Chapter 282: Doesn’t Count as a Gift

Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Doesn’t Count as a Gift

After Xu Yiming finished speaking, the bullet comments went crazy—

[Nightmare Lamp: Waaaaah, Feng Ling, for real! I’m crying my eyes out!]

[Princess Xia Li: I can vouch that everything he said is true! I watched the stream from the day before yesterday too. Feng Ling came out of the Maze and even ran up to the camera to taunt them! She really didn’t have a scratch on her!]

[Yiyi Zhi: Wait, weren’t his previous statements pretty meticulous? Why the sudden change? Isn’t he afraid this will blow up in his face later?]

[Ayang: Why are you so obsessed with things blowing up? Does your family run a car repair shop or something?]

[Ban Lengqingge: This Hunter named Xu Yiming is kind of interesting. He’s so cautious when talking about himself, but so full of wild boasts when it comes to Feng Ling.]

[Sui Yanli: Feng Ling deserves it!!!]

[Mo Ziyou Ya: If Feng Ling is so amazing, then why was the internet full of praise for Pei Xianjue after the Sanqing Mountain Maze was cleared?]

[Yuan Qi Yumo: Because Pei Xianjue has financial backers, duh. They clearly entered the Maze together, but when they came out, Pei Xianjue didn’t even mention Feng Ling’s name. And think about what her mom said online. Isn’t it obvious?]

[Little Dingdang’s bamboo dragonfly: Don’t be so cynical, okay? Back then, Feng Ling was still just a helpful bystander, and her personal info hadn’t been revealed, so it wasn’t convenient for Peng to mention her name!]

[Volcano: The fact is, right after her collaboration with Pei Xianjue ended, Feng Ling turned around and started working with Xu Yiming. Certain fans should probably face reality.]

[Meisi Xu: Seriously, I’m speechless. Pei Xianjue is in Yuquan City. She can’t just drop her work and run over to Guangshan City, can she? Just a passerby’s opinion.]

...

When Pei Xianjue saw her name pop up in the livestream’s bullet comments, she closed her eyes, a headache blooming. She didn’t want to look anymore.

She did have the idea of riding this wave to success, but she never wanted to become Feng Ling’s foil!

She couldn’t bear to imagine it. From now on, every time Feng Ling cleared a Maze, she would be dragged online to endure ridicule and abuse. Once that image formed in people’s minds, it would be impossible to erase!

The more Pei Xianjue thought about it, the worse her headache got. She massaged the bridge of her nose, trying to figure out how to escape this public relations disaster.

PR tactics could only buy her some time. If the core problem wasn’t solved, people would just keep digging up old dirt later. The best solution was to become friends with Feng Ling, but... the adult world wasn’t kindergarten. You couldn’t just say "Let’s be friends" like a child and make it happen.

’Last time, Feng Ling said she’d come find me for a meal in a couple of days. I wonder if she really meant to come to Yuquan, or if she was just being polite. Maybe I should call and ask her now?’

’We’re already in different cities. If I don’t take the initiative, this whole thing is a lost cause!’

Pei Xianjue picked up her phone, then hesitated, thinking: ’But if I call too often, will Feng Ling find me annoying?’

Pei Xianjue put a hand to her forehead. ’This is so hard!’ she thought. ’Even dating was never this agonizing!’

Suddenly, the phone in her hand vibrated.

Pei Xianjue froze. When she saw Feng Ling’s name on the screen, she was so excited she almost cried out loud.

She quickly took a deep breath to compose herself, only daring to answer the phone after her voice was calm again—

"Hello, Feng Ling."

Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao had just exited the train station. Yuquan City and Qingjiang City were very close; the fastest high-speed train took only an hour.

"Your lunch break starts at noon, right? Come out for a meal. My treat," Feng Ling said.

Pei Xianjue asked in surprise, "Your treat?"

Pei Xianjue rarely had the experience of being treated by others. When she went out with friends, she was usually the one who paid.

