Chapter 22 – Xu Qianqian: Do You Have a Marriage Contract with Su Ming?

Xu Qianqian was quite surprised.

Really quite surprised.

Unaware of today’s hottest headline news, she never expected to hear Su Ming’s name mentioned by this junior who had become the popularity king and new Academy Beauty.

Moreover, judging by An Zijin’s tone, her relationship with Su Ming seemed quite unusual.

After all, if they were merely acquaintances, why would she call Su Ming “brother”?

Therefore, Xu Qianqian’s first reaction upon hearing An Zijin’s words was pure astonishment.

“Do you know Su Ming?”

Xu Qianqian asked this question with curiosity.

From what Xu Qianqian knew, Su Ming maintained an extremely low profile at the Academy. Since enrollment, he had been concealing his strength, never attracting much attention, existing with very low visibility like an ordinary student.

If she hadn’t visited Su Ming directly, causing many to notice him, most people in the Academy would probably respond with “Who’s Su Ming?” if asked about him.

That such a Su Ming actually knew An Zijin—who recently enjoyed unparalleled popularity, even surpassing her own, and was regarded as a Princess by countless people—and shared an unusual relationship with her, immediately piqued Xu Qianqian’s interest.

Little did she know that her curiosity appeared to An Zijin as another unwelcome signal.

Just as Xu Qianqian knew of her, An Zijin naturally couldn’t be unaware of the rumors surrounding this brilliantly haloed senior goddess.

Unlike Xu Qianqian, who disliked paying attention to unimportant news and hardly ever visited the Academy Forum, An Zijin was no different from ordinary gossipy girls, frequently keeping up with online matters.

Moreover, since enrollment, everyone had been comparing Xu Qianqian with her, making it impossible for An Zijin not to know about Xu Qianqian.

What An Zijin knew about Xu Qianqian mostly came from others’ accounts, but what left the deepest impression wasn’t anything else—it was Xu Qianqian’s notorious aloofness.

Though few had confessed their feelings to this goddess senior, every one of them had been so bluntly rejected that they questioned their life choices. Consequently, while many in the Academy admired her, very few dared to confess their love, completely avoiding open pursuit.

Li Wei, the fourth-year top student of the Hunter Academy, was handsome, came from an extraordinary family background, and possessed strength sufficient to compete for the top spot in the entire Hunter Academy, surpassing even newly debuted professional Hunters. Yet when he publicly declared his intention to pursue Xu Qianqian, she never gave him a proper glance, let alone a positive response.

Female students didn’t fare much better compared to males.

At the very least, since enrollment, no one besides butlers, assistants, or servants had been able to closely approach Xu Qianqian or come and go with her.

This goddess senior didn’t just lack close female friends—she barely had any friends at all, with only one or two people appearing to interact with her.

Because of this, various rumors about Xu Qianqian spread throughout the Demon Hunter Academy, even including speculation about her being frigid.How could An Zijin possibly be happy when such an aloof, goddess-like senior only showed interest upon hearing about Su Ming?

Moreover, this woman had rushed to find Su Ming before she could, acting all intimate with him and even giving him a small note.

For the past two days, An Zijin had been constantly wondering what was written on that note.

A phone number?

Home address?

Or… a hotel location?

Just thinking about it made An Zijin feel sick.

Fox Spirit!

So An Zijin really wanted to say her catchphrase that she had been using for ten years: “I belong to Brother Su Ming.”

But remembering Su Ming’s recent instruction, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

An Zijin would never disobey Su Ming’s words.

Whether as children or now, even during the ten years they were separated, An Zijin had never broken her promises to Su Ming, nor would she ever do anything that might displease him.

If not for this, she wouldn’t have made “I belong to Brother Su Ming” her catchphrase.

It was precisely because Su Ming had told her that whenever someone wanted to get close to her or play with her, she could say this. So An Zijin did exactly that, and had been doing so for ten years.

Now that Su Ming didn’t want her to say it anymore, and since she had agreed, she definitely wouldn’t casually break her promise.

After thinking for a while, An Zijin decided to change her wording.

“Brother Su Ming and I promised ourselves to each other since childhood! We’re not just acquaintances!”

As soon as she said this, An Zijin felt extremely satisfied with herself.

This way, she hadn’t broken her promise with Brother Su Ming, while better declaring her sovereignty to others and perfectly explaining her relationship with him. It couldn’t be more perfect!

Decided! This would be her new catchphrase from now on!

Unaware of An Zijin’s thoughts, Xu Qianqian looked surprised.

“Promised yourselves to each other?” Xu Qianqian said with surprise. “Are you and Su Ming engaged?”

