Jiang You’s pink eyes flickered. Though she felt her actions were rather unkind, she still looked up with cold arrogance, her face expressionless. "Mm, you can go."
Yang Qi could only cast a pleading glance at her before finally leaving, looking back over and over.
After he turned away, a pained look filled his red eyes, and his gaze fell in dejection.
"Boss?" a few of his followers asked timidly from the side.
"Get lost," Yang Qi snarled, his voice cold and harsh.
His followers instantly fell silent, not daring to utter another word.
Meanwhile, Jiang You handed the pastries to Xie Heng, her tone a command. "Take them."
Xie Heng hesitated for a moment before reaching out to accept them.
"Let’s go. Back to school," Jiang You said, already walking ahead.
Xie Heng lowered his gaze, watching the girl’s confident and arrogant stride before slowly following.
"When is the assessment?" Jiang You inquired haughtily.
"This Saturday," Xie Heng answered calmly.
"Fine. This young lady understands," Jiang You said with a nod. "I’ll be there."
Xie Heng responded, "Alright."
The two of them walked toward the school.
"Xie Heng, just admit it. You’re completely smitten with me," Jiang You declared confidently.
The warm winter light reflected in Xie Heng’s dark pupils, creating a mesmerizing sheen.
He looked at her, his pupils mirroring her reflection.
Having spoken, Jiang You turned to face him, her delicate and beautiful little face tilted up, her pink eyes staring right at him.
Xie Heng felt as if he could hear his own heart pound. His dark eyes shifted, slowly and with difficulty. He averted his gaze, his voice turning cold and stiff once more. "It’s an arranged marriage. It doesn’t count."
Jiang You already knew this. ’He’s supposed to fall for the main female character later on.’
’Looks like my fiancé hasn’t broken character yet.’
Even so, she was just maintaining her persona. She scoffed unhappily, "Hah! Keep playing tough. There’s no way you don’t like me when I’m this beautiful!"
Xie Heng said nothing more.
Although Jiang You was still her usual domineering self, she was much less of a handful than before.
For the first time, Xie Heng felt the atmosphere between them wasn’t so tense.
Xie Heng walked Jiang You back to her dorm and then left.
He was her fiancé, and yet they had no physical intimacy whatsoever.
’A truly fake engagement, just for the family alliance.’
Jiang You watched Xie Heng leave without a shred of hesitation. ’It’s obvious his character hasn’t broken. He really isn’t interested in me.’
’Maybe it’s because all the other male leads like me that I got the false impression my fiancé must like me too.’
’Yep, definitely a false impression.’
There were no classes in the afternoon.
Jiang You decided to rest in her dorm for an hour before entering a Secret Realm to grind for EXP.
In the evening, she would complete Gu Qing’s task, and her duties for the day would be done.
’Perfect.’
She said she was going to rest, but she picked up her terminal to play on it first.
So many unread messages.
Shen Lan alone had sent a ton.
He was supposed to be knitting a scarf, but he would knit for a bit and then send her a progress report.
’What’s the point of updating me on that tiny bit of progress? He’s just looking for an excuse to pester me.’
Shen Lan: [Babe, look, I knitted a little more.]
Shen Lan: [Babe, what are you doing?]
Shen Lan: [Babe, do you miss me?]
...
Shen Lan: [Babe, I pricked my hand by accident while knitting.]
Shen Lan: [Babe, I miss you so much.]
...
The corner of Jiang You’s mouth twitched. They hadn’t even been apart for a full day. She’d told him to go home and knit the scarf, but instead he just kept sending her messages every few minutes.
Jiang You: [At this rate, you’ll never finish it.]
Shen Lan: [Babe, you finally had time to reply to me.]
Jiang You: [Just focus on knitting.]
Shen Lan: [Babe, want to get dinner together tonight?]
Jiang You: [Okay.]
Shen Lan: [Love you, babe~~]
Jiang You didn’t reply and went to check her other unread messages.
Gu Qing had also sent her a message.
Jiang You’s expression turned complicated for a second. She braced herself before opening it.
Gu Qing: [Image]
Gu Qing: [Results of today’s workout. What do you think?]
In the picture, the light fell on his abs, revealing their smooth, distinct lines. They were slick with sweat, presumably from a workout. The sweat traced his V-line, soaking the waistband of his pants and turning the grey fabric a darker shade.
Jiang You blinked.
’So he really did stop posting to his Moments and is just sending this stuff directly to me instead.’
She typed a reply: [Hm, I guess they’re barely decent enough to look at.]
Gu Qing: [I’ll keep working hard then.]
Jiang You didn’t reply.
She tapped on another conversation.
Jiang Qi: [How have you been lately?]
Jiang Qi: [Study hard and eat well.]
Jiang You: [Noted.]
Jiang Qi: [I’m sending you some materials for raising soul beasts. Keep an eye out for the delivery and take good care of your soul beast.]
Jiang You didn’t reply again and tapped on another chat window.
Xi Cheng: [Dinner tonight?]
Jiang You: [Okay.]
’Eating with two is still eating, so eating with three is fine too.’
Xi Cheng: [See you tonight.]
Again, Jiang You didn’t reply.
’So many men, so many men, ahhhh...!’
Jiang You threw up her hands and stopped looking at her terminal.
She took out her Secret Realm Keys and began sorting through them.
’This time, I should be able to enter a private Secret Realm.’
Jiang You entered the Secret Realm and summoned her pink, winged, red-eyed cat.
"Come on, let’s go for a flight!" Jiang You said enthusiastically.
Xiao Hong then extended a giant paw, placing the pad before her.
Jiang You nimbly stepped onto the paw pad, which then lifted her onto Xiao Hong’s back.
She sat cross-legged on Xiao Hong’s fluffy back, and as its wings unfurled and began to beat, they soared straight up into the air!
Jiang You clung to Xiao Hong’s soft fur, feeling the wind rush past her face. It was exhilarating!
She had planned to hunt mutant beasts, but flying through the sky was so much more fun. She ended up just riding Xiao Hong all around the Secret Realm, looping through the air again and again.
She lay down right on Xiao Hong’s back, crossing her legs, and said casually, "Mmm, Xiao Hong, don’t stop. Keep flying."
The flying cat Beast Soul flew with even more vigor.
The caress of the wind was so comfortable...
...that Jiang You fell asleep right there on Xiao Hong’s back.
「Evening.」
Shen Lan held Jiang You’s hand as they walked, shooting a cool glance at Xi Cheng, who was following behind them. He leaned in close to Jiang You and whispered, "Babe, why did you bring an irrelevant person to our dinner?"
Jiang You replied calmly, "He’s not irrelevant. We’re all just having dinner together."
Shen Lan’s lips moved, but no words came out. His expression was clearly unhappy.
To him, "dinner together" obviously meant a meal with just him and his babe.
’Anyone else was just a third wheel getting in the way.’
Xi Cheng hadn’t expected Shen Lan to be there either, but on second thought, it seemed perfectly normal.
’It was just a bit of a shame.’
He had been hoping it would just be the two of them—him and Youyou.
So the three of them had dinner together.
Jiang You sat in the middle, flanked by a man on each side.
"Babe, eat some more." Shen Lan placed some food on her plate, then reached over and pinched her cheek.