Chapter 263: A Loving Smile

On Tuesday, it began to rain lightly after a long dry spell.

Since her umbrella wasn’t big enough, Qiao Sang put Yabao into her Beast Codex and walked to school alone.

The sky was gloomy, and pedestrians quickened their steps through the puddles, hurrying with their umbrellas up.

But when they passed by a certain someone, they slowed down, turning their heads to glance curiously a few times.

“Uncle Yang, we’re not at school yet. Do you want to come out for some fresh air?” Qiao Sang couldn’t help but ask, feeling the stares of almost every passerby.

Next to her, an umbrella hovered about two meters in the air, with no one underneath it, drawing attention from the onlookers.

“Zip...”

Edamame, still holding the umbrella, appeared briefly with a call and then vanished again.

“Xun~”

Little Treasure, showing great intuition, translated for his Beast Trainer.

Qiao Sang’s mouth twitched slightly at Little Treasure’s words.

Goodness, he actually fell asleep inside Edamame’s belly...

When they were about a hundred meters from Shengshui High School, Qiao Sang stopped Edamame and said, “If you go in like this, you’ll be exposed. Wait until the rain stops or the school gate staff leave, then come find me. Remember, I’m in Class 1 of Year 1.”

“Zip...”

Edamame appeared again and nodded.

After giving her instructions, Qiao Sang walked on confidently under her umbrella. Edamame was a high-ranking beast, so she trusted him completely.

Little did she know, Edamame watched her walk away, standing in place with a dazed look for nearly a full minute before a confused expression appeared on his face.

“Zip...”

Class what...?

At 9:30 a.m., the second class ended, and Qiao Sang glanced out the window, then back into the classroom.

The rain had stopped over forty minutes ago. Edamame should have been in class by now, but there hadn’t been any noise from him during the previous lesson. Qiao Sang mentally gave him a thumbs-up.

As expected from a high-level beast, expert at hiding!

“Uncle Yang, are you there?” Qiao Sang asked softly, resting her head on her hand on the desk.

There was no response.

Qiao Sang understood.

“I get it, it’s not convenient for you to talk right now. If you’re here, just have Edamame move my pen on the desk.”

“What are you talking about?” Jin Feifan suddenly asked beside her.

Feigning nonchalance, Qiao Sang sat up and replied, “I’m reciting the material from the teacher’s lecture to reinforce what I learned.”

“Reviewing past college entrance exams, there’s a 93% chance that this topic won’t be on the test.”

Jin Feifan thought for a moment and added, “But it might come up on the monthly exams, so memorizing it isn’t a bad idea.”

Qiao Sang froze for a moment.

“We’re only in our first year. Have you already studied the past college entrance exams?”

Jin Feifan blushed slightly, embarrassed.

“I believe in being efficient. I don’t want to waste time on things that don’t matter. If I know what topics usually come up on the exams, I can focus more on those areas when I study.”

Qiao Sang gave her a thumbs-up.

“Nice!”

Just then, a crew-cut boy ran into the classroom from the hallway, excitedly exclaiming, “Guess what just happened in the senior year!”

“What happened?”

“How would we know?”

“Stop teasing, just tell us!”

“Hurry up; class is about to start!”

The classmates each chimed in, focusing their attention on him.

Qiao Sang looked over as well.

Almost every class had a

news hound

who could dig up school gossip at the drop of a hat, and their class was no exception.

Zhang Shuzhou, their very own

news hound

, had already shared plenty of juicy stories within just the first month of school.

Scanning the room with a grin, Zhang Shuzhou finally laughed and said, “Someone’s pet beast, while invisible, went through every senior class and ate up all the hidden snacks! The school leaders are investigating now; whoever did it is probably in big trouble.”

Invisible?

Qiao Sang instinctively reached up to check her head.

Thankfully, it wasn’t Little Treasure...

“Qiao Sang, is your Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost here? He hasn’t wandered off, has he?” Jin Feifan leaned in, whispering.

Qiao Sang: ...

“Xun…”

---

6:56 p.m.

At Unit 1705 of Tianjing Garden.

“What?! You went to the senior section?!” Qiao Sang asked, stunned.

Yang Du gave a wry smile.

“I overslept this morning. When I came out and didn’t see you, I figured you were in class, so I didn’t try contacting you by phone. I asked Edamame, but even he didn’t know which class you were in. I assumed you were in senior year, so I wandered around that section for a bit.”

He finished with a deeply conflicted look at Qiao Sang.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed anyone who told him that a first-year student, just starting high school, could have three pet beasts.

And what’s even more unbelievable, two of those three beasts had already evolved to intermediate levels.

One of them was a Flame Hound, whose evolution path hasn’t even been publicly revealed by the Alliance, while the remaining beginner-level pet was a near-extinct Water Luriana...

Yang Du couldn’t describe his feelings. He’d lived his whole life being praised for his talents, always feeling like he had immense potential.

But now, he felt like his talent was utterly lacking!

Qiao Sang tried to speak in a calm voice, saying, “I did tell Edamame I’m in Class 1 of Year 1.”

“Ah, well, you may not know this, but La La’s forgetfulness is famous across the Xilu region.” Yang Du replied.

“Even as Edamame, he’s still like that.”

Qiao Sang: ???

She couldn’t comprehend it!

How could something so forgetful still be so popular among rookie Beast Trainers?

Suddenly, Qiao Sang remembered something, her lips twitching as she asked, “I heard someone’s invisible pet beast ate all the snacks in the senior year. That wasn’t Edamame, was it?”

“Ridiculous!” Yang Du frowned, defending himself.

“Edamame only snuck a few snacks from the first two classes while I wasn’t paying attention. He didn’t eat anything after that!”

“Zip...”

Edamame slowly nodded in agreement.

Qiao Sang: ...

So it really was you two...

After Yang Du promised it wouldn’t happen again, Qiao Sang went out to the courtyard.

Yabao and the others had already started their training.

Yabao was practicing Meteor Rain.

Little Treasure was working on Brick-Breaking.

Lubao waited patiently for Little Treasure to finish smashing tiles.

Qiao Sang watched with satisfaction.

Crack

!

The tile shattered under the force.

“Lu lu.” Lubao immediately cast Healing Light.

As Little Treasure was being healed, he spotted his Beast Trainer in the courtyard and remembered his mission, flashing an

I got this

look and secretly giving an OK gesture where Lubao couldn’t see.

Qiao Sang blinked, momentarily confused by Little Treasure's gesture.

“Xun~”

Little Treasure floated over to Yabao and began to massage him with his freshly healed paws.

“Yap?”

Yabao turned, looking at Little Treasure in confusion.

“Xun~”

Little Treasure flashed a loving smile, one he’d just learned from playing on a phone last night.

Qiao Sang: ...

She didn’t get it. Why was Little Treasure suddenly acting so... sycophantic?