Chapter 56: Duan Feiye’s Rotten Idea
"Sign it if you have the guts!"
Pei Yin swiped on his Star Brain.
Two newly drafted electronic agreements appeared right in front of Duan Feiye.
They were simple, direct, and a little childish.
If he ever ate his words and admitted to liking Jian Yu, he would have to give Pei Yin fifteen Exotic Beast Eggs, B-level or higher.
"What’s this for?" With a small flick of his finger, Duan Feiye made the agreements disappear.
He calmly raised his eyes, a thoughtful look flashing in his placid dark pupils. "You’re overreacting a bit, Little Pei."
"You just don’t dare to bet against me." Pei Yin’s expression stiffened.
Duan Feiye smiled. "It’s not that I don’t dare, it’s just that this bet is completely unnecessary."
He calmly smoothed his cuffs. "Win or lose, there’s nothing in it for me."
Pei Yin paused. "That special transfer student you brought back has already made a ton of demands before even starting to cooperate with the research. And you want something out of me for a small bet like this?"
Yan Qin suggested moving into the villa they all shared, for convenient, up-close observation and research.
’And what was that about being their academic and personal assistant?’
The thought alone made Pei Yin feel sick.
And somehow, the conversation had circled back to Yan Qin.
Duan Feiye’s voice was light and dismissive. "It’s not like we haven’t brought test subjects back to the villa before. The ’up-close observation’ part was my idea. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. Why be so two-faced about it?"
"That’s different." Pei Yin crossed his arms. "I don’t like her."
"Tch." Duan Feiye’s gaze slowly drifted to him. "You liked those other men, didn’t you? But how did they all end up dead?"
’...’ Pei Yin’s mind reeled.
’What does he mean, I like men?’
’Weren’t those death row inmates? Aren’t they all just given a lethal injection the very next day?’
"Why are you being so nasty all of a sudden?"
"My bad." In truth, Duan Feiye had a headache.
The Primordial Beast Egg was rare, but it wouldn’t hatch. It was no use for Xi Yu to keep it, so he thought he’d gather the forces of the Alliance’s research department to help.
But who would have thought that after handing over the Primordial Beast Egg, the research department would fail to hatch it too.
The Alliance, never one to waste an opportunity, turned it into three vials of medicine without Xi Yu’s consent.
Two vials were wasted. He brought the last one back, but before he could even think about how to find a volunteer, Yan Qin showed up.
The situation at the time was unusual; he had no choice but to intervene.
"So, she was possessed by a Soul Ghost Body, you saved her, and in return, she asked you to help her transfer to Weis Lan."
Pei Yin knew how shameless the Alliance could be, but since Xi Yu had been compensated and hadn’t pursued it, there was nothing more for them to say.
Pei Yin’s expression was odd. "You wanted to drive her away, so you tried to scare her, taking a page out of my book. But not only was she unafraid, she actually snatched the medicine and drank it?"
After hearing his explanation, the corner of Pei Yin’s eye twitched upwards. "Are you spinning me a yarn?"
’Who chugs something down after being told it’s poison?’
Duan Feiye held out his hands. "Or maybe I’ve just been hanging out with you too much and had a brain fart."
Pei Yin: "..."
Duan Feiye glanced back over his shoulder. "The Threshold Devouring Period, you know how it is. I was in a bad mood that day."
His gaze was steady, but his tone carried a faint, agitated edge.
Pei Yin frowned.
His Threshold Devouring Period hadn’t acted up for two weeks straight.
He felt an odd pang of guilt, as if he were betraying his friend.
"I never thought Xi Yu and Yan Zhi would fall for a special transfer student."
Duan Feiye stopped teasing him. "Before, I thought you were exaggerating."
Meeting his dark, intense eyes, Pei Yin suppressed his inner thoughts.
’I should wait a little longer.’
’It’ll be less suspicious if I wait until this blows over.’
’When the time is right, I’ll ask if Duan Feiye can use Jian Yu’s sachet for a bit.’
"If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t push you." Duan Feiye lowered his gaze and slowly stood up.
He methodically straightened his clothes. "I’m going to check on Yan Qin. As far as I’m concerned, she’s much more important than Jian Yu."
