Accidentally Provoked My Archenemy [ABO] - Chapter 10

Having a loyal lackey really did come in handy sometimes.

After informing Gu Amo, Sang Yu immediately bought a teleportation ticket and rushed back overnight. By the early hours of the next day, she had arrived on the Central Planet and reported to the Imperial

Military Academy.

Gu Amo was already waiting at the school gate.

As soon as she opened the car door and put away the hover vehicle, Sang Yu tossed her bag at Gu Amo—who was in the middle of bragging to a few old gatekeepers—and walked straight past him without slowing down.

Seeing her arrive, Gu Amo caught the airborne backpack with ease and, unable to hide his pride, introduced her loudly to the old men around him:

“Grandpas, this is my boss—Sang Yu, the Sang family’s eldest daughter and number two among this year’s freshmen!”

“You’d better start cutting us some slack around here.”

Sang Yu walked ahead, silently enduring the cheerful praises and borderline tangible stares of the old men. With no better option, she simply quickened her pace in the hopes of escaping them.

“Hey, Sang-jie! Wait for me!”

Seeing her about to vanish from view, Gu Amo quickly bid the old men goodbye and chased after her with her backpack in tow.

It had been so long since he’d seen her—his curiosity was practically bursting at the seams.

“Sang-jie, you’re finally back! It’s been forever. What happened to your skin? You got so tan!”

As he walked beside her, Gu Amo scanned her appearance up and down, clicking his tongue in admiration.

Nowadays, most residential planets were protected by artificial UV filters, so people’s skin tones had become more even—and fairer. Naturally dark skin excluded.

Which made Sang Yu’s new tan all the more surprising. He wondered which backwater planet she’d hidden on for a month.

Still, Sang Yu used to be deathly pale. Now that she had a bit of color, Gu Amo actually felt she looked more like the formidable boss he always envisioned.

“Wait for you?” she said coldly. “So, you can take me back to those old geezers and swear brotherhood? Lead the way already.”

She shot him a sidelong glance, clearly unimpressed, and waited for him to take the lead toward the admissions office.

“Oh, right!”

“Sang-jie, I did some recon. Bai Ren’s currently in dorm Northwater 407. There’s white wisteria growing behind the dorm—it’s old, strong, and flexible.”

“And the surveillance there is broken. Perfect for a sneak attack tonight.”

Sang Yu rubbed her forehead. “You rambled on yesterday too. Are you here to study, or to start brawls?”

Gu Amo scratched his head sheepishly. “Habit, I guess.”

“Oh! Sang-jie, I also heard there’s someone else super powerful in our year—supposedly high-ranking…”

Since Sang Yu had banned talk about their shared enemies, Gu Amo switched to gossip he’d picked up the day before. But as he talked on and on, he gradually realized—

She wasn’t responding.

Turning his head, he found her standing a good distance behind him, frozen in place.

“Sang-jie? What are you looking at?”

She slowly withdrew her gaze from the corner of a nearby building, then turned to him and said coolly, “None of your business.”

That brief distraction broke her focus. She took one last long look, then silently moved past him.

“Let’s go.”

Gu Amo glanced around a few more times but saw nothing out of the ordinary, so he hurried after her. “Sang-jie, just now, were you looking at—”

“What were you saying earlier?” Sang Yu cut in, expertly redirecting his curiosity.

“Oh, right. I heard there’s this super strong new student—underwent secondary differentiation, already registered, but no one’s seen them yet. No idea who it is.”

“Secondary differentiation?” Sang Yu slowed her steps, frowning slightly.

“Yeah, and supposedly a really high level.”

“Gender?”

“No idea. Some say female alpha, others say male beta—rumors are all over the place.”

“Who started this rumor?”

“Another freshman. Said someone in his family works here.”

Sang Yu nodded and said nothing more as they continued on.

They soon arrived outside the admissions office. The room was nearly empty—so quiet that even a pin drop would’ve echoed. The moment Sang Yu walked in, the two or three staff inside immediately looked up, eyes sharp and focused.

Like hunters spotting prey.

Meeting their stares head-on, Sang Yu was calm and unhurried. She tilted her head and asked with a slight frown, “Teachers, is there something on my face?”

“No, no!” one older bald teacher said, quickly standing up and warmly taking her hand. “You must be Sang Yu, right? The Sang family’s daughter?”

“Mm.”

A strange feeling crept up in her chest. She casually withdrew her hand, then tapped her finger on his desk. “Teacher, I suppose you can recognize me without an introduction?”

She smiled—lightly, but with unmistakable meaning.

