed his hand and rubbed it against him. "Well, actually, the training has been going on for quite a while, it should have been two months already."
"May I try?" Xie Ji suddenly said, "May I try?"
Lu Xunji paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Yes, I'll take you to the simulation training pod to try it out tomorrow, if you'd like."
Xie Ji nodded and didn't say anything more.
" Xie Little Ji..." Lu Xunji pursed her lips and called out to him.
"Hmm?" Xie Ji turned his head to look over.
Cool fingertips pinched his chin, and the familiar touch pressed against him. Lu Xunji bit his lip.
Xie Ji was stunned for a moment, but then he thought about it and realized that if you're in a relationship, it's not a big deal to kiss often.
He awkwardly stuck out the tip of his tongue and licked Lu Xunji's lips.
Actually, he had wanted to do this for a long time. Lu Xunji's lips were beautiful, full and plump, and when he relaxed, they looked like an orange-flavored jelly, in short, they looked delicious.
Lu Xunji seemed startled by his bold action and stopped to look at him.
"..." Xie Ji was a little shy and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Lu Xunji didn't speak, but pressed him down and kissed him even deeper.
Considering Xie Ji's health, they didn't go too far. They cuddled together all night, and in the morning, after kissing him until he was still half asleep, they packed their things and went to the training pod.
Xie Ji had classes in the morning, but had arranged to meet Lu Xunji at the mecha training pod in the afternoon. She lay on the bed for a while before getting up to wash up.
Lu Xunji left very early. When Xie Ji woke up, Lu Xunji had already been gone for more than an hour. There was a knock on the dormitory door, and Xie Ji ran to open it with his mouth full of foam.
Jin Li poked her head out. "Is Lu Xunji here?"
Xie Ji mumbled, "He's not here!"
Having learned her lesson, Jin Li cautiously scanned the dormitory, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see Lu Xunji. She then carefully entered the room.
"Sit down for a bit, I'll be right back." Xie Ji pointed to the sofa. "Don't you guys in the repair department have classes lately? How come you have time to come over and keep me company during class?"
"You know, the repair department teachers seem really busy these days, with lots of damaged mechs being sent to the school." Jin Li sounded quite nervous, "Could it be that Senior Shen Ting was right?"
Xie Ji hesitated for two seconds before asking, "When is Senior Shen Ting leaving?"
"Tomorrow," Jin Li sighed, "I heard that it's not just Senior Shen Ting leaving; many other high-achieving students are also going with her."
Xie Ji's ominous premonition grew stronger. He sent Ji Shi a message asking where he was, but received no response.
Ji Shi rarely didn't reply to messages. Xie Ji remembered that Zhou Heyu was in the same command department as Ji Shi, so maybe asking him would yield some news.
Xie Ji thought for a moment and then sent a message to Zhou Heyu.
Zhou Heyu did respond, but didn't say much on the personal terminal, only saying that they would have lunch together and talk about it then.
After finishing her morning classes, Xie Ji took Jin Li to the restaurant where she had arranged to meet Zhou Heyu.
They had eaten at this restaurant once before, when they first arrived, and it had been two months since then.
In just two months, Xie Ji felt that the atmosphere at the school had undergone a tremendous change. There were no more scandalous news on the school's website, and no one was discussing which department's most handsome student was the best-looking. Instead, there was a deep-seated reluctance to discuss the school's decision to send students to the front lines.
Xie Ji entered the private room and found that not only Zhou Heyu was there, but also Mu Yao and Ji Shi, and even Shang Yan, whom he hadn't seen for many days.
"What brings you here?" Xie Ji walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Is it about the recent military academy assignments?"
Zhou Heyu nodded. " Ji Shi also received his assignment notice and is leaving tomorrow. I wasn't planning to tell you this, but since you asked, I think it's better not to hide it from you."
Shang Yan adjusted his glasses and said in a low voice, "There have indeed been some... changes on the Imperial border. I learned some things at the Imperial University of Science and Technology. It's said that there are unidentified alien species. As for what they are, nobody knows. All we know is that there are many of them, and they seem to originate from an extraterrestrial black hole. We'll probably only know more once we get to the front lines."
Looking at Xie Ji's expression, Ji Shi suddenly smiled and said, "Hey, anyway, that's the gist of it. Over Ji Shi years, the Empire has had its share of border wars, whether it's with the neighboring Federation or the space pirates. There have always been some frictions. I guess the school sent us there this time just to give us some training. It's nothing serious."
Mu Yao sat by the window with his legs crossed, tossing his school badge onto the table. "You're going to the front lines, do your parents know?"
"There aren't many students in the command department to begin with," Ji Shi clicked his tongue and said, "What do you care if they know or not? Do I need to tell them I'm participating in a school activity?"
"One more or one less makes no difference." Mu Yao frowned. "This old principal is asking for trouble, sending people without even checking their status. I'm going to find him right now!"
Ji Shi suddenly spoke up, "It was my own idea to go."
"Are you crazy?" Mu Yao sneered. " Shang Yan already said this time is different from before. You want to go without even knowing who the enemy is?"
" Lu Xunji is going too." Ji Shi's gaze suddenly shifted to Xie Ji, and he said in a low voice, "If he's not afraid, why should I be? You all know Lu Xunji; he won't do anything he's not sure of, right, Xie Ji?"
Xie Ji listened for a while, and after understanding some of it, nodded and said softly, "Yes, I'm with Lu Xunji now."
"Look, Xie Ji even said..." Ji Shi suddenly realized what was happening and jumped up from his chair. "What?!"
Xie Ji blinked, coughed, and said, "This..."
"I don't want to hear it!" Ji Shi quickly interrupted him, "No, who asked you?! I'm asking, who asked you? I'm going to the front lines tomorrow! Can't you hold it in a little longer?"
Xie Ji didn't understand. "What does this have to do with you going to the front lines?"
"Of course it's related." Ji Shi's eyes reddened, and she turned her head angrily, "Maybe I won't come back, then I won't know this news."
Xie Ji: "... At a time like this, can you please stop joking?"
Ji Shi snorted but didn't say anything.
Zhou Heyu and Mu Yao both wore wry smiles, as if they had known this would happen.
In fact, they already knew this would be the outcome the moment they saw Xie Ji carrying Lu Xunji out of the primeval forest.
But since it wasn't discussed openly, I'll assume I still have a chance.
But now, there's not even that little reason left to deceive ourselves.
Xie Ji scratched his head and said, " Lu Xunji won't let me go."
"Damn it." Ji Shi wiped his face and cursed under his breath, "If he dares to take you there, I'll go and kill him right now. What kind of place is that, Xie Little Ji? It's a battlefield, people are going to die there."
Xie Ji looked at him. "If you can go, why can't I? How am I any different from you? I'm a student too. Although I'm not good at studying, I have other ways to help you."
"What method? Fortune telling?"
Mentioning fortune telling, Xie Ji couldn't help but think of Shen Ting's birth chart. He pursed his lips and said, " Ji Shi, give me your date and place of birth."
Ji Shi didn't know what he was going to do, but she still obediently gave him her birth date and time. "What's wrong?"
Xie Ji took out his astrologer chart and spent two minutes calculating. His expression visibly darkened.
The natal chart is shattered; it's that same crack again. Shen Ting's natal chart also has this crack.
He had a strange intuition and asked Mu Yao, Zhou Heyu, Shang Yan, and even Jin Li in succession.
Almost everyone's birth chart was shattered.
But how is that possible?
He had previously examined Jin Li's birth chart and found no such crack. With Tian Tong and Tai Yin in her natal chart, she was destined for great wealth, high status, and a smooth life. How could her chart suddenly break?