A sudden encounter is nobody’s idea of fun. Zi Ye felt overwhelmed before she’d even settled in.

What was this feeling of being unable to breathe? She pushed hard against An Junlie’s heaving chest, gasping for air.

An Junlie watched her with unhurried ease, “What’s wrong?” Zi Ye, short of breath, asked, “Why are you fine?” An Junlie chuckled, pinching her cheek. “Silly girl, you must have forgotten to breathe.” Zi Ye pouted.

“I was blocked! I couldn’t breathe!” An Junlie laughed softly and tapped the tip of her nose.

“Your nose, where is your nose?” Zi Ye’s face instantly flushed hot. She felt utterly defeated today—not only had she bitten his tongue, but she’d also forgotten how her own nose functioned for breathing...

The embarrassment left her speechless. An Junlie smiled faintly, “Practice again?” Zi Ye’s face was crimson.

“Practice my foot!” Did he really need to bring up that mortifying action again? Aliens were the absolute worst.

An Junlie added, “Or should we play something else?” Zi Ye frowned in dissatisfaction. “Aren’t you busy today?” An Junlie nodded.

“Mm, not busy.” Zi Ye bounced off his lap. “Great!

Then come watch class with me.” There were no classes on the weekend, but Student Zi Ye had fallen behind on far too many lessons because of the competition. Fortunately, she could watch the course videos directly, so she unhesitatingly dragged An Junlie along to view them with her.

Each lecture was an hour long. Normally, the professor spoke for thirty to thirty-five minutes, meaning two lectures were combined into one video.

By the end of the week, there were fifteen or sixteen videos. She had missed nearly two months of class; just thinking about it made her feel overwhelmed.

Zi Ye opened the light screen, searching aimlessly. Unable to find what she wanted, she asked An Junlie, “What do you want to learn?” An Junlie answered without hesitation, “Constructing Modification Techniques?” Zi Ye: ...

Of all the courses this semester, that was the only one she hadn't fallen behind in! To modify the mecha, she had gone over the textbook and videos for Component Modification Technology several times, even asking Tang Wen or Blan if she didn't understand something.

Seeing her puff out her cheeks, An Junlie smiled wryly. “Then how about Turret Emitter Fabrication and Maintenance.” Zi Ye shot him a sidelong glance, pulled up all seven or eight videos for that course, expanded the screen to two hundred inches, and started from the first one.

An Junlie had never attended university. Aside from prenatal education, all his foundational knowledge came from direct instruction.

After his teacher passed away, he had relied on self-study combined with hard lessons to finally forge a complete set of theories that were uniquely his own. Thus, this rigid, by-the-book teaching style of the school was a completely new experience for him.

He wasn't a specialist, but emitters and similar devices were things one used constantly while living in space. So, hearing these systematic theories for the first time was quite novel to him.

Zi Ye wasn't meeting An Junlie for the first time today. Although his recent kiss had made her heart race, once the lessons began, she gradually focused her mind on the material, leaving no time, for the moment, to worry about how she and An Junlie should navigate their future relationship.

They sat side-by-side, each with their own small light screen, occasionally jotting down notes. It was as if they were two perfectly well-behaved students.

When the first video ended, Zi Ye took a quick trip to the restroom. Just as she entered, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Could it be the twins? An Junlie raised an eyebrow in surprise and went to answer the door.

As the door opened a crack, Little Sprout zipped in from outside, wings fluttering, and slammed directly into his face. An Junlie slapped gently at its body, catching it.

“You’re so mischievous; does your family’s Dou Zai know about this?” Little Sprout squawked indignantly, “You’re mischievous! Your whole family is mischievous!

Tell me, did you steal Little Fool Zi Ye?” An Junlie glanced at the closed restroom door and teased it deliberately, shaking his head. “No way.

Zi Ye is so big; how could I possibly steal her?” Little Sprout furiously shot a burst of electricity from the tiny sprout on its head, aiming it at An Junlie’s face. An Junlie tilted his head slightly, and the current hissed past his ear.

“Alien, you’re lying to me! If you didn’t steal her, how could she be here?” An Junlie waved a hand dismissively.

“Since you believe she’s here, why don’t you find her, then?” Little Sprout stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly started rolling on the floor, wailing loudly. Whether it had learned that heartbreaking cry from those overly dramatic, crying children online was debatable, but it sounded utterly tragic, making one think some unspeakable disaster had occurred.

Of course, if one noticed that it was just howling without shedding a single tear, the display became utterly hilarious. An Junlie sighed in defeat, scooping it up.

“What is it?” Little Sprout whimpered, “I always thought Big Scoundrel Tang was the scoundrel, but it turns out the alien is a big scoundrel too!” An Junlie’s expression stiffened. He hated being compared to Tang Wen, especially when the conclusion was that they were equally rotten.

To demonstrate that he was actually a good person, An Junlie rubbed its head. “Stop crying, be good.

I didn’t steal Zi Ye, really. If you keep crying, your clothes will look bad.” Little Sprout pouted, “If my clothes get ugly, you get me new ones.” An Junlie felt like he was speaking to a miniature version of Zi Ye; Little Sprout’s expression and mannerisms were identical to hers.

He couldn't help but smile. “Fine.” Just then, the restroom door opened.

Zi Ye stood in the doorway, looking at An Junlie. Seeing his strange smile, she couldn't help but ask, “Did you find money?” Little Sprout suddenly looked up, and upon seeing Zi Ye, immediately launched itself into her arms.

“Ahhh! The alien is a big scoundrel!

He lied to me, saying you hadn’t even come here!” An Junlie couldn't help but chuckle. Little Sprout’s ability to tell blatant lies was growing impressively.

Was this a consequence of being around Big Scoundrel Tang? He decided that no matter what, he couldn't let it spend time with Tang Wen anymore.

An Junlie never considered himself a saint. His mind was filled with countless schemes and calculations, but he never displayed them in front of Zi Ye.

In front of her, he revealed only his gentle side. In his view, Zi Ye was just a girl; she didn't need to know about darkness or struggle.

All these unsavory matters, he would clear away for her. She only needed to be her most [Genuine] self.

Zi Ye’s voice rang out in anger, “Alien, what do you mean? You’re even daring to lie to my Little Sprout?” An Junlie knew arguing the truth with a woman was pointless, so he sighed.

“I didn’t mean to.” Zi Ye scoffed, then told Little Sprout, “If he dares lie to you again, you can retaliate against him however you want.” Little Sprout happily raised its sprout. “Can I do it right now?” -(To be continued)