Yue'er was the school belle, the goddess in the hearts of countless male students. She was talented, vibrant, and beautiful, as if every good quality was concentrated in her.
She was the goddess in many people's hearts, including Su Chen's. But everyone knew about her special relationship with Lin Hao.
Lin Hao was handsome, athletic, and academically brilliant—a veritable male god in the eyes of many female students. Before, those who were jealous of him could only resent him in silence.
But now, things were different. Fate had chosen Su Chen to be the one with intermediate-grade talent. While not on her level, it was miles ahead of Lin Hao.
Naturally, he wouldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to advance his position. He wanted to completely crush Lin Hao today.
"What's wrong? Can't refute me, can you? So you finally recognize you're just trash," he said contemptuously.
Then, his gaze immediately shifted to Yue'er, his tone softening into something sickly sweet: "You see? He's just trash. He already recognizes how worthless he is, so just leave him be. Anything he can do for you, I can do better."
Su Chen spoke while puffing out his chest, confident of his victory. He had good grades, high cultivation talent, and a better family background than Lin Hao. He felt there was no reason left for her to refuse him.
"Piss off," Yue'er replied coldly, not even looking at him.
"Huh?" Su Chen was dumbfounded, his brain short-circuiting as if unable to process the sound he just heard.
Then, he became flustered. The long-suppressed fury in his heart erupted.
"Why? Why choose him? I clearly have so much more than he does! He's just a slightly handsome, slightly studious orphan! In a society led by cultivators, how can he possibly compare to me?!" he roared, his pupils trembling with agitation.
Yue'er glanced at him, her expression dark. The pitch-black pupils seemed to conceal a raging fire that made Su Chen instinctively take a step back.
"What you said isn't entirely wrong," she said, "but our values are different. To me, ten of you aren't worth a single him. Now get lost. I don't want to waste any more words on you."
Gone was the usual amiable demeanor of the school goddess. In this moment, she truly carried the bearing of a future great cultivator.
Su Chen bit his lip until a trickle of blood appeared. His hands trembled as he clenched them into fists. The veins on his forehead bulged, looking as if they might burst at any moment.
"Fine, I'll go. But Lin Hao, this isn't over," he glared at Lin Hao one last time before storming off in a huff.
Yue'er pressed her palm to her forehead and shook her head slightly. These persistent nuisances always annoyed her.
"Finally, he's gone. Lin Hao, just ignore him. Don't listen to that nonsense. To me, you are the best," she said, smiling as she tilted her head to look at him.
Her smile was like a spring breeze, blowing away most of the gloom in his heart.
"Thank you. I understand now. Even if I can't become a cultivator, there are many other paths I can take." Lin Hao smiled and nodded, gently ruffling her hair.
This scene, witnessed by the entire school, was utterly grating to many.
His female fans were jealous of her; her male fans were jealous of him. If the sparks in their eyes could actually ignite, the entire school would have been reduced to ashes.
Su Chen, who hadn't gone far, stopped and saw this. His face twitched uncontrollably.
"Why? Why doesn't she like me even though I have talent?" He muttered resentfully, feeling the world was deeply unfair to him.
Suddenly, a flash of madness crossed his eyes, and the corner of his mouth curled into a sinister arc.
"If he were to leave her on his own... then I'd have a chance."
Just as Lin Hao and Yue'er were being affectionate, her phone suddenly vibrated.
"Ah, wait a moment," she said, taking out her phone to read the message.
Her bright expression instantly soured, as if doused with cold water. She pouted, fuming.
"How annoying! Why are they calling me back now of all times?"
She muttered very softly; even Lin Hao, standing right beside her, couldn't make out the words.
"Huh? What did you say?" he asked.
"Ah, my family is summoning me back. So annoying, I don't know why it's so sudden. Anyway, I'll come find you to hang out tomorrow, okay?" Yue'er said, her face as dejected as if she'd just failed an exam.
Lin Hao patted her shoulder and said, "It's fine; you go ahead. See you tomorrow."
"Okay, see you tomorrow," she smiled before running off.
Watching her leave, his mood grew heavy once more.
'If only I had the power to protect her. Right now, it seems all I can do is stand by and watch.' He sighed inwardly, feeling helpless in the face of reality.
Meanwhile, a cunning gaze hidden within the crowd was fixed on Lin Hao. Seeing him slowly leave the school grounds, the figure immediately began to follow.
...
Lin Hao stepped off the bus and looked up at the sky.
The sky was clear without a single cloud, which made him frown.
"Strange. If it's not about to rain, why do I have this bad feeling?" he muttered, scanning his surroundings.
Finding nothing suspicious only made him more anxious. He trusted his intuition.
Every time he felt something was wrong, there was a high chance he was about to run into bad luck.
"How much worse can my luck get? I'm almost home. I refuse to believe something major will happen now." He pursed his lips and continued walking.
After all, compared to having no cultivation talent, the only thing worse would be if someone had ill intentions towards Yue'er.
But his intuition told him he was the one in for bad luck, not her, so it couldn't be that.
As Lin Hao reached a deserted stretch of road, the roar of motorcycles from ahead and behind made his heart sink.
"You've got to be kidding me? I don't remember picking a fight with anyone." His face darkened as he finally understood his earlier unease.
Three motorcycles blocked his path. On them were three burly young men who looked like hired thugs.
A blonde guy with a muscular arm tattooed with a majestic, coiling dragon glared at him.
"Are you going to come with us willingly, or do we have to knock you out and carry you?"