Chapter 52: Inexplicably Treated as a Carry

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Inexplicably Treated as a Carry

But Liu Ruoxi didn’t even look at him. She pulled Gu Weilan aside and asked in a low voice, "Can I tag along with your team later? I haven’t reached the legal age to be matched with a Beast Husband, so I only teamed up with four of our male classmates. There are only six females in our class. I reckon the other four will also come looking for you later to seek protection. After all, the Beast Husbands you brought give off such a strong sense of security! I need to claim a good spot first." Liu Ruoxi explained her intentions frankly.

Gu Weilan rubbed her waist, not minding at all, but gently warned her, "Then you need to make it clear to your male teammates that my Beast Husbands will only protect me. They might lend you guys a hand, but don’t try to guilt-trip us into anything. Otherwise, I’ll be very angry."

Liu Ruoxi nodded. "Don’t worry about that, I know how things work. Also, don’t be too nervous! My older brother is an upperclassman at this academy, and he told me the school won’t put us in a place with a lot of Star Beasts. Our trip to the Deserted Star this time is just to get familiar with the wilderness. The school wants to test our ability to identify plants and materials. Even if we do encounter Star Beasts, they should only be at the Fourth or Fifth Rank. The school also brought many teachers and third-year upperclassmen from the Combat Department. They can definitely handle Sixth or Seventh Rank Star Beasts, so really, don’t sweat it!"

Watching Gu Weilan continuously rub her lower back, Liu Ruoxi leaned closer. Her usually tranquil little face contorted into a teasing wink. "You knew we had a three-day assessment coming up, yet you still didn’t know how to show some restraint. Indulging too much in such things isn’t good for us females’ kidneys! I’ll get you some medicine another day. My Fourth Father is a Priest, and he can even bless the herbs for you. We’re still young; we can’t let our bodies go to ruin!"

Gu Weilan froze slightly, her hand pausing on her waist as she immediately realized Liu Ruoxi had gotten the wrong idea.

"My waist isn’t like this because I was with my Beast Husbands. I built a greenhouse in the backyard of my villa. I just wanted to grow some simple plants, but... did you know? Planting crops requires constant bending! I’ve only been working for a day, and I feel like my back is going to break!"

Seeing that Gu Weilan’s expression didn’t seem fake, Liu Ruoxi scratched her cheek. "You really got like this from farming?"

Gu Weilan placed both hands on her lower back, stretching it out as she leaned her upper body backward, letting out a pained sigh. "I thought everything would be much simpler," she sighed again.

Liu Ruoxi was thoroughly confused. "Why didn’t you just use planting robots? You didn’t think you’d get extra credit for hard work by planting them yourself, did you?"

Gu Weilan took a deep breath and looked at Liu Ruoxi. "I finally managed to grow seedlings from the seeds. Since it was my first time planting, I was afraid the robots would ruin the delicate sprouts."

But that wasn’t the truth. In reality, the seedlings in the greenhouse in Gu Weilan’s backyard were mostly planted by the butler robot. However, the seedlings in her spatial dimension were planted by her own hands! Not only did she lack the points to buy vegetable-planting robots, but she also owed Pomegranate Seed 100 points for unlocking the System Mall!

Now her waist was sore, her back ached, and her legs were cramping. Only those who had actually farmed could understand this pain. Gu Weilan was truly envious of those female protagonists in novels who had spatial dimensions and could farm without getting backaches. She simply wasn’t cut out for it. This physical labor of straightening up, bending down to plant a seedling, straightening up to take a few steps, and bending down to plant another seedling was nearly killing her. Of course, she had tried staying bent over, sticking her butt in the air, and keeping her head down to rapidly plant the seedlings. But that didn’t work either. Not only did it do little to relieve the strain on her back, but she also felt a wave of dizziness when she finally stood up.

Seeing Gu Weilan in such a state, Liu Ruoxi’s face paled slightly. She pursed her lips, deeply worried. "What are we going to do? I took the same elective as you. The Planting Department requires us to grow 100 First Rank or above agricultural products or herbs to get full credits for this semester. I haven’t even started working on it yet! You’re already a Seventh Rank female, so your aptitude must be vastly superior to mine. If even someone as strong as you is in this condition, what am I, a mere Fourth Rank little female, supposed to do?"

Gu Weilan waved her hand dismissively. "Don’t be so pessimistic. I... also just formed a bond a few days ago. The past few days... I haven’t been very restrained with my waist. Maybe it has a little to do with that."

Liu Ruoxi patted her chest. "You scared me to death, honestly! I thought that farming for a single day would guarantee this kind of agony!"

Gu Weilan didn’t explain further. Farming for a single day really would result in that kind of agony.

After all the students had gathered, they headed directly to the academy’s Departure Platform to board the ship.

Liu Ruoxi still sat next to Gu Weilan, pulling her close to quietly ask for advice on raising seedlings. Shen Mianzhou sat on Gu Weilan’s left. While keeping his fingers intertwined with hers, he carefully hid the glint of displeasure in his eyes directed at the female Liu Ruoxi.

Zhan Heng had his arms crossed over his chest. Listening to Gu Weilan’s soft voice, he closed his eyes and leaned back against his seat to rest. Lorenzo Snow didn’t like drawing attention, so he wore a half-mask. Propping his chin on his hand, he closed his eyes and slept. Xuanshuo, on the other hand, fluttered about like a social butterfly, weaving through Gu Weilan’s classmates and chatting merrily.

Aside from Liu Ruoxi, there were two other females sitting in the rows ahead and behind them. They occasionally turned their heads to chime into the conversation. One of these females was named Michelle, a Fifth Rank female of the Unicorn Clan, and the other was Zhuoma, a Fourth Rank female of the Tibetan Antelope Beast Clan. However, they were still quite young. Michelle was twenty-one, and Zhuoma was twenty-three. Liu Ruoxi looked the same age as Michelle, but she was actually the same age as Zhuoma—also twenty-three.

The other two females included Jin Taoyao, a twenty-five-year-old Sixth Rank female from the Golden Crow Clan, who sat two rows away separated by males, accompanied by her six Fifth to Seventh Rank Beast Husbands. The other was Laura, a twenty-four-year-old Sixth Rank female of the Honey Badger Clan, who sat in the row in front of Jin Taoyao with her two Beast Husbands and five male classmates. These two would occasionally exchange a few words, but they didn’t try to get close to Gu Weilan’s group.

Zhuoma, like Liu Ruoxi, was very interested in Gu Weilan’s farming experience. But Michelle was not. She looked at Gu Weilan curiously. Once they finished talking about farming, she couldn’t help but ask, "The female Gu Weilan, how can I be matched with a Beast Husband whose Beast Rank level is much higher than my own? I also want to have high-level Beast Husbands. Can you tell me?"

Liu Ruoxi and Zhuoma pursed their lips, exchanging a glance that held a trace of hidden embarrassment. But it was obvious that they really wanted to know too! Because generally speaking, when females matched with males of higher ranks, the difference was three to five ranks at most. Yet the males matched with the female Gu Weilan included the Twelfth Rank Zhan Heng and the Eleventh Rank Lorenzo!

Even if the female Gu Weilan told them that Zhan Heng—the one with the slicked-back black hair who was devastatingly handsome—was only at the Eleventh Rank before they formed a bond, it would still be incredibly shocking to them! After all, when the female Gu Weilan arrived at the academy, she was only at the Fourth Rank!

The gap between a Fourth Rank female and an Eleventh Rank male was a full seven ranks!