Really?
Yulinglong was just inexperienced, not naive; Xiaoyu was the naive one.
She knew that when Bai Xiaonuo said those words, it was most likely to coax her.
But on the other hand, such coaxing was so gentle that it made her heart feel warm and a little happy.
“So when can we play together?”
Bai Xiaonuo thought for a moment and replied, “As soon as you finish the Forest Book. It won’t take long.”
“Okay.”
Happily finishing their meal, Yulinglong hummed a tune as she went to wash the dishes.
As soon as Bai Xiaonuo returned to her room, her ancestor jumped out:
“I knew it—you want to see her suffer through the Forest Book. Xiaonuo, you’re so bad!”
So bad, coming immediately to scold her.
“No, no, I’m just training her patience for games. She’ll improve at everything she plays in the future.”
Bai Xiaonuo answered casually, took a pair of black silk thigh-high socks from her wardrobe, put them on, and started taking photos.
A few days ago, she wore some that increased critical strike; today, they added attack speed.
Ten minutes after sending the photos to her big sister, her phone received a message.
【Ling: Thanks.】
Ah, well, at this hour…
Bai Xiaonuo calmly analyzed, thought for a bit, and directly asked: 【Did you finish or are you about to start?】
Ten minutes was a somewhat ambiguous timeframe—not too long, not too short.
If it was after finishing, then it felt like a quick mode.
But if it was before starting, the preparation time was a bit too long.
【Ling: If you say anything weird again, I’ll come find you.】
【NuoNuo: …】
Damn, that trick again.
【Ling: Also, I’m not thanking you for the photos, but for caring about my sleep problems.】
【NuoNuo: But I’m showing I care and trying to help with your sleep by sending photos.】
【Ling: …】
After sending this string of ellipses, her big sister said no more; whether she had slept or started, no one knew.
Zzzz
With new material spreading, Bai Xiaonuo’s reputation at school grew even more.
LOL players called her the Beast Spirit Walker and posted asking if she could change forms.
Dota 2 players called her Beastmaster and asked if she could give her teammates attack speed boosts… which startled Bai Xiaonuo because she was wearing black silk socks today.
World of Warcraft players called her a druid and wanted to ask something but didn’t get the chance because other Blizzard fans rushed over to mock them all at once.
Amidst the chaos, Wednesday quickly passed, and Thursday arrived, bringing military training.
Military training was painful, and its pain came from the timing: September’s weather just caught the last tail end of summer.
The heat was bad enough, but mosquitoes were the ultimate enemy.
When standing at attention, students faced the ultimate dilemma—when you feel movement on your hand, possibly a mosquito feeding, do you risk punishment by the instructor to shoo it away, or endure the bite and the itch afterward?
Everyone made their own choice, each with their own suffering. Only one person was spared.
“Student.”
The instructor noticed a girl in the formation.
Her pretty face was damp with fragrant sweat under the sun, glowing with charm.
The oversized camouflage uniform couldn’t hide her proud figure—the large curve of her chest stretched the uniform tightly, turning it into a fitted garment.
Of course, these were not the main reasons the instructor noticed her, at least not entirely.
More importantly—
“Miss, you’re doing very well, perfectly meeting the standard of standing at attention without moving,” the instructor said to her, “but that doesn’t mean you have to hold still in every situation. Except for emergencies, your safety comes first… for example, you can remove the animals on you now.”
On the girl’s small, delicate shoulder, two wall geckos were standing! One on each side!
Nearby students turned their heads, startled by the geckos climbing on her, but when they looked closely at her beautiful face and those two plump little creatures, they realized it was her.
Bai Xiaonuo remained still as a mountain, her expression calm: “It’s okay, instructor. They are my animal friends.”
“Animal friends?” The instructor was stunned.
Whispers began in the formation.
In the past, the instructor would have turned around to scold and possibly made them run laps, but now he had no time to care, because he had never seen a scene like this.
Many students took the opportunity to stretch and catch their breath, glancing gratefully at Bai Xiaonuo.
“Yes, my animal friends, Zhishi Bihu Da and Zhishi Bihu Er,” Bai Xiaonuo said. “They’re here to help me chase away the mosquitoes.”
The instructor chuckled: “Chase mosquitoes? I’d love to see how they do that…”
Before he could finish, a mosquito, frantically chased by a nearby student, flew straight toward Bai Xiaonuo.
With a swift flick, a long tongue shot out like a dragon, capturing the mosquito and swallowing it whole.
“!”
If not seen with one’s own eyes, the instructor would never believe it.
He was so shocked he was speechless.
Looking again, the two geckos perched on the girl’s delicate shoulders like the Mingshen Lions guarding a gate—valiant protectors watching over all directions.
On their ancient scaled dragon-like faces seemed written:
Good person with a knife, juicy guardian, within five steps—anyone who dares kill will be killed!
“Awesome… just awesome.”
Because of this incident, the instructor was a bit distracted all day.
Many students took the chance to slack off, and he didn’t notice.
After a day of training, everyone in that formation felt pretty good.
During the evening break, several formations gathered to chat.
“I’m so jealous of your side—just slack off as you please, and the instructor doesn’t care.”
“Of course not; he was totally stunned.”
“I knew Bai Xiaonuo wouldn’t abandon us. Doesn’t matter, she’ll step in!”
“May I ask what happened?”
“There’s a video on the forum; go check it out yourself.”
Someone even bought a bottle of water and ran over to thank Bai Xiaonuo: “You saved me big time, Nuo-jie. At that moment, I felt if I didn’t move, I’d faint.”
Bai Xiaonuo took it and looked—Baisui Mountain brand. Not bad.
“It’s what I should do,” the girl said lightly. “We’re all classmates; we should help each other. Besides, it’s just a small effort for me.”
Though she didn’t really know what she had done.
Saving someone from danger unknowingly—maybe that’s what being an expert feels like. I’m just too strong.
Before breaking for the evening, formations lined up again.
The instructor said a few things:
“This week, because the holiday starts the day after tomorrow, the first two days are just appetizers to help you adapt to the intensity of military training. Next week, it won’t just be standing at attention; there will be marching drills and such. Then, no more little tricks.”
When saying this, he deliberately glanced at Bai Xiaonuo.
She couldn’t exactly bring her animal friends along for the march.
“Also, starting next Monday, several psychological counselors will be stationed at the school to conduct psychological assessments for each student. Please cooperate with their work,” the instructor continued.