Chapter 53

"Cynthia, class is over. If you don't wake up now, we're leaving without you!"

Cynthia was shaken awake and propped herself up groggily. "Ugh, where's my arm? It's numb, so numb."

Her funny expression made the other two laugh, and Wu Ying's heart softened. She stepped over to rub Cynthia's arm for a while. By the time the classroom had mostly emptied, Cynthia finally felt better.

"Class is dismissed, huh? Guess I sleep best during lectures," Cynthia said with a yawn, standing up and stretching long. She pulled the other two along, and only halfway did she remember what had happened before class.

"Oh, right! Tell us about yesterday's business."

Since there were no classes that afternoon, Cynthia dragged Huo Lin and the others out to find food. The cultural center's eateries couldn't compare to the commercial district's, but she'd found a restaurant before whose chef supposedly had a family recipe passed down from an ancient Blue Star kingdom—spicy and satisfying.

Could it be Sichuan cuisine?

Wu Ying's curiosity was piqued instantly. No time to waste—they had to go taste it.

"It's a long story. In short, the research institute wanted to observe my and Asher's married life. I refused. That's it."

Cynthia let out a shocked "Ah!" so loud she dropped the meat off her chopsticks. "What? They'd dare that? Even the commander's family affairs they'd meddle in? Tsk, tsk, turns out they're the thickest-skinned ones."

Huo Lin clicked her tongue and shook her head too. Had the commander's reputation really failed to reach those old fogies' ears?

"Did you curse them out?" Huo Lin only worried about that.

"I think I cursed them out plenty."

Wu Ying frowned, thinking. At least she remembered Ivy had been pretty steamed by her too.

Huo Lin turned to Cynthia and raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "That means she didn't really curse them out." Cynthia nodded vigorously. Wu Ying was soft-hearted; her insults didn't even sting.

"Forget it. I'm annoyed. I stayed up all night cursing Asher last night. So mad."

"Hey, hey, no need to share your marital spats with us. We're not the research institute; we don't care about that stuff."