When afternoon classes began, Li Xiu was still a little worried that Fang Qian’an would run to the room again and disturb class.

Fortunately, after the prince had experienced a full politics class, he didn’t seem to want to continue torturing himself. The empty desk that had been dragged into the classroom temporarily was still placed sideways next to Li Xiu’s seat, but its owner didn’t appear again.

Li Xiu inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Without Fang Qian’an’s interference, Li Xiu’s life seemed to have gotten back on track.

Suffering from a low-grade fever, Li Xiu mustered up the energy to survive the four afternoon classes. His mind was occupied by papers and test questions, and no longer had room to hold those nonsense supernatural stories.

The so-called “ghosts” he encountered in the complex at noon must have been due to his nerves in the dark. Could it have been a hallucination caused by the constant influence of the guy next to him who had a ghost phobia?

However…..

Although he thought this way, Li Xiu still found it hard to keep calm once he was distracted from studying.

It felt like leaving home and forgetting that the gas stove was still on from cooking porridge. Obviously, his consciousness had forgotten everything on the surface, but subconsciously, there was still uneasiness and panic.

“That’s enough.”

As the school bell rang, Li Xiu rubbed his temples and shoulders.

All day today, his shoulders had felt so heavy. His poor physical condition and even worse mood made Li Xiu not want to stay at school any longer. As soon as school was over, Li Xiu uncharacteristically picked up his book bag and walked right out.

In the hallway, Li Xiu met the math teacher face to face.

The forty-something female teacher with glasses was considered a harsh and difficult person by many students, but Li Xiu had a good relationship with this teacher surnamed Chen. He could sense that Teacher Chen was actually a very nice person. Even in a school like Qiming, she still tried to get those pampered princelings to study seriously.

When they ran into each other, Teacher Chen was holding a thick lesson plan with a cell phone between her shoulder and ear, chatting with the person on the other end as she walked.

“En, right…..I took his place in both of his afternoon classes…..they say everything is still in his office, but he’s missing and hasn’t asked for leave…..I don’t know what’s going on…..anyway, I’m pretty much exhausted…..”

Seeing that the other party was still on the phone, Li Xiu just nodded politely in greeting.

Just as he was about to leave, Teacher Chen stopped him as if she had just thought of something.

“Teacher Chen?”

“Li Xiu, I heard that you went to see your Teacher Ouyang this morning?” the math teacher asked him, distracted by her phone.

Li Xiu went blank for a moment, then nodded. “En, that’s right. He said he would help me with some questions, but I left when the Academics Affairs Office called for me at the beginning of third period.”

“So, ah, how was your Teacher Ouyang at that time?”

“How was he?” Li Xiu was somewhat at a loss.

The teacher frowned unconsciously, and continued to ask with some awkwardness: “Just like…..um…..if there was something wrong with his mood…..” 

Something wrong?

Li Xiu instantly thought of Ouyang’s ashen face when he left and those abrupt questions.

[Li Xiu, what did you see just now?]

After a lengthy silence, Li Xiu lowered his eyes and shook his head slightly.

“There wasn’t. Teacher Ouyang told me to leave when he saw I had something to do.”

Li Xiu’s voice was without fluctuations.

The math teacher paid no attention to Li Xiu’s slight awkwardness. It could be seen that she had thought of it just now and asked Li Xiu casually. After hearing Li Xiu’s reply, she turned her head slightly and said into the phone: “…..En, a student said there was nothing unusual.”

After saying this, she forced a smile and waved to Li Xiu. “It’s fine, Li Xiu. You should go home first. Don’t stay outside, it’s been getting dark early recently, so it’s safer to go home early.”

As her words fell, Teacher Chen continued to hold the lesson plan and walked in the opposite direction of Li Xiu.

Li Xiu stood there for a moment, then shuffled out of school.

Ouyang had vanished suddenly and didn’t attend his classes in the afternoon…..this was his guess based on the few words Teacher Chen had inadvertently leaked just now.

Although he knew that as an adult male, Ouyang would theoretically be fine, Li Xiu couldn’t help but keep replaying that seemingly normal scene in the dark office.

He felt inexplicably uneasy.

The chill continued to seep down his shoulders, penetrating his whole body once more. Li Xiu automatically wrapped himself tightly in his school uniform, still feeling cold.

Although he really wanted to go right home to take a hot shower and lie in bed, there was still the uncooked rice from his gege’s meal that had been messed up in his school bag before.

Li Xiu’s brow furrowed. Without delay, he took a detour as usual and went to the small park he normally frequented.

This park was close to the Old Quarter, and had been around a long time. There was no landscaping at all in the park, let alone entertainment structures. The trash cans had long been defective, and the bald grass was covered in garbage, making it look neglected. It was precisely because of this that although the streets at dusk were still bustling with people coming and going, Li Xiu felt the emptiness of the surrounding area when he turned into the park.

The trees and bushes that hadn’t been pruned in who knows how long cast large shadows under the setting sun, making the illumination in the park seem much darker than elsewhere. When passing by the dilapidated children’s play corner, he could see the swings swaying in the wind. The rusted metal parts made a creak, creak sound as they swayed, making the atmosphere all around feel lonely and desolate.

Li Xiu didn’t waste any time. Once he entered the park, he went directly to the artificial pond.

The water in the pond had turned a little green, and there were more fish than usual.

Perhaps because he regularly fed the fish a lot of uncooked rice, the fish were used to Li Xiu. As soon as he walked to the side of the pond, layers of ripples formed in the thick green water as a dense shoal of fish gathered in front of him. 

In such a semi-abandoned park, it was natural that the fish in the pond were not cute koi or goldfish — even if they were once beautiful, they had gone wild and their colors had faded. Nowadays, most of the fish in the pond were mottled and dull in color, and the harsh water conditions had caused many fish to develop bulging blisters and tumors between their scales. Only the big eyeballs on the fishes’ heads somewhat revealed their ancestors’ origins as ornamental fish.

But…..

Had these fish been so disgusting before?

Li Xiu habitually tossed the uncooked rice from his school bag into the water. There were sudden splashing sounds in the water as all the fish swarmed in, opening their big mouths and frantically grabbing those small white grains.

They fought fiercely. Li Xiu only looked into the water and frowned over the fishes’ disgusting deformed bodies.

He recalled that when he started feeding these fish, hadn’t they been a little darker at most? But now they looked somewhat…..disfigured.

As he was thinking, Li Xiu suddenly sensed many prying eyes.

He reflexively looked in the direction the gazes were coming from — only to meet the empty eyes of the fish.

It was at this moment that Li Xiu realized that the fish here had protruding eyeballs that looked very much like human eyes falling out of their sockets. And that the fat, swollen heads of the strange fish suddenly looked less like fish and more like faces that were swollen, blackened, and deformed after soaking in water.

And now, those faces were crowded together in layers, staring directly at Li Xiu from beneath the turbid water.

“Wu—” 

Li Xiu gasped and backed away again and again.

He accidentally stepped on the slippery bricks by the shoreline, and he nearly fell down and slid into the water through the mud.

“Careful!”

Fortunately, somebody suddenly tugged him hard from behind at the critical moment. This allowed Li Xiu to stabilize himself and avoid falling into the water while suffering from a fever.

“Where did this reckless child come from? What would you do if you fell in the water—”

There was a rough-voiced yell that sounded like it was criticizing someone.

Li Xiu shuddered as if being awakened from a half-dream, and his mind instantly became clearer.

An old woman who looked to be in her fifties or sixties stood beside him with raised eyebrows, uttering profanities. She looked familiar, but Li Xiu couldn’t remember actually seeing her before. 

“S-sorry…..thank you!”

Although the other party seemed to have a bad temper and a bad tone, Li Xiu could only take a deep breath and thank her repeatedly.

He couldn’t help but look at the mud on the shore, where his footprints still remained.

And he himself didn’t know how he had come to be so close to the pond. He clearly always stood on the steps and threw rice into the water randomly, but this time, he had drawn closer and closer to the water as if possessed.

And there was still something wrong with those fish…..

Li Xiu’s breathing was a little heavy, his heartbeat frighteningly fast.

He couldn’t help but take another look at the pond, but those fish had long since returned to the bottom and disappeared. All Li Xiu could see were the remaining ripples on the surface of the water.

Li Xiu blinked his eyes, suddenly unsure of what he had just seen.

Did the fish really have human faces? 

“Hey, what are you looking at here? Do you just want to try falling into the water?!”

The old woman suddenly reached out and tugged Li Xiu roughly. Before Li Xiu could react, she dragged the youth with the disabled leg all the way back to the park trail.

“I….I don’t….I just wanted to….”

“Wanted to what? You shouldn’t come to a place like this at all.” The old woman interrupted Li Xiu promptly and rudely, pushing him toward the park exit. 

“It’s too dangerous here, don’t come back again.”

“Ah?”

Only then did Li Xiu realize that the old woman had an armband on her arm. However, the red armband was faded, and the yellow characters on it were already so mottled that it was difficult to see what they were.

Was this…..a park keeper?

Li Xiu had been coming here for so long, yet he had never met a park keeper. He was a little puzzled when he was driven away by the other party this time.

However, Li Xiu was not the type of rebellious youth who enjoyed confrontation. He had nearly fallen into the water just now, and when he was scolded by the old woman, he shrunk his neck and turned around very obediently, moving to leave the park as he was told.

Just as Li Xiu was about to step out of the park, he heard the old woman yell from a distance behind him again: “Hey, young man!”

Li Xiu turned his head and found that the old woman with the red armband was still standing on the park trail, watching him.

“What?”

“Kid, please don’t do such a dangerous thing again.”

The old woman’s face was somewhat gray, and perhaps due to the distance, her voice sounded muffled.

“Oh. I understand. I was just careless today.”

Li Xiu thought at first that the old woman was talking about him feeding the fish by the water, and just as he was about to explain that he wasn’t usually so absent-minded, he heard what the old woman said next.

“Making food offerings is not something a tiny child like you should do. The things crawling out of the Hungry Ghost Path are all ferocious, not to mention the one you’re carrying now…..”

“What?”

Li Xiu’s eyes opened wide in astonishment.

Before he could figure out what the other’s bizarre words meant, the old woman went silent and looked directly at Li Xiu, her face becoming increasingly pale. 

She had still seemed fierce just now, like the kind of stubborn old woman who would fight for a seat on the bus. Now she looked incredibly frightened, as if she was looking at something terrifying.

“Evil…..such evil…..”

From a distance, Li Xiu could guess the old woman’s panicked whispers from her mouth movements. Then, the other party turned around quickly and left with haste.

Li Xiu chased after her for a few steps, but when he was standing on the park trail again, the old woman was nowhere to be found.

Gurgle…..

Something in the pond suddenly seemed to move, emitting a watery sound.

The park seemed to be even quieter than before.

But Li Xiu found that he no longer dared to look in the direction of the pond.

…..He didn’t know what he would see.

_________

The Author Has Something to Say:

What would he see?

He would see…..

Gege: Hey, Wife!

---

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Chapter 15 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 17

In the eyes of the public, He Chuzhou had never been an ordinary person.

He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and his starting line might be the finish line that most people would never reach in their entire lives.

Under favorable circumstances, the highest standards of educational resources and upbringing had allowed him to develop in practically all directions.

Coupled with his appearance that was blessed by the heavens, from childhood to adulthood, from home to abroad, he was an eye-catching appearance among the masses.

In other words, He Chuzhou had never lacked the admiration and adoration of others.

Male, female, older and younger, the countless expressions of affection in various manners and intonations were so numerous that they could be collected and compiled into a book of confessions.

But he had never felt like this before.

It was much like the small current generated by the friction between a sweater and one’s body in the winter, concentrated to the maximum extent. The infusion of blood made him tipsy, an astringent tingling flowing throughout his body.

His mouth was a little dry, and he was somewhat dizzy.

His heartbeat filled his ears, and he needed to move any part of his body to determine if he had lost control of more than his heart.

It was a very mystical feeling.

A feeling he had never experienced before.

So turbulent that it could only be experienced, complex and too wonderful for words.

It was a pity that this feeling didn’t last very long.

Before his brain could even process and interpret the precise answer, the rest of Pei Xi’s words were like immediately effective medicine, waking him from his dream in an instant.

“You’re all I have.”

“Chuzhou, don’t throw me away.”

The overly spacious living room was unable to retain the warmth of daylight, and even the light reflected on the marble tiles made everything around them look cold and stiff.

Pei Xi felt cold all over, and the body in front of him was the only heat that could warm him up.

All he could do was press close to him, hug him tightly, greedily draw the body temperature he needed from him. 

Like an ostrich in urgent need of safety, he tried to bury his head tightly, but couldn’t resist the gentle but forceful grip on his lower jaw as his face was tilted upward.

Two sets of completely different eyes met each other across the distance, and he seemed to catch sight of something in the other’s deep eyes that he had never seen before.

“How did I almost forget you’re not the sober one?”

He Chuzhou pinched his cheek angrily: “What throw you away, Pei Xinxin? What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You are a person, not an object. You can choose to share areas of your life with others, but no one is qualified to tell you whether or not you should.”

“You just have a temporary bad memory, it’s not like your brain is actually broken. Don’t lose the important things.”

“Remember, before you are “He Chuzhou’s spouse,” you are yourself first, a person with all social rights, an independent individual who is so outstanding that he can easily surpass 99 percent of people on the street.”

“No matter what the occasion, you must put yourself first, rather than as someone’s humble accessory.”

He spoke every word very patiently and clearly, for fear that the person in front of him wouldn’t understand if he spoke faster.

“You are the most beautiful Pei-calico, with proud assets. There’s no need to reason everything out or consider changing things about yourself. Think more about if the other person is worthy.”

“You should sit high above the masses, deserving of the very best. Don’t doubt yourself, understand?”

Don’t doubt yourself…..

You should sit high above the masses…..

Pei Xi released a light breath and stared at He Chuzhou, not speaking for a long while.

Understand?

He didn’t understand.

No one had ever said these words to him.

How long had it been?

He always seemed to be doubting himself and striving to put on a performance. It wasn’t uncommon for him to feel unworthy or to comfort himself alone when he didn’t get what he wanted.

Never had anyone told him to put himself first, to be proud of himself, that he was entitled to the best of everything.

Extraordinary emotions swelled up and filled his heart, leaving him at a loss for what to do. He was eager to express himself, but didn’t know what to say.

He was like an ant that had been hit in the face by bread crumbs, tossing around in confusion. And in the end, he could only say one thing: “But what if that person is you?”

What if it’s you I want to put first?

What if I don’t want to be high above you?

“It can’t be done for me either.”

He Chuzhou wore a rare solemn expression: “You can tell me, ‘I won’t want you if you keep doing this,’ but you can never say ‘don’t throw me away,’ got it?”

“Just like you should have gotten mad at me as soon as you found out I was hiding our relationship, and made me reflect on myself or kneel down. Instead of being considerate of me first, I would rather endure the grievance first than have a good rest.”

“Xinxin, you are the proud son of heaven, the moon the stars cluster around. There is no need to lower yourself. This humble begging doesn’t suit you.”

As these words were spoken in front of him, Pei Xi himself didn’t even notice a tear roll down without warning.

It wasn’t until the grip on his cheeks disappeared and dry fingertips rubbed the tips of his eyes that he belatedly realized he was crying again.

He Chuzhou was helpless: “Why are you sad again?”

“I’m, I’m not sad.”

At his denial, the moisture accumulating in his eyes was increasingly uncontrollable.

But his mood was the exact opposite of his depression just before now.

“I don’t mean to cry.”

“Really, I can’t help myself.”

“There’s nothing to be done, just ignore it.”

He Chuzhou took out a tissue and carefully dried his tears: “Do you understand what I just said?”

Pei Xi nodded earnestly.

He Chuzhou: “Then what if I make you sad again?”

Pei Xi blinked, his eyelashes sticking together wetly: “If you make me sad again, I won’t want you anymore.”

He Chuzhou was very satisfied: “The young can be taught.”

Pei Xi: “But I can’t bear to not want you.”

Hu Chuzhou raised an eyebrow and frowned for a second, then hissed: “You—”

“So, President He, pay more attention.”

Pei Xi held his face with both hands, a faint smile in his red eyes: “Don’t provoke me or make me sad.”

Cool, soft fingertips brushed against his ears, and it tickled so much that the tip of his heart did too.

He Chuzhou couldn’t help but tilt his head, his ears slightly warm. He thought with good cheer, sure enough, the moon is the most beautiful when it hangs high in the sky.

“Okay, I’ll pay more attention. I’ll definitely pay more attention.”

His hands held Pei Xi’s waist: “So can we go to bed now?”

Pei Xi shook his head.

He Chuzhou: “Huh?”

“Chuzhou, I’m very awake now and not sleepy at all.” He looked at He Chuzhou with bright eyes. “You think of a way to put me to sleep.”

He Chuzhou: “…..”

Three minutes later.

The two of them sat side by side at the desk in the study, each with a university entrance exam math test paper in front of them.

Seeing that Pei Xi’s attention was finally not on him, He Chuzhou switched the pen to his left hand and lowered his right hand, shaking it out vigorously in Pei Xi’s blind spot.

Tsk, he’d been careless.

He’d thought everything was fine, but when he picked up the pen, he found that his entire palm was still numb and soft, as if he was holding a ball of cotton.

As expected of Pei-calico, his call of “I like you” was too powerful.

In the stillness of the night, the clock hanging on the wall ticked rhythmically, the second hand diligently dragging the hour and minute hands in circles.

He Chuzhou was like an impatient high school student who couldn’t settle down and study. He spun his pen around from the left hand to the right, and from his right hand to the left.

After a while, his energy finally calmed. 

He pressed his arm on the test paper, breathed out surreptitiously, and slanted a glance at the person beside him. 

Pei Xi worked very seriously, with his back straight, his eyes slightly lowered, and his expression as focused as if he was really taking the exam.

It was very odd.

If a person just lost their regular memory, would their personality undergo such a drastic change?

But why did he feel so insecure?

This was hard to figure out without any clues.

And soon, he discovered something else that was equally hard to figure out.

—How could Pei Xi complete a university entrance mathematics exam so quickly?

The function question was so huge that it defied the heavens, yet he didn’t even need to work it out and simply put the answer at the top? ? ?

No way, he was a top student?

It had been so long since graduation, but he could still remember so clearly?

As soon as he moved closer, the keenly aware Pei Xi covered the test paper: “Chuzhou, pay attention to the rules in the examination room.”

He Chuzhou: “…..?”

