Chapter 47 : Chapter 47
Chapter 47
“What an unjust accusation.” Ji Qing smiled, unconcerned, after hearing that. “I had no idea You Xingluo was your teammate. When I went to ask him, he never mentioned it himself.”
“Tch.” Shao Huayu immediately pieced together the whole sequence of events.
So it had been You Xingluo’s idea, Shao Huayu thought. He really had no idea where You Xingluo had gotten the sudden inspiration to pull a backstab like this.
Even so, Shao Huayu did not overlook the main point...
His golden eyes scrutinized Ji Qing with undisguised suspicion, and his tone carried open doubt. “How did you get dragged into this as well?”
“Was I not allowed to?” Ji Qing tilted his head and feigned innocence.
Because it had simply been too interesting, Ji Qing thought to himself.
Just seeing the rare spectacle of “Shao Huayu wandering outside the school in the middle of the night, brooding gloomily at the night view” had already been enough to make him happy. Ji Qing had originally thought he would get nothing more than a cold glance.
He had never expected to strike such a rich harvest instead.
If this had been his original world, Ji Qing would have long since taken a picture, posted it in the dorm group chat, and turned tonight into one of the unforgettable memories his roommates would carry through all four years of university.
Unfortunately, Shao Huayu was not his roommate, and he was no longer in his original world.
So there was no helping it.
Seeing Ji Qing react like this, Shao Huayu frowned slightly. “Your personality isn’t quite what I thought it was.”
“What’s so different about it?” Ji Qing asked in a strange tone.
Taking the opportunity, Ji Qing removed his baseball cap, sat leisurely in the seat opposite Shao Huayu, and crossed one leg over the other. He clasped his hands together and placed them steadily on the table, then revealed a composed smile and said,
“I’ve always been like this.”
Ji Qing had deliberately built a persona for “Li Yuan,” but that did not mean he had ever built one for “Ji Qing.” Ji Qing’s personality was his own personality; he had never once thought of twisting that.
If he had not needed to act under two identities, Ji Qing would not even have bothered deliberately shaping any persona.
Ji Qing’s own Ability was already enough to support him moving freely through the wasteland. He did not need too much help from the Popularity Value Shop. The reason Ji Qing accepted that he had lost his memories, rather than transmigrated into someone else’s body, was precisely this—
If he had been in a situation with no help from the system, he still would have abandoned the position of “top student” and chosen “Raven.”
Dawn Society was his only clue to recovering his memories.
Without the influence of the system and the manga, Ji Qing would only have acted even more decisively than he did now. Besides, he agreed with Song Xiaoran’s point of view: what mattered from beginning to end was Ability, not identity.
Shao Huayu showed no particular reaction after hearing that.
He tapped the ordering device on the table with his terminal and stated elegantly, “But that certainly wasn’t how you acted at the beginning of the semester.”
“And aren’t you the same?” Ji Qing asked with amusement.
From what he knew of Shao Huayu, the one thing Shao Huayu should have been least likely to do was sit here calmly chatting with him after learning about the backstab.
It could only be said that the noble young master image Shao Huayu displayed was not entirely genuine either.
Ji Qing suddenly smiled. “Back then, I had just been thrown into an unfamiliar environment, so I stayed a little guarded toward the people around me, that’s all.”
“A little?” Shao Huayu raised a brow and asked in return.
His tone could not help carrying a trace of doubt toward Ji Qing’s explanation. Shao Huayu complained, “You wore a stiff face all day long back then. Even when you smiled, it was cold.”
“The only time your expression changed noticeably was that time Xie Chang’an went looking for trouble.”
“Hm?” Ji Qing blinked in surprise. “Wait, was I really that cold?”
After hearing that, Shao Huayu rolled his eyes in a most inelegant fashion and added coldly, “You had so little self-awareness, and now you’re blaming other people for not being able to figure out your personality?”
“Don’t tell me your self-image is that of someone cold on the outside and warm on the inside, with a repressed, smoldering temperament whose soft heart everyone can somehow perceive?”
Ji Qing complained, “...That’s a little too much.”
He felt as though several knives had been driven straight into his chest, and the most crucial point was this: Ji Qing really did think of himself as someone cold on the outside and warm on the inside!
Ji Qing immediately answered with a fake smile that was anything but polite. “And you, this noble young master, aren’t exactly the same, are you? Who knew you’d sneak out in the middle of the night to eat little cakes? What about body management? And another thing—”
“Normal people would order black tea with cake, yet you ordered a milkshake instead... so you’re a secret sweet-tooth who feels ashamed about liking sweets?”
This time, it was Shao Huayu’s turn to be struck in the chest over and over again.
