Mecha Chapter 45: Cluster

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

Zhuang Yi scratched his unruly hair and added, “But because I promised someone else before and can’t put it off, I’ll probably have two mecha makers. I hope you don’t mind.”

Luo XiaoLou looked at Zhuang Yi in surprise. Such an ill-advised invitation didn’t quite match the Zhuang Yi he knew. It seemed that a month of cooperative training still had some use. At least it had made this outstanding student willing to extend such an invitation. It wasn’t easy for him to do so.

Of course, it was probably done mostly out of pity. After all, it would be hard for a Class 10 mecha maker such as him to find a mecha warrior to team up with.

Even if it was such a one-to-many teaming pattern, it wasn’t really a big deal. Mecha warriors and mecha makers in one-to-many teaming patterns were common. And those in Class 10 were free to move after the teachers compulsively moved them around.

If Luo XiaoLou didn’t have other plans, Zhuang Yi was really a pretty good choice. And maybe if he missed this opportunity, he’d never come across a better invitation to a grouping than this.

At such a moment, a serious voice in Luo XiaoLou’s ear said, “Yo. Already? While appropriate advances by outsiders can stimulate and then deepen your relationship with Yuan Xi, however — in my experience — I advise you not to say yes. Yuan Xi will kill you if he finds out. He is a man who will never allow his wife or lover or slave to betray him. You know that. Don’t you dare say yes. Don’t expect me to help you when the time comes.”

Shit. I don’t get it at all! What’s with your logic? Why are wife, lover and slave in the same class! Even more over the top, with your experience — you’ve got some gross A.I. experience!

The corner of his mouth twitched as Luo XiaoLou tried to ignore 125. He shook his head regretfully at Zhuang Yi and smiling, he said, “No need. Thank you. Definitely don’t mind me. I think with my score, it will be a big step for me to team up with you. However, it’s mainly because I also already have a teammate.”

Zhuang Yi looked at Luo XiaoLou without turning his gaze away. His eyebrows were raised. He really hadn’t expected to be rejected by Luo XiaoLou. A Class 10 Mecha Manufacturing Department student rejecting a Class 1 Mecha Department student?

Zhuang Yi was silent for a moment before he said, “I… I’ve heard about you and Yuan Xi. If you’re waiting to team up with Yuan Xi, I guess I have news for you. Due to school rules, the top students of Class 1 can only choose one partner, so he’s got a partner now, right?”

Of course a man of Zhuang Yi’s character wouldn’t volunteer to get to know a Class 10 student. These things were merely told to him by a student from the Mecha Department’s class. They even told him about Luo XiaoLou’s glorious history from the beginning of his enrollment. The purpose was to persuade him to get a new partner to team up with anyway.

A poor and stupid student who was almost incompatible with this famous military academy, and liked to suck up to rich and capable students. However, after being together for a month, Zhuang Yi hadn’t really felt Luo XiaoLou trying to suck up to him.

Although it was true that he had been distant from Luo XiaoLou for a few days after learning about him, Luo XiaoLou hadn’t changed at all. He was still trying hard, was very serious and gentle, not annoying at all.

Luo XiaoLou was also silent. I have to say that Zhuang Yi is a very smart man. But — Luo XiaoLou still shook his head.

Zhuang Yi laughed. He patted Luo XiaoLou’s shoulder and said, “Okay. Since you’ve decided, I won’t say anything more. If, I mean if there are any problems in the future, you can come to me.”

Luo XiaoLou narrowed his smile as well. “Thank you so much. It’s been a month. Thank you for looking out for me.” He knew Tian Le and the others would jump if they knew about this. But thinking of the guy at home who could blow up at any moment, he still decided to drag it out until the end.

More than being just accommodating to Yuan Xi, Luo XiaoLou hadn’t mapped out a clear direction for his own future. But if Luo XiaoLou were to choose his own mecha warrior now, he’d subconsciously think of Yuan Xi.

Even if Yuan Xi already had a partner, he could just go with whoever his teacher assigned him to. Of course it could be very passive at that point, and the mecha warriors assigned to him would also reject him. But a month of field training would be easily passed…

While Luo XiaoLou was rejecting others, the grouping of the special students also began. But unlike the free two-way choice of the other students, the grouping of the special students was even being watched by the school’s principal, board members and senior leaders.