He Chuzhou’s brain was momentarily in knots: “When did we start the exam?”

Pei Xi stared blankly for a moment before he quickly realized what he was doing. He pursed his lips in embarrassment and loosened his hold on the test paper in his hand. “I forgot. Do you want to see?”

He Chuzhou hooked his hand: “Let me see.”

Pei Xi obediently slid the test paper in front of him.

Before He Chuzhou’s effusive praise could reach his mouth, he lowered his head to see the paper clearly and his expression froze at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was different from what he had imagined.

The answers were either none or very few, accounting for only the first handful of multiple-choice questions. 

The drawing style got increasingly outrageous the further it went. All of the blank answer spaces were filled with love hearts drawn in a bold black that showed through the back of the paper.

He bit his back molars, and his expression gradually became puzzled.

After trying and failing to find patterns for the correct answers from the hearts, he pointed to one of them and humbly asked for advice: “This heart is a little fatter, so does that mean the root of the number is two?”

Pei Xi shook his head and said in denial: “It’s just that the space is a little bigger.”

He Chuzhou: “……”

He Chuzhou: “Boldly asking little classmate Pei, what were you thinking about while doing these problems?”

Pei Xi considered it briefly: “The first few questions are so simple that the solutions can be seen at a glance.”

He Chuzhou agreed with this point: “What about after?”

“I don’t know about after.”

Pei Xi said calmly: “I didn’t have much focus to read the questions. As I was doing them, I started to miss you.”

After explaining the basics, he suddenly drew closer and gave that handsome face a light kiss.

Then, as the other party held his breath and stared, he said ceremoniously, with an idle expression: “Chuzhou, I’ve thought about it. If you want to kiss me, you can kiss me casually. You don’t have to worry about shooting accidentally while polishing the gun.”

“I can’t overexert myself, but if I just use my hands to help you, it’s okay.”

He Chuzhou: “——!”

On this night, He Chuzhou dreamed that he exploded, spiraling upward into the sky and exploding repeatedly.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he was reincarnated as He Xinxing’s son and made friends with a piece of meat bone that became a spirit.

The meat bone had hands and feet and smelled very fragrant. It was also very polite. He saw heaven and earth shaking before him.

It was a pity that he could only look but not eat. He was so entranced that his toes dug into the ground and his tail practically transformed into a propeller.

He had never had such a physically and mentally taxing dream in his life. He felt something moving next to him early in the morning, but couldn’t open his eyes for a long time.

After turning over with difficulty, his eyes finally struggled open a crack. His vision suddenly dimmed as someone lifted the quilt and covered his head.

He Chuzhou: “…..?”

Soon, the person who buried him seemed to realize there was a threat of suffocation, and hesitantly held the quilt up a bit to give him room to breathe.

He Chuzhou: “ ? ? ? ”

Then there was a weight stepping over him as if fleeing, and after lightning-fast steps and the chaotic rustling of fabric, there was the turmoil and chaos of war at the entrance door.

When he lifted the quilt and sat up in bafflement, he saw He Xingxing run in with his bowl in his mouth and suddenly realized what had happened at the door.

“My dear son, did he just knock over your bowl?”

He Xinxing listened without understanding. Putting the bowl on the floor, he scratched at it with his paw to signal to his father that it was time to put the food in.

He Chuzhou accepted his fate and pulled away the quilt, getting out of bed.

Just as he picked up the bowl, his phone rang. He connected while walking out and said: “What are you doing so early in the morning?”

He Aiyue was in high spirits: “Boss! Did you see the test papers I put in your car? Help me, I need to hand them in Monday morning!”

Test papers…..?

He Chuzhou suddenly stopped mid-yawn.

He Aiyue didn’t hear his voice on the other side for a long moment, and pressed him: “What are you doing? You didn’t fall asleep again, did you?”

Right when she finished speaking, the person on the other side cleared his throat: “Can’t help. No negotiation.”

He Aiyue: “You’re such a—”

“And,” He Chuzhou added lazily, “that test paper’s pretty good. I’m keeping it. You can ask your teacher for a new copy.”

He Aiyue: “ ? ”

He Aiyue: “ ? ? ? ”

He Aiyue: “Boss He, do you have a cat disease, taking food but still not lending a hand? Do you know that teachers also have days off on the weekend?”

He Aiyue: “Believe it or not, I’m going to tell Mom!”

---

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Chapter 23 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 25

Due to Fang Qian’an’s presence, even the teacher and students were a little distracted during class.

However, as the initiator of disturbing classroom discipline, Fang Qian’an had no awareness of this. All of his thoughts were focused on the vague figure he had glimpsed just now…..in fact, when he thought about it carefully, he couldn’t even remember if he had seen something strange or not. After all, people normally didn’t take a close look at the reflection on their phone screen.

He supposed he was frightened by that thing in the complex before, so was that why he was so paranoid?

Fang Qian’an smoothly pulled a reference book out of the pile of texts on the desk of a student next to him. He flipped through it uneasily without reading it.

Naturally, the student didn’t dare to get angry and speak out, and his face changed slightly. He didn’t say anything, but his expression was extremely ugly.

Sitting next to Fang Qian’an, Li Xiu was even more directly affected. The fingers holding his pen became faintly white, and it was extremely hard to restrain himself.

Thus, when the bell rang out, everyone breathed sighs of relief.

……

Once the politics teacher announced that class was dismissed, Fang Qian’an couldn’t even wait for the other party to leave the classroom. He jumped up from his seat and walked directly in front of Li Xiu, saying eagerly: “Hey, A-Xiu, hurry up, hurry up. Tell me the method you mentioned for exorcizing ghosts.”

Li Xiu was startled by the cold breath that suddenly fell on his ear, and subconsciously avoided it. But Fang Qian’an put one hand on the desk and the other against the back of his chair, and Li Xiu’s whole body seemed to be wrapped in Fang Qian’an’s arms. Even if he tried to get away, there was nowhere to go.

“Wu…..wait a minute, wait until the others leave,” Li Xiu hummed faintly, trying in vain to make himself less noticeable.

However, looking over Fang Qian’an’s shoulder, Li Xiu was not surprised to see that as early as when Fang Qian’an took the initiative to talk to him, the other students had all invariably turned in his direction, casting glances full of inquiry and confusion.

Li Xiu was silent.

In fact, it was not the fault of the others in class who couldn’t help but peek at the two of them.

To outsiders, Li Xiu’s figure looked increasingly frail under Fang Qian’an’s suppression. Not to mention using his power and position to suppress him, just because of their physical differences, Fang Qian’an looked like he could crush Li Xiu to death at any time.

It could be said that Fang Qian’an disliked Li Xiu to the extreme and planned to personally teach him a lesson, but judging from the current situation, this didn’t seem to be the case.

It could even be said that the way Fang Qian’an bowed his head slightly and whispered in Li Xiu’s ear seemed……to have a very subtle hint of an intent to please.

Wait, wait a minute, since when did the prince of the Fang family, Qiming’s most feared bully, Fang Qian’an, need to “please” others?

Someone who was still looking at Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an thought wildly.

But the moment the thought “Fang Qian’an is trying to ingratiate himself to Li Xiu” flashed through his mind, he came back to his senses due to the extreme absurdity of the idea.

In the next second, he shuddered again due to his thoughts at that moment: Damn, what on earth was he thinking? If he accidentally revealed what he just thought, it was likely that he wouldn’t be able to attend Qiming anymore.

The student wiped his cold sweat and looked at the other classmates curiously. He found that everyone else had also retracted their gazes, acting as if they were busy with other things.

He breathed out a tiny sigh of relief.

……

Li Xiu’s expression was not quite right. Seeing Li Xiu like this, the extremely nervous Fang Qian’an felt to his surprise that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the classroom.

The boy looked back with a frown.

“What, you haven’t finished class yet?”

Young Master Fang’s cold words caused everyone to instantly shrink their necks. They directly abandoned the curiosity in their minds to a distant place and left the room in a fluster one by one, so as to avoid offending the prince.

Watching the classroom empty out at an astonishing speed, Fang Qian’an raised his eyebrows and turned back in satisfaction, smiling solicitously at Li Xiu.

With a hint of unconscious eagerness, Fang Qian’an continued to urge: “Okay, can you say it now?”

Li Xiu sighed from the bottom of his heart.

…..He didn’t have any serious methods for exorcizing ghosts.

A faint, bitter smile appeared on the weak, pale young man’s lips. His dark eyelashes fluttered, and he tore off a piece of paper from his notebook, writing a flamboyant line of words on the white piece of paper.

[Prosperity, democracy, civilization, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendship]

After writing it, he handed the note to Fang Qian’an.

Fang Qian’an stared blankly at the familiar words on it, his expression frozen.

“What is this?” he asked in astonishment.

He had thought that Li Xiu, who was born in a family that practiced witchcraft, would draw some charms and spells for him.

But what he saw now was…..

“The core values of socialism.”

Li Xiu had actually answered him seriously.

Fang Qian’an’s expression turned a bit ugly: “Are you playing a joke on me?”

His tone was a little heavier, and the aura lingering around him instantly became a bit sinister. In that moment, the indifferent, arrogant boy who didn’t care about violence and school bullying seemed to be back in front of Li Xiu. Li Xiu couldn’t help but tremble slightly, inching back. The underdeveloped ankle obviously didn’t suffer from any external forces, but an unbearable stabbing pain began to appear for no apparent reason.

However, Li Xiu’s gaffe only lasted for a short moment.

“Who would dare to play a joke on you, Fang Qian’an. I don’t want to be bullied at school again,” Li Xiu said with an indifferent expression.

Fang Qian’an was taken aback: “Didn’t we make it clear that the matter is settled? And I swear, is it not enough that nobody will bully you in the future?”

Li Xiu didn’t respond to Fang Qian’an’s various promises about the school bullying.

His eyes and expression were ice-cold, so cold that Fang Qian’an felt inexplicably flustered.

Fang Qian’an scratched his hair and said in a muffled voice: “Hey, A-Xiu, um…..I’ve said it before, I’m sorry and I won’t do it again…..I didn’t mean it…..”

Li Xiu looked at him steadily. It was obvious that Fang Qian’an, as a young master at the top of the pyramid, simply could not understand what his previous actions meant for an ordinary student like Li Xiu.

After a couple seconds of silence, the corners of Li Xiu’s mouth twitched.

He thought mockingly, what exactly are you expecting?

After suppressing all emotions, Li Xiu opened his mouth expressionlessly and easily dropped the topic. 

“Reason and science are the most useful weapons to drive away strange forces and chaos. If you want, the next time you encounter something like this, you can face them directly and memorize mathematical equations…..but you can’t memorize such complicated mathematical principles, right?”

Li Xiu spoke softly to Fang Qian’an, without the slightest ripple in his tone.

As for what he said, it did sound a bit strange at first, but with Li Xiu’s solemn expression, it seemed he was serious.

“There are only twenty-four words in the core values of socialism. Even you should be able to memorize it.”

“……Oh.”

Fang Qian’an was a little confused by Li Xiu’s words, and didn’t know how to answer for a moment. He could only tighten his grip on the note Li Xiu had given him and respond blankly.

“En, well, I’m leaving.”

At this time, Li Xiu also picked up the reference book he would read during lunch break. Holding the book under his arm, Li Xiu pulled the seat away and limped toward the classroom door.

Fang Qian’an looked after him in confusion and asked: “A-Xiu, where are you going?”

“Lunch break,” Li Xiu replied.

Fang Qian’an said subconsciously: “You aren’t going with me?”

Hearing these words, Li Xiu turned around and gave him a strange look: “Why should the two of us go together?”

Fang Qian’an was startled, and realized that after encountering the ghosts, he also took a politics class and memorized the core values of socialism. The two of them were not close friends, so there was really no reason to stick together even during lunch break.

This was the reality. But why did he feel so uncomfortable?

Fang Qian’an felt lost.

Seeing that Li Xiu paid no attention to him and turned to leave, Fang Qian’an suddenly felt an impulse surge in his heart.

He didn’t want this person to leave him.

There seemed to be a voice whispering in the back of his mind.

[A-xiu can only stay…..by my side.]

“Fang Qian’an……it hurts, let go!”

When he returned to his senses, Fang Qian’an realized that he had rushed into the hallway and directly stopped Li Xiu. Not only that, but in order to arrest the young man’s movements, he had inadvertently caught the other’s wrist.

Perhaps due to the excessive force, Li Xiu gasped and grimaced, with a slight look of silently enduring the pain. 

Fang Qian’an’s pupils instantly shrank.

He stared at Li Xiu’s face. The other party still had that slightly pained expression. Inexplicably, his mind flashed back to the time he had humiliated Li Xiu. Because the latter was at the mercy of others, his eyes had been red with anger and full of tears.

An unexpected dark heat suddenly surged deep within his body.

Fang Qian’an’s hand trembled as if he had been burned, and he quickly shook off Li Xiu.

“Sorry,” the youth said hoarsely.

“What else do you still want?”

Li Xiu didn’t notice Fang Qian’an’s abnormality.

He rubbed his wrist with a frown. No matter how he reminded himself that the person before him was a school bully, his tone still became uncontrollably harsh.

“N-nothing,” Fang Qian’an stammered. “It’s just……”

Halfway through, Fang Qian’an fell silent again. Li Xiu looked up at him sourly, and then realized that for some reason, the other party had a look of bewilderment and uncertainty on his face.

Had he been scared stupid before?

Li Xiu thought this maliciously in his heart.

And at this moment, a flattering call suddenly came from the hallway.

“Young Master Fang!”

Li Xiu turned his head and saw at a glance that Fang Qian’an’s few goldfish shit followers had all come to this floor.

“I’m leaving.”

As soon as Li Xiu saw those privileged children, he had a headache and couldn’t care about anything else. Taking advantage of Fang Qian’an’s lapse in concentration, he made a quick decision and escaped while holding his book.

[A-Xiu— —]

Fang Qian’an subconsciously went to follow him again, but the others had already come over at this time, blocking his way.

“Young Master Fang, I thought they were lying to me when I read the messages in the group chat. Unexpectedly, you were actually in the classroom?”

“Hahaha, that old thing in class must have been shocked, right?”

“Right, Young Master Fang, I saw a particularly funny joke in the other class group text. It said that now you and that little cripple…..” Halfway through speaking, the follower suddenly remembered the message sent by Fang Qian’an and quickly changed his words. “It said that you have a good relationship with that guy Li Xiu now, hahaha.”

“I could die laughing. Don’t those people know about your status, Young Master Fang, ah? And they still dare to talk nonsense.”

The followers had actually seen Li Xiu long before. At this moment, someone finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and nonchalantly asked as if it were business as usual:  “But the person with you just now was Li Xiu, right? What’s going on, ah, Young Master Fang? Are you looking for fun for yourself?”

Fang Qian’an’s eyes were still fixed on the direction Li Xiu had gone. He didn’t immediately respond to the probing of his followers, but his expression…..

The group of people exchanged glances back and forth, all of them feeling that Fang Qian’an expression was truly strange.

He didn’t look like he was angry, but if he was happy, his stiff facial muscles seemed to have nothing to do with the emotion.

These were all ambitious people who had worked hard to grab a space at Fang Qian’an’s side. They had been with the prince for so long but had never seen Fang Qian’an like this—

“Young Master Fang, did that guy offend you?”

Fortunately, there was also this fool Wang Rongfa in their group.

While everyone else remained silent and tried to figure out Fang Qian’an’s thoughts, this one just shouted out regardless of the situation.

“How about I go and show him what’s what? I say, this little cripple hasn’t suffered enough. He’s still an eyesore…..”

Due to the malicious intent in his heart, Wang Rongfa naturally disliked Li Xiu. Now, when he saw that Fang Qian’an’s expression wasn’t right, he took it for granted that Li Xiu had offended him.

As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Fang Qian’an suddenly turn his head to give him a cold look.

“You dare—”

For a moment, the sound that fell into Wang Rongfa’s ears was somewhat distorted.

It was clearly noon in the school hallway, but the moment he was caught in Fang Qian’an’s gaze, Wang Rongfa felt that his surroundings seemed to darken in an instant. Fang Qian’an’s light irises looked like the eyes of a living corpse, containing the gloomy, chilling air of death.

Wang Rongfa’s body was unable to move.

“Hey, Young Master Fang, Lao Wang was probably just talking casually.”

“Haha, he’s also bewitched by the goddess. Young Master Fang, just as you said, who would dare bully that little classmate Li Xiu?”

“That is…..”

Fortunately, after noticing the tense atmosphere just now, someone in the crowd naturally spoke up and started to smooth things over.

At the same time the other spoke, the terrifying aura immobilizing Wang Rongfa vanished in an instant, so fast that Wang Rongfa himself was somewhat dazed.

He couldn’t help but look at Fang Qian’an again.

Fang Qian’an expression was still very ugly as he regarded him, his eyes full of admonition…..however, Wang Rongfa didn’t feel the slightest bit spooked.

“…..You are already high school juniors, yet you’re still engaging in school bullying. Don’t you know how very pathetic you are?”

Fang Qian’an felt increasingly unhappy when he saw Wong Rongfa staring at him in a daze.

With his status, he naturally didn’t have to take into consideration the self-esteem of a little shrimp like Wang Rongfa.

“Bullying Li Xiu, who has no background or family ancestry. Ha, ridiculous. From now on, how about you marry into the Cheng family, or maybe battle with the Xu family, ah? Those two families are the marriage partners the Zhang family would choose.” As he spoke, Fang Qian’an scoffed coldly. “But you don’t dare, isn’t that right?”

“I, I—”

“The Wang family business relies entirely on those two families, so how dare you compete with them?”

Fang Qian’an’s tone was calm, but his words were not polite.

Wang Ronfa’s face reddened, but he didn’t dare say a word.

Fang Qian’an regarded Wang Ronfa as if he was looking at garbage.

“A toad can’t eat swan meat. You can’t blame that on anyone. Wang Ronfa, don’t even think about venting your anger on anyone else. When you have the time, take a look in the mirror and see what virtue you have.”

…….

It was rare for Fang Qian’an to say so many words at one time.

And his unabashed disgust no longer allowed Wang Ronfa a place in the group.

He was effectively expelled.

When the others gathered around Fang Qian’an, chatting and laughing as they left for lunch break, Wang Ronfa was the only one left in the hallway. Looking at the departing figures of those boys, the face that was originally flushed purple gradually paled.

“Wa, that guy is finished now…..”

“I suppose the business will be affected, right?”

