Chapter Five: Alas, the Wounds of My Soul

After leaving the dormitory, Chen Miaomiao hurried into a secluded grove, anxiously waiting for Chen Tong.

Half an hour later, Chen Tong arrived late, clearly impatient. “Why can’t you just say it on the light brain? Why insist on meeting in person?”

“I’m scared…” Chen Miaomiao threw herself at Chen Tong, clutching him tightly, her voice trembling. “Qian Qi didn’t die, and I have this feeling she’s discovered something. What should I do, senior?”

At the mention of Qian Qi’s name, a shadow of malice flashed in Chen Tong’s eyes, his expression darkening considerably.

When last year’s freshmen arrived, he had only sneered at Qian Qi, a poor girl, but she struck him twice, turning him into the laughingstock of the Magical Beast Department.

He had been nursing thoughts of revenge ever since. Upon hearing that Li Shuyun had cultivated the Fire Qilin Fruit, he began meticulous planning: first, he bought a fake account and added Qian Qi as a friend, hinting he urgently needed the Fire Qilin Fruit, baiting her with a price ten thousand above market value.

At the same time, he bribed Chen Miaomiao to keep an eye on Qian Qi and arranged for her to die on the Fire Qilin Lotus.

It was not uncommon for students in the Magical Plant Department to die from the plants themselves. With Qian Qi’s notorious reputation and her reckless nature, no one would suspect murder; they would only think she died because of greed.

“Don’t worry, she won’t realize. I’ll find another way,” Chen Tong said dismissively, patting Chen Miaomiao’s back. “You should go back. If you have something to say, say it on the light brain. Meeting at school is too risky.”

If his girlfriend found out he was secretly meeting female students, who knew what trouble that would cause? He didn’t want to be laughed at again.

Chen Miaomiao nodded, suddenly becoming shy. “Senior, we haven’t… done that in a long time, have we?”

She hadn’t expected to get close to Chen Tong. She had heard his family was quite wealthy, and if she married him, she would never have to worry about money again.

She had to seize this chance and make Chen Tong break up with his girlfriend as soon as possible.

Chen Tong glanced at Chen Miaomiao’s ample figure, narrowed his eyes, and finally said, “Weekend. Same place.”

———

Li Shuyun was quick to act. That very afternoon, she managed to obtain a seed of the Fire Qilin Lotus.

Afraid to contact Qian Qi directly, she asked Liang Yuting from the same dormitory for her light brain number and paid her twenty yuan for the errand to deliver the seed to Qian Qi.

The first thing Qian Qi did upon receiving the seed was to use the “Analysis Technique.”

[Name: Fire Qilin Lotus Seed
Affiliated Plant: Fire Qilin Lotus
Planting Method: Water with 1kg of 0.1% urea solution every 8 hours. After 2 days of germination, feed once daily with 1kg E-grade blooded magical beast meat, 0.5kg phosphate-potassium fertilizer, and 0.1kg nitrogen fertilizer. Matures and fruits after 5 days.
Disease Prevention: Black Toxic Spots, Wilt, Black Bug Disease
Market Price: 1000 yuan per seed]

The system panel introduced extensive information about the Fire Qilin Lotus. Clicking on [Fire Qilin Lotus] revealed its weaknesses, attack methods, and functions of its parts. Clicking on [Black Toxic Spots] showed prevention methods—it was very comprehensive.

“Blooded magical beast meat?” Qian Qi flipped through the original owner’s textbooks and found no mention of such meat in the planting instructions.

After analysis, she realized the textbooks’ methods relied heavily on chemicals. For a magical plant like the Fire Qilin Lotus, which absorbs surrounding fire elemental energy, this was like a child raised only on supplements—hardly viable.

“I guess I need to get my hands on some magical beast blood and meat first.”

Qian Qi stroked her chin, pondering.

Where could she get magical beast meat? She couldn’t just go into a dungeon and kill one herself—she was just a delicate young woman.

Her gaze slowly drifted to the branded jacket dripping water on the washing balcony.

Fifteen minutes later,

Qian Qi, clutching the soaking wet jacket, stood outside the male dormitory of the Magical Beast Department.

