Chapter 11

After training that day, Lin Mo really did go to the psychological counseling room once. She’d gone with the thought of solving her frustration problem once and for all, but she never expected that from then on, she’d become a regular there.

The “good news” was that she wasn’t the only one who needed psychological counseling. Ever since Yu Changning had started giving every student in Class 1 one-on-one “guidance,” the Class 1 students would rather endure physical exhaustion than not go to the psychological counseling room every day for reassurance.

Except for Chu Yunmiao.

One afternoon, Lin Mo and Ling Hongqiang sat side by side on the chairs in the counseling room corridor, their eyes dull and their minds blank.

Ling Hongqiang suddenly said, “Sister Lin Mo, do you think the instructor and the class monitor knew each other before?”

Lin Mo drew in a breath. “...Why are you asking something like that?”

Ling Hongqiang looked at her. “Don’t you think the instructor’s attitude toward us and her attitude toward the class monitor are worlds apart? It’s been over a month since the instructor started teaching, and who in the class hasn’t spent time in the psychological counseling room? Only the class monitor hasn’t had a single problem.”

He frowned in thought. “It can’t be that the class monitor just has especially strong mental fortitude, can it?”

Lin Mo became a little interested. She struggled to sit up straighter. “What you’re saying does make sense, but... I’m on such good terms with the class monitor, and I’ve never heard her mention anything like this.”

Then she offered her own theory. “Do you think there’s a possibility that the instructor treats the class monitor especially gently because the class monitor is the Long Princess?”

Ling Hongqiang said, “Uh... if you put it that way, that does seem possible.”

Lin Mo clapped a hand to her thigh. “Then isn’t that easy?”

Ling Hongqiang looked baffled. “Huh? What do you mean, easy?”

Lin Mo swept her bangs back. “Heh. It’s time to confess to the instructor that I’m a descendant of the Lin family.”

Although the Lin family couldn’t compare with the royal house, they were still a prominent noble family in the Empire.

Ling Hongqiang scratched his head. “Huh?”

He glanced at the bruise on Lin Mo’s face. “You think Instructor Yu doesn’t know your background? Heh, I—I thought your two families had some kind of grudge, and that’s why Instructor Yu was so, uh, especially ‘focused’ on you.”

Lin Mo shuddered all over. “You think Instructor Yu was especially ‘focused’ on me too?”

Ling Hongqiang let out an awkward laugh. “Anyone with eyes can see that, okay? You’re the one who always gets wrecked the hardest every time; how could you not know that in your heart?”

Lin Mo covered her cheek. “The therapist said that’s because the instructor pays especially close attention to me! The deeper the love, the harsher the discipline; what the hell do you know, sob sob sob.”

The reason sounded grand and proper, but Lin Mo’s tone still couldn’t help being filled with frustration.

Ling Hongqiang wasn’t good at comforting people; he could only sit there with a bitter face and wait for her to vent. Then, suddenly, two students passed by in the corridor.

“Oh, hey, Daqiang? Who’s this? Lin Mo?”

Ling Hongqiang and Lin Mo both looked up and met the other two’s eyes. The next second, Lin Mo brushed her face against her sleeve and wiped away both tears and snot. In a low voice, she answered, “Misu, Aoreding.”

Misu sized up her appearance and asked with a smile, “What happened to you two? What are you doing here?”

Lin Mo was a little irritated and couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. “Can you come and we can’t?”

Misu said, “I came here with our class monitor to pick up some psychological evaluation records. We’re leaving as soon as we get them.” He guessed tentatively, “You two... aren’t here for treatment, are you?”

Huaqi University had five classes in the first year, twenty students per class. At the start of the school year, Huaqi ranked students according to their overall performance and placed them into Classes 1 through 5 from highest to lowest. This class grouping was redone once every semester to motivate all the students to improve their overall grades. Misu and Aoreding were two of the top students in Class 2, and they had always had their eyes on Class 1’s position.

Lin Mo’s presence was no less imposing. “What’s it to you?”

Misu and Aoreding exchanged a look, and Aoreding spoke up. “I heard you’ve got a very strong new instructor. You should’ve improved quite a bit lately, right?” His eyes were brewing with fighting spirit. “No class tonight, right? Want to go to A3 Training Ground and spar?”

Lin Mo and Ling Hongqiang both shivered.

For a long time after that, they probably wouldn’t be able to face the word “spar” properly.

Lin Mo refused, “...Not going. I’ve got something to do tonight.”

Misu sneered. “What’s going on, Lin Mo? You weren’t like this before. What, now that you’ve got a stronger instructor, you’ve turned cowardly instead?”

Lin Mo played dead, “I’m just too lazy to bother with you.”