“Ha, he’s nouveau riche. Him being able to enter Young Master Fang’s circle must be due to luck and shamelessness. It’s normal for him to be kicked out.”

There were many students who witnessed the scene just now.

Wang Rongfa stood stiffly on the spot, easily hearing the laughter of others. After he was expelled by Fang Qian’an, the other students in this school naturally didn’t need to worry about his thoughts.

Humiliation.

Pain.

Panic.

Everything had happened so fast. Even now, Wang Rongfa couldn’t comprehend how he had ended up in this situation. Clearly, he was talking and laughing with those second-generation friends just ten minutes ago.

Just because he said he would cause trouble for that cripple, the social circle he had worked so long and so hard to build was completely destroyed.

Now that Fang Qian’an had spoken, it was likely that no one in Qiming would want anything to do with him.

This time he was really finished.

Countless terrible ideas flashed through his mind. Wang Rongfa’s body felt chilled, his chest felt like heavy stone was pressing down on him, and his eyes were filled with darkness.

He didn’t even know how he left that hallway. He was only aware that he was running away in a panic, because no matter where he went, he seemed to hear those people’s wild and vicious taunts.

“He’s just a little cripple…..when did he hook up with Fang Qian’an? Fuck, with those androgenous looks, there was probably no other way except selling his ass.”

In order to avoid other students, Wang Rongfa unknowingly walked to the side of the complex. The teachers had already gone to eat at this point, and students wouldn’t come here.

The vast, magnificent complex therefore appeared particularly quiet.

Wang Rongfa found a corner at random and sat down on a bench with his back hunched over. While grabbing his hair, he lowered his head and stared at the ground — He recalled the Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu he had just seen, and his expression gradually became ferocious and twisted.

He wasn’t broad-minded in the first place. After being so openly humiliated, the number of people he resented changed from one to two.

“That bastard Fang Qian’an really thinks he’s the crown prince, and wants to punish me for the sake of a cripple? A person like that is so fucking perverted…..”

Wang Rongfa’s voice suddenly stopped.

Because just now, he happened to catch a glimpse of a familiar shadow walking past not far away. He could never mistake that limping and slightly skewed figure.

It was Li Xiu.

Wang Rongfa’s eyes lit up at once.

He never thought he would have such good luck…..see, when he was at his lowest, he still had someone to vent his anger on.

It was unknown why Li Xiu had come to the complex at this time, but in Wang Rongfa’s opinion, Li Xiu had suffered bullying at some point and looked gloomier than usual.

His head was lowered, almost touching his chest, and his long hair fell down to cover his face.

Wang Ronfa didn’t overthink it. He sneered and followed him directly.

Thud—

Thud—

Thud—

Unfortunately, Wang Rongfa had forgotten that the complex was very quiet at this time. He had only taken a few steps when he found that the sound of his footsteps echoed very clearly in the empty hall. 

Li Xiu, standing not far in front of him, seemed to pause for a moment. At that moment, Wang Rongfa thought he had been discovered, but the other party unexpectedly didn’t stop at all. After that slight pause, he continued to walk toward somewhere on the first floor of the complex, not even turning his head.

Wang Rongfa chased after him and found that Li Xiu had gone directly downstairs via the fire escape.

Fuck, this little bastard had actually discovered him just now, hadn’t he?

Wang Rongfa no longer cared about the sound of his footsteps, and opened the door directly to pursue him. However, he had to say that although this cripple was lame, his steps were actually quite fast. Wang Ronfa thought he could run pretty fast, but across the stair railing, Li Xiu’s shadow always loomed ahead.

Fortunately, Wang Rongfa didn’t lose sight of him in the end. He watched as Li Xiu ultimately pushed open the fire door at the end of the stairs and walked into the negative third floor.

Kacha—

Wang Ronfa also pushed open the fire door, and once he reached negative three, he saw a long corridor.

At one end of the corridor was an elevator, at the other end was a public restroom, and in the middle were several offices, which all appeared to be locked.

A dusty chill spread up his ankles, and Wang Rongfa shivered.

Fuck, it was really cold.

He grumbled softly, glancing at the elevator with a sneer—the elevator lights were completely dark. It was obviously not running.

Li Xiu had apparently discovered Wang Rongfa just now and fled to the third underground floor to escape. His original plan should be to press the elevator button and use the elevator to return to the first floor while Wang Rongfa was still on the stairs, then flee.

As a result, that guy had a bad fate. When he came down, he found that the elevator wasn’t working and had no way to escape. 

So…..

That little cripple only had one place to go.

As he thought, Wang Rongfa also walked into the public toilet at the end of the corridor.

Drip, drip—

It was eerily quiet here.

Even the sound from an untightened faucet could be heard clearly. There was a faint stench in the air, masked by the thick, nauseating scent of sandalwood. There was no one else in the bathroom. 

Wang Rongfa poked his head in to take a look around and found that there was nobody in the other stalls. Only the compartment at the far end was closed.

Obviously, Li Xiu was inside.

He could only say that God was helping him……

Wang Rongfa couldn’t help but grin.

He looked around again, and after ensuring that there was no one around, he picked up the mop behind the door and approached the stall.

…..In fact, at that very moment, Wang Ronfa wanted to drag Li Xiu out of the stall and end him.

However, Fang Qian’an’s previous warning to him still rang in his ears. Even as he cursed fiercely, Wang Rongfa still didn’t have the courage to confront Fang Qian’an directly.

However, this didn’t mean that he intended to let Li Xiu off.

Because just now, he had discovered that Li Xiu had nothing on him, not even his school bag or jacket.

And as he walked with his hands down like that, they had been empty.

This guy hadn’t brought his cell phone.

“……So, who made you not bring your cell phone? Otherwise, you could call your husband who loves to fuck the disabled to save you, ah.”

Wang Rongfa laughed, taunting the person in the bathroom stall.

As he spoke, he put the mop through the door handle of the stall and locked it firmly from the outside.

In this way, Li Xiu was blocked into the stall by him and couldn’t push the door open. And that guy’s leg was no good, so even if he wanted to climb out from above, it wouldn’t work. Unless someone actually heard his cries for help and removed the mop from the outside, Li Xiu couldn’t escape.

It was a pity that Li Xiu had arrived at the negative third floor. It could be seen from the desertedness just now that no one was using this floor at all, and nobody would come.

Bang—

There was a light knock from the inside of the door.

Wang Rongfa clapped his hands and took a step back.

“You just stay here,” he said to Li Xiu spitefully.

“Wait a day or two, and I’ll let you out when I’m feeling better.”

Inside the stall, Li Xiu remained silent.

There was another knock on the compartment door.

Bang—

“Tsk, you’re still putting on an act here.”

He had to say, it was rather refreshing to lock someone in a stall himself, where they could only bang on the door.

Once his boiling blood cooled, Wang Rongfa calmed down somewhat.

Of course, Li Xiu would definitely tell on him when he got out, but there were no flesh injuries on his body. En, at worst, he could gather a few people as false witnesses to say he hadn’t done anything…..there was no evidence or proof. Was it possible that Fang Qian’an would really make things difficult for him in front of so many people for a damn cripple?

With a hint of apprehension, Wang Rongfa swallowed his saliva as he considered this.

He turned and walked toward the stall door.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Wang Rongfa glanced at the mirror above the bathroom sinks.

Occupying almost an entire wall, it faced the bathroom stalls.

The reflected scene froze Wang Rongfa in place.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

There were still regular knocks on the stall door.

Wang Rongfa’s breathing gradually became heavier. Like a robot that had not been oiled for a long time, he turned his head with difficulty and looked above the stall in the corner.

When he’d entered, he was busy searching for a figure inside the stalls, and naturally had no intention of looking at the ceiling above them.

But now, he finally set his sights there.

Above the stall at the end of the row hung a long, thin figure.

A piece of waste wire that was not hidden during renovation hung from the ceiling to make a rough noose, and in that noose was a blue, swollen face. That face was drooping down so that its chin almost reached its chest. 

A long tongue had fallen out to block the gaping mouth. The handsome face that was once popular among students now looked extremely twisted and hideous. 

Maybe…..just maybe, the man had struggled too hard when the noose tightened, which was why his neck was so long and thin now.

And in the windless bathroom, the stretched-out dead man was swaying regularly.

Because of this, its toes hit the stall door in a regular pattern, one after another.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

---

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Chapter 14 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 16

“Accelerating scientific and technological advancement is necessary to promote high-quality development and achieve a high quality of life for the people. It is necessary in order to create a new development pattern, and to successfully begin the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country…..”

Class A1, sophomore year, politics class.

The politics teacher’s voice was the same as before, echoing in the classroom without any ripples.

It was the fourth class of the morning that day, and since it wasn’t a main subject, this class always had the most people asleep.

But now, no one in the entire classroom could sleep peacefully.

Whether they were taking meticulous notes or hiding their phone under the desk and furiously pressing the keyboard…..the absent-minded students would get distracted from time to time and glance at the uninvited guest at the back of the classroom.

A tall, handsome boy with an unusually poor expression had simply occupied a corner of the classroom.

The crooked, empty desk in front of him looked very awkward, destroying the originally neat arrangement of the classroom desks. There were a few scratches on the ground, making it obvious that this desk and chair had been temporarily dragged from another classroom.

Fang Qian’an didn’t do anything out of the ordinary in class A1. He chose to sit directly at the back of the classroom, likely to reduce his sense of presence. However, his stature, appearance, and even his status in the school and various rumors made it impossible to ignore his existence. Not to mention the classmates in attendance, but even the politics teacher Wan Nian, who had a straight face and lectured as if reciting scriptures, looked as if he had seen a ghost when he walked into the classroom and saw Fang Qian’an.

After all, everyone in Qiming knew that as long as Fang Qian’an stayed at the school safe and sound, it could be seen as a favor to the school. As for making Young Master Fang study seriously…..haha, was that a joke?

For the most part, Fang Qian’an only needed to show his face in the morning, and could then leave at any time. Qiming had luxuriously decorated student lounges and study rooms on each floor, and that was where Fang Qian’an usually spent his time.

After teaching at Qiming for so long, the politics teacher didn’t even know the last time he had seen Fang Qian’an in class.

Yet now, not only had Fang Qian’an come to class, but he also seemed to be listening.

…..This was a bit terrifying.

While the politics teacher was lecturing, he was shocked to see Fang Qian’an turn away, casually snatch the politics text from the student beside him, and read it with a frown for a long time.

“Hey, Xiu-er—”

Fang Qian’an was so sleepy that he was battling against his eyelids. He reached out and poked Li Xiu.

“I’ve found that your method is really useful. Now I can only think about being sleepy, and nothing else at all,” he mumbled vaguely.

Li Xiu: “……”

“Why don’t you look like you’re dozing off at all? How are you doing it?”

Li Xiu reached out and retrieved his textbook from Fang Qian’an’s hands with a blank expression.

The youth frowned and said in a brief whisper: “Don’t call me Xiu’er.”

Fang Qian’an yawned. “Then…..yawn…..Xiuxiu?” he said nonchalantly, leaning his head toward Li Xiu to read the notes he had written.

Li Xiu closed his notebook. He glanced at Fang Qian’an and expressed his disgust for the nickname with frigid eyes.

Fang Qian’an was cut by Li Xiu’s eye knives.

If others dared to look at him like this, Fang Qian’an wouldn’t hesitate to let them know how powerful he was.

But as it happened, this was Li Xiu.

He was clearly being looked down upon, but his heart felt itchy, as if something was scratching it.

Unpleasant, but also a bit pleasurable.

En, he inexplicably wanted to make this person become a little more displeased.

“If you’re still not satisfied, ah, then I’ll just call you…..” As Fang Qian’an thought about it, the title appeared in his mind like a brand.

“A-Xiu.”

[A-Xiu]

Yes, ah, the slender young man currently sitting next to him should be called A-Xiu.

[Poor A-Xiu, ah]

Although it was a bit girly, A-Xiu was A-Xiu.

[…..My A-Xiu]

……

“Hey, A-Xiu, don’t ignore me.” 

The boy’s voice at this moment was extremely low and hoarse.

It was clearly the brisk voice unique to young people, but when he called “A-Xiu,” his tone was permeated by a touch of sinister greed.

Fang Qian’an didn’t notice the change in his tone at all. He cracked open his mouth and whispered with a smile: “ “Since you have no objections, I’ll call you A-Xiu from now on.”

At the sound of “A-Xiu,” Li Xiu’s hand suddenly shook. The red pen he was using to mark key points fell onto the notebook, and the tip of the pen splashed a small bit of scarlet ink on the snow-white paper. 

He subconsciously turned his head to look at Fang Qian’an.

In fact, his grandmother would also call him A-Xiu. However, when this title came from Fang Qian’an’s mouth, Li Xiu felt inexplicable discomfort.

The hair on the back of Li Xiu’s neck stood up, and he pressed a hand to his temple.

The low-grade fever was starting to give him tinnitus.

When Fang Qian’an said “A-Xiu” just now, the sound seemed to create an echo deep in his ear canals, the repetitions small and vague.

Picking up the pen, Li Xiu tore off the ink-stained notebook page and said to Fang Qian’an expressionlessly: “You’re so noisy.”

“Also, don’t call me A-Xiu.”

But Fang Qian’an had no intention of changing his tune.

“A-Xiu, tell me, what happened back then? Did we really bump into ‘that?’…..Politics class is really useful, that kind of thing shouldn’t follow us…..”

The tall boy didn’t maintain an air of aloofness with Li Xiu now. In order to communicate smoothly with Li Xiu, he had even unscrupulously pushed his desk next to Li Xiu’s. However, Fang Qian’an completely forgot about the size difference between he and Li Xiu. Squeezed in like this, such a big person was directly touching Li Xiu’s thigh and arm.

The situation was extremely odd.

Countless gazes believed to be covert fell upon them, and the probing and curious intent inside them was oppressive and scorching hot. Fang Qian’an could obviously turn a blind eye to these observers, but Li Xiu’s feelings differed greatly.

“I have a method that can effectively drive away ghosts,” Li Xiu said to Fang Qian’an with a taut face.

“If you want to know, just shut up and listen to this lesson.”

……This time, Fang Qian’an was finally silent.

*

Fang Qian’an closed his mouth tightly, but he didn’t leave.

Even through the school uniform, Li Xiu could feel that Fang Qian’an’s body was completely different from his own. Scientific training and high-quality food intake had allowed the nearly-adult young man to grow broad shoulders and strong thighs.

Even Fang Qian’an’s body temperature was much higher than Li Xiu’s.

Li Xiu silently exerted some force to push Fang Qian’an away, but it was no use.

Instead, Fang Qian’an stared at him. He had noticed that small movement and wanted to say something—knowing that it would just be some stupid teasing, Li Xiu immediately put a finger in front of his lips and mouthed, ‘silent.’

A method to expel ghosts.

Fang Qian’an pursed his lips, leaning back in his chair resentfully.

But his body was still pressed against Li Xiu.

Li Xiu lowered his eyes and stared at the reassuring sentences in the politics textbook. What came to mind was the look of the boy next to him, so terrified that his face was ashen.

Whatever.

Li Xiu sucked in a deep breath, decided to stop resisting, and focused on listening to the class.

Of course, the class was a complete mess at the end, and he didn’t remember a single useful word—first of all, halfway through the class, there were suddenly more people outside the window. They seemed to just be passing by, but if they really happened to pass by inadvertently, they wouldn’t all be looking carefully through the window.

When their eyes fell on Fang Qian’an, it was as if they were dreaming, with expressions of complete disbelief.

[Boss, what happened?]

Fang Qian’an’s phone vibrated. He was bored stiff, and took it out to have a look. It was from one of his closer little brothers.

[If you want to teach the little cripple a lesson, we’ll absolutely handle it. Why does Young Master Fang have to deal with it and stay in that kind of place?]

Fang Qian’an frowned.

In addition to Li Xiu, Class A1 also had other high-scoring students who were recruited by Qiming from other schools. Although those people were not as poor as Li Xiu, they were also “poor people” from a completely different circle in the eyes of others. Although they were only words, the message sent still revealed something unconcealable, disdain for the entire class and even the “cripple,” Li Xiu.

“Tsk.”

Li Xiu suddenly heard a disdainful scoff from the young master beside him.

He glanced at Fang Qian’an, who also happened to be looking at him.

“Ai…..”

Under Li Xiu’s baffled gaze, Fang Qian’an shook his head.

This person, with his skinny, solitary appearance, was indeed easily bullied.

A certain young master felt a little tight in his chest when he recalled what Li Xiu had suffered before.

Subsequently, he took his phone and began to type.

[Firstly, I can stay wherever I like, and it has nothing to do with you.]

[Secondly, mind your eyes. Are you treating me as a monkey when you walk back and forth outside?]

[Thirdly, don’t just call other people “cripple.”]

After typing, Fang Qian’an clicked the group send button.

As expected, before too long, there were fewer people looking from outside the window.

When Fang Qian’an noticed this, he closed the WeChat dialogue box with satisfaction and exited the phone screen.

Then, in the next second, Fang Qian’an’s hand shook and the phone fell to the floor with a crisp sound.

Everyone jumped, including Li Xiu, who had just calmed down and was listening to the lecture.

As he met Li Xiu’s gaze, Fang Qian’an’s expression was a bit stiff.

“I accidentally dropped my phone,” Fang Qian’an said dryly.

While he was talking, someone had already picked it up for him.

Fang Qian’an eyed the phone and hesitated before taking it back.

“What is it?” Li Xiu asked.

Fang Qian’an shrugged. “It’s really nothing.”

It was just an accidental lapse in sight, Fang Qian’an told himself.

The smooth digital screen would show its owner’s reflection when it went dark.

This was a normal state of affairs.

And just now, at the moment the phone screen turned off, it also reflected a dark, blurry figure.

Fang Qian’an hadn’t seen anything clearly, but for some reason he felt that it…..was not his face.

---

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Chapter 13 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 15

Li Xiu stared at Fang Qian’an. The tall boy was currently in front of him. Under the weak light of the cell phone, the boy’s shadow seemed gigantic—or rather, bloated.

Li Xiu hadn’t paid much attention before, but now it seemed that the reason Fang Qian’an’s shadow was so big was because there seemed to be a “person” leaning on Fang Qian’an’s arm.

His heartbeat instantly quickened. Li Xiu was thinking desperately about how to deal with this situation when Fang Qian’an turned around. 

“Hey, why aren’t you saying—”

He seemed to also feel like something was wrong due to Li Xiu’s silence.

As he muttered, Fang Qian’an pointed the phone in his hand toward his side.

