Chapter 7: Feign Retreat to Lure the Enemy

Before heading to Pan He Garden, Lin Yao's best friend, Zhao Qin, knocked on the door of Lin Yao's home.

Of course, a beauty's friends are also beauties.

Unlike the vibrant and youthful Lin Yao, Zhao Qin was more mature. She wore a pair of gold-framed glasses, which made her look both beautiful and generous.

The door opened, and the two girls hugged each other warmly.

Seeing Lin Yao in pajamas, Zhao Qin asked curiously, "Yaoyao, did you just wake up? What did you do last night?"

Lin Yao, rubbing her eyes, invited Zhao Qin into the house.

"Jiang Cheng asked me out to watch the sunrise, I only got back home yesterday morning, didn't sleep well all day, I'm dead tired..."

Zhao Qin changed shoes as if she owned the place and sat down on the sofa in Lin Yao's house. She neither cared who Jiang Cheng was, nor did she ask about the outcome of the confession.

Because she knew that no matter who confessed, her best friend would never agree.

Zhao Qin understood Lin Yao all too well.

Some people date for the hormones, some flirt for the thrill, some meddle in relationships for money. But Lin Yao was different from these people; she wasn't after money or excitement, she simply enjoyed the pleasure of playing with other people's emotions.

Zhao Qin glanced around the empty room of the Lin family and let out a sigh.

The extreme control Lin Yao exerted over her emotions was probably related to her parents' divorce in her childhood.

Since there's no internet in the "Immortal Gods" world, the main information carriers were newspapers, magazines, and books.

Zhao Qin took out several college magazines from her storage bag and called out to Lin Yao who was in the washroom, "Yaoyao, I brought the magazines you wanted."

"Great~"

Lin Yao's voice was somewhat muffled, sounding as if she was brushing her teeth.

Moments later, Lin Yao appeared in the living room wearing a loose round-neck T-shirt and denim shorts.

The oversized T-shirt revealed the girl's delicate collarbone, and the ultra-short denim shorts also displayed to Zhao Qin a generous expanse of righteous, snow-white skin.

Zhao Qin glanced at Lin Yao's thighs and joked, "If you go out like this, I'm afraid a few more people will ask you to watch the sunrise."

Lin Yao pouted, disdainful of Zhao Qin's suggestion, "As if! They wish! I'm not showing them anything!"

Lin Yao walked to the balcony of the living room, wanting to pull up the curtains of the balcony to turn the spacious living room into a private space for the two friends.

But as she reached for the curtains, she saw a familiar figure appear downstairs—Jiang Cheng.

"Yaoyao?"

With curiosity, Zhao Qin walked to the balcony and happened to see the direction of Lin Yao's gaze toward a certain spot below.

Following Lin Yao's gaze, Zhao Qin saw a male Cultivator.

In Zhao Qin's memory, there were hardly any male Cultivators that Lin Yao would bother to look at.

"Who is he?"

"Jiang Cheng."

"The one who confessed to you this morning?"

"Mhm."

Zhao Qin knew that Lin Yao couldn't possibly like Jiang Cheng, yet she teased her anyway, "Yaoyao, you couldn't possibly like him, could you?"

Zhao Qin had made this joke many times before, because many people liked Lin Yao, but Lin Yao always responded nonchalantly with, "No way."

But this time, Lin Yao flew off the handle.

"How could I possibly! He, he got a harsh rejection from me this morning! I said I just wanted to be friends, but he insisted on me being his girlfriend! His being downstairs now is nothing but him not giving up, wanting to persuade me to mend our friendship!"

It was the first time Zhao Qin saw Lin Yao get so agitated when talking about a suitor.

"Yaoyao?"

Lin Yao's burgeoning chest rose and fell gently for a while before calming down again.

"He's definitely going to contact me with a communication talisman later. I can't go down dressed like this."

Lin Yao changed into a more normal outfit.

"Qin Qin, how does this look?"

Zhao Qin hadn't fully recovered from Lin Yao's abnormal reaction, and simply replied, "It looks good."

But Lin Yao pondered for a while and didn't feel quite right, so she went back to change again.

After fussing two or three times, Lin Yao looked in the mirror and was barely satisfied with herself.

White silk stockings + miniskirt + U-neck T-shirt + short jacket + crossbody mini purse.

One-third innocence, one-third cuteness, one-third sweetness, with a touch of allure.

The only imperfection was that the skirt was a bit too short, probably about fifteen centimeters above the knee.

