Chapter 135: Vivienne's Inquiry

The training sessions for the other attributes on the subsequent floors passed uneventfully, creating no ripples. Huo Ye did not go out of his way to seek out the other members of the Constellation either. Besides, the ice-attribute training room was right upstairs; was he supposed to go embrace Shangguan Yudie to keep each other warm?

Ugh... Just thinking about it actually made him a little excited. No, no, he couldn't have such daydreams in his mind, he couldn't continue with fantasies that would definitely trigger a 404 error if written down!

After finishing dinner that evening, Huo Ye engaged in his customary daily program: the Night-Rain Raven version of VRF.

Shangguan Yudie also began her own program: accompanying Little Ye-ge to play the role of the Night-Rain Raven, thereby cultivating their relationship. She had achieved a profound awakening by now. Huo Ye's current state was not that he was incapable of loving, but rather that he dared not love. He was afraid of losing a partner if she were too weak, and he was afraid that his own weakness would prevent him from protecting a partner. Therefore, he dared not forge any relationship beyond mere friendship with any member of the opposite sex.

Thus, to accompany Huo Ye in growing stronger, she must also become stronger. As long as she no longer gave Huo Ye cause for worry, everything else would naturally fall into place.

Huo Ye was thoroughly puzzled. Little Yu had been so diligent lately; she logged on the exact moment he did, and it was always right after dinner. How could the timing be such a coincidence? Should he stagger his schedule a bit in the future? Otherwise, with such coincidences, wouldn't she grow suspicious?

To this day, Huo Ye still had no idea that the only two newcomers in the entire Constellation who remained unaware of his identity as the Night-Rain Raven were Luo Jiajia and Lu Dingyuan.

Huo Ye greeted Shangguan Yudie as usual, and then feigned innocence as he said, "I've had some inspiration these past few days and have been working on the first draft of my new book, which is why I haven't been online. I heard your club president killed a Calamity-rank. So impressive!"

At that moment, Shangguan Yudie mentally uttered two words: "Heh-heh."

What an amazing actor. Were you born to be in Hollywood? If I didn't know the truth, I totally would have been fooled by you! Inspiration and drafting my foot, you were hospitalized in a coma! And "so impressive," can you have any shame? When praising yourself, you don't feel awkward at all, and your self-satisfied psychic waves are almost blinding my eyes!

If Alice were here, she would simply tell Shangguan Yudie that this was her brother's standard operating procedure. When he was too lazy to cook a complicated meal at home, he would claim there were no ingredients, yet after eating, when he wanted to check the fridge for a drink, it would be packed to the brim with ingredients. And you expect me to believe there were none? Yet Huo Ye's sincere gaze was even purer than a puppy's; it was unbelievable.

Nevertheless, Huo Ye was still basking in self-admiration, convinced his acting skills completely outperformed those traffic stars who only knew how to cover their faces with their hands.

Casual conversation was sparse. Unawares, the two had reached a consensus: talk less, fight more; they were here to grow stronger.

That night, the Night-Rain Raven and Shangguan Yudie once again swept through a vast swath of academy powerhouses. None of the major club presidents were online that night, so the opponents they matched against were merely a bunch of club executives. Their battles could be described in two words: crushing defeat.

Huo Ye had also kept an eye out for any potential free agents. He had previously asked Jiang Feng to prepare a list for him, and he had basically memorized the basic profiles of all capable free agents in the academy who hadn't joined any clubs. However, since they had always been free agents, it was unlikely they would be willing to join the Constellation just because Huo Ye tried to persuade them. Huo Ye was merely giving it a try with low expectations.

The apartment shared by the three of them was a duplex structure, and directly above the ceiling of their apartment was the room rented by Mr. and Mrs. Hols.

At this moment, Eddie was sitting on the sofa, frowning in deep thought. He wanted to send Huo Ye a message, but he hadn't figured out how to phrase it. What he had to say to his son was of great significance; should he be more solemn and talk face-to-face?

Consequently, Eddie sent Huo Ye a message: "Come up to my place as soon as you see this."

Three hours later, Huo Ye sat up from the hibernation pod and saw the message. His heart skipped a beat. Three hours? I'm dead, dead, dead! Making his old man wait for three hours meant he was definitely in for a world of hurt!

Huo Ye hurriedly pushed himself up with both hands, jumped out, and bolted out the door without even changing his shoes.

When Huo Ye reached the upper floor and pressed the doorbell, the door was opened by Vivian, who was wearing pajamas. Huo Ye peeked inside the room and then asked cautiously, "Mom, where's Dad?"