Then, he saw the “person.”

The figure was almost human-like. But the head resting on Fang Qian’an’s shoulder only had half of a complete face, blue-white and inlaid with a strange smile. And the other half of its face was red muscle not covered by skin, pulsating slightly. The bulging eyes rotated with a gurgle, bloodshot and scarlet.

It was latched onto Fang Qian’an’s arm.

When Fang Qian’an lowered his head, he could see the internal organs falling out of its body.

The tall, 1.9 meter-tall boy opened his mouth slightly. He thought he would let out a hysterical scream, but when he actually opened his mouth, he could only squeeze a breathy sound from his throat. 

His mind went blank.

Bam—

When rational thinking utterly failed, only the most primal physiological instincts remained in Fang Qian’an’s body.

In other words, muscle memory.

Fang Qian’an gasped, and subsequently raised his hand to attack the “person” directly. Years of training in boxing allowed him to punch fast and hard. The shadow clinging to Fang Qian’an issued a brittle sound under such a fierce attack. Then it was hit by a standard Muay Thai high kick and launched right into a dark corner of the hallway.

A strange brittle sound seemed to come from the shadows.

It wasn’t until this moment that Fang Qian’an let out a fierce and breathless scream: “Fuck me, fuck me, what the hell is that thing—”

He was obviously a 1.9 meter-tall boy, but his face was already gray with fear.

“I—I don’t know either.”

It must be said that Li Xiu was also shocked by what had just happened: whether it was the half-faced ghost that suddenly appeared on his classmate, or the fact that the ghost was punched away by said classmate…..they were both beyond the scope of what a brain could comprehend.

“I realized it was next to you when you said I was squeezing you,” Li Xiu murmured, with no idea what he was actually saying.

Fang Qian’an said nothing.

For the next few seconds, the hallway was silent. Fang Qian’an looked at the pale-faced, incoherent Li Xiu, and Li Xiu could only look back at him in alarm.

All of a sudden, Li Xiu felt somewhat strange.

Fang Qian’an looked a little…..wrong now.

The boy remained in the same position as before, staring at Li Xiu. However, the way the color drained from his face was even worse than when he had first seen the ghost. As Fang Qian’an stared, his eyes opened wider and wider…..

His eyes were full of horror.

W-wait a minute.

Li Xiu realized that Fang Qian’an’s expression of horror was not aimed at him.

Fang Qian’an was looking behind him.

Li Xiu’s body immediately stiffened.

…..How did he not realize it earlier? Li Xiu thought.

When he saw that shadow beside Fang Qian’an, his shoulders were obviously very heavy.

Li Xiu’s breathing became labored.

Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look, don’t look—

There seemed to be a voice screaming in his head, but Li Xiu couldn’t help but glance toward his shoulder from the corner of his eye.

A hand was resting there. 

A gray-white hand with a bluish glow.

Like that of a mummy, the skin of that hand had no luster at all, and was tight over the bones.

There were no nails, just dark nail beds behind the fingertips and a small section of white bone protruding from under the skin.

[A-Xiu.]

He didn’t know if he was hallucinating due to excessive fear, or if the “thing” was actually calling to him. 

Li Xiu heard an extremely hoarse, strange murmur: [My A-Xiu.]

Just like a python, that hand proceeded to move toward Li Xiu’s chest, and the biting coldness continued to spread along the places where it touched his skin. He knew he should be moving to run away, but Li Xiu was unable to do anything but tremble, as if his body had been completely separated from his soul.

A chill that could almost freeze his bone marrow soon took over his entire back. Although he didn’t dare to look, Li Xiu knew that he had been completely embraced by that “thing.”

He was about to be devoured.

Li Xiu was more aware of this than ever.

“Wu…..”

In that dark corridor, that frail young man could only cry for help with a weak whimper.

Cold droplets of water fell slowly down his cheeks. They could be tears that filled Li Xiu’s eyes due to overwhelming fear, or they could also be cold sweat.

Dry fingers traced slowly up his neck, carefully rubbing the wetness on the soft cheeks of this living person.

In a state of overwhelming fear, Li Xiu watched helplessly as Fang Qian’an staggered back.

Unlike him, who had been completely possessed by a ghost, Fang Qian’an still had a chance to escape.

Li Xiu would not be surprised if the boy ran away.

But what he didn’t expect was that just when he thought that Fang Qian’an would turn and leave, the other party suddenly let out a harsh scream and then……

Rushed toward him and embraced him.

“Fang Qian’an?!”

Li Xiu almost fainted when Fang Qian’an threw himself onto his shoulders like a sack.

After a violent jolt, Li Xiu realized belatedly that he was being carried by Fang Qian’an as he ran wildly through these strange and spooky corridors.

“Hu…..hu…..”

Fang Qian’an was running very fast. Li Xiu could hear his heavy breathing, and also feel his out-of-control heartbeat. The darkness seemed to extend continuously around Li Xiu. This corridor was so long that it utterly defied the laws of reality.

Li Xiu’s back still retained the terrible coldness left by “that thing” before, but the places where he touched Fang Qian’an were hot. 

“Cough…..Fang…..Fang Qian’an…..stop…..put me down…..quickly…..”

Li Xiu raised his hand and patted Fang Qian’an’s back, calling out weakly.

However, the boy beneath him was so terrified that he had fallen apart, and even after hearing his voice, he continued to run as fast as he could.

“How can I stop, what will I do if that fucking thing catches up? What the hell is that—”

Would it be fair to say that he was a star member of the school basketball club? After running all this way, Fang Qian’an could still shout such a long sentence in one breath. 

It was just that he shouted somewhat incoherently.

By the time Fang Qian’an ultimately exhausted himself and had to stop, it was already more than ten minutes later. Li Xiu didn’t wait for him to let go, and directly struggled to jump down. Then he half-knelt on the ground and began to retch.

—Fang Qian’an’s shoulder had pressed on his stomach, causing him to jolt headfirst all the way.

Li Xiu felt that he hadn’t vomited directly on Fang Qian’an for the sole reason that this person had taken him with him to escape.

When he finally caught his breath, Li Xiu whispered feebly to Fang Qian’an: “Can…..can you use a better position the next time you run away…..?”

“Hey, aren’t your demands too high? You were almost dragged away by a ghost just now, why bother worrying about that?” Fang Qian’an’s expression was still terrible. He muttered breathlessly as he searched around with the phone in his hand.

Li Xiu could see that Fang Qian’an was still in a state of shock.

After a moment of silence, a soft “Thank you” sounded in the darkness.

Fang Qian’an was taken aback to hear Li Xiu’s thanks and instantly felt uncomfortable, avoiding Li Xiu’s eyes.

“There’s nothing to thank me for. You’re a cripple and can’t run…..”

The boy responded forcefully, unaware that when Li Xiu heard him say the word “cripple” again, the slight softness in his expression disappeared at once.

Li Xiu’s expression tensed: “It’s really hard to say that you’re a nice person…..”

Hu—

Almost at the same time Li Xiu finished speaking, an extremely cold wind suddenly blew through the enclosed corridor.

Li Xiu’s wrist hurt as Fang Qian’an screamed and suddenly grabbed him. It seemed this was round two of them running for their lives. There was a click in the darkness, and then all of the lights above them lit up.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

Fang Qian’an braked suddenly and almost fell to the ground with Li Xiu.

On the other side, the figure also let out an “aiyo” and took several steps back.

“Oh my god, you scared me to death!!”

An old school janitor was holding a toolbox in one hand, pressing the main switch to the corridor lights with the other as he looked at Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an in front of him with astonishment.

After recovering from his initial fright, the janitor raised his eyebrows and shouted at them angrily: “How old are you? Why did you come here?! Don’t you know this floor is closed? Still coming to a place like this without electricity, you must have a death wish, oh—”

*

The floor where Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an were trapped was not that weird negative thirteenth floor, but the complex’s negative third floor.

Due to year-round water leakage, the wires on this floor were always short-circuiting, and it was in a state of maintenance at all times. Taking this into account, the negative third floor had not seen normal use since the building was built.

The school’s teaching aids were replaced each year, and when a scrap company couldn’t be found to deal with them, the teaching aids, desks, and chairs were stored in the vacant offices on this floor.

The elevators in the building had long been programmed not to stop on this floor.

…..It was precisely because of this that Li Xiu explained for a long time, but couldn’t make it clear to the janitor how he and Fang Qian’an had appeared there.

Indeed, it was difficult to explain clearly. After all, he himself didn’t understand what had happened in the corridor just now: Once the lights turned on, he immediately discovered that the negative third floor corridor was not very long. But he and Fang Qian’an had been running steadily for a long while not long ago. Even now, Li Xiu’s chest still hurt, and his defective right foot was so swollen that he could hardly lift it.

To make matters worse, as the janitor interrogated them, he also found that the debris originally piled in the corridor had been overturned.

“Did you two come here to cause damage on purpose?! Why are today’s youths so stupid? It’s infuriating…..”

The school janitor rushed with an imposing manner to the boxes that had poured onto the ground, continuously nagging as he looked at the things scattered everywhere: “Which class are you in? I must tell your teacher. You will definitely pay for any damages to the school!”

Li Xiu only noticed the debris behind them after being told by the janitor, and as the janitor was cursing and packing his things, his expression became extremely stiff.

He could clearly see that the things the janitor was picking up one by one were the exact mannequins often used in biology classes.

Qiming Secondary School had a lot of money, and these mannequins were the most exquisite ones. They were half as tall as a person. The normal half of the body was plastic, while the other half was skinless muscle tissue. And below the abdomen were obvious internal organs.

Of course, these parts had now become incomplete pieces of plastic rolling around on the floor, the damage visible to the naked eye.

Especially one mannequin, the chest of which had a large, gleaming hole. Through the uneven gaps in the plastic, its empty interior could be seen. 

Li Xiu couldn’t help but look at Fang Qian’an.

*

The fact that Young Master Fang had appeared on the negative third floor, which was off-limits, and “accidentally” destroyed a biology class human body model was essentially no big deal at all.

Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an quickly returned to the exit on the first floor of the complex—of course, this time they chose to take the fire escape instead of the elevator.

As soon as they reached the flower beds at the exit, Fang Qian’an suddenly swayed and collapsed onto an outdoor bench.

“Fang Qian’an, what’s wrong with you?”

Fang Qian’an gritted his teeth, trying his utmost to hide how weak his legs were. Feigning calmness, he said to Li Xiu: “I….I’m fine, I just need to sit down.”

“Oh,” Li Xiu said dully.

Then he turned around and prepared to leave.

“Hey, where are you going—”

As a result, Li Xiu hadn’t yet taken a step when Fang Qian’an swooped in to stop him.

“In any case, we’re comrades who’ve gone through thick and thin together. Are you going to leave me alone now?”

Fang Qian’an looked at Li Xiu with great embarrassment. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hide the fact that he was too scared to stay alone.

“I’m going to class,” Li Xiu muttered dully.

He had discovered after exiting the complex that although he and Fang Qian’an had physically been trudging helplessly in that dark corridor for a long time, from the moment they entered the elevator, only ten minutes had passed in the outside world.

He could still make it in time for his last morning class.

When he finished speaking, Li Xiu saw Fang Qian’an’s eyes open wide in disbelief: “Y-you’re going to class? After what happened just now, you still want to go to class?”

Fang Qian’an’s tone was sharp, and he looked like he was breaking down.

Li Xiu lowered his eyes to regard Fang Qian’an’s hand on his wrist: “It’s because of…..encountering that thing just now that I need to go to class.”

The midday sun was shining brightly, but under this light, Li Xiu’s pale face was still without a trace of blood, and even his lips were covered in a thin layer of gray. 

“The fourth period class is politics,” Li Xiu explained in a murmur. 

He said to Fang Qian’an: “…..I feel like I need this class to calm down.”

---

The author has something to say:

Li Xiu: I think the basic viewpoints of Marxism can effectively eliminate all strange forces of chaos.

Dog Qian’an: ……Huh?

Gege: …….

In short, the most important thing in school is studying.

---

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Chapter 12 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 14

Stupified, Liu Zhenqing stared at the jade pendant in disbelief. Because they were quite close, he could see the unique mark he had left on it, so it had to be his jade pendant.

And he indeed brought a jade pendant to Nanfeng City back then.

But why was this jade willow leaf pendant on Fang Mu?

He didn’t remember giving it away, ah!

Liu Zhenqing stared at it with a face full of bewilderment.

He watched as Tang Mu gently picked up the pedant with his long, slender fingers and rubbed it in his hand. Looking at the shine on the jade, he likely caressed it often.

Goosebumps popped up all over Liu Zhenqing’s body. The corners of his mouth twitched. No way, Tang Mu liked him?

“Is General Huo inquiring about this?” Tang Mu asked.

Huo Fenglie nodded with a look that was anything but encouraging. Looking somewhat ill-at-ease, Tang Mu said: “This…..is a gift from my sweetheart. This type of jade pendant is quite ordinary. As General Huo can see, it is extremely common.”

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth twitched. Why did Tang Mu lie, ah? He definitely never gave it away. But now was not the time to argue.

“A token of love?” Huo Fenglie’s frigid eyes moved away from Tang Mu.

Liu Zhenqing looked at the wide-eyed Tang Mu, who slowly shook his head: “It doesn’t have such a blessing.”

Liu Zhenqing breathed a sigh of relief. At least the lie wasn’t too outrageous.

Huo Fenglie lowered his eyes. His mood seemed to have recovered, but his expression was desolate, which made Liu Zhenqing extremely uncomfortable. But there was not much he could say since Tang Mu was in the carriage, so he could only be troubled.

All three of them played dumb and naturally didn’t speak more on this matter. After Tang Mu greeted Liu Zhenqing, he soon brought up the method Liu Zhenqing had proposed the day before.

“I thought about Young Master Liu’s method all night and found it extremely interesting.” Tang Mu said: “Did the young master find out that Western Shu was ignoring this matter?”

Liu Zhenqing saw Tang Mu’s earnest look and understood that he was really considering the feasibility. Thus, he explained: “My guess is that they don’t lose anything anyway if those people flee. There is no need to waste manpower and money to deal with the fugitives, so they will naturally leave them alone.”

Tang Mu said thoughtfully: “Once trade with us comes to a stop, they will be forced to take a stance and deal with their own messes.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and nodded: “We’re not the ones committing an injustice, so why should we clean up after them? We can naturally use the same method to deal with such unethical behavior. If they don’t act, they won’t have a share of trade benefits in the future. We can even divert Nanfeng City’s trade to other countries. Even if the journey is longer, it will at least be a bit safer, so nobody will object too much. The only losses will belong to Western Shu.”

Tang Mu’s eyes brightened incrementally. He regarded Liu Zhenqing with pleasant surprise and said: “That’s right. When it comes to dealing with the fugitives, it is indeed more convenient for Western Shu to handle it themselves than for us to capture them. They just can’t be bothered to care. Young Master Liu is highly talented. Other officials and I have been thinking it over for so long without coming to a suitable conclusion, and Young Master Liu made it clear in a few sentences. As expected of a member of the Liu family.”

Tang Mu was quite excited when he said this, but then paused.

Liu Zhenqing forced a smile.

Tang Mu coughed, and instead of making excuses for his gaffe, he went on to say: “What if they don’t agree?”

“Then we’ll just do it. The common people cannot be allowed to suffer, and…..they should agree,” Liu Zhenqing said with a slight frown.

Tang Mu stared at Liu Zhenqing with a bit of shock. The common people cannot be allowed to suffer. These words……Prime Minister Liu once said this, and his expression was similar to Young Master Liu’s right now.

As expected of…..people related by blood.

“If they don’t agree, they actually have something hidden in their hearts. In fact, there is another speculation as to why they are allowing the fugitives to escape.”

“What is it?” Tang Mu returned to his senses.

Liu Zhenqing glanced at Huo Fenglie. Because he didn’t know if his speculation was correct, he could only look toward the one who would know best.

Huo Fenglie seemed to have been listening to them the entire time, unhappy and never speaking.

It wasn’t until Liu Zhenqing looked over that he spoke in a deep voice: “I heard Commander Dai say that the attacks force them to rush around. This situation is actually a method of defensive investigation.”

“Defensive investigation!” Tang Mu had misgivings.

“To test the operations, defense, and combat ability of Nanfeng City’s defenders,” Huo Fenglie said. “If their king is ambitious, it is entirely possible that he deliberately allowed the fugitives to escape in order to probe and make calculations.”

When Tang Mu heard this, his expression changed drastically and his entire body went stiff. “If they don’t agree to our request, then it proves that they really do have such a plan?”

“This is just speculation,” Liu Zhenqing said. “And even if they agree, it doesn’t mean they don’t have ulterior motives.”

The speed of Tang Mu’s brain could no longer keep up with Liu Zhenqing’s.

Liu Zhenqing was all smiles: “They will receive news about Huo Fenglie soon. In order to avoid the general’s suspicion, they should obediently agree. But never mind that, protecting the common people is critical.”

Tang Mu regarded Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing with lingering trepidation. He felt that the two of them were singing the same tune. One civil and one military, they were incredibly capable. In just a few words, they determined the current situation, gave a solution, and even predicted the opponent’s actions.

Ever since Prime Minister Liu left, he had never met anyone whose ingenuity amazed him to such an extent.

Tang Mu cupped his hands again and said: “Thank the both of you very much.”

Once he gave thanks, Tang Mu couldn’t help but wonder what official position Young Master Liu held now. People so far south usually didn’t know the specific situation in the north, so he asked this question.

Liu Zhenqing could only say awkwardly: “The Liu family are Imperial merchants, so we aren’t allowed to take the Imperial examinations.”

Tang Mu was taken aback for a moment, and then his expression gradually became one of embarrassment. Looking at Liu Zhenqing, he hesitated to speak.

Finally, the carriage arrived.

Tang Mu disembarked first to make arrangements.

The two of them had to tidy themselves before getting out of the carriage. Liu Zhenqing feared that Huo Fenglie would be dragged off to perform official duties as soon as he stepped out and they would have no time to talk, so he stopped him and said: “Er-gou, don’t be unhappy, ah.”

Liu Zhenqing made an opening in hopes that Huo Fenglie would ask.

In the end, Huo Fenglie said: “He seems to not hate you?”

Taken aback, Liu Zhenqing said: “Of course he doesn’t hate me, he’s someone who knows the truth.”

Huo Fenglie wasn’t surprised. Although he was unaware of the specific situation, he knew there must be a secret. It was just unexpected that the party involved also knew the secret.

