Lin Xue

(This chapter is free.)

The words "You really have a tough life" left us in an awkward silence for nearly a minute.

The beautiful woman opposite me had not even had time to put away her stiff smile before my highly creative "greeting" choked her up. Her face immediately became a spectacle, her forced smile blending with an angry expression. Probably not even the world's most talented face-changing master could reproduce that exact look.

"Sorry!"

"Sorry!"

We spoke in unison, then both froze in place.

I did not know why the beautiful woman froze, but I was genuinely shocked. I had thought she was here for revenge—and judging from her expression, it certainly looked that way. Yet the first thing she said was an apology—though her tone had absolutely none of the sincerity of one.

"Uh... it's fine. No, wait, why are you apologizing?"

The beautiful woman bowed, gritted her teeth, and said, "I came to apologize for attacking you a few days ago!"

"Ah... oh." I was having trouble processing this. It was like two people preparing for a life-or-death duel: I had poison, hidden weapons, traps, and even a will ready, while the other side came charging in with murderous momentum. Then, the moment we met, they said, "Let's settle this with rock-paper-scissors," and I was instantly dumbfounded.

After several more seconds of stunned silence, Qian Qian's voice came from the Living Room. "A Jun, who is it? Why haven't you invited her in yet?"

I finally snapped out of it and said awkwardly, "Miss, have you eaten? We're having dinner. Want to join us?"

I felt that was the most creative thing I had ever said in my life—especially to someone who had nearly killed me.

A few minutes later, the girl who called herself Lin Xue was sitting at our dining table, taking the place of my sister, whom Qian Qian had helped back to her room after she got drunk.

"You said you're A Jun's friend?" Qian Qian looked suspiciously at the stiff-faced Lin Xue.

Lin Xue firmly shook her head. "He said that himself. I'm not this guy's friend!"

Qian Qian turned to me. "How come I didn't know you had a friend like this?"

Clearly ignored, Lin Xue shouted angrily, "Didn't I say so? I'm not this guy's friend."

"Um... Lin Xue and I only met a few days ago. I hadn't had the chance to introduce her to you yet."

"Hey, are you two even listening to me?! I'm not this guy's friend at all!"

"How did you meet A Jun?" Qian Qian ignored Lin Xue's protest once again. "Personality-wise, you two couldn't possibly get along, right?"

"I said I'm not this guy's friend..." Lin Xue protested weakly.

"Forget how you met," Qian Qian said, raising her glass. "Today is Lily's welcome party anyway, so let's also welcome our new friend Lin Xue!"

Lin Xue was crying tears of blood...

Watching the two noisy oddballs in front of her, who had completely entered their own little world, Lin Xue could not help but wonder: Was that boy really the powerful Esper from that day?

Thinking back to that experience, Lin Xue shuddered again. Such overwhelming power—could it still be classified as an Esper ability?

Just then, with her mind already a mess, Lin Xue suddenly noticed that there was still one person present who had been ignored.

That blind girl named Pan Lili. If Lin Xue had guessed correctly, she was also someone with powerful abilities. But for some reason, the little girl had shown absolutely no reaction to her arrival. Logically speaking, she could not possibly be unaware of Lin Xue's identity, could she?

Looking at the little girl quietly eating the food before her, Lin Xue could not help thinking, What a girl with such a weak presence! Even I, someone best at reconnaissance, subconsciously ignored her existence... Could this be her ability? The ability to hide her presence? What a useless power...

"Don't try anything with Brother."

A voice suddenly rang out in Lin Xue's mind, startling her so badly that she nearly dropped her chopsticks onto the table.

"Stay calm. That is the most basic quality of a warrior."

The voice sounded again, and Lin Xue could finally confirm that it was not a hallucination.

Was this the ability of the little girl before her? Mind Communication?!

Lin Xue suddenly grew excited, as though she had discovered the New Continent.