Pei Yin scoffed. "Ten Yan Qins aren’t as important as Jian Yu. So what if it came from an S-Class egg? Even an S-Class Exotic Beast Egg isn’t guaranteed to be a Primordial Beast Egg until it’s hatched and appraised. The medicine failed to help an Awakener evolve, so how far do you expect a regular person to evolve with it?"
"She’s showing signs of a second Awakening. Isn’t that enough?" Duan Feiye raised an eyebrow. "I didn’t realize you were so protective of Jian."
’Ling Yanzhi had pulled some strings, so he didn’t have much information on Jian Yu.’
’But judging from how Xu Shaoqing was dealt with, they were clearly furious.’
’The Xu Family had only produced one A-level Awakener in recent years—Xu Shaoqing. The rest were either B-level or ordinary people, none of whom could amount to anything.’
’For a noble family like the Xus, having a member expelled from Weis Lan Noble Academy was a fate worse than torture.’
’At Weis Lan, even an ordinary special transfer student could live a better life than most people after they left.’
’Not to mention that after graduation, they could use the name of Weis Lan Noble Academy to enjoy all sorts of privileges and conveniences.’
’If they were lucky, they could not only mingle in certain noble circles but also be specially recruited to work for the Alliance.’
Duan Feiye’s expression was reserved. He said nonchalantly, "I seem to recall you hating her before."
His reaction was so flat that Pei Yin found it boring. "I don’t hate her. I just don’t get why Xi Yu and the others decided she was ’the one’ at first sight."
"Ohh~" Duan Feiye nodded. "They moved too fast, leaving you without a chance."
Pei Yin: "..."
He pointed expressionlessly at the door. "Out."
Duan Feiye held up a hand. "My mistake. They like her, you don’t like her one bit."
He nodded matter-of-factly. "’Decided she was the one at first sight.’ Are you talking about Xi Yu or Ling Yanzhi?"
"You didn’t look into it?" Pei Yin looked at him, astonished.
It dawned on him, and he spoke hesitantly. "All that surveillance footage... did Ling Yanzhi wipe it all?"
’Who was he trying to hide it from?!’
"You haven’t answered my question." Duan Feiye’s gaze shifted to watch him sit cross-legged on the hovering circular chair.
A moment ago, that chair had been shaped like a recliner.
Pei Yin rested his hands on his lap like a meditating monk. "Both of them. Ling Yanzhi claimed it was love at first sight, and Xi Yu started calling her ’baby’ on day one."
He raised an eyebrow. "He went straight to trying to lock her up, and he almost went to her dorm to help her move in himself."
The more Pei Yin spoke, the angrier he got. "Tell me, doesn’t she sound like she’s got some kind of irresistible charm?"
"Mhm," Duan Feiye agreed softly, nodding in earnest.
"A delicate face, that ’first love’ look, a swan-like neck, sharp shoulders, a butterfly-back, legs straight out of a manga... According to my plan, my cousin was supposed to grow up to look just like that."
He sighed. "A pity it didn’t go according to plan."
Pei Yin: "..."
He asked awkwardly, "How can falling for someone’s looks count as ’love at first sight’? Isn’t that just lust?"
Duan Feiye watched his expression, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Without a first impression, how can you lay the groundwork for what’s to come?"
Duan Feiye’s gaze shifted, his voice unhurried. "You really can’t figure out why they like her? Why don’t you just follow her for a few days, then snatch her up and keep her for a while? You’ll understand then."
’Exactly what I wanted to hear.’
Pei Yin fought to conceal his true thoughts. "That’s such a classless thing to do..."
Duan Feiye saw right through him and smiled to himself. "It’ll be fine as long as *they* don’t find out. And of course, it’d be best if Jian doesn’t find out either."
He added lightly, "She was just locked in that ice room. Who knows how many people are watching from the shadows, waiting to cause trouble for her. If you follow her, you could say you’re protecting her."
He silently helped Pei Yin flesh out the plan. "I remember you know acupuncture. If you get caught, you can just say you were giving Jian treatment for her leg."
Before leaving, he patted Pei Yin on the shoulder. "Staring at other people’s girlfriends isn’t a viable long-term strategy, Little Pei. Good luck making it official."
Pei Yin: "..."