Mecha Chapter 73: Aura

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Lhachril

 

Master Yan was sitting comfortably on the soft couch, looking at Luo XiaoLou, who was standing with his head hung in front of him, having spent half a day packing up his equipment.

After giving Luo XiaoLou a look that was more sympathetic than encouraging, Shen Yuan thoughtfully opened the door and went out, leaving Master Yan and Luo XiaoLou inside.

“What do you have to say?” Master Yan took his cup of tea, changed his posture a little, and asked with a cold face.

Luo XiaoLou clenched his teeth. Anyway, sooner or later he was going to have to say something. Luo XiaoLou plucked up the courage to say, “Master Yan – that – I know it’s self-defeating to say this, and I’m ashamed of my choice, but I – I’ve already accepted a Master.”

Sure enough, Master Yan’s face immediately darkened and he slammed the teacup down on the coffee table in front of him. Luo XiaoLou shuddered, and when he thought Master Yan was about to thunder, Master Yan said in a severe tone, “The tea is cold.”

Luo XiaoLou blinked, returning to his senses to find that he had refilled the cup of hot tea and handed it to Master Yan, just as he had done at his part-time job.

Master Yan’s face softened a bit, took a sip, and then asked, “How long have you been following me?”

Luo XiaoLou looked blankly at Master Yan who had a dark face, yet looked like he was planning to gossip with him. Unable to figure out Master Yan’s meaning, he said truthfully, “Six months.”

Hearing Luo XiaoLou’s answer, Master Yan frowned and his gaze falling on Luo XiaoLou sharpened even more as he snorted and said sarcastically, “Did you get your head assimilated by insect beasts after a trip to that planet, and even your memory has deteriorated to this extent?!”

Huh?

Luo XiaoLou had to count from the time he started school part-time, and after a minute, he said cautiously, “Six and a half months.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Master Yan corrected him with a cold face, “It’s six months and seventeen days!”

Luo XiaoLou’s mouth twitched, responding obediently, but his heart was genuinely torn. Even when he was dating Josa, he hadn’t been romantic enough to remember how long they had known each other.

“Where’s the bastard who hasn’t announced his relationship yet! How long has it been?”

Hearing Master Yan’s angry question, it took Luo XiaoLou a while to understand that the question was about that master in the network. After counting the days, he said more carefully, “Two months and three days.” Although the time interval wasn’t short, it had actually only been three times.

Master Yan’s face darkened again. Was it necessary to remember such things so clearly! He sipped his tea to suppress his anger and asked coldly, “And how much did you learn from me…from him?”

“I learned the most from you.” Luo XiaoLou truthfully.

Master Yan hmmed in satisfaction. But after a moment, realizing that Luo XiaoLou hadn’t actually followed his lead, he raised his eyelids and stated impatiently, “In that case, you’re my apprentice. I really don’t know why you’re stupid enough to pay homage to me again.”

Luo XiaoLou stared at him and finally whispered, without fear of death, “But – you didn’t tell me that I was your apprentice–“

“Do I have to tell you such things?!” Master Yan roared, staring at Luo XiaoLou like he was foolish.

“…That’s fine! I know. I’ll go explain to that master, and then dissolve the relationship as soon as possible.” Luo XiaoLou compromised.

Even though being Master Yan’s disciple, one had to be obedient, clever, and most importantly, learn to readily guess the Master’s heart, what Old Man Yan said was reasonable, and Luo XiaoLou himself liked what he taught. He decided to go back and immediately explain the situation to the online master.

“Then what are you still standing here for? Go back and clean up that mess you made!”

“Yes.” Luo XiaoLou escaped from Master Yan’s special lounge before letting out a sigh of relief. As long as he explained it to the master in the network, Master Yan would be considered the one who had the power to guide him, and Luo XiaoLou felt excited at the thought.

After saying goodbye to Shen Yuan, Luo XiaoLou thought about the wording for the explanation as he walked out. He kept his head down, completely unaware of the envious and jealous eyes around him.

He was almost at the Mecha Manufacturing Department when Luo XiaoLou met Tian Li, who was running towards him.

“I’ve been looking for you for half a day! I say, you’re really not good enough to be Master Yan’s disciple! Quickly, explain clearly.” Tian Li slapped Luo XiaoLou’s shoulder hard and demanded angrily.

