Shi Tiexin broke into a smile and slapped Gu Shaoqiu's shoulder twice. "Haha, old classmate, you're being far too formal. If there's something, just say it. Sneaking around after me like this only invites misunderstandings—I thought you were some 'mastermind behind the scenes' plotting against me."
Gu Shaoqiu's face gleamed with oily sweat as he gave a foolish chuckle. "How could I dare? Even if my hands are black, it's only from cooking—stir-frying chives."
Shi Tiexin looked at him with a smile. He returned the look with a simple-minded grin, his heart a tangled mess.
Shi Tiexin's gaze was too deep, his schemes too deep. Gu Shaoqiu could no longer tell whether he had muddled through it or not, and could only play dumb on instinct.
He gathered his courage and prepared to slip away. "Old Shi, look, my bones still haven't fully healed. Shouldn't I go to the hospital first?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry, my deepest apologies. Go on. Next time you want to see me, just contact me directly. Oh, right—I'm breaking through tomorrow."
"Breaking through? Again? You're going to form Gangqi?!"
"Heart arts."
"Oh." Gu Shaoqiu felt thoroughly muddled. After taking a moment to recover, he pulled himself together and made polite conversation. "What subject are you planning to study?"
"Rhetoric, Mind System. Be sure to grace us with your presence."
Mind System?
Gu Shaoqiu's smile looked worse than crying. "I might need treatment for a while longer..."
At least Shi Tiexin finally left.
Gu Shaoqiu could not even cry.
Mind System—wasn't that tailor-made to counter him? If Shi Tiexin attained some accomplishment in the Mind System, he could invert the senses, scramble perception, even directly alter common knowledge and cognition, reshaping innate gifts and personality.
From now on, he needed to stay as far away as possible.