Chapter 64: Strange figure

Lin Jianqing originally just wanted to go to the convenience store to buy a few things. After all, he didn’t have to interact with Shen Huaixue these past few days, so he planned to use this time to cram for the easy classes he’d never bothered studying before.

If he went in cold… God knows if the professor would even bother passing him.

He’d wasted most of his time on Shen Huaixue. After all, she was the Financial Backer, and when she gave an order, he wasn’t really in a position to refuse most of the time.

But now, looking at the textbooks on his desk that he’d barely flipped through, Lin Jianqing felt a very real sense of looming crisis.

The convenience store wasn’t too crowded. Lin Jianqing held a shopping basket and grabbed two bags of chips, a box of chocolate, two bottles of unsweetened tea, and a discounted rice ball from the shelves. He stared at the contents of the basket for two seconds.

He couldn’t help feeling like the stuff in his basket was some kind of offering. After all, his life was so predictable he could see to the end at a glance.

Lin Jianqing was just about to head to the register when the light in front of him suddenly seemed to bend, as if something had refracted it.

The next second, a woman was standing right in front of him.

She was way too close—so close that Lin Jianqing nearly slammed the shopping basket into her face.

“Holy shit!”

He stumbled back a step, his shoulder hitting the shelf, the chips in his basket rattling noisily. A student picking out gum nearby turned to look, and Lin Jianqing felt like his heart was about to leap out of his throat.

The woman stood there, holding a nearly empty iced coffee in one hand. Gray jacket, black pants, her hair carelessly tied up. She looked drained, even a little sleepy.

Though she seemed pretty startled too. She glanced at Lin Jianqing, then at the shopping basket in his hand.

Lin Jianqing stared at her for a few seconds.

First thought: This woman is crazy.

Second thought: Wait… why does she look kind of familiar?

Her eyes and brows resembled Shen Huaixue’s. Especially when she lifted her gaze to look at someone—that cold, distant air was practically stamped from the same mold.

Not exactly identical, but the aloofness in her features was way too close.

Especially the way she looked up at people, like she couldn’t be bothered with whatever was happening in front of her. It was as if she and Shen Huaixue had come out of the same family mold.

Lin Jianqing gripped the shopping basket tighter, his mental alarms blaring.

What the hell is this… and why did she suddenly teleport right in front of me? Is she a supernatural being?

The woman said nothing, looking equally at a loss. She just glanced at Lin Jianqing, then at the basket in his hand. Her gaze wasn’t rude, but it was direct, like she was confirming something.

Lin Jianqing’s back crawled under her stare.

“Who are you?”

The woman still didn’t answer. She just looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Lin Jianqing was about to keep talking when, the next second, the air around her twisted slightly.

The hem of her gray jacket lifted, caught by an invisible wind.

She was gone.

Just… gone like that?

Lin Jianqing stood frozen in front of the shelf, shopping basket still in hand.

The gum-picking student glanced at him again, his expression clearly saying “Is this guy okay?”

Lin Jianqing: …

No way.

Where’d she go?

That whole person just now?

He looked down at his basket, then at the empty space in front of him. A chill crept up his spine.

This isn’t a hallucination, right?

No… it can’t be a hallucination, right?

Lin Jianqing forced himself to calm down and walked to the register with his basket. While the cashier scanned his items, he couldn’t help glancing back at the aisle.

No one.

That spot was completely empty.

But something felt wrong.

Like a gaze resting on him. Not heavy, but impossible to shake off. Not the casual glance of a random passerby—more like someone hiding somewhere unseen, watching him quietly through the convenience store’s bright lights.

Lin Jianqing’s back grew even more uncomfortable.

The cashier asked, “Need a bag?”

Lin Jianqing snapped back a beat late.

“Yeah.”

Even his own voice sounded dry to him.

After paying, Lin Jianqing walked out of the store with his bag.

The wind outside was a little chilly. The campus streetlights were lighting up one by one, and a few students were walking by in the distance, chatting away—sounded completely normal. But Lin Jianqing had only taken a few steps before he couldn’t help turning back.

