He headed north of the main gates past the assembly courtyard and bookstore. As he strolled, a bunch of freshmen at one of the designated study areas stared blatantly at him. Thank gods he didn’t have classes with these tiny children. He lobbed them a smile. One of the girls giggled, and her bespectacled friend smacked her with a notebook.
It seemed like everyone knew who he was, and everyone was curious.
A modern structure of metal and glass shaped like a seashell rested on top of a small hill. It didn’t look like any other building on campus. Yiran scanned his palm by the entrance and walked in. He was early, and it was quiet and empty inside. He went down the glass-paneled hallway to a set of lockers, chucking his bag in one of them. The well-stocked vending machine caught his interest, and he got a mocha frappé to perk himself up. Drink in hand, he approached an unmarked door at the end of the hallway.
A beam of red light flashed across his body, and the door slid open without a sound. The room was enormous. A single touch screen hung on the panel by the door next to a complicated-looking machine with a keyboard and several buttons and knobs.
He was about to nose around when an all-too-familiar voice said, “What the hell are you doing here?”
Yiran turned. He hadn’t noticed the petite girl standing in another corner of the room when he came in. She was stretching in her athletic gear, looking irritated by his presence. What luck.Ruijust had to be in the senior class he was assigned to observe.
She raised her eyebrows at his clothes. “That designer shirt and those expensive shoes on your first day of school?”
“I don’t have my uniforms yet.”
“Doesn’t excuse the shoes. Heard you drove one of your fancy cars.”
“For convenience.”
“Embarrassing.”
“It won’t be embarrassing when you’re feeling hungry in the middle of the night and you want some soup dumplings from Laodifang.” Yiran winked. “You know who to call.”
“You’re not here on vacation, you’re here to train. This isn’t fun and games, not when lives are at stake,” Rui said, emphasizing her displeasure with her hands. “You can’t zip in and out of campus whenever you want. There are rules. Go read your student handbook.”
“Has anyone ever told you how bossy you are?”
She gave him a funny look. “Zizi says that all the time.”
You hold something of hers, something that doesn’tnaturallybelong to you.
Yiran lowered his voice. “Speaking of Zizi, has he figured out a way to...”
Rui shook her head. “You’d be the second person to know if he did.”
Hiding his relief, Yiran joked, “Guess he’s busy pulling rabbits out of his pajamas or dancing in the rain while eating chicken wings.”
“Sushi.”
“Huh?”
“He likes sushi.”
“I guess you’d know. You two are close, aren’t you? How did you meet?”
“What are you doing here anyway?” Rui said, ignoring his questions. “Did you get lost?”
“I have permission to sit in for trainings with this class.”
“But we’re seniors—thetopseniors.”
She sounded indignant. Flattery might be the way to soothe her. “Then I’m sure it’ll be enlightening for me. You’re the strongest, the best cadet. There’s a lot I can learn from you,” he said.
“Iwasthe strongest,” Rui said, her eyes downcast, “and I can’t be the best unless I get my magic back.”
“Any idea when that will be?”
“Why don’t you ask Zizi yourself? Didn’t you exchange numbers or something? I saw you whispering together before you left his shophouse.”
