Chapter 44

It had only been two days, but it felt like they had been apart for much longer. The moment he saw her, his heartbeat went out of sync.

She was wearing a collared shirt and a white-and-black checkered dress, with slightly longer hair tucked behind her ears. She was looking down, writing something.

This was the first time Lu Fengfeng had seen Yan Ning studying—sitting upright, her gaze focused, and she seemed to be working on a test paper. But why was she in the high school office?

After putting down his homework, Lu Fengfeng took a couple of steps toward her to see what she was doing.

The English teacher beside him stopped him and made a “quiet” gesture.

Lu Fengfeng paused, then mimed the question, “What’s she doing?”

The teacher silently mouthed back, “Taking an exam,” and then ushered him out of the office.

Lu Fengfeng stood outside the door, watching for a while. Yan Ning was fully focused, finishing one paper and immediately picking up another. She didn’t notice him standing outside.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, but when Yan Ning finished the last paper in front of her, she reached under the desk, trying to grab a new one. After feeling around for a few moments without finding it, she looked down at the desk and realized there were no more papers left.

Realizing she had completed all the papers, she glanced at the time—it had been less than two hours.

However, just to be cautious, she decided to review all the papers from the beginning. After confirming there were no mistakes, she raised her hand to call the teacher.

The teacher, who had been grading papers nearby, looked up when she heard the sound. “What’s wrong?”

“Teacher, I’m done,” Yan Ning said, pointing to the neatly arranged papers on the desk.

“Done with one? The rest are under the desk, you need to finish all of them.”

“Yes, they’re all done,” Yan Ning replied calmly.

“All of them? You’ve finished every paper?”

The teacher stood up and walked over to Yan Ning, picking up the papers in front of her. The math and English were clearly done, and even the Chinese, including reading and the essay at the end, were completed. The papers for the other subjects were also fully answered.

The teacher flipped through the test papers, unable to resist pulling out her phone from her pocket. After glancing at the time, she saw it was only a little past four. “How did you finish so quickly?”

Yan Ning remained composed. “Maybe because I was well-prepared, the answering process was quite smooth.”

The teacher thought to herself, “No, no, no. Even if you’re fully prepared and the answering process is smooth, it shouldn’t be this fast. Not to mention all subjects, the Chinese essay alone should take at least half an hour, and there’s the English reading comprehension and the big problems in math.”

But she had been watching her the whole time, and she only took the papers after Yan Ning entered. It couldn’t have been a problem.

The teacher snapped out of her thoughts, realizing that the girl sitting at the desk was waiting for her to speak. Flustered, she hurriedly folded and separated the papers, then said, “You can go now. We’ll notify you when the test results are out.”

“When can I expect the results?” Yan Ning asked.

The teacher thought for a moment. “The other subject teachers will start grading after class. You should have the results by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Alright, thank you.” Yan Ning packed her things and stood up to leave.

When Yan Ning returned to Class 1, Year 5, and had just sat down in her seat, Qiao Yingxue turned around. “How was it? Was the exam hard?”

Yan Ning smiled and shook her head. “I think it was fine. The questions were mostly familiar, so there shouldn’t be any big issues.”

“You’re amazing, Ningning,” Qiao Yingxue praised.

“What exam?” Shi Lei turned around, still unaware that Yan Ning was applying to skip a grade.

Qiao Yingxue briefly explained the situation, and both Zhou Ye and Shi Lei stared at Yan Ning in surprise.

Compared to the calmness of the two girls, their surprised expressions made Yan Ning feel a little more at ease.

Shi Lei leaned against Zhou Ye’s desk, looking at Yan Ning with wide eyes. “Why? Isn’t it good to study with us?”

He wanted to say that he no longer minded her, and he felt that spending time with her was much more interesting than his previous life.

Qiao Yingxue slapped him lightly. “What’s with all the questions? Since Ningning can skip a grade after passing the exam, why waste three more years?”

Shi Lei looked a little aggrieved. “I just feel like it’s all so sudden. And we’ve all been having a great time together, right?”

“It has been great. Because of you guys, I feel like my middle school life has been complete.”

Although this time was short, because of these four classmates, her middle school life had no regrets.

The exam results came out earlier than Yan Ning expected. Just as the final bell for the last class of the day rang, she received the notification.

She had passed all the subjects, and could report to the first year of high school the next day.

Yan Ning stopped Qiao Yingxue and the others, who were about to head home, and showed them the message on her phone. “How about we go to the shelter to have a drink?”

Qiao Yingxue and Zhao Xiaolu were stunned when they saw the message on the phone.

“What’s going on?” Yan Ning asked, confused.

“How could it be so fast?” Qiao Yingxue was flustered. She had thought that with Yan Ning saying she wanted to skip a grade, the exams and all the formalities would take at least a week.

Yan Ning shrugged. “I also think it’s fast. Maybe Shengyi was pushing for it? But I really like the efficiency.”

“Then, does this mean we’ll be parting ways tonight?” Shi Lei, carrying his backpack, stood still for a moment before speaking.

