Shen Yan didn’t get tangled up in that topic with her.
He suppressed his usual smile, his gaze calm and steady as he looked at Lin Jiaxin.
“So, what would it take for you to go?”
Lin Jiaxin frowned.
This guy was always smiling, but now that he suddenly stopped, it was almost unsettling.
“What exactly are you trying to do?” she asked.
“I just want to know one answer,” Shen Yan said quietly.
Lin Jiaxin crossed her arms, tapping her toe against the floor. “And what’s in it for me?”
“Don’t you want to see that person?”
“No way, I’d rather go look in a mirror.”
Lin Jiaxin shook her head. “Come up with another excuse. Maybe I’ll let myself be fooled by you this time.”
“Alright… if you’re willing to go, I’ll give you this.”
As he spoke, Shen Yan pulled an orange card out of his bag.
“This is a high-level pass for the Qi Gathering Tower. It takes a lot of academic points to exchange for one. You’re only a freshman now, so you probably don’t have enough points yet, right?”
She really didn’t have enough. After all, this thing wasn’t cheap.
But giving away something this precious just to get her to attend some tea party?
That didn’t add up.
Lin Jiaxin furrowed her brows slightly, looking at the card, then at Shen Yan’s fox-like eyes.
“Shen Yan, what’s your real motive?”
Shen Yan didn’t answer directly.
He held the pass between his index and middle fingers, waving it in front of Lin Jiaxin.
The card gave off a faint orange glow in the morning light.
“What do you think my motive is?”
“I’m asking you. Don’t turn it back on me.”
“Hm.”
Shen Yan shrugged noncommittally and put the pass back in his pocket.
But he didn’t push it in all the way, deliberately leaving a corner sticking out.
Just enough for Lin Jiaxin to see.
“Then let me rephrase — what do you think you have that’s worth me scheming for?”
Lin Jiaxin opened her mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
That question really wasn’t easy to answer.
Saying ‘Your Sister Xin is a genius with great talent’ or ‘I’m after your Sister Xin’s good looks’?
That would be a bit too conceited.
Lin Jiaxin was currently in a period of self-doubt after her Dao Heart was damaged, so she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“How am I supposed to know what’s going on in that head of yours?”
“Bingo! Exactly! If you don’t even know, why should I tell you?”
“You little…”
Lin Jiaxin took a deep breath, fighting the urge to punch him.
The way this guy talked really made you want to hit him.
Every sentence circled around! But by the end of the spin, he still hadn’t said anything of substance…
She glanced at the orange corner sticking out of Shen Yan’s pocket.
A high-level pass for the Qi Gathering Tower…
Lin Jiaxin genuinely needed this right now.
After her Dao Heart was damaged, her Manifestation True Qi felt obstructed in its circulation.
Which meant that until her Dao Heart recovered, her cultivation base would be very difficult to advance without external assistance…
Whatever Shen Yan was planning, she’d grab the pass first and worry about the rest later. At worst, she’d sit for five minutes at the tea party and leave.
Lin Jiaxin stroked her chin, quickly making up her mind. She held out her hand toward Shen Yan.
“Fine. Give me the card first.”
“I’ll give it to you when you get there.”
“Hey… you’re the one begging me here. You can’t trust me?”
“How could you say that?”
Shen Yan smiled as he pushed the pass deeper into his pocket, until it was completely out of sight.
“Don’t you not trust me either? We’re even.”
“Fine! If you don’t give it to me then, you’re dead. I’ll find a senior and place a Didi Proxy Beating Order!”
Lin Jiaxin gritted her teeth, pulled back her hand, and walked off without looking back.
Why did every meeting with this guy leave her feeling so irritated?
“Sure thing! Remember, 4:30 PM. I’ll be waiting for you at the school gate!”
This time, Shen Yan didn’t follow her. Instead, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at Lin Jiaxin’s retreating back.
—
Even though Lin Jiaxin quickened her pace on the way.
By the time she reached the teaching building, she was still three minutes late. The class bell had already rung.
This was Lin Jiaxin’s first time being late since formal classes began!
Damn Shen Yan! It was all his fault for clinging to her like that!
Lin Jiaxin gritted her teeth viciously and quickened her pace again.
The hallway was empty, her footsteps echoing off the tile floor.
If this were the old Lin Jiaxin, she would probably have deliberately slowed down, savoring the feeling of everyone turning to look at her when she walked in late.
But today, she clearly wasn’t in the mood.
Lin Jiaxin avoided the front door and slipped in quietly through the back.
All she wanted right now was to find a seat and sit down quickly. Ideally, no one would notice her…
But, because of her past glory.
Lin Jiaxin was still way too conspicuous in class.
The moment she walked in, the surrounding students instinctively focused their gazes on her.
Those looks all silently voiced the same question:
Lin Jiaxin… why is she coming in through the back door today?
Lin Jiaxin… why is she so quiet today?
Lin Jiaxin… why is she different from usual?
“Lin Jiaxin? You’re late?”
Teacher Zhang Xuefeng looked at Lin Jiaxin, who had just sat down amid everyone’s stares, somewhat puzzled.
In his memory, Lin Jiaxin wasn’t the type to be late.
She was usually among the first to arrive.
“Sorry, teacher… I got held up by something on the way.”
Lin Jiaxin lowered her head and pursed her lips.
She’d even snuck in through the back door, and she still got caught.
Damn it! It was all that Shen Yan’s fault!
Lin Jiaxin’s voice wasn’t very loud.
But the classroom was very quiet right now, so every word was heard clearly.
“What the hell? What’s going on?”
“Is she sick? She’s talking that quietly?”
“Why does Lin Jiaxin seem so weird today…”
The crowd murmured among themselves, utterly stunned.
They couldn’t believe this was real!
Holy crap!
Was this still the Lin Jiaxin they knew?
Why did she look like some little girl who’d done something wrong?
Where had their show-off, god-like classmate Lin Jiaxin gone?!
“…?”
Teacher Zhang was also stunned for a moment, his hand freezing mid-air as he adjusted his glasses.
He’d already prepared himself to hear a splendid late arrival declaration.
Something like ‘Oh, I accidentally cultivated too long’ or ‘It’s all because I’m too diligent’ or something.
He’d always known that Lin Jiaxin practiced extra every day.
He’d run into her on the road several times.
A speech like that would have matched the image of Lin Jiaxin in his mind…
Teacher Zhang Xuefeng coughed lightly and pushed his glasses up.
But his tone unconsciously softened a few notches.
“It’s fine. Just be more careful next time.”
“…”
Lin Jiaxin nodded at his words and didn’t make another sound.
Roommate Sister A, sitting far away, saw this scene and felt completely thrown off.
No way!
How was she still acting this weird even after getting to the classroom?!
She swallowed, unzipped her pencil case, tore off half a sticky note, quickly scribbled a line on it, and quietly passed it to Roommate Sister B beside her.
The latter looked down and read it.
It said: I need to keep hiding tonight. You’re coming with me to the next room, right? Get Xiao Min too?
Roommate Sister B crumpled the note into a ball, clutched it in her palm, and gave her a look of utter speechlessness. She even unconsciously scooted her butt away toward an empty spot.
Come on, girl. Sure, Lin Jiaxin is acting weird.
But you’re not much better off.
You were losing your mind this morning, paranoid with persecution paranoia.
Going on about Lin Jiaxin wanting to kill you.
If she really wanted to kill someone, she would’ve done it last night.