Misu was about to speak again when Aoreding stopped him. The tall Alpha looked down at Lin Mo and Ling Hongqiang and said faintly, “If you’re busy, forget it. Next week is the first first-year quiz. We can compare notes then too.”

He took the initiative to say goodbye. “We’ve got things to do, so we’re leaving first. I hope you won’t disappoint me too much then.”

With that, the two of them continued on. Lin Mo silently braced herself and, behind their backs, gave two internationally recognized but decidedly unfriendly gestures.

Ling Hongqiang wasn’t as worked up as she was; he flopped back in his chair and muttered, “It’s over. We’re done for.”

Lin Mo shot him a glare. “What are you talking about?”

Ling Hongqiang pouted. “Aoreding is really strong. I heard he only ended up in Class 2 because his cultural grades dragged him down. In terms of combat ability, he could rank mid-to-high, even top-tier, in our Class 1.”

Classes were divided according to overall strength, with both academic and practical combat ability taken into account.

Lin Mo rolled her eyes. “That was the original Class 1. Now, now we’re different!”

Ling Hongqiang looked ready to cry. “We’re even weaker now...”

Lin Mo: “...”

She had no way to refute him.

No matter how confident a person might be, once their opponent was Yu Changning, they would quickly realize they were nothing but trash; completely useless trash.

During the more than a month since Yu Changning had arrived, Lin Mo and the rest of Class 1 had trained even harder than usual, but they still couldn’t see the slightest hope of touching Yu Changning.

That situation drove them into despair, which was why they had to frequent the psychological counseling room so often for relief.

Lin Mo’s features twisted together. “I-I’ll just risk my life and fight Aoreding to the end then!”

But no matter what, time passed as usual, and soon the first first-year quiz arrived. There were only three quizzes each semester; the third quiz was the final assessment. Although the first quiz wouldn’t affect class placement, it could still serve as a very useful reference.

Early that morning, everyone in Class 1 gathered at the field.

Yu Changning observed their condition and frowned. “Why does everyone look so listless?”

Lin Mo poked her head out. “Reporting, instructor.”

Yu Changning said, “Speak.”

Lin Mo’s eyes darted around as she asked, “Cough, I mean, what if we lose later?”

“Lose?” Yu Changning rubbed her knuckles. “Do you think you’ll lose?”

If this had been before, Lin Mo would definitely have gotten cocky first and asked questions later, but now she had reined herself in a lot. Stammering, she said, “I just want to, cough, discuss the various possible outcomes of the assessment.”

Yu Changning narrowed her eyes and looked over the entire Class 1. “If you lose, it means your training load is still insufficient. I’ll adjust your training plan again.”

This time, everyone collectively shivered.

Anyone who wasn’t deaf could hear the threat in Yu Changning’s words; in the ears of Class 1, that sentence was not much different from, “If you lose, I’ll break your legs.”

Lin Mo swallowed hard and, with her neck stiff, shouted together with the others, “Understood, instructor!”

Yu Changning nodded. “Dismissed. Begin your warm-up.”

Lin Mo was clearly off today, and Chu Yunmiao found her before the assessment started.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Mo shook her head, then said through gritted teeth, “I ran into Aoreding and the others yesterday. Annoying.”

Chu Yunmiao glanced in the direction of Class 2. “Why let that annoy you? It’s not like we haven’t run into them before.”

Lin Mo let out a breath. “I just can’t stand their smug faces.”

Chu Yunmiao was surprised. “You really don’t have confidence? You fought Aoreding and the others yesterday?”

Lin Mo denied it. “Didn’t fight them.”

She looked somewhat dispirited. “I don’t know either; lately I keep feeling like I can’t beat anyone. Back when I sparred, I was about fifty-fifty with Aoreding and the others. Whoever was in better form had the better chance of winning, but now I’m guessing Aoreding could probably take me out pretty easily...”

Chu Yunmiao patted her shoulder. “Why would you think that? Haven’t your sparring scores been improving steadily lately?”

Lin Mo pouted. “Where is it steadily improving? I still can’t touch the instructor, can I?”

Mentioning Yu Changning made Lin Mo suddenly remember Ling Hongqiang’s question from yesterday, so she asked, “By the way, class monitor, you and Instructor Yu... knew each other before?”

Chu Yunmiao froze for a moment.

She clenched her left hand and pressed it against her lips, clearing her throat. “Cough, not really familiar.”

“Not familiar? Then why was Instructor Yu...” Lin Mo was still about to press further when the announcement sounded. She cut herself off and sighed. “Forget it. Let’s go line up.”

When the warm-up time ended, the broadcast ordered everyone to gather at the assessment area and wait for their matchups.