At Saint Miro Academy, in the senior conference room, a guidance teacher was reading the list of Mecha Department and Mecha Manufacturing Department groupings. After reading it, he looked at the elites of the departments seated on the sofa. He said with satisfaction, “You all did a great job in this training. If there are no surprises, the groupings are decided —”

A cold voice suddenly interrupted him, “I have an opinion.”

For a moment, all the teachers and students in the conference room looked at Yuan Xi, who was sitting at the head of the Mecha Department.

The teacher was surprised when he realised the person who spoke up was the student who had barely spoken before. He said, “Yuan Xi, please tell us what you have to say.”

Yuan Xi said indifferently, “I don’t need the assigned mecha maker. I already have a candidate myself.”

With the exception of Luo ShaoTian and Ling Xu, most of the room looked at Yuan Xi in surprise. They had heard that the top three Mecha Department students were all very unique and now they had finally seen it.

Ever since the teacher’s initial announcement, the Mecha Manufacturing Department’s flower, who was chosen as Yuan Xi’s partner, had been smiling from ear to ear. Now when she heard the words Yuan Xi said, her face had turned red beyond recognition. 

It was obvious that this was the first time the teacher had encountered such a situation. He could not help but say, “But, Yuan Xi, the grouping of the special grade students was discussed by the school’s senior investigation team for a long time before it was decided. The list has been submitted to the headmaster. It was only officially decided after the principal signed on it. And, since you will be the leader of a team from now on, you will also be responsible for the training results of an entire team and the safety of the students on the ground. Now is not the time to be capricious —”

Yuan Xi looked over at the teacher without moving and simply said, “No. I don’t have to. I didn’t ask to be team leader. If you arrange it, no matter who my partner is, I won’t do the school’s job.”

Gazed at by the handsome young man’s sharp eyes, the teacher suddenly found it a little difficult to get out his rebuttal. The principal and the head of the faculty had specifically stressed it to him that these three S-Rank students were the school’s key targets. In the future, these three people might even raise Saint Miro Academy to another level. If they put forward any conditions, he would need to try to meet them.

When he first took over the training task, the instructor still thought that the special grade students would be very difficult to manage. Yet the three S-Rank students never said anything about the training tasks he arranged, and the speed and perfection with which it was completed was even amazing. The training process even broke many school records.

If a student breaks a school record, the teacher who was supervising the student would leave his name next to it. Many teachers in the school envied his luck. While he was congratulating himself, Yuan Xi suddenly disobeyed the school’s arrangement of his partner…

While the teacher was in a dilemma, the Mecha Manufacturing Department’s Ze Ya suddenly spoke. Her face was still red even though she managed to calm herself down. Softly, she asked, “You, Yuan Xi. Do you have something against me?”

Originally, she’d been partnered with Yuan Xi for training and it had already been a month now. It was almost an inside decision for her to team up with Yuan Xi during training. There were many girls in school who were jealous of her, and her girlfriends had congratulated her many times for it.

Although every time she was reserved and conservative, and she would say she hadn’t decided yet, her heart was already determined. Today the teacher had indeed announced it. At that moment, knowing her name was written there, side by side with Yuan Xi’s, and she was truly happy.

But she really didn’t expect Yuan Xi to turn it down. Although she was only the second place in the Mecha Manufacturing Department, the first place, Yang Ke, had been inseparable from Ling Xu. Next to him, there was no one better than her in the Mecha Manufacturing Department.

Could it be that Yuan Xi had a crush on Yang Ke? No. She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t afford to embarrass him either. She had to find a way to convince Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi looked at the crowd waiting for his answer. Confused, he said, “No complaints.”

Ze Ya bit her lip. “Then why aren’t you agreeing to be in my team? If there’s something you’re not happy with, I can improve it.”

Being in a group with Yuan Xi didn’t really require her to do anything, and Yuan Xi had been training on his own. She could only review some of the mecha maker knowledge as she watched. But even so, every time Yuan Xi came out, she was always prepared with a towel and a drink.

The teacher, who was guiding her, was also nodding his head, but he felt in his heart that Ze Ya was already doing well.

Yuan Xi frowned. Impatiently, he said, “No complaints. I told you I already have a chosen partner.”

The teacher sighed inwardly, Yuan Xi seemed to be from a well-bred family, but he was stubborn and had a temper. It seemed that this matter would have to be reported to the headmaster.

