Yue'er was the school belle, the goddess in the hearts of countless male students. She was talented, energetic, and beautiful. It was as if every good quality was concentrated in her.
She was the goddess in many people's hearts, including Su Shen's. But everyone knew about her special relationship with Lin Hao.
Lin Hao was handsome, good at sports, and an excellent student—a sort of male god in the eyes of female students. Before, others might have envied him, but they only dared to harbor resentment without speaking up.
But now things were different. Fate had chosen Su Shen to be the one with intermediate talent. Though not comparable to her, he was still leagues above Lin Hao.
Of course, he wouldn't miss this once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity to press his advantage. He wanted to completely crush Lin Hao today.
"What? Can't argue back, huh? Finally realized you're trash, I see," he said disdainfully.
Then his gaze immediately shifted to Yue'er, his tone gentle and dripping with flattery: "See? He's just a piece of trash. He even acknowledges his own inferiority now, so just leave him be. Anything he can do for you, I can do better."
Su Shen spoke while puffing out his chest, confident of his victory. His academic performance was good, his cultivation talent high, and his family background superior to Lin Hao's. Now he felt there was no reason for her to reject him.
"Shut up!" Yue'er didn't even look at him and just coldly replied.
"Huh?" Su Shen was dumbfounded, his brain short-circuiting as if unable to process the sound he just heard.
Then he became flustered. The anger that had been suppressed for a long time finally erupted.
"Why? Why choose him? Clearly, I have more than he does! He's just a somewhat handsome, somewhat smart orphan, but 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 darkening. Those pitch-black pupils seemed to be concealing a raging fire that made Su Shen involuntarily take a step back.
"What you said isn't entirely wrong, but our values are different. To me, ten people like you aren't worth one of him. Now piss off... I don't want to waste words on you." She glared, her voice icy.
Gone was the usual amiable demeanor of the school goddess. In this moment, she truly bore the shadow of a future great cultivator.
Su Shen pursed his lips, a few drops of blood seeping out. His hands trembled violently as he clenched them into fists. Veins bulged on his forehead as if ready to burst at any moment.
"Fine, I'll go. But Lin Hao, this isn't over." He shot Lin Hao a glare before turning and stomping away in anger.
Yue'er pressed her palm to her forehead and shook her head slightly. These troublesome hangers-on always annoyed her.
"Finally gone. Lin Hao, ignore him. Don't listen to that nonsense. To me, you are the best." She smiled, tilting 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 for me." Lin Hao smiled and nodded, gently ruffling her hair.
This scene, witnessed by the entire school, was truly an eyesore for many people.
His female fans envied her; her male fans envied him. If the sparks from their gazes could really ignite, this entire schoolyard would have been burned to ashes long ago.
Su Shen hadn't gone far before he stopped and saw this. His face twitched uncontrollably.
"Why? Why does she not like me even though I have talent?" He muttered resentfully, feeling the world was so unfair to him.
Suddenly, a flash of madness flickered in his eyes, and the corner of his mouth twisted into a bizarre, eerie curve.
"If he were to leave her of his own accord... then I would 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 a message.
Her cheerful expression instantly vanished as if doused with cold water. She pouted and let out an annoyed huff.
"How annoying, why summon me back right now?"
She muttered very softly. Even Lin Hao, standing right beside her, couldn't make out what she said.
"Huh? What did you just say?" he asked.
"Ah, my family is calling me back. Seriously, 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 drooping like someone who just failed a subject.
Lin Hao patted her shoulder and said, "It's fine, you go ahead. See you tomorrow."
"Mhm, see you tomorrow." She smiled and then ran off.
Seeing her leave, his mood once again grew heavy.
'If only I had the strength to protect her. Right now, maybe all I can do is just watch.' He sighed inwardly, feeling helpless before this reality.
At that moment, a sly gaze hidden within the crowd fixed intently on Lin Hao. Seeing him slowly leave the school, it immediately began to follow behind.
...
Lin Hao stepped off the bus, looking up at the sky.
The sky was clear, not a single cloud, which made him frown.
"Strange, if it's not about to rain, why do I keep feeling something's off?" He muttered, sweeping his eyes around his surroundings.
Nothing seemed suspicious, which only made him more anxious. He believed in his own intuition.
Every time he felt something was wrong, there was a high chance he was about to encounter misfortune.
"What worse luck could I possibly have? I'm almost home anyway; I don't believe anything major will happen." He pursed his lips and continued walking.
After all, compared to having no cultivation talent, the only thing worse could be someone having ill intentions towards Yue'er.
But his intuition was that he was the one in for bad luck, not her, so it couldn't be that.
As Lin Hao reached a secluded stretch of road, the roar of motorcycles from both in front and behind made him sense danger.
"Are you kidding me? I don't remember offending anyone!" His face darkened. Now he understood why he kept feeling something was off.
Three motorcycles blocked his way. On the bikes were three burly youths who looked like hired thugs.
One with bleached blond hair and a mighty-looking coiling dragon tattooed on his muscular arm looked him over.
"You wanna come with us willingly, or do we knock you out cold and take you?"