CHAPTER 382: CHAPTER 382: SIDE EFFECTS

Xu Siyu hid herself and did not appear. Was Ji You not going to fight this battle then?

Of course, she would.

And more than that, she had to fight fiercely, to fight a beautiful battle!

Only with a series of splendid victories could Ji You establish her own strength and remove the stigma Xu Siyu had cast upon her.

As for Xu Siyu?

She could hide once.

Twice.

Three times.

...

But she couldn’t hide for a lifetime.

Ji You was currently unable to directly and brutally drag her out and give her a resounding slap in the face. However, once Xu Siyu kept retreating and hiding, to the point where she had no place to hide, Ji You would definitely drag her out at the first opportunity.

Ji You was confident that this day wouldn’t come too late.

**

In Nolan Laboratory, Xu Siyu neatly arranged the materials. After putting everything in order, she reached for the door handle, intending to leave, but in a moment, she let go.

—She couldn’t go out.

Xu Siyu’s face was stern: Once outside, although she would not face rumors, she would certainly face countless curious gazes. At that time, surely numerous people would come to ask her why she didn’t accept the challenge?

If Ji You was only challenging her alone, Xu Siyu could simply ignore her and manipulate the direction of public opinion, which would naturally take her side.

But—

Ji You was not just challenging Xu Siyu, nor did she specifically name Xu Siyu as her sole opponent. As long as Ji You could achieve several beautiful victories, public opinion would not stand entirely on Xu Siyu’s side.

In this way—whether she appeared or not, she would lose.

The fact proved that Ji You, indeed, won the sideways glances of everyone with her victories.

Xu Siyu’s brows furrowed tightly: When she first decided to use Ji You’s achievements for her own success, she had steeled her heart to utterly defeat Ji You, to completely erase her—only by doing that could Ji You’s achievements truly become her own.

But—

Because of a moment of soft-heartedness, a brief change of mind, she did not completely cut off ties. She only took away all of Ji You’s reputation and money, not her life, thinking that Ji You alone on the garbage planet would never have the power to come out again...

However—

Xu Siyu’s face darkened, darkened...

Suddenly—

The door was pushed open from the outside. The only person who could pass through all checkpoints of the laboratory was—

Xu Siyu instantly concealed her gloom, her expression revealing a light smile: "Senior Nolan."

Upon seeing Xu Siyu really staying in the laboratory, Nolan was somewhat surprised and disapproving, saying, "Si Yu, I’ve already approved your leave today. Why are you still working?"

Xu Siyu explained with a smile, "When I was in the dormitory, I suddenly had an idea, so I rushed over to try it out."

Nolan greatly admired Xu Siyu’s dedication and hard work, and smiled, "I see, as the head of this laboratory, I’m not as responsible as you."

Xu Siyu chuckled and said, "Of course, I have to be responsible. This is the dream that you and I share. No effort is too great for the sake of our dream."

Hearing this, Nolan’s eyes shone with even more admiration, "It seems, I should learn from you."

Xu Siyu shook her head, a face of disapproval, saying, "What is there to learn from me? I can only be an assistant to you. The one who truly has talent is you, Senior Nolan. What I’m doing, anyone from the Material Department could do. Thus, I must be even more diligent and persevering to keep pace with you."

Being skillfully complimented, Nolan indeed felt very pleased. A young, beautiful, strong, and talented girl wholeheartedly supporting his career, it was natural for Nolan to enjoy it.

Nolan smiled and said: "Siyu, there’s no need to be modest. Initially, when I didn’t know much about you, it was your ability that caught my eye, and that’s why I invited you to join my laboratory with all my might. The fact has proven that my judgment was correct."

With the undisguised praise, Xu Siyu’s face blushed slightly and said: "Senior, I will definitely work even harder."

After the two chatted for a while, Nolan suddenly said: "Siyu, why didn’t you participate in today’s arena challenge? I’ve heard it was quite exciting."

Xu Siyu’s expression changed slightly, but it was fleeting. She gently shook her head, smiled, and said: "Senior, I actually decided to go yesterday, and I was halfway there in the Floating Car. But then I suddenly had a bit of inspiration, afraid it would slip away, so I hurriedly rushed to the laboratory."

Upon hearing this, Nolan felt a bit regretful but still nodded, affirming Xu Siyu’s spirit of being earnest about her work, and said: "I see."

Xu Siyu nodded, and then, with a slight tug at the corner of her mouth, she smiled and said: "Although I didn’t participate and feel some regrets, I don’t regret it. Actually, it’s in my nature not to like such high-profile, flamboyant events. If it weren’t for something involving me, I probably wouldn’t even pay attention to this kind of news."

Nolan thought about it and laughed: "That’s true. In the future, don’t always immerse yourself in the laboratory. When you have a chance, go out more and mingle with your classmates."

Xu Siyu looked at him, her eyes sparkling with moisture, and chuckled: "Yes, I will take Senior’s advice to heart."

...

The auditorium.

As soon as Ji You employed her taunting tactics, several students took the bait.

Ji You was open to all challengers, happy to compete with anyone willing to challenge her, and then, unfortunately for them, she left her opponents without a word to say with her overpowering performance in every match.

After several beautiful victories, the scene quieted down again.

second.

seconds.

seconds.

...

Ji You waited and waited, but when she saw that no more students were coming forward to challenge, she felt frustrated to the point of dying inside.

"Cough cough..." Ji You looked around and sincerely said: "Classmates, what you saw just now, my seemingly easy victories, were actually just a façade. My heart was under great pressure. The seniors and peers I just faced possess unfathomably deep strength. I had to exert my full power and even employ some clever tricks to win. That last match has entirely depleted my spiritual power threshold."

"Sigh~"

"My Physical Strength isn’t good, and neither is my spiritual power. I’m someone with poor Innate hardware. Every time I work with Material, I need to exhaust both my Physical Strength and spiritual power and then rest for quite a while before I can continue."

"Sigh~"

"If anyone dares to challenge me now, I guarantee that I’ll lose miserably." Ji You acted weak and looked helplessly at the audience.

Audience: "..."

Listen ——

Who else can compete with this level of blatant lying?

This whole morning, in the auditorium filled with over 50,000 students, if previously anyone didn’t know who Ji You was or what kind of person she was, then based on her performance today, everyone had one feeling about her: thick-skinned.

Not only was she thick-skinned, but she also had a sharp tongue.

As for the rest?

Strong power?

Exceptional talent?

...

Such impressions were merely incidental.