To Xu Qianqian, having childhood engagements wasn’t anything strange.

As the young miss of the Xu Family, Xu Qianqian had seen countless arranged marriages since childhood, from childhood betrothals to marriages arranged before birth. Family alliances through marriage were part of her daily life.

Under such circumstances, Xu Qianqian didn’t doubt that Su Ming and An Zijin had promised themselves to each other.

What surprised her was that the low-key Su Ming actually had such a beautiful fiancée?

His fiancée had become the popularity king and new academy beauty at the academy, yet Su Ming hadn’t made any moves? Just watching so many people call his fiancée “wife” every day?

Wasn’t this being too much of a background character?

“I’ve never heard him mention this,” Xu Qianqian looked at An Zijin and suddenly asked, “Then has he told you about what’s between him and me?”

Xu Qianqian wanted to know if An Zijin was aware of the deal between her and Su Ming.

Her mission and current circumstances weren’t things that could be casually revealed.

If Su Ming had disclosed these matters to An Zijin, then Xu Qianqian felt she needed to pay close attention to An Zijin’s movements as well.Little did Xu Qianqian realize just how grave her words sounded to An Zijin.

“…What exactly is going on between you and Brother Su Ming?”

An Zijin’s heart sank.

Could this Fox Spirit truly share some unspeakable relationship with Brother Su Ming?

This thought made An Zijin glare at Xu Qianqian with gritted teeth.

Noticing this, Xu Qianqian raised an eyebrow.

It seemed this new campus goddess wasn’t aware of the arrangement between her and Su Ming.

Understanding this, Xu Qianqian relaxed.

“If you’re curious, you can ask Su Ming yourself,” Xu Qianqian told An Zijin indifferently. “Though I’d advise against it. Matters between us aren’t something you should casually interfere with.”

After all, An Zijin was merely a freshman—even as the top student among newcomers, her abilities as a first-year couldn’t possibly be remarkable.

For someone like An Zijin to rashly involve herself in Su Ming’s and her missions would be nothing short of suicidal.

With this in mind, Xu Qianqian offered her warning.

However, Xu Qianqian’s blunt, unapologetically cold demeanor—never one to spare others’ feelings—now backfired terribly in front of An Zijin.

“…Are you declaring war on me, Senior?”

After a moment of silence, An Zijin spoke slowly.

Xu Qianqian’s expression shifted slightly.

Because in that moment, An Zijin’s tone held no emotional fluctuation, her face showed no expression, and her eyes seemed utterly unfocused, while an eerie sensation began radiating from her.

Yet this wasn’t what made Xu Qianqian’s face change.

What truly caused Xu Qianqian’s sharp reaction was the transformation occurring within An Zijin.

Faint, elusive patterns suddenly surfaced across An Zijin’s body before vanishing again.

The patterns appeared only briefly.

But in that fleeting instant, Xu Qianqian felt as if her blood were boiling, her entire body growing feverish and trembling.

This sensation wasn’t unfamiliar to Xu Qianqian.

Though rare, she had experienced the same feeling from a handful of individuals before.

Xu Qianqian knew exactly what this feeling represented.

And when it manifested in An Zijin, she understood all too well what it meant.

“So you’re…”

Xu Qianqian’s gaze toward An Zijin transformed—becoming stern, focused, and sharp.

An Zijin paid no heed.

She simply stared coldly at Xu Qianqian, the terrifying aura around her growing increasingly dense.

This prompted Xu Qianqian to instinctively channel her Phantom Demon Power, her eyes glowing crimson with faint red sparks.

The atmosphere between them grew heavier and more oppressive, like a powder keg about to ignite, making the very air seem to tremble.

Just as the hostility between them reached its breaking point, threatening unpredictable consequences, several voices echoed from the other end of the path.

“Let’s search over here!”

“Su Ming might be around!”

“Hurry up! We need to find him even if we have to dig three feet underground!””Damn it, who knows which corner that Su Ming has taken An Zijin to!”

“Please don’t do anything foolish, An Zijin!”

“An Zijin isn’t that kind of casual person!”

When such voices drifted from the distance, Xu Qianqian and An Zijin snapped back to reality as if awakening from a dream.

They glanced at the figures approaching from afar, exchanged a look with each other, and then abruptly parted ways without any warning, leaving the spot.

As they brushed past each other, a brief exchange occurred.

“You’ve been hiding your depths well, junior.”

“…We’ll meet again, senior.”

After leaving these words, they separated and soon vanished without a trace.

No one knew that the two goddess Academy Beauties of the Academy had already crossed paths.

And stood in opposition to each other.

(End of Chapter)