Chapter 190 - 189: Jian Yu: So I’m a Wimp?

Pei Yin hurriedly shouted, "What are you running for! You think just chanting a curse is going to work?"

’This is the first time I’ve seen someone fight without using a Skill.’

Jian Yu was slow to react. After waiting a few seconds, she saw that the Feather Clan insignia representing the curse hadn’t appeared.

However, Sheng Yue was slightly stronger than Si Xu, so even if the curse were real, it wouldn’t have affected Sheng Yue much.

Pei Yin lowered his hand from his hip.

He turned around and looked down at Jian Yu. "You really want to go?"

"I want to go." Jian Yu hadn’t left the school once since she’d transmigrated into the novel.

She really wanted to go out and have a look around this time. "I’ll bring you back a gift."

Pei Yin’s head was spinning, but he feigned resistance. "Who are you trying to sweet-talk? You think I’d fall for that?"

He pressed down the corners of his mouth, which were trying to curl into a smile. "The gift doesn’t have to be big. Just a little something is fine."

Pei Yin’s right hand unconsciously toyed with a chain on his belt. "I’d like it even if you just picked up a rock for me."

Jian Yu pursed her lips, thinking to herself, ’Compared to Si Xu, Pei Yin and Xi Yu are ridiculously easy to please.’

Pei Yin bent over and hugged her.

He cupped the back of Jian Yu’s head with one hand, pulling her into his embrace. "A mission like this isn’t considered dangerous, it’s just pretty far from the Imperial Capital Star."

Pei Yin loosened his hold. "We probably can’t go with you."

Jian Yu rested obediently in his arms. "Is it because you can’t add people to a mission once it’s started?"

"No." Pei Yin’s tone was dismissive. "Who do you think I am? If I wanted to join, who would dare stop me?"

He looked down, meeting Jian Yu’s large, glistening eyes, and couldn’t resist pecking the corner of her mouth. "Your eyelashes are so long. Look at them flutter."

Pei Yin raised his right hand and stroked them twice.

Jian Yu didn’t shrink back this time, only blinking rapidly as she looked at him in slight confusion.

Pei Yin withdrew his hand. "It’s a special period, so the few of us have to be on standby. I had just submitted my report when the Alliance sent us separate directives—literally two seconds before the academy notified you that your mission application was successful."

He saw Jian Yu out. "The mission is in three days. I’ll help you prepare some medical supplies."

「Back at the villa.」

Jian Yu had just received a notice with the travel advisory, mission rules, meeting point, and schedule for a short training session.

She was staring at the information on her Star Brain when she caught sight of Ling Yanzhi out of the corner of her eye, sitting in the living room and resting with his eyes closed.

Jian Yu walked straight over to him.

She sat down beside Ling Yanzhi and glanced at him guiltily.

Ling Yanzhi didn’t open his eyes. He just shifted his position and stretched out an arm to pull Jian Yu to his side.

Jian Yu leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

She hesitated, unsure how to bring up the subject.

Ling Yanzhi spoke before she could. "Stay safe."

Jian Yu froze.

Xi Yu stood up from a corner of the room. "I want to go too."

’So they all knew already.’

Jian Yu noticed a puddle of slime on the floor.

Perhaps she was so used to them that she’d let her guard down, but Jian Yu had only just now noticed Xi Yu.

With a melancholic look on his face, Xi Yu came over and sat down, gripping Jian Yu’s hand tightly.

Jian Yu’s gaze slowly drifted downward.

’Why do I feel so guilty? I’m supposed to be a boss babe who can handle a new man every day!’

The slime on Xi Yu’s fingertips vanished, leaving his fingers clean again.

His gaze was still one of doting obsession, but it was now tinged with a hint of gloom.

Jian Yu squeezed Xi Yu’s hand, offering a token of concern. "You seem very busy lately."

"Mhm." Xi Yu nodded sullenly. He wanted to say that Jian Yu could have come to visit him.

His eyes fell. He thought about the meticulous preparations he’d been making lately and swallowed the words he’d had on the tip of his tongue.

’The third one! I’m so excited!’

’Father said it needs a sense of ceremony. I have to prepare it properly!’

Ling Yanzhi didn’t loosen the arm he had around her, but when he opened his eyes, he spoke only to Xi Yu. "We need to go out on an investigative patrol soon. You and I both have to go to the Four Great Stars."

Xi Yu glanced up. "I know. I didn’t miss the notice this time."

’It was their fault for being so powerful. Like bricks, they were moved wherever they were needed.’

It wasn’t that Level 3S Soul Ghost Bodies had never been seen before, but Level 3S Awakeners from other planets were exceedingly rare.

The most recent generation of 3S Awakeners had been from Xi Yu’s father’s time, and there were only five of them.

