On the way home, Qiao Sang sat atop Ya Bao, taking a deep sip of her iced milk tea and letting out a satisfied sigh.
School wasn't physically tiring, but it was mentally exhausting.
It was truly grueling to sit among a crowd of academic gods, especially when the teachers of every single class gave her extraordinary attention.
It felt less like one teacher with a group of students, and more like one student with a group of teachers.
Fortunately, the energy values measured for Ya Bao and Little Treasure Ghost provided her with great comfort.
Sipping her milk tea, Qiao Sang was in a very good mood.
Given the current situation, while she couldn't say it was a guaranteed lock, winning against the various beast-taming high schools in Zhejiang Province, taking first place in the province, advancing to the regional qualifiers, and securing a spot in the finals was at least eighty to ninety percent certain.
Just then, the phone in her pocket vibrated.
It was Song Yuan calling.
Qiao Sang swiped to answer and greeted her, "Sister Song."
Song Yuan's tone was cheerful: "The photos from Ya Bao's last shoot are all out, and we've finished writing the topics. I'll send them all to you in a bit; remember to post them on Chao-bo."
"Okay," Qiao Sang replied.
"By the way, are you living at school now?" Song Yuan asked.
Qiao Sang paused for a moment. "No, why?"
"You didn't take the new sunglasses with you that day, so I'll mail them to you," Song Yuan smiled.
"Sure, but since I don't live at school, I'll send you my address in a moment," Qiao Sang answered.
During collaborations, brands would gift the spokesperson pets the products they were endorsing. Beyond the professional relationship, part of the reason was the hope that the spokesperson pets would use the products in their daily lives, allowing more people to see them.
As soon as the call ended, before Qiao Sang could take another sip of her milk tea, her phone vibrated again.
Glancing at the screen, Qiao Sang was somewhat surprised.
It was actually Bai Yunmiao.
"Why are you suddenly calling me?" Qiao Sang asked after picking up.
The two usually chatted, but it was always online; this was the first time Bai Yunmiao had called her.
From the other end of the line came Bai Yunmiao's voice, so excited it was nearly cracking
"Genius Qiao! Are you free right now?! My Gold-Sprinkle Vine is about to evolve! Do you want to come and see!"
Qiao Sang instinctively pulled the phone a bit further from her ear.
Once Bai Yunmiao finished speaking, Qiao Sang put the phone back to her ear and said, "Of course I want to see! Send me your address, I'm coming over right now."
Pet evolution was a major event for a beast tamer. If a pet evolved unexpectedly, that was one thing.
But if it was through resources and the timing was known, most beast tamers would make corresponding preparations in advance.
Notifying all friends and family and recording the entire process was standard procedure. More exaggerated cases involved bathing and burning incense before the evolution to show how much they valued the event.
Even if it wasn't their own pet, no beast tamer was uninterested in evolution.
The supernatural phenomenon of pet evolution had always been a hot topic of discussion throughout the Alliance.
If Ya Bao's situation last time hadn't been so special, Qiao Sang likely would have recorded the whole thing as well.
"I've already sent you the location! Hurry up!"
"Got it."
Hanging up, Qiao Sang opened her chat app and clicked on the location sent by Bai Yunmiao.
[No. 341 Nanhe Street, Nanli Park]
...
Meanwhile.
"Why hasn't that little cheat arrived yet..."
On a mandatory path from Shengshui Middle School to Tianjing Garden, Li Songhai hid in a small alley on the left, constantly peering out.
This area was in the suburbs, usually sparsely populated, with no entertainment facilities nearby.
More than an hour had passed since the normal clock-out time; those who should have gone home had gone home, and those who wanted to go out and play had already left. Hardly anyone was passing by.
Li Songhai had stayed here for a full three hours for the sole purpose of ambushing Qiao Sang.
He never imagined that he, a dignified D-rank beast tamer, would be led in circles by a little brat who hadn't even fully developed.
Whenever he thought about how he had "kindly" warned her that there was a Ghost-type pet in the house, Li Songhai wanted to slap himself.
Stupid!
Too stupid!
To actually believe everything someone said!
That little cheat was probably laughing at him behind his back!
No wonder she wasn't afraid at all when she heard about the Ghost-type pet; it turned out it was her own!
They say the more beautiful a woman is, the better she is at lying; he didn't expect it to be the same for girls!
Li Songhai had originally thought about rushing in to teach the little brat a lesson, but in the end, the temptation of the Aqualuna won out.
Although he had resisted the impulse, he had been too angry to sleep last night. At 6:00 AM this morning, he had sent his Goo-slug to monitor when the little brat left, and to look for the Aqualuna's location along the way.
As it turned out, the Goo-slug returned to tell him that the Aqualuna was in the little brat's backpack and had left with her.
This forced Li Songhai to become alert.
That Aqualuna was actually willing to be so close to a human...
He wasn't worried about the little brat contracting the Aqualuna; she already had two pets, and given her age, there was no way she could have a third page in her Beast Codex.
However, the Aqualuna going out was an opportunity. After all, Tianjing Garden was a residential area; if they fought, the commotion would be too great and easily discovered.
Li Songhai had checked, and the only nearby school was Shengshui Middle School; she would definitely pass through here on her way back.
Thus, he had staked out the spot before school let out, and he had been waiting until now.
"What time is it? Why isn't she back yet?"
As Li Songhai muttered, a "slap" sounded as he hit his own face.
Looking at the Nth blood-stained dead mosquito in his hand, Li Songhai cursed under his breath: "Damn it, if she doesn't come soon, I'm going to be sucked anemic!"
...
Nanli Park.
Bai Yunmiao set up the camera and gave the Gold-Sprinkle Vine a solemn nod.
After an exchange of looks with its beast tamer, the Gold-Sprinkle Vine placed the evolution stone it held in its claw onto its forehead.
Immediately, the evolution stone glowed green, and in the next second, an intense white light of evolution instantly enveloped the Gold-Sprinkle Vine's body.
Once the white light dissipated, a pet appeared in the park with a green floral ornament on its head, green eyes, and pink leaves covering its body like a grass skirt.
Qiao Sang's eyes lit up. Although she had experienced watching Ya Bao evolve once, no matter how many times she saw a pet evolve, she still found it miraculous!
Ya Bao shared the same expression as Qiao Sang, though it was thinking of something else.
"Ya!"
Ya Bao turned and let out an excited cry toward its beast tamer.
It wanted to have a battle with that fellow!
Good grief, it fought for so long yesterday and still wants to fight today... Qiao Sang smiled: "Wait, I'll go ask."
"Xun..."
Little Treasure Ghost watched from the side with a face full of envy.
It also really wanted to evolve...
Bai Yunmiao ran over excitedly and cuddled with the Sweet-Knot Vine.
"I thought your Gold-Sprinkle Vine evolved a month ago; I didn't expect you to only use the evolution stone now," Qiao Sang walked forward and smiled.
Gold-Sprinkle Vines grow vine-tendrils on their heads. Generally, once the tendrils reach 6 centimeters, a Grass-type evolution stone can be used to evolve it into a Sweet-Knot Vine.
She remembered that the Gold-Sprinkle Vine she saw at the Baixin Competition had tendrils over 5 centimeters long.