Chu Yunmiao went with Lin Mo. When Lin Mo saw her opponent, her face turned even uglier.

The words “Lin Mo VS Aoreding” pressed down on her like a boulder.

Chu Yunmiao comforted her, “The assessment will choose opponents with similar strength for us. Aoreding’s practical combat results are about the same as yours, so running into him is expected. Do your best!”

Lin Mo’s mouth sagged downward, and there was no fighting spirit left in her at all. “I know...”

She stepped onto the assessment platform, and the examiner began, as usual, to read out the rules of engagement.

On the assessment platform, Aoreding wore a contemptuous smile.

“I’ve never seen you in such a bad state before. Looks like changing instructors really did have a huge impact on Class 1.”

Lin Mo would act weak in front of her own people like Chu Yunmiao, but in front of an opponent she still kept her fierce demeanor.

She raised her voice; partly to suppress Aoreding’s momentum, and partly to steady herself. “Of course. I’m way stronger now.”

“Heh.” Aoreding clearly didn’t believe her. “To be honest, the school instructors are all about the same. Yu Changning is impressive, sure, but she’s only five years older than us; how impressive can she really be?”

He gave Lin Mo a thumbs-down and flashed her a LOSE gesture. “Being an instructor still depends on rich teaching experience, don’t you think? I’m really afraid that in another two months, I’ll have to visit you in the inpatient section of the psychological counseling room.”

Lin Mo spat, “I’ll beat you into the main ward of the general clinic first.”

Aoreding snorted and loosened up his limbs.

Below the platform, Chu Yunmiao was a little worried. Just as she was distracted, a bottle of energy drink appeared in front of her.

She looked over and found that the person handing it to her was Yu Changning.

“Here.” Yu Changning lifted a hand. “Your assessment is in the third round? Aren’t you going to go prepare in advance?”

Chu Yunmiao took the energy drink, but only held it in her hands, with no intention of opening it.

“It’s fine. I’ll watch Lin Mo’s assessment before I go.”

Yu Changning’s eyes darkened.

She looked at Lin Mo on the platform and asked casually, “You care about her that much?”

Chu Yunmiao shot her a glare and replied pointedly, “Lin Mo is my good friend; of course I care about her. I’m not like certain people, who for no reason at all go and play that whole cutting ties routine.”

Yu Changning repeated the words from her mouth with amusement. “...Good friend?”

Chu Yunmiao took a deep breath and changed the subject. “Do you think Lin Mo can beat Aoreding?”

Yu Changning’s expression turned a little more serious. She gave a soft “Mm.”

Chu Yunmiao was somewhat puzzled. “...You’re that confident in her?”

She wasn’t trying to argue. During normal training, Yu Changning could pick out a long list of problems in everyone; Lin Mo especially had the most issues. Chu Yunmiao had thought Yu Changning was very disappointed in Lin Mo as a student.

Yu Changning said frankly, “Although I don’t like her, I can’t deny that she does have merits in some areas.”

Chu Yunmiao’s mouth opened slightly. “You, you don’t like her? Why don’t you like her?”

She remembered someone had told her about this before, but at the time she hadn’t believed it, and had even argued that Yu Changning wasn’t the petty type.

So it turned out...

Yu Changning really didn’t like Lin Mo...

Yu Changning didn’t answer. She just looked at her deeply, then shifted her gaze back to the assessment platform.

The duel officially began, and Chu Yunmiao no longer had any interest in asking further. She watched seriously.

Anyone with an eye for it could tell that from the very start, Lin Mo was in a passive defensive position. She didn’t choose to take the initiative like usual; instead, she looked a little restrained and hesitant.

As the fight went on, Aoreding only grew more aggressive. “This is the improvement you were talking about? Lin Mo, you really are getting worse as you learn.”

Lin Mo: “...”

She was furious, but had no idea how to refute him.

That passive beating continued for several minutes, and then the two people on the platform gradually realized something was off.

Aoreding had shown no mercy; seeing that Lin Mo wasn’t in good shape, he wanted to end things quickly so his assessment score would look better too. But when he realized that so much time had passed and he still hadn’t broken through Lin Mo’s defense, he gradually grew impatient.

Lin Mo, however, was the opposite.

She had started with a negative attitude and felt she had no chance of winning at all, but Aoreding looked as though he simply couldn’t do anything to her. No matter how depressed she had been, she gradually came to realize one fact—

She didn’t seem to be as useless as she’d imagined!

A little confidence returned to her. Catching one opening that appeared when Aoreding grew impatient, she tried to counterattack.

Bang—

The towering Aoreding was immediately thrown to the ground. The assessment platform trembled slightly, kicking up a cloud of dust.