Chapter 4

On the other hand, Qin Fei went to meet Ai Nuo as planned, only to find out it was a social gathering? This was a well-known venue in the Imperial Capital, reputed to require a small fortune to get in. The ambiance matched the price—luxurious, noble, yet elegant, without any of the tackiness of nouveau riche establishments. Qin Fei told the waiter his room number, and the waiter led him to the private room. The room was large enough to accommodate dozens of people, but there were only about ten or so at the moment. Ai Nuo had already arrived and was speaking to a female zerg sitting on the left. The female zerg looked very happy, his face slightly flushed, attentively listening to Ai Nuo with eyes full of admiration for him.

“Qin Fei, you’re here! Come, sit down! Let me tell you, a lot of people came today, and Lin Yu will be here too,” Ai Nuo winked.

Qin Fei pretended not to hear the last part of the sentence and asked, “Who organized this?”

“I did,” Ai Nuo replied, “Let me tell you, a lot of the outstanding female zergs from this year’s new batch came, about fifteen of them! As for the male zergs, most of them are from our department, and a good seven or eight will show up. Many of them are here for your sake.”

Qin Fei glanced at him and remained silent. As one of the two level 7 male zergs in this year’s freshman class, more than half of them must be here because of him. Besides, Ai Nuo was quite the ^[1]social butterfly is someone who is very sociable and enjoys interacting with many different people. They are often outgoing, talkative, and comfortable in social settings, making friends easily and … Continue readingsocial butterfly, and his popularity in school far surpassed his own.

“Qin Fei, you’re here!” Lin Yu came over, holding a tray full of food, smiling as he approached.

Upon seeing this, Ai Nuo gave a meaningful glance. He then turned back to the female zerg next to him, resuming their conversation.

Qin Fei couldn’t just ignore him. To be honest, aside from Lin Yu’s persistent pursuit, he was truly an outstanding zerg, and it was hard to harbor any ill feelings toward him. “When did you arrive, Lin Yu?”

“I just got here. Would you like something to drink? I have fresh juice,” Lin Yu said, but that was a lie—he had been sitting here waiting for him since early this morning.

Qin Fei declined, “No, I don’t want anything to drink right now. This is enough.” He lifted the glass of water the robot had given him.

At this moment, an unfamiliar female zerg walked over. “Lin Yu, long time no see. Is this your friend?”

Seeing the newcomer, a slight frown appeared on Lin Yu’s face, but he quickly concealed it, returning to his calm demeanor, even offering a slight smile. “Fourth brother, this is my friend Qin Fei from the Pharmacy Department. Qin Fei, let me introduce you. This is my uncle’s female zerg, Lin Heng. He’s a freshman this year and from the Combat Department.”

He stepped forward and looked at Qin Fei’s face, clearly sensing the pheromones emanating from him—level 7 male zerg! “Hello, Qin Fei. Your name sounds familiar. I have a relative from the same family, and his son is also named Qin Fei.”

Qin Fei smiled faintly. “If your relative is named Lin Zishu, then it’s me.”

“That’s quite a coincidence! We really do have a connection,” Lin Heng said, grinning broadly.

Lin Yu, standing to the side, had an unpleasant expression, his breath slightly quickening. “Fourth brother, don’t you need to go look for your other friends?”

Lin Heng waved his hand. “We’re here at the social event to meet more new friends. My friends all understand.” Then he turned the topic to Qin Fei. “I don’t know what Qin Fei likes to do in his spare time. Personally, I’m very fond of mechas. I often play ranked matches on StarNet. When I have free time, I also enjoy tending to plants or cooking. My cooking skills are pretty good, so if you ever get the chance, Qin Fei, I’d love to invite you to a meal and let you try my cooking.”

Lin Yu’s expression became even darker. He felt that he was good at everything, but his cooking skills were a weak point. Although the food he made wasn’t bad, it wasn’t particularly good either. He silently decided to sign up for a cooking class as soon as he got back to improve his skills.

“I really like pharmacology. I usually read books in the library or look up information on StarNet,” Qin Fei replied.

“You really love studying! Last time I went out on an adventure, I got a Laughing Fruit. It’s still just a seedling, not grown yet. Do you like it? If you do, I’ll give it to you. I’m not good at taking care of these plants. I just put it in a pot at home, and it looks a little droopy. If you like it, you’ll take good care of it, and we’ll both be happy,” Lin Heng interjected, looking expectantly at Qin Fei.

The Laughing Fruit was a level 8 magical plant. Even as a seedling, it was very valuable because of its unique properties. Its fruit was a powerful healing medicine, irreplaceable when dealing with certain kinds of injuries. It had always been in high demand on the market. So, having a seedling meant it would definitely be taken good care of—there was no way it would just be left in a pot, neglected.

Qin Fei naturally declined, saying, “Right now, I’m just practicing with some lower-grade magical plants. As for the Laughing Fruit, I don’t have the confidence to keep it alive. I’m sure you can take care of it just fine. The droopiness is probably just because it hasn’t adapted yet. After some time, it should be fine.”

As they were chatting, Ai Nuo saw that everyone had arrived, so he stood up on the stage, holding a microphone and said, “Alright, everyone, now that everyone is here, let’s come over, pick a seat, and just chat and play some games.”

The people who had been standing in small groups started to walk over. They formed a circle and sat down together, with a table in the middle loaded with various drinks, snacks, and fruits. Ai Nuo sat in the center. The two seats beside him were occupied by the female zerg who had just spoken, and another one that Qin Fei didn’t recognize. When Qin Fei casually picked a seat, Lin Yu and Lin Heng naturally sat down on either side of him.

Looking around, Qin Fei noticed there were seven male zergs present, and all the males were sitting next to female zergs. There were exactly fourteen female zergs, and each female had at least one male beside her.

Ai Nuo then took out a deck of cards and waved a spade King in his hand. He called out to everyone, “Okay, we’ll play a game. Each person gets one card. If anyone draws the spade King, they have to perform something—either a show, a story, or tell a joke. If they really can’t think of anything to perform or say, then we’ll all come up with a punishment for them. Deal?”

No one was disappointed, and everyone agreed. Ai Nuo then began dealing the cards. The first round turned out to be for him. Of course, this was no challenge for him. He took seven cups from the robot, and then streams of different beverages began flowing into the cups in front of each person, from high to low. Because the drinks were different colors, under the lights, the colors shimmered and changed, creating a dazzling rainbow effect. With his level 7 mental strength, performing this was effortless for him. He gave a small show, and after finishing, he wasn’t even out of breath or flushed—this was the power of a level 7 zerg. The other male zergs, who weren’t at the level 7 but were at the level 5 or 6, would definitely have found it difficult, and a bit of envy showed on their faces. Ai Nuo seemed quite pleased with himself. Then the next round began, with Lin Yu sitting beside him.

While they were fully immersed in the game, outside in the hallway, Xi Yuan sat with an icy aura, his eyes fixed not on the screen in front of him, but on the door to the private room. As more and more female zergs entered, his coldness seemed to intensify. The passing waiters held their breath, careful not to attract his attention.