Shi Gaofeng, lying sideways on his bed, froze with his hand hovering over his phone. For a moment, his mind couldn’t quite process it.

Qiao Sang is going too?

Why would she go?

Though he’d sent the message in the group chat, he never imagined that Qiao Sang would actually join him.

Could it be... that Qiao Sang likes him? Shi Gaofeng’s face turned red, thinking he might just be overthinking it.

So he went online to search:

[Would a girl accompany a guy somewhere for no reason?]

The responses he found online only made Shi Gaofeng’s face grow even redder.

“Generally speaking, if a girl’s willing to go with you, it means she probably likes you.”

“If she’s going out with you, there’s likely a level of fondness there.”

“You’ve got a chance, so don’t waste it!”

“In most cases, no way!”

“Could it be she only sees you as a friend or bestie?”

Shi Gaofeng conveniently ignored that last line.

After concluding that Qiao Sang did, in fact, like him, he couldn’t stay lying down any longer.

He sat up against the bedhead, opened the group chat, typed, deleted, retyped, and deleted again, thoroughly conflicted.

This was the first time a girl had ever shown interest in him, but he knew dating at his age wasn’t right.

Caught in a struggle, he finally managed to send out a message after hesitating for ages:

[Don’t you still have to participate in the sports meet?]

[Qiao Sang: Just one event; it won’t take much time.]

Shi Gaofeng stared at her response, lost in thought. After another few seconds of struggle, he finally sent the real question he wanted to ask:

[Why did you suddenly decide to come along for the assessment?]

While Shi Gaofeng’s mind was running wild, Qiao Sang’s message doused all his excited, tangled emotions in an instant:

[It’s on the way, and I also want to see what the assessment is like.]

That one simple sentence not only stopped Shi Gaofeng’s wishful thinking but also roused everyone who’d been quietly lurking in the chat.

[Shi Gaofeng: ???]

[Xu Yajie: ???]

[Wang Yao: ???]

[Zheng Guoping: ???]

The next day.

September 24, Saturday, clear skies.

Though she’d gone to bed three hours later than usual, Qiao Sang’s internal clock still had her up early.

While washing up, she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

She paused, feeling her face seemed a bit more refined and her skin, aside from the dark circles, didn’t look like she’d just had a late night.

Could it be the beneficial effects of her pet beast’s bond?

Qiao Sang thought of the vice principal, a Beast Master with a significantly higher rank than hers. Remembering his large belly, she immediately dismissed this idea.

It must just be her natural beauty, nothing to do with the pet beast bond.

By noon, the five boxes of tiles and energy recovery potion she’d bought a few days ago were carried in, one by one, by a Gravity Monkey.

After storing part of the items in Little Treasure’s ring, she set out with her backpack containing Lubao for the Hongying Beast Battle Club.

Lubao didn’t mind staying in the Beast Codex, but Qiao Sang felt that time was running short, and Lubao needed to interact with Yabao more.

Yabao’s Meteor Rain combo with his shadow clone technique was bound to look amazing, and Lubao had to see it.

So, Qiao Sang rode atop Yabao, Little Treasure perched on her head, and Lubao in her backpack as they traveled by air.

Though many Beast Masters traveled on flying pet beasts, few were seen riding a non-flying type like hers.

On the way to Hongying, a group of Beast Masters lagged behind or on the sides, sneaking photos with their phones to post on their social feeds.

Lubao peeked out, noticing everyone’s eyes on Yabao. After a while, she pulled out the little mirror she had borrowed from Little Treasure and began admiring herself.

“Lu lu…” Lubao murmured thoughtfully.

She wasn’t bad-looking, either, right?

Once they arrived at Hongying Beast Battle Club, Qiao Sang headed straight for the door marked Authorized Personnel Only, as the receptionist had mentioned last time.

As she stepped inside, the sudden chill in the air made her shiver.

If this had been a month ago when it was still around 35 degrees every day, she might have appreciated the cool air. But now, though it wasn’t yet frigid, she couldn’t quite handle it.

Thankfully, the chill quickly dissipated, and while it was still cold, it was bearable.

“Are you Qiao Sang?” A loud voice sounded beside her.

Qiao Sang turned to see a towering man with a bare chest and a shaved head, built like a Fighting-type pet beast.

His chin was covered with stubble that looked as sharp as steel needles.

As the young girl looked over, a standard smile with eight white teeth appeared on his fierce face.

“Yes, that’s me.” Qiao Sang nodded.

“Haha, I knew it was you.” The man chuckled, lifting his hand as if to pat her on the shoulder, but, thinking of her small frame, redirected his hand to rub his bald head instead.

“And you are?” Qiao Sang asked.

“I’m the sparring partner here; call me Brother Li.” He said, glancing at Yabao.

“I heard we had a Beast Master with a Flame Hound at our club, still a student. Finally got to meet you today.”

As he looked back at Qiao Sang, he noticed her backpack and flashed his eight white teeth again.

“Haha, didn’t expect you to be younger than I thought.”

Such a rugged man would have such a scholarly name felt mismatched!

After her mental gripe, Qiao Sang hadn’t even started speaking before the chill hit her again, and she shivered once more.

Brother Li noted her reaction and said, “Maybe borrow a jacket from someone outside. There’s someone training with Blizzard here today; it’ll be chilly a few times over.”

Blizzard?

Qiao Sang looked over, spotting a tall bear-like pet beast with white fur and sharp claws about ten meters away.

Finally, she took in the full view of the training grounds.

The ground was full of craters, looking like a post-battle wasteland, with high-tech equipment oddly placed in the corners. Overall, it was nothing like the outside.

But the area was spacious, at least three times the size of a standard training ground.

Qiao Sang chuckled, “No need; I’ll just stay away from that Ice Shimmer Bear.”

Brother Li laughed and didn’t say more. His original intention had been to spar with the club’s only Flame Hound Beast Master, but seeing how young she was, he gave up on that idea.

The kid’s still carrying a backpack, after all.

Beast Masters with advanced sparring titles had their pride; bullying kids wasn’t something he could bring himself to do.

After scanning her surroundings, Qiao Sang spotted a good spot.

She was just about to head over when she realized Yabao hadn’t followed.

“What’s up?” Qiao Sang turned in the direction Yabao was looking and saw him staring at the Ice Shimmer Bear in training.

No way… She suddenly had a bad feeling.

And sure enough, what she feared came true.

“Yap!”

Yabao turned excitedly to look at her, letting out a bark.

He wanted to fight that one!

Qiao Sang: …

Of course.