Chapter 175 - 174: Border Area Apartment

Sweet nothings rolled right off his tongue.

Jian Yu knew better than to take his modest words at face value, but she couldn’t help but feel happy anyway.

She remembered the gloves she had bought.

This seemed like the perfect time to give them to him.

Jian Yu had grown much bolder; her fear of Ling Yanzhi was long gone.

She might not be able to initiate any real intimacy, but she definitely wasn’t going to chicken out of giving him a gift.

’This is the man I’ve slept with!’

"I got a gift for you. Want to see it?"

Jian Yu stared intently at him as he approached, her eyes filled with admiration.

His uniform made him look like Tuxedo Mask. He walked with a casual, sauntering gait that exuded a natural, cool air.

’It wasn’t that I had a thing for yanderes; I simply coveted any handsome guy who looked like he’d walked straight out of a manga.’

"It’s for me. Are you thinking of taking it back?" Ling Yanzhi glanced down at the uniform he’d had specially tailored.

For some reason, Jian Yu’s gaze gave him the distinct impression that she wanted to strip his clothes off.

Ling Yanzhi was secretly thrilled.

After confirming his uniform had pockets, he slipped one hand into a pocket and leisurely strolled closer.

Jian Yu looked him up and down, then took his hand, unable to resist studying it.

His fingers were long, straight, and strong. On the pale back of his hand, faint blue veins were just visible.

They weren’t jarring or intimidating. In fact, when his fingers curled slightly, it was rather sexy.

Jian Yu blinked, her reaction time as slow as a computer that had just booted up. "I’ve already washed them. Want me to help you put them on?"

Ling Yanzhi’s eyes were half-lidded, a bright, undisguised pleasure shining in their depths. "Yes."

’Black. It suits me.’

He’d bought the same pair before; they weren’t cheap.

A smug look appeared in Ling Yanzhi’s eyes. "Does this mean my value in your heart has reached eighty-eight thousand?"

Jian Yu’s eyes darted away.

Her voice was quiet, tinged with a bit of her natural ditziness. "They were on sale. Sixty-nine thousand."

"Tsk, so expensive." A grin spread across Ling Yanzhi’s lips.

’I’m on cloud nine.’

He watched her pained expression at the cost and said in a low, slow voice, "The dresses I bought you have arrived, too. There’s a designer collaboration piece as well."

Jian Yu’s eyes lit up. "Thank you, big shot."

"It’s your own shop now, so no need to thank me." Ling Yanzhi recalled that he’d already transferred ownership of the store to her; she probably hadn’t noticed.

He knew Jian Yu was a total cheapskate. Aside from princess dresses and novels, she refused to spend money on anything.

She often complained about how expensive the new dresses were, yet she’d always end up buying them with a pained reluctance.

Jian Yu pursed her lips, a little embarrassed. "I’ll get you something expensive next time, too."

’Maybe our relationship has taken a substantial leap forward.’

Seeing him give so much, she couldn’t accept it with a clear conscience anymore.

"Use my card next time." Ling Yanzhi squeezed her hand, a smile playing on his lips. "Thank you, my little rich lady."

Jian Yu felt a strange sense of shame.

Ling Yanzhi narrowed his eyes.

A few old-timers flew past overhead.

They were the old fogies from the academy’s leadership.

’The matter’s probably been resolved.’

Ling Yanzhi retracted his gaze. "Let’s go inside. We can continue your lesson when we get back."

"Okay."

The two of them walked into District 6.

They heard Pei Yin’s voice before they even reached the District 6 meeting room.

"So damn stupid. How did you get bewitched again? And again! If I’d known, I never would have bothered with you in the first place."

Jian Yu followed Ling Yanzhi inside.

She looked up and saw a room full of people.

Pei Yin, Xu Jianjuan, Yan Qin, and Duan Feiye.

There was also another female student, who was dressed very much like her.

Pei Yin suppressed his anger. "You’re late. They just left. The verdict is in."

He gestured with his chin. "These two are both being expelled. That Yan Yu fellow is more complicated. His Soul Beast is too deeply poisoned. If he can’t be saved, he’ll probably be crippled for life."

Jian Yu froze. "Poisoned?"

’Can you get poisoned from a simple fight?’

’I didn’t even bleed this time, so how could there be any poison?’

Jian Yu pursed her lips. ’It might be a toxin carried by the Jellyfish ’Soul Beast’.’

’They say Yan Yu is the prodigy of Emperor Wolf Star. Emperor Wolf Star won’t come looking for trouble with me later, will they?’

’They totally will!’

