Chapter 500: Set off

“Qiao Sang has truly made a name for herself! She’s only in her first year of high school and already has three High-level Pets. Not like your cousin, whose only Pet didn’t evolve to an intermediate level until he was in his third year of high school.”

“Isn’t that the truth? I even held you when you were little. I can’t believe you’ve grown so big in the blink of an eye.”

“When I was watching TV, I kept thinking how much that child resembled Qiao Sang. I never imagined it was the same person. If your mom hadn’t held this banquet, I wouldn’t have known.”

“The champion of the National Campus Pet Beast League, and in the third-year high school division! Does this mean you’re the most formidable among all high school students nationwide?”

“I heard you’re going to Super Dormant Star as an Interstellar Exchange Student. What’s that school called? Is it as good as Saint Water Middle School?”

“From a young age, I knew you’d definitely achieve great things when you grew up. And look, you certainly have.”

The people around her chattered, one after another.

Qiao Sang collected the red envelopes, maintaining a polite smile.

Actually, besides Third Aunt and Third Uncle, she had to rack her brain for a long time to remember who the other relatives present were.

Family relationships are a very peculiar existence; even if you don’t see each other all year, you always manage to act very familiar when you meet.

As long as there’s someone accomplished in the family, even a distant relative, they’ll always go around telling others, “My so-and-so is that so-and-so,” to bask in some reflected glory.

Several Staff continuously brought dishes and drinks to the dining tables.

As they served, they couldn’t help but glance at the central figure of the banquet, wanting to see what kind of person the reporters in the lobby were so eager to interview.

Unfortunately, the central figure was surrounded by a group of eager people, making it impossible to see anything.

As time passed, the guests finally took their seats.

Ye Xiangting held her wine glass, toasting and exchanging pleasantries with each relative.

From her never-faltering smile, it was clear she was truly happy.

Qiao Sang held her Pet and ate her meal.

A cousin beside her asked, “Aren’t you going to recall your Liao Xing Hound into the yu beast codex?”

“Ya!”

The Pet turned its head, looked at the human who spoke, and bared its teeth.

The cousin’s body stiffened instantly, and she stood up, saying, “I need to go to the restroom first.”

With that, she grabbed her phone and quickly turned to leave.

Qiao Sang: “…”

“Don’t scare people,” Qiao Sang said, rubbing the Pet’s head.

“Ya…”

The Pet pouted.

It just bared its teeth…

“Qiao Sang.” At this moment, an aged voice sounded from behind her.

Qiao Sang turned her head at the sound, froze for a moment, then stood up and called out, “Grandma.”

The relatives at the table who were chatting instantly fell silent.

As the most accomplished child in the Ye family now, even distant relatives knew about Qiao Sang’s family matters.

Currently, all the people at the banquet were from the Ye family, so the appearance of someone from the Qiao family made the atmosphere inexplicably awkward.

The Old Lady, with her hair streaked with white, stared intently at her granddaughter, her expression somewhat nervous.

“Can we go talk somewhere else?” the Old Lady asked.

Qiao Sang glanced in her mother’s direction.

She knew that if her mother hadn’t notified her, her grandmother wouldn’t have known and come here.

“Okay.” Qiao Sang nodded.

The two walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The people around them followed with their gazes, but no one went up to disturb them.

“This must be the Liao Xing Hound,” the Old Lady said with a smile, stroking the Pet’s head. “It’s really beautiful.”

“Ya.”

The Pet narrowed its eyes in enjoyment.

After stroking it for a while, the Old Lady looked up, took a red envelope from her bag, and handed it over with a slightly awkward expression, saying:

“Your mom told me you’re going to Super Dormant Star. Take this; there’s 50,000 inside, and the password is your birthday.”

Qiao Sang did not accept it, calmly saying, “No need. The money my mom gave me is enough.”

To be honest, as a rational adult on the inside, she truly held no ill will towards her grandmother.

But perhaps because she favored her mother, or perhaps because her grandmother hadn’t been very present during her growth, she genuinely couldn’t feel close to her grandmother.

In her previous life, her parents had divorced. When she was young, she might have had hopes, but as she grew up, she had already gotten used to life without a father and without a grandmother.

Without people from her father’s side, her life was still very good.

The Old Lady’s body stiffened slightly, and her expression was somewhat forlorn. After about two or three seconds of silence, she asked:

“Did you block your dad?”

Qiao Sang said, “Maybe. Everyone who didn’t contact me before is contacting me now, and I blocked numbers I didn’t recognize.”

The Old Lady’s body stiffened again.

As an experienced elder, she naturally understood the underlying meaning.

The Old Lady was silent again for two or three seconds, then suddenly thought of something, took out her phone, and dialed a number.

The next moment, Qiao Sang’s phone vibrated in her pocket.

She took out her phone and looked at it.

Caller ID: Grandma.

The phone stopped vibrating abruptly.

Qiao Sang looked up.

The Old Lady laughed heartily: “Good thing you didn’t block me.”

Qiao Sang looked at her smile and paused.

After the Old Lady left, the Pet seemed to sense something and stuck out its tongue to lick its Yu Beast Master’s hand.

“Ya!”

