"Ah, so you didn't do it on purpose, Ping'an Ge..."
Yan Shubing realized she'd lost her composure a little. If Zhu Ping'an really stopped fawning over her, she'd be the one losing out.
"Then, Ping'an Ge, will you help me take Qingxian Ge to the infirmary?"
"Sure! No problem! As long as you don't hate me, Bingbing, I'll do anything!"
Zhu Ping'an flashed a sunny, heartthrob-worthy smile. So what if he was laying it on thick? It wasn't as if she was the only one who knew how. He just had to move his lips—he wouldn't lose anything for it.
As he helped Ye Qingxian toward the infirmary, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help mulling things over.
Based on what he knew so far, he could exploit bugs in the plot and change events, but some important plot points couldn't be altered.
For example, even though he'd exploited a bug to get nine Qi and Blood Pills, he still had to give one to Yan Shubing. He could beat Ye Qingxian to a pulp, but he still couldn't change the outcome of the mock exam: he'd lose to Ye Qingxian.
In short, he could change how things happened, but not how they ended.
Zhu Ping'an's expression darkened as he grasped that. Did this mean that, no matter what he did, he was still destined to die in the jaws of a Mutant Beast, chewed into pieces just like in the plot?
"I refuse to believe it..."
Zhu Ping'an remembered clearly that the Mutant Beast that had swallowed him was a Sixth-Tier Beast, with strength equivalent to that of a human Sixth-Rank Martial Artist.
If he kept exploiting bugs in the plot and raised his strength to Seventh Rank or even Eighth Rank before he ran into that beast, he refused to believe it could still swallow him whole.
Though he thought that way, Zhu Ping'an still wasn't entirely confident. The higher a martial artist's rank, the harder it was to advance. Reaching Seventh Rank or even Eighth Rank would be no easy feat.
Zhu Ping'an suddenly realized he'd been given an incredibly arduous mission: to stay alive.
"Ping'an Ge, what don't you believe?"
Yan Shubing looked at Zhu Ping'an, puzzled, as he stood outside the infirmary.
"Oh, nothing. Is Ye Qingxian all right?" Zhu Ping'an asked with an awkward laugh.
"Qingxian Ge is fine. It's just that his Epiphany was interrupted, and the backlash left him with internal injuries." Yan Shubing sighed.
"How could this happen? It's all my fault! If I'd known Ye Qingxian would suffer backlash, I shouldn't have admitted defeat!" Zhu Ping'an looked utterly regretful.
"None of us wanted this to happen, but, Ping'an Ge, even though you didn't do it on purpose, you still hurt Qingxian Ge." Yan Shubing furrowed her delicate brows.
"That's right! It's all my fault!" Zhu Ping'an said remorsefully.
"The school doctor said that if we could find a Blood Enhancement Pill, Qingxian Ge's injuries would heal quickly. If only we had one." Yan Shubing looked troubled.
Unlike a Qi and Blood Pill, a Blood Enhancement Pill, though still a First-Grade Pill, was more suited to treating martial artists' injuries.
"Yeah, if only we had a Blood Enhancement Pill." Zhu Ping'an nodded in agreement.
"What are we going to do? The College Entrance Examination is coming up soon. If Qingxian Ge doesn't recover, it'll have a huge impact on him and on the whole Qingcheng High School!" Yan Shubing sighed again.
"Yeah, it'll have a huge impact! What are we going to do?" Zhu Ping'an echoed.
Yan Shubing: "..."
She had a vague feeling that something was off about Zhu Ping'an today. Usually, if she said something like that, he'd rush to help her find a Blood Enhancement Pill without a second thought. But today, why was he all talk?
"Bingbing, don't worry! I'll help you think of something, I promise! If I can find a Blood Enhancement Pill, I'll bring it to you!"
Zhu Ping'an gazed at Yan Shubing tenderly, painting a rosy picture for her. He fought to keep from laughing out loud. Did this woman still think he was the same lovesick puppy as before?
"It's all right, Ping'an Ge. You don't have to blame yourself so much. It hurts me to see you blaming yourself."
Yan Shubing stared at Zhu Ping'an with her big, watery eyes, her voice full of suggestive warmth. In the past, Zhu Ping'an had been completely at her mercy whenever she used that combination of moves. She'd had him wrapped around her little finger; he'd been eager to tear out his heart and give it to her.
"Don't worry, Bingbing. Leave it to me."
Just as Zhu Ping'an was tirelessy spinning his rosy promises to Yan Shubing, his phone suddenly rang.
He stepped aside to answer it. A gentle female voice came from the other end.
"Xiao An, how did you do on the mock exam?"
Zhu Ping'an froze for a moment, then quickly realized who was calling. It was his mother, Xia Yue.
Xia Yue had given him his name, too. She had only one hope for him: that he'd live a peaceful, safe life. That was why she'd named him Zhu Ping'an.
That way, every time someone called his name, they'd be wishing him safety.
"Mom, I did pretty well. Second in the whole school," Zhu Ping'an replied with a smile.
"Not bad, you little rascal! You've made me proud! Looks like that Qi and Blood Pill I bought you wasn't wasted. Oh, that pharmacy had a promotion last time: buy a Qi and Blood Pill, get a Blood Enhancement Pill free. Your dad, that scatterbrain, forgot to give it to you. Could you come home and pick it up when you have time?"
As soon as Xia Yue finished speaking, Zhu Ping'an's scalp prickled.
So whenever Yan Shubing needed something, the heavens would send it right over? If he hadn't transmigrated here, that Blood Enhancement Pill would definitely have ended up in Yan Shubing's hands.
He wasn't some Second Male Lead who fawned over her—he was practically the old master in Yan Shubing's ring, handing her whatever she wanted.
Xia Yue hadn't noticed anything unusual about Zhu Ping'an and kept talking to herself.
"By the way, you should pick up your living expenses, too. The College Entrance Examination is coming up, so don't pinch pennies, okay? Spend what you need to spend. Come home and I'll give you the money and the Blood Enhancement Pill together. Ninety thousand!"
"What? Ninety thousand? That's a lot!" The figure snapped Zhu Ping'an out of his thoughts. Even though his family was fairly well-off in Green City, they usually gave him about ten thousand a month for living expenses. Why had it suddenly jumped so much?
"How is ninety thousand a lot? That Qi and Blood Pill cost over a million! You're the first martial artist in our Zhu Family, so you'd better train hard and not let your dad and me down. Pong! Six of bamboo!"
His mother, Xia Yue, spoke again from the other end of the phone.
Zhu Ping'an: "..."
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