017 Big Fool

Facing Zhang Qingyi's sudden heart-wrenching adventure...

"...I don't know," Ye Qian answered stiffly, "I don't know if I like you or not."

It was a lousy response, but it happened to be the truth.

The two then fell into silence.

But Zhang Qingyi refused to give in, and after a moment, she bit her lip and pressed on, "Then do you want to sleep with me?"

"Very... much," Ye Qian blushed and turned his head away, "That's enough..."

"Haha, that means you really like me," Zhang Qingyi couldn't suppress her joy, swinging her legs and laughing with her head thrown back, "Since you want to as well, why not take the initiative? We're about to graduate, life is about to end, why are you still being so hesitant?"

"I'm scared..."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of getting entangled, scared of losing property, scared of diluting shares," Ye Qian said, already somewhat annoyed, "That's enough... If you keep this up, I'm going to change seats."

Hearing such a response, Zhang Qingyi couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, followed by a faint smile on the spot, she then shook her head and leaned back against the wall, not bothering to say another word.

However, just when her mind went blank, she suddenly remembered something and casually asked, "Do you have an escape from the Secret Realm?"

"...Yes."

As he was forced to give an answer, Ye Qian's hand also reached for his waist.

"For how many people?" Zhang Qingyi turned her head in astonishment.

"Two people."

"Then what are you waiting for..." Zhang Qingyi hurriedly looked around to make sure they weren't being noticed before pressing her voice down and saying, "Quick... let's get out of here... I'll take out a loan and pay you back for the Secret Realm tool with my life!"

"Now is not the time," Ye Qian unconsciously glanced in Li Qingming's direction, and then clenched his teeth, "I'll use it if there's danger."

"Will you take me with you then?"

"No."

"..." Zhang Qingyi's expression went blank, her eyes instantly reddening, "You never... planned to take me with you... right? Even if I'm dying, you still won't take me with you, will you?"

"...Right," Ye Qian closed his eyes, "Don't push me anymore."

"You obviously like me... Why won't you save me?"

"Because... there are... more worthy ones... to save here..." Ye Qian nearly cried as he lowered his head, biting his teeth, "I'm sorry... Stop it, please... "

"Ask me... ask me if I like you," Zhang Qingyi said insistently, choking up as she looked at Ye Qian, "Ask now, or else I'll reveal your Secret Realm tool."

"...Do you like me?"

"I like you, I really, really, really like you."

"Is it because of the money?" Ye Qian couldn't help but press further.

"No, it's just liking you," Zhang Qingyi said, her head lowered, sobbing, wiping away tears, "Every bit of you, even though you're actually a fool but you pretend to be profound, how you're actually timid but always pretend to be calm, even including how you're now cowardly yet steadfast..."

"..." Ye Qian tightly shut his eyes, his hand also anxiously pressing against his forehead.

Then.

"Ring, ring, ring, ring!!!" The bell for class peeled.

Everyone instantly quieted down and sat up straight, their spines as aligned as a primary school student on their first day of class.

Screech—

The door was gently pushed open, and Sea Urchin Head excitedly skipped into the classroom, standing in front of the class, eager to offer her praise.

"Thank you, everyone! The teacher was very satisfied with this break!

"But I'm terribly sorry, I can't continue to indulge your unrestrained confessions anymore, the truth-telling state was lifted with the bell.

"I apologize to everyone, I'm too weak, the remaining energy is not enough to support your sincere interactions.

"I could already feel the energy you released, but that energy was not mine...

"Strange, there's only supposed to be one teacher here."

As she spoke, Sea Urchin Head twisted her spines aimlessly, looking around in confusion.

This made Li Qingming quite embarrassed as he opportunistically looked down to check his status.

[Reserves: 48→55]

Hmm, I've collected quite a bit of fear energy during this time.

Li Qingming swore it wasn't intentional, but it seemed that the gravitational pull on his side was stronger, drawing the fear energy naturally toward him, not leaving a bit for the master.

But this also caused Sea Urchin Head, who should have been thriving, to suffer from malnutrition, to the point where she couldn't even maintain the "truth-telling curse."

However, Sea Urchin Head didn't dwell on it for too long, soon looking around with a clear voice and said:

"Due to the energy situation, we'll have to accelerate the teaching pace, otherwise, the teacher won't make it to the end of school without starting to feed."

"So... let me take a good look..."

"The naughty student who popped up during the break was..."

As he spoke, he took another deep breath to power up, his mouth protruding.

At this time, most people had their eyes tightly closed, silently praying.

Puh—thump.

Puh—thump.

Puh—thump.

"Puh" was the sound of the black dots being ejected, "thump" was the sound of the hit victims collapsing onto the desk, asleep.

Each time these two sounds occurred, everyone trembled together.

Perhaps the next one would be on them...

That's the way it was.

Passing out directly was a kind of relief, far better than continuing to suffer.

But not everyone chose to escape; there were always a few brave souls who kept their eyes open throughout.

They paid attention to the rhythm of the "puh," tried to identify what the victims had in common, and noticed that Sea Urchin Head would pause for two seconds to power up after aiming at a target.

For Ye Qian, this was significant; a two-second delay was enough for him to rush over to Li Qingming and use the treasure.

If he or Li Qingming were targeted, they'd immediately disengage.

Otherwise, they would continue with the Secret Realm, trying to complete it.

That was what he thought.

Until Sea Urchin Head's barrel aimed at his deskmate.

"Ah." Zhang Qingyi said faintly, "Me..."

Then, she turned to Ye Qian, her expression indescribably complex.

Ye Qian also became dazed.

What to do... Should he take her with him?

But her look... seemed like the desperation of revealing her treasure, preferring mutual destruction.

She was threatening me, forcing me to take her with me, that's what her look was saying!

Yes, she was that kind of woman who didn't hesitate to use any means for the sake of money and power...

She's finally showing her true colors...

Damn it... I've still gotten entangled with this woman...

She's going to say it; she's about to say it...

If she dares to speak, I'll drag Li Qingming away forcefully.

Yes, that's the only option now.

In the midst of the stillness.

Puh—

The narrow black dot hit Zhang Qingyi right in the temple.

Thump—

She slumped straight onto the desk, looking at Ye Qian, covering her throat, making a sound that only Ye Qian could hear.

"Run... ah... idiot..."

Ye Qian stiffened, his eyes gradually hollowing out, no longer showing a trace of sunlight.

What she wanted to say.

Was it this?

At the same time, Sea Urchin Head burst out into an ecstatic, bizarre laugh.

"Hehe... hehehehe...

"You're satisfying me, you're really satisfying me...

"A very special satisfaction... a very sour satisfaction...

"You and her are different, you are... a good student!

"Prize, take."

With that, Sea Urchin Head threw back his head and tossed a small chunk of energy over.

But Ye Qian didn't catch it, letting it hit his face and bounce to the floor.