Chapter 119 : Baseless Malice
Baseless Malice
There was a time when Chen Zixuan really wanted to eat this.
But each skewer cost three yuan, and even figuring out how to get by was an issue for him, so in the end, he could only give up.
Now that he finally had some money, of course he had to reward himself properly.
He paid three yuan via WeChat and bought a skewer of shiny red grilled gluten. He returned to the bottom of the cram school building and stood by the roadside, eating it.
Although he had seen on the internet before that this sort of thing was junk food—seriously carcinogenic, and with worrying hygiene conditions—in the end, at this hour, Chen Zixuan just stopped caring about whether it caused cancer or not.
There were only twenty days left before he would become that Vampire girl called "Cecilia."
Would a Vampire even be afraid of getting cancer?
Even if Vampires did get cancer, this world was about to be destroyed anyway, so be it.
I just want to eat grilled gluten, I don't care.
Summers always pass by quickly. Without even noticing, just by eating a skewer of grilled gluten, a few minutes slipped away quietly.
At eight o'clock, the tutoring class was dismissed, and a big group of students dressed like high schoolers came down the stairs.
"Class is finally over! I lied to my mom and said the tutoring goes on till two. Let's go to the internet cafe for a match later. I'll pick Yasuo, you go Stone Man support*, and the two of us will go bottom lane—no way we don't stomp them!"
"Alright, today we have to get that first win!"
A few boys, who seemed to know each other, walked past Chen Zixuan with their arms around each other's shoulders, while the high school girls eagerly recommended their own brothers to their friends.
By age, Chen Zixuan should have been the same as them, yet now, hearing these conversations of his peers, he couldn't help but feel as though a lifetime had already passed.
Maybe it was because too much had happened to him these past few days...
After finding a trash can by the roadside to toss the used skewer stick, Chen Zixuan chose a spot where no one else was around and waited quietly for Gu Yanxi to come downstairs.
Even though he tried as hard as possible to lower his presence, his good looks still attracted a lot of attention.
The boys were normal enough; at most, they'd give him a glance then turn away.
But the high school girls—most of them hesitated to walk by, or their eyes darted away bashfully as they whispered quietly with their friends.
Just then, a couple of high school sweethearts walked past Chen Zixuan.
Seeing his own girlfriend staring at Chen Zixuan, the boy immediately felt threatened, as if he was about to lose his partner, and, wanting to save face, muttered under his breath, "Pretty boy."
Faced with such childish insults, Chen Zixuan didn't care in the least. He simply lowered his head, filled with disdain.
You think I want to look like this?
It's just that I'm the one quietly moving forward, saving this world that's on the edge of collapse, on your behalf.
Besides, if this was a week ago, the "pretty boy" you just called me could've smashed your glasses with a single punch.
Honestly, I probably still could.
A while later, Chen Zixuan finally spotted Gu Yanxi in the crowd. The girl was looking around and quickly found him standing not far away.
Passing through the crowded flow of people, Chen Zixuan walked up to Gu Yanxi. "Was there some reason you asked me to come pick you up?"
"Can't I just ask you to come if there isn't?"
Gu Yanxi's eyes widened a bit, then she bashfully lowered her head to glance at her phone.
"It's only 8:03 now. Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here too, bought something to eat across the street."
Chen Zixuan shook his head slightly and spared a glance at the other side of the road.
"You had grilled gluten?"
Following Chen Zixuan's gaze, Gu Yanxi subconsciously furrowed her brows and said quietly, "My mom says that stuff is really dirty, all made with gutter oil, super bad for your health. It's not too late, let's go to the hospital and get your stomach pumped."
"Stomach... stomach pumped?"
Startled, Chen Zixuan took a step back. He'd only eaten a grilled gluten skewer—wasn't Gu Yanxi's reaction a bit much?
"Forget it. Just remember to brush your teeth when we get back, and don't buy that kind of street food again."
Seeing his reaction, Gu Yanxi sighed, pulled half a pack of tissues from her coat pocket, took one out, and walked over to Chen Zixuan in a couple of steps.
"Don't move, you've got oil by your mouth, let me wipe it for you."
With foods eaten on skewers like this, it was true that stuff easily got on your lips.
Hearing this, Chen Zixuan instinctively tried to touch the corner of his mouth, but Gu Yanxi held down his hand.
"I said don't move. If you keep this up, I won't talk to you anymore."
With a half-mocking complaint, the girl's cheeks flushed red as she raised her right hand and patiently wiped the oil from Chen Zixuan's lips.
What's with Gu Yanxi today?
No matter how much Chen Zixuan tried, he couldn't understand what was going on. His mind went blank, and he just stood there like a post, letting the girl do as she pleased.
"Smooch———"
"Are you really going to show off your relationship on the street?"
"Couples like this are disgusting."
A few high school students passing by suddenly found themselves "force-fed dog food" and immediately made a few disgruntled noises.
Hearing that, Gu Yanxi's face went even redder. She lowered her head in embarrassment.
With her right hand tightening, the crumpled tissue was stuffed into Chen Zixuan's mouth.
"Wait!"
Chen Zixuan felt his face almost being squashed, hurriedly stepped back twice, and spoke to stop her.
Just what was going on with Gu Yanxi today? Judging from her reaction now, she was obviously terribly shy, so why was she acting like she was showing off their relationship?
The more Chen Zixuan thought about it, the more he felt something was up.
Yet just then, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, like a cold wind had blown past, the hairs on his neck standing on end.
Someone's watching me again?!
At that moment—almost in an instant—Chen Zixuan reacted. Just like before, someone was secretly observing him from the shadows!
The first time he'd ever felt like this was when Uriel the Angel cast her gaze upon him. It made Chen Zixuan suspect that the appearance of this special ability might be closely related to Uriel's curse.
It's just that, as to how this "peeping sense" gets triggered, Chen Zixuan still hadn't figured it out yet.
There wasn't time to dwell on it. He turned his head instinctively—and saw that behind a street tree not far away, there was a girl, about the same age as Gu Yanxi, hiding.
Apparently not expecting Chen Zixuan to turn his head suddenly, their eyes met directly. Her gaze was as cold and sharp as a knife. In that instant, Chen Zixuan actually sensed deep resentment and disgust coming from her eyes.
A second or two later, the girl realized she'd been discovered. She lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and walked away toward the distance.
Leaving Chen Zixuan standing there in confusion. Had he ever offended her?
.................
(Not pretending to be dead anymore! Finally finished with all the assignments these days. Updates resume today.)
Chapter 120 - Colorless
---