Chapter 24 The Gathering of the Three Goddesses

After grabbing their meals at the cafeteria, the three of them found a table for four and settled down.

"Speaking of which, have you guys gotten your textbooks?" Su Yunjin initiated the conversation, asking softly, "Don't you think there are too few? There are only three books."

"Since it's a military-affiliated school, of course, the focus is on integrating theory with practice, not like most majors which are mostly pure theoretical learning," Chen Lingyun said leisurely. "Yun Jin, have you looked through these textbooks?"

"Yeah," Su Yunjin nodded, "I've briefly flipped through all three books."

Her tone suddenly fell:

"To be honest, I still feel a bit out of place. I was educated all my life that there are no such things as immortals, Buddhas, gods, or demons, and then one day I suddenly find out that I am actually a cultivator... It always feels like I'm dreaming. Every morning I have to confirm whether it's real or not. You must have similar feelings, right?"

"Not at all/nope." Chen Lingyun and Yan Yu responded at the same time.

Su Yunjin's expression froze on her face.

"I understand you haven't adjusted yet," Chen Lingyun said leisurely. "So just read those three books thoroughly, and you'll be fine once you accept reality."

"Just reading is not enough, practice is also necessary," Yan Yu corrected her, "Even not reading the books wouldn't be a problem, as long as your practical skills keep improving. Many questions will arise naturally, and it's still not too late to consult the books for solutions."

"Hehe, yeah..." Su Yunjin looked somewhat sorrowful, feeling like a struggling student who accidentally became the butt of top students' jokes.

She bowed her head and ate quietly, when suddenly she heard a voice nearby:

"Hello, is there still a seat available here?"

All three turned their heads to see the newcomer, a girl with long black hair holding a food tray, dressed in a simple shirt, trousers, and sneakers.

This girl's beauty was not inferior to Su Yunjin, but her temperament was clearly on the opposite end of the spectrum.

If Su Yunjin were to be described as a delicate water lily, then this person would be a snow lotus growing on the icy peaks of the Tianshan Mountains—her pretty lips slightly pursed, forming a cold curve, her eyes clear and pure, her demeanor serious and stern, she seemed difficult to get along with.

Among the three at that moment, probably only Yan Yu knew who she was.

Lin Ning, from Qingyuan Prefecture in Minhai Province, her family ran a deep-sea fishing company, so she could be considered a rich heiress.

However, unlike Su Yunjin, Lin Ning didn't show any signs of being a spoiled rich girl. Instead, she seemed more like a strong-willed girl from a poor family determined to make something of herself, and her deeds in her past life were several times more remarkable than Su Yunjin's.

For example, when she was the class president in high school, a male classmate once wrote her a love letter in private, which Lin Ning summoned him to the cafeteria to respond to in person. According to classmates who sneaked in to eavesdrop, Lin Ning not only seriously rejected the boy, but also analyzed "why it was important to focus on studies at this stage," pointed out "which subjects he was weak in," and finally encouraged him to get into the university of his dreams... She turned the confession into a "lecture on studying," and it became a widely told story in school that everyone enjoyed.

Later, the boy who was rejected truly made a great effort and ranked within the top 400 in the province in the college entrance exams. It was estimated that the mental shadow Lin Ning left on him at that time was indeed quite significant.

Just like Secretary Su Yunjin, Lin Ning in her previous life was also Chen Lingyun's right-hand helper.

Because of her overly serious personality, lack of smiles, and her propensity to lecture, she was nicknamed "Class Teacher Lin Ning." And because she would always timely retort when Chen Lingyun was being frivolous, she was also jokingly called "Dandruff Inhibitor Lin Ning."

"No one is here," Yan Yu said. "Help yourself."

At the four-seater table, Chen Lingyun and Su Yunjin sat opposite each other, and Lin Ning took a seat next to Yan Yu, eating and starting to read a book.

The book's title was "Tactics and Strategy Studies for Cultivators," one of the three textbooks distributed at the start of school.

