Chapter 149: The New Child of Destiny Deserves a Beating!
Jiang Linlin was stunned. She blinked her large, doe-like eyes, looking at Xu Ping'an in genuine surprise mixed with discomfort. She politely said, her voice soft but distant:
"Thank you for the compliment, Classmate Xu. You're too kind. But... I think you are exaggerating."
"Not at all!"
Xu Ping'an leaned forward eagerly, mistaking her politeness for encouragement. His acne-scarred face flushed with excitement.
"Jiang Linlin, I speak from the heart! I think you are the most beautiful campus belle at Modu University... even more than Su Hongmian!"
He said this loudly, deliberately trying to elevate Linlin by stepping on Su Hongmian, hoping to curry favor.
Su Hongmian, sitting nearby, rolled her eyes so hard they almost stuck. She muttered under her breath, "Blind idiot."
Xu Ping'an ignored her and shamelessly asked the question that had been burning in his chest:
"Jiang Linlin, I wonder... do you have a boyfriend? A girl as perfect as you must be protected."
Hearing this direct question, Jiang Linlin pursed her lips tightly. Her heart skipped a beat in panic. She hesitated, her eyes instinctively darting to the man sitting beside her—Shen Anyu.
Her gaze was filled with a silent plea: 'Help me, Brother Shen.'
However, Xu Ping'an was too self-absorbed to notice the direction of her glance. Or perhaps, his brain filtered out anything that contradicted his fantasy.
He saw her hesitation. He saw her glance "away" (towards Shen Anyu, but he interpreted it as shyness). He assumed that Jiang Linlin was tacitly admitting she had no boyfriend and was just embarrassed to say it in front of strangers.
"She looked away! She didn't say yes! That means no!"
Xu Ping'an immediately beamed with joy, extremely excited. His hands gripped the edge of the table.
'Yes! If Jiang Linlin doesn't have a boyfriend, then I have a chance! I can pursue her!'
Although he had complex, forbidden feelings for his eldest sister, Xu Ruoshui (the capable CEO), and his second sister, Xu Ruoxue (the cold doctor)...
But Xu Ping'an also knew that due to blood relations (or so he thought), it was impossible. Society would condemn him. So he had always kept such dark, twisted thoughts buried deep in his heart, not daring to overstep the line.
But Jiang Linlin was different!
'Jiang Linlin's beauty and temperament are in no way inferior to Big Sister and Second Sister! She is pure! She is clean!'
'If I could have a girlfriend like Jiang Linlin... my university life would be incredibly colorful. I could bring her home and show her off to my sisters. Make them jealous!'
For a time, Xu Ping'an became even more attentive to Jiang Linlin, ignoring the cold atmosphere around the table.
Shen Anyu narrowed his eyes, watching this scene with a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes.
'This new Child of Destiny... the fake young master Xu Ping'an... is a bit too irritating. He has no self-awareness.'
How dare he flirt with Jiang Linlin right in front of him? Right in front of the owner?
"No wonder this guy could awaken something as Heaven-Defying as the [Damage Reflection Aura]. Being so irritating, so punchable... he'd probably be beaten to death on the street without that aura protecting him!"
Shen Anyu made up his mind.
'Physical pain is reflected? Fine. Then I will inflict pain that cannot be reflected. Pain of the heart. Pain of the soul.'
'After plundering Xu Ping'an's Destiny Value and shattering his aura... I will definitely teach him a good lesson. I will bring his two sisters, Xu Ruoshui and Xu Ruoxue, to watch him crawl. I will make them stomp on him.'
Xu Ping'an didn't sense the malice radiating from the handsome man across the table. He only had eyes for the shy and pure-faced Jiang Linlin. He interpreted her silence as encouragement and immediately fell deeply in love with his own fantasy.
He cleared his throat and repeated again, pressing his advantage:
"Jiang Linlin, tomorrow is Sunday. The weather forecast says it will be sunny. Can I ask you out to the flower market? I know you like flowers."
Jiang Linlin looked at Shen Anyu's half-smiling expression. She saw the dangerous glint in his eyes.
Her delicate body trembled slightly. She knew that look. It was a warning.
'If I don't express myself clearly soon... if I don't draw a line... Brother Shen will definitely not let me off lightly tonight. He will punish me.'
She felt a bit wronged. She hadn't expected Xu Ping'an to have thoughts of pursuing her. She barely knew him!
Immediately, Jiang Linlin gathered her courage. She shook her head directly and said, her voice trembling but firm:
"I'm sorry, Classmate Xu. I can't go."
"Why not?" Xu Ping'an asked, his smile faltering.
"Because... I already have a boyfriend."
The table went silent.
Jiang Linlin took a deep breath and continued, looking at her hands but speaking clearly:
"I love him very much. And he... he loves me very much too! We are very happy."
Shen Anyu immediately showed a satisfied smile, sipping his tea as if nothing had happened. 'Good girl.'
Su Hongmian and Liu Mi, both aware of Jiang Linlin's relationship with Shen Anyu (and the irony of the situation), rolled their eyes at Shen Anyu simultaneously. 'Scum.'
[Ding! The Child of Destiny Xu Ping'an was struck by lightning! Plundering +23333 Destiny Value!]
...
