Chapter 90

Chapter 90

While Chu Tingwu was fixing the car, Yue Miao had no choice but to strike up a conversation with the classmate next to her.

The classmate was also sixteen years old, surnamed Shao, and hailed from Bao City in North Sea Province. He had a distinctive head of curly hair, a natural curl. He was carrying a large backpack, from which he took out snacks and water, generously sharing them with the two fellow travelers.

— Compared to Chu Tingwu, Shao Classmate was quite a talkative person.

Before Yue Miao even had a chance to fish for information, the classmate had already spilled all his personal details by following her lead in the conversation:

“This is my first time in Sang City, and I don’t have any relatives or friends here. My parents were worried that I might get scammed out of my money, so they transferred a bit extra to my account. But apparently, the winter camp base is near the sea, and the transportation around there isn’t great. You can’t even order takeout, so I rented a car to make sure I could buy food if I got hungry.”

“I accidentally messed up the rental process, though. I was supposed to rent an electric tricycle, but when I arrived, I found out I’d rented a Mitsubishi car instead. Haha, maybe I misread the words!”

“When I was sitting in the car spacing out, did you guys think I was a taxi driver waiting for passengers at the airport? That’s why I stepped in when I heard you asking other drivers if they were going to the base—you see, you don’t have to pay for a ride, just drive yourselves!”

But right now, we’re actually fixing the car ourselves, aren’t we? ==

Although Shao Classmate made it sound logical and reasonable, from Yue Miao and Chu Tingwu’s perspective… this story was entirely Version B.

After leaving the airport, Yue Miao had planned to take a taxi to first drop Chu Tingwu off at the base, and then head over to meet the person in charge of the Fangyuan Charity Mutual Aid Association. But just as she had called for a cab, Shao Classmate suddenly appeared behind them, extremely friendly, and asked Chu Tingwu:

“Classmate, are you also going to the Sang City Biology Training Camp? Me too!”

Chu Tingwu: “Ah…”

Since he was the boss’s classmate, Yue Miao assumed he just wanted to share a ride. But then he turned to Yue Miao and asked: “Sister, do you know how to drive? You can drive my car, and you won’t have to pay for a taxi.”

Yue Miao: “…”

The employee from the rental company next to them: “…”

Yue Miao, having been through a lot, could tell that it wasn’t a mistake on Shao Classmate’s part. He had been duped. The car was probably not in great condition, and they were trying to squeeze a few extra hundred bucks out of him for a replacement… but they hadn’t expected this naive kid from out of town to actually find an adult willing to drive for him.

Employee: Is he going to get scammed?

Wait, he already seems to have been scammed by their company.

Sure enough, the car broke down halfway, though it was still within the realm of being fixable (but why does the boss even know how to fix cars?). Yue Miao quickly realized that Shao Classmate was indeed a rich, naive kid—and probably even wealthier than he let on. But his upbringing seemed decent; he likely didn’t have much pocket money since everything he wanted was already provided, so he still had a carefree attitude toward money.

In other words, he would unconsciously spend whatever was in his account, without realizing when others were taking advantage of him.

She glanced at the time: “Chu Chu, Shao Classmate, how about I take care of the car? You two go ahead and take a taxi, and I’ll call someone to tow it.”

The car’s issue was almost resolved by Chu Tingwu, but then they ran out of gas.

Shao Classmate had a look of hesitation.

Yue Miao: “…………?”

Shao Classmate: “I mean, I was originally planning to let you guys ride for free—”

Yue Miao: I was the one driving, okay?

Shao Classmate: “But since the car broke down, and we might be late, I felt so guilty… so I just rented another car. This time, I didn’t rent the wrong one! This time, it’s really an electric tricycle!”

The sea breeze was strong, blowing Yue Miao’s bangs all over the place.

She reached up to smooth her hair and said, “Is that one coming over there?”

Shao Classmate grinned confidently: “Yes! I know how to ride an electric tricycle!”

So why do you, a young master, have such a skill!?

Chu Tingwu closed the car’s rear lid: “It’s fixed.”

This time, it was still the same employee who rode the electric tricycle over. When he saw Chu Tingwu and the others, his expression was a bit odd.

He jumped off the tricycle and took the initiative: “You didn’t… break the car, did you?…”

Chu Tingwu: “Nothing serious, just ran out of gas.”

