Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The medical robot's needle insertion was incredibly efficient, taking only a few seconds from start to finish.

This was a specialized IV area in the corridor, though it clearly wasn't the hospital's peak visiting hours—the spacious hallway held only Jiang Se and her companions.

Jiang Se rested one hand on her shoulder while the other attempted to sneakily activate her smart-device to browse the Mecha Pilot Forum. But just as her fingers touched the screen, before she could open it, Chu Yun’s hand was already on her shoulder, smiling at her: “Just focus on getting better!”

Alright. Jiang Se made a surrendering gesture and leaned back against the chair, bored and spacing out.

Just as her mind was beginning to fully relax and she was drifting into drowsiness, a both familiar and unfamiliar, soft, gentle voice came from the end of the corridor.

The voice carried a hint of surprise and disbelief: “Big sister?!”

Ah, big sister?

In this world, the only person who would call her “big sister,” if she remembered correctly, was one person.

Jiang Se instantly snapped out of her daze and looked toward the end of the hallway.

There stood Jiang Rou, dressed in a light pink dress, holding a basket of fruit, looking in their direction.

She was undoubtedly beautiful—a delicate, willowy beauty that made people want to protect her.

She was surrounded by several classmates who, upon hearing her speak, looked surprised and curious:

“Rou Rou, this is your sister? How come you’ve never mentioned her?”

“Yeah, aren’t you an only child? How do you suddenly have a sister?”

“Your sister doesn’t look anything like you?”

…

The voices of these classmates were neither too loud nor too soft, but they were clearly audible in the quiet hospital corridor.

At the very least, Jiang Rou was certain Jiang Se could hear them.

She had already prepared a teary-eyed, vulnerable look, waiting for Jiang Se to rush over and fly off the handle as usual, only to be deflected by a few carefully chosen phrases, leaving Jiang Rou as the one everyone comforted.

After all, that’s how things usually played out.

However, upon hearing the voice, Jiang Se merely lazily yawned, leaned back in her chair, and said casually, “Just a distant cousin, a few generations removed. Isn’t it normal that we don’t look alike?”

This identity was something the Jiang family fabricated to avoid affecting Jiang Rou’s marriage alliance with Qin Yuan.

“Oh, I see.”

The classmate’s face showed a look of sudden understanding. After all, the Jiang family was one of the Federation’s well-known wealthy families. A distant cousin—or even a truckload of them—was not surprising at all.

Even though her heart was seething inside, Jiang Rou forced herself to maintain a sweet, gentle act. “Yes, she’s my distant cousin.”

Hearing this, the group of classmates started asking:

“Hello, cousin!”

“Cousin, are you sick?”

“Did you come to the hospital alone, cousin?”

…

Watching Jiang Rou’s face growing more upset, Jiang Se propped her chin on her hand and looked at her. “Dear little cousin, aren’t you going to ask how your dear older cousin is doing?”

Though she was gritting her teeth in frustration, Jiang Rou forced a smile. “Cousin, are you alright? Mom and Dad are very worried since you ran away from home. You should find time to give them a call.”

Worried? More like furious that she might cause trouble and ruin their marriage plans, Jiang Se thought to herself, amused.

“By the way, cousin, since you left alone and probably don’t have much money, do you need me to transfer some to you?”

As she said this, Jiang Rou’s face returned to its sweet facade, her eyes flickering with a pitying look.

Give her money?

Jiang Se felt like laughing. The money Jiang Rou could offer probably wouldn’t even cover the cost of even one small part for a mecha arm.

She waved her hand offhandedly. “Forget it. I don’t need money. You should keep it for yourself.”

“After all, we've got all the time in the world. Right, dear little cousin?”

With that, Jiang Se picked up her IV pole with one hand and turned to leave.

As she walked away, her gaze happened to notice Chu Yun, Zhu Jin, and the others across the way.

The three of them were huddled behind a hospital information pamphlet, listening intently to the exchange.

Their faces were totally engrossed, and as Jiang Se turned to leave, Chu Yun’s eyes even looked almost disappointed it was over.

Jiang Se: ???

Well, well. Her wonderful friends.

After walking down the corridor, Jiang Se didn’t take the elevator. Instead, she stood behind the door, leaning against the wall.

She counted down silently in her head: Ten… nine…

Just as she reached the last number, Chu Yun and the other two walked out of the hallway with completely straight faces.

They now wore the cold, elite demeanor befitting students of Alliance University.

But that aloof, elite aura vanished the moment they saw Jiang Se, instantly transforming them into a bunch of excited kids.

Jiang Se crossed her arms and looked at them, an amused smirk curling her lips. “Enjoy the show?”

Chu Yun was the first to speak. “Absolutely.”

In her free time, aside from sleeping, her greatest hobby was watching interstellar over-the-top rich family dramas.

Entertainment in the Interstellar Age had clearly advanced far beyond that of Earth’s era. Interstellar TV shows could almost feel completely immersive.

But even with such technological innovation, the content was essentially the same old stories in a new bottle.

After all, extravagant rich family dramas held a huge appeal, no matter the era.

Chu Yun put an arm over Jiang Se’s shoulder and took hold of her IV pole. “Jiang Jiang, was that person really your cousin?”

As a top-tier scholar of over-the-top rich family dramas, Chu Yun didn't miss the fleeting darkness in Jiang Rou's eyes just now, mentally orchestrating a scheming rich family power struggle while even assigning Jiang Se an epic BGM (background music) for dominating the scene in her mind.

"Yes and no. It is what it is."

Jiang Se adopted an enigmatic expression, looking at the three of them, "Want to know the truth?"

The three nodded eagerly like baby birds pecking for food; even Xi Qing, who usually zones out, she rarely showed a deeply intrigued expression.

"Not telling you."

Jiang Se flashed a mischievous, triumphant smile.

"Ahhh, Jiang Jiang, pulling this stunt without giving answers will come back to bite you!"

Chu Yun was freaking out on the spot.

*

Three days later, at Alliance University campus.

Today was the opening day at Alliance University, and the campus was exceptionally lively.

Jiang Se rented a place close to Alliance University, so she didn’t bring too many belongings—just a quilt and a pillow.

Most of the space in the huge suitcase was filled with various tools used by mecha pilots.

At the school gate, colorful canopies could be seen from afar, each bearing the names of different departments.

The Mecha Department's canopy was light blue, with several senior students wearing the Alliance University uniform were standing beneath it.