However, it was no surprise that Tang Mu regarded Qing-ge’s jade pendant as a treasure.

Huo Fenglie nodded and moved to go out. He didn’t even ask.

Liu Zhenqing grabbed the man again in consternation. “Aren’t you going to ask me about the jade pendant?”

Huo Fenglie paused, saying with an indifferent expression: “This isn’t the first time.” He had become accustomed to Qing-ge’s arbitrary behavior. He had witnessed him giving them away to others with his own eyes. It was only that he couldn’t accept at first that Qing-ge had also given them away to men, but considering the current relations between the two of them, it seemed…..it was nothing unacceptable.

Liu Zhenqing was stifled for a moment. Looking at Huo Fenglie’s expressionless face, he saw that he had a sad kind of look in his eyes. All of a sudden, he felt like he was being called a scumbag right to his face.

He used to be a bit…..a bit casual with women, but his heart wasn’t swayed and he never touched anyone. On the other hand, Er-gou had kissed him, and he didn’t make a fuss. But Liu Zhenqing just gave out a few more pendants, which led to a few more rumors of romance, and Er-gou was unhappy.

Liu Zhenqing felt somewhat wronged when he thought about it. He wanted to speak a few words of displeasure, but when he saw Huo Fenglie’s dispirited appearance, he still couldn’t bear to, ah. How could he make his Er-gou sad?

He was quick to explain helplessly: “No matter how many times, this really isn’t the case. Didn’t I tell you before? Did you forget? I never gave one to a man. I swear an oath on this. In fact, I also don’t understand. He was originally such an honest child, so why would he lie about such a thing? Does he really like me so much that he dared to make up this lie?”

Liu Zhenqing suddenly had a face full of helplessness.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing as if his trust in him was in jeopardy.

Liu Zhenqing raised a hand and said: “I swear, I honestly didn’t give him anything. Back then, weren’t we at most just an adult and a child? He wasn’t grown then.”

Huo Fenglie asked the key question. “Did you come here with that jade pendant? Did it fall? Was it stolen?” He had dropped one once and said it was a gift.

Liu Zhenqing’s expression became unnatural.

Huo Fenglie’s eyes darkened again: “You gave it to someone?”

Liu Zhenqing smiled and touched his head: “It seems I was drunk. I saw a girl…..she looked pretty. I don’t know who she was, but I was grateful to her for sending me back, so I just handed it over…..Tang Mu probably got it from her by chance.”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes seemed to fill with fire. He stared at Liu Zhenqing and said: “You gave it to someone you didn’t know while drunk?”

Liu Zhenqing gave a dry smile, searching for an excuse: “So…..some jade pendants are just objects, unlike the sword I gave to a certain person, which is…..” Damn, it didn’t seem to be unique. Huo Feihan also had a similar one. It seemed he really hadn’t given Er-gou a unique gift.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing coolly. He gave a silent sigh and said no more, moving to disembark.

But Liu Zhenqing grabbed him again.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing. In fact, he thought Liu Zhenqing had said everything there was to say. He also felt that no matter how much he said, it would only make him feel like…..one of many.

Just as he was thinking, he felt someone suddenly hold his face. 

Huo Fenglie was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, he sensed a figure approaching and his lips softened.

He felt Liu Zhenqing pressing against him. He could only hold onto the wall of the carriage with one hand and embrace him with the other.

Qing-ge’s kisses always caught him off guard. He couldn’t understand. He thought he was just helping Qing-ge to relieve his loneliness. Even a kiss when he lost control was understandable, but what was this kiss?

Huo Fenglie looked up blankly and heard Liu Zhenqing say: “Neither the jade pendants and the sword are unique, only I am.”

After saying this, Liu Zhenqing lowered his head and kissed him deeply. In the carriage with only the two of them in it, this kiss gave Huo Fenglie peace of mind.

Liu Zhenqing thought to himself, I’ll give it all to you. How can others compare?

But what Huo Fenglie thought was, yes, Qing-ge was unique. He should be satisfied with being so close, being greedy would only make him annoying.

Huo Fenglie looked obsessively at the person kissing him with his eyes closed and couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Liu Zhenqing, turning passivity into initiative. The two of them had become proficient in this business, and enjoyed the beauty in silence.

Suddenly, Huo Fenglie’s captivated eyes flashed. He frowned slightly and moved his hand toward the sword at his waist. 

The long sword moved the carriage curtain a bit, creating a gap.

Tang Mu and Dai Tingyu, who were about to call for them to come out, happened to see Liu Zhenqing laying in Huo Fenglie’s arms through this gap. Seeing their deep affection, the two quickly looked away in embarrassment and took a few steps back.

“Hehehe, I really didn’t expect Brother Huo to have such a side and not be able to control himself. My Er-ge was not like this before.,” Dai Tingyu said awkwardly.

Tang Mu said: “Their affection is deep. It’s clear that General Huo likes Young Master Liu very much. It seems you were right when you told me before that General Huo doesn’t hate Prime Minister Liu.”

Dai Tingyu chuckled and said: “It’s more than not just hating him, ah.”

Although Tang Mu thought Dai Tingyu’s tone was strange, he didn’t ask further and only talked about what they had just analyzed in the carriage. 

Dai Tingyu went pale with fright, and then became angry: “Damn it! If they dare to commit any crimes, I’ll kill them!”

Tang Mu patted Dai Tingyu and said: “It’s fortunate that those two warned me. But this Young Master Liu is truly capable.”

“Yes, ah, he’s really impressive,” Tang Mu also exclaimed. 

“The two of them are a perfect match for each other,” Tang Mu said with a smile.

Dai Tingyu’s conscience was uneasy for a moment: “Chengzhu, say…..isn’t it bad to use someone as an emotional stand-in for a dead person?”

Tang Mu glanced at Dai Tingyu in confusion at first, and then his expression changed. “General Huo liked Prime Minister Liu, and now he’s using the current Young Master Liu as a substitute?”

Dai Tingyu’s mind instantly expanded. “Chengzhu, you, you…..what are you speculating about?”

When a boor like Dai Tingyu was faced with an intelligent man like Tang Mu, what could he hide? It was originally a guess, but Dai Tingyu’s performance proved it. But Tang Mu didn’t embarrass him, saying directly: “Of course it’s not good if the other party is really moved by his feelings.”

Dai Tingyu said: “But it can give the family and clan the strongest protection.”

Tang Mu’s expression instantly froze.

The Liu family suffered unfair treatment because of Prime Minister Liu…..If a general like Huo Fenglie could protect them…..there was really nothing to say.

But Tang Mu felt very sad at this thought. After all, he knew that Prime Minister Liu had not been what the world now thought of him, and also knew that there was no need for the Liu family to go through this, that there was no need for a substitute in order to seek asylum. 

But he…..couldn’t say anything.

Tang Mu couldn’t help but touch the jade pendant at his waist.

Noticing Tang Mu’s silence, Dai Tingyu could only say awkwardly: “I was just talking casually. Don’t tell anyone, Chengzhu.” He knew that Tang Mu had an attitude of respect toward Prime Minister Liu, which was different from what the world knew. Although he had asked for the reason, Tang Mu said it was a secret that he could not disclose even upon death. Then Dai Tingyu could only know one result regardless of the process. But if this ruined Brother Huo’s interests, he would be in trouble himself. Even though this felt wrong, he would still support his good brother.

The reason he complained to Tang Mu was that he felt the man was smarter than him. He was just seeking a rational excuse, but unexpectedly, Tang Mu also felt that something was wrong.

At this time, Liu Zhenqing, who was being silently sympathized with by the two, had just finished enjoying Er-gou. He licked his lips in front of him, making Huo Fenglie look him directly in the eyes.

Liu Zhenqing said with satisfaction: “Don’t keep them waiting, let’s get out.”

When the two left the carriage, Tang Mu and Dai Tingyu returned to a normal state and received both of them warmly.

At this time, far away at the imperial palace in the capital of the Western Shu Kingdom…..

A man in black-red clothes raised his blade and let it drop. A person’s head rolled just in time to stop at someone’s feet.

The man in black-red clothes didn’t look back, and his voice was cold, yet filled with endless ridicule: “You still know to come back?”

“Huo Fenglie has come to Nanfeng City.”

“Really? You didn’t go to reminisce about the past?”

“He really isn’t my person from before.”

“Not your old person. Was that why you saved those two people on the island?”

The visitor’s expression remained unchanged. He only stated: “Since you sent someone to follow me, why not stop me if you didn’t like what I was doing?”

The man in red-black clothes slowly turned around, then suddenly appeared in front of the speaker and grabbed his chin: “As your master, I will naturally be more tolerant of your willfulness, but if people from the capital discover this, we will be in big trouble. Would you rather cause trouble for me by assisting irrelevant people?”

The visitor’s face still remained unchanged, as if he had no unnecessary emotions. Faced with this question, he just said lightly: “You are not my master. I only have one master. You are just my mission, which will be over in a year. No, four months.”

The man in red-black clothes stared blankly. His face immediately filled with fury, the veins on his forehead popping out. “You want to leave me? Impossible!”

But the visitor only looked at him, then turned to leave. “I’m going to rest.”

The man’s eyes reddened in anger. In the end, he couldn’t say a word as he watched that person leave.

---

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Chapter One Hundred Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Four

The moment he recognized Ouyang, Li Xiu’s body went tense. It was as if he’d happened to discover a snake crawling on his instep as he walked.

“Li Xiu, come here, Teacher has something to tell you.”

Ouyang spoke to him from the shadows in a low voice.

Li Xiu unconsciously bit his lip. He took a deep breath and answered reluctantly: “I….I have to go to class. The next one is about to start.”

“Li Xiu, obey.”

But in the face of Li Xiu’s evasion, Ouyang continued to insist.

He straightened up, raising one of his arms beckoningly to Li Xiu.

There seemed to be a subtle sense of disharmony in the man’s movements, but at this moment, resistance to Ouyang was like an inflating black balloon, completely occupying Li Xiu’s mind. Li Xiu was unable to notice anything at all.

He just instinctively felt that the air conditioner in the complex had been turned down too low. The cold made his body stiff and his head dizzy.

“But…..” Li Xiu pressed his lips together and struggled to get out one syllable. Just as he was about to stubbornly resist for the last time, there was a sudden strong force on his arm.

It was Fang Qian’an, who grabbed Li Xiu in front of Ouyang.

At this moment, a ding came from the elevator behind them. Silver metal hissed as the doors opened on both sides to reveal an empty compartment.

“Ah, the elevator is here,” the tall boy called out toward Ouyang without a hair of respect.

Right after, he gave Li Xiu no chance to react and directly hooked the young man to walk him into the elevator.

“……Teacher, I’m injured and can’t take care of myself. I need Classmate Li Xiu to give me a hand. Don’t mind us, Teacher, we’re going.”

The elevator doors slowly closed to Fang Qian’an’s voice, completely blocking out the man’s distant figure.

From beginning to end, the tall man named Ouyang remained in the shadows, never taking a step forward. And in the face of Fang Qian’an’s brazen contempt and robbery, he didn’t make a sound.

It was just that under the flickering light, that handsome face that once drew the obsession of others had obtained a dark blue hue.

At the last moment before the doors closed, Fang Qian’an casually met Ouyang’s eyes and couldn’t help but frown.

Maybe it was because of the light, but Ouyang’s eyes looked abnormally resentful and vacuous, almost like he was about to rush forward and eat someone. As a pampered young master, Fang Qian’an had been coming to Qiming for so long but had never seen any teacher dare to look at him like that.

“Tsk, what’s with the look in that old man’s eyes, ah—”

Fang Qian’an couldn’t help but find fault.

“So, since when have you been injured to the point that you can’t take care of yourself?”

A faint question reached Fang Qian’an’s ears. He immediately forgot about Ouyang and turned to look sideways at Li Xiu, who had a strange expression on his face.

Li Xiu was caught off guard by Fang Qian’an, and couldn’t tell whether he was in a good or bad mood. After all, unlike a young master such as Fang Qian’an, after offending Ouyang, Li Xiu didn’t know whether he would succeed in getting the school scholarship or continue to live a peaceful life.

But it couldn’t be denied that after slipping away from Ouyang, Li Xiu immediately relaxed.

As for Fang Qian’an, when he heard Li Xiu’s question, he self-righteously raised a finger toward him.

“My hand hurts,” he said. “Ah, it hurts so much that I can’t even press the elevator button.”

A 1.9-meter boy said this to Li Xiu, feigning weakness. 

Li Xiu: “……”

Fine.

The elevator had begun to descend on its own at this time. Li Xiu didn’t pay it much attention, thinking that someone downstairs had pressed the button.

After casually pushing the “1” button on the elevator panel, Li Xiu stood quietly and waited for the elevator to arrive on the first floor. However, the boy beside him clearly didn’t intend to leave him in peace. He opened his mouth after just a few seconds of silence: “Hey, that old man seems pretty popular at school?”

Li Xiu: “…..That could be.”

Fang Qian’an crossed his arms over his chest, casting his eyes on Li Xiu. Sure enough, the other’s body was tense again.

“Tsk, I don’t understand the aesthetics of those young girls.” After a moment’s pause, Fang Qian’an looked at Li Xiu from the corner of his eye intentionally or otherwise and whispered as if talking to himself, “I don’t think that kind of man is very handsome, ah.”

There was a hint of a chill in Li Xiu’s eyes: “What does it have to do with you?”

“Nothing,” Fang Qian’an said with a shrug. “I just look at him and see an eyesore. This kind of old man who still pretends to be young is generally not a good guy. Well, next time you don’t want to pay attention to him, just say I need you for something. Anyway, none of those old things at school dare to cause trouble for me.”

There were two seconds of silence in the elevator car.

Li Xiu: “Oh.”

He lowered his head to stare hard at the floor, as if there was some exquisite and unparalleled math problem on the fake marble floor beneath his feet.

And in fact, it was precisely because he didn’t know what expression to wear that Li Xiu chose to remain expressionless.

He didn’t quite get Fang Qian’an.

Generally speaking, those who engaged in school bullying were a bunch of empty-headed fools who only exposed their hollow hearts when bullying the weak.

But Fang Qian’an didn’t seem to be as empty-headed as he’d thought.

Li Xiu felt that his ability to control his emotions was rather good, and Fang Qian’an seemed to notice his resistance toward Ouyang at a glance…..also, Fang Qian’an was the first person he’d met at school who showed obvious disgust toward Ouyang.

His feelings were complicated.

In the brief moment Li Xiu fell into silence, Fang Qian’an’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t miss how Li Xiu’s body had suddenly tensed, and then involuntarily relaxed just a bit. Thinking back to how Li Xiu’s body instantly stiffened when he saw Ouyang just now, his face going pale, a sudden and unfamiliar emotion began to surge in his chest.

Fang Qian’an put his hands in his pockets and said a little abruptly: “Cough. Actually, you can come to me for other things too.”

He could sense Li Xiu glance in his direction.

“I have nothing to come to you for.” Li Xiu’s tone was cold.

Fang Qian’an raised an eyebrows: “Hey, you—”

“Fang Qian’an.” Li Xiu interrupted him. The young man pointed at the numbers dancing on the elevator panel, his expression becoming serious. “…..Is the elevator malfunctioning? Why haven’t we reached the first floor yet?”

When Li Xiu called his attention to this, Fang Qian’an returned to his senses.

Right, ah, the two of them had been standing in the elevator talking for so long with the elevator running smoothly. Although the complex was a high-rise building with over ten floors, it wouldn’t take so long to get to the first floor without people going up and down frequently.

Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu looked at the numbers of the floors and soon realized that something wasn’t right.

13th floor, 12th floor, 13th floor…..

10th floor, 9th floor, 8th floor…..

12th floor, 7th floor, 3rd floor…..

-2nd floor, 5th floor, -12th floor…..

“The floors are jumping all over the place,” Li Xiu pointed out.

“But isn’t the elevator going down continuously?” Fang Qian’an asked with a frown.

Yes, although the floors on the panel were a mess, judging from the physical sensation, the elevator they were in was descending smoothly, with none of the momentum of the elevator jamming after malfunctioning.

“En.” Li Xiu was pressing the elevator’s emergency button.

However, no matter how hard he pressed, there was only ever silence on the other end of the emergency channel.

Several minutes had passed, and the numbers on the elevator panel had long since changed to floors that were not available in normal elevators. 

“-12th floor” and “-27th floor” came, but their elevator…..was still going down.

“Could it be a mistake?” Liu Xiu murmured, a few points more anxiety on his face.

He raised his hand and pressed all of the buttons on the panel. Then he saw the button lights, which were originally orange, turn blood red right at that instant.

“What’s going on with this?”

“Wait, I’m calling—fuck, no signal?”

Fang Qian’an’s expression was grave, and a hint of disbelief flashed through his eyes.

It should be known that in order to prevent kidnapping and other dangers, his cell phone had been specially modified. Let alone inside an elevator, there should be a full signal even in the deep mountains and old forests.

But currently, the expensive cell phone lying in Fang Qian’an’s hand had become a brick at this minor incident.

Moreover, the elevator descending for so long without stopping was a complete violation of common sense.

Fang Qian’an was no fool. He realized that things seemed to be…..odd beyond the scope of science.

“In any case, Li Xiu, you go into a corner first. If the elevator crashes, the person in the corner is more likely to survive,” Fang Qian’an said in a tense voice. As he spoke, he couldn’t help but shiver.

Was the elevator actually out of order? Why was it so cold in here?

These thoughts passed quickly through Fang Qian’an’s mind, but didn’t stay for long.

Ding—

Because at that moment, the elevator stopped.

*

[B13]

Negative thirteenth floor.

Before the elevator doors slowly opened, Li Xiu subconsciously raised his eyes to look at the display screen.

The faintly flashing red electronic light showed the floor they were currently on.

…..Naturally, this was the wrong floor.

After all, it was not the city subway. Their school complex had at most three underground floors, so how could it be possible to dig down to thirteen?

Li Xiu’s mind was in turmoil, countless thoughts passing through it.

The moment the elevator doors opened, Li Xiu’s heart almost jumped out of his throat.

And when they opened, darkness appeared before them.

A biting chill enveloped Li Xiu the moment the doors opened. He shivered, and a cloud of white mist rose from his mouth and nose.

“Hey, Xiu’er.”

A hand with a warm palm reached over and grabbed Li Xui.

“You…..stay behind me. Blocking the door with your thin arms and legs, do you think you’re a guardian door god, ah?”

Fang Qian’an took a step forward and intentionally or otherwise pulled Li Xiu toward him.

