The man took the talisman and stumbled away. Everyone present watched this bizarre scene, and many recognized the man from before, whispering among themselves.
"Holy crap, did I see that right? Isn't that Chen Ou from the Individual Combat Department? I heard his family is quite powerful. Why is he crying like that in front of Xie Ji? What happened?"
"I heard that after offending Xie Ji, people went back and saw ghosts."
"That terrifying?"
"Really, really! I just messaged my friend, and he had a little conflict with Xie Ji in the cafeteria a couple of days ago. My friend was there, pretty close by, and he heard Xie Ji say that Chen Ou would be terrified just hearing his name in two days!"
" Xie Ji is truly amazing! What kind of evil magic is this?"
"I used to really think Xie Ji got to where he is because of his looks, but I never imagined he got there because of his talent!"
"Attending tonight's party was definitely the right decision! The Xie Ji was so beautiful! I'm going to sneak a few photos and post them on the school website. I hope the school will use my photo in the admissions brochure next year; it'll definitely attract a whole bunch of naive freshmen!"
"Advising someone to pilot a mecha? May you be struck by lightning!"
Soon, Xie Ji's photos were posted on the campus network. The poster briefly described what happened at the party and spent the rest of the time marveling at Xie Ji's beauty.
This post quickly became a trending topic, with countless people following suit and posting photos of the Xie Ji from various angles, but none of them showed close-up shots of the faces; they were probably all taken from a distance.
Lu Xunji appears in most of the scenes depicting Xie Ji.
Tonight's Xie Ji is exceptionally captivating.
"Holy crap, he's so beautiful! He's got a death wish! Who picked out his clothes? They suit him perfectly! Oh my god!"
"It looks even better in person than in the photos! The fabric of the clothes looks very expensive; it's visibly sheer under strong lighting, but the camera can't capture that!"
"Where am I? Will I still be able to see him if I go out now?"
"At the Department of Repair Engineering's party, you only need to pay 100 yuan for admission!"
"The thought of such a pretty girl learning to slaughter pigs in the individual combat department makes me feel quite sad. Let her come to our command department; our command department produces beauties."
"Come on, it's all about our individual combat department. We're all fierce and powerful tops. Your command department could kill ten aloof beauties with a single brick, and nine of them would be bottoms."
"We in the repair department won't participate in this topic. We're usually just background characters in the main couple's romance, like the doctor friend in a CEO romance novel."
"My roommate, who's in the Department of Electrical Engineering, came home crying nonstop today. He wouldn't say anything when I asked him what happened, just that a bunch of guys from the Department of Military Command and the Department of Individual Combat told him he should become a 'love security guard'! Damn it, don't we in the Department of Electrical Engineering deserve to have our own love lives? I'm going to report you to the authorities!!"
"I'm speaking up for the Command Department! Who says all the aloof beauties in our Command Department are submissive? Look at Lu Xunji, there's no man in this world more dominant than the Academic God Lu."
"Are you alright? Besides, you said Lu Xunji was from your command department."
"Exactly, the command department needs to recognize its place. Brother Lu is from our individual combat department, okay? He's just representing your command department in the competition!"
"I don't care, he's already representing the conducting department in the competition, so he's one of our students!"
"To be honest, with such a talent for command, why did Academic God Lu choose the individual combat specialty in the first place?"
"So it's because your Command Department doesn't sound good. Even the top students know about our Individual Combat Department; it sounds fierce and powerful..."
"Didn't anyone notice that Xie Ji was Mu Yao's dance partner tonight? Has the little beauty already gotten taken so quickly?"
"I've always shipped Xie Ji and Academic God Lu, it's such a good bad ending for my ship!"
"That's enough! Can't our little beauty be the dominant one this time?"
"No one will attack Academic God Lu if they stand next to him."
"Then stand next to Jin Li."
"Holy crap, you know what? You really shouldn't have said that."
"I'm taking Academic God Lu with me, no thanks, our Academic God Lu is the only one who's good enough for me, Lu Xunji doesn't deserve Xie Ji, thank you."
"Although Lu Xunji doesn't take individual combat training courses and usually stays in the mecha simulation training pod, he comes to pick Xie Ji up from class every day! I'm in the same class as Xie Ji, and I always see Lu Xunji after class!"