Veins bulged on Shao Huayu’s forehead, and he ground out through clenched teeth, “...You’re clearly even worse than I am.”
The two of them instantly locked gazes, their line of sight clashing fiercely in the air, until a timid waitress approached carrying a cup of black tea and asked, “Gentlemen, whose black tea is this?”
“It definitely isn’t mine,” Ji Qing said coldly.
He had only just arrived at the café and had not even looked at the menu once, so how could it possibly have been for him?
“Heh. For once, you guessed wrong.” Shao Huayu, having had his fig leaf ripped away on the spot, let out a cold snort and refused to yield. “I had originally intended to brush you off casually, but you went out of your way to provoke me.”
“Give me the tea. I want to splash it straight in his face,” Shao Huayu said icily, extending a hand toward the waitress.
“Wow, how impressive.” Ji Qing first praised him in an affected tone, then said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, “But don’t forget that my Ability is Gravity Control. I’ll put up an anti-gravity shield and bounce it right back at you.”
Rather than getting angry, Shao Huayu smiled after hearing that. Just as he was about to say something else, the waitress muttered weakly from the side, “You two... are you arguing like elementary school kids?”
Ji Qing: “...”
Shao Huayu: “...”
For an instant, the entire scene fell silent. The two famous figures of the school, both elites of Class S, quietly sat down again. The one who had been standing quietly sat, and the one with a leg crossed quietly uncrossed it.
“Please just set the tea down here.” The corner of Shao Huayu’s lips immediately curved into an extremely precise arc, and his every movement returned to the elegant manner he usually displayed.
“Thank you.” Ji Qing gave a cool nod, and his expression once again reverted to that of the aloof and mysterious top student.
The waitress looked back and forth between the two of them in confusion.
After quite some time, once she had sorted out the situation, she muttered under her breath with sudden realization, “You both care an awful lot about your image.”
“...”
Ji Qing only felt another sharp shot pierce his heart. He cast a dark look at Shao Huayu beside him, only to find Shao Huayu staring right back at him.
Damn it, what kind of personal tragedy was this!
And so the two pitiful souls, both of whom had just had their undergarments metaphorically ripped off, tacitly chose a ceasefire. In the end, the warm cup of black tea was placed in front of Shao Huayu.
There were now three desserts in front of him, and he had not touched any of them.
Looking at the empty table in front of Ji Qing, Shao Huayu let out a somewhat restless sigh. Then, with a cold face, he pushed the milkshake over. “Here. If we get fat, we’ll get fat together.”
“So now you finally remembered body management?”
“Not at all.” Shao Huayu’s tone was so cold it seemed poisoned. “I never intended to drink it in the first place, so I’m just letting you have it. If you hadn’t suddenly shown up, would I have needed to waste time arguing with you?”
“Speak for yourself. If you hadn’t shown up here, I’d already have bought some bread and gone back to the dorm by now,” Ji Qing shot back without hesitation. “Why were you even out here in the middle of the night... wait—”
A flash of inspiration suddenly lit up Ji Qing’s mind.
He looked at Shao Huayu with hesitation and asked, “Don’t tell me You Xingluo was also the one who told you about this place?”
“Also?” Shao Huayu repeated in a low voice.
Only then did Shao Huayu finally realize that something about the situation was off. He let out a mocking laugh and said with a dark expression, “Sometimes I really want to drown him in a bathtub.”
Clang—
Something crashed to the floor near the café counter. Ji Qing did not even need to look to know that the waitress had dropped a coffee cup in fright.
“Let me correct your understanding.” Shao Huayu pointed it out in a composed tone. “When he and I went out together, we discovered this shop together. After that, he recommended it to you.”
Ji Qing nodded. “Understood. We were set up.”
Then Ji Qing smoothly added, “When you drown him in the bathroom, make sure to call me over so I can stand watch for you.”
Clang, clang—
The coffee cup the waitress had just picked up slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor again.
This time, both of them turned their heads. Shao Huayu spoke in a poised and elegant tone, with just the right amount of concern, “Miss, do you need my help?”
“Did we disturb you by talking too loudly?” Ji Qing’s expression remained cold, but there was still an apology in it.
“N-no, no, no need...”
The waitress scrambled to her feet. After bottling up her words for a long time, she finally forced them out. Flustered, she said, “I didn’t hear anything. I was born deaf. Please keep talking...”
“Oh.” Ji Qing turned back calmly.
Ji Qing’s emerald-green eyes clearly reflected Shao Huayu’s figure, and the reverse was equally true. After that burst of sincerity just now, the two of them suddenly sank into a strange silence.