Because of this near-protective gesture, Li Xiu’s lips moved slightly, but he was unable to open his mouth to address that incomprehensible “Xiu-er.”

“Where the fuck did this shitty elevator stop?”

Fang Qian’an raised his phone and turned on the light, shining it into the darkness. Judging by the area the phone was able to illuminate, there seemed to be a hallway outside the elevator — an extremely netherworld-like layout that was similar to other floors. However, it seemed like this floor was not in use at all, with no lights or emergency exits.

More importantly, it was as cold as a morgue.

Li Xiu raised his hand and found that he was so cold that the hair on his arms was standing up.

While Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an stood there looking at each other on a completely unfamiliar floor, the elevator suddenly made a harsh screech, and the compartment shook hard.

It felt like the entire elevator was about to collapse in the next second.

“Fuck, fuck—” Fang Qian’an cursed, rushing out of the elevator with Li Xiu in tow.

As a result, as soon as he and Li Xiu stepped out, the elevator closed directly on their heels.

“Ding—zizi—elevator going—d-d-d-d-d-d-down—”

It was unknown if there was something wrong with the electronic door closing reminder, but the sound was so long that it sounded like a wail.

And more importantly, it was still going downward?

But Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an couldn’t focus on such trivial matters right then, because once the doors closed, the only source of light they had left was the cell phone in their hands.

Staring at the lifeless elevator door, Fang Qian’an complained gruffly: “What kind of broken elevator is this?! Where does the money donated to this bullshit school go every year, ah, such garbage…..”

Then he turned and said to the silent Li Xiu: “Okay, let’s go find the emergency exit and take the fire escape.”

“……Okay,” Li Xiu said in a low voice.

He was very uncomfortable. His head and shoulders were as heavy as if he was unknowingly carrying a corpse. The chill spread, making his hands and feet ice-cold. Li Xiu would feel uncomfortable every time he entered a damp and humid place with few passersby, and his low-grade fever today made the situation even worse.

There was a stale smell lingering in the darkness, that of a long-vacant building, a mixture of dust and moisture.

It was a bit like the smell in the Xiao family villa, Li Xiu thought as he walked slowly forward with Fang Qian’an.

Along the way, Fang Qian’an shook his cell phone hard as he tried to quickly find an emergency exit. However, the long, narrow corridors seemed like an endless maze. After searching for a long time, there were nothing but locked doors one after another. They were unable to find the stairs or the iconic green light indicating an exit.

After walking for a while, perhaps because the rustle of their footsteps in the passage was too depressing, Fang Qian’an finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. He spoke first with a faint cough: “The design of this place is so trashy.”

“En.”

“It’s said that they hired such a famous architect, but this building actually looks really ugly.”

“En.”

“Oh, right, shouldn’t you know?”

“Know what?”

“That this building actually has a history.” As Fang Qian’an spoke, he seemed to forget his bad temper caused by the previous elevator incident, and there was a hint of excitement in his tone. “There aren’t many people who don’t think this building looks particularly strange. In fact, it was deliberately designed—seen from a high altitude, this building looks like a concave mirror, doesn’t it? And the concave surface directly faces the Xiao Family Haunted House. This design is actually to continuously suck the ghosts from the Xiao Family Haunted House into this building. And the reason the hallways are designed to look so spooky is also intentional, so that those ghosts are prevented from finding their way out once they enter. They will continue to wander these hallways for eternity…..”

Li Xiu: “Oh. Then what about if they transform?”

Fang Qian’an: “Ah? T-transform into what?”

The youth’s faint question in the darkness inexplicably made the lofty school bully stutter.

But Li Xiu’s voice was as calm as ever, without any fluctuations: “According to this theory, the complex absorbs the resentment and ghosts of the haunted house into its own structure, so isn’t it necessary to set up a layout that can eliminate evil spirits? For example, there are large fountains, waterfalls, or spiral decorations, but none of these are in the complex. But if it only absorbs evil spirits and ghosts without finding a way to eliminate them, over time, the entire building will become a place of great evil. Also, the wandering ghosts will eventually turn into fierce ghosts in such an ominous place.”

“Uh…..it’s said that it’s designed like this to, to suppress the resentment in the old Xiao Family Haunted House…..”

There was a trace of awkwardness in Fang Qian’an’s dull response.

“The recent selling price of a property near the school is 97,000 per square meter. Although the school’s land can’t be calculated according to commercial terms, to build on a piece of land at this price point just to turn it into a dangerous place, and in the middle of the city?” There was a trace of genuine confusion in the youth’s clear voice. “So, if someone deliberately planned this…..what were they trying to do?”

Fang Qian’an was now entirely at an impasse.

After a long time, he said to Li Xiu very stiffly: “You—you’re not afraid of this at all?”

Li Xiu could only sigh.

“Fang Qian’an, you used to bully me so miserably. Wasn’t it because my family are ‘fraudsters?’”

When Fang Qian’an heard Li Xiu’s abrupt reminder, he directly choked on his saliva and coughed.

After a good while, he heard him say in embarrassment: “I forgot.”

Behind him, Li Xiu lowered his eyes.

The hallway was very quiet. Only the footsteps of Li Xiu and Fang Qian’an could be heard in the distance, echoing back in the empty corridor. When they overlapped with the original footsteps, it was like…..

Like there were actually a lot of people walking here.

Li Xiu’s footsteps gradually slowed. Sharp pain came from the underdeveloped ankle on his right side, like a silent reminder of the humiliation Li Xiu suffered as he was bullied time and again for his disability.

Because of the problem with his foot, he couldn’t even escape.

“You’re actually afraid of ghosts.”

Li Xiu’s suddenly cold voice echoed in the corridor.

In the dim light of the cell phone, Fang Qian’an’s figure almost seemed to stumble. “Ha? M-me, afraid of ghosts?”

The boy’s voice instantly rose, as if Li Xiu had said something particularly funny.

However, Li Xiu disregarded the boy’s bluff. 

“You’ve been very nervous since we left the elevator door,” Li Xiu said lightly. “That’s why you’ve gotten so noisy…..every time you let those people bully me at school, you would rather play on your phone than talk much.”

“Hey, that doesn’t mean anything—”

“You tried to scare me just now, but when I talked about ghosts turning into evil spirits, you got even more scared.”

With all of his thoughts revealed by Li Xiu, Fang Qian’an felt bad all over. 

“Me, afraid of ghosts? How could I be afraid of ghosts?” Fang Qian’an unconsciously donned the lofty and arrogant mask of the Fang family’s eldest son. “Xiu’er, come to think of it, aren’t you afraid of ghosts? You’re practically squeezing my hand off.”

When he heard these words, Li Xiu’s pupils shrank.

Due to the cold, he’d had his arms crossed the whole way. 

He…..wasn’t touching Fang Qian’an at all. 

---

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Chapter 11 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 13

When He Chuzhou arrived, the door locks had pretty much been changed, but they were inconsistent with the door. If nothing unexpected happened, they would have to be changed again.

After telling property management that he was a friend of the owner and showing him the key he carried, he entered the door and began to help find Pei Xi’s cell phone.

The cupboards from last time were empty, as were the bedroom and living room. He had given up all hope, but unexpectedly dug it out of the bedside table in the guest room.

“This Pei-calico, why is he so polite to sleep in the guest room of his own home?”

He pressed the power button for a long while with no response, and guessed that the battery was out. Before leaving, he took the charger placed at the corner of the sofa with him, then locked the door and left.

It took nearly an hour to go back and forth. The sky was darker, and the stars hung high.

He parked the car in the garage, and when he got out of the vehicle, he suddenly thought of something. Turning around, he walked to the rear of the car and opened the trunk.

Inside was the sweet and spicy sausage his aunt had stuffed in on her own initiative that afternoon. He didn’t like sweet things very much, so it would be a waste to keep them. He had originally planned to send them back the next day, but now it seemed there was no need.

Pei-calico loved sweet foods. He would make it for him to try later. He’d probably like it.

He just didn’t expect that besides the spicy sausage, there was an additional surprise — that girl He Aiyue had stuffed in two endless university entrance mock papers at some unknown time.

He Chuzhou almost laughed out of anger.

He simply took out the test papers and sausages, closed the trunk, and left the garage. As he walked back, he wondered whether he should deal with that person himself or file a complaint and have Ms. Chu do it…..

Right, there was also something else that came to mind.

After going through this so many times, it was time to find an opportunity to have a good talk with the sober Pei-calico.

The probability of an accident happening with these uncertain factors was too great. He was able to lose his cell phone twice in a row. What if a situation like tonight happened a third time, and Wu Qing didn’t happen to be passing by?

But the key to the problem was whether Pei Xi was willing to sit down and talk to him calmly once he was in his right mind.

This point was really nerve-wracking.

Thinking about possible solutions, he was deliberately gentle when opening the door for fear of awakening the sleeping person inside.

Unexpectedly, the light in the living room was still on.

The person who was supposed to be sleeping in the bedroom was currently curled up alone at a corner of the sofa, motionless as he hugged his knees with his face buried in his arms.

There was also a silent companion lying on the carpet at his feet in the form of a puppy.

Hearing the noise, the bored He Xingxing immediately had a burst of energy. He quickly got up and rushed over with a fiercely wagging tail, rubbing back and forth against his legs enthusiastically.

He Chuzhou removed his shoes, rubbed the dog’s head a couple of times, and whispered helplessly: “Why didn’t you remind him to go to sleep? What if he catches a cold later?”

The puppy didn’t understand, and just stuck out his tongue happily.

“Go back to your bed and sleep, it’s really late.”

Then he patted He Xingxing on the head, put the things aside temporarily, and walked to the living room, planning to take this person back to the bedroom and settle in.

He leaned forward to touch the other’s arm, but his wrist was grabbed first.

Pei Xi raised his head under his surprised gaze. It appeared as if he had just cried. His eyes were red and swollen, and he looked sorrowful.

“What happened?!”

He Chuzhou was taken aback, and quickly crouched down to help wipe away the remaining moisture at the corners of his eyes: “Did you have a nightmare again?”

Pei Xi said nothing, staring at the person before him with empty wet eyes. When he was coaxed in a warm voice, tears quickly accumulated and fell from his eyes again.

He always cried silently, but the quieter he was, the more the emotions surged within his body, his bright eyes trying to convey all of his grievance and sadness without a word.

He Chuzhou’s heart clenched. He pressed his palms against the other’s cheeks, trying to transfer the dry warmth into them.

“Are you hurt somewhere? Is there any pain or discomfort? It’s okay, it’s okay. Be good, ah, let’s go to the hospital right now.”

He quickly moved to stand, but was held tightly by his sleeves.

“Why do you want to hide our marriage?”

Pei Xi’s curled fingertips were hooked into his clothes, his knuckles turning white. He said in a hoarse voice: “Why don’t your friends know about our relationship?”

He Chuzhou’s movements paused: “What?”

“Chuzhou, I don’t want to make trouble for you.”

“You said you’re very tired tonight. I want you to rest well and not upset you again.”

Pei Xi tried his utmost to keep calm, but still couldn’t suppress his tears and slight trembling: “But I really can’t help it. You’re obviously already married. You have me, yet there are still people sending you messages like that in the middle of the night.”

“I’m not a very shameful person, and I won’t embarrass you. Why can’t you let other people know I exist and make those with wicked intentions stay away from you?”

He Chuzhou quickly sorted out the information revealed by his words and held his cold hands: “What messages? Xinxin, did you see something?”

Pei Xi didn’t answer, and just tilted his head to look at the cell phone beside him.

He Chuzhou understood, and immediately took the phone and opened WeChat.

The extra unfamiliar friend was sandwiched between a row of familiar avatars, with an eye-catching sense of presence.

Opening it a little further—

“Tsk!” The photos on the chat interface came into view. At once, he reflexively took the phone away, unable to bear looking at it. “What is this?”

……Wait.

Why did this look familiar?

He thought of something and enlarged the picture to identify the face carefully.

Wasn’t this the new lover Wu Qing took to the bar the night before yesterday?

Reading the explicit texts at the bottom, He Chuzhou ground his sore back molars, his mood so complicated that it was difficult to put into words.

This crap was what had scared Pei-calico.

He had to admit that it was normal for someone to be alarmed when they received something like this at home in the middle of the night.

“I’m not familiar with him. I’ve only met him once, and I know he’s Wu Qing’s latest boyfriend. Right, you were there at the bar that night, don’t you remember?”

As he spoke, He Chuzhou took a screenshot of the chat history and sent it to Wu Qing, then blocked and deleted the WeChat number in front of Pei Xi.

“Okay, it’s done.”

He turned over his phone and showed it to Pei Xi: “It was an accident. He probably used Wu Qing’s phone to push this WeChat account to me. No matter what, I would definitely not accept it if I encountered this, I guarantee it.”

Pei Xi’s lips were still pursed, and he said nothing. The tears stopped falling, but his wet reddened eyes showed no signs of improvement. 

He Chuzhou immediately called Wu Qing.

“What are you doing?”

Wu Qing obviously hadn’t seen the screenshot yet, and his voice was loud and brisk: “A spring night is worth a thousand gold. There’s no need to call and thank me now, Brother, I understand.”

He Chuzhou: “Were you talking nonsense in the car earlier?”

Wu Qing: “Nonsense? What nonsense? I wouldn’t talk nonsense. If you don’t believe me, ask your boyfriend. I put in a good word for you.”

He Chuzhou: “Who told you Pei Xi is my boyfriend?”

Wu Qing: “Does it need to be said? This isn’t—”

Wu Qing: “Huh?”

Wu Qing sat up straight: “No way, what do you mean? What are you if not boyfriends? Friends with benefits? ? ? ? ?”

He Chuzhou: “What the hell, he’s my wife!”

Wu Qing: “ ? ”

Wu Qing: “Is there any difference?”

Wu Qing: “…..Wait a minute! Have you already?!”

He Chuzhou: “Also, I sent you screenshots of your partner cheating. You can deal with it yourself. I have something else to do, so I’ll hang up now.”

Wu Qing: “Really? What kind of cheating? ? ? ? !”

Wu Qing: “Damn! What the hell are you doing so late at night? Speak clearly before you hang up—”

After this fierce, indiscriminate bombing, He Chuzhou hung up the phone neatly without any after-sale services.

“Okay.” Looking at Pei Xi again, he softened his voice and coaxed him as much as he could: “Now they know.”

“I didn’t hide it on purpose before. I just wanted to wait until the wedding to tell them and give them a surprise. If you don’t want to wait, there’s no problem telling them in advance. It’s all up to you.”

“It’s my fault. I didn’t think it through well. I promise it won’t happen again, or else I’ll kneel on a keyboard all night.”

“Be good, don’t cry. If you cry again, your eyes will hurt in the morning.”

He took out a tissue and moved to help wipe Pei Xi’s eyes. The person who had remained silent spoke softly at this time: “I’m still your wife?”

“Of course.”

Without even thinking about it, he wiped away the tears on his eyelashes: “Who else could it be if not you?”

Unexpectedly, Pei Xi’s next words caught him off guard: “Then why haven’t you touched me in so many days?”

He Chuzhou: “……? ? ?”

Before his mind could blank out, the distance between the two suddenly shortened, and a fragile, beautiful face was suddenly enlarged in front of his eyes.

“Chuzhou, do you also think I’m too serious and boring?”

The distance was so close that their breaths intertwined, and He Chuzhou heard his own heart skip a beat.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and he subconsciously slowed his breathing. However, his back hit the edge of the table, causing him to sit unsteadily down on the carpet.

Sitting down, the weight of the other in his arms was even more overwhelming, and immediately made his entire scalp feel numb.

After his heart stopped for a brief moment, it began to beat wildly and deafeningly.

But the person who started it all was unaware.

In this position, Pei Xi held the other’s face with his knees on the carpet, leaning close.

With their foreheads and noses touching, he said the most innocent, lost words in the most intimate and flirtatious manner: “You like that kind of person in the photos, so you’re not interested in me anymore, are you?”

He Chuzhou’s breathing was in chaos, an obscure and floundering light constantly drifting through his eyes.

Every word that came from Pei Xi’s mouth seemed to hook him softly, causing the hands on his waist to tighten uncontrollably until the bulging veins on the backs of his hands became distinct.

“That’s not it…..”

He heard the shaky hoarseness in his own voice and tried to maintain his poise: “Xinxin, don’t think nonsense.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that you’ve been sick recently, and the doctor said you need to rest well. That kind of thing……counts as overexertion for you.”

Hearing this, Pei Xi pulled away from him slightly and confirmed in a low voice: “Really?”

With this distance, He Chuzhou felt the thin oxygen around him thicken and rush into his lungs.

He closed his eyes hard and attempted a relaxed smile: “Of course. Your recovery period is very important now. Haven’t you noticed that your memory has become worse recently?”

Pei Xi lowered his eyes in thought.

Indeed, he felt like he was forgetting a lot of things these days, with fragments of memories that couldn’t be connected together. He had even forgotten his poor memory for a long time.

It turned out to be because of illness.

“But why don’t you even want to kiss me?”

He asked again with a frown: “Kissing only involves hugging the other person and moving the tongue. Can it count as overexertion—”

“Xinxin!”

He Chuzhou interrupted him at once.

The suddenly aggravated tone startled Pei Xi: “What’s wrong?”

“…..Nothing.”

He Chuzhou took a deep breath. Ignoring the dryness of his throat, he once again moderated his tone: “Of course kissing doesn’t count, but if my composure is lacking, it’s really easy…..to be unable to stop.”

“Xinxin, you don’t want to light a fire without extinguishing it and make me suffer, do you?”

Pei Xi didn’t expect this to be the reason. He gave two slow blinks, his gaze confused, as if he was digesting this.

He had barely managed to bullshit his way through again.

He Chuzhou breathed a sigh of relief, waiting stiffly for his unspeakable impulse to subside. He began to think hard about how to coax this person off him, or to simply carry him down manually.

If he continued to sit on him and rub against him like this, he really wouldn’t be able to endure it.

“Xinxin, it’s already really late. You need to—”

However, mid-sentence, the warmth of his embrace choked all of the words he had not yet spoken back into his throat.

Pei Xi abruptly leaned forward and hugged him, wrapping his arms around his waist and burying his head deeply in his neck.

A whisper full of dependence fell into his ears. Like the heavy beating of a drum, his already unstable heart tremored, suffering to the fullest.

“Chuzhou.”

He heard Pei Xi say: “I really, really like you.”

---

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Chapter 22 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 24

The person knocking on the door was a student. When the door opened, the student glanced inside and his gaze landed on Li Xiu.

