Can It Really Be Your Turn?

The image in the Heavenly Curtain did not end with Qian Xiaosheng's heartbreak.

Instead, as if time were flowing backward, the scene began rewinding at high speed.

The rain vanished from the sky, the dark clouds dispersed, and the light became bright once more.

It returned to that gloomy afternoon before the rain had begun.

Xiachun Square.

The Vague Man brushed the bits of grass from his clothes, stood up, glanced at the gloomy sky, and started walking toward the street.

Just then, a pink figure who seemed to have been waiting nearby immediately came over.

It was Mu Xiaoyan.

With her hands behind her back and her body slightly leaning forward, she wore a sweet, harmless smile.

"Where are you going, Brother?"

The Vague Man did not stop walking and merely replied indifferently, "Just looking around."

There was no warmth in his tone.

But that did not discourage Mu Xiaoyan. Instead, as though she had received permission, her eyes curved into crescents.

"Is that so!"

"I know this street super well! Is there anything you want to buy, Brother?"

As she spoke, she followed along at the Vague Man's side without invitation.

"The fabric in this shop is really good..."

"Although that cookie shop over there is small, its flavor is really authentic..."

Along the way, Mu Xiaoyan's little mouth kept chattering as she introduced the nearby shops and streets.

As though the two of them were very close friends.

Seeing this, audiences across the continent were first stunned, then erupted into discussion.

"Damn!"

"No wonder he wasn't in the square when it rained. He was out shopping with another girl?"

"And then he went back to find her after shopping? Pah!"

Quite a few female Soul Masters who had just been touched by the scene of the two in the rain now spat in disgust.

However, the Vague Man in the scene did not seem to have done anything.

As he walked, he suddenly spoke without warning and asked blandly,

"Mu Xiaoyan, are you Jiang Zhu's friend?"

Mu Xiaoyan, who had been racking her brains for a topic that might interest him, was visibly stunned.

This was the first time this aloof man had taken the initiative to ask her a question in all these days!

Mu Xiaoyan then revealed a delighted yet somewhat innocent smile and nodded vigorously.

"Yes!"

As if to prove their relationship, she began endlessly recounting their past together.

"Jiang Zhu and I both came from commoner families. When we first arrived at the academy, we didn't understand anything."

"Some noble male students were awful. They often bullied commoners like us who had no background."

Mu Xiaoyan sighed, a trace of reminiscence appearing on her face.

"Once, after Jiang Zhu was bullied by several noble students, she hid in a corner and secretly wiped away her tears."

"I happened to see her passing by, so I went to comfort her. We became friends after that."

"Actually..."

"I had just been bullied too."

At this point, Mu Xiaoyan showed a strained smile and glanced at the Vague Man.

Seeing that he did not interrupt her, she continued, her voice taking on a hint of envy.

"Jiang Zhu is talented, beautiful, and especially gentle with everyone."

"No matter who runs into trouble, she's always the first to offer a helping hand."

"So..."

Mu Xiaoyan paused, then spoke pointedly.

"There are quite a few male students at the academy pursuing her. Some of them even give her gifts."

"And she never refuses the boys' advances."

"Ah..."

Mu Xiaoyan seemed to suddenly realize she had said too much. She hurriedly covered her mouth and secretly glanced at the Vague Man again.

At this moment, the Vague Man still showed no reaction and had not said a word.

He walked on calmly, as though he were merely listening to one passerby talk about another.

Seeing this, Mu Xiaoyan smiled somewhat cautiously, her voice growing subdued.

"Um... Brother, don't misunderstand. I don't mean anything else by it."

"After all, I don't think it's a bad thing for a girl to want lots of people to like her."

"Unlike me..."

She lowered her head to look at her toes, her voice full of loneliness.

"I'm always lacking confidence and feel like I'm not good enough."

"Even those few boys who were usually close to me abandoned me after getting to know Jiang Zhu. They often go looking for her instead..."

As she spoke, she raised her head and looked at the Vague Man with a pair of watery big eyes, appearing utterly pitiable.

Her gaze held thirty percent grievance, thirty percent envy, and forty percent fragile longing to be protected.

It was simply incredible!

Even the most oblivious man would probably feel some urge to protect a girl who looked like this.

"Sorry, Brother..."

She sniffled, then let out a sorrowful, self-mocking laugh.

"How did I end up complaining on and on by myself..."

"Maybe I just envy her too much. In the end... wherever I go, I'm all alone."

To men of a lower level, those words meant this: Jiang Zhu was a flirt who led people on everywhere!

While I, Mu Xiaoyan, am a pure and pitiful little white flower who gets neglected.

Dark Night Arena, top-floor room.

"She's awful! This woman is too awful!"

Doudou puffed out her cheeks in anger and poked Qin Chen's cheek with her finger.

"What's going on? What's going on?"

"Can't you tell she's a scheming woman? She's talking badly about Sister Jiang Zhu!"

Hua Xi, also puffing up her cheeks in Qin Chen's arms, nodded her little head like a pounding pestle.

"Exactly, exactly! Master is such a big idiot!"

Even the mature and seductive Liu Erlong narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly as she looked at Qin Chen with a teasing smile.

"Xiao Chen, don't tell me you were really charmed by that little girl back then?"

"I can smell the green tea through the Heavenly Curtain."

On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing stood with her arms crossed, her cold and beautiful face full of displeasure.

How dared this kind of woman play such petty tricks before the Monarch? Did she take the Monarch for a fool!

Qin Chen smiled helplessly and let them poke and prod at him.

"I'm innocent."

"I haven't even said anything yet. Is it wrong to just walk quietly?"

Duel Arena, treatment room.

Jiang Zhu stood before the window, watching the scene in the Heavenly Curtain. She was completely stunned, her eyes filled with shock and confusion.

She had not known about this.

Back then, she had always believed Mu Xiaoyan sincerely considered her a friend.

"So... this is how she saw me?"

Jiang Zhu leaned forward slightly, her fingers tightly gripping the railing of the windowsill.

Those so-called pursuers were clearly just people who clung to her for treatment...

What pursuers did she even have...

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Crown Prince Hall.

Qian Renxue watched Mu Xiaoyan's clumsy performance in the scene.

"Heh."

She let out a disdainful sneer.

"Playing mind games in front of Qin Chen?"

Qian Renxue knew Qin Chen too well. This man appeared gentle, but his mind was as clear as a mirror, and he was exceedingly rational!

If he could fall for something like this, I'd have won him over long ago. Would it still be your turn?

In the scene.

The Vague Man continued walking calmly, his pace unchanged in the slightest.

That blurred face seemed to show no emotional fluctuation either.

More than ten seconds passed.

He spoke again in the same indifferent tone and asked,

"Mu Xiaoyan, are you Jiang Zhu's friend?"

The exact same question.

Even the intonation had not changed in the slightest.

This repeated question not only left the people across the continent watching the Heavenly Curtain confused.

Even Mu Xiaoyan herself was stunned.

"Huh?"

The expression on Mu Xiaoyan's face froze for a moment.

What was going on?

Had he not heard her clearly just now?

Or had all that groundwork she laid just gone completely in one ear and out the other?

A trace of panic flashed through Mu Xiaoyan's heart, but she quickly adjusted her expression.

She nodded vigorously again, forcing a sweet smile onto her face.

"Yes... yes."