Chapter 82 – Accelerating My Growth Plan Once Again

“……”

The atmosphere in the room grew somewhat heavy.

Su Ming scratched his head and sighed.

To be honest, he truly didn’t want to get involved in matters like this.

Power struggles among major Families and influential forces were among the most complicated affairs in the world, filled with too much darkness of human nature and reeking of bloodshed. Su Ming absolutely preferred to keep his distance from such things.

He really just wanted to remain an extra, lying low until he became invincible, without any other thoughts or desires.

Otherwise, just the fact that Academy Beauties like Xu Qianqian and An Zijin constantly surrounded him would have already made him smug enough to look down on everyone and become so inflated that no one would recognize him.

To maintain his role as an extra, he hadn’t even entertained any improper thoughts about Xu Qianqian or An Zijin.

If not for his transactional relationship with Xu Qianqian and his childhood connection with An Zijin, Su Ming would have preferred to keep his distance from both of them.

He genuinely wanted to lie low.

But ever since that night when he encountered Xu Qianqian and became involved with her, his previously predetermined life path seemed to have deviated slightly.

“I clearly only want to be an extra, so why does it feel like I’m becoming less and less like one?”

Was it because he couldn’t bear the loneliness?

Or was it because he wasn’t lying low thoroughly enough?

It should be the latter, right?

After all, he hadn’t prepared three sets of armor—one for battle, one as backup, and another as backup for the backup—so he couldn’t really claim to be lying low thoroughly.

But there was no helping it. Su Ming was human, not a god.

As a human, he had his own needs.

As a human, he wasn’t perfect and would inevitably have flaws in some areas.

Moreover, Su Ming wasn’t some extraordinarily cunning cheat character, nor did he have the Heart-Nature bonuses like many Transmigration Seniors. He was just an ordinary eighteen-year-old youth.

Having been through Transmigration for over a year now, Su Ming felt that he had actually been doing quite well as an extra.

But now, it seemed that more and more unusual events were gradually occurring around him, seemingly trending toward pulling him into extraordinary circumstances.

If that were the case, how long could he continue being an extra?

Su Ming didn’t know.

Su Ming only knew that since things had already happened, he couldn’t simply turn a blind eye.

For example, this time, a trap targeting Xu Qianqian had clearly been set, and it was highly likely to involve him as well.

In that case…

(I need to change my approach and once again accelerate my development plan.)

Thinking this, Su Ming looked at Xu Qianqian.

Then he spoke.

“If you’re worried that I might encounter some danger, there’s no need.”

Su Ming’s straightforward statement made Xu Qianqian lift her head.

She stared fixedly at Su Ming, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Su Ming acted as if he didn’t notice any of this and spoke as if talking to himself.

“You don’t need to worry about me. Just focus on resolving your own matters. If anything really affects me, I’ll naturally handle it myself.”

This could be considered Su Ming’s declaration of his stance.Although he might have just been an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire this time, given their past relationship, he wouldn’t blame Xu Qianqian for anything.

However, it seemed Xu Qianqian couldn’t get past her own guilt.

“I know you have the ability to handle the troubles that come your way,” Xu Qianqian said, looking directly at Su Ming. “But this situation started because of me. I dragged you into this, and that’s the truth.”

“What do you plan to do about it then?” Su Ming met her gaze.

In response, Xu Qianqian voiced an idea she had been considering.

“I want to assign someone to protect you.”

Her words made Su Ming freeze.

“Assign someone to protect me?”

Su Ming furrowed his brows.

“That’s right,” Xu Qianqian continued, still holding his gaze. “I know you don’t want to reveal your strength in public, and you especially don’t want to draw too much attention to yourself.”

Su Ming rubbed his nose.

His attitude was indeed quite obvious, so it wasn’t surprising that Xu Qianqian would take this into consideration.

But if Su Ming were to personally deal with the approaching troubles, he would inevitably reveal some of his capabilities regardless.

Even if Su Ming himself could accept this outcome, Xu Qianqian couldn’t.