He said: “Teacher Ouyang, the grade supervisor told me to call Li Xiu to his office. He says he has something to ask him.”

What could the grade supervisor ask Li Xiu about?

Normally, Ouyang would express the natural consideration of a good teacher and ask more questions out of concern for Li Xiu. But Ouyang was very uneasy at the moment and naturally didn’t have the energy to put on a performance.

“Since someone is looking for you, you can leave,” Ouyang said with an ashen face.

But just as Li Xiu was about to step out of the office, the man suddenly called out: “Li Xiu—”

Li Xiu paused, turning back to look at Ouyang.

“Did you see anything just now?”

Ouyang thought he could pretend to be calm, but the hoarseness of his voice when he spoke shocked even him. After asking that impulsive question, he trained his eyes unblinkingly on Li Xiu, not daring to miss even the slightest expression on the latter’s face.

“Ah?”

Li Xiu’s brow furrowed, his face full of confusion. It didn’t seem fake.

A chill instantly shot from the heels of Ouyang’s feet to the top of his head. 

“…..It’s nothing. You go on,” Ouyang said.

After Li Xiu left, Ouyang staggered back to his desk and sat down.

It was just that he had been under so much pressure lately, and that was why his vision was hazy.

The man continuously repeated this to himself. But when he picked up the cup to drink some water, some of it splashed on the back of his hand……his hand was shaking.

He couldn’t help thinking about what he had just seen.

Cold, ashen hands, suffused with death.

The chill of fear enveloped him, giving him a deep understanding of what it meant to be put in an icy cave.

“What a joke,” the young teacher muttered.

“It’s been so many fucking years. If it was a ghost, it wouldn’t have taken this long…..”

Therefore, his vision must have been bad. Otherwise, that little thing Li Xiu must have heard the rumors from back then and used some novel means to prank him. Although he had already tested him, who knew whether the other party’s acting skills were good enough to deceive him? 

Ouyang’s mind was in terrible disarray. There was a severe pain in his temples, as if many invisible needles were pricking him. 

Knock knock knock.

At this time, there was another knock on the door.

“I’m busy, we can talk later.”

Thinking that another student had sought him out, Ouyang didn’t care enough to maintain his image as a good teacher and shouted at the door very harshly.

However, the person outside the door was still unwilling to leave him alone after hearing his words, and continued to steadily knock on the door. 

Knock knock knock.

Knock knock knock.

The mechanical knocks on the door continued to sound, the noise giving Ouyang a splitting headache.

Ouyang couldn’t take it anymore. He jumped up and rushed to the office door, opening it aggressively: “Didn’t you hear me?! I told you I’m busy, so why are you knock—”

His voice suddenly got stuck.

Because at this moment, there was no one outside the door. Only a thick, heavy photo album lying silently on the floor.

As soon as he saw the familiar wrapping method on the album, the color drained from Ouyang’s face.

“How could this—”

Hadn’t he put this thing away? How could it have been left outside? Wait, did someone know something and steal his special collection from the bookshelf…..

Rustle.

Suddenly, there was the clear sound of pages being turned in the hallway.

Ouyang gasped in fright, watching in disbelief as the photo album on the floor opened by itself with no one touching it. One after another, ugly, wicked photos scattered from the transparent film.

The difference was that in his memory of the photos, there were only the tender bodies of underaged children. But now, Ouyang’s own image appeared with extreme clarity, completely blocking out those “souvenirs.”

“Who—who is playing this stupid prank?!”

Ouyang could no longer control his emotions. As he admonished, he threw himself to the floor on his hands and knees, desperately trying to gather up the photos.

What he didn’t expect was that the moment he touched the album, all of the “Ouyangs” in the photos turned turned their heads simultaneously to look toward the panic-stricken man outside.

They all had similarly swollen and bruised faces, as if they had been dead for a long time and had been left to rot in a desolate corner for several days.

They all grinned at Ouyang, purple-black tongues hanging out as pus and black blood dripped down.

[Teacher Ouyang.]

Ouyang heard “his own” voice ringing in his ears.

[Be a good boy, and Teacher will will like you then]

There was a fishy sweetness in Ouyang’s throat, as if his heart was beating so fast that it had crushed his organs bloody.

“It’s a hallucination—no, no, this is a nightmare. I must be having a nightmare—”

All of this creepiness frightened Ouyang out of his mind. He talked to himself continuously, trying to wake himself up.

Then, his shoulder suddenly sank.

A floating blue-gray hand stretched out and clamped down on him as firmly as an iron band.

*

When he arrived at the Academic Affairs Office, Li Xiu heard a familiar voice before he even opened the door.

“Song Cheng? Huan Xiaodong? God knows who they are. Oh, they hang out with that guy named Wang or something, I’m not familiar with them.”

The grade supervisor breathed a sigh of relief when Li Xiu appeared, his feelings clearly evident.

“Classmate Li Xiu is here.”

The slightly balding middle-aged man wiped his forehead.

“Well, Classmate Fang, since Classmate Li is here, I won’t disturb your studies. As for the school, we actually just want to understand the situation more comprehensively. We didn’t know you’re unfamiliar with those two classmates. You may return to class now.”

The grade supervisor spoke very kindly to the tall boy who was reclining on the sofa in front of him with an impatient expression.

There was a smile on the grade supervisor’s face, and only he was aware of his wild internal cursing.

Seriously. He didn’t know which idiot lost his mind and didn’t know who to ask questions to, and actually invited this prince here!

After just going through the motions with Young Master Fang and posing a few questions, the grade supervisor felt that his life had been shortened by ten years.

No teacher would want to deal with such a difficult-to-handle student.

And when it was this particular young master, who could not be beaten or scolded, and could only be coaxed and supported by any means possible, the level of stress increased exponentially.

Fortunately, Li Xiu’s appearance instantly alleviated the terrifying pressure much like that of a deep ocean in the Academic Affairs Office.

“Classmate Li, are you aware that Song Cheng and Huang Xiaodong had a serious accident at school?”

The grade supervisor didn’t dare misstep with Fang Qian’an, but when facing Li Xiu, he regained his strength in an instant.

“I….didn’t know.”

In fact, Li Xiu had heard something on the way from the classmate who led him here. He also knew that the matter may be related to Song Cheng and the great Amazi. But to be honest, Li Xiu didn’t know what kind of serious accident could happen to Song Cheng, who was still alive and kicking that morning, and Amazi, whose real name was Huang Xiaodong.

According to the student’s words, the two were directly taken away by ambulance, and before that, the grade supervisor was scared to the point of fainting.

“Well, they encountered a very serious poisoning…..” After a pause, the grade supervisor added quickly, “Food poisoning. They are still being treated at the hospital and are not out of danger. Do you know anything about this?”

Narrowing his eyes, the grade supervisor leveled Li Xiu with an extremely stern look.

Li Xiu shook his head.

“You really don’t know? But other students said that when they went to find you this morning, they were still fine. And it is said that they seemed to have taken something from your school bag today. Classmate Li Xiu, what did you bring to school today?”

“I didn’t bring anything that was against school rules,” Li Xiu replied, hearing the hidden meaning in the bald man’s words.

He looked up at the other party, his face devoid of expression.

They took something from his school bag? Li Xiu thought of what he had noticed after leaving the copy room today. Considering the scattered uncooked rice in his school bag, it should have been done by Song Cheng and Amazi.

But what could this have to do with poisoning?

Li Xiu pursed his lips.

He could sense what the grade supervisor was hinting at.

Perhaps he wanted to use him as a punching bag…..or as a scapegoat.

Although Song Cheng and Amazi were only at the bottom of the clique, no matter the case, they were still students of Qiming. Those who could attend this school, other than special circumstances like Li Xiu, all had some status in the city.

But now, students had been poisoned so badly on campus that they almost croaked. If the school admitted that there were safety risks here, not only the parents of those two, but the parents of other students would also peel a layer of skin off the school’s top brass.

In this situation, an ordinary student like Li Xiu with no background and an obvious conflict with Song Cheng and Huang Xiaodong seemed the best candidate to take the blame.

Li Xiu’s heart sank little by little.

He was not the sort of innocent boy who had grown up in a honeypot, and similar things happened all the time when he was with his grandmother. However, knowledge was knowledge, and when this kind of thing actually happened to him, only then did Li Xiu realize to his shock that there was nothing he could do.

Just like when he faced the torment of the school bullies, he had no choice but to endure it in silence.

“Classmate Li, haven’t I heard that your relationship with Song Cheng and Huang Xiaodong is not very good? Of course, those two have exhibited some bad behavior at school. Rest assured that you can tell a teacher, and they will certainly deal with this matter later. However, Classmate Li, having encountered so many unfriendly things before, have you ever thought about taking revenge on the other parties…..”

The grade supervisor looked at the pale face of the young man before him with satisfaction. Just as he was about to continue applying pressure, there was a sudden loud noise from the side.

Fang Qian’an had kicked the coffee table.

The coffee table in the Academics Affairs Office was made of solid mahogany, and was so heavy that even several people couldn’t lift it. But when Fang Qian’an kicked it, it actually made the 1.5 meter mahogany coffee table move.

“Classmate Fang?!”

The grade supervisor had thought that Fang Qian’an was just watching the entertainment, but as a result, the eldest young master became angry and almost gave him a heart attack.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention when I stretched my legs.”

As he spoke, Fang Qian’an stood up and gave a shameless shrug.

The tall, well-developed young man went directly to the grade supervisor, bringing great pressure to the latter. 

Immediately after, Fang Qian’an reached out and promptly put an arm around Li Xiu.

 Fang Qian’an lowered his eyes and said mildly: “This guy was with me during first period, and we went to the infirmary together after. Teacher, do you still remember?”

“Ah…..ah, that’s what happened.”

There was sweat on the grade supervisor’s forehead, and he answered slowly after a moment’s delay.

His eyes moved back and forth between Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu, and the confusion on his face practically overflowed.

Fang Qian’an and Li Xiu?

As sly as he was, he couldn’t figure out the relationship between these two very different people for the moment.

“I was with him almost all morning. There’s no way he could’ve done something to those Song and Huang people under my nose. And I think that for someone like him, whoever that Song is wouldn’t covet Li Xiu’s things.”

The high school boy’s arm was heavy and hot where it pressed firmly against Li Xiu. Fang Qian’an’s scorching body temperature soaked into Li Xiu’s body bit by bit, making this solitary person very uncomfortable.

The words Fang Qian’an said caused him to freeze in place.

Although no one could tell from the outside, Li Xiu was actually just as confused as the grade supervisor in front of him.

“Oh. Yes. That too.” The grade supervisor blankly echoed Fang Qian’an.

Fang Qian’an nodded his head, and with a strong movement of his arm on Li Xiu’s shoulders, he practically pulled the young man directly into his arms.

“So this has nothing to do with him,” Fang Qian’an said calmly.

“Since there’s nothing more to ask, I’ll take him away.”

*

Li Xiu was unable to think as he left the Academic Affairs office.

He still recalled the face of the grade supervisor going red before the door closed. With Fang Qian’an here, even if the grade supervisor was upset, he wouldn’t continue to cause trouble for Li Xiu.

At this thought, Li Xiu’s feelings became extremely complicated.

Naturally, he felt relieved at not having to take the blame. 

But Fang Qian’an’s behavior was truly strange, so strange that his mind was a mess and he couldn’t figure out what this guy was up to.

This couldn’t be a new method of school bullying, could it?

“That…..why?” Before he realized, Li Xiu had opened his mouth to ask.

“Why what?”

Fang Qian’an still looked unconcerned about anything.

“Why did you help me?” Li Xiu asked in a low voice.

As a special existence in the school, Fang Qian’an had no need to open his mouth and exonerate someone like Li Xiu. And what’s more, Li Xiu had noticed before that Fang Qian’an didn’t like him.

Fang Qian’an was silent for a moment.

“Oh. That, ah…..” The tall boy, who was many times bigger than the boy next to him, spoke in a drawl.

Who the hell knew? Why would he help an insignificant cripple who was the kind of fraudster he disliked the most?

At last, Fang Qian’an replied: “When the old man came to see me today, he walked into the classroom with his right foot first.”

Li Xiu: “Ha?”

Fang Qian’an hummed softly: “I hate people who enter the classroom with their right foot. Okay, so I just don’t like him. What’s wrong with that?”

Li Xiu withdrew his gaze: “Nothing.”

After a moment, a whisper as soft as a mosquito’s buzz escaped from the boy’s lips:

“Thanks.”

Different from any time before, although the boy’s voice was small this time, the gentle tone made him seem softer. 

Looking at him from Fang Qian’an’s perspective, a small section of Li Xiu’s snow-white neck could be seen outside his school uniform, as well as small white earlobes under dark hair.

For some reason, Fang Qian’an subconsciously licked his canines.

“That’s it?” The vile school bully raised his voice slightly, “That’s not right. Little cripple, I’ve done you such a big favor, so shouldn’t you show some actual gratitude?”

The moment he finished speaking, he felt Li Xiu’s shoulders tremble, and the frail young man stopped to look at him speechlessly.

“I have nothing to offer,” said Li Xiu.

Fang Qian’an didn’t know what was going on in Li Xiu’s mind at that moment. In any case, it wasn’t anything good. That snow-white face inexplicably made Fang Qian’an think of that kind of, well, that kind of little widow who had nobody to rely on after her husband died, especially weak and bullyable. 

……What the fuck was he thinking?

Fang Qian’an returned to his senses and was momentarily stunned.

However, his vigilance did not do away with the strange feeling in his chest, which felt like it was being scratched by many small paws.

“What do you think I want?” Fang Qian’an asked mildly, in an attempt to suppress the strangeness inside him.

Hearing these words, Li Xiu lowered his head and remained silent.

Fang Qian’an finally discovered that when Li Xiu encountered something that upset him, he would deliberately look away from others. But no one must have told him that because of his delicate, feminine appearance, the more he lowered his eyes and kept a straight face, the more it made a person want…..to tease him.

Fang Qian’an: “As the old saying goes, if you can’t pay back a debt, shouldn’t you repay it with your body, ah?”

Li Xiu turned and looked Fang Qian’an up and down.

“Sorry, I’m not gay. I can’t do that.”

“Cough, cough—”

Fang Qian’an almost choked on his own saliva.

“I’m not gay either!” he shouted. “It was just a joke!”

It really was just a joke.

But Li Xiu’s reaction was so proper that Fang Qian’an’s face felt unreasonably warm.

Fuck.

Li Xiu glanced sideways at Fang Qian’an and continued: “But I can help you with tutoring.”

“I remember that your grades are very poor.”

In fact, he was last in the entire grade.

Fang-doesn’t even take exams-Qian’an was really blushing now.

“My grades…..they aren’t…..who would want this kind of thank-you gift? Are you sincere, ah!”

Once again, Fang Qian’an reached out and placed a heavy arm around Li Xiu.

The scorching body temperature dissipated the chill caused by his low-grade fever, leaving Li Xiu dazed for a moment.

[A-Xiu]

At that same time, a low, hoarse call sounded from far down the hallway.

A chill ran down Li Xiu’s back, and when he turned abruptly, there happened to be a person standing in the corner with their head bowed.

“Classmate Li Xiu.” The person repeated the call.

The building complex where the Academics Affairs Office was located was very big. When it was originally designed, the person hired was an internationally known architect.

As a result, the shape of the building was very avant-garde, but in usefulness, it was rather difficult to describe. The location of each office was very strange, all of them connected by hallways that were also designed intricately enough to be called a maze. In addition, so many of the hallways had no windows and relied entirely on artificial light sources.

Once a certain light broke, that area would appear particularly dark.

And presently, above that corner, the light seemed to have malfunctioned.

Strange. Was that light broken when they passed by just now?

Zizi—zizi—

Even from such a distance, Li Xiu could still hear the intermittent buzz of electricity.

With the light flickering on and off, that figure also seemed a bit difficult to identify.

“…..Teacher Ouyang?”

Li Xiu squinted his eyes for a good moment before he could just barely recognize that person’s identity.

---

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Chapter 10 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 12

Liu Zhenqing had no grudge against the Dai family. At most, loyal ministers and commanders like the Dai family didn’t care to see him after hearing about him, and cared little for the Liu family.

He also likely believed the rumors about Huo Fenglie’s hatred for Liu Zhenqing.

It was true that there was no hatred in Dai Tingyu’s eyes. He just greeted him a little awkwardly, then immediately changed the subject to invite them back to the city together.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing, who nodded. Then he spoke a few words to Han Ye, who also nodded and said: “Okay.”

Since their whereabouts had been exposed, it was naturally inconvenient to go to Medical Valley. They could only trouble the master to come out, and since it was close, this wouldn’t make things difficult for him.

Han Ye had originally wanted to give the carriage to Liu Zhenqing. They left on their own the next day, but Liu Zhenqing looked at Dai Tingyu, who had warmly invited Huo Fenglie to ride back with him, and shook his head. He walked directly to Chen Jiangue and mounted the horse.

Chen Jiangyue turned to look at him without a care, but Dai Tingyu to the side was dumbfounded. He naturally knew of Huo Fenglie’s Chen Jiangyue. That kind of horse was a special breed, not at all like a normal horse. Other than Huo Fenglie, it usually didn’t let anyone else ride it, or at times even touch it. How was the young master of the Liu family able to ride on it without Huo Fenlgie opening his mouth?

Dai Tingyu could only turn his head to look at Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie looked tranquil as he walked over to the horse and asked: “You don’t want to rest in the carriage?”

Liu Zhenqing shook his hand and gestured for him to come up.

In the end, under Dai Tingyu’s disbelieving gaze, Huo Fenglie mounted his horse and rode with Liu Zhenqing in his arms.

Dai Tingyu’s eyes turned back and forth between their two faces, then saw Liu Zhenqing deliberately lean into Huo Fenglie’s arms. This sort of posture could not be attributed to friends riding together. They were clearly a couple.

Everyone around saw this clearly, and Dai Tingyu had to accept it as reality.

So Brother Huo had been enlightened? He had forgotten the past? This guy with a cocky expression should be Huo Fenglie’s substitute to forget about Liu Zhenqing.

Speechless, Dai Tingyu didn’t dare look too long. He mounted his horse straight away and turned back to the rest of his team.

And at this time, Liu Zhenqing was asking in a low voice while in Huo Fenglie’s arms: “What’s the deal with Dai Tingyu? He’s so enthusiastic about you and keeps looking at you. It shouldn’t be that he has any thoughts about you.” 

