Free Web NovelChapter 32: Chapter 32: Jiang Xia’s Parents
The subtle turmoil in the audience didn’t affect Shi Lan in the slightest. After receiving her certificate, she took a group photo with the dean along with everyone else before heading off the stage.
Back in her seat and looking at the graduation certificate in her hands, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Jiang Yan excitedly asked to take a picture with her. "Lanlan, hold your graduation certificate up. I want to take a picture to post on my feed."
"Okay."
Shi Lan nodded, happily leaning against her. She also used her own chip to take a photo of the two of them and post it to her feed.
Just seconds after she posted the update, it received a string of likes. She tapped on it to take a look and was surprised by how fast the five men from the prison were.
At that moment, inside Black Ming Star Prison, the five men all silently screenshotted and saved Shi Lan’s photo. After a moment of silence, Jiang Xia suddenly voiced what everyone was thinking. "You guys... Shi Lan looks so happy on Capital Star. Do you think she’ll really come back?"
No one could give a definite answer. After a long moment, Mu Tangfeng said, lacking confidence, "She will... right? That’s what she said herself."
"Sigh... If only my spiritual power hadn’t collapsed..."
At this very moment, Jiang Xia let out a rare, emotional sigh. For the first time, he truly hated being locked up in this prison.
He silently gazed at Shi Lan’s post. ’If I were on Capital Star,’ he thought, ’the one taking a picture with her could have been me.’
The others remained silent, but the same thought, and the same feeling of unwillingness, rose in all of them.
Shi Lan had no idea that the casual photo she took with Jiang Yan had just sent ripples through a quiet pond.
She closed the feed on her chip and quietly waited for the graduation ceremony to end.
After the repetitive process of awarding the certificates, the dean returned to give a few closing remarks and formally announced the end of the ceremony.
The students began to disperse, and Shi Lan and Jiang Yan left with the crowd.
Just then, a male bumped into her, accidentally knocking the graduation certificate from her hand.
He hurriedly apologized. Shi Lan furrowed her brow and glanced at him, only to find the man staring intently at her.
Jiang Yan picked up the certificate for her. Seeing his behavior, she was furious. "What are you looking at? Did you sleep through your etiquette classes? Who gave you permission to stare at a female like that?"
A flash of anger flickered in the male’s eyes upon hearing Jiang Yan’s words, but he still lowered his head, muttered a couple of apologies, and hurried away.
Not far away, Bai Rao watched the scene, his gaze darkening slightly.
Jiang Yan was still fuming. "What’s with that guy? Just bumping into females like that."
Shi Lan looked puzzled. "That man... I think he was in the family seating area..."
She’d glanced his way a few times while she was seated. More importantly, after she’d received her certificate and come down from the stage, she kept feeling like someone was staring at her. Several times she’d turned her head and sensed the stare was coming from his direction.
"I wonder which student’s parent he is. So rude."
Jiang Yan handed the certificate back to her. Shi Lan dusted it off, thanked her, and put it directly into her Space Bag this time. "By the way," she said, "do you need help with wedding decorations? I’m free now, so I can come and help."
"Oh, yes! Please do!"
Jiang Yan instantly forgot her annoyance. In truth, there wasn’t much decorating to do; her Beast Husbands had already handled all the heavy lifting. She just wanted to spend time with her best friend.
Jiang Yan took her hand again. Just then, Levito and Jiang Yan’s Beast Husbands walked over. Once the five of them were together, Shi Lan told Levito her plans, adding, "If you have other business to attend to, you can go ahead. Just come back to protect me for the wedding tomorrow."
Levito shook his head. "It’s no problem. Besides, I promised the Major General I would protect you."
Hearing the two words ’Major General’ again, Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow. "That would be Major General He, right?"
She looked at Shi Lan, her eyes full of teasing. "You two..."
