Chapter 1038 - 1037: Bite the Belt, Success!

Several seconds passed.

Jing Zhichen finally emerged from that state of shock and stammered, "Miss Lan, what did you just say?"

Qin Xin remained calm and repeated, "The dean is here. Help me cover up later. Take action during the award ceremony; distract him a bit, and I will act accordingly."

Jing Zhichen nodded, "Okay."

This was a truly valuable trust.

She didn’t ask someone else to do it but entrusted him alone to complete it perfectly and not betray her trust.

All the competition events were completed, and the students and mentors gathered in front of the podium.

The long-absent dean made a rare appearance. He was a portly old man, waving a feather fan, sitting in the center of the podium, smiling at the students, much like a mother hen gazing at her chicks.

"Good, good, why has the award ceremony not started yet?" The old dean was very amiable, without any official airs, urging the referee mentor to hurry up with the award process.

The referee mentor wiped his sweat, "Dean, according to the procedure, you should speak first."

The old dean dismissed it, "Why waste words? Let’s get on with the awards; and the scholarships too, right? All at once, what could be more important than giving everyone bonuses?"

The audience burst into laughter.

A round of applause.

These straightforward words were truly enjoyable to hear.

Thus, in a rare move, the competition awards jumped directly to the award section without the leadership speech.

The champions, runners-up, and third-place winners in each group stood in line, waiting for the dean to present the awards.

When it was Jing Zhichen’s turn.

Jing Zhichen specially chatted with the dean for a bit longer to buy time for Qin Xin.

Qin Xin released Dongju’s petals, letting them circle around the dean: "Master, I saw it; the Spirit Stone Key is at his waist, but... the spiritual power is quite strong; I don’t dare act rashly. If he discovers it, I’m afraid it will implicate you and make him vigilant, which would be even more troublesome..."

While hesitating.

Another charming voice broke in, "Little Flower, you’re no good, hesitating here; follow me. I’ll distract him, and you make your move."

At some point, the little Jiang snake stood on Qin Xin’s shoe, grinning at Little Dongju.

Little Dongju sulked, "I’m just being cautious."

Little Jiang snake: "Come on, follow Jiang Baby!"

Little Dongju: "..."

Damn it, this arrogant little snake actually seemed somewhat respectable with a peculiar charisma.

Qin Xin watched as the two little creatures volunteered for the task and smiled.

Who said pets must be mighty and fierce?

The two capable little ones in her family certainly weren’t inferior to the beasts outside.

Indeed, as she expected, with the clever little Jiang snake coordinating with Jing Zhichen’s distraction, Little Dongju finally managed to swipe the Spirit Stone Key.

To prevent the dean from noticing the place where the key was hanging had become lighter, the little Jiang snake devised a clever trick—biting onto the belt, hiding within the dean’s clothes, replacing the key’s weight.

Initially somewhat disdainful of this little snake always flaunting, Little Dongju saw it daring to risk its life to replace the key’s position, and couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed: "Hey, bite tight and hold on, I’ll be back with the Master."

Little Jiang snake wagged its tail, seemingly saying, "Such a talker, why aren’t you leaving yet?"

Little Dongju: "..."

With the Spirit Stone Key in hand, Qin Xin didn’t wait for the award ceremony to finish, quickly slipping away from the scene through the crowd.