"That's what he said," Li Ming explained cautiously.
He was tempted to pocket the money, but the dorms were cleared out at night, so he'd have to leave eventually.
After thinking it over, he decided it was best to just pass on the message honestly.
'I'll have to face him sooner or later.' Realizing this, Su Chen felt the situation was becoming troublesome.
'The guy is up to no good, and who knows what kind of game he's playing against Jiang He.'
'But it's just as I expected. I'm clearly the weak point they're targeting, and Jiang He knows it. She's using me as bait.'
"I understand. Go down and tell him I'll be there in a bit," Su Chen said with a nod.
Li Ming looked as if he'd been granted amnesty and immediately turned to leave.
"Wait..."
He froze. He desperately wanted to ignore the summons and hurry downstairs, but after a moment of consideration, he turned back with a sigh of resignation.
"This is for you." Su Chen flicked a Gold Coin at him. Li Ming fumbled to catch it, looking surprised.
"Thank you..." He managed to force out the words before heading downstairs.
Su Chen thought for a moment, then decided to just go back to his room and continue working on his Candle Fire Spirit Training Method.
'Since I have to meet him sooner or later, I might as well make it later. I'll deal with it tomorrow. Besides, I'm not hungry right now.'
As time passed, the artificial lights of Southwind City gradually shifted to a soft, amber glow.
Downstairs, Jiang He's cuckolded husband looked up with a cold expression, his eyes fixed on a specific floor of the dormitory.
「The next morning.」 Su Chen woke up leisurely and stretched. He had spent the entire previous afternoon and evening training both his body and his spirit, leaving him so exhausted that he had slept like a log.
This place was relatively safe. Southwind Academy's headmaster was the City Lord himself. The last time a student had died on campus was three years ago, and the City Lord had personally ordered three separate investigations, implicating nearly a hundred people before he considered the matter closed.
The progress on his panel was clear.
[Warrior: 3%]
[Candle Fire Spirit Training Method—Mastery: 15%]
He had already broken his limits three times, and the time required to become a [Scholar] had been reduced by another three months.
The time reduction wasn't fixed; once, it had been cut by a full two months. 'I'm progressing much faster than I thought.'
This visual representation of his progress, where every bit of effort yielded visible results, filled him with motivation.
'But now I really have to go out.'
After washing up, Su Chen rubbed his stomach, muttering to himself, 'He couldn't have actually waited downstairs all night, could he…?'
The moment he stepped out of the dormitory, Su Chen felt a gaze land on him. He followed the feeling and saw a figure standing under a thick-trunked maple tree across the way.
The man was dressed impeccably in a custom-tailored, dark brown suit. He was undeniably handsome, with regular features and a captivating pair of blue eyes.
'He really did wait all night,' Su Chen thought with a sigh.
Their eyes met. Qi Chuan stared silently at Su Chen. 'He really is a handsome devil,' he thought. 'No wonder he caught my wife's eye.'
'This kid was intimate with Jiang He in my own home, so he should know what I look like.' He tried to find a trace of panic or unease on Su Chen's face, but found only serene calm.
'When the lover gets caught by the husband, shouldn't he at least look a little guilty?' Qi Chuan thought, his mood worsening as he recalled how Su Chen had toyed with him yesterday.
Despite his thoughts, he didn't move. He simply stood his ground, waiting for Su Chen to approach him so he could maintain the upper hand.
But then, Qi Chuan's expression darkened as he saw Su Chen turn as if to go back inside. Left with no choice, he called out, "Su Chen!"
A few passing students shot them curious glances but didn't pay them much mind.
Annoyed, Qi Chuan walked up behind Su Chen and decided to take the offensive. "Got something to hide?" he said in a low voice.
Su Chen turned around slowly. "And you are?"
"Stop pretending. I'm Jiang He's husband!" Qi Chuan lowered his voice as the dormitory security guard eyed the two of them with suspicion.