He didn’t quite believe it, but Yue Miao glanced at the minivan behind the electric tricycle and calmly said, “We rented the wrong car. Let’s return this one…” Though she really wanted to say they didn’t need to keep the tricycle either, she couldn’t make the decision for Shao Classmate.

Just as the employee was about to say something to these outsiders, he noticed a few people getting off the minivan.

— It was the people from the Fangyuan Charity Mutual Aid Association that Yue Miao had just contacted.

Although they hadn’t met before, the moment they exchanged glances, they somehow felt a sense of closeness.

The people from Fangyuan quickly helped Shao Classmate get his deposit back and ordered the employee to drive the out-of-gas car away… but when Yue Miao turned around, she found that Shao Classmate and Chu Tingwu had already loaded their luggage onto the electric tricycle, with Chu Tingwu already seated.

Yue Miao: “Wait, boss, we can take—”

Take the car the foundation sent over!

The boss, sitting on the gradually disappearing electric tricycle, waved at her: “You handle it, we’ll go to the base ourselves.”

After a moment’s thought, she added: “I’m with them—we won’t get lost!”

-

They still got lost.

Although it was winter, Sang City’s temperature remained high. The strong sea breeze didn’t make it feel hot, though the sun was a bit harsh, making Chu Tingwu not want to open her eyes to check the route provided by the system.

Shao Classmate took on the task of driving, and Chu Tingwu had no objections to riding an electric tricycle.

She just felt the vibrations of the wheels as they rolled over the ground, occasionally giving directions at corners—

And then they ended up at the entrance of the oceanarium across from the base.

The oceanarium was closed that day, and the staff at the entrance looked puzzled at the two… minors? With all their luggage stuffed into the electric tricycle? Why did you come to visit the oceanarium looking like you’re moving house?

Chu Tingwu: “…”

Shao Classmate looked down: “There was a fork in the road earlier, and you said to go left, but I accidentally forgot which way was left, so I just picked one.”

Chu Tingwu: “?”

Shao Classmate looked even more embarrassed: “Actually, this isn’t the first time I’ve forgotten. I forgot a few times before, but it seemed like I picked the right way each time…?”

Chu Tingwu: “Then your luck is really good.”

Shao Classmate chuckled shyly: “Hehe… my family always says that about me.”

They must mean it wholeheartedly!

She checked the map and found that turning around would take them to the base… but their electric tricycle was running out of power, likely due to the weight of the luggage.

Shao Classmate also noticed this. While Chu Tingwu was looking at the map, he enthusiastically (why does this feel familiar?) asked the staff: “Sister, our tricycle is out of power. Can we charge it here? We can pay, please!”

Chu Tingwu: “==”

[This kid, how does he give off the vibe of being able to beg his way home even if he’s lost abroad and can’t speak the language?]

Chu Tingwu: “Ah, am I still live streaming?”

The fans: Did you just realize that?!

Even though you put up a lazy title before the stream, you can’t be so lazy that you forget you’re streaming!

The staff, though amused, agreed, and after learning more:

“So you’re all students participating in the biology competition… Sang City’s biology winter camp is pretty famous. You must all be top students, huh?”

Shao Classmate drank some water as he replied: “Ah… I’m not sure. I was invited to come! I got invitations from other winter camps too, but this one is closest to the sea. I’ve never been to Sang City, so I decided to come and check it out! How about you?”

He looked at Chu Tingwu, who took the drone ball and politely declined the small bread he offered: "I heard that you can watch the sailing competition here, which sounds interesting. Besides, it was arranged by my elders, so I can't waste their intentions."

Shao Classmate gave a thumbs up: "Great."

What are you praising?

But it was clear that he found Chu Tingwu's reason... great, or perhaps... cool? As a result, he felt even closer to her (unilaterally), concluding: "If you want to go out for a meal, you can call me to drive you in my tricycle. I've rented it until the end of the winter camp!"

Thanks, but no thanks.

Chu Tingwu: "Since you're renting it for so long, why not give your tricycle a name?"

Shao Classmate: "Hmm... good idea, but I'm not good at naming things. Do you have any experience in naming?"

Chu Tingwu: "I don't either. My cats are all named by numbers."

Shao Classmate: "Number names! That's cool! Then it'll be called 819!"

The staff member listening in silence: Isn't that just the license plate number?

Shao Classmate turned his head: "If you want to go out for a meal, you can call me to drive 819 for you."

The staff member: Don't make it sound like you're driving some kind of aircraft!

