Chapter 49: You’re Saying Baby Will Fight You for Sheng Yue?
"For me?"
Sheng Yue turned around, his brow furrowed.
His father did seem to have mentioned wanting him to look after an old friend’s daughter.
But he hadn’t agreed, nor had he done anything that would give his father the wrong impression.
Faced with this turn of events, Xi Yu’s heart remained completely undisturbed.
He looked at Sheng Yue with a hint of scrutiny. "Is she your woman?"
Xu Shaoqing cut in before he could answer. "Yes! I am! Our families have always been great business partners, and Uncle Sheng is very fond of me. He’s wanted me and Chairman Sheng to spend more time together for a long while now."
Xu Shaoqing tried to stand up, but Lin Yu forced her back down.
There was a heavy THUD as her knees hit the ground, and a sharp pain shot through them.
Her beautiful face instantly twisted in a grimace.
Fury, jealousy... Xu Shaoqing was radiating resentment.
She raised a finger and pointed at Jian Yu, her tone showing not the slightest hint of submission.
"Everyone knows I’m in love with Chairman Sheng, but the moment she showed up, he was completely seduced by her!"
She had been about to curse Jian Yu for being a deliberate flirt, but a cold snort from Xi Yu echoed in her ear. "I hate it when people point at me."
"No, I wasn’t pointing at—" Xu Shaoqing’s eyes widened in shock as she tried to explain.
The finger she was about to retract was attacked by a black tendril and twisted viciously.
"Guh... AARGH—"
The bone in her finger was snapped, the knuckle bending inward at a grotesque angle.
Heart-piercing agony shot from the dislocated bone, and the entire finger lay limp in her palm in a bizarre fashion.
Xu Shaoqing hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Yang Zhang’s tendrils.
"My hand!"
Her body curled up as she clutched her finger tightly with her other hand, her screams hoarse and shrill.
Jian Yu frowned.
Room 177 was divided into a main chamber and an inner room. Once the inner door was closed, she could no longer hear Xuzhou’s anguished howls from inside.
She was in the main chamber, and with Xu Shaoqing right under her nose, she could still hear faint noises even with her ears covered.
Jian Yu gently pried at his fingers, trying to pull away the hand Xi Yu was using to cover her eyes.
It didn’t budge.
She lowered her head. "My eyes hurt."
"Sorry, baby," Xi Yu said, immediately letting go.
He lowered his head, gently massaging the area around her eyes with his thumb.
Jian Yu was drained of strength, her eyelids fluttering open wearily.
’She was the one who had been bullied; she couldn’t bring herself to repay evil with kindness. Xi Yu and the others were getting revenge for her now. She had to be on their side and not end up alienating everyone.’
Pei Yin suddenly spoke up, his tone sarcastic but his eyes betraying his concern. "Careful you don’t scare your ’baby’."
Ling Yanzhi glanced at Jian Yu and saw no fear or terror in her.
’She had been more afraid of the Red Snake than of this.’
’Her face was pale, but it probably wasn’t from fright. She’d likely lost too much blood, which was why she was so colorless.’
Sheng Yue, his judgment clouded by concern, subconsciously moved to block Jian Yu’s view.
His protective gesture could easily be misinterpreted; one could even say it looked like he was shielding Xu Shaoqing.
Duan Fei took this all in, his pupils contracting slightly.
A flicker of hope did indeed ignite in Xu Shaoqing. Her face filled with expectation, and even the look of pain began to fade.
She cast herself in the role of a devoted lover who had only strayed because she loved too deeply.
"I love Sheng Yue, and he’s interested in me too! What’s wrong with defending my own relationship? If I don’t do anything, it’s only a matter of time before she lures him away."
Sheng Yue’s brow was tightly furrowed as he prepared to refute her.
His good upbringing prevented him from saying anything too harsh.
As a result, just as he had formulated his words, someone else spoke first.
"Are you trying to say my baby likes him? You think my baby wants to fight you for Sheng Yue?" Ling Yanzhi stared intently at Sheng Yue, who was blocking his view.
His fingers quietly clenched into a fist.