At this time, Ze Ya suddenly raised her voice and said, “Then, what if I agree that you can choose two mecha makers? I don’t care if you bring an extra person.” Seeing Yuan Xi who was expressionless but wouldn’t change his words, Ze Ya suddenly thought of that time when Yuan Xi was drunk and the person who was staying at his apartment.

After saying this, Ze Ya looked at the teacher, who was guiding her, for a moment. This was not allowed in the regulations. In order to train these excellent mecha warriors and mecha makers, the school purposely arranged that the top ten had to be teamed up one-on-one.

“Ok, but just this once. Not next time.” Forget it. The key now was to get Yuan Xi to agree to team up with Ze Ya. If it was for Yuan Xi, the principal probably wouldn’t blame him.

“Why should I choose two people? There’s only one person who can be my partner.” Yuan Xi said indifferently. At the same time, there was a puzzled expression on his face. The apparently good-natured scion of the family was graceful and calm even in his rejection of others — but the effect was infuriating.

The people in the meeting room were speechless, and Ze Ya blushed even more. Her eyes had taken on a watery glow.

Yang Ke looked somewhat sympathetically at the girl in his class. He looked back at Yuan Xi and said tactfully, “Today is the last day to decide the grouping. Maybe that person already has a partner of their own?”

Yuan Xi’s face changed. It was black. He stood up, and nodded politely to the teacher, “Except for the grouping, there’s nothing else to do today, right? You guys go on. I have to go.” He said quickly before leaving.

The teacher sighed in his heart. Turning his head, he said, “This matter with Yuan Xi, I’ll report it to the principal. Let’s continue.”

Except for Ze Ya, whose tears couldn’t be held back any longer, Luo ShaoTian, who had remained silent, also faintly looked in the direction of Yuan Xi’s departure. He remembered his mother’s overbearing instruction to try to get in a team with Luo XiaoLou.

When Luo XiaoLou returned to Class 10, he realized that the atmosphere in his class was not the same as before. There were more students here. Except for the ones who were worried, most were contacting people they knew and even requesting to speak to those who already had a partner, to help out by taking in an extra mecha maker. No matter what, they needed to be in a team, and so they were trying to sell themselves out on the last day.

Those students who had already formed a team had a relaxed smile on their faces after the joy of forming a successful team. The field training also seemed quite promising.

At this moment, Luo XiaoLou’s communicator went off. Luo XiaoLou clicked on it, and Tian Le’s loud voice came over, “XiaoLou. How are you doing? Got a partner?”

“Nope. Do you?” Luo XiaoLou replied calmly.

“Haha. You can’t even imagine my good fortune. A friend helped me find someone. I didn’t expect it to be a beautiful woman!” Tian Le was excited. After sharing the surprise with his friend, only then were Luo XiaoLou’s feelings taken into consideration. “What are you going to do?”

Luo XiaoLou was about to say something when Yates, who was next to Tian Le, laughed and said, “XiaoLou can be with me. My sister asked me to take care of one person, but except for that, I didn’t choose anyone else myself. Don’t worry. You’ll be my main match when the time comes.”

Luo XiaoLou’s heart was touched by how his two friends helped him out so much. “Thanks a lot. I’m not in a hurry to form a team yet. We’ll talk later.”

Both of them on the other end stopped talking since they knew about his relationship with Yuan Xi. They also knew what Luo XiaoLou was waiting for. Although they were worried for Luo XiaoLou in their hearts, they still didn’t say anything.

Finally, Yates said enthusiastically, “Okay. I’ll be waiting for you to contact me.”

Luo XiaoLou turned off the communicator. The only bit of frustration in his heart had evaporated. Even if this was his second life, to have such a confidant, it was also his own luck.

“Are you nervous? What if Yuan Xi does abandon us?” 125 chattered worriedly. This guy was self-conscious. It felt like its master’s master was also his own master.

“…Will you shut up?”

Someone from a different class would come over occasionally, and every time the door was opened, all the students in the class would be bright-eyed. Everyone hoped they would be chosen and they didn’t want to be the only one left out.

To Luo XiaoLou’s amusement, there was actually one person who stopped by to ask him about it when he came over to choose someone. That person already had two mecha makers. Such obvious compassion made Luo XiaoLou find it interesting. At the same time, he was secretly determined. It really needed to be worked on in the future.

Even in Class 10, he never felt like he had to live off the pity of others.