"It makes me so angry! I spent two thousand star coins to buy Lu Xunji's class schedule, but he doesn't even follow it! When will I be able to bump into Academic God Lu every day?!"
"You guys shouldn't be shipping them like that. I heard Lu Xunji and Xie Ji are brothers, and blood brothers at that."
Where did you get this information?
"I have a sister who works at the Military State Military Academy hospital. You guys remember when Xie Ji and Lu Xunji stayed in the hospital for half a month after they participated in the special assessment? My sister was the nurse in Xie Ji's bed. Xie Ji told her this himself!"
"I've gotten my hands on this juicy gossip, so can I now happily ship Mu Yao and Xie Ji?"
"Don't worry, sisters, Mu Yao had a notorious womanizing reputation before entering military academy. But ever since he met Xie Ji, Young Master Mu has turned over a new leaf. If a beauty like Xie Ji were always in front of me, I'd fall in love with him too."
At this time, Xie Ji was unaware that the topic about him was extremely popular on the campus network, and even less aware that the fact that he and Lu Xunji were brothers had already spread widely online.
Lu Xunji lost the right to date Xie Ji because of some fabricated "blood relationship".
He was so engrossed in eating that, to be fair, the people in the mecha repair department were really skilled. Even the chefs were more creative, producing all sorts of high-end molecular gastronomy dishes that were both fun and delicious. Xie Ji and Jin Li were thoroughly enjoying their meal.
Mu Yao stood beside him to prevent anyone from messing with Xie Ji again.
With him around, those people didn't dare to look around carelessly, and Xie Ji was at least a little more at ease.
"Have you finished eating?" Mu Yao finished his third glass of champagne and stood next to Xie Ji, asking helplessly, "You really came here to eat?"
"What else?" Xie Ji's cheeks puffed out, cream still smeared on his lips. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Mu Yao rubbed his fingers together and tentatively said, "Since I've asked you to pretend to be my dance partner, you should at least dance with me, right?"
Xie Ji waved his hand. "I won't."
Mu Yao: "It's very simple, you just need to do this."
He suddenly leaned closer, his body carrying a slightly sour fragrance, and took Xie Ji's hand, placing it against his chest.
"?" Xie Ji looked at him blankly.
He seemed a little nervous; even his breathing was trembling, and his chest heaved rapidly beneath his hands. "Hold me, then spin around, that's all."
Mu Yao had drunk a little wine, not much, but you could still smell a hint of alcohol on him, and his hot breath brushed against Xie Ji's ear.
Xie Ji instinctively sensed something was wrong and instantly pushed Mu Yao away.
Mu Yao was pushed back two steps by him, then looked at him with a hurt expression.
"What are you doing?" Xie Ji was stunned, then belatedly realized his embarrassment and could only gesture. "Why are you so close to me!"
"Why can't I be this close to you?" Mu Yao looked at him. " Ji Shi can, Zhou Heyu can, Lu Xunji can, but I can't?"
"You..." Xie Ji glared at him, then after a long pause, he said, "You're acting strange. Is there something you want to tell me?"
Mu Yao turned his head and took a deep breath. "Do you want to hear it?"
Xie Ji hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the time. "Can I not think about it?"
Mu Yao's gaze at him now was almost accusatory.
"Okay, I think so." Xie Ji glanced at the time. "There's still half an hour until eleven o'clock. Let's find a quiet place to talk."
Mu Yao nodded, turned and left the banquet hall. Xie Ji grabbed some pastries, and fearing that eating only pastries would be too dry, he also grabbed two bottles of cocktails, and followed Mu Yao out.
After taking a couple of steps, I turned back and glanced at Jin Li: "Together?"
Jin Li shrank back. "No, I'm afraid if I know something I shouldn't know, I'll be killed to silence me. I'll wait for you here. But don't forget, you have to be back before midnight, otherwise Top Scorer Bro will definitely kill me!"
Xie Ji: "...?"
What child?
Talking nonsense.
Xie Ji carried the wine bottle out. Outside the banquet hall was a large garden. Mu Yao sat by the flower bed and looked up at him.
The evening breeze was a bit chilly, Xie Ji felt that his clothes weren't warm enough, so he went over and took off Mu Yao's suit jacket and put it on himself, happily eating pastries as he said, "What's up? I'm listening."