Her thoughts snapped back to the present. Jian Yu’s expression was tense as she asked cautiously, "Can’t even you cure him?"

Pei Yin shrugged. "I can, but I don’t want to. Why should I bother curing a piece of trash like that?"

Jian Yu’s face remained taut, her gaze vacant. Her voice was a few shades weaker. "Won’t there be consequences?"

Pei Yin was annoyed. "We’re in the right, what are you afraid of? Just sit back and wait for the compensation. It’s a miracle I didn’t just graft a few severed Mutant Beast limbs onto that disgusting creature."

"..." It wasn’t that Jian Yu actually wanted him to be cured; she was just afraid of the trouble it would cause.

’But on second thought, would getting him cured really stop him from coming after me?’ ’Obviously not.’

Just then, Yan Qin shot to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at Jian Yu. "Why did you have to show up! It’s all your fault! You ruined my new life!"

Her expression was frantic. "It was so hard for me to start over, and I was just about to have a good life!"

Jian Yu listened in silence.

’New life... start over...’

’I already know the heroine is a reincarnator.’

’Is Yan Qin one too?’

’Are reincarnators a dime a dozen these days?’

Jian Yu frowned. "We’re not even in the same class. My presence or absence shouldn’t have affected you at all."

Yan Qin’s tone was agitated as she retorted again and again, "No, it’s different, it’s completely different! If you hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have gotten jealous of you! And if I hadn’t been jealous, the Soul Ghost Body would never have targeted me!"

She flung her hand out, her finger pointing forcefully at the person in the green princess dress beside her.

"I only agreed to bring Yan Yu in! I didn’t want to do any of the other stuff! I don’t know what happened, and I don’t even know who this person is!"

Yan Qin’s expression grew vacant. "That’s right. I didn’t do it. It wasn’t me."

Staring at Yan Qin’s crazed face, Jian Yu couldn’t help but recall the expression on the heroine’s face when she’d raised her hand for her during Professor Lin’s class.

She looked over at Xu Jianjuan.

Their eyes met. Xu Jianjuan’s gaze wavered slightly. "What she’s saying... might be true."

The girl next to her was stunned. "No! I’m the one telling the truth! She’s the one who told me to get plastic surgery, and she’s the one who gave me this dress to wear!"

Jian Yu paused. ’This person’s voice is a little familiar, too.’

Before she could place it, Yan Qin rushed over, grabbed the girl, and started slapping her.

"Wen Shuting, you bitch! How dare you slander me!"

Jian Yu remembered.

This was the person who had once claimed to be the heroine’s best friend and had even begged Jian Yu for protection while Yan Qin was beating her.

Wen Shuting couldn’t get away and just meekly took the blows.

"I’m not slandering you! You prepared this dress for me a long time ago! You said this green dress was Jian Yu’s favorite and told me to be ready to change into it at a moment’s notice."

"You told me to get plastic surgery and gave me a ton of money. I didn’t want you to beat me, so I did what you said and got it. I’ve been covering my face every day since, too afraid to even look up."

"I know you deleted all our chat logs, but I still have the bank transfer records!"

A Ting Ying flew out, breaking up the hair-pulling match between the two.

Pei Yin spun around and rounded on Duan Feiye. "Are you just going to stand there? This is the person you brought back! It’s a disgusting spectacle. Is it fun for you, watching two ugly women rolling around on the floor?"

Duan Feiye stood up and sighed. "Yan Qin."

Yan Qin acted as if she’d just grasped a life-saving straw.

"I don’t have a home anymore. I can’t go back. They’ll destroy me."

She pleaded, "You can’t just abandon me! Don’t you Awakeners see it as your duty to eliminate Soul Ghost Bodies? I’ve been stalked by one so many times—don’t you bear any responsibility for that?"

Duan Feiye turned his head to the side.

Two people entered from the doorway and helped Yan Qin to her feet.

Duan Feiye said softly, "The Imperial Capital Border Area is very safe. There’s an apartment for you there. Move in, and I’ll arrange for two people to take care of you."

Jian Yu watched Xu Jianjuan without blinking.

She saw a storm of complex emotions in Xu Jianjuan’s eyes, among them a trace of pity.

It was like she hated Yan Qin for her lack of self-awareness and her wild fantasies, and hated that she’d allowed herself to be bewitched.

But it was also like she pitied Yan Qin for her foolishness, felt sorry for her being all alone, and was ashamed and angry that she was now the subject of gossip.

Jian Yu curled her fingers as she heard Xu Jianjuan whisper three words.

"Border Area Apartment."