Huo Fenglie pulled the reins helplessly: “Qing-ge, you’re overthinking. It’s only that we fought together and we’re long-time friends.”

“That time with the Three Southwest Kingdoms?”

“En, the Dai family originally withstood that battle, but there was no one in their family who could fight at that time, so they could only let the young Dai brothers go to the battlefield. They were inexperienced, and had a tough time.”

“So you showed up and became their idol? That’s great, ah, Er-gou,” Liu Zhenqing said with a smile. 

The corners of Huo Fenglie’s mouth ticked up helplessly. “If you feel tired later, you can just sleep in my arms.”

Liu Zhenqing looked up at the earnest Huo Fenglie and recalled how everyone had knelt down just now. Then he remembered how the cheek he kissed had turned red, and his heart suddenly felt itchy. 

He rubbed his head against Huo Fenglie’s chin, and when the other lowered his head to look at him, he asked with a smile: “Before, did it feel good?”

Huo Fenglie’s pupils quivered and he raised his head shyly, not daring to look at him.

Liu Zhenqing rubbed the top of his head against Huo Fenglie’s chin again and said: “I’m asking you something. Answer honestly, did I perform better this time?”

The jut of Huo Fenglie’s throat shifted, and he eventually gave a muffled affirmative hum.

He knew that according to Liu Zhenqing’s character, if he didn’t answer, he would continue to ask relentlessly and in the end, the only one in trouble would be himself.

Sure enough, after getting this answer, Liu Zhenqing was satisfied and no longer embarrassed Huo Fenglie.

Just as this moment, Dai Tingyu rode up on his horse.

“Brother Huo, let’s go.”

As the two horses walked together, Dai Tingyu asked a lot of enthusiastic questions. Over time, Liu Zhenqing could pretty much see through him as he observed. 

He was a straightforward and heroic military officer, and his looks weren’t bad. He was just a bit rough and boorish.

In any case, he definitely didn’t like men, but…..he didn’t seem to be very interested in women either.

When Liu Zhenqing asked him curiously if he was married, Dai Tingyu said directly that a woman would affect his courage on the battlefield. Because in the eyes of this boor, women were all soft and weak, like water, and he couldn’t bear that they cried at a touch. Moreover, they were long of hair but short of knowledge, which he felt was extremely troublesome.

This kid was so unexpectedly sexist. Liu Zhenqing said at once, “I recall there was a marquise in your family.”

Dai Tingyu suddenly choked, then gave Liu Zhenqing an awkward look.

Liu Zhenqing spoke again: “Have you never met Sister-in-law Huo?”

Dai Tingyu immediately begged for mercy: “Young Master Liu is so capable. You’re not wrong, but it’s just that there are very few women like this. Most girls, especially those in the south, are quite weak and need to be taken care of. I really don’t like that sort.”

Sexism followed by geographical discrimination, atta boy.

Liu Zhenqing wasn’t familiar with him, so he naturally would not say much. The topic quickly shifted to the bandit incident just now.

“They came from the Western Shu Kingdom.”

“The better part of Western Shu consists of slaves, so there should be no such bandits,” Huo Fenglie said.

“Naturally, they aren’t slaves. They are all originally landowners or higher of Western Shu. Perhaps they violated some of the new king’s laws and couldn’t survive, so they escaped to burn, kill, and loot nearby. There have been many of them recently, which keeps us busy. However, these people should have been killed for abuse of power in their home country. We usually kill them directly and don’t take the trouble of bringing them back.”

“What about the ones just now?”

“We inquired, and they came from the capital city. We’ll take them back for interrogation and see if there is any valuable information.”

Liu Zhenqing said abruptly: “Has it always been like this? If you fail to catch up to them just like today, won’t the common people around you suffer?” Many common people had died in the attack. If Huo Fenglie hadn’t been there, half of them would have died before their arrival.

Dai Tingyu looked at Liu Zhenqing in surprise and said: “Young Master Liu is kind-hearted. In fact, we’ve tried our utmost to arrange for people to follow them, but there will still be fish that slip the net. Tang-chengzhu is also very troubled by this matter, but his manpower is exhausted and there is nothing he can do.”

Liu Zhenqing went silent.

Huo Fenglie asked directly: “What can be done?”

Dai Tingyu looked at Huo Fenglie strangely and thought to himself, what are you asking him for? Dai Tingyu had spoken in detail, and expected the God of War to give them some suggestions on defense.

Liu Zhenqing thought for a moment and said: “There is indeed a way. It depends on whether Tang-chengzhu is willing to give the order.”

Dai Tingyu was a little disdainful. In his eyes, the most resourceful and intelligent Chengzhu could do nothing, so how could he, an Imperial merchant, think of something?

“Speak, Young Master Liu,” Dai Tingyu said at will.

Liu Zhenqing said: “We can announce to the Western Shu Kingdom that, considering that the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty are being endangered by fugitives from Western Shu, foreign trade at the border is suspended, and all trade caravans from their country will be cut off from now on. This will last until no fugitives from Western Shu flow frequently to Great Zhou’s border.”

The horse suddenly neighed as it was stopped by Dai Tingyu.

Staring blankly at Liu Zhenqing in Huo Fenglie’s arms, Dai Tingyu said in disbelief: “Is….it okay? This method?”

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “Commander, this can be discussed with your City Lord. It’s useless to say more.”

Dai Tingyu swallowed and looked at Huo Fenglie, whose face was calm. He didn’t seem to object.

Dai Tingyu didn’t dare ask further questions. He seemed to have revealed his shortcomings, but couldn’t help but pick up his pace, feeling vaguely that this was a very different approach.

Because they arrived in the city late at night, Dai Tingyu initially wanted to knock on the door of the City Lord’s house, but the city gates were far away from the City Lord’s manor. Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing, who had dozed off in his arms. He said: “It’s too late tonight. Let’s rest nearby and pay a visit tomorrow.”

Huo Fenglie spoke in a low tone. Although it wasn’t harsh, his attitude brooked no objection. Dai Tingyu seemed to take it as a military order and quickly obeyed, knocking at the nearest inn to settle the guests in.

Dai Tingyu stepped forward and gave careful instructions: “Shopkeeper, prepare ice for two rooms. Don’t let the guests overheat.”

Liu Zhenqing, who had been lifted off the horse by Huo Fenglie, suddenly pinched Huo Fenglie’s arm.

Huo Fenglie was startled. Seeing that the shopkeeper was about to take them inside, he could only summon his courage and say: “One room.”

Dai Tingyu almost crippled his foot climbing up the stairs.

The shopkeeper turned his head to look, immediately saying with a smile, “Okay, okay, please come inside.”

Huo Fenglie crossed over to Dai Tingyu and said: “You don’t need to send us off. Go back and rest early.”

Dai Tingyu looked awkwardly at Huo Fenglie, who was carrying someone. He stammered: “Okay….I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”

Huo Fenglie nodded and carried Liu Zhenqing to the room.

Dai Tingyu shook his head, dumbstruck. It wasn’t that there were never handsome brothers who admired Huo Fenglie and wanted to recommend themselves as a pillow, but Huo Fenglie had never given them a glance. But now…..sure enough, it was because of the surname Liu. He was related by blood and looked similar, so it was no wonder he could melt this glacier.

On the other side, Huo Fenglie placed the person in his arms onto the bed. Liu Zhenqing didn’t open his eyes or speak the entire time, and directly stretched out his arms to Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie obediently helped him remove his outer layer, shoes, and socks. Liu Zhenqing rolled over and patted the space next to him.

It was only the two of them.

Huo Fenglie hesitated for a moment, then said: “Qing-ge, I have the smell of blood on me. I’ll go wash up and come back. You rest first.”

Liu Zhenqing didn’t respond. He grabbed the pillow next to him and hugged it in his arms. It was obvious that he had been just about to hug Huo Fenglie.

It was already late at night. Liu Zhenqing was indeed tired, and fell asleep, and fell asleep quickly. But when he woke up the next day, he found that he was holding Huo Fenglie in his arms.

Liu Zhenqing was somewhat amused, holding his head up as he gazed at the person next to him. Unless someone took away what he was hugging to sleep, he usually wouldn’t replace it.

Last night, he’d thought that Huo Fenglie still had some scruples and would avoid him, but it seemed he had made some progress and got into his gege’s arms.

Liu Zhenqing looked at Huo Fenglie sleeping there, with his handsome features and heroic spirit. The more he looked, the more delighted he was, and he couldn’t help but move forward to kiss him on the cheek.

Suddenly, Huo Fenglie opened his eyes and stared at Liu Zhenqing. He seemed to be in disbelief.

Liu Zhenqing looked back at him with clear eyes. He had obviously awoken long ago but didn’t dare to wake him, so he pretended to be asleep, not expecting to be secretly kissed by him.

Liu Zhenqing was so thick-skinned that he was not ashamed at all when he was caught. On the contrary, he said: “It turns out you were already awake. Say, did you secretly do something to me before I woke up?”

As expected, Huo Fenglie’s eyes widened, full of the injustice of being falsely accused by the actual criminal. Liu Zhenqing began the new day with uncontrollable laughter.

Sure enough, he felt refreshed after teasing Er-gou in the morning. Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but look forward to it. If this could happen every morning in the future, he would be happy for the rest of his life.

After a moment, there was a knock on the door. Huo Fenglie went to open it, and the shopkeeper’s voice could be heard.

Because they got up late, Dai Tingyu had already been there. Seeing as they weren’t up, he had left a message for the shopkeeper to pass on.

He asked them to wait at the inn when they woke up.

The two cleaned up and went down to eat. The people in the inn could be heard discussing which village had been attacked the night before.

“Even though it’s said that the new policies implemented by Western Shu are good for the people, they cause disaster for us. It’s really irritating if you think about it.”

“Don’t say that, I think the new king wants to end slavery and try to learn from our Great Zhou. He can be considered promising, and he’s more humane than the previous king. It’s just that the distance is very long, and he can’t cover all of it, so please make allowances, everyone.”

“You are magnanimous, but you won’t be affected in Nanfeng City, and you don’t think about how miserable the common people around you are. They are the people from our Great Zhou. Instead of being sympathetic to other countries, it is better to sympathize with those compatriots who cannot survive without the breadwinners of their families.”

“Ai, Brother, what you’re saying isn’t right. I’m not unsympathetic, ah, I just think that we need to be tolerant and look at things comprehensively. The more similar they are to a nation with proper conduct, won’t they pose less of a threat to our Great Zhou?”

“What a colossal joke. Aren’t the countries around us so-called nations of proper conduct? They don’t show any mercy in battle, ah.”

The person being criticized immediately choked, unable to find a reason to refute.

The sarcastic fellow snorted. “As long as it violates our general interests, I don’t care whether or not it’s difficult to reform Western Shu. Don’t forget that four or five years ago, they attacked us together with two other countries. If not for the general who guards the country, you and I might not be able to stand here alive.”

More and more people responded upon hearing this, and someone suddenly said in anger: “The Kingdom of Western Shu is just an ill-raised white-eyed wolf. Everyone, don’t forget the blood feud of the past just because trade relations have improved over the years. More than ten years ago, our Nanfeng City nearly became the territory of the Western Shu Kingdom. There were countless casualties among the defenders and civilians of the city at that time, and they almost couldn’t hold on any longer. How many of you here are authentic people of Nanfeng City? You may or may not remember it, but we, people who have been citizens of Nanfeng City for generations, remember it clearly. That period of humiliating and tragic history will never be forgotten. The stone sculpture of our previous City Lord still stands in the city today.”

As soon as he said this, everyone in the inn became quiet. The old shopkeeper couldn’t help but sigh: “Everyone, please stop arguing. The days of today were hard-won. Thinking about the sacrifices of the old City Lord and the current City Lord Tang-chengzhu, us living good lives is the greatest reward for the Tang family.”

Hearing this, someone promptly said: “We must live good lives for ourselves and develop Nanfeng City well. Don’t let that evildoer in the underworld see us as a joke.”

“Right, don’t let that treacherous evildoer Liu laugh at us!”

Everyone immediately echoed this. It seemed that only when this person’s name was mentioned would everyone’s opinions be highly consistent.

After all, this was one of Liu Zhenqing’s major crimes. It was said that once, the southwest border town was harassed by foreign tribes and was struggling to survive while awaiting support. Liu Zhenqing went there directly and forced the good general defending the city to his death, offering his head to quell the anger of the foreign tribes, which nearly caused the border town to fall and the common people to suffer.

This was truly a serious crime worthy of wiping out his entire clan, but no one could sue him at that time.

The people inside the inn gradually began to talk about Liu Zhenqing’s glorious deeds. This was likely a topic they often brought up after eating. It was no wonder neither Liu Zhenqing’s master nor Han Ye liked to come here.

“Hmph, it was a little close. If it hadn’t been for the young Tang-chengzhu who dared to lead the troops to fight back, we would all be slaves of the Western Shu Kingdom now.”

“Isn’t that right? Liu Zhenqing was simply a devil. Half our people died back then, but we still persisted. It would have been good that he came, but instead of helping his own people, he directly forced the old City Lord who pleaded with him to his death, and even chopped off his head to offer it to the king of Western Shu. It’s also said that he wanted to talk about cooperation, and to give Nanfeng City as a territory to Western Shu and ask for peace talks.”

“If the young City Lord hadn’t taken advantage of the peace talks to launch a sneak attack and kill many important figures of the Western Shu kingdom, we would really be…..”

“Yes, ah, the Tang family has truly given us a new lease on life. Facts have proven that heaven has eyes, and good will be rewarded with good and evil will be rewarded with evil!”

Liu Zhenqing took a sip of his soup upon hearing this. Sure enough, if the previous City Lord was mentioned, he would be mentioned as well. He really wasn’t used to these familiar voices of condemnation after not hearing them for a long while. He looked to the side where Huo Fenglie, with a gloomy expression, had stopped eating a half-finished dumpling.

Good people were rewarded?

That’s right, wasn’t this a good reward? He was allowed to come back and pick up a great treasure.

Liu Zhenqing suddenly leaned forward and bit into the half-eaten dumpling on his chopsticks. Holding the chopsticks in his mouth, he looked up at Huo Fenglie with a smile.

Stunned, Huo Fenglie could only look at Liu Zhenqing uneasily and take the initiative to pass the chopsticks forward as if feeding it to him.

Liu Zhenqing ate the half dumpling with satisfaction. As if to reciprocate, he picked up a small steamed bun and took the first bite. “En, this tastes pretty good too. You have it.”

After saying this, he brought it to Huo Fenglie’s mouth.

In fact, Liu Zhenqing had eaten Huo Fenglie’s half-eaten food before. That was when he was very young, but since his rebirth, it seemed that Huo Fenglie had never given him the opportunity. This seemed like the first time, but although Huo Fenglie often ate Liu Zhenqing’s leftovers, he had never fed them to him himself.

Just as Huo Fenglie was feeling uneasy, they heard a cough.

Turning to look, they saw a group of people coming to the door, which instantly caused a sensation.

“Chengzhu, Commander Dai!”

The guests immediately went to salute, but the man in the lead raised his hand to stop them.

The man was dressed in the blue brocade robes of a scholar, and his face was elegant and fair. He wore a white jade hairpin and a jasper waist pendant, not complicated, but exquisite. Although he was not tall, he had an air of dignity, graceful and elegant, gentle and polite.

This person was Tang Mu, the lord of Nanfeng City.

And standing behind him was Dai Tingyu, who had just coughed to alert the two of them. It was very amusing that their appearances formed a strong contrast, like a big black bear following a deer spirit. But it could be seen that the big black bear was very respectful to the deer spirit.

Tang Mu looked at the two men with a warm smile, immediately stepping forward to greet them.

Huo Fenglie took a bite of the xiaolongbao and then waved to Tang Mu, signaling for him to not say his name.

Although this trip was not destined to be kept secret, and those in the know had known for a long time, Huo Fenglie didn’t like high-profile scenes and avoided them when at all possible.

Tang Mu was not a pedantic person. He obeyed Huo Fenglie’s wishes, looking graceful when he just made an inviting gesture.

Very soon, in an atmosphere of speculation and inquiry, Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing boarded the carriage prepared by Tang Mu.

After boarding the carriage, Tang Mu still insisted on kneeling to Huo Fenglie. His discipline and control was very good.

Liu Zhenqing looked at Tang Mu with some nostalgia. After so many years, this brat still looked like a soft-spoken, delicate young master. Back then, his hands would tremble for a long time after killing someone, his face pallid. It was rumored that Young Master Tang was capable of both literary pursuits and martial arts. At that time, Liu Zhenqing really felt that he had been deceived.

But now, he looked even more handsome. If Song Xingmu saw him, he would definitely compete with him to see who was the best-looking. According to Song Xingmu, without the Liu Zhenqing was of the past, he was now the most beautiful among men.

Liu Zhenqing expressed his displeasure. Er-gou was obviously the most handsome.

Song Xingmu disagreed, saying that they were not in the same category.

Okay, it could probably be said that one was handsome and the other was beautiful.

But that was only because Song Xingmu hadn’t seen Tang Mu.

Liu Zhenqing was about to give Huo Fenglie a look of complaint, but when he glanced over, he saw that Huo Fenglie’s face had gone dark and he was staring at the person in front of him with a pair of tiger eyes.

He didn’t even tell Tang Mu to get up.

The difference in level between Tang Mu and Huo Fenglie was so great that if Huo Fenglie didn’t tell him to get up, he naturally didn’t dare to move.

What was this? Liu Zhenqing wore a look of confusion. He wanted to remind Huo Fenglie, but was suddenly struck by the resentment in Huo Fenglie’s eyes when they turned toward him.

Liu Zhenqing: ? ? ?

“Tang-chengzhu, there is no need to be polite. Please rise.” Huo Fenglie’s tone was ice-cold. He was indeed displeased.

And…..why was Huo Fenglie still staring at him as he spoke?

It wasn’t until Tang Mu rose that Huo Fenglie looked back, lowering his eyes as he said: “The pendant on Tang-chengzhu looks familiar. Where did it come from?”

When they were inside the inn before, he could only see one corner of the small jade pendant due to the different style of clothing. The rest was completely hidden within the folds and could only be seen when he was kneeling or sitting down.

Liu Zhenqing had only been looking at his face just now, and it was only when Huo Fenglie mentioned it that he paid attention and took a look.

With one glance, Liu Zhenqing’s head was buzzing.

Wait, that was…..

A willow leaf jade pendant?!

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Chapter One Hundred One << Table of Contents >> Chapter One Hundred Three