“They’re here.”
Yun Ruoxi smiled and waved in response, then pulled Aili along to sit down.
“How are you feeling today?” Lin Zhen pushed the meat steaks and drinks in front of the two.
Thinking of the vexing incident that morning, Yun Ruoxi pursed her lips unconsciously and replied, “Not so great.”
“Hm?”
Lin Zhen let out a surprised sound, his expression instantly turning to one of astonishment.
Not so great? Could it be that last night’s operation failed? But that shouldn’t be possible!
Wait, did I say something wrong… Noticing Lin Zhen’s sudden change in expression, Yun Ruoxi quickly realized something was off.
What Lin Zhen was asking about seemed to be completely different from what she was thinking, and her answer had clearly led to a misunderstanding…
“What’s wrong?” Zi Jiu glanced over curiously.
Aili, sitting nearby, rolled her eyes and looked at Yun Ruoxi.
“Big Sis, can I tell them?”
“No.”
Coming of age isn’t something worth announcing, so Yun Ruoxi simply stuffed a piece of steak into Aili’s mouth.
“Mmm mmm.”
Aili’s cheeks puffed up, letting out a muffled whimper, casting an apologetic look at the curious crowd.
But the more Yun Ruoxi stopped Aili from saying it, the more everyone else’s curiosity about what Aili wanted to say grew.
Especially Lin Zhen.
He even started to wonder if last night’s operation really had failed, and Yun Ruoxi was showing signs of being brainwashed again.
So, after thinking for a moment, he coughed and said seriously, “Aili, you know what’s going on with Yun Ruoxi. If something bad really happened, we need to know right away.”
“Ah Zhen is right,” Kaos added.
Anvil, who was already greasy-faced from eating, also put down his steak and nodded vigorously.
“This…” Aili swallowed the food in her mouth, looking at Yun Ruoxi beside her with some difficulty.
If it were truly something bad, she would have just said it, regardless of whether her big sister wanted her to or not.
But this really wasn’t a bad thing…
“Just say it.” Seeing Lin Zhen putting on such a serious face, Yun Ruoxi could only give in and sigh helplessly.
She silently grumbled about Lin Zhen in her heart.
‘Just wait, you brat. You made me look bad in front of everyone today, so when you get married in the future, I’ll definitely cut out clips of your embarrassing moments and play them on screen.’
“Big Sis is in a bad mood, it’s just that… she’s growing up…”
But for Yun Ruoxi’s sake, Aili phrased it tactfully.
However, the few present were all little brats and didn’t get what she meant at all, and even in the barrage, quite a few viewers didn’t catch on.
[Is this allowed to be broadcast?]
[So last night Lao Lin wasn’t having a wet dream, but sleepwalking?]
[That’s wild, the person up front.]
[Could it be that Lao Xi is on her period?]
[Period +1]
“Growing up?” Lin Zhen instinctively thought of last night’s dream, his face instantly turning a bit red.
Seeing this, Zi Jiu seemed to realize something, looking at him and Yun Ruoxi with a suspicious expression.
“Growing up? Does that mean it’s her birthday?” Kaos rubbed his chin.
“I think so,” Yun Che nodded.
“Is today Xiao Xi’s birthday?” Anvil said in surprise.
Seeing that not a single person had understood her meaning, Aili grew anxious and finally blurted out loudly:
“No, it’s not her birthday. Big Sis started her period, which is a girl’s first step to growing up!”
“So that’s how it is!” Zi Jiu now understood, a meaningful smile appearing on her face.
But Kaos still didn’t get it.
With a face full of confusion, he looked at Yun Che, “Ah Yun, do you know what a period is?”
“I roughly know.” Yun Che nodded and forcibly turned Kaos’s head back. “But don’t ask. If you want to know, go look it up on the Virtual Network yourself.”
“You too, Anvil.”
“Oh.”
Seeing Yun Ruoxi’s cheeks flush red with embarrassment, Lin Zhen also felt incredibly awkward, quickly muttering an apology.
“I… I’m really sorry about earlier.”
He hadn’t expected to misunderstand Yun Ruoxi like that, and now he’d made a huge fool of himself.
“It’s fine.” Yun Ruoxi turned her head and smiled gently, pushing her breakfast over to Lin Zhen in return.
“Let’s eat first.”
[It’s already like this, let’s eat first.]
[Lao Lin and Lao Xi really are a perfect match.]
[Too perfect, even their wet dream and period happen on the same day.]
After finishing breakfast, Lin Zhen and the others took Yun Ruoxi and her group to the training room, and just like before, they split up to train on their own.
But during training, Lin Zhen kept a close eye on Yun Ruoxi.
He watched to see if she would space out, to confirm if last night’s attempt to free her from brainwashing had worked.
And by the end of the day, Lin Zhen didn’t see Yun Ruoxi space out at all.
This made him perk up with renewed energy.
But to be safe, Lin Zhen continued to observe for a few more days.
For four days in a row, Yun Ruoxi, whether in the training room by day or in the dorm with Aili at night,
didn’t zone out even once.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was now completely certain that their actions that night had succeeded, and his month-long effort had not been in vain!
Lin Zhen clenched his fists tightly, suppressing his excitement, eager to immediately share the good news with everyone around him.
He wanted everyone to be happy too, so they wouldn’t have to waste time every day looking up information and thinking about how to help Yun Ruoxi escape her brainwashing.
But once he calmed down, Lin Zhen suddenly realized it wouldn’t be wise to tell them directly.
He just told them: during this period, they should keep Yun Ruoxi company and help her stay focused; it seemed to have had some effect, but they needed to keep at it.
While it wasn’t entirely fair to Zi Jiu and the others, not telling them was the best choice.
After all, their whole group’s actions had been under Bo Shi’s watchful eye from start to finish these past months.
If they suddenly stopped, Bo Shi would immediately notice something was wrong.
Then all his efforts would have gone to waste!
“Now that Xiao Xi’s brainwashing is undone, the next step is to find a way to escape with everyone.”
Late at night, Lin Zhen lay in bed pretending to sleep, but in his mind, he was furiously working out his escape plan.
There were less than two months left until the final assessment, but there was still a big problem with his escape plan.
That was, when the time came, how would they manage to pilot a ship through that damned Great Wall of Space and escape the Asha Star System?
Lin Zhen had thought about this problem for a long time, and even asked Chicha, but the best solutions they’d come up with still had an abysmally low chance of success.
But in recent days, he’d overheard some rumors, which gave him a new idea.
It was said that, during field training with some class, a certain instructor had let something slip.
He’d mentioned that the final assessment would be extremely difficult—they’d be required to infiltrate a civilized planet.