Chapter 68 Research Meeting 21 Being Xie Jiaoyue's cousin is so cool!
It is impolite to interrupt or call out someone's stubbornness when they are sad, so Xie Jiaoyue waited patiently until Xie Xinghui had completely recovered from his emotions before politely continuing to speak.
"Here, take this handkerchief."
Xie Xinghui, clutching a handkerchief, asked, "Sis, do you think it's dirty?"
Xie Jiaoyue wanted to shake her head, but she couldn't shake it away: "Cousin, it would be impolite if you delved too deeply into some things. Perhaps I just wanted to give you a handkerchief because I saw you were in a good mood today."
Xie Xinghui scoffed, "Seeing that I'm in a good mood? When have you ever given me a kind look?"
This hadn't happened before, because Xie Xinghui didn't want to follow Xie Yuehua around, and Xie Yuehua had badmouthed him to others quite a bit, causing this cousin to run away whenever she saw him.
Later on, there weren't many. A perfect disciple in the eyes of his teachers who only knew how to be in the library all day long, and a street urchin who only liked to tease cats and dogs, probably didn't have much to say to each other.
"Am I not nice enough today?"
Xie Xinghui became wary. Xie Jiaoyue, a prodigy, was bound to be shrewd; manipulating her would be incredibly easy.
"Just tell me straight, what do you see in me?" Although he would occasionally use Xie Jiaoyue's name to show off and always boast to others about his close relationship with his cousin, and would sometimes deliberately try to get close to Xie Jiaoyue, he never thought that the two of them could really be close.
"Cousin, I remember you cultivate the art of weapon crafting? What have you been crafting lately for the research conference?" Xie Jiaoyue decided to take a roundabout approach and inquire about Xie Xinghui's situation.
Before Xie Xinghui could speak, the parrot spoke first.
"Nobody wants us, nobody wants us at Star Shine."
Xie Xinghui pretended to hit him: "I'll teach you to talk nonsense again."
The parrot flapped its wings and soared into the sky, giving humans a powerful demonstration of what racial talent truly means: "You can't hit us, you can't hit us, we Starshine can't hit you."
Xie Xinghui awkwardly stopped: "Don't worry about it, it won't fly too far, it will come back when it gets hungry."
Who would want to be a stray parrot if they could be properly cared for?
The two walked and talked, with Xie Jiaoyue leading the way. Although Xie Jiaoyue was not very familiar with the second branch of the family, the layouts of the various branches of the Xie family were all quite similar. She led them to a well.
It wasn't time to draw water, and the well was deserted. The air was cooler than elsewhere because of the refreshing well water, and the area appeared somewhat eerie under the heavy shadows of the trees.
Xie Xinghui exaggeratedly covered his collar: "Sis, I just couldn't find the research club team, it's not like I broke any laws, there's no need to purge the club!"
"What are you thinking about? Come on, wash your face. Your eyes are so red. My dress looks cheap next to you."
Xie Xinghui drew a basin of well water and looked into it. He couldn't see very clearly, but he could still tell from the water that his eyes were more swollen than usual.
He splashed water on his face, and after a few handfuls of cool water, his eyes felt much better, and he was completely awake.
He fetched another bucket of water, took a few sips to moisten his throat, and then told Xie Jiaoyue the truth: "I'm your cousin, so they didn't dare to invite me. Then, as time went on, everyone had their own teams, and I was left out."
"What does it have to do with the fact that you're my cousin and they're afraid to invite you?"
Xie Xinghui shrank his neck and said in a low voice, "I bragged to them before that you and I are really close. They said if we're close, why haven't we been in the same group, and why haven't you taken me to the research conference? I just kept saying that the time isn't right yet, and when the time comes, my sister will definitely announce her third precious group member, and that will be me."
Xie Jiaoyue was speechless. Xie Xinghui's persona of speaking without thinking was truly established.
"So, sister," Xie Xinghui's eyes were full of anticipation, "you really came to invite me to the academic conference?"
He never thought he could actually join Xie Jiaoyue's team when he was bragging. It was just talk. Who wouldn't want to brag about having such an amazing older sister? He definitely wanted to too!
Unexpectedly, he overreacted, and now he's almost ineligible to participate.
Xie Jiaoyue nodded: "You guessed right, I really did come to invite you. Our group is just one person short. So, my dear brother, would you like to join?"
Although she had only intended to squeeze some of Xie Xinghui's free time before, now that she had a better way to do so, she naturally wouldn't let the opportunity pass.
Xie Xinghui jumped three feet high: "I knew it! I dreamt that you would invite me, and it really came true! To be honest, I dreamt yesterday that our research club would definitely win first place!"
Those who mocked him before should take a good look at him; Xie Xinghui has finally met his match.
"So, sis, how far along is our project? Is it already complete? Can I just sit back and win without even having to do anything?"
Xie Jiaoyue said, "Didn't you see the preliminary evaluation?"
"Yeah, there weren't many weapon refiners in the preliminary evaluation, and I'm not participating, so watching would be pointless. Sister, you must have received a very good evaluation in the preliminary evaluation, right?"
"It is indeed good, but it's the kind of good that all my teachers and mentors advised me to change direction."
Xie Xinghui: Huh?
