When Jiang You heard "team assessment," her expression faltered for a moment.
’The plot about the Secret Realm assessment.’
’The female lead will participate too, but she’ll join a different team.’
’And so she, the villainess, would become the female lead’s foil.’
’The more amazing the female lead was, the more of a drama queen she had to be, making the contrast stark.’
’As a result, the villainess’s fiancé would develop feelings for the female lead and grow to despise his high-maintenance fiancée even more.’
"Jiang You." Xie Heng’s voice came through the terminal. He seemed to have called her name only because she had been silent for too long.
Jiang You reined in her thoughts, her tone indifferent. "I know. I’ll go into the Secret Realm with you guys when the time comes."
She hung up the terminal as soon as she finished speaking.
On the other end, Xie Heng had wanted to say more, but he hadn’t expected Jiang You to just hang up on him.
He never got to ask, "Where are you?"
Xie Heng stared at the disconnected call, his handsome face instantly darkening.
His pitch-black eyes turned dark and unreadable.
In the end, he made another call. "Help me run a check on a hover sports car, license plate J8888."
"Right away, Young Master," a voice replied from the other end.
After hanging up, Jiang You continued on her way.
"Sister You, I asked around. That Zhou Jin guy is in gym class right now. If we head to the gym, we can definitely corner that bastard!" Yang Qi said, brimming with confidence. "He’ll be by himself, so he’ll be no match for us."
Jiang You shot Yang Qi a sidelong glance.
She hadn’t forgotten the time Yang Qi had gotten his face beaten to a pulp.
Noticing her gaze, Yang Qi immediately flashed a sycophantic smile and seemed to grind his teeth as he explained, "It was only because they outnumbered me that I got beaten up so badly last time."
He quickly tried to save face, adding, "But I got plenty of hits in on him, too."
Jiang You looked away. "I know."
"Boss, look! It’s that Zhou Jin guy!" one of the lackeys beside them shouted upon seeing him.
Both Jiang You and Yang Qi looked over. Sure enough, they saw Zhou Jin pulling a cart loaded with basketballs and other gym equipment toward the equipment room.
"Let’s go," Jiang You said, quickening her pace.
Yang Qi and the others immediately followed her.
Zhou Jin had just pulled the cart of equipment into the room when the door behind him slammed shut with a loud CLANG.
The door was closed, and the room was plunged into dimness.
Zhou Jin’s narrow, red eyes narrowed viciously. He spun around to see who was tired of living...
His gaze fell on Jiang You, and he froze.
He and Yang Qi both had red hair and red eyes, but one was like an eager puppy, and the other a vicious red serpent.
Zhou Jin recalled the mysterious, mechanical voice he had heard.
He hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, but now the girl had actually appeared.
Zhou Jin’s expression turned inscrutable.
"Something you need?" he asked, shooting Jiang You a glance and speaking in a casual, indifferent tone.
With her mission in mind, Jiang You strode toward Zhou Jin.
Zhou Jin’s gaze was fixed on her. As he watched her approach with a confident, resounding stride, her pink hair swaying gently, a strange thought welled up inside him.
’She’s so... fierce.’
’Really fierce.’
’I kinda like it.’
Meeting Zhou Jin’s stare, Jiang You kicked him in the leg, instantly leaving a dusty footprint on his pants. She crossed her arms and looked at him haughtily. "Zhou Yan is your sister, right? Keep her in line. Don’t let her try to seduce the guy I like, or else I won’t go easy on you."
The force of her kick was nothing to Zhou Jin.
In truth, Jiang You hadn’t even kicked very hard; she was just putting on an act to complete her mission.
[Mission Complete.]
Zhou Jin glanced at the footprint on his pant leg, then looked back at Jiang You. He had a naturally intimidating face, and coupled with his frequent fights, he always carried a faint, menacing aura that warned people not to mess with him. With his expression now blank, he looked rather terrifying.
’So she’s only doing this for a mission.’
If Zhou Jin hadn’t known the truth, he would have definitely made Jiang You pay. But now that he did, he just stood there, his expression unreadable for a long moment.
"Did you hear me?!" Jiang You demanded fiercely.
"So what if I don’t? What are you gonna do about it?" Knowing the truth, Zhou Jin’s rebellious nature flared up, and he raised a roguish eyebrow.
"Then I’ll make you regret it!" Jiang You spat out the threat, then turned to leave. "We’re going!"
’I’ve already completed the mission. What am I still doing here?’
But just then, Zhou Jin grabbed her by the wrist.
Jiang You froze, turning back with a frown.
"Who taught you to threaten someone like that?" Zhou Jin raised an eyebrow, a roguish grin on his face. "You should’ve beaten me up first, then stepped on my face, and *then* said what you just said. Now *that* would have been intimidating!"
Jiang You’s eye twitched.
’What the hell is wrong with this Zhou Jin!’
"Damn it, Zhou! What do you think you’re doing?!" Seeing this, Yang Qi’s expression instantly turned hostile as he charged over.
He shoved Zhou Jin away with all his might.
Caught off guard, Zhou Jin stumbled back and crashed into a storage rack behind him. CLANG! Boxes tumbled off the shelves, scattering across the floor.
"Sister You, are you okay?" Yang Qi took Jiang You’s hand, gently rubbing her wrist and then blowing on it as if it were a priceless treasure.
"Are you trying to tell me what to do? I don’t need you telling me how to handle my business!" Jiang You shot Zhou Jin a cold look, pulled her hand from Yang Qi’s grasp, and turned to leave. "Let’s go."
’This Zhou Jin is seriously nuts.’
Jiang You cursed inwardly.
Zhou Jin simply watched her and her entourage leave, letting out a soft "tsk."
Nevertheless, he called Zhou Yan on his terminal.
The call connected a moment later.
"Sis, you dating someone?" Zhou Jin asked casually.
"Huh? Bro, no, I’m not," Zhou Yan replied, surprised. "What’s up? Why are you suddenly asking me this?"
"Oh. Well, have you been getting close to anyone lately?" Zhou Jin asked, remembering Jiang You’s words about ’the guy I like.’
’Who does she like?’
"No, Bro. I’m exhausted from making money and running Secret Realms every day. Who has time for dating?" Zhou Yan said, exasperated.
"Okay. Never mind then," Zhou Jin said, not pressing further.
He found some of his guys and told them to look into Zhou Yan’s recent activities.
Meanwhile, as Jiang You walked away, Yang Qi tagged along beside her, his red, puppy-dog eyes staring at her pitifully. "Sister You, who do you like? When did some new guy I don’t know about show up?"
He had thought Jiang You came looking for trouble with Zhou Jin because of their past conflicts, not because of some guy.
He felt a pang of jealousy and a little hurt.
"None of your business." Jiang You saw no need to explain herself to a simp.
Yang Qi’s red eyes flickered, but he still forced a grin. "Sister You, just tell me who it is, and I’ll go beat him up for you! Who’s this idiot who doesn’t appreciate you and is fooling around with other girls?!"
"Shut up," Jiang You said coolly. "I don’t need your help."
Though he was hurt, Yang Qi still spoke with enthusiasm. "Well, whenever you do need me, Sister You, just say the word!"