"What time are we getting married?"
When such a shocking question suddenly came from An Zijin without the slightest warning, Su Ming froze completely.
"Huh?"
That simple word perfectly expressed Su Ming's dumbfounded confusion at that moment.
Su Ming stared at An Zijin in shock, his head buzzing.
But An Zijin spoke with sparkling eyes as though she had merely said something completely normal.
"Am I Su Ming's person? Right?"
The implication behind An Zijin's words was obvious: she was telling Su Ming that this was no different from a marriage proposal.
"No, that's not it."
Su Ming panicked. The corner of his eye twitched violently, and his mind descended into chaos.
There was nothing he could do.
It was just so sudden!
How had their conversation suddenly turned into marriage?
Was something wrong with me? Or was something wrong with this girl next door?
"What's wrong?" An Zijin stared at Su Ming's face and watched his flustered expression. A mist suddenly welled up in her beautiful eyes as she said, "As expected, Brother Su Ming still looks down on me, doesn't he?"
Seeing that An Zijin looked as though she was about to cry, Su Ming shook his head frantically.
"I'm not! I didn't! Don't say that!"
He threw out the standard three denials, but they did nothing to ease An Zijin's sadness.
"Then does Brother Su Ming not like me?"
An Zijin looked at Su Ming with tears in the corners of her eyes, showing every sign of crying her heart out.
"I never said that, either, did I?"
Su Ming had no idea what to say anymore. His scalp prickled.
But the scene that made his scalp prickle even more was still to come.
"Since Brother Su Ming doesn't dislike me and doesn't look down on me, why do you look so unwilling to marry me?"
As An Zijin said this, she seemed to think of something. The mist and tears in the corners of her eyes vanished completely.
"I understand. It's that Xu Qianqian, right?" An Zijin murmured. "Many people say Xu Qianqian is very beautiful. She came to see Brother Su Ming yesterday, too. So the person Brother Su Ming likes is that Xu Qianqian...?"
For some reason, An Zijin's tone became terrifyingly strange as she said this.
That emotionless tone made Su Ming's heart almost stop for a moment.
That was not all.
The adorable expression on An Zijin's pretty face also turned blank. The liveliness in her eyes faded completely, as though she had become a lifeless puppet, while she muttered to herself.
"Xu Qianqian, Xu Qianqian. It seems she really is someone I have to watch out for."
"If I had known, I should have come to find Brother Su Ming sooner, instead of giving her a chance to approach him."
"How could she do this?"
"I came first. Brother Su Ming and I promised each other a lifetime when we were children. She suddenly appeared and interfered. Is she planning to ruin the relationship between Brother Su Ming and me?"
"Then she must be a fox spirit, right? She is, isn't she?"
An Zijin continued muttering like this. With her empty eyes and expressionless face, she seemed to be chanting some kind of curse. The sight was extraordinarily frightening.
Su Ming could not help taking a step back, fear filling his face.
Why did the way this girl next door had turned out seem so wrong?
Su Ming unconsciously swallowed and, as though he were trying to stop some terrifying existence from being released, tremblingly placed his hands on An Zijin's shoulders.
"Little Zijin? What's wrong with you? Wake up! Your character is collapsing!"
Su Ming shook An Zijin.
"Brother Su Ming?"
An Zijin seemed to hear Su Ming's voice. After being shaken for a while, she came back to her senses and looked at him. The light returned to her previously dull eyes.
"What's wrong, Brother Su Ming?"
An Zijin looked at Su Ming strangely, as though nothing had happened. She tilted her head, looking as cute as ever.
"No... nothing."
Seeing An Zijin suddenly return to normal, Su Ming felt not the slightest bit of joy. Instead, he swallowed again.
"What a strange Brother Su Ming."
An Zijin seemed to genuinely think Su Ming was very strange. She curved her eyes and smiled.
Unfortunately, no matter how adorable that smile was, it could no longer dispel the strange feeling in Su Ming's heart.
At that moment, only one thought remained in Su Ming's mind.
What exactly has this girl been through over the past ten years?!
How had she become so terrifying?
The way this girl next door had turned out really was wrong!
Su Ming hurriedly changed the subject.
"Well, Little Zijin, why don't you go back to the dormitory first?"
Su Ming quickly made the suggestion.
"Why?" An Zijin froze at first, then mist welled up in her eyes again as she said, "We've only just reunited, and you're already trying to drive me away?"
"That's not what I mean." The corner of Su Ming's mouth twitched as he patiently explained, "I need to hide from the people in the academy. It won't be convenient for me to escape if you come with me."
"I see." Only then did An Zijin's expression clear up like the sky after a storm. She said, "It's fine. I'll explain everything to everyone properly. Brother Su Ming, you don't need to worry."
