Chapter 88 – Always Watching You

Jian Mei felt that Yunshi’s imagination was really vast.

But this made him hesitate too. He said, “Um, how should we make contact then?”

This question also caught Yunshi off guard. He glanced at Jian Mei and said, “You have to figure that out yourself. After all, it’s your ability.”

Jian Mei obviously took this to heart.

After some thought, he extended his hand from Yunshi’s hand and placed it on Yunshi’s back, like transferring energy as described in novels, and said seriously, “How about this?”

Yunshi’s mouth twitched.

The other mentors also chuckled. Sometimes, Jian Mei seemed like he was here to entertain them.

However, Lu Xingwang watched Jian Mei quietly, his gaze steady, never leaving Jian Mei. The principal wanted to observe the Crown Prince’s reaction but found that the Crown Prince was simply staring at the screen without blinking.

…

Truly worthy of a prince.

His focus is truly exceptional.

Yunshi didn’t force Jian Mei to correct himself. Instead, he focused on mobilizing his own power to try to save the villager injured by the war. As time passed, both he and Jian Mei felt obvious fatigue. Finally, the villager lying on the ground, seemingly asleep, began to stir.

As he slowly regained consciousness, the villager opened his eyes and saw the two people standing beside them. Although these two were not wearing the uniforms of the invading troops, the villager was still wary: “You, who are you?”

Yunshi spoke up, “We mean no harm, we just want to ask you some questions.”

The villager remained cautious. “I don’t know anything.”

Yunshi frowned impatiently.

He always disliked dealing with these indecisive people.

Beside him, Jian Mei crouched down next to the villager and handed him a bottle of water from his side, saying softly, “You just woke up. Do you want some water?”

His gentle voice was very reassuring.

The villager looked at him with some surprise and hesitantly asked, “Was it you who saved me?”

Jian Mei pointed to Yunshi beside him and said, “It was him who saved you. Do you still feel unwell?”

The villager hadn’t expected that the person in front of him was actually his lifesaver.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking, “You’re not working with the invaders, are you?”

“Of course not,” Jian Mei replied earnestly. “If we were working with the invaders, there would be no need to save you. Our goal is to protect you and find the intelligence officer to rescue him. His situation is very dangerous right now.”

Compared to Yunshi, who seemed cold-blooded, Jian Mei, who was polite and articulate, clearly won people’s hearts more easily.

After drinking some water, the villager found Jian Mei’s words reasonable and began to waver, saying, “Our intelligence agent ran away through our emergency escape tunnel when the troops came. Our children also fled to the mountains behind the village for refuge. We can’t all leave, or the invading troops will relentlessly hunt us down, and then the whole village won’t survive.”

In just a few words, the cruelty of war and the horror of the invaders were evident.

Jian Mei frowned but suppressed the pain in his heart and asked, “Where is the refuge in the mountains?”

The villager replied, I don’t know, I’ve never been there, but it should be somewhere in the mountains behind the village. However, you’d better not go there now, as the invading troops are searching the mountains, and it’s very dangerous.”

They had to go. It was part of their exam.

Jian Mei comforted him, saying, “Thank you. Find a place to rest in the village now, we’ll be careful.”

Yunshi and Jian Mei exchanged a glance and headed towards the mountains.

In this exam, the final result of rescuing the hostage was not the only criterion for judging the students’ performance and whether they had met the standard. The instructors also observed how each student handled and responded at every stage.

Take Jian Mei, for example.

In the previous exam, when they traversed the Misty Forest, he skillfully used the surrounding environment to detoxify. Although he didn’t confront any flying beasts or fierce animals directly, he cleverly avoided danger through wit. Although his strength was weak, his fearlessness in the face of danger became the best basis for him to receive an A.

In this exam, even in comparison to the much more powerful Yun Shi, Jian Mei did not fall behind.

Aster said, “Comforting the villagers’ emotions, making the fastest emergency response when a teammate is injured, and not lagging behind under high-intensity pressure. This child is highly adaptable.”

The children trained in this school were basically elites. After graduation, they would serve the society and become indispensable pillars of the country, from technology professionals and government officials to financial and business leaders in various industries. These students were almost all top talents in their respective fields.

Many people come to school for education, but also to expand their network.

The principal smiled faintly and said, “He has always been very good.”

Except Professor Hukan, who has never been fond of Jian Mei, snorted lightly and said, “Aren’t these the most basic things?”

He had always been a bit partial to the Crown Prince.

Hukan looked at Lu Xingwang and said with a smile, “If it was His Highness, he could do even better.”

