Chapter 12

Lin Mo’s eyes widened as she stared at her own hands in disbelief. “!!!”

The next second, Aoreding sprang lightly to his feet from the ground, but Lin Mo had already changed tactics and rushed him on the offensive. The one-sided beatdown instantly broke apart; Aoreding reacted quickly and met her head-on, and the two of them began trading blows.

But that balance did not last long.

With a nimble twist, Lin Mo avoided Aoreding’s side kick. At the same time, she struck out with both hands, seized his shoulders, and drove backward with all her strength!

Bang—

With a beautiful over-the-shoulder throw, Aoreding was slammed hard to the ground again.

Nearby, the Class 1 students who saw that move had already started cheering, shouting encouragement for Lin Mo in unison.

“Lin Mo-jie is so cool!”

“Wuwuwu, I’d almost forgotten Lin Mo-jie can throw people too after seeing her get thrown around so much.”

“Class 1 first place!”

With her opponent looking so miserable and everyone cheering around her, Lin Mo finally seemed to have recovered the soul that had been drifting away for days.

She ran to the edge of the platform and waved at Instructor Yu and Chu Yunmiao. “Instructor! Class monitor, I, I-I-I did it!”

A sneer tugged at the corner of Yu Changning’s mouth.

Behind Lin Mo, Aoreding, who had just gotten back up, took the chance to scramble to his feet and quietly move behind her. Then he struck without warning, grabbing Lin Mo and throwing her to the ground.

“You bastard, you’re sneaking attacks now?!” Lin Mo’s miserable cry followed immediately.

This time, she learned her lesson. She got up again and fought Aoreding head-on, only relaxing once she had pinned him tightly to the ground and made him unable to move.

The announcement came over the broadcast.

“Year One Group A02 match; Class 1’s Lin Mo wins!”

Lin Mo was overjoyed. She gave the man on the ground a thumbs-down, paying back the earlier provocation in full and then some. Aoreding turned his face away in resentment and left without a word.

Lin Mo climbed down from the platform right after him. Ling Hongqiang, Anthony, and the others gathered around her, starting with a barrage of praise.

Lin Mo quickly waved them off. “Enough, enough. Do I not know how amazing I am? Where’s the instructor?”

Right now, she was desperate to find Yu Changning and show off her victory.

“The class monitor’s assessment is about to start. The instructor went with her,” Anthony explained.

Ling Hongqiang was so excited tears glistened in his eyes. “Lin Mo-jie, I really didn’t think you’d actually win. I—I suddenly feel confident too.”

Lin Mo clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Da Qiang, I’ve figured it out.”

She looked at everyone else. “We were bullied so badly by the instructor that we thought we were useless. In reality, the instructor’s teaching method is a little brutal, but it’s really effective!!! Did you see that? Aoreding got handled completely by me!”

Everyone nodded hard. “We saw it, we saw it!”

Ling Hongqiang added, “We always thought our training inside the class was just a bunch of weaklings pecking at each other, but we didn’t expect us to be this fierce against people from other classes! Instructor Yu is really amazing!”

Lin Mo laughed. “Don’t talk about that. Which assessment platform is the class monitor on? I’ll go take a look.”

Anthony pointed the way. “You know the class monitor’s opponent too; it’s Misu from Class 2.”

Lin Mo understood at once and said with complete certainty, “Misu? He’s even a notch below Aoreding. Then the class monitor’s got this in the bag.”

What she said was a little off the mark.

Chu Yunmiao did have a very good chance of winning, but she did not win easily.

Misu was one of the top students in Class 2; among his peers, he was considered outstanding. Chu Yunmiao had fought him before and hadn’t expected that a little over a month later, facing him again, she would feel the battle was much more taxing than before.

In the end, she spent about fifteen minutes winning the assessment, but there was no joy on her face at all.

When Lin Mo found her, she was applying a cold compress to her face.

Before even entering, Lin Mo shouted brightly, “Class monitor! This round of assessments is stable for our Class 1! There’s basically no chance of losing!”

Chu Yunmiao didn’t lift her head. “Mm.”

Lin Mo was a little baffled. “...What’s wrong? Why do you seem so unhappy?”

Chu Yunmiao took a deep breath and quietly adjusted her mood. “Nothing. I just finished the assessment, so I’m a little tired.”

Lin Mo raised a brow and joked, “Misu, that little guy, can still tire you out?”

Chu Yunmiao: “...”

Lin Mo’s words hit exactly where it hurt.

Though she didn’t want to admit it, Chu Yunmiao had to face a reality—

Alpha and Omega were born with differences in physical ability.

Before her differentiation, she had always been the one who could take first place effortlessly. But now that her secondary differentiation was complete, the weaknesses of an Omega were slowly coming to light, and she could feel the gap between herself and the others shrinking.

From the two assessment matches just now; Aoreding versus Lin Mo, and herself versus Misu, she could see one thing clearly—

At her current level, she probably couldn’t beat Lin Mo in a real hand-to-hand fight at all.

Lin Mo already had top-tier talent, and with a instructor like Yu Changning, such huge improvement was only to be expected.

But her? She could no longer stand at the peak so easily.

Lin Mo didn’t know what she was thinking and, back in high spirits, said, “We have three days off after the assessments. Class monitor, do you have any plans? Save me one night, okay~”

Winning against Aoreding had made her realize that all the suffering she’d endured over the past while had been worth it. That was far more effective than however many trips she’d made to the psychological counseling room. In a great mood, Lin Mo and the other Class 1 students had completely shaken off the gloom they’d felt before the match, and everyone was unusually energized and happy.