Yan Yu felt a bit sentimental. To think that on this first day of school, the three beauties of the academy had all gathered at this humble dining table. Should we find a garden full of blooming peach blossoms for a sworn sisterhood ceremony, and I'll witness for you all...

Then he heard Chen Lingyun suddenly say:

"They've built a spell training ground behind the school. Shall we go take a look later?"

"Sure," Su Yunjin responded reflexively.

"What, you want to check out my skills?" Yan Yu immediately knew what she was thinking.

Chen Lingyun seemed very pleased with this tacit understanding, smiling:

"You're not going to say you can't, are you?"

Lin Ning suddenly asked out of the blue:

"The training ground? Can I go with you guys?"

"Sure," Yan Yu said casually even before Chen Lingyun could answer, "It's a public facility of the school, open to all students."

Chen Lingyun gave him a meaningful look.

What Lin Ning really meant was not "Can I go to the spell training ground," but "I want to see how strong you guys are." It seemed as if Yan Yu hadn't grasped this underlying meaning... But how could that be? He must have understood; he must have done it on purpose.

Why did he use such a vague expression? Clearly, it was to prevent Su Yunjin and me from refusing, so he rushed to agree first.

In other words, he sees this girl, who is currently reading, as worth deliberately making an acquaintance with...

Having thought everything through in a flash, Chen Lingyun also wore a sweet and elegant smile, and said to Lin Ning:

"My name is Chen Lingyun, shall we add each other as friends?"

"Lin Ning. 'Lin' as in double woods, 'Ning' as in lemon." Lin Ning took out her phone and swapped contact details with Chen Lingyun, then turned to look at Su Yunjin.

"Thank you, my name is Su Yunjin." She rose to her feet in delighted surprise and took out her phone as well.

After the three girls exchanged contacts, Lin Ning looked toward Yan Yu beside her.

Yan Yu also pulled out his phone and scanned Lin Ning's QR code.

You have sent a friend request to "Ningning."

Lin Ning seriously asked:

"Classmate, what's your name?"

"Yan Yu."

"Which specific characters?" Lin Ning was the type to note down all her contacts' real names with compulsive detail, complete with suffixes like "high school classmate."

"You can guess," Yan Yu teased her on purpose.

Because Sister Lin took things too seriously, Chen Lingyun, who was his assistant in his previous life, frequently complained about her, making her one of Yan Yu's sources of amusement. In contrast, characters like Secretary Su, who were too honest to speak out, were not as entertaining.

"There's no need for that," Lin Ning insisted, "Even if I guess correctly, I'd still need to confirm with you before I note it down. So why don't you just tell me instead?"

"Perhaps it's because this way is more fun?" Yan Yu said leisurely, "Lin Ning, do you know what fun is?"

Lin Ning was silent for a moment, catching the teasing tone in Yan Yu's voice. She frowned in slight annoyance and put her phone away.

No need to give his name, and such a frivolous attitude... Forget it, I won't add him.

Her reaction and her thoughts were precisely what Yan Yu had anticipated. Now she refused to add him as a friend, but she was sure to regret it later...

"It's 'Yan' as in the bird, 'Yu' as in abundant." Chen Lingyun suddenly spoke up and ruined his setup, smiling, "Classmate Lin Ning, don't let him fool you. He's just trying to annoy you. Now is the time when you should add him and then block him thoroughly."

Damn, woman, you're at it again!

Yan Yu was about to retort when he heard Lin Ning say thoughtfully:

"Indeed."

She gave Yan Yu a smug smile, then typed "Yan Yu" into the remark column, accepted the friend request, and promptly set it to Do Not Disturb mode all in one go.

"Fine, fine, fine, you like this game, huh?" Yan Yu, somewhat vengefully, took out his phone, "Chen Lingyun, I'm about to block you too..."

"If you block me, I'll just go add your sister as a friend," Chen Lingyun said, propping her cheeks with her hands and flashing an extremely sweet smile, "Then I'll find out all about your dark history from when you were little and spread it all over the school's forum."