What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Dinner. Should She Invite Her?

Probably because it was still during class hours, the claims office was deserted, with only a male Beta dozing behind the registration desk.

Shu Qiong searched for a while before finding the head hidden by a potted plant. She stepped forward and knocked on the desk: “Hello, I’d like to claim some materials.”

“Oh! Okay,” the male Beta was startled by the sound and quickly got up to work. “Do you have the application form?”

Shu Qiong handed him the paper while observing the interior of the claims office.

The claims office had a row of cabinets built flush against the wall. There were no visible gaps between the cabinets and the wall, and approaching them revealed a faint sound of running slides, suggesting hidden doors behind.

Sure enough, she saw the Beta operate on an electronic screen on the side of a cabinet. One of the large metal cabinets slowly moved upward, revealing the tip of an iceberg of the material warehouse.

The materials were neatly categorized and easy to find, but transporting them was cumbersome, as such a heavy pile of things couldn’t be carried by human labor alone.

Just as Shu Qiong pondered this, the staff member came out of the warehouse empty-handed: “Done. The materials you requested have been delivered to your studio.”

He paused and reminded her, “Actually, you don’t have to come down to claim materials. Don’t you all have a big screen on the wall of your studio? You can operate directly on it. The intelligent central control system will deliver everything neatly within five minutes, and there are multiple payment options.”

Shu Qiong suddenly realized. She then silently complained, wouldn’t that make this claims office just for show? Working here is every slacker’s dream job.

Returning to her studio, she indeed saw a massive safe-like metal cube pop out from the wall. Shu Qiong tinkered with it, paid the material fee via iris recognition.

The material fee was cheaper than expected; the military university offered discounted prices for materials provided to its own students.

After briefly organizing the received materials, Shu Qiong was excited. She could start the mecha modification tomorrow!

“Ding-dong.”

Her bracelet vibrated with a notice from the class group chat.

Shu Qiong opened it and found it was an announcement for an Alliance-wide competition open to current mecha engineer students.

The class group chat briefly erupted. Everyone was lamenting that they were only first-years. Participating would just be for show, and paying the registration fee felt like a waste of money.

But some were more optimistic, believing that even without winning such a high-profile, large-scale competition, merely getting familiarized with the judges and bigwigs was a huge gain.

Shu Qiong knew about this annual Alliance Mecha Design Competition. The judging panel each year was quite impressive, arguably gathering the Alliance’s top mecha engineer configuration. In previous years, it was rumored that a student’s design was so brilliant that they were directly recruited by a certain bigshot’s team. The competition ended, and they had a job offer. It couldn’t be better.

But this was clearly a low-probability event.

She would definitely sign up. Shu Qiong flipped through the detailed requirements of the competition. The preliminary round lasted one month. Within this month, contestants had to submit their finished blueprints and virtual mecha models to the organizer.

And this year’s competition theme was “Speed.”

She curiously logged onto the military university forum and found that mecha manufacturing students were already wailing, believing that this year’s theme was too broad, and the final submissions would be highly competitive. Furthermore, standing out from such a conventional requirement would heavily test one’s innovative ability.

Mecha development had advanced for so many years in the Alliance. The development of mecha speed had long reached a sophisticated and advanced level. It was unrealistic to expect military academy students to design something that surpassed current achievements within a month.

Shu Qiong pondered, feeling there must be other breakthroughs.

Just before 6:30 PM, she received a message from Yan Xiangyu.

The studio door opened, and Yan Xiangyu leaned against the door frame. The Alpha, who had just changed out of her training uniform, still radiated a slight warmth, and her cheeks and neck were flushed.

Shu Qiong looked out into the corridor: “Shall we go now?”

Yan Xiangyu thought she hadn’t finished her work: “Something else? I’ll wait.”

“Nothing. Let me get you a bottle of water.” Shu Qiong ran back to the studio, grabbed a bottle of water and portable wet wipes, and handed them to Yan Xiangyu. “Let’s go.”