“Hey, classmate…” she tried to stop a boy, but he saw her and fled in fright.

Not only that, but other students nearby noticed her and all kept their distance; some who had just stepped out turned around and went back inside.

Qian Qi: …

Glancing at the elderly dorm supervisor sunbathing at the door, Qian Qi smoothed her rough short hair and strode resolutely forward, flip-flopping into the boys’ dorm.

The old supervisor glanced at her entering but quickly withdrew his gaze.

Qian Qi: …

Damn! Why do I feel so unreasonably happy even though I sneaked in?

At the same time, the student who had just gone out and turned back complained in the dorm, “Damn, it’s just not a good day to go out.”

Su Xingle, drinking water, asked curiously, “What happened?”

“As soon as I stepped out, I saw that crazy Qian Qi. So damn unlucky,” the roommate said.

Su Xingle snorted exaggeratedly, “That’s nothing. This morning, I went to the cafeteria, and not only did she try to scam me, she grabbed my collar and demanded my jacket. Can you believe it? When I saw her face, my heart almost gave out.”

“Really? That’s rough,” the roommate grew interested. “So, did you give it to her?”

“What choice did I have?” Su Xingle said, still shaken. “I don’t want to be the next Chen Tong. You know how crazy she is. You, me, and Old Li next door had to really use all our strength just to separate her from Chen Tong.”

“Poor jacket I just bought. But I guess it’s better to lose some money than trouble. I hope I don’t dream about that crazy girl tonight. I’d rather dream of ghosts or being chased by magical beasts than her—she’s terrifying… Huh? Why are you coughing so much?”

Su Xingle kept ranting until he noticed his roommate coughing suddenly, then quietly signaling him from behind.

Unaware, Su Xingle turned around and met Qian Qi’s smiling eyes.

Su Xingle: !!!

Help!

Why is she here? Did she hear everything I just said?

“Sis…” Su Xingle’s voice began to tremble.

“Senior Su…” Qian Qi’s cheerful smile suddenly turned sorrowful. “How could you say such things about me? Look, I washed your clothes so cleanly. To avoid any misunderstanding, I hurried to bring them to you right after washing.”

She looked sad. “I didn’t expect Senior Su to be like the others, judging me with prejudice.”

Su Xingle quickly waved his hands. “No, no, it’s not like that!”

He looked at the clean jacket draped over Qian Qi’s arm, feeling complicated. He never imagined she had actually washed his jacket properly.

And even brought it to him.

Could it be that Qian Qi wasn’t as bad as he thought?

“Well… thank you?” Su Xingle tentatively reached for the jacket.

But Qian Qi’s hand pressed down on it, and he couldn’t pull it away.

As if unaware, she sighed deeply and spoke in a long, drawn-out tone, “Alas, poor me with my little arms and legs, climbing all the way up five floors to the Magical Beast Department dorm just to personally deliver your jacket.”

“And what did I get in return? A series of humiliations, with you saying I’m scarier than ghosts and magical beasts,” Qian Qi said, clutching her chest in pain. “My fragile heart… truly shattered!”

Su Xingle felt a pang of guilt, realizing he had no grudge against Qian Qi. The collision in the cafeteria was partly his fault, and he had been the first to swear. Qian Qi hadn’t uttered a single curse and had even offered to wash his jacket.

“Sorry. I really shouldn’t have said those things,” Su Xingle admitted. “I misunderstood you. Don’t be sad.”

“Senior Su, this emotional wound of mine…” Qian Qi shook her head with a sigh. “It won’t heal anytime soon.”

“Well, then…” Su Xingle was at a loss. He looked to his roommate for help, but the roommate coldly looked away and silently buried himself in his book, becoming invisible.

“Senior Su wants to make it up to me?” Qian Qi spoke for him.

Su Xingle nodded quickly. “Yes. What kind of compensation do you want?”

Qian Qi immediately grasped Su Xingle’s wrists with both hands, a bright smile replacing her earlier sorrow.

“I knew you were a good person! I happen to need ten jin of fresh blooded magical beast meat these days. You’ll definitely give it to me for free—uh, I mean, as compensation, right?”

Su Xingle: …

Su Xingle: ???

Why does he feel like he’s been tricked?