Under that teasing gaze, even though there was nothing going on, the mere thought of He Hanshi made Shi Lan blush inexplicably. She defended herself in a low voice, "Major General He is just a very thoughtful and gentle person. He knew I was coming to Capital Star and was worried about a lone female like me being unsafe, so he made these arrangements."
"Ohhh, I know, I know."
Jiang Yan knew exactly what was up and didn’t press the issue. ’Major General He, huh?’ she thought. ’I’ve only seen him twice, and each time he was with a large group of soldiers, looking all stern. His public image, at least, has nothing to do with being ’thoughtful and gentle’.’
’Still,’ she mused with a touch of regret, ’Major General He has a Level 3S Spiritual Power Level. Given the severity of its collapse, such an outstanding person will probably have to spend the rest of his days in prison. What a shame.’
Jiang Yan sighed to herself, but since it was a happy occasion, she didn’t voice such a depressing thought. However, just as the five of them were about to leave, someone called out.
To be precise, the person called, "Shi Lan."
Puzzled, Shi Lan turned around to see an unfamiliar female. The female was wearing sunglasses and a sun hat, concealing her features thoroughly.
As she got closer, however, she took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of bright, bewitching phoenix eyes. She took out a Space Twist and handed it to Shi Lan. "My Xiaxia asked me to give you something. It’s in the red box inside. The rest of the items are things we bought for Xiaxia; please trouble yourself to pass them along. As for the Space Twist itself, consider it our gift for meeting you and for your trouble. You don’t need to give it to Xiaxia."
Du Yi rattled off these instructions and left with her primary husband without waiting for Shi Lan to reply.
Jiang Yan was dumbfounded. "Lanlan, you know people from the Jiang Family?"
"Oh, I almost forgot—you know Jiang Xia. That must have been his parents."
Jiang Yan answered her own question, which also cleared up Shi Lan’s confusion. Shi Lan had been wondering who "Xiaxia" was, but now she understood.
She watched Du Yi’s retreating figure, then stared blankly at the Space Twist in her hand, her mind erupting in a series of astonished gasps.
’Wow, this woman is going to be the death of me! Is Jiang Xia’s mother really this much of a baller?’
The dimensional storage devices in this world came in several types: Space Bags, Space Twists, and Space Chains.
Space Chains were the best; items stored inside could be kept fresh for up to a year, but they were also extremely expensive.
Space Bags were the cheapest. The original owner of her body had been strapped for cash, so she could only afford this type. The price varied by storage capacity, and the one she’d bought cost 4,000 Star Coins.
As for the Space Twist Jiang Xia’s mother had given her, Shi Lan peeked inside and couldn’t even see to the back of the storage space. ’This must have cost hundreds of thousands of Star Coins,’ she thought.
She froze. Now she felt genuinely too embarrassed to accept it.
But when she looked up, Jiang Xia’s parents had already vanished into the dense crowd. She had no choice but to accept it for the time being.
In the distance, Du Yi touched her face and boasted to her primary husband, "How did I do? Wasn’t I cool just now? I hear young females these days love elders who throw money around."
Jiang Hua hesitated for a moment. "You seemed a little... fierce. Won’t the poor girl be scared?"
"Huh?"
Du Yi gritted her teeth, her anger instantly finding a new target. "It’s all Bai Youyou’s fault! After years of trading insults with her, I can’t control my expression anymore."
"It’s fine, it’s fine," Jiang Hua said. "The young female Xiaxia has his eye on can’t be that timid. After all, our son is quite a handful himself." frёewebηovel.cѳm
"That’s true."
The thought of her son made Du Yi feel better. Then she couldn’t help but sigh. "Did you see that male behind the little gal? Levito. He’s a pretty powerful figure in the military. Looks like our Xiaxia has met a worthy rival."
"Well, at least it’s just Levito and not Major General He."
Jiang Hua had a very positive outlook. Their son’s chances were definitely much better when compared to Levito.
Du Yi thought about it and agreed. At least against Levito, her son still had an edge.
’But if he were up against Major General He... well, they’d just have to concede defeat.’