Yan Xiangyu paused, obediently took them, uncapped the bottle, and took a gulp.

A hovercar was waiting outside. Shu Qiong was surprised to see it was Jin Yan’s ultra-luxurious favorite car. Its high-profile, eye-catching streamlined body attracted the attention of many passing students. However, Shu Qiong personally thought the car paint Jin Yan meticulously chose was a bit flashy.

Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu got in the car and saw that the others were already inside.

Song Lianqiao was also there.

Shu Qiong was stunned. She hadn’t invited Song Lianqiao at all.

Song Lianqiao was a bit reserved and proactively explained: “Student Yan invited me. Recently, many rumors have been spreading on the forum. Student Yan felt that if we were open about it and had a meal together to show friendliness, the rumors might be dispelled naturally. I thought it made sense.”

Yan Xiangyu looked at Shu Qiong upon hearing this: “What do you think, Student Shu?”

Shu Qiong thought it made sense too. She stopped dwelling on it, leaned back in her seat, and felt a rush of fatigue. She closed her eyes and began to doze off.

Jin Yan, who had insisted on showing off her driving skills, glanced at the rearview mirror: “She clearly secretly worked hard all afternoon. Mom is very pleased and also sad that her daughter is so hardworking.”

Shu Qiong, who wasn’t asleep, immediately opened her eyes: “I wasn’t secretive; I was very open about it.”

“You weren’t sleeping?” Jin Yan doubted herself. “Is my driving not smooth enough, or is my luxury car not comfortable enough?”

“It’s not your problem.” Shu Qiong yawned and casually rested her arm, watching the scenery fly past the window.

Her body was tired, but her mind was excited, and she couldn’t fall asleep.

The scenery outside retreated rapidly. Capital Star, just before 7 PM, was already showing its bustling night view. Neon lights and floating 3D advertisements assaulted the visual nerves of passersby. Staring for too long made her feel a little dizzy.

Speed.

She slightly lowered the car window. The cool evening breeze instantly rushed into the car, causing her collar to flutter.

“You drive so smoothly,” Song Lianqiao was no longer reserved. She was naturally lively and quickly became familiar with Jin Yan, who was also talkative.

“I usually don’t dare to take taxis when I go out, for fear of meeting a wild driver. I’d likely get motion sickness, and it’s terrible.”

Jin Yan was proud: “Of course. I’m a talented driver who got my hovercar license in just one week.”

Shu Qiong closed the car window and looked thoughtfully at the driver’s seat.

Yan Xiangyu thought she was tired: “Uncomfortable? Rest your head for a bit?”

Shu Qiong’s gaze flickered across Yan Xiangyu’s shoulder, and she refused.

Before Yan Xiangyu could express disappointment, she heard her ask: “Have you had contact with mechas before?”

“If you mean ‘contact’ as in personally driving one, the answer is no,” Yan Xiangyu replied. “Is there a problem?”

Shu Qiong lazily lifted her eyes: “Just complimenting you. Your performance in the small test this afternoon was excellent.”

Yan Xiangyu chuckled: “Is that all? I saw you in the audience seats this afternoon.”

Very eye-catching.

Shu Qiong asked again: “After operating a mecha, what are your feelings about speed?”

Yan Xiangyu carefully recalled: “To be honest, the feeling wasn’t very strong. The standard mecha provided by the military university has an ordinary power system, and the speed wasn’t fast enough to make me unable to adapt.”

Shu Qiong paused, feeling she had chosen the wrong person to ask, so she threw the same question to the other mecha students in the car.

Su Heyi: “Didn’t feel anything.”

Jin Yan: “Driving a standard mecha isn’t as thrilling as racing a car.”

Only Song Lianqiao seriously considered the question and said: “Student Shu, are you thinking about the theme of the design competition? Hmm… based on my personal feeling, I felt a little uncomfortable the moment I got on the machine. Plus, the cockpit view is quite high, and starting abruptly gave me a slight feeling of motion sickness. But once I adapted, this feeling wasn’t insurmountable. I wasn’t dizzy this afternoon.”