Esper abilities came in all shapes and sizes, with strange and bizarre powers appearing endlessly. But aside from a few combat-oriented abilities, most obscure powers were useless dead weight. This was why Espers, though powerful, had never been able to play a greater role. Yet this little girl's Mind Communication was an unprecedentedly powerful ability. Calling it a King's Way skill would not be an exaggeration. It might not be suited for direct combat, but in team operations, the role it could play...

Then Lin Xue suddenly realized that if this little girl's ability was Mind Communication, then the elusive high-temperature energy from a few days ago must have belonged to that hateful boy. Although he had humiliated her so badly and his personality was utterly awful, if they could really join the organization...

As long as they could contribute to the organization, what did a little humiliation matter? At worst, she could secretly cause trouble for that Chen Jun guy in the future and call it even...

Thinking of the two treasures sitting before her, Lin Xue immediately felt that the girl named Xu Qianqian was far too much of an obstacle...

"Hey!" Lin Xue suddenly said.

"Hm?" I responded in surprise. I still could not quite figure out the identity or intentions of this mysterious Lin Xue. But since she had behaved fairly amicably so far, I had decided to wait and see. Now that she had taken the initiative to speak, what did she want?

"You two..." Lin Xue's gaze swept back and forth between Qian Qian and me several times before she finally asked, "Are you two lovers?"

"Who knows!" Qian Qian and I answered in unison.

Lin Xue froze.

What kind of answer was that? Were we or weren't we? How could there be such a ridiculous answer in the world?!

"How should I put it..." Qian Qian tugged at her hair in distress and said, "This guy and I probably count as a couple. After we transferred to the same school half a year ago, our relationship seemed to develop a little. But with things as they are now... Hey, A Jun, are you my boyfriend?"

I... I was twitching a little...

I knew Qian Qian occasionally had moments of extreme airheadedness, but I had not expected her to be this airheaded. But thinking about it seriously, that really was the state of our relationship. We liked each other and cared about each other deeply, but we just could not find the feeling of being in love. It was like—we had entered married-couple mode before we had even had the chance to date...

"Qian Qian, unfortunately, I am your unlucky boyfriend..." I said with a miserable expression.

"Oh." Qian Qian turned toward Lin Xue. "Looks like we're lovers."

I had never expected that my relationship with Qian Qian would be confirmed in such a ridiculous way.

Lin Xue was practically crashing.

She suspected that the two people opposite her were deliberately messing with her, but based on her observations, neither of them seemed to be joking.

"Fine, I get it. You're a rather amusing couple," Lin Xue said helplessly. "You saw a strange, beautiful girl suddenly appear beside A Jun, and you didn't feel even the slightest suspicion or jealousy?"

Qian Qian blinked, then said to me in confusion, "A Jun, I think she's right. You suddenly got to know such a pretty girl. Logically, as your suspected girlfriend, shouldn't I be a little unhappy or something?"

"Theoretically, yes," I analyzed solemnly.

"Then why don't I feel anything at all?" Qian Qian looked even more confused. "Could it be because you make me feel too secure?"

"Qian Qian," I was almost crying, "I'm starting to question my place in your heart..."

"Alright, alright, I was joking," Qian Qian said, waving her hand. "Don't I know what kind of person you are? I don't know how you met Lin Xue, but I can still tell whether there's any inappropriate relationship between you two..."

Lin Xue could finally confirm that this pair of suspected lovers could not possibly be dealt with using any normal method of human interaction. Feeling somewhat defeated, she said, "Fine, you two win... It's getting late, so I'll be leaving now. You two carry on chatting."

What I wanted to say was, I'd been waiting for you to say that...

After Lin Xue left, full of frustration and confusion, Qian Qian also stood and said, "Alright, I should head back too. I'm going shopping with Zhou Jie and the others this afternoon, so I'll leave the arduous task of washing dishes to you~~~"

It seemed Qian Qian did care a little after all. I could tell from the fact that she had specifically waited until Lin Xue left before standing up—she still was not comfortable leaving me alone with a beautiful girl of unknown background.

I had to admit, that gave me some comfort...

After Qian Qian left, only Pandora and I remained in the Living Room. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

I got up to answer the door. As expected, Lin Xue, who had only just left, was standing outside.