Xu Lin took out a bottle of Florida water from his bag, stood up, and approached Luo Qiu Zhu.
“Y-You, what are you trying to do?”
Seeing him come to her side, Luo Qiu Zhu gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, and shouted at him.
He felt the threatening and unyielding gaze beneath her sunglasses.
No, with that tone, it’s easy to misunderstand, okay!
Xu Lin glanced behind him and saw the waiter had stepped out and was heading their way.
His movement paused for a moment, then he looked in another direction.
“Sir, you—”
Before the waiter could finish, Xu Lin spoke first.
“You’re just in time; where’s the payment QR code?”
“Ah?”
Caught off guard by Xu Lin’s sudden move, the waiter blinked and instinctively pulled out the payment QR code.
“…Alright, sir, please scan here to pay.”
Xu Lin quickly scanned the code and transferred a few dozen yuan.
He had already memorized the prices when looking at the menu earlier.
Of course, plain water was free.
After paying, Xu Lin hurriedly pulled Luo Qiu Zhu up.
“Don’t touch—”
“Lin classmate is here!”
Seeing her still resist, Xu Lin quickly reminded her and gestured in a direction.
Enduring the pain, she looked where Xu Lin indicated and saw two familiar figures.
It was her childhood friend Lin Shen Xue and her bodyguard Sister Situ.
“Move, quick!”
She stepped out.
Xu Lin grabbed his bag and followed, leaving the waiter standing there, utterly bewildered.
“You picked a bad spot. How could Lin classmate come here?”
“I don’t know!”
Luo Qiu Zhu’s voice also carried a hint of confusion.
Xu Lin had thought she planned everything, but this unexpected turn happened.
He had suddenly changed his mind earlier because he sensed something off.
Then, as expected, Li Zhi Ran’s voice warned him: “Young Hero, the Gravity Witch’s aura is approaching!”
Xu Lin looked in the direction that felt wrong and, sure enough, saw the familiar figure he had met that morning from afar.
Lin Shen Xue.
Beside her was a tall woman in a black suit.
Adrenaline surged.
At first, he held a sliver of hope that they were just passing by and would head elsewhere.
But Murphy’s Law kicked in; Lin Shen Xue walked straight toward them.
Alarm bells rang in his mind; terrifying scenes flashed before his eyes.
Snapping back, his first instinct was to drag Luo Qiu Zhu away immediately.
“No wonder she suddenly fell ill—it’s because Lin Shen Xue got close.”
Xu Lin also understood why Luo Qiu Zhu had been fine earlier but suddenly worsened.
“Ngh—”
A pained sound came from ahead.
Xu Lin looked and saw it was Luo Qiu Zhu.
She had only taken two steps before stopping, now hunched over, clutching her head, her body swaying unsteadily.
Xu Lin also saw the black mist growing denser around her.
The next moment, her faltering body finally collapsed to the side.
Xu Lin rushed over and caught her.
“Hold on!”
“You… let go of me…”
Having fallen into Xu Lin’s arms, her sunglasses were askew; her eyes revealed hatred toward him.
Her mouth uttered words of refusal, but due to gritting her teeth against the pain, the sounds squeezed out between them.
Xu Lin ignored it all and prepared to take out the Florida water again to do what he intended earlier.
He twisted open the cap, intending to pour it over her.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
She struggled with her remaining strength, but it was futile.
A little Florida water still landed on her hand.
But with just that, Xu Lin quickly pulled the bottle back.
Because he sensed that familiar gravitational pull approaching from behind.
He stole a glance back; sure enough, Lin Shen Xue was getting closer, her gaze about to turn his way.
“Better? Keep moving!”
Seeing she could stand somewhat steadily, Xu Lin urged.
However, she still needed Xu Lin’s support to walk.
…
“Did we take a wrong turn?”
The two hurried forward; after a stretch and a turn, they stopped.
Before them was a high wall, with no paths left or right.
A dead end.
“Are you directionally challenged?”
A complaining voice came from beside him.
“It’s my first time in this area too.”
Xu Lin’s usual range was just the crowded malls around school; without navigation, he might not even find such a remote spot.
“Forget it, let’s head back and take another route.”
Supporting Luo Qiu Zhu to turn around, a familiar voice came from behind nearby.
“Sister Situ, it should be around here, right?”
It was Lin Shen Xue! And not far away!
Turn somewhere else, turn somewhere else.
Xu Lin prayed inwardly, but Lin Shen Xue’s voice grew closer.
It’s over; if she passed this alley entrance, she’d see them clearly.
Luo Qiu Zhu was wrapped up tightly; she might not be recognized immediately, but his face was fully exposed.
If she saw him with a girl, supporting her…
In Xu Lin’s mind, Lin Shen Xue’s tag progress bar shot upward.
The background flashed from orange-red to deep red.
Moderate, severe, critical, and finally that blood-soaked—
<Yandere>!
Bad, extremely bad!
Now it was a dead end in the double sense!
But he hadn’t given up; his gaze searched around.
Finally, it locked onto a direction.
“Go!”
Without thinking, he pulled Luo Qiu Zhu toward it.
“You!”
Luo Qiu Zhu let out a shocked sound, her eyes beneath the sunglasses glaring at Xu Lin.
Her mask quivered rapidly.
“Shh, you don’t want Lin classmate to discover us either, right?”
Xu Lin quickly hushed her.
From her decisive attitude upon seeing Lin Shen Xue earlier, Xu Lin had mostly guessed her thoughts.
Sure enough, Luo Qiu Zhu immediately fell silent.
Having temporarily calmed her, Xu Lin finally found a moment to peek out and check the situation outside.
At this moment, Xu Lin and Luo Qiu Zhu were squeezed deep in the alley, inside a narrow wall crevice.
The crevice was neither too narrow nor too wide—just enough for both of them, with room for a backpack in between to separate them.
The moment Xu Lin spotted it, he knew it was the best hiding spot right now.
As soon as his gaze peeked out, he immediately pulled back.
“How can it be this coincidental…”
“It’s here, Sister Situ; let’s go in.”
Lin Shen Xue appeared not far outside.
He had peeked just in time to see her enter their dead-end alley.
She seemed to be looking for something.
Seriously, did Luo Qiu Zhu not scout the place carefully?
Xu Lin was about to look at Luo Qiu Zhu beside him, his eyes questioning.
“Ngh—”
But he heard a pained groan.
Xu Lin’s body tensed; only when he heard no sound of Lin Shen Xue approaching their side did he relax again.
The next moment, his body tensed once more.
A scorching body collapsed into his arms; his chest was pressed so hard he could barely breathe.
He looked down at his front.
At this moment, Luo Qiu Zhu had fallen into his embrace, her forehead drenched in sweat.
Her mask trembled rapidly, her chest heaving dramatically.
Though a backpack separated them, her rising and falling chest pushed against it, thump thump against his own.
Her hands had somehow gripped Xu Lin’s arms.
The force was immense; it hurt where she grabbed.
In the narrow crevice, Luo Qiu Zhu’s heavy breathing echoed, interspersed with suppressed sounds of pain.
This situation!