Xu Ping'an was dumbfounded. He sat frozen, his mouth half-open.
He never expected to hear such cruel words. It was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.
"Jiang Linlin... already has a boyfriend??"
"Impossible! Who? Where is he?"
However, seeing Jiang Linlin's somewhat hesitant look and her lowered head... Xu Ping'an's eyes lit up with a strange, delusional light.
His brain began to perform mental gymnastics worthy of an Olympic gold medal.
'Wait. She hesitated. She didn't name him. She didn't look me in the eye.'
'She must be lying! She must be shy and embarrassed to go out with me on a first date, so she is just making an excuse to protect her reputation!'
'Yes! That's it! A pure girl like her wouldn't date easily. This is a test!'
He didn't believe Jiang Linlin had a boyfriend unless he saw it with his own eyes. Unless he saw them holding hands or kissing.
"Shyness is good. I like shy and pure good girls. Jiang Linlin should have a good impression of me too; otherwise, she would have told me to get lost like Su Hongmian did."
"If I try harder... If I show sincerity and true feelings... I can definitely win Jiang Linlin over! Persistence is key!"
Xu Ping'an thought to himself with delight, his gaze towards Jiang Linlin growing even more fond and creepy.
Such a reserved, pure, and shy good girl was truly to his liking! She was playing hard to get!
Afterwards, Shen Anyu and his group finished their meal. They stood up to leave.
But Xu Ping'an, like a fawning dog or a piece of sticky gum, shamelessly followed them. He couldn't be driven away.
"I'm going this way too!" he claimed, despite his dorm being in the opposite direction.
Only a group of students remained behind them, looking on with reverence—of course, revering Shen Anyu, not Xu Ping'an. They saw Shen Anyu walking with three beauties and one annoying servant.
"This guy... why is he so thick-skinned?"
Su Hongmian was a bit annoyed. She hated clingy men. She looked at Xu Ping'an speechlessly, wishing she could kick him.
Liu Mi covered her small mouth and said with a smile, though her eyes were cold:
"Well... Our Linlin is very charming. A flower attracts bees, but it also attracts flies. It's natural."
Xu Ping'an, oblivious to the insult, nodded repeatedly, saying with a chuckle:
"Yes! Exactly! I really like Jiang Linlin and want to pursue her! I am sincere!"
"I wonder, Jiang Linlin... can you give me this chance? Just one chance? I promise I will treat you like a princess."
Saying that, Xu Ping'an looked eagerly at Jiang Linlin, blocking her path.
He didn't notice that Su Hongmian and Liu Mi both exchanged a look. For the first time, the two rivals formed a silent alliance of disgust.
They knew that Jiang Linlin had already been completely taken by Shen Anyu—body and soul. This guy was pursuing a woman who belonged to the devil standing right next to him.
Jiang Linlin was also exasperated. She was polite, but she had limits.
She stopped walking and glared at Xu Ping'an, her cheeks puffing up in frustration.
"Xu Ping'an! I told you! I already have a boyfriend! Please don't bother me anymore, okay? It's disrespectful to me and him!"
But Xu Ping'an chuckled, shaking his head knowingly.
"I don't believe it. Linlin, you don't have to lie to me."
"Unless you bring your boyfriend for me to see with my own eyes... unless he stands right here... otherwise I won't believe it! You are just being shy!"
"You..."
Jiang Linlin was so anxious she was almost crying. She looked at Shen Anyu, then at the crowd.
There was no way she could expose Shen Anyu now. Not with Liu Mi and Su Hongmian there. Not with the whole school watching. It would cause a scandal.
She stomped her foot in frustration.
Shen Anyu narrowed his eyes. A cold light, sharp as a scalpel, flashed in them.
He looked at Xu Ping'an as if looking at a dead man walking.
"This guy... is truly too irritating. He thinks the world revolves around his delusions."
If it weren't for the [Damage Reflection Aura], Shen Anyu would have snapped his neck right there. He would make Xu Ping'an understand why flowers are so red—stained with his own blood.
However, while overt physical harm couldn't be inflicted yet... psychological harm could.
Social death. Betrayal. Loss of identity.
This was also Shen Anyu's conclusion from the test just now.
'Being able to plunder Xu Ping'an's Destiny Value itself represents harm!'
'The System bypasses the Aura. The Aura only reflects damage from within the world's logic. It cannot reflect the theft of Luck!'
Xu Ping'an's Damage Reflection Aura was not flawless! It protected his body, not his fate.
Otherwise, let alone four million Destiny Value, he would probably have forty million!
Shen Anyu took out his phone and sent a short, encrypted message.
[To: Xu Family Head / DNA Testing Center]
[Message: Release the results. Now.]
"It's about time."
Shen Anyu pocketed his phone, a cruel smile playing on his lips.
"The Xu Family should know that Xu Ping'an is the fake young master... The cuckoo in the nest."
Shen Anyu's eyes were cold. He had already made arrangements during dinner while the girls were talking. He had accelerated the plot.
The true and false young master, revealed! The DNA test results would be delivered to the Xu Family patriarch within the hour.
"Xu Ping'an... once you lose your identity, your money, and your family's protection... once you are kicked out onto the street like a stray dog..."
"I wonder if you'll still be able to smile and chase girls then?"
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