She finally couldn't help but interject: "Um... we're open, and since it's a weekday, there aren't many people. Would you like to come in and take a look?"

It's like having the entire underwater park to yourselves.

Sang City's sailing base is more famous than the underwater park, but the latter also has an underwater walkway—people walk on the bottom layer, with a glass tunnel above their heads, where aquatic creatures swim overhead. However, this walkway doesn't extend deep into the sea.

Sang City's underwater park is a bit dated, as it was built with limited funds, so it's actually a three-layer structure.

Since there wasn't much to do, the staff member informed her colleagues and decided to take the two kids down together:

"This layer is the marine science museum. The instruments aren't on, but you can check out the scientific content. The next layer is the jellyfish hall, with all kinds of jellyfish. The underground second layer has other aquatic creatures, and then two more layers down is the underwater walkway."

It's "underwater," not "under the sea," because the animals you see overhead are from the underground second layer, not wild sea creatures.

The three of them took the escalator down together, reaching the lowest level of the underwater walkway. The light from above filtered down, casting colorful shadows on the ground.

Seals swam in circles on the other side of the glass, completely uninterested in the unfamiliar humans below.

After escorting them to the bottom, the staff member left.

Shao Classmate poked the glass, where a starfish was slowly crawling, while Chu Tingwu sniffed the air.

Despite the glass, the smell of the sea wasn't strong, but there was a faint mustiness and... the smell of fresh popcorn?

She turned her head just as a tourist around the corner came into view.

The tourist seemed startled, hurriedly glanced at Chu Tingwu, and then, before she could speak, turned away and rushed off with her popcorn bucket.

Shao Classmate also smelled the popcorn: "Ah, do they sell popcorn here? Do you want some?"

Chu Tingwu: "Yes, but the popcorn staff isn't here, so it seems you have to make it yourself."

Shao Classmate: "?"

They walked to the end and went upstairs, finding a popcorn, chips, and cola counter opposite the souvenirs, with no staff in sight.

It was clear that the off-season was really quiet here.

The entire underwater park seemed to have only three visitors.

There was only a little popcorn left in the counter, so Chu Tingwu opened it herself and started making popcorn following the system prompts—Shao Classmate felt he couldn't just stand by and do nothing, so he went in to help with the cash register.

Hmm, operating the machine and collecting their own money.

But just as they finished, they noticed they could take money from others... The tourist they had seen once before appeared again, standing outside the counter, looking bewildered at the two inside.

Shao Classmate was very... enthusiastic: "Do you want some? It'll be ready soon."

Tourist: "Ah, ah... okay."

Shao Classmate: "Small bucket or large bucket? Small is eighteen, large is twenty-five. Take the small one, and I'll give you extra!"

Chu Tingwu: You're not even a real staff member!

Tourist: "You... are you doing work-study here?"

Shao Classmate: "Huh?"

Tourist: "Oh, I thought you were classmates from the biology winter camp."

The real staff member came out from behind the door: "No need to operate, I'll do it, I'll do it."

In the end, the staff member gave them extra freshly made popcorn, charging only for the small bucket despite using the large one.

The three of them looked at each other.

The tourist had long hair and was half a palm taller than Chu Tingwu. She tilted her head and looked at the two: "Um... I'm Zhou Qiang. I finished reporting and had nothing to do, so I came out to wander around."

After all, the nearby underwater park seemed a bit interesting.

Shao Classmate: "Oh, oh, I'm Shao Lingwu, and this one here is—"

He paused.

He was deep in thought.

After knowing each other for so long (??), Chu Tingwu hadn't even mentioned her name.

Chu Tingwu: "Sigh."

She extended her hand and shook hands with both of them: "I'm Chu Tingwu. I have cats at home. Are either of you allergic to cat hair?"

Fortunately, neither of them was. The three future classmates for the next two months successfully met at the underwater park. Chu Tingwu learned that Zhou Qiang was from the same province—

Zhou Qiang: "My parents didn't want me to come because the winter camp fees are high, and they didn't want to pay."

Shao Lingwu "hissed" in sympathy: "Then, if you need money, I can lend you..."

Chu Tingwu interrupted him: "So you were asking about work-study just now?"

Zhou Qiang: "Oh... no."

Huh?

"I didn't owe the winter camp fees," Zhou Qiang said slowly, "I paid the tuition myself by trading stocks."

