CHAPTER 335: CHAPTER 335: HARD-WON

Ranch.

A person and an alpaca, you eat meat and I eat grass, each taking a bite, they glance at each other, the scene is unexpectedly harmonious, the hotpot restaurant owner pushes the door and enters, upon seeing this scene, he is visibly moved.

Immediately.

He closes the door and quietly leaves.

After a while.

Ji You has eaten her fill, looking at Mengmeng next to her, who has also finished grazing around her body, Ji You can’t help but think how good and obedient her own child is, feeling very content at the moment. She raises her hand, rubs Mengmeng’s approaching head and says, "Mengmeng, do these green grasses taste good?"

Mengmeng: "Baa~"

"Yeah, they’re delicious," Ji You smiles and says, "But do you know how hard it is for these grasses to grow little by little?"

Mengmeng looks puzzled: "Baa?"

Ji You doesn’t mind whether it understands or not, she pretends as though it does and continues, "The owner has specially created these ranches so that you can eat fresh grass anytime. Do you know how hard it was? How much manpower and effort it took?" As she speaks, Ji You shakes her head, sighing, "You don’t know."

Mengmeng looks up: "Baa baa?"

Ji You, sighing, says, "Mengmeng, do you know how much time and effort it takes for these grasses to grow from a seed to become so tall and juicy?"

Mengmeng widens its eyes.

Ji You shakes her head again, saying, "You still don’t know."

Although Mengmeng doesn’t quite understand, it can roughly feel the emotion in Ji You’s words, and it can’t help but nuzzle closer to Ji You’s palm with affection: "Baa???!"

Ji You suddenly breaks into a radiant smile, "The owner went through so much trouble, and these grasses strived to grow, all for Mengmeng to be happy and enjoy eating grass!"

Seeing the smile bloom on Ji You’s face, Mengmeng is instantly affected and feels happy too. It listens to these words, half understanding them, but can feel the sincerity within.

Thus, Mengmeng wants to get even closer to Ji You, and mimics a smile.

Seeing Mengmeng’s naturally adorable expression almost makes Ji You lose her composure, but she holds back the urge to rub Mengmeng vigorously, laughing and saying, "Mengmeng, promise sister, from now on, always eat your grass well and on time, do not let down the owner’s love for you, and do not waste the grass’s effort to sprout and grow, okay?"

Mengmeng immediately cries out, "Baa!"

Success!

But it still needs another coax, oh no! Further guidance!

Ji You looks at Mengmeng with a serious expression, "Comrade Mengmeng, no matter how unhappy you are in the future, you must eat meals, can you do that?"

Mengmeng gazes with its bright shiny eyes, loudly cries: "Awoo!"

Ji You raises her hand, strokes its head, and smiles, "I believe in Comrade Mengmeng! Because Comrade Mengmeng is an excellent alpaca, and can surely keep its word!"

Hearing this, Mengmeng is even more encouraged, instinctively sticks out its tongue and licks Ji You’s palm, mouthing, "Awoo awoo..."

Soon, it’s almost time for class, Ji You clarifies this to Mengmeng, though Mengmeng is very reluctant, it still lets Ji You leave, but as Ji You walks away, it follows behind her.

Only when Ji You has left the ranch does Mengmeng stop, but it continues to stare at Ji You.

Those pure eyes and reluctant expression almost made Ji You cave in and bring the alpaca to class, but she dismissed the idea.

If she really dared to bring the alpaca into the classroom, she guessed that teacher Mu Jianling would be the first to "strangle" her.

Scary...

The hotpot restaurant owner saw that Mengmeng had fully recovered, his face was always smiling as he escorted Ji You to the entrance of the store, still incessantly expressing his gratitude.

Just as Ji You was about to board the Floating Car, the hotpot restaurant owner sighed lightly and said, "Ah... Mengmeng used to be very lively, it only became like this after its Master and little Master left one after another..."

Ji You widened her eyes: "What???"

Feeling he had said too much, the restaurant owner seemed slightly embarrassed and added, "Actually, I wasn’t the one who raised Mengmeng. It was sent here for foster care. Because it was deeply attached to its previous Master, it often misses them and that’s why it’s often unhappy." He explained, but did not provide detailed information about Mengmeng’s Master.

So that’s it. Ji You nodded, "It’s understandable that Mengmeng, being quite sensitive, feels unhappy."

The hotpot restaurant owner then smiled and said, "So, I hope Ji You can come to keep Mengmeng company whenever possible. Even just sitting for a few minutes would make Mengmeng very happy."

Ji You said, "I will."

It’s a simple effort to help someone, why not do it? Moreover, Ji You naturally got along with Mengmeng, who was such an adorable little creature.

After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Ji You immediately searched for an automated Floating Car and rushed to the Combat Department’s training room.

After returning from the special training, teacher Mu Jianling intensified the first-year training program, not only increasing the difficulty but also the amount of daily basic training.

Many students didn’t understand the reason, wondering why they still had to practice these basic movements so frequently. However, Mu Jianling didn’t explain and merely instructed the students to train.

Teacher Mu Jianling’s method of supervising the students was very straightforward and brutal but effective:

Those who finish can leave class on time.

Those who don’t finish, class ends later.

In any case, although the students had slight complaints, they obediently fulfilled each training item as required.

Ji You and the other 100 students who had been to the Taoyuan Space Station, didn’t complain at all and conscientiously completed their daily training tasks, even the notoriously difficult Yue Qiguang didn’t raise any objections.

— Because everyone felt the urgency, knowing the secure life of studying they enjoyed was created by countless warriors who continued to advance with heavy burdens.

Things hard-earned are treasured.

...

After class, a group of students sat around the dining table for a meal. Ji You quietly chewed her food, but her thoughts shifted to tonight’s online competition. It was the beginning of the promotion matches today, and she wondered what they would be like.

Just then, she overheard Shen Changqing next to her asking, "Any guesses about tonight’s individual promotion matches?"

Hmm?

Ji You’s eyes gleamed.

As soon as Shen Changqing finished speaking, Yue Qiguang said, "What’s there to guess? It’s probably just random matching. Win and you advance to the next round, lose and you’re out."

No sooner had he finished his sentence than Yue Qiyuan rolled his eyes at him. He didn’t pay attention to Yue Qiguang but looked at others and said, "Random matching is possible, but I think this year’s online competition might not be so simple."