Qiao Sang looked down and smiled, “I’m fine.”

She thought rationally that, compared to familial affection, her grandmother mostly felt only regret. If she hadn’t won the National Campus Pet Beast League championship this time, her grandmother might not have remembered her for a while, nor would she have contacted her during this non-holiday period.

Qiao Sang looked up at her mother, who was raising a toast with a beaming smile not far away, and walked towards her.

…

Saturday morning.

Saint Water Middle School, no classes.

Logically, everyone should have been in their dorms, but almost all the students were standing in the hallway, whispering as they watched the figures below.

The Staff assigned to escort Qiao Sang to the spaceport had arrived.

“Remember to call me when you get there,” Ye Xiangting said softly to her daughter.

Qiao Sang nodded, “I will.”

“Remember to eat on time, and go to bed early at night. You’re only in your first year of high school. Although you missed a lot of classes because of the competition, don’t try to catch up all at once. Learning should be gradual, understand?” Ye Xiangting instructed.

“I know,” Qiao Sang replied softly.

She hadn’t told her mother about her plan to take the college entrance exam directly. It was better to talk about such things after she passed, as the chances of not passing were also high. Telling her would only make her mother worry unnecessarily, and with her mother’s habit of making phone calls, she might widely announce it, which would be a bit embarrassing if she didn’t pass.

“Listen to your teachers carefully. If the school there doesn’t allow you to bring your phone, then don’t. It’s fine if you can call on weekends,” Ye Xiangting continued. “Remember to take good care of your Pet’s meals.”

Qiao Sang hummed, “Don’t worry, I know.”

Ye Xiangting looked at her daughter, her expression softer than ever before.

The excitement and pride receded, replaced by worry and reluctance.

Her daughter was still so young, having just started high school not long ago, yet she had to leave her for such a long time… A difficult sadness welled up in Ye Xiangting’s heart.

Just as she was about to give more earnest instructions, Qiao Sang said, “Um, Mom, why don’t we talk as we walk? You can actually come with me to the spaceport.”

Ye Xiangting: “…”

…

Yuhua Spaceport.

Where the starship was docked.

As a passenger starship capable of interstellar travel, its hull was incredibly massive, and its spaceship-like design combined with its silvery-white sheen gave it a powerful sense of futuristic sci-fi.

It seemed out of place with some of the buildings in the Yuhua region.

Under her mother’s reluctant gaze, Qiao Sang waved goodbye and stepped into the starship.

“There are two others who will be Interstellar Exchange Students with you this time, one boy and one girl. They’ve already arrived, and you should know one of them.” The man speaking was over 1.9 meters tall, with a buzz cut and a very robust physique.

He was Officer Chen, assigned by the state to escort the three exchange students.

I know? Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said, “Is it Tang Yi?”

Officer Chen said with admiration, “You guessed quite accurately.”

Nonsense, if I know them and they were selected as Interstellar Exchange Students, it must be an opponent from the National Competition. Besides me, the other one would naturally be the runner-up… Qiao Sang humbly said:

“Not at all, I just made a random guess.”

Officer Chen led the way and said:

“Originally, we should have departed from the spaceport in the central region, but considering you are the youngest, we had them all gather here. They arrived last night. You can have a good chat with them later.”

“Okay,” Qiao Sang responded.

Along the way, the Pet in her arms curiously looked around.

Xiao Xunbao appeared and also curiously looked around.

The starship’s cabin featured a fully transparent design, allowing for clear views of the outside scenery.

Many small Pets walked around inside the starship.

An interstellar journey takes at least a month, and Pets cannot stay in the yu beast codex for such a long time. Therefore, the starship’s design allows Pets to appear and move around, provided their size does not exceed 3 meters in height and 4 meters in length.

It is well known that most Pets with larger body sizes also have higher levels.

Among those who can travel interstellarly, there are many Yu Beast Masters with High-level Pets. At this moment, their Pets are mostly wearing lightweight shrinking bracelets, just like the Pet.

It wasn’t that everyone managed to buy one; rather, before entering the starship, the spaceport Staff would provide lightweight shrinking bracelets with codes based on the Pet’s information, and collect them back upon reaching the destination.

“The starship is divided into seating cabins, sleeping cabins, and room cabins, and the leisure areas are also separate. The state has booked room cabins for you to ensure you have enough space to rest,” Officer Chen introduced as he walked:

“On the starship, Pet battles are prohibited, and offensive skills cannot be trained.”

Just as he was speaking, a voice called out, “Officer Chen!”

Officer Chen stopped.

Qiao Sang looked in the direction of the voice and saw Tang Yi and a girl with waist-length hair, wearing a leather beret, with a refined appearance and fashionable attire.

In her arms, she held a cat-like Pet dressed in clothes, also wearing a hat, with green fur.

And in Tang Yi’s arms was a miniature Pareolulu.

Almost at the moment their eyes met, the Pet and Pareolulu’s gazes filled with fighting intent.

“Xiao Xunbao!”

Xiao Xunbao, at this moment, blocked the Pet, revealing an expression as if it were bravely sacrificing itself.

Don’t rush, let it get beaten up first!

Qiao Sang: “.”

The Pet: “???”