Chu Yunmiao asked, “To do what?”

Lin Mo got straight to the point. “My childhood friend, Fang Juanlin from Class 5; you remember her, right?”

“She’s turning twenty next week and wants to celebrate during these three days off, so she booked a place outside. She really likes you. If you’re free, could you come with me and make an appearance?”

Chu Yunmiao thought about it and didn’t refuse outright. Since Lin Mo had come personally to invite her, she should at least give her that much face.

“I’ll see. If I don’t have anything else then, I’ll go with you. But let me say this first: I’m only there to show my face. Once it’s about done, I’ll leave early.”

Lin Mo made an “OK” sign. “Got it, got it. Just being willing to come is enough! I’ll send you the time and address later.”

Chu Yunmiao nodded.

Then Lin Mo asked, “Oh, right, class monitor, when’s your birthday?”

Chu Yunmiao answered casually, “In a little over three months.”

Lin Mo did the math. “Wouldn’t that be around finals? And it’ll be your twentieth birthday too?”

Chu Yunmiao nodded. “Mm, my twentieth birthday.”

Lin Mo’s eyes lit up. “Wow, class monitor, you’re more than half a year younger than me.”

Her gaze grew bright. “The Long Princess’s coming-of-age birthday gift should be very grand, right? Will the Imperial Palace throw a party then?”

Chu Yunmiao laughed at her. “It’s not decided yet. If there really is a banquet then, I’ll send you an invitation first.”

At that, Lin Mo looked flattered and overwhelmed. “First? You mean it?”

Chu Yunmiao nodded. “I don’t have many friends. You’ll definitely count as one.”

Lin Mo didn’t even have time to be happy before she suddenly frowned in confusion. “Huh? You don’t have many friends? But you’re the Long Princess. Shouldn’t a lot of people be crowding around you?”

It was only after transferring into Chu Yunmiao’s class in her second year of high school that she slowly became friends with her. They had known each other for less than two years.

Chu Yunmiao shook her head. “There are plenty of people around me, but as for friends... almost none.”

Lin Mo stroked her chin. “Don’t you have a few childhood friends? You know, the kind you grew up playing with?”

Her thoughts jumped quickly. “Oh, right, you really didn’t know Instructor Yu before? I remember my mom mentioning once that there was a Yu family child who went in and out of the Imperial Palace every day, and that they were amazing.”

Chu Yunmiao took a deep breath and shook her head more forcefully. “N-no.”

Only then did Lin Mo realize she had said something wrong. “Sorry, my mouth’s too loose...”

Chu Yunmiao gathered her things and prepared to leave. “It’s fine. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go first.”

She reached the door and was just about to push it open when, the instant it opened, she came face-to-face with a figure outside. Chu Yunmiao froze completely; it took her a full second to react and say faintly, “...Instructor.”

As she spoke, she carefully watched the other’s expression. Yu Changning was as expressionless as ever; there was nothing unusual about her, which made Chu Yunmiao secretly relax a little.

Yu Changning looked at her. “Going out?”

Chu Yunmiao replied, “Yes.”

But Yu Changning said, “I just got all the footage from today’s assessments and need someone to help me sort through it, so it’ll be easier to review later.”

“Does the class monitor have time?”

Chu Yunmiao nodded. “Mm.”

This was part of her responsibility as class monitor, within the scope of her duties; Chu Yunmiao had no way to refuse.

Yu Changning lowered her head slightly, and the edge in her voice softened a little. “Let’s go.”

The two were just about to leave together when Lin Mo, who did not know how to read the room, sidled over.

She had actually been looking for Yu Changning the whole time; she just hadn’t run into her earlier.

“Instructor! Instructor! I beat Aoreding! Did you see that assessment?”

Yu Changning stopped. “Mm.”

Lin Mo grinned foolishly. “You saw it?! So, how was I? Pretty amazing, right?”

Yu Changning bared her teeth in a smile. “Heh.”

Lin Mo: “...”

She pressed her lips together, suddenly having a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the next second, Yu Changning said coolly, “If you could split even half the energy you spend poking into other people’s private affairs onto training, you probably wouldn’t have been pinned down and beaten for ten minutes at the start, would you?”

Lin Mo: “...”

Chu Yunmiao: “...”

The Long Princess’s heart gave a hard jolt as she suddenly realized Yu Changning had probably overheard her and Lin Mo’s conversation just now.

Her first reaction was guilt, a kind of shame at being caught in a lie. But very quickly, she straightened her chest again—

What did she have to feel guilty about?!

She really did not have any close childhood friends, and that cruel reality was entirely thanks to Yu Changning.

Chu Yunmiao clenched her fist and secretly glared at Yu Changning.

Yu Changning didn’t seem to notice. She coughed lightly and asked Lin Mo, “Anything else?”

A stiff smile on her face, Lin Mo was inwardly regretting that she had spoken too much.

She waved obediently in farewell. “Nothing else. Instructor, take care. Instructor, safe travels.”

Yu Changning gave a quiet “Mm” and led Chu Yunmiao away without looking back.

After the door closed, Lin Mo patted her chest and murmured, “Oh my god, the instructor is terrifying.

“Crap! She took the class monitor away; she won’t have to bear the brunt of her anger, will she?!

“Wait, that’s the class monitor I’m talking about. Why am I worrying so much? The instructor wouldn’t even dare speak loudly to her.”

After comforting herself, Lin Mo finally breathed a huge sigh of relief and picked up her backpack before leaving the assessment hall.