"Yeah, didn’t you ask me to eat?" Feng Ling didn’t understand what Pei Xianjue was so surprised about. She continued as she walked, "Bring Baozi along, too. It was all thanks to him last time—hey, what’s a good restaurant in your Yuquan City? Any recommendations?"

Pei Xianjue’s mind raced. ’A popular public restaurant is out of the question; it would be bad if we were recognized. Although I’d love for people to see me and Feng Ling out together, this meeting is too precious. I absolutely cannot mess it up.’

"I know a good restaurant. The chef is skilled, and the atmosphere is quiet. I’ll send you the location. See you in a bit," Pei Xianjue said immediately.

"Okay, I’ll head over now." Feng Ling suddenly grinned. "Hehe, I brought you guys a mysterious gift."

Pei Xianjue smiled. "Alright, I’m looking forward to it!"

After the call ended, Pei Xianjue immediately yelled, "Baozi! Baozi!"

Baozi, who was standing guard at the office door, thought something major had happened and rushed in. "What is it?!"

Pei Xianjue said urgently, "Quick, go to my apartment and get the samples the research department sent over! I’m going downstairs to the salon to get my hair washed! We’re not eating in the cafeteria for lunch today. Feng Ling is treating us to a meal!"

Baozi couldn’t help but ask, "Maybe you could skip washing your hair?"

"No way! My hair is all greasy, it’ll look awful in photos!" Pei Xianjue spoke rapidly. "I want to take a picture with her during the meal. As long as I post the photo online, it’ll shut down all the criticism against me!"

Pei Xianjue departed in a frantic rush. She had to look her absolute best for Feng Ling!

On the other side, Feng Ling received the location, unhurriedly hailed a taxi to the restaurant, and arrived in about ten minutes with no traffic. She then asked the waiter for a private room and sat down to slowly browse the menu.

The plating for every dish was exquisite. Feng Ling admired it as if it were an art book and proceeded to order one of every signature dish.

When Pei Xianjue came in, she was ecstatic. She went straight for a big hug. "Feng Ling!"

Feng Ling was stunned for a moment, then returned the hug.

Pei Xianjue sat down next to her, linking her arm affectionately. The joy on her face was genuine, no acting required.

"I was starting to think you wouldn’t come! Have you been busy after clearing the Maze? Why didn’t I see you at the press conference?"

Feng Ling couldn’t help but chuckle. "What’s with you? You’re like a concubine who’s fallen out of favor suddenly getting to see the emperor, hahaha~"

Pei Xianjue, embarrassed, drew her hand back and took a sip of tea from the table to ease the awkwardness.

"I was just so excited to see you," she said, giving Baozi a meaningful look. "Oh, right, I brought the fabric for you. Take a look."

Baozi handed over the gift bag he was holding.

Feng Ling took it and opened the bag. Inside was a roll of smoky gray fabric that felt cool and smooth to the touch.

Pei Xianjue said, "This is a prototype. The fabric’s stretchiness is excellent, but its drawback is that it’s not strong enough, and its elasticity is a bit poor. It still needs a few more rounds of improvements before it can actually be put on the market."

The moment Feng Ling heard it was a prototype, she lost most of her interest.

She turned her head to Huangfu Miaomiao beside her and said, "Take our things out."

"Is it a gift?" Pei Xianjue smiled. "I’m so excited!"

"Well, strictly speaking, it’s not a gift..." Feng Ling lifted Huangfu Miaomiao’s backpack and pulled out a palm-sized Human-faced Crow.

Pei Xianjue stared, stunned. "This is... ah! I’ve seen this! People online say you can see these birds everywhere on the streets of Qingjiang City now!"

"It’s called Little Third. It has the ability to aggregate and separate. I brought a piece of it over." Feng Ling took a sip of tea and said to Pei Xianjue and Baozi, "You two can each take one, or you can combine the two into one. Phones aren’t always reliable. When you can’t use your phone, use Little Third to pass on messages. If there’s an emergency, it will fly back and tell me."