15 Hangout!

Jiangran turned to Xueyue with amazement in his eyes. She was the person she beat with only a five point difference. He was not sure if it was pure luck or his hard work really did paid off.

But still, it had been his dream to study in SVIS ever since he was a child. His mother used to teach in the school, before his father asked her to quit so she could focus on raising him, his older brother and younger sister.

Meanwhile, Xueyue and Liu Bai still couldn't believe the presence of someone from Vastia, apart from them, was in front of them!

Xueyue had many questions in her mind which she knew had no easy answers. She was very much aware that she had no power over spirits but she knew that the boy she met as Zhang Jiang Ran was the man she knew back in Vastia. At least in spirit.

The first day of class formally started but it was only spent on introductions and getting familiar with the semester's subjects. But Xueyue was too preoccupied at the thought of Zhang Jiangran's familiar presence to her. She had to confirm it.

Once classes were done, Xueyue, Liu Bai and their new friends decided to hang out on a nearby café; just a small get together to mark their new friendship. Of course, Xueyue did not miss such opportunity and immediately invited Jiangran with them.

"Uhm… you're really inviting me?" Jiangran asked for confirmation.

"Yep."

Jiangran was happy to accept her invitation. He was usually busy with his studies and he didn't have much friends because of that, so he was so glad about Xueyue's invitation.

The group of seven reached the café two blocks away from SVIS.

"Oh? Second young master!" the café's manager suddenly greeted and Liu Bai could only recoil and attempt to hide his face in embarrassment.

Xueyue and the others were surprised at the greeting. All eyes landed on Liu Bai.

"Uhm… My brother Yixing owns the place."

Due to the situation, their group was offered a VIP room which was usually only used by the owner and his associates.

"So Liu Bai really is a young master!" Yu Wuji exclaimed to the blushing Liu Bai.

Xueyue only smiled in her seat. To her, Khalil had always been boisterous, cheeky and it was him who usually made girls blush, not the other way around.

'I guess he changed after being independent for a long time.' she thought.

"Hey guys!" exclaimed Feng Xian from his seat. "How about we always hangout here? Also, I like the atmosphere we have when we hang out together! Let's do it often!"

"I agree with Fengfeng!" Song Tian seconded which immediately earned a questioned look from Feng Xian.

"Fengfeng?" Feng Xian grimaced. "Please don't tell me that name's actually going to stick?"

"Hahaha! Fengfeng!" Hae-song laughed while clutching his stomach. Jiangran couldn't help but put up a smile as well as Xueyue.

"Oh stop that… Songsong." Feng Xian retorted with a smug look on his face. Hae-song immediately stopped and glared at him.

"That's a good idea guys!" Liu Bai inserted and gave a thumb up. "I also like the atmosphere we have going. Let us be the Seven Stars of SVIS!"

Xueyue only shook her head and giggled.

They spent the rest of the time talking about random things, or at least those that can be talked about in Liu Bai's and Xueyue's situation. During that time, Xueyue took the time to study Jiangran.

It was already seven in the evening when Xueyue returned home. She was just in time for dinner as well and was called in by her 'parents'. Once the awkward dinner finished, she headed upstairs to organize her thoughts.

She noticed that no matter how much she analyzed the individual called Zhang Jiangran back in the café, he did not exhibit anything that could identify him as either a returnee like her or a traveler like Khalil.

All of a sudden, a memory popped up inside her head. She just remembered Gihion once telling her about a world much different from Vastia. How it had tall buildings and vehicles that weren't run by creatures or animals.

'Wait, wasn't that the reason we got along in the first place?' she wondered. 'We were both reincarnators.'

She couldn't help but grimace and sigh in disbelief. Well one couldn't exactly blame her since she had the memories of thousands of years inside her head so it wasn't exactly easy to recollect a memory without triggers and concentration.

'But the name he told me was different. He called himself Dylan Zhang back then.'

A knock suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts. She spread her aura to identify who was on the door and sighed when it was only Yiheng. She snapped her fingers and the door opened, startling Yiheng.

"You should really avoid doing that all the time." he warned. "What if it's not me or mom or dad?"

"Don't worry. I have a technique to let me identify one's aura. I'm familiar with yours that is why I did that."

"Right. You're living like a human now so please use less magic. It's not like this world has monsters and stuff."

"It used to." she replied. "What can I do for you, da ge[1]?"

Yiheng closed his eyes and sat at the edge of her bed. He had actually been quite close with Xueyue. He sometimes would ask her for advice, as someone who had experience in a lot of things and various fields, or just talk about random things. Xueyue had also taken it upon herself to teach him Mystic Arts since he seemed to have a knack for it.

"Don't call me da ge. You're probably older than me."

Xueyue couldn't help but snort at his reply. "Sure I have thousands of years of memories but my body is technically still twelve. Or at least this body is."

Yiheng could only stare at the sudden revelation. 'Is she serious?'

"I am." she answered his unasked question. She didn't have to be a mind reader to actually know what he was thinking. "I chose to alter my age since it's quite hard to do things with the body of a pre-teen."

"I… see. Why didn't you just go all the way and alter your age to something… older?"

"Liu Bai wanted me to… experience high school in a different perspective."

"The fun and enjoyable perspective?"

"Bingo." Xueyue saw him nod. "Why are you really here Yiheng?"

"Well… I wanted to ask how your first day of school went. We only heard Erhua and Sanhao's experience and I already predicted how it would go considering their attitude and abilities."

"Pfft. It was fine. I gained some new friends and I'm interested in someone." Xueyue chuckled when she saw Yiheng gasp and sported an exaggerated expression. "Not that way Yiheng-ge. But he does peak my interest so I'm keeping an eye on him. He's also in my new circle of friends so there's that."

"Well I suppose you're really enjoying your new life."

Xueyue couldn't help but snort. In her mind, if she had to guess, no matter how fun and peaceful her life was, something bad would be arriving very soon. It was how she lived her lives after all. But she wasn't about to say that out loud.

"Hey Yiheng-ge, how is the investigation Khalil asked you to?"

"Oh, that? I just remembered that I'm supposed to report to you about it."