Su Ming: "..."
Don't you understand that saying this is exactly what worries me the most?
Su Ming wanted to say it, but stopped himself in time.
He had realized that the obedient girl next door he had known as a child might have grown in a somewhat crooked direction. She was no longer the comforting little cotton-padded jacket he could talk to without restraint, but a troublesome little menace who might drag him into a ditch at any moment.
The threat she posed to him might even surpass Xu Qianqian's.
At least Xu Qianqian would only cause Su Ming trouble. She would not bring him a fatal disaster. This girl next door, on the other hand, had only just reunited with him, yet she had already made Su Ming discover countless disaster seeds capable of threatening his personal safety.
These two so-called School Belles were both traps.
One was an inexperienced female vampire.
The other was a hidden menace who could explode at any moment.
As Zhang Wuji's mother had said, the more beautiful a woman was, the less she could be trusted!
After realizing this, Su Ming could only exhaust his eloquence, trying to persuade An Zijin to return to the dormitory while desperately begging her not to say "I'm Brother Su Ming's person" whenever anyone asked about the matter.
He was doing it for nothing else but his own safety.
Although An Zijin was somewhat reluctant, Su Ming's words seemed quite effective on this girl next door.
Thus, under Su Ming's silver-tongued persuasion, An Zijin could only obediently agree to everything. She exchanged contact information with Su Ming and agreed that they would stay in touch before finally turning to leave, looking back three times with every step.
Su Ming watched An Zijin leave, gripping his phone with a smile on his face. It was just that the smile looked forced no matter how one looked at it.
When An Zijin's back had completely disappeared from Su Ming's sight, he turned around and ran outside the academy without hesitation.
The mortal world was not worth it. He should not stay here any longer.
Su Ming quietly left the academy while calling his instructor to request his first leave of the year.
"My perfect attendance is gone just like that."
Su Ming stood at the academy gate and looked at the still-bustling academy, remaining speechless for a long time.
Who could have expected that the thing breaking his perfect attendance would be such a ridiculous incident?
"I hope those people have calmed down by the time I return."
Otherwise, Su Ming would have to consider sleeping on the streets.
Meanwhile.
After parting from Su Ming, An Zijin did not return to the dormitory or appear in front of anyone. Instead, she continued hiding in a corner, staring at Su Ming's contact information newly saved in her phone. A dazed expression appeared on her incredibly adorable face.
Several seconds later, An Zijin smiled.
She giggled foolishly.
"I can finally be with Brother Su Ming again!"
"And I even got Brother Su Ming's contact information!"
"Hee-hee... hee-hee-hee."
As An Zijin laughed, she actually began drooling unconsciously.
If those who admired An Zijin had seen her like this, their entire worldview would have shattered, and their eyes would have bulged out of their sockets.
Fortunately, only one person saw An Zijin like this.
"You are...?"
Accompanied by a crisp voice filled with surprise, An Zijin jolted and sprang to her feet.
Only then did An Zijin realize that someone had appeared in front of her at some unknown point.
The other party was tall and slender, with a graceful figure, snow-white skin, and an otherworldly bearing. She resembled a wealthy young lady traveling incognito, radiating nobility and elegance. Even An Zijin was dazzled for a moment.
However, An Zijin quickly recognized this person.
"You're Xu Qianqian, the third-year senior?"
An Zijin's expression shifted.
That was right.
The person who had appeared here was Xu Qianqian.
Xu Qianqian had naturally also recognized the recently famous An Zijin.
"You're An Zijin from the Sorcerer Department, right?"
Xu Qianqian looked toward An Zijin.
"That's me."
An Zijin nodded and admitted it.
However, An Zijin's attitude was somewhat cold and even carried a hint of hostility.
This was quite surprising.
Usually, An Zijin treated everyone with courtesy and obedience, causing countless senior students to develop an uncontrollable fondness for her.
But when faced with Xu Qianqian, An Zijin not only abandoned her usual manner but also became extremely aggressive.
"Why is Senior here?" An Zijin asked softly.
"Nothing in particular." Xu Qianqian may have noticed something. She looked deeply at An Zijin and said, "For some reason, the academy seems to be in excessive turmoil. I've also been targeted by some minor figures recently, so naturally I don't want to get caught up in some inexplicable disturbance and give others an opportunity to take advantage of me."
Xu Qianqian had avoided the unrest and moved through secluded paths and hidden corners precisely to prevent being ambushed by people with ulterior motives.
Meeting An Zijin here had been purely coincidental.
An Zijin did not see it that way.
"Senior came here specifically for Brother Su Ming, didn't you?"
An Zijin actually said this.
"Su Ming?"
Xu Qianqian frowned.
Before you continue