Chapter 124: The Exchange Meeting That Gives Liang He a Headache

Chapter 124: Chapter 124: The Exchange Meeting That Gives Liang He a Headache

When Soros woke up in his own bed, he had a splitting headache. He had absolutely no memory of how he had gotten back the night before. His memory stopped at the point where Hoder was urging him to drink. Beyond that, everything was a complete blank.

He wondered, "I shouldn’t have said anything stupid last night... right?"

Soros never expected the liquor from Blue Star to be so potent; he still hadn’t recovered from its effects.

"Good thing the main event is tomorrow, or this hangover would have ruined everything," he thought. He had initially believed this rare opportunity to get closer to Hoder would make his future operations easier. He certainly hadn’t expected this outcome.

Propping himself up with difficulty, Soros grabbed his Light Brain from the bedside table. After confirming there were no signs of a breach, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Forget it," he reasoned. "Even though I didn’t pry out any useful information, I’m at least a step closer to Hoder. Using him to get near Liang He shouldn’t raise any suspicions."

Blissfully unaware that his cover had been blown long ago, Soros naively comforted himself, still planning to abduct Liang He during tomorrow’s chaos.

While a storm brewed over Greenfield Star, Liang He was entirely focused on tomorrow’s presentation. It was her first time acting as an instructor, and truthfully, she was experiencing a rare bout of nervousness.

Right after class, just as she was about to slip back into her room to brainstorm for tomorrow’s sharing and exchange session, she was caught red-handed by Assistant An, who had been waiting for her at the door.

"Miss Liang He, the president has already had the news about tomorrow’s sharing session announced. He sent me to ask if you need any help with your preparations," Assistant An said.

As President Lucas’s most trusted aide, Assistant An’s presence here—offering his assistance—proved just how highly the president regarded Liang He.

Any passing trainees who overheard their exchange couldn’t help but cast curious and envious glances at her.

"I’m so jealous of Liang He," one whispered. "Being favored by President Lucas at such a young age means her future is limitless."

"I don’t think Liang He is arrogant like some people say," another replied. "She’s actually very humble. If she doesn’t understand something, she doesn’t pretend she does; she takes the initiative to ask."

"I heard President Lucas originally wanted her to be an instructor, but she refused, saying she wasn’t qualified. That’s why it got changed to an exchange session," a third chimed in.

The trainees had, of course, heard about the upcoming sharing session. As expected, when rumors initially circulated that Liang He would be instructing them, the trainees had felt varying degrees of resistance. However, once it was rebranded as a sharing and exchange session, that sense of a hierarchical student-teacher gap vanished. Now, they were more than happy to learn some of her excellent, advanced concepts and methods.

Later, in the president’s office, Assistant An gave his report. "Miss Liang He said she didn’t need any help, so I returned to report to you."

Liang He had politely declined his offer. Just before he had left, he happened to overhear the trainees discussing tomorrow’s event.

He continued, "However, someone previously spread deliberate rumors that you appointed her as an instructor, which sparked some dissatisfaction."

The trainees weren’t the only ones unhappy about the idea of Liang He being an instructor; the scholars and professors who were being placed on the same level as her were equally displeased. They had relied on years of accumulated experience to earn their qualifications to teach. For a rookie who had just obtained her interstellar breeder certificate to easily stand on equal footing with them—what did that make their years of hard work?

"Are you saying someone is targeting Liang He?" President Lucas asked, immediately catching the underlying meaning in Assistant An’s words.

The plan to have Liang He teach was only known to those present in the monitoring room at the time. After that, he had only contacted her privately and never disclosed it publicly.

"Yes," Assistant An replied. "The culprit likely wanted to incite public dissatisfaction and use public pressure to force you to drop her. They didn’t expect you and Miss Liang He to change the lecture into an exchange session instead."

Speaking of which, Assistant An had to praise Liang He’s foresight. If she hadn’t firmly insisted on stepping down, she truly would have been caught in the crossfire of this undeserved trouble.

"Hmph. They’re just a bunch of clowns who can’t show their faces in the light," President Lucas scoffed.

He despised these kinds of underhanded tactics more than anything. If they weren’t convinced by Liang He, they could compete openly and fairly. If they had real skills, why would they be afraid of losing? Unfortunately, those with crooked intentions were often lacking in ability, so they resorted to despicable methods to drag their opponents down so they could climb up themselves.

"Tomorrow, take your men and keep a close eye on the venue," President Lucas ordered. "The moment you notice anything amiss, stop it immediately. You must ensure Liang He is protected."

The rumor-mongers were right about one thing: President Lucas did value Liang He immensely. Even if she ultimately didn’t become his successor, her unique significance to Evolutionary Beastmen was more than enough reason for him to offer her top-tier protection.

"Understood!"

Blissfully unaware of how many people had silently designated her as a key protection target, Liang He was currently racking her brain over what to discuss at tomorrow’s session.

"Cyril, how about you go on stage and perform some hoop jumping tomorrow?" she suggested.

Nursing a budding headache, Liang He gave up and buried herself in the Platinum Giant Lion’s embrace. As she rubbed his soft, fluffy belly, she felt her tension and stress lighten significantly.

"I’m just a perfectly ordinary, completely average Breeder. Why are they making things so difficult for me..." she thought.

She felt aggrieved and utterly confused. All of her Breeder knowledge had been learned on Blue Star. There were so many Breeders back there who were much better than her—so why not invite them instead?

In truth, Liang He knew exactly what President Lucas valued: her unparalleled, innate affinity with animals. But that wasn’t something she could just share with others.

"AWOO?"

The Platinum Giant Lion didn’t understand why she was so distressed. He affectionately draped a large paw over her and then attempted to lick her, wanting to help groom her hair.

"Stop!"

Sensing an imminent crisis for her hairline, Liang He scrambled out of the Platinum Giant Lion’s arms. "Cyril, you absolutely cannot learn from Cedriel."

"AWOO?"

The Platinum Giant Lion tilted his head in confusion. His emerald eyes sparkled with innocence, while his half-extended tongue hung awkwardly in the air.

The human and the lion stared at each other for a moment. Finally, the Platinum Giant Lion feigned nonchalance, raising his paw to give it a lick and wash his own face instead.

"PFFT."

Charmed by his cuteness, Liang He couldn’t hold back a laugh. She gave his large lion head a good rub, adjusted her mindset, and went back to brainstorming her material, using her Light Brain to prepare some presentation slides along the way.

She didn’t stop working until Hoder appeared, returning from who knew where.

"Liang He, don’t forget that you have to attend this afternoon’s meeting in your capacity as stationmaster," Hoder reminded her.

"Huh?"

If he hadn’t reminded her, she truly would have forgotten. After all, aside from remembering the schedule for her training classes, her mind was currently entirely consumed by tomorrow’s exchange session.

"No ’huhs’ about it. You need to wear formal attire and light makeup today. I’ve already asked the hotel’s makeup artist to wait for you," Hoder said.

Liang He was attending the afternoon meeting as a representative of the Tianyao Star Protection Zone, so she couldn’t dress too casually.

"Alright, I’ll change right now."

When it came to official business, Liang He never dragged her feet or dropped the ball. She sprang into action, changing into the formal attire Hoder had prepared for her in advance. She then had the makeup artist apply some light makeup and tie up her hair.

When she finally emerged from the dressing room, Soros—who had just come looking for Hoder to pry for information—inevitably noticed her. His eyes filled with absolute amazement.