Chapter 141 : Chapter 141
A sudden voice from behind startled the two of them.
“Who’s that?”
Yi Ning scratched her head and glanced back with a hint of displeasure.
Lu Zheng, however, froze the moment he recognized the voice.
Yi Ning might not have noticed, but how could he not?
That voice belonged to none other than his dear superior, Miss Qiu Yu.
He instinctively shrank his head back, pulled up his collar to cover his face, trying to cover up like a thief with his ears plugged.
But how could that possibly work?
The moment she saw Yi Ning turn her head, Miss Qiu Yu’s certainty that the other person was Lu Zheng shot up to ten million percent.
“Turn around.”
Ignoring Yi Ning’s question, Miss Qiu Yu stared intently at the back of Lu Zheng’s head, her tone leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
Lu Zheng had already started considering the feasibility of escaping using his superpowers.
But a glance at Yi Ning, who looked like she was about to enjoy a good show upon seeing Miss Qiu Yu, made him ultimately give up and obediently turn around.
There was no helping it—if he ran now, Yi Ning would definitely fan the flames by spreading rumors.
“Uh… um… Qiu Yu, this is… quite the coincidence.”
He bent forward slightly, aligning his gaze with Miss Qiu Yu’s, rubbing his hands together as he forced a fawning smile.
“I really wish it wasn’t such a coincidence.”
Miss Qiu Yu ground the half-chewed chicken bone in her mouth, her facial expression growing terrifying with each bite.
She looked at Lu Zheng.
“You…”
Then turned to Yi Ning.
“And you…”
“Why are the two of you standing at the entrance of a love hotel?”
Her arms crossed tightly against her chest, fingers digging into her flesh, she asked the question one word at a time.
Sensing danger, Lu Zheng hurried to calm her down while racking his brain for an excuse.
“Um… I…”
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Lu Zheng’s head.
“I owed Yi Ning a favor, so I treated her to a simple meal. On the way home, we saw the hotel’s sign and potted plants looked nice, and I was thinking maybe we could put a few at the entrance of our Hero Association and Yi Ning’s Evil Base.”
“Right, Yi Ning?”
He turned to look at Yi Ning, blinking rapidly in Morse code as a desperate cry for help.
At the same time, Miss Qiu Yu’s gaze shifted to Yi Ning.
Dad!
I’m begging you, Dad!
Help your bro out!
In his head, Lu Zheng was on his knees hugging Yi Ning’s leg, weeping.
Unfortunately, the cold-blooded Yi Ning didn’t seem inclined to help.
After receiving Lu Zheng’s SOS, she merely blinked to acknowledge it, then turned to Miss Qiu Yu with a faint, mischievous smile.
“Is that really the case~”
Yi Ning looked completely relaxed, responding in a sing-song tone.
This was blatant provocation!
Miss Qiu Yu’s face darkened instantly, and Lu Zheng’s knees buckled.
Grandpa!
I’ll call you Grandpa if that helps!
Just get me through this and I’ll do whatever you ask!
Lu Zheng was on the verge of tears.
“What exactly is going on here?!”
Miss Qiu Yu finally exploded.
With hands on her hips, she glared at Yi Ning, eyes practically spitting sparks.
This reaction didn’t escape Yi Ning’s notice.
She discreetly observed both Lu Zheng and Miss Qiu Yu, beginning to deduce the nature of their relationship.
Why did Miss Qiu Yu react so strongly to seeing Lu Zheng and her standing at a hotel entrance?
Was it jealousy from seeing her boyfriend with another woman?
But from the intel Yi Ning had gathered, Lu Zheng didn’t have a girlfriend. Given his personality, if he did, he wouldn’t be out having dinner alone with another woman.
That would be disrespectful to his partner.
So was it that kind of fury from seeing a well-raised little piglet being lured away by some unknown bad cabbage?
Yi Ning glanced at Miss Qiu Yu again, hoping to find some clue in her expression.
Unfortunately, her face was entirely consumed by rage—nothing could be read from it.
“Sigh~”
If she couldn’t find it, so be it.
Yi Ning sighed in resignation.
She had considered the possibility that Miss Qiu Yu liked Lu Zheng.
But based on what she knew, Miss Qiu Yu and Lu Zheng had grown up together—childhood friends from elementary school to work, a UR-level pair. If they’d had feelings for each other, they’d have been together already. They wouldn’t still be single.
They were probably too familiar to spark any romantic feelings.
Don’t let all those online tropes about surprise love rivals destroying childhood friends fool you—being childhood friends itself represents a bond built from long-term accumulation.
That kind of bond was a powerful asset in factional struggles, not something easily shaken by a random woman appearing out of nowhere.
“Hey hey, Yi Ning, stop joking around~”
Lu Zheng’s trembling voice snapped Yi Ning out of her thoughts.
She looked at the trembling Lu Zheng, then at Miss Qiu Yu, now brimming with resentment, and finally gave a wicked grin.
What did their relationship have to do with her?
All she needed to know was that Miss Qiu Yu was very unhappy seeing Lu Zheng and her at the hotel entrance.
As a bloodthirsty spectator only interested in drama, she wanted to see blood spill!
With that in mind, Yi Ning looked at Miss Qiu Yu with a smile tinged with bloodlust.
“Why are Lu Zheng and I standing at the hotel entrance?”
She deliberately dragged out the final syllables.
Lu Zheng felt a twinge of unease and reached out to try and stop her from saying that final dangerous line.
But alas, it was too late.
“What else could it be when a man and a woman are seen together at the entrance of a love hotel?”
She held out her right hand, placing her thumb between her index and middle fingers.
To ensure Miss Qiu Yu’s anger would flare up, Yi Ning emphasized the words “love hotel.”
The resentment swirling around Miss Qiu Yu instantly doubled. She opened her mouth, ready to unleash her fury.
Unfortunately, Yi Ning had no intention of giving her that chance.
“Rather, as Lu Zheng’s superior, why is Miss Qiu Yu looking so angry right now? As far as I know, your Hero Association doesn’t have any rules forbidding heroes and villains from dating, does it?”
Yi Ning deliberately moved closer to Lu Zheng, hugging his arm intimately, covering her mouth as she laughed softly, putting extra emphasis on the words “my Lu Zheng” and “superior.”
Her provocation was overflowing.
“You!”
Before the resentful Miss Qiu Yu could finish, Yi Ning once again cut her off.
“May I ask, Miss Qiu Yu, in what capacity are you interfering in our intimate relations now?”
Yi Ning accentuated every word in that final phrase while licking her lips with a sultry expression.
After hearing Yi Ning’s words, the furious Miss Qiu Yu suddenly froze, all her resentment vanishing. She couldn’t even focus on the suggestive final words.
In what capacity was she interfering with them?
That question burned itself into her mind.
Yes—what capacity did she have to interfere with Lu Zheng?
She helplessly fidgeted with her fingers, and finally mumbled, “I… I’m his childhood friend…”
Even she knew that this identity lacked weight. By the end, her voice was barely louder than a mosquito.
Miss Qiu Yu stood frozen, her face full of grievance and fragility, looking truly pitiful.
If she were facing a kind-hearted person, she might have received some comfort.
But sadly, Yi Ning had never had anything resembling a conscience. She only knew how to press further, to expose the Hero Association’s division head at her most vulnerable.
“Hey!”
Sensing Yi Ning’s intentions, Lu Zheng quickly grabbed her hand, trying to stop her.
But again.
It was too late.
“Childhood friend, huh? I thought it was a much more intimate relationship. But in the end—doesn’t that just make you an outsider?”