Nine Star Burden

Chapter 50: Garlic Paste and Chili Sauce

Jiang Xiao joined the brothers’ team and begun training with them.

The beautiful Liu Ke naturally became a substitute in reserve and she seemed to be unable to change her mindset, but in reality, she had already gotten sick and disapproving of waking up early to train in the morning.

If it weren’t for Yi Lianna’s hard persuasion, Liu Ke wouldn’t have voluntarily woke up to train.

Everyone had different lifestyle choices, and Liu Ke did not place much emphasis on her special identity as an Awakened.

Although she had great qualifications, she wanted to be an ordinary person after graduating from school and thought that it would be great to acquire two practical Star Techniques for defense.

Jiang Xiao was not attracted to girls like her. He only found Awakened girls like Han Jiangxue and Xia Yan, who were actively trying to improve themselves, to be attractive.

However, the younger brother with the crew cut fancied pretty girls like Liu Ke who were adorable, though a little capricious, especially because of her dimples that showed when she smiled. He was completely obsessed with them.

After running for two rounds, Liu Ke stopped again and sat on the track that was made of plastic, watching leisurely as the rest continued running.

Now that Jiang Xiao had joined the team, Liu Ke had no more reason to train. She finally didn’t have to join for the sake of helping Yi Lianna meet the quota.

Actually, Liu Ke was not lazy and unambitious. In fact, she was the complete opposite. She was persistent and determined to work hard for her dreams.

Liu Ke really didn’t want to be an Awakened, for she particularly liked painting and wanted to be admitted to the China Academy of Art in the future, which was an excellent university. Hence, she was extremely hardworking during culture lessons.

As a self-oriented arts student, she was ranked in the top 100 in the high school entrance examination, which would allow her to be qualified for getting into an elite class in her hometown.

She initially thought that she would end up in a higher education institution and pursue a life of arts, which was normal.

Yet, her Star Map was awakened in the end and her parents even forced her out of the tiny town and enrolled her in an elite school meant for nurturing the Awakened, for fear that she would embark on a life of arts like other ordinary children.

Ah, life was really unpredictable.

There were plenty of children who would kill to become an Awakened, and yet, Liu Ke didn’t want her Star Map.

While Liu Ke was resting, the younger one of the twin brothers sensed that he had an audience and began running faster and faster…

It was almost as if he was just lacking a pair of wings that would send him flying.

“Are you friends with her?” Jiang Xiao asked Yi Lianna while running beside her.

“Yeah, we were classmates in junior high school, and we both came from a small town. We didn’t hit it off that well at first. She was a top student who often sat in the front row, but I was always in the last row. After coming here, we realized that we were both in the same class and so we started hanging out with each other,” said Yi Lianna, who wasn’t annoyed with the fact that Jiang Xiao had interrupted her breathing rhythm and even started giving him an introduction in a friendly manner instead of chiding him.

She did want to help Jiang Xiao build a rapport with the team as soon as possible.

After all, there was an internal class selection happening in two days, followed by the competition day.

“The seats in class are arranged according to height, aren’t they?” Jiang Xiao looked up at Yi Lianna and asked while chuckling.

“Hehe, she arranges the seats according to grades, but it’s height for me.” Yi Lianna patted Jiang Xiao on the shoulder and continued, “You’ve got a glib tongue.”

“Why have you guys gotten transferred here? Don’t you guys have any Awakened institutes back in your hometown?” Jiang Xiao looked at Yi Lianna, whose features looked even more defined from the side. She had a high nose bridge and deep-set eyes that made her look like a sculpture.

“We do, but they’re not as good as the ones here. Our city is near Russia. It’s a place called Fen City. Have you heard of it?” Yi Lianna turned her head and smiled. “My parents met each other there. In our hometown, there are plenty of Eurasians like me.”

“Fen City?” Jiang Xiao asked as he stopped in his tracks.

“Yeah? What’s wrong?” Yi Lianna asked in bewilderment as she slowed down.

“Do you guys have a Dragon Cave there?” Jiang Xiao asked softly.

“Uh, I heard that there’s one, but I haven’t seen it before,” Yi Lianna answered.

Dragon Cave was the place that Jiang Xiao’s parents, whom he had never met, had gone missing.

“You haven’t?” Jiang Xiao fell silent for a while.

“Of course I haven’t. I live in the city. The Dimensional Space is along the border of the two countries. If I want to see it, I’ll have to sneak across the border.” Yi Lianna covered her mouth and chuckled before continuing, “While we have customs in China, they do in Russia too. Actually, the borders of China and Russia form a straight line on the world map and, in fact, we have to pass a large buffer zone of wilderness to get to Russia. If anyone dares to sneak there, they might just get shot by a hidden sniper on the mountain.”

