Chapter 13: It is not suitable to stay here for long.
In the evening, two beautiful female cultivators, hand in hand, strolled along the commercial street next to Wuyue Advanced Middle School.
One of them was clearly more beautiful, so much so that even the vendors around knew her.
"Lin Yao, the tropical fruits at my stall are half-off today. If you want some, I'll give you an even better deal," the fruit vendor said enthusiastically.
Lin Yao, surprised by the favor, waved her hands modestly. Her pure and exceptionally beautiful face showed a hint of apology as she bowed slightly to the vendor, saying politely and gracefully, "Thank you, but I don't feel like having fruit right now, sorry."
A barely noticeable blush appeared on the dark face of the vendor.
His heartbeat quickened, although he wasn't sure if it was because Lin Yao had spoken to him.
After a brief daze, the usually forthright vendor bashfully said, "Ah, it's fine, no worries. You don't need to mind it."
This exchange between Lin Yao and the vendor was seen by many on the commercial street.
Some were amused by the vendor's reaction, while others simply marveled at Lin Yao's beauty.
Amid all the gazes directed at Lin Yao, the one from her side was the most complex.
That gaze belonged to Tang Qian, Lin Yao's classmate, filled mostly with envy and the rest with reluctance and jealousy.
In junior high, Tang Qian was the prettiest girl in the class, even the school, with countless admirers queuing from the classroom door all the way to the playground.
But upon reaching high school, all the attention that used to be on her was now taken by Lin Yao, the female cultivator at her side.
Everyone cared only about Lin Yao's thoughts, with no concern for her opinions whatsoever.
But this wasn't what made Tang Qian most reluctant to accept the situation.
What truly irked Tang Qian was that even she herself, when faced with Lin Yao, couldn't help but think, "She is so beautiful, far more so than me; no wonder everyone likes her."
For a long time, Tang Qian felt engulfed by a sense of helplessness, as if the whole world was telling her that she was just an unnamed female classmate next to Lin Yao. That was until three days ago when Zhou Yiwen, Lin Yao's former suitor, confessed his feelings for her.
Zhou Yiwen was the son of a mysterious wealthy businessman from Wuyue City.
Even among the esteemed crowd at Wuyue Advanced Middle School, Zhou Yiwen was considered one of the most outstanding male cultivators.
Previously prideful and uninterested in dating, Tang Qian, this time, did not hesitate to accept Zhou Yiwen's confession.
Tang Qian didn't actually like Zhou Yiwen, but the fact that he gave up Lin Yao for her meant that she couldn't be much less than Lin Yao. After all, not just any female cultivator could take something from Lin Yao's hands. If she could surpass Lin Yao, even if it meant marrying Zhou Yiwen and becoming his Taoist companion in the end, Tang Qian was indifferent.
"Yaoyao, we've been shopping for quite a while, how about finding a restaurant to eat? Today's my treat. Did you know, half the stores on this commercial street belong to Yiwen's family. Yiwen..."
Yiwen?
Who's that?
Is it Zhou Yiwen?
Zhou Yiwen...
Lin Yao slowly recalled what Zhou Yiwen looked like.
It was probably in the second semester of their first year in high school that Zhou Yiwen started appearing frequently in Lin Yao's field of vision.
Lin Yao naturally understood his intentions, or rather, before Jiang Cheng came along, she understood the intentions of all the male cultivators vying for her attention.
Without pointing it out, Lin Yao watched as Zhou Yiwen lingered until the second year, finally mustering the courage to confess his feelings to her.
"I'm sorry, but I don't like you that way. You're a good person, but I just want to be friends."
Facing Zhou Yiwen, Lin Yao didn't even bother to make up an excuse; she simply used the standard "Good Person Card" to reject him.
In their third year, Zhou Yiwen confessed two more times, predictably getting rejected by Lin Yao again.
Still, sometimes Lin Yao would take the time to reply to the messages Zhou Yiwen sent her.
According to Lin Yao's best friend Zhao Qin, Lin Yao was neither after money nor affection; she purely enjoyed the feeling of being liked and paid attention to.