’Again and again, why did people insist on constantly reminding him of the ’fact’ that Jian Yu liked Sheng Yue?’
A hint of crimson ignited in his dark, bottomless pupils, and his gentle facade instantly shattered. "If you don’t want your eyes anymore, I don’t mind helping you dig them out."
"Blind," Xi Yu said, his fingertips casually brushing Jian Yu’s cheek. "The person my baby likes is clearly me."
"Wrong. It’s us," Ling Yanzhi corrected, lowering his gaze to continue kneading Jian Yu’s calf. "Isn’t that right, baby?"
"Mhm," Jian Yu murmured. She was a little dizzy and leaned back into Xi Yu’s arms, not daring to say anything else.
Xu Shaoqing’s world came crashing down.
’Baby? She had never even dared to call Sheng Yue ’baby’.’
"You... You guys aren’t..."
’Didn’t you move on and fall for that other specially-recruited student!?’
Xu Shaoqing stared at Xi Yu and Ling Yanzhi in disbelief, her lips trembling. "I... I..."
Used to being arrogant, she was still unwilling to bow her head.
She was still clinging to a sliver of hope, refusing to believe they would actually dare to make a move on her.
Ling Yanzhi squeezed Jian Yu’s foot, his eyelids drooping lazily.
"..." Jian Yu awkwardly tried to pull her leg back, but lost control and ended up kicking him in the chest.
The corners of Ling Yanzhi’s mouth curved up, his mood improving.
But when he looked up again, he was like a different person.
He tilted his head slightly, his expression vicious, leaving no room for negotiation. "Lin Yu, throw her in."
Sheng Yue hesitantly stepped aside.
Lin Yu hauled the woman to her feet.
Xu Shaoqing reached out to grab Sheng Yue’s arm, but her hand grasped at empty air.
She panicked, whirling around and struggling furiously against Lin Yu.
Her fighting style was too desperate, forcing Lin Yu to switch from offense to defense.
Ling Yanzhi said, "Step aside."
A powerful wave of spiritual power crashed down, and Xu Shaoqing was instantly slammed to the ground.
The Red Snake coiled tightly around her neck.
Most of Xu Shaoqing’s arrogance vanished. "I admit it, I lost my head! I shouldn’t have offended your people. But isn’t she fine? Nothing happened to her, did it? I did all of this for Sheng Yue! I was just so scared someone would steal him away."
Jian Yu looked down at her arm, which was wrapped in a blanket.
’They hadn’t known I have a problem with blood clotting, so they only inflicted a minor injury when I resisted. But could nearly freezing to death in there also be called ’nothing happened’?’
Duan Feiye’s gaze was cold as he merely turned his neck to glance at Xu Shaoqing.
His posture didn’t change. "Little Yue, why is she looking at you like you’re a heartless scoundrel?"
Pei Yin pursed his lips. "My Brother Sheng is polite and courteous to everyone. She’s probably spent so much time daydreaming she can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality anymore."
Sheng Yue finally found an opportunity to interject.
"You say you did this for me? But what good does this do me?"
He stared down at Xu Shaoqing, his eyes holding nothing but cold indifference. "Or are you saying you think Jian Yu’s existence is a threat to me?"
Xu Shaoqing’s mouth fell slightly open.
’An ordinary specially-recruited student, a threat to a 3S-ranked Awakener? What a joke.’
Now that Sheng Yue had made his stance clear, Lin Yu immediately stepped aside, used the privileges Ling Yanzhi had given him, and passed the identity verification.
The cold, metallic door folded open.
The sounds from inside had stopped. Duan Feiye raised his eyes.
A swarm of insects emerged, their wings beating in perfect unison, weaving themselves into a giant net that steadily carried Teacher Xu out.
His arm was swollen, his entire body was covered in blood, and it was impossible to tell if he was dead or alive.
A tendril shot out, yanking Xu Shaoqing into the air.
Accompanied by a terrified scream, the door, shimmering with a cold light, slowly closed.
Pei Yin sensed something was wrong.
He walked over to check Xuzhou’s injuries. "Did you have the Red Snake poison him? What’s wrong with his hand?"
’Why does the wound have the aura of a Fierce Beast?’