"Sister, you must be joking, hahaha, that's hilarious. How did we end up in the kitchen? What are we doing here?"
It wasn't mealtime yet; it was around two or three in the afternoon, a quiet time when no one was cooking or eating. The kitchen was unusually peaceful, except for two young servants who, despite being sleepy, greeted Xie Jiaoyue and Xie Xinghui when they arrived.
Xie Jiaoyue nodded to each of the servants who greeted her, indicating that they could continue sleeping, and then led Xie Xinghui to the innermost part of the room.
Xie Xinghui seemed very familiar with the place, unlike a pampered young master who never lifted a finger. He tapped here and there, making the pots and pans around him make sounds.
As expected, he received a disgruntled glare from the servant, but he tossed him a pastry with a grin and earned two more smiles in return.
"Sister, why did you bring me here?"
Xie Jiaoyue was very satisfied with Xie Xinghui's familiarity with the place, feeling that she hadn't chosen the wrong person: "Xie Xinghui, as a qualified weapon refiner, you should have refined some kitchen utensils before, like that one over there. Do you know how to do that?"
Xie Jiaoyue was pointing to a round pot covered with a thick lid. There were several small mechanisms between the lid and the pot that could be opened and closed. When opened, the lid could be opened smoothly, and when closed, the lid was sealed to the pot.
Xie Xinghui patted his chest and boasted, "To be honest, you've come to the right person. I don't have many hobbies. I just like to wander around Jinling City when I have nothing to do. I've made all sorts of things. A pot is nothing to me."
He wasn't one of those self-righteous weapon refiners who would treat making a pot for an ordinary person as if it were their life. This kind of thing was so much more interesting; those standardized swords, spears, and halberds were utterly meaningless.
Xie Jiaoyue was even more satisfied: "Our Xinghui is truly extraordinary, so, could you build a pill-refining furnace of this type?"
"Sis, I didn't hear you clearly, could you say it again?"
"I said, can you make an alchemy furnace that looks similar to this one? One that can withstand high temperatures and pressures and won't easily explode."
Xie Xinghui: ...
Are you kidding me? Does he look like a master weapon refiner?
"Sister, I feel that my level is not high enough, and I may not be suitable to participate in the academic conference. It's getting late, and I need to go back and rest."
Xie Jiaoyue grabbed Xie Xinghui by the collar: "I've already reported your name to Commander Guo, and she's added you to my team. You can't escape it."
"No!! I really don't know how!!"
*
During the short two-day break, Xie Jiaoyue's team received significant reinforcements.
Xin Xiuying and Gongshi Moyu "sparred" for two whole days, sleeping only one or two hours in total. Their eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, and they kept muttering the fourteen methods of controlling fire on their way back.
She also found her third teammate and sent her to the weapon refiner from the Xin family who had given her pointers to practice hard for two days. Although she hadn't had a chance to test the results yet, judging from her listless appearance, she must have gained a lot of knowledge.
However, before leaving, they had some things to take care of, otherwise it would take too long to come out again after returning to the clan school.
Xie Jiaoyue had already shown Xie Xinghui her somewhat vague blueprints, and now asked, "Xie Xinghui, have you figured it out? What materials do you need to make this?"
Xie Xinghui was completely devoid of his usual radiance, his eyes appearing vacant, but he still managed to hand over several materials. As he spoke, he frowned and said, "These things aren't cheap to carry around."
Thanks to the collection of books and spiritual materials from the Investment Research Association, Xie Jiaoyue is now very wealthy: "Buy, let's buy whatever we want now, and then go back."
Xie Xinghui stroked the pressure cooker blueprints and held Xie Jiaoyue's hand: "No rush. I've already joined the weapon-refining room in the clan academy. There I have a certain quota of materials. Let me borrow two from the clan academy first. If I can't get any, we'll buy them."
Xie Jiaoyue thought it made perfect sense. Although she was rich, she didn't mind taking advantage of others.
Xin Xiuying remained silent as she watched the siblings make their choice. The clan school was truly blessed to have these two.
*
Although Xie Xinghui appeared exhausted in front of Xie Jiaoyue, he immediately regained his imposing manner as soon as he was out of Xie Jiaoyue's sight.
He's the one whose name is listed next to Xie Jiaoyue's! He's proud!
He swaggered into the weapon-refining room, his chest puffed out almost to the sky. Today, instead of a parrot, a small white cat was perched on his shoulder, as proud and upright as he was.
Xie Xinghui didn't hesitate much and went straight to the materials area to start selecting his favorite materials.
This is useful, this might be useful, this seems to work too, I'm torn, I want them all.
He and another person both took a liking to the same document.
There's only one of these materials left.
Xie Xinghui glanced at it and thought, "Hey, what a coincidence, it's my roommate."
"I'm already Xie Jiaoyue's teammate. She needs this material. Are you sure you want to take it from me?"
My roommate leaned over mysteriously and said, "Hey bro, get me an autograph, and I'll let you have it."
Xie Xinghui took one out of his storage ring.
My roommate took it and looked at it for a few moments: "Do you think I'm stupid? Are you trying to fool me with your fake version again? This time I want the real thing! Otherwise, I won't call you my brother."
Xie Xinghui pulled out another one, beaming with pride: "How could I forget you?"
Being Xie Jiaoyue's cousin is so cool!
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