Chu Tingwu & Shao Lingwu: Okay ==

The three went to the underground first layer to see the jellyfish. Shao Lingwu seemed to be just wandering around, Zhou Qiang walked slowly, and only Chu Tingwu pressed her head against the glass—

She discovered.

Her lv1 genetic inheritance skill and intuition skill... didn't seem to work when facing aquatic creatures.

For example, the jellyfish in front of her was poisonous. Normally, when Chu Tingwu saw a jellyfish, she would feel a warning in her heart and could judge whether the jellyfish had an attack intent... but perhaps because the jellyfish was too small and had no "emotions," she felt nothing.

Of course, humans wouldn't be wary of jellyfish in a controlled environment, but for Chu Tingwu, this was unusual.

She thought back and found: "I didn't feel anything when I faced fish either."

The first time she caught that aggressive invasive fish, she relied on her vision, hearing, and physical senses, with no intuition involved.

System: "Because you're not an underwater animal."

Genetic inheritance depends on inheritance... cats don't have this kind of thing in their genes.

But the "genetic inheritance" skill in young animals not only includes inherited knowledge but also self-learned knowledge—if one day she suddenly lost her memory, the new knowledge wouldn't disappear and would continue to exist as her instinct, helping her live better.

Chu Tingwu came back to her senses and found that Zhou Qiang and Shao Lingwu had already started discussing the fish skeleton in front of them.

After a long discussion, they concluded: "This skeleton is misspelled."

Chu Tingwu looked back and found... well, if the system hadn't drawn auxiliary lines, she wouldn't have noticed the problem.

Because this is not something that would be taught in class, it's more like extracurricular knowledge, and she herself doesn't have much knowledge about aquatic life, the reasons given by these two were—

Shao Lingwu: "What I saw at the Shangjing Ocean Museum before is different from this. The structure here theoretically shouldn't exist. The mouth is installed upside down, right?"

Zhou Qiang was holding her phone: "The comparison photo is quite obvious. Look—this small dot, yes, it's a bit blurry when zoomed in, but it's indeed quite obvious."

Where exactly is this obvious? The dense teeth and pixelated patterns after zooming in?

Chu Tingwu silently followed behind them. The two submitted their error report to the staff, and the electric car had also finished charging.

Probably to thank them for pointing out the mistake, the underwater world also gave each of the three a polar bear plush keychain.

Zhou Qiang: "Hmm... but you don't have any polar bears here, only a penguin."

That penguin was also constantly turning its back to them, refusing to turn around.

Chu ??‌‌?‌‌???‌‌?‌‌‌??‌‌?‌‌???‌‌??‌???‌‌?‌‌??‌‌???‌???‌‌?‌?‌?‌‌??‌‌???‌‌?‌‌??‌‌??‌????‌‌?‌?‌??‌‌?‌?‌??‌‌?‌???‌‌??‌????‌‌?‌‌???‌‌???‌??‌‌?????‌‌??‌????‌‌‌?????‌‌??‌‌??‌‌?‌????‌‌??????‌‌??‌‌?‌‌???‌‌‍Tingwu pressed Zhou Qiang's head back, turning her entire face towards herself, then smiled and thanked the staff: "We'll be leaving first."

Zhou Qiang, you must not have many friends if you always talk like that.

The three got on the electric tricycle and left. Chu Tingwu reopened her live stream and briefly introduced her new classmates to her audience.

She still had six hours left to meet her monthly live streaming quota, and streaming until midnight would just about do it.

Luckily, there was no need to turn anymore. Zhou Qiang leaned on the railing, lost in thought. Chu Tingwu showed the audience the sea view and the seagulls circling overhead. Shao Lingwu hummed an unknown tune as the tricycle rode all the way to the entrance of the winter camp base. Under the guidance of the staff, they parked between a few cars.

A parent and child arrived next to them, the parent having just parked the car. Seeing the three kids getting off the electric tricycle, they were momentarily stunned.

The staff verified their identities—Zhou Qiang had already reported in advance and had an ID card—then asked a colleague to take them to the dorms.

Colleague: "We have double rooms here. Since you arrived early, you can choose your rooms first."

Zhou Qiang: "I don't have a roommate yet."

Chu Tingwu: "..."

Zhou Qiang glanced at Chu Tingwu again.

Chu Tingwu: "Then I'll stay with you."

Zhou Qiang nodded silently.

