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Li Xiang asked, "So they agreed?"
"They agreed. After all, there's a year to prove myself."
As Song Jie said this, he glanced at the beaming Chao beside him.
He lowered his voice, "Senior Chao is the vice-captain of the school team."
The vice-captain of the school team, meaning the assistant leader. The captain led the main and reserve members, while the vice-captain led the preparatory members.
They were the only two highest-ranking figures on the team.
Li Xiang couldn't help but take a few more looks at Chao. A fourth-year vice-captain—that was truly impressive.
When his senior sister was in her fourth year, she was still sitting on the bench as a reserve. Yet, this Senior Chao was already an "official."
He likely had exceptionally strong skills.
The two chatted intermittently, and soon, those ahead of them finished signing the necessary documents.
When it was their turn, the already thick stack of documents grew even thicker.
Li Xiang's pile was almost as tall as his upper body.
'What the.... Why are there so many things?'
Li Xiang flipped through them briefly, initially thinking they were liability waivers, but they turned out to be commitment letters.
The content of the commitments was what Bai Wanhua had promised Li Xiang earlier.
There were also some things he couldn't understand at all.
"Three copies each. You can take them back and read them slowly after signing."
A teacher nearby said with a smile.
"Okay."
Li Xiang nodded, picked up a pen, and signed frantically. His PokéBalls were also taken away for registration.
They said it was for a temporary inspection.
As for the trainer's physical examination, it had already been done long ago at the training camp. He just needed to submit the documents.
Then, fingerprint and iris scans were taken. The whole process took Li Xiang a full half hour.
Fortunately, Mist City University had its own prestige. Rumor had it that only five people were being recruited from Yuzhou this time. So, very few people had come to this point to sign documents.
Song Jie finished signing early and sat waiting for Li Xiang to finish.
Just then, a boy with golden hair walked in, his eyes lighting up when he saw Li Xiang.
"You're still here after all!"
He said with a grin.
Li Xiang turned around and saw Gong Xu standing behind him, holding a document folder. Behind Gong Xu was Chao, who looked surprised, as if he couldn't believe Li Xiang knew this person.
"You're really coming to Mist City?" Li Xiang asked helplessly as he picked up the next document.
"I never joke about things like this."
Gong Xu still spoke with an accent. It was hard to understand how, given his family background, he still couldn't speak standard Mandarin properly.
He was probably doing it on purpose to show off his personality.
The golden-haired boy stepped forward to sign documents at another teacher's desk. Once the documents were signed, Gong Xu would officially be a student of Mist City University, with no possibility of backing out.
"...Very impressive."
Li Xiang managed to squeeze out two words. He truly didn't understand Gong Xu's pursuit. Clearly, he could have gone to another school, but he chose to follow Li Xiang here.
'Just to win a doubles championship and become MVP? Damn, if you 'were a girl, I wouldn't say a word and would even be happy about it.'
'But you're a guy. This life script just doesn't feel right. It really doesn't!'
After signing all the documents and stuffing everything that belonged to him into his bag, Li Xiang turned to look at Gong Xu.
The latter was signing quickly without looking up. "See you next year."
"...See you next year."
What else could Li Xiang say? He just nodded, then left with Song Jie, who had stood up.
Outside, the two said goodbye to Chao.
"You can actually come take a look in the second half of the year. When you do, call this number, and the school will arrange accommodations and meals for you."
Chao handed them a postcard and also gave them his WeChat.
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I'm online 24/7 and will reply when I have time."
He patted them on the shoulder with a smile. "But it's a pity we won't be able to take you along for this year's Junior World Tournament."
"Thank you, Senior."
After expressing their gratitude, they put on the silver short scarves Chao had given them and left the Mist City University station.
Along the way, many people wanted to approach them, but upon seeing the scarves, they silently backed off.
These scarves were a symbol of Mist City University, indicating that the two now belonged there.
However, some students still came up to ask questions, mostly about what benefits Mist City University had offered them.
Using feeling unwell as an excuse, Li Xiang hurried outside with Song Jie. Taking advantage of the reporters being elsewhere, they quickly boarded the bus.
Even though they hadn't done anything, they ended up feeling like fugitives. It was strange.
"I really didn't expect Gong Xu to choose Mist City. How does that kid's brain even work?"
Li Xiang opened a pack of snacks and shared them with Song Jie. "What was his national ranking again?"
"Eighth." Song Jie thought for a moment before replying. "He just wants to win the doubles championship and made the most logical choice."
Li Xiang looked at him in surprise.
"Are you resonating with Gong Xu or something?"
"If wanting to win counts as resonance." Song Jie stuffed a potato chip into his mouth. He never used to eat these things.
That's right. Gong Xu just wanted to win.
He believed Li Xiang was the strongest, the most suitable teammate, the one most likely to take him where others couldn't. That's why he chose him.
Li Xiang suddenly understood and couldn't help but chuckle.
"If you praise me like that, I'll get shy."
Praising oneself and being praised by others were two completely different feelings. Who didn't like hearing nice words?
