Why Are the Psychos Obsessed with a Mere NPC?
Chapter 29: A Charmer Since Childhood

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: A Charmer Since Childhood

Jian Yu tilted her chin up, leaning against Ling Yanzhi as she wrapped her arm around him.

After a long silence, she looked up at him worriedly.

"The director has been very good to me."

Each word was deliberate, as if she were stressing a point.

"Yes, I know." Ling Yanzhi lowered his head, taking the opportunity to kiss her cheek.

He’d known about the director for a long time. She wasn’t as evil as they might think.

He didn’t interfere. It was just money, and money was the one thing he didn’t lack.

That was the person Jian Yu cared about most. He would rather she never found out.

He shot a look toward Xi Yu.

They had the tacit understanding of brothers. Xi Yu got the message.

He clearly wasn’t satisfied. "We’re not getting revenge? My people already have her under control."

"No... no need." Jian Yu couldn’t help but get nervous upon hearing that.

"The director has been very good to me. I gave her the money willingly."

Emotionally, she was attached to the director. She needed her for emotional support, as someone to confide in.

The payment was like a child giving back, or like tipping a streamer. She was willing to pay the price.

Rationally speaking, she also needed a backup plan, a guardian, and a home.

Besides, the director never truly treated them as tools to be bled dry.

The woman had, in fact, fulfilled the responsibilities of a guardian.

When she asked for money, she would consider whether they could afford it, only hinting, never forcing the issue. If she didn’t give her anything, the director wouldn’t actually say a word.

’What on earth is the director trying to do?’

Jian Yu clutched the collar on Ling Yanzhi’s neck, her fingers gripping so tightly they turned white.

She didn’t notice the man’s brow furrow as the collar tightened on his neck, but he only lowered his head without a sound.

"She’s from an orphanage?" Pei Yin thought back carefully and found his mind was blank.

For the past two days, his attention had been completely focused on that scent.

Oh, and two other points: countless part-time jobs, and a low score of nine.

’Unbelievable. It was from a quiz I filled out on a whim when I was bored.’

Thinking of his theory from last night, Pei Yin asked, "How old were you when you arrived at the orphanage? Do you remember your childhood clearly?"

"I don’t remember." Jian Yu shook her head. Wanting to show Pei Yin respect, she tried to sit up straight to answer.

Ling Yanzhi gently pressed her down, and without any strength to resist, she sank back against him.

Her head rested on his left shoulder, her fingers unconsciously clutching Ling Yanzhi’s shoulder for support.

Jian Yu anxiously watched Pei Yin’s expression.

’I don’t want him to hold a grudge. If he attaches a snake tail to me, I’d rather just die.’

’How did it go in the novels? This is the time to show weakness, right?’

’Yes, I have to act weak.’

Jian Yu forced her face to flush, her eyes instantly welling with tears as she looked up. "The director said I was abandoned at the orphanage gates not long after I was born."

Her eyes were already red-rimmed, and crystalline teardrops welled up, her voice timid.

Hearing this, Xi Yu’s fists tightened.

He shot Pei Yin a disgusted look. "Are you interrogating a criminal? You’re scaring my baby."

"..."

’Your baby, not my baby!’

Pei Yin wanted to curse, to unleash the filthiest words in the world.

In the end, he forced his voice into a higher register. "So, during that time, no one came to claim you, and no strange people appeared around you, right?"

His voice was as soft as a feather, making his own throat itch from the strain.

It disgusted him, and it disgusted everyone else.

Xi Yu looked like he’d just eaten shit.

Sheng Yue’s eternally frosty expression grew even colder, his composure nearly cracking.

Ling Yanzhi pecked Jian Yu’s lips several times before he could swallow the feeling of disgust.

"I don’t think so." Jian Yu turned her head, dodging Ling Yanzhi’s series of kisses.

Suddenly, she wasn’t so afraid anymore.

Pei Yin’s brow unconsciously relaxed a little.

"There are still a few comparison results pending, but I’m guessing one of her parents... might not be human."