Tian Li then laughed gleefully and finally said, “Don’t complain. Many people want to study under Master Yan, but you’re the one who’s getting the better of them. It was so much fun. Now our Class Ten students are also bullish and ready to learn from you, with the goal of surpassing those guys who look down on us.”

Luo XiaoLou scratched his head. Although he was a little biased, in terms of people and character, he felt that the Class Ten students were much better than those Class One students.

At this moment, Tian Li suddenly poked Luo XiaoLou in his side, and Luo XiaoLou looked up in surprise to find a person walking towards them, with that trademark balding head that made it easy to recognize who it was.

“Dean Wang,” Tian Li and Luo XiaoLou greeted him with a salute.

Dean Wang smilingly looked at Luo XiaoLou twice, cleared his throat and said, “XiaoLou, I’ve been looking for you. Did you just come back from the Master’s?”

The gentle tone of his voice made Luo XiaoLou and Tian Li shudder together.

“Did you want to see me for something?” Luo XiaoLou asked. Was his tuition still an issue?

Dean Wang ran a hand through his remaining hair before he smiled and said, “Here’s the thing, I checked your grades and you’ve been making a lot of progress lately. The school has decided to give encouragement to hardworking students, so how about moving to Class One?”

Surprised by Dean Wang’s unusually amiable attitude and the content of his words, Tian Li’s eyes almost popped out of his head.

Luo XiaoLou was startled, then said, “Thanks for Dean and the school’s encouragement, but I’d rather stay in my own class. Secondly, I’m only the third in my class and since the first two are still in Class 10, it’s not a good idea for me to move. Still, thank you, for asking.”

Dean Wang’s eyebrows raised, but no matter what he said, no matter how kind his attitude was, Luo XiaoLou politely but resolutely shook it off. Finally, Dean Wang became serious again and left with hatred on his face. When he got back to his office, he was furious that Luo XiaoLou was so rude. Even if he had become a disciple of Master Yan, he may not be able to excel in the future, judging from his foundation.

Having been eyed a few times by Master Yan and the headmaster, Dean Wang, who was under great psychological pressure, consoled himself.

“Well, XiaoLou, it’s really funny that you’re not going to Class One. I’m sure the students in Class Ten will be hit.” Tian Li lamented on the side, seemingly feeling inadequate, and added, “The point is that it’s probably hard for you to meet such a good friend as me.”

“Yes, I’ll have to stay because of you.” Luo XiaoLou said from the goodness of his heart.

Tian Li laughed for a moment and said, “By the way, we can officially sign a mutual affiliation agreement with the mecha warriors at the start of the new semester. You have fought for our Class Ten this time, maybe our class won’t be as bad as the previous class.”

Yes, the field training was, on one hand, to train the mecha warriors and mecha makers’ abilities and their own qualities. On the other hand, it was also to cultivate an understanding between them, so that the mecha warriors and mecha makers could become familiar with each other. This way, at the beginning of the new semester, the two departments would be able to formally establish their mutual affiliation.

This mutual affiliation agreement, in the early days, had still been seen as an equal relationship between mecha warriors and mecha makers. However, with the development of technology and the advancement of mankind, the equal relationship had slowly disguised itself as a subordinate one. It could be said that the mecha makers were a subordinate that relied on the increasingly powerful mecha warriors.

At this point, Tian Li’s words changed and he started to talk about the mecha warrior beauty he was partnered with. Luo XiaoLou suddenly moved and dragged Tian Li towards the other side of the administration building.

When they walked inside, Tian Li gave Luo XiaoLou a sideways glance and lamented, “Last time you were already hated. Yuan Xi is the Mecha Department’s first place. You’re really too good at pulling hatred.”

Luo XiaoLou narrowed his eyes. Okay or not, he needed to give it a try.

On the first day of school, there was no class before 3:00 p.m. Luo XiaoLou clicked on his communicator to contact Yuan Xi, and the other side only grunted twice, but it probably meant that he agreed to go home now.

Luo XiaoLou immediately sensed Yuan Xi’s anger as he sat in the car.

Luo XiaoLou squeezed the green stone on his chest, which vibrated a little, and then pretended to be dead.