Even if it felt awkward at first, there was definitely secret pleasure deep down.
"It's just the truth."
Song Jie's expression remained neutral.
"You, huh? Didn't expect you to be so good at giving compliments."
Li Xiang laughed and bumped him playfully.
Song Jie couldn't be bothered to respond. After waiting on the bus for about an hour and a half, everyone returned.
Out of the twenty people, as long as they weren't overly ambitious, most had found schools they wanted to attend.
Qu Sheng and another went to Shanghai University, Lin Feng and another chose Yuzhou University, while Fang Xin chose Shen Island University.
The "rival-in-love" guy didn't follow Xu Wan to Yuzhou University but instead chose Star Island University in the south.
The Five Capitals, Nine Provinces, and Thirteen Islands.
As soon as everyone returned, they cornered Li Xiang to ask what had happened.
Li Xiang naturally couldn't tell them the details. He just said he was lucky to have caught Mo Ye's attention.
As for why?
The principal of Mist City University was his sister!
This reason was powerful enough to shut most people up.
At noon, they ate at the arranged hotel.
Xiang Yangwei and the six instructors were all there. Today was a rest day, and they were the ones leading the group.
At the dinner table, glasses were raised and toasts made. Unless someone absolutely couldn't drink or had health issues, everyone had a little alcohol.
Song Jie was no exception—Li Xiang personally made sure of it.
The white-haired boy glared at him indignantly, but it was useless. He could only drink silently.
Li Xiang couldn't stop laughing.
After the meal, Xiang Yangwei became sentimental again, but today was different from the past.
The atmosphere was perfectly set.
Many people's eyes turned red, knowing that they would soon be parting ways.
Those with deep bonds outright burst into tears. Yang Tianwang embarrassingly hid in a corner, shedding tears, not daring to let anyone see.
Qu Sheng watched his back, unsure whether to approach, but soon his own eyes turned red.
Li Xiang had no choice but to go comfort them. The two boys ended up hugging him and wailing, drawing sideways glances from passersby.
Why were they crying?
Simply because Li Xiang wouldn't be in the same place as them.
They had struggled together for three years, sharing tears and laughter. They never expected to face a time of separation.
From now on, unless they made a special effort, opportunities to meet would likely be few.
The friendships of youth were always pure, so partings were exceptionally painful.
After finally calming those two down, Lin Feng started up.
The two had been childhood friends, always attending the same school and knowing each other inside out.
They never thought they'd go their separate ways like this.
Fortunately, Brother Feng was resilient. After a firm hug, nothing more needed to be said.
They could still meet during New Year or holidays.
"Lin Lan will be heartbroken when she finds out you're going to Mist City."
Lin Feng chuckled. "She thought you'd be attending the same school as me."
"Lin Lan?"
Li Xiang looked surprised, not understanding why Lin Feng would bring her up.
Lin Feng punched him playfully. "Still playing dumb! You think she calls everyone 'big brother'? And talks so sweetly? Did you forget what I told you before?"
Huh?
Li Xiang was stunned for a moment before realizing what Lin Feng meant. The corner of his mouth twitched. "She's like a little sister to me."
"Little sister?" Lin Feng was also stunned.
"Of course. Your sister is my sister."
Li Xiang nodded.
Lin Feng: "..."
The boy silently squatted down, covering his face. "Then it's over. If she finds out I helped her confess, she'll kill me."
"If you don't tell and I don't tell, who will know?"
Li Xiang shrugged, then grew curious. "From what you're saying, before elementary school—"
"Before elementary school." Lin Feng nodded. "Otherwise, why would I have said those things to you back then? I noticed early on. But she only realized it herself recently. Puberty, you know."
Li Xiang had no energy to roast. How old were they back then?
Kids these days, really.
But, he and Lin Lan could be considered childhood friends. Whenever he went to play with Lin Feng back then, Lin Lan was always around.
He never expected something like this to happen.
"Six years in Mist City—she should be able to get over it by then." Li Xiang patted Lin Feng's shoulder. "Brother-in-law is out of the question. Let's just stay brothers."
Lin Feng rolled his eyes. "If you weren't my brother, I'd be coming at you with a knife right now."
As an undeniable sister-con, he might actually do something like that. Scary.
Li Xiang sat on the steps, watching the flow of people on the street. Lin Feng handed him a cigarette.
"You—not learning any good habits!"
Li Xiang was stunned for a moment, frowning slightly.
Lin Feng waved it off. "The instructor gave them to me. Two cigarettes—one for you, one for me. Said it solves all worries."
"And then?"
"And then he didn't give us a lighter. What are we supposed to do with them? Just look at them."
"Hahaha."
The two laughed together.
From today onward, everyone would step onto a new stage and head toward a broader platform.
In the future, who would make something of themselves? No one knew.
And among these twenty people here, how many would become trendsetters of their era?
That was an even greater unknown.
Amid the traffic and neon lights, under the strange gazes of passersby, Li Xiang held the cigarette, waved at Song Jie through the glass window, and felt his eyes inexplicably grow red.
'See you in Mist City.'