Lu Xingwang listened quietly to the tutors’ evaluations of Jian Mei. Upon hearing this, he glanced sideways. In the past, he didn’t like to participate in such matters. But now, involving Jian Mei, he gently spoke up, “If it was me, I might not handle it any better.”

With his words, silence fell.

The tutors who had taught Lu Xingwang, including the principal, understood. Since his days as the Third Prince, Lu Xingwang had always been strong-willed. For him, the idea of being weaker than others is absolutely intolerable. Yet now, this proud son of heaven is actually acknowledging that a child of humble origin might handle things better.

Professor Hukan choked up a bit and said, “His Highness, you’re being too modest.”

“He did indeed do very well,” Lu Xingwang defended his own child. “Take another look.”

Hukan finally closed his mouth.

Throughout the assessment, the old man with a white beard sitting in the corner of the instructor’s seat never spoke. He smiled slightly as he watched the screen, showing great interest in this student assessment.

Meanwhile, Jian Mei and Yunshi had entered the forest.

After a series of scouting and elimination, they finally found the shelter the villager had mentioned. However, according to the villager, the intelligence officer had already left for another town. This was undoubtedly a setback for Jian Mei and Yunshi. Their mission had a time limit, and searching elsewhere was like finding a needle in a haystack.

As they left the shelter, there were still many invading troops lingering in the forest. Just as they were about to leave the forest, they encountered a group of invaders chasing a villager.

Jian Mei worriedly said, “Will he be okay?”

Yunshi coldly observed, “That’s none of our concern.”

They were looking for the hostage, and since the target person had already left the forest, these NPC villagers meant nothing to them; it was just a waste of time.

Yunshi was about to leave, but but Jian Mei remained rooted to the spot.

There was a bit of distance between them now. Yunshi stopped and turned back, saying, “Jian Mei.”

The invading troops had left, and the villager had jumped into the water. He struggled in the water, gradually weakening until he sank to the bottom of the lake. His cries for help echoed in the water, and Jian Mei’s expression turned solemn.

Yunshi glanced lightly at the lake’s surface and said, “We should go.”

Jian Mei glanced back at Yunshi.

That gaze – Yun Shi would never forget it, even decades later. The dark eyes were moist with compassion and reluctance. While everyone else saw only the mission and efficiency, he saw the suffering of others.

In those eyes, Yunshi saw his own cold-heartedness.

Jian Mei softly said, “I’m sorry.”

He jumped into the lake. The water was icy cold, and the splashing made a loud sound that echoed in Yunshi’s heart.

Standing on the shore, there were no words to describe Yunshi’s feelings at that moment.

He was the eldest son of a medical family, destined to become a physician who saved the injured and the endangered. But Jian Mei wasn’t. Yet, it was Jian Mei who jumped into the water, not him.

In the lake, Jian Mei struggled to pull a boy out of the water. He was drenched and coughed up water, gasping for breath.

Yunshi half-crouched down, testing the boy’s breath. “He’s dead.”

Jian Mei’s body stiffened. Upon closer inspection, Yunshi noticed the boy seemed to be trembling. Yes, Jian Mei’s body was uncontrollably shaking, and when he lifted his head, his eyes were red.

Unintentionally, Yunshi tried to comfort him. “Try to accept it.”

But Jian Mei took a deep breath and started performing CPR on the boy, his compressions steady and rhythmic.

Yunshi was stunned. “What are you doing?”

Jian Mei spoke, his voice hoarse. “Saving him.”

Yunshi fell silent for a moment before speaking again. “He’s already dead.”

He didn’t understand why Jian Mei was so determined.

He couldn’t understand Jian Mei’s persistence. After all, it was just a common villager, and had nothing to do with their current mission. Why should he care?

“When I pulled him up just now, he squeezed my hand.” Jian Mei’s voice couldn’t maintain its stability anymore, sounding like a soft shout, as if speaking to himself: “Maybe he still has a chance.”

He and Yunshi lived in two different worlds.

Perhaps here, the lives of commoners were as insignificant as weeds, but on Earth, in his country, there was no distinction between high and low. They never had a saying that someone was to be abandoned just because they lacked utility.

Jian Mei had lived in this world for almost two years. He thought he was slowly blending in, but today he realized he couldn’t, he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t stand by and watch someone die.

Yunshi spoke, “You’re just wasting time like this…”

Jian Mei knelt down to give the boy CPR, his arm very sore, but he didn’t stop.

Just as Yunshi was about to speak again, the boy, who had been unconscious, suddenly coughed. He spat out water, and his heartbeat slowly returned. When he opened his eyes, confusion filled them.

Jian Mei smiled, “He’s awake!”

Yunshi stood frozen in place.

Jian Mei spoke to Yunshi, very excited, “Look, he’s awake!”

