Time passed slowly, and scattered snowflakes drifted gently in the dark night. Under the bright light, the snowflakes looked like white sprites dancing in the darkness.

Standing at the entrance of Xingda University, Xia Shizhao leaned against a tree, waiting for Qiu Li to come and pick him up.

Although it's the first snow of the year, walking back is impossible. Even though I'm not afraid of the cold now, the snow is quite heavy, and my clothes got soaked as soon as it hit me.

As for why she's standing at the door now, it's because her car broke down.

It broke down inexplicably. Xia Shizhao even suspected that someone had tampered with her car. It was fine when she drove it in the morning, but when she tried to leave in the afternoon, she found that the car wouldn't start.

What a coincidence, it's snowing today.

She rubbed her cold hands together, then sprinted around a few times. A black sedan stopped in front of her, and she skillfully opened the door and sat in the passenger seat.

The car's heater instantly enveloped his entire body, and his slightly cool fingertips were no longer so stiff. Xia Shizhao lay down comfortably.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." "You arrived quite quickly."

Ye Qiuling and Xia Shizhao spoke at the same time.

"That was fast! I was only out for a minute and you were already here."

Xia Shizhao took off the scarf around her neck and suddenly noticed two bottles of hot cocoa next to her. She casually picked up one and drank it. "Did you just buy this? It's still warm."

"Yeah, I was just browsing in a newly opened supermarket near the school. I was about to get on the bus and head home when you called."

Ye Qiuling looked straight ahead and casually pointed to the snacks in the back seat.

Xia Shizhao peeked out and glanced at the snack bag. "Chocolate-filled liqueurs? I'll take a bag and eat it."

Ye Qiuling chuckled softly, her tone tinged with indulgence: "You eat it, there's plenty more delicious food inside."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Xia Shizhao glanced over the plastic bag and rummaged through it. Most of the items were things she liked to eat. She asked in a puzzled tone, "I'm not being narcissistic, but did you buy this for me to eat?"

"Hmm, I've noticed you've been really into snacks lately. I'm curious what they taste like, and I'd like to try them too."

"Oh, I see."

Xia Shizhao took out a chocolate bar and started eating it, chewing like a hamster.

She took another sip of hot cocoa, a happy smile spreading across her face. "It seems so. I've been craving sweets lately, probably because I don't have to teach students every day, which has improved my mood a lot."

Her voice was very cheerful; Ye Qiuling didn't even need to look at her expression to tell that she was genuinely happy.

"Congratulations, things have become much less hectic?"

"Yes, there are many omegas in this year's mecha department, and many students with a mental strength of 2s. I found some of the more studious omegas and taught them specially. Now I don't have to go to many classrooms anymore. They can train both their mental strength and their dodging ability. Perfect."

As he spoke, Xia Shizhao snapped his fingers triumphantly, "They're really looking forward to joining Liu Ruxuan's army, hahaha~"

Ye Qiuling: "Don't they want to join my legion?"

Xia Shizhao gave her a strange look. "Your legion is full of alphas. What are they going there for? They might even discriminate against omegas. They'll just have to suffer there."

“Hmm…that’s true,” Ye Qiuling paused, trying to extricate herself from that discriminatory circle, and then said, “But most of them are not discriminated against. Those who were discriminated against were all convinced by Liu Ruxuan.”

Who knows?

Xia Shizhao said in a cheeky tone.

A hint of helplessness flashed across Ye Qiuling's face as she drove, and she changed the subject, "Indeed, your legion is more suited to omegas. By the way, has he been acting strangely lately?"

"Hmph, do we need you to say more about our legion?"

Xia Shizhao proudly raised his head, staring at the 120-second traffic light in deep thought. He then said, "More than half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. The students are all starting their winter break today, and they still haven't made a move. Are we overthinking it? Or are they waiting for me to slip up and strike?"

“No, I don’t know if the leader has a problem, but Major General Wu definitely has a problem. Recently, the people who followed Black Bow have discovered that he frequently goes to backward planets. Children disappear in large numbers wherever he goes. Moreover, there were three large auctions where Major General Wu and Black Bow met privately. The time spent together was short, just a few minutes, very short, as if they were passing on something.”