"Ah, so you're one of us. A pleasure to meet you," Su Chen said with a look of sudden understanding.
Qi Chuan was taken aback for a second before letting out a cold sneer. "You're certainly fearless. You think Jiang He will protect you?"
"Not at all. I just figured an elegant gentleman like you wouldn't be the rude type," Su Chen explained.
Qi Chuan's brow twitched. The kid's reaction was completely unexpected, rendering useless the various speeches he had prepared. He maintained his cold tone. "Why did you play games with me yesterday?"
"I didn't. I came down, didn't I? It just took me a little while," Su Chen replied, feigning confusion.
Qi Chuan was at a loss for words. Done with the nonsense, his tone became menacing. "Kid, don't think you're safe. Aren't you curious why your grace period before being forced to leave the city was shortened from three months to just half a month?"
"It wasn't always half a month?" Su Chen asked, his face a mask of confusion.
Qi Chuan felt a surge of frustration. This kid didn't act like some backwater refugee who'd never seen the world. He had assumed that revealing his identity as Jiang He's husband would be enough to overwhelm him.
Instead, all his threats and attempts at intimidation felt like punching cotton, igniting a nameless rage within him.
"Look, buddy, what's your deal? Don't you big shots all have your own fun on the side? You don't have a mistress?" Su Chen feigned ignorance. "Are you really this pissed off just because I slept with your wife?"
A flicker of something passed through Qi Chuan's eyes. 'This kid is smarter than I thought. I'll have to try a different approach.'
The grim look on his face vanished, replaced by a calm indifference. He led Su Chen to a corner and lowered his voice. "You're a smart man, so I'll be direct. I want to know what really happened that night."
"That night?" Su Chen acted surprised, looking Qi Chuan up and down before hesitating, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Qi Chuan's eyes narrowed. He watched Su Chen's reaction closely. 'The kid really does know something.'
"You big shots are really something else..." Su Chen said, feigning reluctance and looking troubled. He sighed. "But fine. You're Jiang He's husband, after all. I guess I can understand..."
"That night, I went to see her... She took off my clothes... The red wine trickled down... Her face was flushed... I said... and she said... Her voice was so... We had a very good time..."
At first, Qi Chuan listened intently, but his expression grew progressively uglier until he finally roared, "Enough!"
His eyes were menacing, blazing with a fire that seemed ready to erupt. Even if he had his own ulterior motives, how could he possibly remain calm while listening to a live recounting of his wife's affair?
'His eyes can shoot fire? What kind of class is that?' Su Chen wondered.
"What's wrong? You're the one who asked me to tell you. I thought Instructor Jiang He was just joking when she said you had a... special hobby." Su Chen backed away, putting on an innocent and confused act. "I didn't want to say anything. *I'm* not into that kind of stuff."
'A special hobby?' Qi Chuan's expression shifted as he realized what Su Chen was implying. Red markings began to appear on his cheeks.
'No...' He took a deep breath, forcing his anger back down. The unusual marks on his skin slowly faded as he tried to speak calmly. "That's not what I want to know."
"Then what do you want to know?" Su Chen asked with a frown.
Qi Chuan fell silent. He stared at the young man before him, who was still feigning confusion, and felt that he couldn't see through him at all. He himself had nearly lost control.
"...Southwind Academy is the cradle where Southwind City forges its future pillars of power. From every class, a select group of students is chosen for special grooming. Resources, status, knowledge... they want for nothing," he said, abandoning his interrogation for a new tactic.
"Since you're a smart man, you should understand that Jiang He can't possibly invest that many resources in you. Tell me what you know, and I can get your name on that special training list."
"I can even delay your expulsion from the city, giving you more time to gain the strength you need to protect yourself."
Su Chen sighed in exasperation. "What is it you actually want to know?"
Qi Chuan stared at him, not pressing the question any further. He simply tossed him a Gilded Card. "Think about it," he said coolly. "When you've made up your mind, break it."