When Zhou Yiwen got tired, Lin Yao would cheer him up appropriately.
But she would never give him any real chance or advantage.
She was like a mirage in the hearts of male cultivators, forever beautiful, forever unattainable.
The turning point happened on June 12th.
On that day, Jiang Cheng confessed his love to Lin Yao.
Lin Yao had to admit that Jiang Cheng was impressive and completely different from all the male cultivators she had previously encountered.
Jiang Cheng was an extremely adept dissembler and was very capable of biding his time.
He could long pretend to be an honest male cultivator to lull her into a false sense of security, even suppressing his affection in her presence and displaying feelings of aversion instead.
So formidable that it didn't seem human.
The other male cultivators, whom she easily manipulated, seemed like naive three-year-olds compared to Jiang Cheng.
The admiration of a three-year-old could no longer arouse even a hint of interest in Lin Yao.
Her mind was filled with Jiang Cheng!
She must have Jiang Cheng prostrate at the hem of her skirt, willing to admit his liking and admiration for her. Then, from her lofty position, she would deign to give Jiang Cheng a little attention and cruelly toy with his emotions!
As for Zhou Yiwen, it seemed he had sent too many messages and was scolded by her one evening.
Lin Yao couldn't remember exactly which day she had berated Zhou Yiwen, perhaps it was the 13th or the 14th. Unexpectedly, after being scolded, Zhou Yiwen ended up pairing off with Tang Qian.
If it had been before, Lin Yao might have employed some tactics to make Zhou Yiwen come back to her willingly. But now, she felt such casual, childish emotions were not worth contending for at all.
Let Tang Qian have them if she liked.
As long as she had Jiang Cheng...
"Yaoyao, shall we eat at this barbecue place? Yiwen has a gold membership here, and we can get a private room..."
Tang Qian's words interrupted Lin Yao's thoughts.
Lin Yao sighed in relief, momentarily banishing Jiang Cheng from her mind.
She smiled faintly, casually saying, "I'm fine with anything, you decide."
Tang Qian sneered inwardly, "Fine with anything, as if," she thought, "you're just jealous that I have Yiwen and are putting on a brave face here. Lin Yao, oh Lin Yao, I didn't expect you'd have a day like this!"
Tang Qian didn't expose her thoughts, instead, she affectionately took Lin Yao's arm and walked into the barbecue restaurant.
But unexpectedly, as soon as they entered, the waitress gave her a proverbial slap in the face.
The waitress directly overlooked Tang Qian and turned to Lin Yao, asking, "Hello, how many?"
Lin Yao replied with a polite smile, "Hello, two, please."
Tang Qian gritted her teeth but still said with a smile, "I'd like to use my boyfriend's gold card to book a private room."
The waitress cleverly asked, "May I know who your boyfriend is..."
Tang Qian glanced at Lin Yao smugly, but to her dismay, Lin Yao wasn't paying attention to her at all and was looking off into the distance.
Tang Qian followed her gaze and saw Lin Yao looking at a male cultivator.
She seemed to have seen him before, he appeared to be from the next class over, and while he was bright and handsome, his family background definitely couldn't compare to Zhou Yiwen's.
"Tang Qian, why don't we just eat in the hall? There are so many empty seats there," Lin Yao suggested.
"Ah? Well..."
Before Tang Qian could say more, Lin Yao took the initiative and told the waitress, "We'll dine in the hall. Tang Qian, let's go find a seat."
...
Jiang Cheng was on pins and needles.
What in the world was Lin Yao, that enchantress, doing appearing near the school?
The one with her was Tang Qian, right? Her classmate, presumably?
Wuyue Advanced Middle School's senior year had nine classes in total.
Jiang Cheng was in the third class, Lin Yao in the fourth.
Classes three and four were led by the same teacher, so Jiang Cheng and Lin Yao were sort of like fellow disciples, though not classmates.
"Old Jiang, why aren't you eating?"
Cao Wang's voice came from across Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng glanced at Lin Yao and Tang Qian, sitting not far behind Cao Wang, and cautioned:
"Eat quickly, we shouldn't stay here any longer."