He glanced at the others. "Since we have the director’s Star Brain number, let’s just ask."

’What did he just say? That one of my parents isn’t human?’ Jian Yu’s eyes widened, her gaze turning blank as she tried to process it.

She moved her fingers and initiated a video call.

Five seconds later, she was stunned again. "The director hung up."

"Let me," Xi Yu said, a thought occurring to him. "My people must have hung up."

He sent a few messages.

Knowing how much Jian Yu cared about the director, he deliberately added a few instructions.

A floating screen panel rose, fitting itself to the entire wall.

The director, sitting in the middle, was neatly dressed, showing no signs of disarray.

But her expression was restrained; she had clearly been warned.

She tucked her hair back and smiled gently. "Yu, how have you been? Mother misses you."

"I..." Just as Jian Yu opened her mouth, Ling Yanzhi clapped a hand over it, wrapping an arm around her and leading her to a corner.

He found a place to sit, wrapped his arms around her waist, and coaxed in a low voice, "Be good. We have some questions for her. You can talk to her when we get back, okay?"

"Okay." Jian Yu secretly glanced at the others.

The levitating chair Xi Yu was sitting on automatically adjusted into the shape of a sofa.

He elegantly bent one leg, his arm resting on the back of the chair. The lines of his muscles were smooth, and his sleeves were slightly rolled up, revealing the Star Brain Terminal on his wrist.

Sheng Yue, next to him, remained as placid as ever. He was an inscrutable man, his expression giving nothing away.

Pei Yin, who was closest to the front, probably didn’t have much patience. He sat on the floor, also with one leg bent, propping himself up with his right hand, his expression terrifying.

His eyes held a fierce aura. "In a moment, you will answer what you are asked. They’ve already investigated you, so you’d better think carefully before you answer."

"Okay." The director’s eyes darted away.

Even though it was a video call, the director didn’t dare to breathe too loudly.

People from remote planets never had the chance to meet such important figures. Almost the entire planet was made up of ordinary people; even Half-awakened were rare.

Her knowledge of Xi Yu and his group was severely limited.

But she could tell they were dressed expensively. And why not? Who at Weis Lan Noble Academy wasn’t rich and powerful?

She knew Jian Yu was capable. Just by looking at what the man holding Jian Yu was wearing, she knew.

"You want to ask about Yu, don’t you?"

Xi Yu didn’t want to hear nonsense and cut straight to the point. "From her birth to her eighteenth birthday, tell us everything you remember."

The director was taken aback, not expecting them to ask about something so long ago.

From her current perspective, she couldn’t see Jian Yu.

Her thoughts drifted far away, and a hint of affection appeared on her face.

"I found Yu at the orphanage gates."

A tiny little bundle, so pale she seemed to glow in the sunlight.

She didn’t know if Jian Yu was a newborn or how old she was, but when she found her, her eyes were already wide open.

Big, round eyes that you just couldn’t look away from.

"After raising her for a few days, I discovered she was in very poor health. I was afraid she would be of no benefit to me when she grew up, so I didn’t really want to care for her. But every time her breathing grew weak, she would be back to normal the next day."

Over and over, she just watched, watched as the child struggled to live, yet somehow never died.

"I have severe after-effects from a genetic defect. I worked so hard to raise them just so they could earn money for me to buy those expensive medicines on the black market."

"I didn’t want to raise a useless child. She wanted to live, and I wanted to live. I not only had to treat my own illness, but I also had to secure a chance at life for my biological daughter."

"A poor person’s life isn’t worth much. No one wanted to adopt her, and I didn’t want to put in too much effort myself, so I just fed her milk and never took her to the hospital."

And just like that, Jian Yu grew to be two years old.

"Obedient, cute, sensible. She learned from the other children to call me ’Director Mother’ in her soft, sweet voice."

"I took her to the hospital. I admit, it wasn’t because my heart softened, but because I saw her value. She was too beautiful, and she only grew more so."

Pei Yin couldn’t hold back a sneer. "So, she’s been a heartthrob since she was a kid."