"Hehe, this time, our strength will definitely far surpass those guys from the other cities. When we get to Star Sea Academy, we'll be the bosses."
Yan Lin was already imagining that once he arrived at Star Sea Academy, he wouldn't have to eat beef anymore.
"Cut it out. As far as I know, Star Sea Academy has a complete set of solutions for dealing with troublemakers. If you want to try it, go ahead, but don't drag us into it."
Xiao Bai pushed Yan Lin aside. Strictly speaking, all Professional Academies are military schools, and they all have strict and effective methods for punishing troublemaking freshmen.
Don't ask how he knows; every year, the ones who receive the harshest lessons are young masters from Noble Families and some geniuses among commoners.
Perhaps some people feel this is clearly obedience training, but sorry, this is a military reserve unit, and obeying orders is a soldier's duty.
If you want to show off your individuality, please go elsewhere.
"Who said I was going to be a troublemaker? After entering the Professional Academy, strength will naturally determine superiority and inferiority. Did you think I was going there to be a campus bully and challenge the instructor's authority? I'm not stupid, you know."
Yan Lin has always been pragmatic; how could he possibly do such a stupid thing?
"When you were six, you mixed fermented herring with blue cheese, sealed it up, and told your little sister it was birthday cake. When it was opened, the entire banquet hall had to be evacuated, and your old man strung you up in a tree and beat you for an hour."
"When you were seven, your aunt drove you brothers out in a hovercar, and you covered her eyes with both hands, asking her to guess who you were. You, your cousin, and your older female cousin all got a serious beating from your aunt."
"When you were eight, you and your little female cousin wanted chocolate. You were at the Yan Family's private ranch, and you spent the entire walk picking up sheep droppings behind the sheep, carrying a lapful of sheep pellets back to share with her. Luckily, your older male cousins got back in time to stop you two."
"When you were nine, you watched your uncle smoke. When no one was home, you sat on the sofa with a cigarette dangling from your mouth, frowning and pretending to be profound, mimicking your uncle. When your aunt returned from outside, you greeted her with, 'Ya'er, you're back so early today?' And then I went to visit you in the hospital."
"You..."
"I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong! Big Brother, please stop using your divine powers!"
Seeing that Xiao Bai was about to spill all the stupid things he did as a child, Yan Lin immediately knelt before him.
Yan Lin's mother was Xiao Bai's aunt. In Xiao Bai's memory, Yan Lin seemed to get a beating every year, and the reason was always different.
So, if someone else claimed they wouldn't do something stupid, Xiao Bai might consider the actual situation, but coming from Yan Lin's mouth, he had to be suspicious.
"Pfft."
Jing Yuan and the others already knew about the stupid things Yan Lin did as a child; Lu Li was the only one present hearing them for the first time, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Ah, sorry, I..."
After she finished laughing, Lu Li remembered that it seemed a bit impolite, especially since they had only just met.
"It's fine. This guy has a thick skin; your laughter just proves his worth."
Xiao Bai said dismissively, forgiving Lu Li on Yan Lin's behalf.
"That's too much, Xiao Bai."
Although he didn't mind making a beauty laugh, he couldn't be sacrificed for the sake of entertainment.
"Hey, don't be like that. We're friends; of course, we need to understand each other."
Xiao Bai reached out and hooked his arm over Yan Lin's shoulder, spreading his right hand upward, indicating that this was only natural.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Would you be happy if I told your embarrassing stories?"
Yan Lin shrugged his shoulder, pushing Xiao Bai's arm off.
"Of course, I don't mind. Go ahead and tell them."
Xiao Bai leaned back against the edge of the wooden chair and spread his hands upward, indicating that Yan Lin was welcome to try.
"Fine, fine, fine."
Yan Lin laughed angrily three times, but just as he was about to reveal Xiao Bai's embarrassing stories, he suddenly heard Xiao Bai speak again.
"When you were ten..."
"Stop! Hold it! Bro, I was wrong. I failed to recognize Mount Tai, I failed to recognize the gold and jade—let's call a truce and make peace."
Upon hearing Xiao Bai's voice, Yan Lin still chickened out, swallowing the words he was about to say.
There was no way around it. When it came to stupid things done as a child, Jing Yuan and the other three combined didn't have as many stories as he did alone.
Wait, even if they doubled the number of their stories, it still wouldn't match the track record of Yan Lin.
Yan Lin's bizarre thought process as a child was the perfect example of persecuting one's own family.
Absolutely none of his beatings were undeserved; getting beaten once a day might involve misunderstandings, but only getting beaten once a week definitely meant some incidents were overlooked.
"Let's change the subject."
Worried about more embarrassing stories being revealed, Yan Lin decisively suggested changing the topic.
"Alright, then what do you want to talk about?" said Xiao Bai.
"What should we eat for lunch?"
Jing Yuan: "I'm fine with anything."
Ye Tianying: "Whatever."
Xiao Bai: "Anything works."
Liu Zhen: "I'll follow your lead."
Yan Lin: "..."
"I knew I couldn't rely on you guys," Yan Lin said, turning to look at Gu Xiao and Lu Li. "Gu Xiao, Lu Li, what do you two want to eat?"
"I don't know much about the food in the Central District, so I'll just eat whatever you guys eat."
Gu Xiao kicked the ball back again. If she knew what to eat, wouldn't she have said so earlier?
"Me too."
Compared to Gu Xiao, Lu Li was truly visiting the Central District for the first time and was completely unfamiliar with the area.
"Don't worry! It's fine if you don't know. I'll send you the link."
As Yan Lin spoke, he skillfully opened his smart ear stud, intending to send the link to the Central District Food City.
Only after clicking it open did he remember that they hadn't added each other as friends yet.
"Let's add each other as friends first. If you encounter any difficulties later, you can just send a message to one of us."
As Yan Lin finished speaking, Xiao Bai and the other three also took out their smart devices and added Gu Xiao and Lu Li as friends.
Next, Yan Lin sent the link to the Food City.
"Go on, pick anything. As long as you want to eat it, the price is not an issue."
What to eat had always been a difficult question for them.
Mainly because they had already eaten everything good in the Central District more than once.
They genuinely had nothing specific they wanted to eat; they usually just ate whatever was ordered.
"Then we won't stand on ceremony."
Gu Xiao leaned toward Lu Li and looked at the various delicacies on the smart wristband interface with her. She knew that if she didn't order something, Lu Li probably wouldn't feel comfortable speaking up.
Gu Xiao casually ordered a fish, but the price made Lu Li's heart jump: a single fish cost over eighty thousand.
This wasn't eating food; this was clearly eating money!