Why Are the Psychos Obsessed with a Mere NPC?
Chapter 26: A Striking Resemblance

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: A Striking Resemblance

Xi Yu glanced around. "Is there something wrong with her genes?"

"I’m not sure about the specifics. Pei Yin is still researching it." Sheng Yue heard footsteps approaching.

He lowered his voice. "He wants you to bring her to the research institute tonight."

The chill in Xi Yu’s gaze was almost palpable.

"Just to ask some questions, nothing more." Sheng Yue’s voice was clear and cool, his face unreadable.

He said softly, "You can also ask for her opinion first. I’m just relaying the message; I won’t force anyone."

"Hmph." As soon as Xi Yu remembered this was the man Jian Yu liked, even a single glance at him felt irritating.

He didn’t press the issue, and as he looked up, his gaze inadvertently met a man who was preparing to come downstairs.

The man started, his body tensing. "Hello, Chief."

Xi Yu frowned, his eyes sizing the man up.

He had a pair of cat-like eyes, bright and dewy, that strongly resembled Jian Yu’s.

Sheng Yue followed his line of sight.

At Weis Lan Noble Academy, rank was signified by the color of one’s brooch.

Purple, blue-cyan, green-yellow, orange-red, and black.

The man Xi Yu was staring at was around 1.8 meters tall and wore a green brooch on his uniform.

If he remembered the roster correctly, this should be someone from the Qin Family, a Half-awakened who possessed a B-level Contracted Beast.

Glancing at the preoccupied Xi Yu, Sheng Yue couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Xi Yu and his group rarely appeared at Weis Lan unless there was a Soul Ghost Body invasion and they were urgently recalled.

Or if the academy was holding a Beast Taming and Hatching Competition, they would be needed to suppress rampaging Alien Beasts.

Sheng Yue couldn’t read Xi Yu’s expression, so he assumed he’d taken a liking to the student and wanted to recruit him for the student council.

He gestured with his eyes. "Come over here."

Qin Xianzhao was ecstatic.

He had, of course, understood Sheng Yue’s signal. He walked straight up to Xi Yu and introduced himself.

"I’m from the Qin Family. My name is Qin Xianzhao, and I’m a new member of the student council."

He hadn’t expected to be noticed by Xi Yu. He was nervous and, at the same time, a little excited.

He had paid a steep price to get the chance to accompany Chairman Sheng today, but who would have thought Chairman Sheng would be so cold and unapproachable that he couldn’t get a single word in?

’If only I can catch Xi Yu’s eye...’

At this thought, Qin Xianzhao’s eyes couldn’t help but reveal a hint of eagerness.

"Though I’m only a Half-awakened, my spiritual power is S-level and my Mecha piloting proficiency is A-level. I’ve also tamed a B-level Alien Beast—a snake."

"Mm." Xi Yu coldly withdrew his gaze.

’Not a match at all. Her eyes are innocent yet seductive; this person’s eyes hold nothing but ambition and scheming.’

The image of Jian Yu’s glistening, tear-filled eyes and her pale, tender face surfaced in his mind...

Xi Yu swallowed hard. GULP.

Sheng Yue, who was used to this, saw that he was having another episode and waved a hand, dismissing Qin Xianzhao.

But Qin Xianzhao was unwilling to let this opportunity go.

He summoned his courage. "Chairman Xi, the truth is, I’ve admired you for a long time. It’s my honor to have met you today. If it’s possible, I hope that during the upcoming Beast Taming Elite Challenge, you can give me an opportunity to follow and learn from you."

He was a new student and hadn’t yet managed to break into the high-level circles. His own rank was too low, so he could only participate in the competition by latching onto someone from a higher level.

Meanwhile, Xi Yu and the others had lived at Weis Lan Noble Academy ever since they Awakened. The resources and privileges they commanded were so vast that even the smallest scrap they offered could allow him to establish a firm foothold on the Imperial Capital Star.

His cohort was lucky, too. He’d heard that the previous year’s students had only ever seen Chief Pei and Chairman Sheng; the rest of the group almost never showed themselves.

Qin Xianzhao’s gaze was full of longing.

It wasn’t that he truly couldn’t find another way to get someone to bring him to the competition; it was just that compared to Xi Yu, everyone else paled in comparison.

Xi Yu tapped his fingers against his leg.

’Have I been gone for so long that people think I’m a soft touch now?’

