[Old man, what are you up to?] Lian Han asked, after checking the guest room inside and out again and throwing away the three miniature surveillance cameras.
Tristar truly lives up to its name as the Star of Sin; this is a hotel, after all. She'd only been gone a short while, and so many things had appeared in the room—it's easy to imagine how unsafe and chaotic it is.
Old Xing paused for a moment, then said, "There's no harm in telling you now. The main reason I came to Tristar was to find out why Jingli betrayed me."
After he finished speaking, before Lian Han could reply, he continued: "It's not that I don't believe he would betray me. It's just that this little rascal wouldn't do it without sufficient reason and benefit. He's only mastered about 70% of my card techniques; a living teacher is more useful to him than a dead one."
"I understand. Since you want to die knowing why, I will definitely find out." Lian Han replied, inwardly sighing.
After all, she was a student he had raised himself. The old man might believe that Jingli would harm him, but he still couldn't let go of her. From the time he saw the scar on Jingli's back and his subsequent riot through the Skynet, he had already guessed it.
The old man himself should be aware of this, and figuring it out now is just to make him give up.
[We've confirmed that Yuan Yuan is the person we're looking for. She's been hiding here so diligently, she hasn't even changed her name.]
[Another old acquaintance?] Lian Han became interested.
Since she arrived at the capital star, she has encountered old acquaintances such as Bei Ting, whom the old man trusted greatly; Lady Jia Lan, whom he looked down upon; and Marshal Han, whom he hated with a passion.
But all of these are because she is too far away. Even with Bei Ting, who is slightly closer to her, his relationship with the old man is unclear, and the old man knows her, but she still doesn't know his identity, which makes it impossible for her to fully trust Bei Ting.
Now it turns out to be an old friend of the old man, and she even came all the way from the capital to find him, so they must be very close friends. Lian Han was filled with anticipation.
"Don't be so curious about our relationship." Knowing what she was thinking, Old Man Xing interrupted, "Yuan Yuan was once a famous mecha repairman. Since you haven't been able to find your own path, why don't you learn mecha repair from her? If you don't like it, you can switch later."
Mech repairers and mech designers are both branches of mech makers. Initially, there is no obvious difference between the three, but later they become three different paths. Mech makers work with mech pilots to assist them in perfectly controlling the mechs. Repairers and designers are exactly what they sound like, repairing and designing mechs respectively.
Starting in second grade, they will have to make choices.
Now that it's summer vacation for first graders, Lian Han has to make a decision as soon as possible.
Lian Han was quite tempted by the old man's suggestion, but she quickly frowned, [Would there be enough time?]
During the two-month summer vacation, it took them nearly ten days just to travel by starship to Planet Tri. And her summer and winter vacation tasks weren't just about helping Old Man Xing confirm something; she also had to go to the Demon Valley, and there was summer homework—she now completely understood why Ling Ze had been busy with homework for almost a month last year.
[Sure. There's a reason for piling these two things together. If all goes well, we can resolve both issues this month.] Old Man Xing assured him.
His tone was so certain that Lian Han already knew what was going on, but she still voiced her doubts, saying, "[There are still twenty days until the end of the month. Repairing an ion energy converter will take at least seven or eight days, and then...]"
The AI flashed at that moment, it was a message from Yuan Yuan, saying that it had been repaired and she could pick it up at any time.
Lian Han: ? ? ?
[Does Skynet also spread false information?]
[You previously checked on the SkyNet website how long it would take to repair an ion energy converter, and the SkyNet gave you the timeframe for a regular repairman. Yuan Yuan is different. She was already an honorary professor at Diluo eleven years ago.] Old Xing said smugly.
Lian Han remained silent, then replied that she would come over now, and left the residence. The sooner it's resolved, the better.
She was curious about the same thing as Old Man Xing—in the past six months, Lian Han had truly escaped Jing Li's torment, and she was already considering whether to give up on the Han Jin account.
With the increasing number of courses in the Armor Making major, even Han has very limited time each day to make and sell cards. He also has to complete the tasks set by Jing Li on the SkyNet, and they are becoming increasingly difficult.
A person's energy is very limited, and sometimes she even felt like an emotionless learning machine.
Old Xing instructed, "When you get there, don't say anything she asks. Just listen carefully to her one question..."
It was still Yuan Yuan's residence, a small apartment in the slums.
Yuan Yuan sat in the living room, unusually dressed in a faded blue dress, and sat upright.
This is probably the best piece of clothing she has right now. Lian Han thought to herself, then asked, "Is it fixed yet?"
“Yes. You can check it.” Yuan Yuan pushed the spatial storage box in front of Lian Han while carefully examining the girl.
I hadn't noticed before, but now that I look closely, I can see that this Miss Lian isn't very old. Her lips are slightly stiff, and she's not using her real face, but rather that person's—
"I wonder what the relationship is between Miss Lian and Ah Cheng?"
"Ah Cheng?" Lian Han paused for a moment, then realized she was referring to Old Man Xing. She already knew the old man's real name from the previous auction, but she was so used to calling him "Old Man" that she didn't immediately recognize his real name when others used it, especially in a more intimate way.
Wait a minute! Yuan Yuan called the old man "Acheng"? This woman is only in her forties or fifties. So, does this "Acheng" mean that Old Man Xing isn't actually old?
[Girl, you're only just realizing this now? That reaction, tsk tsk!]
Her worldview crumbled, and Lian Han said quietly, "I wonder who's always calling him 'old man' this and 'old man' that. It'd be strange if I even noticed."
Lian Han's silence made Yuan Yuan frown slightly. "I mean no harm. Acheng and I used to be very good friends. The fact that you were able to find this place means that you also have a deep relationship with him."
"I've come only to ask you on his behalf—why did you betray him?"
Yuan Yuan was stunned, and regret and guilt appeared in her weathered eyes. "It wasn't me. Brother Lin had just died then, and I spoke without thinking. I didn't care about anything else. I didn't expect A-Cheng to be like this—it wasn't me, but I was wrong."
At this point, Old Xing finally began to elaborate on their story to Lian Han: "The 'Brother Lin' Yuan mentioned was her husband, and also my comrade-in-arms. We used to have a very good relationship. But the accident happened too suddenly; we couldn't save him. The sudden loss of her husband was a huge blow to her, and it's understandable that she didn't want to see us for a while. As for what she said back then, I didn't take it to heart at all."
Lian Han remained silent. If he truly didn't care, would he still remember it now? It seems there's a reason for her stubbornness; isn't this a testament to the old man's wisdom?
Yuan Yuan continued, "Life is unpredictable. Who can guarantee their safe return when facing the Zerg? My anger at the time was completely unreasonable; I even cursed him to die. He was probably heartbroken and went back to the battlefield. I never imagined that would be our final farewell. Less than a month after Brother Lin left, he too…"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