Shu Qiong immediately straightened her back, ignoring the others and leaning towards Song Lianqiao: “Really? I have a hypothesis. If we adjust the… could we solve the…”

Song Lianqiao nodded in agreement: “I think your hypothesis is feasible…”

Shu Qiong invited Song Lianqiao: “Once I’ve designed the finished product, could I ask you to help me test the mecha?”

Yan Xiangyu, who was drinking water, seemed to choke, coughed, and reached across Shu Qiong to grab a tissue.

Song Lianqiao immediately agreed: “No problem. But is it okay even if I’m not a Mecha Solo Combatant?”

Generally, mecha engineers would invite powerful combatants to be their test pilots. However, Shu Qiong mainly wanted to test whether her design could solve the speed-sickness issue. A test pilot like Song Lianqiao, who was careful, sensitive, had above-average ability, and some basic mecha engineer knowledge, was just right.

Shu Qiong seriously encouraged her: “Don’t doubt yourself. You can do it.”

Yan Xiangyu withdrew her arm and coughed again softly.

Shu Qiong turned her head: “Choked?”

Yan Xiangyu: “…I’m fine.”

Gu Tiantian almost burst into a goose-like laugh: “Why not pick a few more test pilots for various metrics? We have two excellent combatants right here in 406. It’s a resource right in front of your eyes; use it or lose it.”

Su Heyi nodded: “That’s right. If you need help, just ask me anytime, no need to be polite.”

Yan Xiangyu looked at Gu Tiantian: “Mhm.”

Shu Qiong quickly accepted her roommates’ kindness.

The hot pot restaurant was chosen by Jin Yan. The decor and quality control were quite good, and the prices were moderate. Although the young lady could be impulsively eccentric, her emotional intelligence wasn’t low, and she hadn’t inappropriately chosen an expensive, high-end restaurant.

It was dinner time, and there were many people coming and going. The floating screen at the entrance reflected the real-time dining situation inside. A glance showed the tables were very scarce. Fortunately, Yan Xiangyu had reserved a private room. The waiter at the entrance led everyone inside.

Upon entering the main gate, the view opened up completely. The interior was built in the style of a Suzhou garden, with many pavilions and towers. Paths and long corridors interlaced between them. The scenery was beautiful and quite interesting as they walked through it.

The air was mixed with wafts of spicy aroma carried by the wind, relentlessly enticing everyone’s appetite.

After everyone was seated, the dishes arrived quickly. Serving robots steadily carried the plates, shuttling between the small paths, taking care not to disturb the guests’ dining experience too much.

Shu Qiong contentedly added this restaurant to her recommendation list. After eating her fill, she opened her bracelet and went to the official website of the Alliance Mecha Design Competition to sign up.

The registration process was more tedious than expected, requiring a lot of information.

Shu Qiong filled in everything one by one. Her movements paused at the “Cooperative Combatant for the Finals” field.

The Mecha Design League was divided into three stages:

In the preliminary round, each contestant only needed to submit a virtual model and design blueprints.

By the time of the initial rounds, contestants had to present a finished product. At this stage, the organizer would uniformly arrange a team of Mecha Solo Combatants to test the performance of each finished mecha, filtering out works that didn’t match the initial round model.

Those who passed the initial round would enter the finals. At this point, contestants would often invite a Mecha Solo Combatant to cooperate. The combatant would pilot the mecha to complete the arena challenge until the champion was determined.

In the finals, this combination of mecha engineer and mecha combatant was an absolute community of interests. If executed well, it was a win-win.

Yan Xiangyu’s figure in the training field immediately came to Shu Qiong’s mind.

Regardless of compatibility or combatant talent, Yan Xiangyu seemed like the perfect candidate.

Should she invite her?