Why Are the Psychos Obsessed with a Mere NPC?
Chapter 18: Been Played

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Been Played

"I’ll have someone take you to your classroom tomorrow. Don’t leave after class; I’ll come get you."

Ling Yanzhi reminded her, still worried.

"I also have to make a trip to the Alliance Center in the morning."

Pei Yin’s words had, after all, left a mark on him.

"I’ll leave Red Snake with you. If anyone is blind enough to mess with you, I’ll take responsibility if it bites them to death."

"That won’t be necessary for now." Jian Yu felt the pressure on her waist and said in a low voice, "A Soul Beast can’t be too far from you. If you go to the Alliance, I might be the one who has to protect Red Snake."

Ling Yanzhi scoffed, taking the opportunity to belittle someone else. "Don’t mistake me for someone on Sheng Yue’s low level."

"I’m afraid of snakes." Jian Yu’s simple sentence left him choking on his words.

"I’ve taken the day off. I’m not going out tomorrow."

’She really wanted to ask about Pei Yin killing the test subjects.’

After a moment’s hesitation, she patted the hand on her waist. "Is there anything I need to be aware of here? Can I go into the study?"

Ling Yanzhi was still holding his breath in frustration, but he answered every question. "No. You can."

"Thank you." The corners of Jian Yu’s mouth curved up.

"Go to sleep."

The embrace tightened, then slowly loosened, only to gather her in again reluctantly, finally settling at a pressure that wasn’t constricting but was intensely present.

In the dead of night, the breathing beside her gradually steadied.

Jian Yu couldn’t sleep, nor did she dare to.

Her eyes were downcast as she lightly stroked her own arm.

’It’s not that I didn’t know my own physical condition; I insisted on the blood draw anyway.’

’I was also testing them.’

’Testing their reactions, gambling on my status in their eyes.’

’Am I just an experimental subject that requires no emotional investment, one whose death wouldn’t matter? Or am I a "mascot" worthy of some careful treatment?’

Sheng Yue’s emotions were flat; she couldn’t read him at all.

Pei Yin’s expression was odd, as if he were vexed by some discovery but stubbornly refused to admit it.

’Maybe it’s because the experiment went wrong, and because of this broken body of mine, they can’t do anything to me?’

’That makes sense. Pei Yin is very confident in his private research institute, and he even has the Alliance’s support. To stumble because of me... it would indeed be hard not to be angry.’

As for Ling Yanzhi’s reaction, it was both expected and unexpected.

’If he was really acting, his skills were a little too good. For a moment, even my own resolve wavered.’

Jian Yu pulled away slightly, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. She tilted her head up, her jawline tight.

The man’s eyes were closed now. His usually flamboyant features had taken on a more reserved and subtle quality.

Weis Lan Noble Academy had a list of the most beautiful girls, and also a list of the most handsome boys.

Sheng Yue was ranked second, Pei Yin was fifth, and Ling Yanzhi was sixth.

In the novel, because of this ranking, he was reverently called "F6," but when people were scared, they’d secretly curse him as a "conniving number six" behind his back.

Based on looks alone, Jian Yu did prefer the ascetic type, like Sheng Yue.

But Ling Yanzhi’s type... had its own appeal on closer inspection.

Throughout the night, she drifted in and out of a daze-like sleep.

It wasn’t until a soft kiss landed on her forehead, her right hand was taken, a cool ring was slipped onto her ring finger, and the person beside her left the room in the morning light that Jian Yu hurriedly sat up.

Looking down at the Space Ring on her hand, Jian Yu couldn’t help but feel perplexed.

She knew it was developed by the Alliance. She had also heard that production of this type of spatial storage medium was very low, and that even nobles couldn’t buy one with money.

This showed just how much thought Ling Yanzhi was putting into her.

Jian Yu was convinced he had a motive, and a grand one at that.

After confirming he had left, she couldn’t resist and ran to the study.

Before leaving, Ling Yanzhi had given her access permissions for the villa.

The retinal scan was approved, and the doors to the study slid open.

The book collection here was extensive, rivaling a library, but Jian Yu’s target was Ling Yanzhi’s Star Core Terminal.

Using his special privileges, she opened the terminal and logged into the surveillance management console.

Character Locator: Xu Jianjuan.