Vivian grabbed Huo Ye by the arm, pulled him inside, and soothed him, saying, "Don't worry, your dad and I just want to ask you about something."

"What is it?" Huo Ye asked.

"I'll tell you in a minute. Go sit with your dad first."

Huo Ye followed Vivian into the room. Eddie was sitting casually on the sofa, watching the currently most popular streaming TV series—the kind that gets a top-banner recommendation the moment you open the app. The couple rarely had any time to relax in ordinary days, but now that they had handed over their duties to Janos, they could simply enjoy a brief vacation in Bancroft.

Huo Ye sat across from Eddie and said, "Dad, I'm late. I was in the hibernation pod earlier and didn't see your message."

Eddie nodded, indicating that he understood. The living room was brightly lit, yet Eddie's deadpan eyes appeared all the more gloomy under the illumination. Huo Ye secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Seeing Vivian sit down, he asked, "Mom, can you tell me now?"

Vivian smiled, glanced at Eddie, and received a cue from Eddie's eyes telling her to speak. Then Vivian began, "Son, Mom hasn't arranged any blind dates for you lately. Have you found yourself a partner on your own?"

Huo Ye's face instantly fell. Why was it this topic again? Do you two care about my romantic life this much? I'm only nineteen, okay?

Though he thought this, Huo Ye couldn't possibly voice it out loud. He could only reply vaguely, "Nobody suitable. I haven't seen anyone who catches my eye."

Vivian simply let out a soft "Oh" and then asked, "That little girl named Liuli in your club—didn't you woo her over?"

Huo Ye was covered in black lines. "Mom, what kind of phrasing is that? What do you mean 'wooed'? She's Big Sister Fengjian Wang's younger sister. I was apologizing to her for all I was worth back then, and thankfully she didn't hold it against me. By the way, Dad, my target is set: the tenth calamity, Hill. When the time comes, I want Liuli to come with me. After all, her sister was also devoured by Hill."

Hearing this, Eddie pondered for a moment and then nodded. "From a sentimental standpoint, there's no problem, but the final credit must be attributed entirely to you; otherwise, it won't be easy to report back to the colony."

Huo Ye hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "Alright, I'll go talk to Liuli later. She should be willing to do me this favor."

Vivian instantly grew anxious. "Hey, hey, hey! How can you deflect the topic so smoothly, child? We're talking about your lifelong affairs!"

Eddie suddenly snapped out of his daze. That's right, whenever Huo Ye brought up serious business, he really did manage to make them forget the original topic. However, the matter at hand seemed quite serious too!

Huo Ye spread his hands. Sure enough, Mom wasn't going to let it go. So he said helplessly, "Fine, Mom, don't beat around the bush with me anymore. Since you dragged me upstairs in the middle of the night, you must have already picked a partner for me."

Vivian covered her mouth and chuckled. "As expected. Hey, I told you our son is sharp."

"Your intentions were just too obvious," Eddie remarked.

Vivian laced her fingers together, narrowed her eyes at the youth, and said, "Son, since you've already figured it out, Mom will just be blunt. You and that little girl from the Shangguan family..."

When Huo Ye heard the three words "Shangguan family," he immediately knew who they were talking about. He lowered his voice and said, "Mom, let me think about it."

Vivian's eyes instantly lit up. "Think about it? Son, you're interested in her too?"

Huo Ye gave a bitter laugh. "I wouldn't go so far as to say interested, but... it's alright. If it's Little Yu, spending the rest of our lives together is a possibility, but..."

"There are no 'buts'!" Eddie suddenly interrupted at this moment. "Since you don't reject her, come back with us to Solar City tomorrow. There is urgent business."

Huo Ye wanted to retort, but knowing it would be futile, he simply closed his mouth.

Meanwhile, in her own room, Shangguan Yudie suddenly received a message from her father.

"Urgent matter. Arrive home before dinner tomorrow." Shangguan Yudie felt a bit puzzled. Before dinner—did that carry any special meaning?

Early the next morning, Huo Ye left breakfast for Alice and Shangguan Yudie, then headed out early to return to Solar City with his parents.

When Alice woke up, she found two notes left on the table.

"I'm heading back to Solar City with Mom and Dad. Breakfast is left for you."

"I'm heading home for a trip too, Little Yu, eat all the breakfast."

Alice was puzzled. Such a coincidence? Both heading to Solar City? No, something smells fishy! I'm going too!