The convenience store’s glass door reflected the shelves and register inside.

No sign of that woman.

He looked around again.

Nothing.

But that feeling of being watched was still there.

Lin Jianqing’s face grew uglier by the second.

No way?

But he just couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him from the shadows. Lin Jianqing was highly sensitive to gazes, and he’d been followed before too…

Feeling this unease, Lin Jianqing considered whether he should tell Shen Huaixue about this.

As much as he hated to admit it, when he ran into something resembling a supernatural being incident, the first person he thought of was actually her.

It might’ve been ironic for his past self, but he couldn’t help it—Shen Huaixue was his first thought.

Lin Jianqing quickened his pace toward the dormitory building.

After a few steps, that gaze was still there.

Lin Jianqing stopped and whipped around.

Behind him were only streetlights, tree shadows, and two students who’d just come out of the convenience store. They were startled by his sudden turn, looking at him oddly. Lin Jianqing had no choice but to turn back around.

He kept walking with his bag. When he reached the teaching building, he couldn’t resist glancing into the darker areas.

The stairwell was dimly lit, the emergency exit door half-closed, and when the wind blew through, a faint creak came from the gap.

Lin Jianqing stared at it for a few seconds.

Nothing was there, but he still felt like someone was watching.

Seriously, what the hell is going on?

Lin Jianqing wanted to ask Shen Huaixue right now, but after thinking it over, he gave up on that idea.

How is that any different from asking for humiliation?

Just thinking about Shen Huaixue, that Black Milk Dragon, made Lin Jianqing’s blood boil.

Besides, he could already imagine it in his head—if he went to her for help, that bitch would definitely use it as an excuse to tease him.

This woman’s brain didn’t work on normal tracks, so it was best not to give her any opening to climb all over him.

Lin Jianqing took a deep breath and decided to stop thinking about it.

The moment he made that decision, his phone buzzed.

A message from Shen Huaixue.

‘Where are you?’

Lin Jianqing stared at those three words, his expression souring further. What does Her Highness want now?

Actually, Lin Jianqing had been thinking about it earlier while paying.

Sure, he’d said he needed time to study so he wouldn’t fail, but really, he was more looking for an excuse to reduce the time Shen Huaixue spent bothering him.

He actually wanted to ask about the weird thing that just happened, but thinking about having to explain it to Shen Huaixue, he just replied with one line.

‘Convenience store, buying stuff.’

Shen Huaixue replied quickly.

“Study well.”

Lin Jianqing stared at those four words, his brow furrowing deeper.

Shen Huaixue was way too easygoing today. So easygoing it was honestly kind of creepy.

He turned off his phone and kept walking toward the dorm. But when he reached the entrance of the dormitory building, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing back one more time.

The space under the streetlight was empty.

Lin Jianqing stood there for a long, silent moment, then muttered a low curse under his breath.

“Must be seeing things.”

Maybe it really was a hallucination? Besides, there were plenty of people in the store just now. That woman who bore a slight resemblance to Shen Huaixue seemed like only he had seen her.

He finished his thought, then walked into the dormitory building carrying the bag of snacks he’d nearly crushed in his grip.

And behind the teaching building, the shadows swayed gently.

Shen Yumian leaned against the wall, her iced coffee already empty.

She watched Lin Jianqing disappear through the dormitory entrance, then wiped the sweat from her forehead.

‘Ah… looks like I’m not very skilled with this ability yet. How did I end up teleporting right into his face?’ Shen Yumian felt a bit helpless inside as she tossed the empty coffee cup into the trash bin.

Her reason for coming to Linzhou City this time was simple: to observe Shen Huaixue’s situation, as well as the rumored man by her side.

But so far… everything seemed to be heading in a good direction.

Maybe. That’s all Shen Yumian could hope for.

The next second, as the space around her twisted, Shen Yumian’s figure vanished into the shadows of the night.