Two had severe genetic defects and died young. Of the remaining two, one was in the Si Xu Family, and the other was from the Yan Family of Emperor Wolf Star—Yan Yu’s father.

Xi Yu did a quick calculation. "The Alliance will open the portal tomorrow. If our Mechas make the jump, the round trip won’t take much time."

Ling Yanzhi scoffed. "And did you factor in the time for the actual patrol?"

"I’m fast." Xi Yu appeared willful, his personality giving off a self-absorbed and unhinged vibe.

Only when it came to official business did his expression turn briefly solemn and serious.

Jian Yu glanced back and forth between them. "Is it dangerous?"

Xi Yu jumped in to answer first. "Not dangerous, baby. I’m very strong."

"It is." Ling Yanzhi lowered his eyelids, looking devoid of energy.

"If there are too many Soul Ghost Bodies, and they’re all Level 3S, then once our energy is depleted and we can’t replenish it, the revived Soul Ghosts will likely take advantage of our weakness."

He lifted his lashes to stare intently at Xi Yu. "If we get injured then, with no one around to give us timely Healing, and what if our Threshold Devouring Period happens to flare up? Would you still say it’s not dangerous?"

It dawned on Xi Yu. "Dangerous."

He turned his head. "Baby, can you protect us?"

’I can practically hear the gears turning.’

Jian Yu could hardly bear to watch. "Your acting is terrible."

She rummaged in her Space Ring and stuffed more than ten incense bags into each of their hands, ensuring they wouldn’t have a Threshold Devouring Period flare-up for at least a month.

Jian Yu fiddled with the thin film wrapped around one of the incense bags. "Pei Yin developed these. As long as you don’t break this seal, the Yulan Fragrance inside will last for over a month."

’The harem must be kept stable. It can be chaotic, and there can be infighting, but no one can be neglected. Favor must be spread evenly.’

’Mhm. The dean was right.’

Jian Yu turned her head, psyching herself up.

She cradled Xi Yu’s head with both hands, leaned in, and kissed him soundly.

Then, she turned and practically threw herself at Ling Yanzhi, roughly kissing his lips a few times.

Jian Yu stood up awkwardly and, borrowing Pei Yin’s tone, forced a cheerful exclamation. "Good night! My treasures!"

Xi Yu had been assaulted with a dozen quick kisses. He dazedly touched his lips and cheeks, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

Ling Yanzhi was leaning against the sofa, his collar agape. A faint blush colored the corners of his eyes and his neck. The hem of his shirt had been pushed up, revealing a strip of pale, lean abdominal muscle.

His clothes were a mess; Jian Yu had crumpled the fabric when she’d pressed against him, and two of his buttons had popped off.

Neither of them had ever seen this forward side of Jian Yu. They were taken aback, but had no desire to resist, and were left too dazed to even react.

They forgot how to move. Of course, they wouldn’t have dared to anyway, afraid the slightest motion would scare Jian Yu off.

THUMP THUMP THUMP. Jian Yu leaped onto her bed, rolled over twice, and clutched at her wildly pounding heart.

’My heart... it’s beating so fast.’

’Don’t tell me my heart condition is acting up again.’

Jian Yu sat cross-legged in the middle of her bed, trying to calm herself.

’It’s still beating so fast.’

’Should I take my medicine?’

’But Pei Yin said I don’t have a heart condition.’

Besides, Jian Yu realized it had been a long time since she’d felt any discomfort in her heart.

’I’ll ask on the Star Network.’

Post: My heart is suddenly pounding like crazy and won’t stop. What do I do?

[Tattered_and_Torn: Does it feel bad? If it does, it could be a genetic disease flaring up.]

[PassingGale: You get in a fight? I hear that’s from too much adrenaline. My heart always races when I fight. People like us are total beasts in a brawl; we don’t feel any pain in the middle of it.]

[JingleJangle: Don’t talk about it, my heart is speeding up just reading your post.]

[Newbie: Social anxiety, right? You just need to interact more. If you always hold back, always have social anxiety, never dare to speak, and then suddenly you have to give a speech or perform on stage, your body has a stress reaction. It’s like you’re facing danger, so you go on full alert.]

Jian Yu silently picked one person to reply to: Not a fight. I was the one who kissed someone.

[DDD: Heart going THUMP-THUMP-THUMP, beating super fast? Totally normal. For pathetic people like us, that’s just how it is after you kiss someone.]

[IGiveUp: That’s just how we losers are.]

[10pm_Reads: That’s your heart giving you a round of applause! You’ve finally made something of yourself!]

[StayCalm: I might be even more pathetic. After I kiss someone, not only does my heart race, my mind goes completely blank.]

Five minutes later, Jian Yu turned off her Star Brain.

’That scared me to death. So it was just because I’m a loser, huh? And here I was thinking I was having an arrhythmia and my illness was flaring up.’