There were fewer and fewer people in the class. Except the ones that were chosen, there were still some students who couldn’t sit still. They went outside by themselves to look for someone else.

It was almost the end of the school day when the door opened once more.

Luo XiaoLou was already numb. He was looking at the diagram of assembling a simple mecha. Shen Yuan, who was already learning how to assemble an advanced mecha, gave it to Luo XiaoLou while Master Yan was away. In Master Yan’s absence, he’d been giving Luo XiaoLou a lot of pointers.

Luo XiaoLou’s heart suddenly stirred as he heard footsteps approach. He lifted his head.

Yuan Xi was standing in front of him.

Luo XiaoLou narrowed his eyes. The light shone from behind Yuan Xi’s back and he couldn’t see he expression clearly. But at this instant, he was suddenly a little nervous.

“Hm. Look. Except me, no one will want you.” Yuan Xi snorted smugly.

“…Yeah. I’m so moved I’m going to cry.” Luo XiaoLou complimented the proud cat like man, and looked at Yuan Xi with ‘You Are My God’ eyes.

Yuan Xi’s face blushed suspiciously. He lifted his chin and said in a reluctant tone, “I could only choose one partner. I decided to make do with you. Who let me have such a terrible slave like you? Is there anyone in your class smaller than you?”

With the last sentence, Yuan Xi leaned over towards Luo XiaoLou to whisper. 

Everyone had looked up at him excitedly when he first came in. Luo XiaoLou was the only one with his head down. It was as if he had given up all hope. He looked pitiful as hell and in that instant, Yuan Xi’s heart softened.

Surely his little slave should have been good and waited for him to come.

Luo XiaoLou coughed. You already feel good about yourself to a certain extent. Why do you insist on using my smallness to make you feel taller?

Luo XiaoLou didn’t say anything. But for the first time in days, Yuan Xi was in such a good mood and forgave him generously. Then Yuan Xi ordered, slowly and deliberately, “Let’s go. We start tomorrow. Finally, no more training.”

Luo XiaoLou smiled slightly. He followed Yuan Xi outside. Honestly, he hadn’t expected Yuan Xi to take him as his only partner and almost expressed his surprise.

125 whispered in his ear, “I’m so touched. After thirty days and five hours and seven seconds, you guys are finally happy together again…”

Can someone, anyone, please modify this A.I. to shut up…

The rest of the class didn’t move. One of the S-Rank geniuses in the school surprisingly came to their class and took a student with him. As a one-on-one team! God. Is this for real?!

Today’s grouping made Yuan Xi and Luo XiaoLou, whose cold war had lasted for a month, completely reconcile.

Luo XiaoLou served out dinner and Yuan Xi even accused Luo XiaoLou of not saving him the huge birthday cake from that day.

“Speaking of this, did you see the birthday present I gave you? Don’t you have any feelings for it at all?” Luo XiaoLou’s guts fattened up and finally, he couldn’t resist asking.

Yuan Xi was stunned. Suddenly, with anger, he said fiercely, “You… you gave me a gift just to leave, and you want me to keep it well?!”

Luo XiaoLou was startled. Angrily, he retorted back, “You threw it away?! I did want to leave, but that was only a little bit. However, I really wanted to give you a gift! I’ve been preparing it for a long time. And… I didn’t think of leaving before I gave it to you. I just wanted to ask you if you’d like to let me go. Even if I were to break the contract… I’m only doing it for freedom. Did I say I was really leaving?”

Yuan Xi immediately became angry, “When did you stop being free?! You go out on your day off and fool around with people. And you even brought them to the apartment! And teaming up with someone to practice without my consent…”

“……” Luo XiaoLou thought to himself, sounds like I’m really a guilty slave.

Yuan Xi stared at Luo XiaoLou for a moment. He snapped a button from under his shirt and a box appeared in his hand. Luo XiaoLou guessed that he had taken it from the space button.

Luo XiaoLou looked at Yuan Xi with an odd expression on his face, unconsciously saying what was on his mind. “You don’t always carry it with you, do you?”

“How is that possible?!” Yuan Xi growled with red ears. Then he opened the box in his hand.

 

The author has something to say:

It’s so interesting to see everyone’s speculations. It’s so interesting.

 

But …… didn’t expect that. I’m a mother. I’m a mom, yo.  (Means she babies her characters and won’t let them suffer too much unnecessary hardship.)