He wanted to tell Sheng Yue to get his man under control, but he hesitated when he met Qin Xianzhao’s earnest gaze.

’If only Jian Yu would look at him like that...’ The mere thought sent a jolt of heat through him.

’Whatever. It’s just one spot.’

Xi Yu snapped back to reality and waved his hand. "Go back and wait for a notice."

’Success!’ Qin Xianzhao’s face lit up with joy.

He poured out a torrent of thanks before reluctantly departing.

The damage to the room wasn’t extensive. Half an hour later, the villa was restored to its original state.

"Is there something else?" Xi Yu watched Sheng Yue as if he were a thief.

He couldn’t stay calm at the thought of Jian Yu and Ling Yanzhi alone in the room together.

Sheng Yue stood up. "Your temper has gotten even worse since you’ve been back."

"Don’t worry, I’ve taken my medicine." Xi Yu looked up at him, his eyes glinting darkly.

’Tall and slender, with elegant movements, aloof and noble, and he speaks as if he has ice in his mouth.’

’This is the kind of man Jian Yu likes?’

If they hadn’t known each other since childhood, Xi Yu would have already thrown a pile of money at Sheng Yue to run him off the Imperial Capital Star.

His attempt to hide his feelings only made them more obvious. "Stop hanging around for no reason! Jian Yu doesn’t like you, she’s afraid of you! The very sight of you annoys her!"

Sheng Yue: "..."

He pursed his lips, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

An impulse rose within him, one he suppressed with great difficulty.

"Nine o’clock tonight. Send word whether you’re coming or not."

Sheng Yue cast a restrained glance at the closed door of the guest bedroom, then turned and left.

"Got it." Xi Yu ruffled his hair, and his silver earring swayed.

He irritably opened the door to a guest room on the first floor.

The room’s mode had been set to "Night."

The scene before him made Xi Yu’s breath catch, and he instinctively lightened his steps.

He silently sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze sweeping up and down the person in front of him.

Ling Yanzhi glanced up at him. He was seated in a levitating chair that bobbed gently, and in his arms, he held a beautiful, docile girl.

His back was to the light, his profile hidden in the dim room. The way he held her and the motion of the floating chair made it seem as if he were lulling a child to sleep.

Watching the other man’s hand clasped around her waist, Xi Yu’s own possessiveness flared, and displeasure rose in his eyes.

Ling Yanzhi had expected Jian Yu to fall into a deep sleep.

He knew she hadn’t slept all day, because he hadn’t either.

’I got up early, hoping to let her sleep in, but then I had to run into Xi Yu.’

’Xi Yu is sick in the head.’

Of course, Ling Yanzhi wasn’t much better off.

It was perfectly logical for two men who weren’t right in the head to fall for the same person.

Ling Yanzhi held her with one arm, his eyes downcast.

’She’s still clutching my clothes so tightly in her sleep. So damn obedient.’

’Xi Yu showing up here is one hundred percent related to that guy, Pei Yin.’

’And Sheng Yue noticed Jian Yu because of Professor Lin’s class... and because of that scent.’

’Only I was different.’

The first time he saw Jian Yu was on a rooftop.

She had accidentally stumbled upon one of the nobles’ "games" and stood frozen in place.

She was wearing the standard uniform for scholarship students, and a pair of large glasses hid almost half her face.

It was only when the "game" escalated to physical violence that her otherwise unremarkable face suddenly showed a flicker of life.

Everything else around her seemed to fade into an irrelevant background.

At first, he thought she was just timid—afraid of trouble, not daring to watch the drama unfold for too long before quietly running off.

Looking back, however, he found her cowardice endearing, even if her running form was atrocious.

Weis Lan Noble Academy forbids physical conflict, but people rarely bothered to meddle in others’ affairs.

On a whim, Ling Yanzhi pulled up the footage recorded by an Invisible Imaging Device and forwarded a complaint to the Disciplinary Department.

Hearing Sheng Yue and Pei Yin’s words, he’d felt an inexplicable sense of crisis. His instinctive reaction was to snatch her up and bring her to his own territory first.

He watched her curled up on a bed in the school infirmary, her calves pale and her waist slender. With her chin in her hands, she stared at the money displayed on her Star Brain, giggling secretly to herself, completely unguarded.

He watched for so long that he almost lost track of time.

When he finally held her in his arms, it was just as he had imagined—even every strand of her hair was fragrant.