Now it was their turn to be unable to force out another sentence.
But at that moment, Ji Qing finally realized something: just as he had been surprised to run into Shao Huayu, Shao Huayu had felt the same. Neither of them had wanted to run into an acquaintance tonight.
So Ji Qing proposed coolly, “How about we just pretend nothing happened today?”
Shao Huayu agreed softly, “A fine idea.”
But in the next second, Shao Huayu’s gaze locked onto Ji Qing like a predator sighting prey, and he said slowly, “But how do I know you’ll keep your promise?”
“You really care a lot about your idol image,” Ji Qing could not help muttering.
He had not thought there was any problem at all, yet Shao Huayu seemed determined to block off every possible chance that a word of this might get out. Was it not merely that the young master of the Shao family ran out in the middle of the night to eat sweets when he was in a bad mood?
That was clearly an adorable trait!
Shao Huayu let out a cold snort and tapped the milkshake sitting in front of Ji Qing with his finger. His flesh-pink fingernail struck the glass cup, which was filled with chunks of strawberry, slices of mango, other diced fruit, and yogurt, producing a crisp sound.
Shao Huayu ordered, “Eat it. Let me see your sincerity.”
Ji Qing fell silent. “...”
He had thought something serious was about to happen, but it turned out Shao Huayu merely wanted to turn the witness into an accomplice in dessert.
Not long after, Ji Qing said meaningfully, “Oh, that’s fine too.”
He had originally planned to buy a late-night snack anyway. This was merely exchanging cheap but tasty bread for an expensive and delicious fruit milkshake. Ji Qing did not feel threatened in the slightest.
Even so...
Ji Qing’s gaze could not help drifting in the direction of the school. The moment he thought about the rumors that might spread in school later, he could barely bring himself to imagine them...
《Shock! The top-ranked and second-ranked students both vanished from school in the middle of the night—why? These two were actually meeting in a café to enjoy milkshakes and cake together!》
Forget it. He would deal with that when the time came.
Completely unburdened, Ji Qing took the spoon Shao Huayu handed him with one hand. Silence once again settled over the café’s atmosphere, broken only by the faint clinking of knives, forks, and spoons.
Ji Qing’s movements suddenly paused.
He realized that this was a good opportunity—perfect for reminding Shao Huayu to tell Zhou Que to be more careful about restraint. If Ji Qing said it directly to Zhou Que, Zhou Que would only brush him off; but if Shao Huayu said it, Zhou Que would listen.
Having thought it through, Ji Qing said, “Did you watch Zhou Que’s match?”
Shao Huayu, who was chewing a strawberry, looked up at Ji Qing in puzzlement. He did not understand why Ji Qing had suddenly brought this up, but he still politely asked in return, “Which one?”
“The one against Feng Youyou.”
“I watched it.”
The moment Ji Qing heard that, he immediately understood that Shao Huayu, like he himself before reading the manga, had not noticed anything unusual. So Ji Qing pointed it out directly. “Tell Zhou Que to keep better control over the extent of his ignition.”
“If he ignites things rashly, then if his teammates fail to dodge in time, they could easily be burned.”
A thoughtful look flashed across Shao Huayu’s face.
He had not paid attention to that aspect before, but when he recalled the match, he too realized the seriousness of the problem. Not everyone could be Feng Youyou.
Once they left the academy, the people they would interact with most often would be ordinary people. Rather than reflecting on it only after something went wrong, it would be better for Zhou Que to correct this bad habit sooner.
“You observe things quite carefully,” Shao Huayu said in a low voice. “Very well. I’ll remind him.”
Ji Qing nodded in relief.
Then it seemed this matter could be temporarily considered settled. Ji Qing did not expect Shao Huayu to think there was anything wrong with Zhou Que’s words, because Shao Huayu himself upheld the same principle.
But if Ji Qing emphasized that teammates could get hurt, then Shao Huayu would definitely warn him.
Hm? Ji Qing’s thoughts suddenly stalled, and a trace of scrutiny entered his gaze. “Shao Huayu, I don’t think I’ve ever asked what you think of Zhou Que, have I?”
Shao Huayu’s hand, which was holding the knife and fork, quietly loosened.
“What is there to say?” Shao Huayu sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead in a mixture of disappointment and frustration. “He’s just an unpromising junior in the family. Even if you don’t have any siblings, Ji Qing, you must have met at least one friend who made you want to pry open his skull and see what on earth he was thinking, haven’t you?”
“...”
Ji Qing’s pupils instantly contracted.
Now he understood how Shao Huayu viewed Zhou Que.
Because when Ji Qing looked at the things Xie Chang’an did, he had exactly the same thought.