Playing Hard to Get

Gao Teng was just about to use up all his chances to steal when Meng Yao came rushing over and shoved a pill into his mouth.

The pill slid down his throat, and its immense medicinal power swept through his body in an instant. The blackness on Gao Teng's face quickly faded, and before long, his complexion had returned to normal.

Meng Yao let out a relieved breath, still shaken. "Good thing I always carry all kinds of emergency pills. Otherwise, we'd have been done for today. If I'd died from the poison, it would've been such a waste."

"Yeah."

Gao Teng gave a casual reply. He wasn't particularly moved.

After all, once he stole some physical strength, he'd most likely be able to purge the snake venom from his body.

"What pill did you just give me? It must be pretty high-grade, right?"

"Good eye."

Meng Yao said, "That was a Nectar Pill. It can neutralize almost any poison, except for the kind that's been specially concocted.

It's an exclusive formula from Hundred Flowers Pharmaceutical Company, and each pill costs a pretty penny."

Gao Teng changed the subject. "Let's get out of here. It's too dangerous."

Meng Yao laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you for money. You make me sound so stingy.

But you're right. It really isn't safe here. We should get going."

With that, she picked up her deskmate's body and ran with Gao Teng toward the edge of the woods.

The journey was uneventful, and the two soon reached the river. They got into a kayak and paddled across.

As soon as they reached the other bank, Chen Yan hurried over, her face a mix of surprise and joy. "Meng Yao, Gao Teng, you're alive! I'm so glad you're both okay!"

Meng Yao looked relieved. "We almost didn't make it back. Thankfully, Gao Teng saved me."

"Oh?"

Chen Yan said in surprise, "There's such a big gap between your strengths. He saved you instead of the other way around?"

Meng Yao explained, "When we were getting ready to come back, we ran into a really powerful venomous snake. It was probably already at level four.

Gao Teng fought it to the death and managed to kill it. If it had been me, I don't think I could've been as ruthless as he was. So I owe him my life."

"By the way, Teacher, Zhang Jie..."

Meng Yao's mood sank, and her face filled with sorrow.

Chen Yan's gaze fell on the body, and her heart tightened.

Three students from their class had gone missing: Gao Teng, Meng Yao, and Zhang Jie. She'd prepared herself for the worst, but seeing the body with her own eyes still made it hard to accept.

"There shouldn't have been any enemies on this island. Who could be so vicious?"

Chen Yan clenched her fists, anger surging inside her.

Meng Yao instinctively started to explain, but then she remembered Ma Wei's warning: she absolutely couldn't tell anyone what she and Gao Teng had done that day. Otherwise, once a wanted notice was issued, they would definitely be targeted in retaliation.

So she obediently kept quiet. She'd leave the explanation to the Public Security Bureau.

"Meng Yao, Gao Teng, go rest in the car for now.

You must've been terrified today. I'm sorry I didn't protect you properly."

Chen Yan felt deeply guilty and bowed to them.

Meng Yao hurriedly said, "Teacher, you can't blame yourself. None of us expected there to be enemies on Snake Island.

If it had just been a normal training exercise, nothing this terrible would've happened. The enemies were completely deranged."

Gao Teng added a word of comfort.

But Chen Yan didn't feel comforted. Instead, her guilt only grew stronger.

The more considerate her students were, the more useless she felt.

If only she'd been stronger, she could've protected every student in her class, and no one would have died.

"Go rest in the car. You're the ones who were scared, yet here you are comforting me."

Chen Yan gave a bitter smile and urged them to get in.

"Teacher, don't dwell on it. Don't blame yourself too much."

Meng Yao offered another word of comfort, then headed to the car.

Gao Teng followed right behind her. They got into the car together and sat apart.

More than forty minutes passed before Ma Wei and the others returned in their kayaks.

They'd not only searched the drug-manufacturing hideout but had also combed the woods for the missing students.

The result was grim: every missing student had been killed by snakes. Gao Teng and Meng Yao were the only survivors.

Thirteen people had died during this training session. It was a terrible tragedy.

Ma Wei was devastated and had no idea how he would face the students' parents.

He vented his anger by beating Meng Wei savagely, then sent all the students and teachers from Fifth Middle School back to campus. He also ordered every Public Security Bureau officer on the scene to collect the bodies and take them to the funeral home.

On the bus.

The mood was much heavier. The students were no longer as excited as they'd been on the way there. Each wore a complicated expression, their hearts heavy with conflicting emotions.

Even after they returned to school, they still couldn't get their feelings in order.

When Liang Guofu learned what had happened on Snake Island, he immediately realized how serious the situation was. He gave all the students the rest of the day off, then contacted the families of the students who had died one by one to begin making arrangements.

As for Gao Teng, he left campus with the crowd.

He now had 17,838 merit points and could visit Zhou Xing at Mercy Hospital.

He'd just reached the roadside and pulled out his phone to order a ride when someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

Gao Teng turned around, then lowered his gaze.

The girl in front of him was petite, but her figure was surprisingly curvy. Her full chest stretched her white shirt taut, making her curves quite eye-catching.

Below her blue pleated skirt, her pale, slender legs were straight and slim. She wore a pair of little black leather shoes, and white ankle socks embroidered with lace just covered her ankles.

The girl was none other than Meng Yao, who'd changed out of her training uniform and into her everyday clothes.

"Gao Teng, where are you going?"

"Home to cultivate," Gao Teng replied off the cuff. "The college entrance exams are coming up, so I need to work harder and get a good score."

"Oh."

Meng Yao nodded, then asked, "Aren't you having lunch? My treat."

"Maybe not."

Meng Yao's eyes went wide, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

Gao Teng had actually turned her down?

Turned down a pretty, adorable girl like her?

Playing hard to get to make me pay attention to him. He's really gone to a lot of trouble.

Meng Yao quickly caught on and couldn't help marveling at how calculating Gao Teng was.

"If you don't want to, forget it. I'm leaving."

With that, Meng Yao turned and walked away.

But after several steps, she still didn't hear Gao Teng coming after her.

She looked back. Gao Teng had actually flagged down a taxi, opened the back door, and gotten in.

"Wait!"

Meng Yao hurried over and grabbed the back door. "You're really turning me down?"

Gao Teng sighed. "Do you really have to treat me to this meal? What do you even want?"

Meng Yao looked utterly incredulous. Gao Teng was actually getting impatient with her?

She snorted and squeezed into the taxi. "I'm treating you to thank you, so don't be ungrateful.

Having lunch with a pretty, adorable girl like me is a privilege!"

"Heh."