The monitor began to display footage of Xu Jianjuan’s first two weeks at the academy, including the scene of her being hit by Huang Yuanzhang, all captured by a secret Invisible Imaging Device.

Xu Jianjuan’s actions were all proceeding according to the plot, right up until the day Jian Yu transmigrated.

In the surveillance footage, Xu Jianjuan was staring intently at her back.

Jian Yu’s lips moved silently. ’Did the female lead get transmigrated into as well, or is it because of my "refusal to save her"?’

"Hm?"

Her gaze froze. Jian Yu saw a figure flash past in the footage.

’So, that day when Huang Yuan was bullying the female lead, there was a third person present besides me.’

The plot hadn’t mentioned this.

’Could this be the person who secretly reported Huang Yuan?’

Jian Yu rewound the footage, zoomed in, and switched to slow-motion playback.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, her mind went blank.

"Ling Yanzhi."

The man was leaning lazily against the rooftop railing, the top two buttons of his shirt undone, revealing a sliver of pale collarbone.

He had a long neck and elegant shoulders, with an unruly aura. The black, studded choker around his neck was highly distinctive and visually striking.

His gaze toward her seemed casual, but as Jian Yu turned to leave, it held a flicker of hard-to-detect interest.

’The female lead was right there, and at this stage of the story, it wasn’t her first meeting with Male Lead #6 either.’

Jian Yu rubbed the priceless and unobtainable Space Ring on her finger. She couldn’t figure it out, so she decided to stop trying.

She deleted her tracks and switched to the school forum.

Ling Yanzhi’s privileges were absurdly high.

Seeing the real names of the students automatically displayed next to each anonymous post, Jian Yu couldn’t help but sweat for them.

It had only been two weeks since the start of school, but way too many people were already calling him a "conniving number six."

Title: What’s the deal with the special admission student?

Jian Yu had a gut feeling it was about her.

Sure enough, when she opened the comments, half of them were cursing her out.

[Flat nose, big mouth, beady little eyes, and she’s covered in white powder. How could Chief Ling like someone like that? He even took her back to his villa!]

[You’re just crazy jealous, spouting nonsense with your eyes wide open. You can tell at a glance that her skin is naturally pale.]

[What’s so strange? Didn’t Chairman Sheng also carry her to the school infirmary?]

[Is the "antique" look the new trend now? I’m going to find some huge glasses at an antique store tomorrow too.]

[A toad lusting after a swan’s flesh. Chairman Sheng should have just let her fall to her death!]

[The user above is totally triggered by the "fake fall."]

[Why hasn’t that dead fish shown up to class yet? I want to ask her who she’s going to choose, Chief Ling or Chairman Sheng. Whichever one she picks, I won’t wish her well.]

[She took a leave of absence. Probably knows Xu is going to cause trouble for her.]

[Xu said at the beginning of the school year that she was going to be the Chairman’s girlfriend.]

[She’s already living at Chief Ling’s place. Chairman Sheng probably only took her to the infirmary out of respect for his friend.]

Jian Yu closed the comment section and refreshed the page, revealing a new hot topic.

Title: Certain special admission student intentionally plays ugly, the stark contrast before and after incites a fight between the two Chiefs.

Poster: Ling Yanzhi.

There were many similar posts. Judging by the timestamps, the earliest ones could be traced back to when Sheng Yue took her to the school infirmary.

Maybe he was afraid the posts would be mistakenly deleted by a moderator, or maybe he figured that anyone determined enough to investigate couldn’t be stopped anyway. All the posts were from Ling Yanzhi. Although he used a side account, he clearly wasn’t trying to hide it, and there was even a faint hint of provocation.

Jian Yu narrowed her eyes. She clicked on the comment section, only to find the post had been deleted.

At the same time, Sheng Yue went to Pei Yin’s private research institute.

He told the other man about his investigation and his suspicions.

"Are you saying that we were both played by that bastard Ling Yanzhi?"

Pei Yin was wearing a white lab coat, for once unadorned by his usual clinking chains and accessories.

"Yes." Sheng Yue nodded.

He and Ling Yanzhi had known each other for so many years; how could he not understand his personality?

After being temporarily deceived, he had quickly figured it out.

After reviewing the surveillance footage, his theory was confirmed. Sheng Yue couldn’t help but feel a little resentful.