Without backup – in fact, 125 wasn’t really backup at all. It seemed to be better at making an already bad situation worse – Luo XiaoLou felt as if the temperature in the car continued to drop.

He moved quietly to the side, having nothing to say. In an attempt to lighten the mood, “It’s a nice day, the star news said there might be a small meteor shower in the evening — Well, today’s speech was pretty good too.” It was too far-fetched a statement. It was hard for him to explain the inevitable connection between him and the Master but he still had to direct the conversation to Master Yan.

Yuan Xi gave Luo XiaoLou a cold sideways glance, seeming to turn down the temperature around Luo XiaoLou again before averting his eyes.

At that moment, the coldness in Yuan Xi’s eyes was so strong that Luo XiaoLou couldn’t help but think of the Yuan Xi he had met at the beginning.

He had been cold, cruel, and murderous.

Luo XiaoLou prayed bitterly to God to give him a different Yuan Xi that he could accept.

They finished their meal in silence. Luo XiaoLou stood up to clear the table when Yuan Xi spoke frigidly, “What makes you think that you can safely keep your distance from me? Afterall, you are my slave.”

Luo XiaoLou blanched. It really couldn’t be blamed on him, not everyone had the courage to face such an iceberg aura as Yuan Xi exuded.

Luo XiaoLou said, “I didn’t mean to hide it…”

Yuan Xi glared at him sarcastically and said aggressively, “So what do you mean? Am I a fool to be made a fool of? Without any judgment?”

Luo XiaoLou saw Yuan Xi squeeze his fist, and Luo XiaoLou suddenly remembered the only two times when Yuan Xi was angry. Although he did not want to admit it, when Yuan Xi got mad, it really looked like domestic violence…

Luo XiaoLou took a step back with a pale face, struggling to find the words to explain. But before he could speak, Yuan Xi had already turned and headed for the bedroom, and Luo XiaoLou noticed that he was still squeezing his fists as he left.

As he placed the plate inside the multi-functional cleaner, the stone in front of his chest ‘shuddered’ and woke up.

Then there was a green creature on the table, which took a quick look out the door frame with its big tail before running over, hugging Luo XiaoLou’s arm and saying, “You scared me to death! Take care of me?”

After looking fixedly at the distraught Luo XiaoLou for a moment, 125 coughed, puffed out his chest and said, “Well, since you’ve had to rely on me lately, I can give you an idea. The best suggestion I can think of is for you to pilot me away from Yuan Xi and the planet, provided you have enough energy boxes with you so that we can both go on the run or something-” he said, quietly putting away a fork as he spoke. Oh, he loved the shiny color!

Then 125 found it had been picked up, and was moving in mid-air in the direction of the bedroom. 125 struggled up, “What are you doing? Even if I took something, you’re not going to hand me over to Yuan Xi to atone for your sins-“

Luo XiaoLou coldly tossed 125 into the spare bedroom, which had now completely changed since the Tyrannosaurus rex had been in the house. In the middle of the room was a large crib with cream-colored sheets and a red Tyrannosaurus rex puppet as tall as 125 on one side of the pillow – there was no way around it, the pretty receptionist at Star River Mall was too warm.

When Luo XiaoLou was worn out and went to pick out a bed for 125, the receptionist hugged and kissed 125 for half a day before taking the initiative to pick out a full set of bed covers for Luo XiaoLou and even included a doll for 125.

“Now, you shut up and go to sleep.” Luo XiaoLou ordered, and then closed the door.

After 125 eyed the door for a moment, he lay down on the bed and cuddled the red plushie next to him, sleeping with the tail hooked around the doll.

Inside the master bedroom, Luo XiaoLou looked tentatively in the direction of the bathroom, where Yuan Xi was.

After hesitating for a while, Luo XiaoLou decided to go and communicate with Yuan Xi. After all, it really wasn’t a big deal, and it would be too unnecessary to have a cold war over it. Besides, the cold war would only continue to build up Yuan Xi’s anger level.

When Luo XiaoLou opened the door, Yuan Xi was leaning against the bath with a cold face, concentrating on figuring out how to make a set of house rules for Luo XiaoLou.

He had chosen to leave because he felt that if he looked at Luo XiaoLou again, he would definitely get even more itchy. In case he couldn’t control the force – well, on the other hand, it seemed good to control the force to punish the little slave…