When Du Shuangyu explained the situation to his father, the elder merely replied, "As long as you achieve something remarkable, people will naturally look at you with new respect."

"Nonsense!" Du Shuangyu snapped, spewing words without thought. "What has Ziye achieved? Why does she get to be Tang Wen's student? Why does she get to bask in Tang Wen's glory and become the face of Lingsi?!"

Originally, Alpha.Hilai was the foremost professor of the Mecha Academy. Now, Tang Wen had suddenly appeared, completely overshadowing Alpha.Hilai, and even accepting his bitter rival as a student. This was intolerable!

Du Shuangyu’s father sighed, "We didn't know Tang Wen would take students back then. If we had known, we certainly wouldn't have given her the slot. Alpha is decent, after all; at least he has far more experience teaching students than Tang Wen. You won't be at a disadvantage learning from him."

Du Shuangyu roared, "What do you mean, not at a disadvantage? Tang Wen only takes one student; Alpha takes five. How can it be the same?"

Father Du sighed again, "I tried to have him take you too. A few days ago, I had someone probe his opinion, and he explicitly refused to take a second student. There’s nothing I can do."

Du Shuangyu was furious and desperate, "I don't care! Help me look up Ziye’s past records and her admission scores. I don't believe I can't take her down! Once I take her down, we'll see if Tang Wen will finally accept me!"

Father Du frowned, "Son, don't act recklessly. If your grandfather finds out, he'll break your legs."

Du Shuangyu had already lost all patience, his face contorted with ferocity, "Are you going to help me or not?"

Father Du barked, "Calm down first."

Du Shuangyu scoffed, "You won't help, right? Fine!" He severed the hyper-com link and scrolled through his contacts. His older brother might help, but his brother was currently training with the military and didn't hold much authority...

After a moment’s thought, he decisively dialed his sister-in-law, Anolie, the Vice Dean of the School of Arts at Lingsi University. Firstly, she was part of Lingsi, familiar with internal affairs, making any inquiry easier. Secondly, she was a woman and generally easier to persuade.

Anolie considered for a moment and agreed to his request.

Her efficiency was remarkable. Half an hour later, she messaged back, "Shuangyu, I've sent Ziye's file to you. She didn't attend any school before entering Lingsi; it's simple enough to review in one glance."

Du Shuangyu was somewhat disbelieving, "No schooling? Then how did she get into Lingsi? Did you check her scores?"

Anolie mused, "Many people succeed through private tutoring at home; that part isn't unusual. The key is, she has no official scores."

Du Shuangyu was surprised, "You mean she didn't follow the standard procedure?"

Anolie raised an eyebrow. Her phoenix eyes slanted upwards, giving her a sharp look, "She was a direct recommendation!"

Du Shuangyu loudly protested, "That’s impossible! The direct recommendation quotas were announced long ago. Me, Bor.Aimannite, Sintaran, Guei."

Anolie interjected, "Correct. The school only announced four names. Ziye is the fifth." In truth, she had found records of Ziye taking the Lingsi entrance exam, but there was no corresponding score. This puzzled her, but she kept the detail to herself and didn't tell Du Shuangyu.

This news hit Du Shuangyu like a bolt from the blue.

She was a direct recommendation, just like him.

To ensure student quality, Lingsi University only granted ten direct recommendation spots each year, five of which went to the Mecha Academy. Becoming a recommended student required not only exceptional skill in mecha but also meeting benchmarks across ten areas, including physical aptitude, intellect, and practical ability. Only achieving full compliance secured the status.

Ziye becoming a recommended student meant she was proficient in every aspect.

He had underestimated her completely!

Du Shuangyu gritted his teeth, "Who was her recommender?"

Anolie slowly pronounced two words, "Tang Wen."

Another thunderbolt struck from a clear sky.

Du Shuangyu nearly shattered his teeth. Why was the entire world conspiring against him? Why? Tang Wen—humph, Tang Wen, just you wait!

Anolie, being an outsider, saw the situation more clearly and tried to counsel him, "Shuangyu, calm down. Tang Wen entering Lingsi, recommending Ziye as a direct admit, and then taking her as a student—it’s obvious he intends to teach her personally. There must be some underlying reason. Perhaps Ziye is his half-sister or something. Let's leave it at that. Don't let your brother know, or he'll say I’m causing trouble again."

After ending the call, Du Shuangyu’s agitation subsided slightly. Clearly, Tang Wen and Ziye were aligned; how dare they provoke him? He made a decision: he would challenge Ziye!

Tang Wen’s lessons were remarkably simple, held once every two weeks on Friday afternoons. Since he didn't have class the first week, he contacted Ziye via hyper-com in advance, "Do you mind meeting off-campus?"

Ziye shook her head, "Not at all."

Tang Wen smiled faintly, "Good. I'll send a shuttle to pick you up at noon. Going forward, you'll come to Kelei for classes on single weeks, and I'll come to Lingsi on double weeks."

Ziye felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.

Alternating weeks—a perfectly fair division!

She replied, "No need to pick me up. Just tell me which space station, and I'll come myself."

Tang Wen replied calmly, "It’s no trouble. Send me the coordinates; the shuttle will arrive within twenty minutes."

Ziye hadn't even eaten lunch yet. Thinking she needed to pick up Little Sprout from the Angel Domain tomorrow, she brought along the chrysalis, packed quickly, grabbed a couple of bites to eat, and headed to the landing platform atop her apartment block.

She had barely arrived when the shuttle appeared.

The shuttle was small and agile, smooth and fast, capable of reaching 600 m/s at full thrust—faster than any standard vessel. It could operate both inside and outside space stations, and its jump speed was top-tier, taking only 13 minutes to travel directly from Lingsi to Kelei.

This shuttle was clearly Tang Wen’s personal craft.

The cabin was spacious and luxuriously appointed, suitable for both work and rest, more comfortable than a mobile home.

Ziye glanced at the pilot and felt a bit awkward. She wasn't some VIP; having someone make a special trip just to fetch her felt slightly undeserved.

Tang Wen was stationed at Kelei Space Station 48, within the Interstellar Federation Unit One Research Institute—official territory of the Interstellar Federation. Ziye had never imagined visiting such a legendary place. Before she could process her surprise, the shuttle docked. Ziye disembarked, and Blan was waiting for her.

Ziye looked around the Institute like a country bumpkin entering a grand manor, filled with envy. The Interstellar Federation was undeniably high-tech and magnificent. How she longed to own such a state-of-the-art space station herself!

A longing, nothing more than a daydream.

Upon seeing Tang Wen, he cut straight to the chase, "Can you pilot a shuttle?"

Ziye blinked, "No."

Tang Wen said, "Good. The first lesson will be learning the shuttle. Blan here can teach you; his skills are better than mine."

Ziye remained stunned.

Was he planning to teach her to fly the shuttle so she could be his driver from now on?