Mu Yao gave him a speechless look. "Are you always so oblivious to feelings?"
"So what?" Xie Ji shrugged indifferently. "Isn't being a little slow on the uptake a good thing? It can often avoid awkward situations."
"Like this?" Mu Yao leaned back, letting the bushes behind him support him. "You know Ji Shi likes you, right?"
Xie Ji paused, swallowed the pastry, and took a sip of cocktail to catch his breath. "I know."
So you know I like you, right?
Xie Ji paused for a moment, then wiped the pastry crumbs off his hands. "Wait, let me take a look."
Dude, your favorability rating isn't high either.
Could it be that I haven't looked at it for a while and have overlooked it?
Xie Ji looked at Mu Yao's favorability bar, which had been stuck at 50% before, but now it had suddenly jumped to 80%.
Good heavens, when did it jump?
Xie Ji couldn't quite understand. Since leaving the island, he hadn't had much contact with Mu Yao. He spent more time looking for Zhou Heyu than Mu Yao!
Mu Yao suddenly spoke up, "Actually, I'm not what they say I am."
Xie Ji snapped out of his daze from looking at the favorability bar, "Huh? What?"
"I'm not a promiscuous person, and I haven't been with many people," Mu Yao said. "It's all an act."
Xie Ji hesitated for a moment, then said, "This really doesn't need washing."
"I wasn't good-looking when I was little." Mu Yao smiled, not showing much displeasure that Xie Ji didn't believe him. "I was fat, cried a lot, my parents were busy with work and didn't have time to take care of me, and the high-paid nanny we hired didn't take very good care of me. Most of the time I had to take care of myself, but I wasn't very good at it."
Xie Ji listened quietly, his eyes intently fixed on Mu Yao in the night.
"Back then, I ate whenever I was hungry, sad, or happy. I ate a lot of junk food and got very fat. Most of the kids in that circle were high achievers, but I was very careless. Nobody played with me until high school."
Mu Yao seemed to be recalling something. "Nobody paid any attention to me. Everyone's first reaction when they saw me was to keep their distance. I almost got used to it, but later there were people who didn't care whether I was good-looking or not. They were willing to play with me, be my friend, and even sit next to me."
"In the summer, when it's hot and I sweat a lot, the classmates sitting around me would look at me with disdain and then move their desks away in disgust, as if I were some kind of pathogen infected with a virus."
Xie Ji took a sip of his cocktail, clicked his tongue, and asked, "And then?"
"Then, he was willing to play with me, which surprised and delighted me. He was the first friend in my lonely life, and I poured almost all my kindness into him and cherished him very much. But later I found out that he was only trying to please me because his family was negotiating a business deal with my parents and he wanted to gain their trust through me. He played with me on the surface, but behind my back he called me ugly and fat, and said that the smell of my sweat made him want to vomit."
Xie Ji out a soft "Ah."
Why did all these kids, whether rich or poor, have such miserable childhoods?
"Things that aren't pretty don't deserve kindness," Mu Yao said softly. "That's the only thing he taught me."
Xie Ji patted him on the shoulder and offered a dry, comforting remark. "It's all in the past."
"No." Mu Yao lowered his head. "I have no past. I lost weight, I did everything I could to make myself look better, so that I'll be liked, right?"
"Good-looking people deserve more love and favor, so whenever I see someone good-looking, I'll be with them, but I don't do anything. I just look, and when I've had enough, I give them some money, break up, and move on to the next one."
Xie Ji paused for a moment, then said, "Well, your hobby is pretty strange, huh?"
"Hmm, it's probably an illness I can't even understand myself." Mu Yao's expression turned indignant. "But after doing this for so long, a few good-looking idiots broke up with me and spread rumors in the industry, saying I'm no good."
Xie Ji: "..."
It's strange, but not incomprehensible.
Mu Yao took a deep breath. "So later, I stopped the people who were with me from talking nonsense. I don't know how it started, but it got into what it is now. But I don't care, and neither do my parents—they only care about how much money the company made this year."
Xie Ji scratched his head. "What are you trying to say by telling me all this?"
"I'm not that dirty." Mu Yao's voice trembled. "Don't misunderstand me, Xie Ji."