Ye Qiuling started the car and said in a cold and deep voice, "During those periods, the leader was also in poor condition. Everyone thought he was going to die. What's amazing is that when we met again, he was like a newborn, full of energy, and it felt like he could sit in that position for decades more."

Xia Shizhao wasn't surprised at all, but he still went along with it feigning surprise, offering his support:

Wow, that's amazing!

Ye Qiuling fell silent again:

"...Could you please stop using such a strange tone?"

It's kind of like they're mocking me.

Ye Qiuling dared not be angry or speak out.

Xia Shizhao waved his hand dismissively:

"Let's lighten the mood, don't be so serious, it's kind of scary."

She straightened her expression, sat up slightly, and said:

"If they are remnants of those labs, it's not impossible for them to make a potion that can make people look beautiful. It's normal for results obtained through inhumane experiments to be faster than those obtained through normal experiments. In addition, they have passed down their knowledge from generation to generation, so their research and effects on the potion must have surpassed those of the potions on the surface. Fu Ziran and I have discussed this. So don't be too nervous. These rats in the gutter won't dare to run into the street."

Ye Qiuling nodded, glanced outside, and said softly, "We've arrived. You can get off now."

Xia Shizhao looked at the snow outside and suddenly felt lazy. "I don't want to cook."

"Would you like to eat at my place?"

"I want to eat hot pot."

Ye Qiuling was silent for a moment, a hint of annoyance flashing across her face, but she quickly regained her composure and said with difficulty, "My family doesn't have any materials."

"Let's go out to eat then~ It's your treat. I'm so broke from working on mechs lately, I'm thinking of robbing someone."

Ye Qiuling's lips curled up slightly with a happy smile, and she said in a relaxed tone, "It's my treat, it's my treat."

She actually wanted to say that she didn't have any money and should ask Xia Shizhao for it, but she was afraid that Xia Shizhao would be unhappy, so she kept it to herself.

Xia Shizhao quickly called a hot pot restaurant and made a reservation. The bill was recorded on Ye Qiuling's personal computer. There was no other way; she was really poor. The energy stone was a money-devouring beast, and so were the materials for the shuttle.

You can't earn it, you simply can't earn it.

Sometimes when she came out of her home lab, she would see the dozen or so flowerpots worth millions of yuan in Ye Qiuling's yard and think about stealing them to sell and buy materials.

Who said mechanics make money? Who is it?!

It's a profession that completely devours money, isn't it?

Looking out the window at the scenery with her head propped up in frustration, she suddenly blurted out, "Ye Qiuling, give me some money to spend. You said you would give me money before."

When Xia Shizhao realized what had happened, he felt like he had been punched in the head.

Frustrated, Xia Shizhao raised his hand to slap his mouth, but Ye Qiuling's warm hand blocked it, making a crisp sound as she slapped the back of her hand. Xia Shizhao was stunned and looked up at Ye Qiuling.

Perhaps because it was too dark outside, the car's interior lights cast a warm, pale yellow glow. Ye Qiuling's expression was very gentle, and her eyes seemed to hold a few stars. "You can ask me for as much as you want."

Xia Shizhao choked, then grinned at her: "One hundred billion!"

Ye Qiuling sat up straight, nodded, and raised her hand to connect her personal terminal to the personal terminal.

Xia Shizhao successfully received the message from the bank card.

"..."

A hundred billion? Wow, Ye Qiuling is really rich!

That's it, I really don't want to pay it back.

The moment Xia Shizhao saw the message, her mind raced with thoughts. She looked at her hesitantly, clutching her personal terminal like a precious treasure, "Give it to me and I won't give it back, I won't give it back!!"

His tone was decisive and resolute.

Ye Qiuling nodded, "You don't need to pay me back..."

Then she changed the subject and said pitifully, "But I've given you all my possessions, so could you treat me to this meal?"

"Of course, no problem."

Although he knew that Ye Qiuling couldn't possibly be really broke, Xia Shizhao still raised his hand and gave an OK sign. With so much money, treating someone to a meal wouldn't be a problem.

She was very generous, hehe.

Its round cat eyes curved slightly, smiling like a happy kitten.