The staff also noticed the drone Chu Tingwu was using for live streaming and smiled: "Classmate, we also use this model of drone. But if you're filming outdoors, remember to turn on the facial recognition blur feature, as some people might not like being on camera."

The boys' dorms were on the first floor, the girls' on the second, and the third floor housed the science labs. The entire base was actually interconnected, with sunlight streaming straight down, providing natural light and nutrients to the greenhouse in the middle, enclosed by glass walls.

Most students were surprised by this internal botanical garden when they first saw it, and there were many rare species cultivated here, as if an artificial rainforest had been created within the building.

There were also walkways and other staff working and maintaining the area. The guide smiled at the three—

Shao Lingwu looked at the map: "We should first remember where the cafeteria is."

Chu Tingwu comforted: "If the food is really bad, I can also cook. As long as the ingredients are fresh."

Zhou Qiang still spoke slowly: "Hmm... this is a biology winter camp, so the ingredients shouldn't be too bad, right?"

Staff: We're a biology training camp, not a restaurant. Do you think "biology" only refers to ingredients? ==

He silently led the three to their dorms and reminded them not to lose their ID wristbands. Chu Tingwu also felt it was a bit excessive to keep mixing live streaming with everything, so she took the drone out of the dorm to show some more substantial content... content.

Zhou Qiang silently followed.

The second-floor corridor had grille-style floor-to-ceiling windows, and from the corridor, one could see the sea. At this moment, someone was already looking out. The sea at the horizon appeared faintly white, almost blending with the pressing sky. The three stood there for a while, and Chu Tingwu heard someone next to her murmur: "It's a sailboat..."

A few small dots appeared at the end of the sea, and as they got closer, it became clear that someone was returning on a sailboat.

The person next to them explained: "They should be practicing single-handed sailboat driving. There's a coastal single-handed sailboat race, and Sang City is one of the race points."

It wasn't that they needed to dock in Sang City, but the sailboat route included the waters near Sang City, and there just happened to be a sailboat training base here.

—On the opposite side of the winter camp, behind the hill on their side.

The person next to them went upstairs after saying that, as if thinking the view from the top floor would be clearer.

Zhou Qiang told Chu Tingwu: "It's very windy on the top floor."

The drone might get blown away.

Chu Tingwu: Thanks, but I'm not planning to go up.

She planned to go to the restaurant.

The menu by the sea was indeed different from that of North Sea Province, with many dishes Chu Tingwu had never eaten before. Moreover, it wasn't a cafeteria-style service but a buffet, where one could take whatever they wanted, with only a few dishes needing to be ordered at specific windows.

But since not many people had arrived yet, most of the windows were closed.

As they walked over, they ended up at the western window, where Shao Lingwu was inside, looking at them.

Shao Lingwu: "Should I get you more?"

Chu Tingwu: What now? Are you "again" working a part-time job here?

Shao Lingwu looked around and quietly opened the small door on the west side to let them in—

"I saw that the crab roe buns were already made but no one was steaming them, so I asked if I could steam them myself to eat, and the staff agreed."

Chu Tingwu and Zhou Qiang both thought there was nothing wrong with that, the only problem being: "So where are the crab roe buns?"

Shao Lingwu: "I don't know how! I've never done it before."

He was learning! But all the online tutorials were for home use, not for such large machines, so he had just been searching how to operate this kind of machine and was currently looking at the factory specs.

Chu Tingwu: "=="

She might as well do it herself.

The two useless people stepped aside and watched as Chu Tingwu bent down to examine the semi-finished buns, finally picking out a steamer—

Shao Lingwu: "It's just like picking

watermelons."

Zhou Qiang: "…No need to worry about the ingredients anymore."

Chu Tingwu: …Although I did instinctively pick out the ones that felt better, your confidence in me is a bit inexplicable.

She remembered she was live streaming and explained to the camera: "These buns have better folds, so they won't crack after steaming, which is aesthetically pleasing. These…"

She paused: "Are fresher, made within two hours, and the fillings were also handled by hand."

Fans: "Ohhh!"

Shao Lingwu: "Ohhh!"

The chef who walked over: "?"

Classmate, please leave.

The others were also made today, okay? The other ingredients were also freshly processed, okay! It's just relatively not that fresh… Although there are always quirky students every year, since they mostly recruit geniuses for the winter camp, how could there be a student who, on the first day of the winter camp, is live streaming steaming buns in the cafeteria!0

Would their winter camp go viral because of the freshness of the ingredients?