Although she was wearing shorts underneath and wouldn't reveal too much, it was Lin Yao's first time planning to wear such a short skirt out, and she felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Isn't it too short?"

As Lin Yao was hesitating, she thought about Jiang Cheng's nonchalance towards her and his shameless demand for a written agreement.

"I definitely have to reject him firmly later! How dare he do that to me this morning! But I can't be too harsh, or it wouldn't be fun if he stops paying attention to me later."

After getting dressed, Lin Yao returned to the living room. Her effort in dressing up drew unbidden praise from her best friend, Zhao Qin.

"Yaoyao, you dressed up so beautifully? That guy named Jiang Cheng is in for a treat."

Lin Yao felt a slight surge of pride inside.

Even her best friend said so, which indicated she had indeed chosen her clothes very well.

Lin Yao had been confident in her appearance since she was young and was not afraid that Jiang Cheng would not succumb to her beauty upon seeing her.

"Yaoyao, Jiang Cheng seems to be leaving,"

Zhao Qin said from the balcony.

Lin Yao hurried to the balcony and sure enough, she saw Jiang Cheng leaving with his back towards them.

"Wasn't he here to see you?" asked Zhao Qin.

"I..."

Gazing at Jiang Cheng's retreating figure, Lin Yao's mind involuntarily pictured the look of disdain he had for her…

She had received countless confessions, so many that she had lost track of the exact number. In every confession, it was always her rejecting others, never anyone rejecting her.

But Jiang Cheng was an exception. Not only had he rejected her, but he also deeply humiliated her.

The way Jiang Cheng swept away her hand and stepped back was like a thorn in Lin Yao's prideful heart.

Whenever Lin Yao relaxed, Jiang Cheng would appear in her mind.

His existence seemed to constantly remind Lin Yao that the confidence and pride she had built by rejecting others since childhood seemed worthless in his eyes.

In Jiang Cheng's heart, she was nothing but an ordinary female cultivator.

She couldn't even qualify as unremarkable, but rather, as a female cultivator he didn't want to bother with, someone annoying.

"Yaoyao?"

"Ah?"

"Jiang Cheng has left."

Lin Yao became a bit panicked; she was afraid of repeating the situation in the park where Jiang Cheng decisively rejected her.

"He, he's just shy, that's all, afraid I'll reject him again. I'll use a communication talisman…"

Lin Yao found an excuse for herself, then took out a reusable communication talisman. Ignoring the many messages from admirers, she located Jiang Cheng's number and dialed out.

The communication talisman began to glow brightly, signifying the call had gone through.

But after just three flashes, it stopped, indicating Jiang Cheng had cut off her communication request.

Lin Yao bit her lip and dialed again.

Jiang Cheng still disconnected.

Lin Yao dialed once more, and Jiang Cheng still did not answer.

More panicked than before, Lin Yao dialed Jiang Cheng's number yet again.

This time, it finally connected!

"The communication talisman you are calling is switched off and cannot be reached at the moment, please try again later..."

Jiang Cheng's mechanical voice came through the communication talisman in Lin Yao's hand.

Lin Yao's eyes widened, and Zhao Qin was also stunned.

"Yaoyao, can the communication talisman still give a prompt after being switched off?"

"It shouldn't… have that… right…"

Lin Yao said uncertainly.

But after listening several times, she finally recognized Jiang Cheng's voice.

"Hello? Jiang?"

Click.

Jiang Cheng hung up the call.

Jiang Cheng's action of cutting off the communication talisman first was like a slap across Lin Yao's face.

And it was in front of her best friend.

There had been nothing more humiliating in her life than this!

Lin Yao had only ever been slighted twice in her life when it came to love.

Once was when Jiang Cheng made her sign a written promise!

Once was when Jiang Cheng hung up her call!

Lin Yao knelt on the ground, her head lowered, her expression unreadable. But her hands were clenched tight on her thighs, so tight that even when her long fingernails dug into her flesh, she did not care.

Jiang Cheng!

You wait for me!

Lin Yao did not doubt her own beauty in the least.

Jiang Cheng definitely liked her; there was no doubt about it.

This time, she didn't anticipate that beneath Jiang Cheng's ostensibly honest exterior lay a heart capable of such restraint.

Lin Yao had to admit, Jiang Cheng's acting skills were good; he had fooled her.

He was no honest man, but someone with a high level of emotional sophistication, skilled at manipulating other people's feelings!

But so what if his level was high? In the end, it's you who likes me, not me who likes you. I want to see who among us will crack first!