He Yuan dangled lazily behind the two, chatting with the brother he had grown up with since childhood.
To call it a conversation was an exaggeration; most of the time, he was the only one talking. The one beside him barely uttered a word.
Sometimes he wondered if their mother, whom they had never met, had been biased, giving him an extra pair of vocal cords.
"Sigh, will someone really challenge Luo Qi? But challenging him is indeed the most likely way to win. However, he's the little prince of the Insect Race, he should have some tricks up his sleeve, maybe he's just being modest, but..."
"Help him win."
He Yuan froze, "What?"
He Ning pursed his lips, realizing he had said something foolish. Even if someone were to challenge Luo Qi, others couldn't help him cheat; everything depended on himself. Even if he were the top student, he couldn't help him.
The expressionless young boy showed a hint of embarrassment for the first time: "His little cakes are delicious."
He Yuan teased him, "So my ice-cold brother is a little foodie?"
He Ning's lips moved, but he eventually closed them. He never got the better of his brother.
He Yuan burst into laughter. After laughing his fill, he ruffled He Ning's shoulder:
"Don't worry, he can handle this little trouble himself."
"Besides, people like them, born in the clouds, don't need our help..."
He Yuan sighed softly, the words vanishing into the air before they could reach He Ning's ears. He wasn't one to wallow in self-pity. Compared to that, it was more practical to figure out how to get next semester's tuition fees.
"He Ning, He Yuan! Hurry up and catch up!"
A small cub, who could effortlessly be the center of attention, turned back and called them with a smile, as if his previous worries and anxieties had all vanished.
He Yuan suddenly felt his judgment might not be entirely accurate. In Luo Qi's eyes, perhaps the identity of the little prince of the Insect Race wasn't something to be proud of, nor was being doted upon. What he should be proud of was eating an extra meat pie today, or waking up half an hour earlier.
How rare, he was so different from anyone he had ever seen before.
"Coming, coming."
He responded twice and stopped overthinking, pulling He Ning along as they quickened their pace to catch up with the two in front.
The next morning, while Luo Qi was still sleeping like a little pig in bed, Ye Mu went out first to gather information. Today was the first day of the free challenge matches, and as expected, not many people initiated formal challenges. However, there were some sparring in the training grounds. Ye Mu lost interest after watching two matches. They were still just children between seven and eight years old, and their spars seemed as crude as slow motion to him, offering no value. As he was leaving the stadium, he saw something interesting: a notice stating that his father, Ye Yun, would be serving as a teacher for a certain course. The specific course wasn't mentioned. The notice was just a single sheet of paper; Ye Mu wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't seen his father's name.
Ye Mu felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. When had Ye Yun become so unglamorous, not even having a proper promotional poster, just that tattered piece of paper? At that moment, far away in the principal's office, a certain unglamorous human general suddenly sneezed, rubbed his nose, and then argued vehemently, "As a general, don't I even deserve a proper poster? Just that tattered paper? Ah! You disloyal thing!"
The principal watched the man stomp around in exasperation with a leisurely air, saying calmly, "No, you're mistaken."
Ye Yun took a breath, also feeling that the principal wouldn't be so disloyal: "I knew it. Tell me, when will the real promotional poster be put up?"
The principal said innocently, "That is your promotional poster, what else is there?"
Ye Yun gritted his teeth, "Then why did you say I was mistaken?"
The principal smiled and, by saying it, made Ye Yun so angry he almost fell over: "What I mean is, there isn't just one of those papers; I had the students stick them all around the stadium."
Ye Yun's temples throbbed, wishing he could punch the principal's face twice.
The principal, however, continued to fan the flames: "What's wrong with that paper? It even has your portrait on it."
"Are you referring to that green stick figure?"
"Tsk, who in this universe doesn't recognize you? As long as the meaning is understood."
Ye Yun's cheek twitched: Get lost!
On the other side, Ye Mu also saw the green stick figure that his father had recognized and even took a picture of it with his terminal to send to his mother. However, apart from that, he didn't see any valuable information. Ye Mu put down his terminal and turned to leave the stadium. When he returned to the dormitory, Luo Qi was sitting up in bed, half-awake. The child's hair was a messy tangle, and his eyes were hazy as he looked at him. Seeing him, he smiled before even speaking. Ye Mu had seen this scene for many years. Since childhood, Luo Qi only showed such unguarded and relaxed expressions to those close to him, like a little cat exposing its belly.
Ye Mu walked over with a smile and gently pinched Luo Qi's cheek. The latter didn't resist and looked up at him, asking, "How is it? Has anyone started challenging?"
Ye Mu shook his head, "Not yet."
Luo Qi either sighed in relief or hung his breath, lying back down on his back, his little belly exposed. Ye Mu tucked down his slightly rolled-up pajamas and looked around, "Where are He Ning and He Yuan?"
Luo Qi thought for a moment, "They probably went for training again? I don't know why they have such self-control, leaving so early."
Ye Mu nodded casually, not really needing to know what they were doing. Luo Qi, not wanting to worry about challenges, casually continued the topic: "I'm really curious about where they came from. They don't seem to be from the major races."
Luo Qi frowned, "I'm not looking down on them, I'm just a little strange. Although I don't know how skilled they are, just their knowledge alone is very impressive."
Ye Mu smiled and nodded, "Yes, they are very impressive."
Luo Qi pouted and pushed Ye Mu, "I'm discussing this with you seriously."
Ye Mu said helplessly, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you, they came from a garbage planet."
These three words seemed to be the first time Luo Qi had heard them, "Garbage planet?"
Ye Mu nodded, "That's a place even more desolate and remote than the border planets. They were abandoned for various reasons, along with all the people or other creatures on the planet. There are no usable resources on the garbage planets; they are existences forgotten and abandoned by everyone, eventually becoming places for dumping trash."