Yan Ning packed her bag. “Let’s go, I’ll treat you guys.”

—

Far away on the M20 star, in the center of the capital city, stood the palace.

Layer upon layer of heavy, yet ornate doors were pushed open. After eight doors were opened, a servant holding a sealed letter hurriedly walked in.

Finally, he stopped in front of a dark red door, adjusted his attire, collected his emotions, took a deep breath, and lightly knocked on the door.

“What is it?” A clear, resonant, and authoritative voice came from inside the door.

Even though the person inside couldn’t see, the servant respectfully bent down. “Your Majesty, we’ve received news from the trade association. Someone from the distant Blue Star has ordered an K2 battery.”

“Is it her?”

“Yes, it’s confirmed to be Number 207. Actually, there’s also a piece of footage sent back from Blue Star, and it’s related to Yan Ning… Number 207. She killed the Stone Dragon, and the suppressor has also been damaged.” The servant’s voice was steady, but there was a hint of hesitation that was difficult to detect.

“Bring it in.”

The dark red door opened, revealing a handsome man in a long robe, half of his chest exposed as he sat on a sofa.

On the table in front of him was red wine, accompanied by two small plates of appetizers.

The man had been having a late-night snack in the bedroom before the servant arrived.

The king had never had such unrefined habits in the past. It was only after Number 207 started serving by his side that these crude habits began to rub off on him.

The servant handed the sealed letter over, and Qing Ye reached out to take it and opened it.

Inside was a magnetic card containing an image. By inserting the card into the light brain, its contents could be directly accessed.

The light brain projected the image in front of Qing Ye, and the servant stood dutifully beside him.

The footage transmitted from the magnetic card showed Yan Ning killing the Stone Dragon on Angel Island No. 4.

“She killed the Stone Dragon, and the controller has also been damaged. Your Majesty, we must summon her back immediately.” The servant said, unable to hold back after watching the video.

Qing Ye replayed the video twice, pausing it at one point. He pointed to Lu Fengfeng and, with a voice as cold as ice, asked, “Who is this man?”

The servant only then noticed the other person in the footage. This man had saved Number 207 when she was thrown off by the Stone Dragon and had also blocked a flying dart for her.

They were only responsible for tracking where Number 207 went, and the king had never ordered surveillance of those around her. So, they hadn’t known when such a person had appeared beside her.

The servant keenly sensed that the king’s mood had suddenly worsened and lowered his head, speaking cautiously, “Your Majesty, this is only a rough report. Detailed information will be sent back in a few days.”

“Mm, understood. You may go.” Qing Ye lowered his gaze, looking at the deep red liquid in his glass. The previous unease seemed to have been blown away by the wind, no longer something he could grasp.

“And the K2 battery?” The servant asked carefully.

Just dealing with Number 207 alone was already formidable. If 007 were assisting her, it would become even harder to control her if the suppressor was damaged.

“Give it to her.”

“Yes.” The servant maintained his bowing posture and respectfully exited the bedroom.

Once the door closed, the room returned to its earlier quiet and solitude.

Qing Ye picked up the wine bottle, pouring almost half a glass, and tilted his head back to swallow it in one go.

The deep red liquid trickled down his chin, sliding down his skin and throat. He raised his hand and casually wiped it off, standing up to walk to the bed and lie down.

After all the playing, one must eventually return.

—

Yan Ning, along with Qiao Yingxue, Zhao Xiaolu, Zhou Ye, and Shi Lei, parted ways in front of the Windbreak Shelter. Uncle Zheng’s car was waiting for her by the roadside.

As usual, Uncle Zheng would ask about her daily life at school.

Yan Ning thought for a moment and said, “I’m going to the high school section tomorrow. I passed the promotion exam today.”

“Huh? Minghua has such exams?” Even Uncle Zheng was surprised.

“Technically, there shouldn’t be any, but I won first place in the competition and made this request to Shengyi. I took the exam this afternoon at school, and they sent the notice tonight that I passed.”

Uncle Zheng knew about Shengyi and the strong capital and connections behind Shengyi’s boss. It was indeed a small matter to fulfill such a request.

But Yan Ning’s approach to handling things surprised him. She didn’t involve the boss or his wife, but instead took the exam and skipped a grade on her own.

This personality of hers seemed a bit too independent.

“You’d better still inform the boss and his wife,” Uncle Zheng reminded.

“Mm, Mom and Dad are both too busy. I’ll tell them when they come back,” Yan Ning responded with an official tone, giving the impression that she had listened to his words, but in reality, she had no intention of bringing it up on her own.

The next day, Yan Ning arrived at school, timing it so she was a little later than her usual arrival time.

There were still some procedures to go over with the homeroom teacher of her new class, and she didn’t want to wait in the office, so she purposely arrived a little later.

Grade 10, Class 9.

After handing in their homework, the students picked up their English books and began reading the text and vocabulary.

Lu Fengfeng’s gaze occasionally swept towards the door. Although he didn’t confirm it, Yan Ning had been in the high school office yesterday for an exam.

A vague guess formed in his mind.