Jiang Xiao’s face turned peculiar and he thought, This girl…

Why do “We.. in China” and “They… in Russia” sound so strange?

Elena said with a smile, “Besides, you can’t sneak there either. The guards at the borders are not for display.

“Our city has not been sealed or put in lockdown, so everyone is still living normally. So… ” Yi Lianna shrugged her shoulders and said, “I just heard that there is a Dragon Cave over there, but I have never seen it with my own eyes.”

“Oh, thank you.” Jiang Xiao sighed and wondered when he would ever have the ability and strength to explore the Dragon Cave.

Fen City was the nearest city to Dragon Cave and Jiang Xiao initially wanted to find out some information from the locals, but it turned out that the Dragon Cave was on the buffer zone along the border between the two countries. He reckoned that no one in Fen City had seen the Dragon Cave.

Yi Lianna rolled her eyeballs and said with a smile, “I can’t take you to the Dragon Cave, but I can take you around the city for some fun. Although our city is small, it’s clean and beautiful, and there are many European-style buildings. I can introduce you to some girls too. How does that sound? Shall we go back to my hometown during the winter break?”

“You don’t have to introduce me to any girls, but I’ll go visit your home when I have the chance to.” Jiang Xiao refuted. Staring at Yi Lianna’s face, he felt that he already knew Eurasian girls.

Although she was Chinese on the inside, she was white on the outside. Anyone who didn’t know her well would think that she was Caucasian.

Jiang Xiao suddenly realized that he was hungry and craving for steamed buns.

Fluffy white buns packed with sumptuous fillings that were savory and greasy, and a warm bowl of soy milk.

The mere thought of it was pleasant enough.

In the blink of an eye, it was already 6 AM. The team of five immediately went to the school canteen and the military training began at 6:30 sharp. However, for those who got up early, they were really hungry.

Fortunately, the school authorities were humane enough to open the canteen at 5:30 AM.

In fact, the students in Year Two and Year Three worked harder than this group of kids who were going through military training, as evidenced by the number of people on the playground.

Jiang Xiao followed them to the canteen. He initially wanted to pay with cash, but one of the twins rushed to swipe the card.

Jiang Xiao gleefully enjoyed the treat of buns and soy milk and planned to wash his bed sheets before going to the canteen after eight o’clock to get his meal card settled.

While Jiang Xiao was chewing on his bun, two girls entered through the door of the canteen.

The two tall girls were undoubtedly the center of attention.

In the canteen, everyone except the adorable freshmen knew who they were, but no one dared to strike a conversation with them.

They were considered “School Tyrants” who were extremely strong powerhouses whom everyone looked up to.

Xia Yan grabbed a bowl of millet porridge, a plate of pickled vegetables, two bean paste biscuits, and quickly picked up one to munch on. As soon as she turned around, a piece of the bean paste biscuit fell out of her mouth and landed on the tray.

Han Jiangxue chided in displeasure. “Be mindful of your image.”

“Look, isn’t that Xiaopi!?” Xia Yan ignored her and immediately grabbed Han Jiangxue’s arm while gesturing at a spot far away.

“Huh?” Han Jiangxue looked over, only to see Jiang Xiao happily eating a bun, while a young and beautiful Eurasian girl sat opposite him by the small dining table, watching Jiang Xiao wolf down the bun. Her short, brown hair glowed beneath the sun and made her look like she had a halo. She looked beautiful and ethereal.

Xia Yan clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and remarked, “How long has it even been!?! We only sent him here last night and he already has a beau now!?!”

“Maybe… she’s a teammate he found? We did tell him to find some teammates as soon as possible.” Han Jiangxue continued uncertainly, “The twins next to him look very domineering. They might be Xiaopi’s teammates too.”

“Ah, look, look, he’s feeding her some buns!” Xia Yan stomped her feet, watching as Jiang Xiao fed Yi Lianna some buns.

Han Jiangxue squinted and said, “I’ll look for him after the morning lessons.”

On the other hand, Jiang Xiao looked at Yi Lianna in front of him. “How does it taste? Are you convinced now? When you eat steamed buns, you have to dip them in garlic paste. Weren’t you born in Beijiang?”

Yi Lianna covered her mouth and tried to avoid letting Jiang Xiao smell her garlic breath. She muttered, “I… I still prefer having them with chili sauce.”