Chapter 114
Chapter 114
Qin Lan was quite familiar with Yu Qianqian’s name.
Su Xiaoyue occasionally mentioned her roommate after enrolling, though she selectively filtered out the unpleasant comments.
She spoke only of places they visited and amusing things that happened.
Qin Lan therefore had no idea how utterly “wicked” Yu Qianqian considered him.
He was about to learn.
“Didn’t you say she has a boyfriend? A local from Safe Zone 088?” Huo Xinran asked with a smile and a trace of disdain. “Someone with an F-rank Talent who couldn’t even get into university?”
Yu Qianqian pulled a troubled face.
“That’s right. I don’t know what kind of spell that guy put her under…”
“Xiaoyue is the Elite Program’s most outstanding student now. Every mentor is fighting to recruit her. It’s caused a complete mess…”
“The United Government will definitely compete for her after graduation. Her future couldn’t be brighter…”
Yu Qianqian shook her head in dissatisfaction. “And that guy? He failed the university entrance exam and joined the Anomaly Hunter Bureau… Anomaly Hunters may have high status, but the work is dangerous!”
“Plenty of 1-Star Anomaly Hunters die every year. How long can someone with an F-rank Talent possibly survive?”
“But Su Xiaoyue’s whole heart is set on him… What a waste!”
Huo Xinran nodded with a cold laugh.
“If I were that man, I’d be too ashamed to stay beside her. He’s nothing but a burden.”
“Clinging to her and wasting her youth is shameless.”
In the rear, enormous question marks filled Qin Lan’s little head.
?
Boyfriend?
Were they talking about him?
Since when had Qin Lan become Su Xiaoyue’s boyfriend?
At first he assumed they had the wrong person, but the more he listened, the more unmistakable it became.
Failed the university entrance exam. F-rank Talent. Anomaly Hunter Bureau.
That was clearly fucking him!
“So I’m actually her boyfriend?!”
The realization came late, horror entering Qin Lan’s eyes.
“When the fuck did that happen? Why didn’t I know?!”
“Aren’t we just really good friends?”
“Neither of us confessed! What in the world…?”
Qin Lan certainly liked Su Xiaoyue. Honestly, he was not gay. Who would feel nothing for an outstanding, beautiful young woman?
Even as dense as Qin Lan was, he had noticed that Su Xiaoyue treated him differently from other people.
He simply had not attributed it to romantic interest.
To him, it might have been nothing more than the special treatment one gave a friend.
Only now did he realize how spectacularly wrong he might have been.
Recalling the past, Qin Lan’s face grew paler.
[That looks a lot like the style on the poster… the “make your sweetheart fall madly in love with you at first sight” perm.]
…
[Has anyone ever told you that your emotional intelligence is terrible?]
…
[Qin Lan, have you ever seriously considered yourself? Or do you think no one cares about you, so you can act this irresponsibly with your own life?]
…
[I only hope you’ll let me know before you do something that dangerous.]
…
[I want the right to care about you openly.]
Fuck!
This was bad!
“If everyone thinks I’m her boyfriend…”
“And she thinks so too…”
Qin Lan swallowed as unprecedented pressure bore down on him.
“Then all the things I sent her before…”
At last, Qin Lan understood why Su Xiaoyue had responded, “You really are gentle,” after hearing about Tang Qingqing.
The innocent Student Qin had taken it as praise.
Looking back, it seemed more like a warning from Death.
Even a Backup Reaper felt fear before the “real Death.”
“Fuck… I’m screwed…”
Qin Lan hunched his shoulders and sensed disaster, as though he could already see his death approaching.
At that moment, Yu Qianqian noticed the pale-faced Qin Lan behind them.
She turned curiously and waved. “Hey, handsome!”
“Are you feeling sick? You look… kind of uncomfortable.”
Uncomfortable did not begin to describe it.
Qin Lan felt as though his life no longer belonged to him.
He forced a smile. “I’m fine…”
“You’re students from Clear Spring Academy, right?”
“That Su Xiaoyue you mentioned… Is she the Su Xiaoyue with the A-rank Talent Shadow Incarnation?”
Yu Qianqian covered her mouth in surprise.
“Huh? You know her too?”
“Wow, Xiaoyue is that famous? We even ran into one of her fans here…”
Huo Xinran gave Qin Lan an indifferent glance.
“That’s normal. There are plenty of people who don’t know their place and want to pursue Junior Su.”
“Nothing unusual about it.”
His sharp words were aimed directly at Qin Lan, placing him among those who “didn’t know their place.”
Qin Lan’s mouth twitched. “A fan… I suppose that almost counts.”
His name had long occupied the glorious top position on the Su Xiaoyue Admirers’ Alliance leaderboard. Strictly speaking, he was half a fan.
Not voluntarily.
“Handsome, are you also an alumnus of Clear Spring? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
Yu Qianqian studied Qin Lan curiously. He possessed an air utterly unlike other men.
She had met plenty of handsome students at school, but none like Qin Lan–someone she could not look away from.
Qin Lan was not handsome, exactly. Pleasant-looking would be more accurate.
But his steady presence, and the calm that had seeped into his bones after so many brushes with death, made it easy for someone to fall under his spell.
Most striking was the confidence revealed in his every movement.
Too much confidence was unpleasant and inspired disgust.
Qin Lan’s confidence came from his strength, experience, and judgment.
It was the composure of a man who held everything under control.
“No.” Qin Lan shook his head. “This is my first trip to the Central Region.”
Disappointment crossed Yu Qianqian’s face.
Had he truly been a fellow student, she might have asked for his contact information.
The man’s charm was almost suspiciously powerful.
They had only just met, yet the several “handsome guys” in her memory had already been left streets behind.
“Mm… My face feels hot…”
“No, no. Calm down…”
Yu Qianqian instinctively touched her cheek, quickly looked away, and took a deep breath.
Alarm bells blared in Huo Xinran’s mind.
His first reaction was to classify this suddenly appearing, extraordinary man as a rival.
Especially since he had mentioned Su Xiaoyue.
“If you aren’t an alumnus, then you must attend one of the other Lower Nine Academies? Or perhaps a Middle Five Hall?”
Huo Xinran offered Qin Lan a blade wrapped in polite words.
If Qin Lan attended an ordinary university, he would immediately lose ground and presence before Huo Xinran.
Facing that superior stare, Qin Lan opened his mouth, then hesitated and chose the simplest answer.
He slowly drew a silver badge from his pocket.
Before their eyes, he pinned it to his chest and grinned.
“Why don’t you guess?”