Listening to Jian Mei’s hoarse voice, Yunshi suddenly felt a complex emotion rise within him. From the past to the present, everyone in their family, even the healing priests he had encountered, talked about value, talked about benefits. The priests’ energy was limited, everyone was high and mighty, and no one would bow down to some insignificant ants.

Was this right or wrong?

He didn’t know, he didn’t have an answer. The power he was born with was different from others. Many people wanted to extract the highest utility from him, and he was just a tool to be used. If he didn’t have divine power, he would become a useless thing, and that would shame his family, a useless thing that would be better off dead.

This was the message conveyed silently when others looked at him, even his older brother.

Does it hurt to transfer others’ pain to oneself? Of course, it does. But pain must be endured. No one cares about these things. If he doesn’t practice hard, he’ll be nothing but useless waste, and no one will pay attention to him.

Yunshi spoke, his voice somewhat bitter: “Why do you have to save him?”

After hearing his words, Jian Mei paused, then raised his head, as if not understanding why there would be such a question. He smiled helplessly and said, “Because he needs help.”

………

It’s simply useless kindness.

These words floated into Yunshi’s mind, but in his heart, a shallow, uncontrollable joy emerged, and finally, even the corners of his lips curved up.

It was as if he had been waiting for this sentence all along. Waiting in the past, waiting now, always waiting.

No one wanted to be beyond redemption.

Even if they were utterly useless, even if they had no utility, they could still be saved. This sense of security is what everyone desires deep down, and with such a support, what is there to fear?

Yunshi sighed, stood up, and said, “Let’s go, find the intelligence officer outside the forest.”

But before he could finish speaking, the boy who had regained consciousness raised his head and looked at the two of them. “Why are you looking for the intelligence officer?” he asked.

Jian Mei briefly explained

The boy nodded, then tore off a button from his wrist and handed it to Jian Mei. “This is the latest defense map. I was going to leave the forest, but I got surrounded and had no choice but to jump into the lake.”

Both Jian Mei and Yunshi were stunned.

At that moment, a mechanical announcement came from the forest, “The exam in this area has ended. Congratulations to the candidates for completing the objective assessment. This area will close in 10 seconds. Please sit down and prepare.”

At the same time, the ranking panels for all candidates began to recalculate.

After a few flashes on the gradient ranking list for the SA class monthly exam, a name once again appeared at the top of the list. Through the system’s big data calculation, the name of the first-place student for this exam was Jian Mei.

All the instructors were shocked when they saw this ranking.

Jian Mei stumbled out of the cabin, looking a bit dizzy and pale. After slowly descending from inside, he heard the voices of the instructors.

Professor Aster was the first to approach, smiling, “Congratulations, Mei Mei, you’ve completed the assessment.”

Jian Mei also breathed a sigh of relief.

The other instructors began to write comments and scores for this exam.

Jian Mei turned around and saw Lu Xingwang sitting not far away. The Crown Prince also glanced at him, their eyes meeting.They didn’t speak, but it seemed like everything was understood without words. There were many people here; they couldn’t show too much intimacy.

Jian Mei hesitated for a moment, walked over, bowed, and politely said, “Hello, Your Highness.”

Lu Xingwang stood up and shook hands with him, saying, “Hello.”

Jian Mei saw his own ranking. He was very happy, but this wasn’t all that made him happy. He got first place, but he didn’t want to show off to his little friends or ask the instructors for rewards. He just looked at Lu Xingwang with some anticipation, his eyes shining brightly like a child waiting for praise from their parents.

Jian Mei tentatively asked, “Was my evaluation this time okay?”

Lu Xingwang, with his deep, dark eyes, always restrained, couldn’t help but soften a bit under Jian Mei’s gaze. He replied, “Very well.”

Sweet bubbles of excitement bubbled up uncontrollably in Jian Mei’s heart.

He especially wanted to hug Lu Xingwang, to tell him how excited he was, how tired and nervous he was during the exam. But when he looked around and saw others nearby, he couldn’t help but lower his head with a hint of disappointment.

Just as Jian Mei was thinking about what to say, suddenly, a pair of large hands landed on his head, gently rubbing it. He heard Lu Xingwang’s voice, deep and magnetic, telling him, “You did very well, you were excellent.”

Jian Mei was taken aback and looked up.

Lu Xingwang met his gaze, and even though there were people around, the Crown Prince didn’t hesitate to show approval to his own child, curling his lips slightly. “I saw it.”

Jian Mei hesitated, “Did you watch the whole thing?”

“Yeah,” Lu Xingwang said, “I’ve been watching you the whole time.”

Translator’s Note-Guys don’t forget to support and comment your views(^-^)