Following her gaze downward, the bald teacher realized she was pointing at a document lying openly on his desk: her personal file, complete with a high-definition photo.

He hadn’t even had time to file it away.

Coughing with slight embarrassment, he chuckled and gestured for her to sit.

Meanwhile, the other two teachers stood and—very politely—led Gu Amo away under the pretense of offering him tea.

Sang Yu: …

She watched her lackey being cheerfully ushered out without the slightest idea of what was happening.

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

Leaning back in her chair, she tapped the document again with her long, elegant finger, eyes sharp as blades as they locked onto the “Bald Teacher.”

The man straightened, smile fading. After a sip of tea, he sighed. “No wonder you’re Old Qing’s niece. Quite the promising one.”

“You know my uncle?” Sang Yu asked, tilting her chin slightly, face unreadable—but inside, several things were already clicking into place.

“That’s right.”

“We were classmates. Good friends for many years. He always wanted to keep you safe, far from danger. Never thought you’d end up on this path anyway.”

“You’re here because of my classification?”

“Yes—and no.”

—

By the time she walked out of that office, two hours had passed. The sun was high, beaming through the doorway onto Gu Amo, who was curled up on a bench, sound asleep with her backpack clutched in his arms.

Sang Yu paused at the threshold, letting the sunlight warm her skin—but her mind was still back in that office.

As she had turned to leave, the bald teacher had stood up and given her a formal salute.

He had said:

“Hello. My name is Shen Shuming, Joint Chief of Staff for the Central Alliance Military Commission and Deputy Commander of the 2057 Star Garrison.”

He said the salute was threefold:

First—for her future as a soldier of the Alliance.

Second—for her uncle.

Third—for her courage.

…

Sang Yu stood at the doorway for a long time. When Gu Amo finally stirred and blinked sleepily awake, she spoke up dryly:

“Did you come here to perform a public nap for the teachers?”

“You know they’ve all been laughing at you? You’ve embarrassed me thoroughly.”

“Tch.”

Now that he was finally awake, she shook her head and scolded him a bit, then turned and walked off without waiting.

Gu Amo rubbed his eyes and followed, mumbling, “I was chatting with them! You took so long, the teachers went off to do their own thing, and I was left behind…”

“I tried calling Ah Bai, but she was asleep. She got mad from being woken up, told me to get lost, and hung up on me.”

“I waited so long all by myself… and now even you’re yelling at me…”

Sang Yu almost laughed out loud.

She took her bag back from him and slung it over her shoulder. The two of them chatted as they headed toward the dorm buildings.

The Imperial Military Academy was built on the most expensive land of the Central Planet—every inch was priceless. Yet the campus was vast.

It boasted the most advanced mechs, the most luxurious training arenas, and the most experienced instructors. Usually, students were trained in fundamentals before moving into real combat simulations.

The administrative building was on the east side. Their assigned dormitory, the Four Courts Dorms, was also to the east.

According to Gu Amo, since they’d registered early, they didn’t have any mandatory activities today or tomorrow. The cafeteria was open all day, and they could explore the school freely.

Upperclassmen hadn’t arrived yet, so their activities wouldn’t disturb anyone.

In two days, they’d undergo a preliminary classification assessment. After that, they’d be sorted into classes and sent to a student training base for intensive prep.

As she listened, Sang Yu thought the setup sounded an awful lot like the military boot camps of ancient Huaxia.

After training, they’d be assigned their permanent dorms.

For now, everyone stayed in temporary four-person rooms—Sang Yu included.

Since everyone in their year was an alpha, their supplies were simple. The school had already distributed bedding, daily necessities, and uniforms based on pre-submitted size data. Most people had only brought one bag.

Easy and efficient.

Except for the stairs.

“…Why haven’t we seen anyone else this whole time?” Sang Yu asked, belatedly realizing how odd it was.

She’d arrived around 7 AM. After spending two hours in the office, it was now past 9, and still not a single soul had appeared. It was strange.

Gu Amo looked uncomfortable and wouldn’t give a straight answer.

Just as Sang Yu was about to press him further, they reached the final step to the sixth floor—and saw someone familiar.

Someone she hadn’t seen in a while, though technically not that long ago.

Cheng Yunan.

There was another alpha beside him—probably his roommate. As they approached, Cheng Yunan’s step faltered for a moment when he saw her. Then, without so much as a glance, he looked away and kept walking.

But Sang Yu wasn’t having it.

She shifted slightly and stepped directly into his path, voice teasing:

“Well, look who it is.”

“Long time no see.”