Because this would be the result of her involving him.

Xu Qianqian clearly didn’t want to see Su Ming suffer losses because of her actions.

That’s why she had decided to take this approach.

“I have my own subordinates in the Xu Family,” Xu Qianqian revealed some secrets that shouldn’t be casually disclosed. “Although they were trained by the Family for me, their loyalty to me is beyond question.”

“Normally, I shouldn’t casually expose their existence as it could cause some trouble, but I can’t worry about that right now.”

Her words indicated to Su Ming that these so-called subordinates were likely private forces that hadn’t made their debut in the professional circle.

As mentioned before, major Families often secretly train unregistered private soldiers – forces that operate in the shadows, specifically used to handle equally shady matters.

Because of this, Xu Qianqian had never used these private soldiers in front of Su Ming before.

Now, she seemed prepared to deploy them.

“Is this really wise?” Su Ming’s frown deepened as he spoke to Xu Qianqian with meaningful implication. “Given your current situation, if you don’t properly utilize all the forces at your disposal, you might really end up dead, you know?”

With no way to contact the Xu Family and being targeted by people with ulterior motives, Xu Qianqian was actually the one in the most danger.

Under these circumstances, her private forces might be her only reliable support right now.

To disperse such a force would undoubtedly increase her own mortality risk.

This definitely wasn’t a good idea.

Unfortunately, Xu Qianqian didn’t seem to see it that way.

“If something happens to you, that would truly affect me,” Xu Qianqian stated decisively. “They might use you against me. This is somewhat of a precautionary measure.”

“Is that so?” Su Ming countered.

“Yes,” Xu Qianqian affirmed firmly.

Finally, she even added one more thing.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have the person protecting you bring a contract. If you have any concerns or reservations about them, you can simply sign the contract.”This preparation was made precisely because Su Ming didn’t want to reveal anything in front of his own people.

From beginning to end, Xu Qianqian had only been considering Su Ming’s perspective, without the slightest intention of asking for his help.

This made Su Ming recall the time when Xu Qianqian had commissioned him to investigate the Suspicious Group.

Back then, Xu Qianqian wasn’t like she was now, constantly considering his position.

She wouldn’t hesitate to borrow Su Ming’s strength for her own missions, unlike now, where she actually wanted to keep him out of it.

What exactly caused such a change in her mindset?

Su Ming didn’t know.

Su Ming only knew that this time, Xu Qianqian’s attitude seemed quite resolute.

Perhaps it was because the situation they encountered this time was far more serious than last time.

Perhaps it was because this was the Xu Family’s internal affair, and Xu Qianqian had other plans regarding it.

In any case, Xu Qianqian didn’t seem inclined to change her mind.

“Oh, right.” Xu Qianqian suddenly seemed to remember something and said: “Be careful of Li Wei, that guy might have some designs on you too. When necessary, you can have my people deal with him.”

After leaving these words, Xu Qianqian stood up, preparing to leave.

Su Ming wanted to say something, but fell silent, eventually uttering just one sentence.

“Don’t die, okay?”

A casual remark that seemed to be spoken offhandedly.

Xu Qianqian gazed at Su Ming, suddenly breaking into a smile.

“Don’t worry.”

The response was as aloof as ever, full of this Young Miss’s characteristic style.

Then, Xu Qianqian left.

Su Ming watched her departure, countless thoughts rising in his heart.

In his mind, the scenes from that night replayed for who knows how many times.

“Haa…”

Su Ming let out a breath, pulling out his phone from his chest pocket.

He didn’t make a call, just sent a message.

“Damn! Finally can change clothes!”

Ye Bai burst in from outside the door, looking hysterical as if he’d been running naked outside, his face clearly depicting the mental state of “I’m completely falling apart.”

Lei Hao pounced right in front of him.

“What did senior sister tell you? Spit it out!”

The young master grabbed Su Ming and shook him wildly.

Su Ming ignored Lei Hao, and also ignored Ye Bai who had entered a frenzied state, putting away his phone.

Outside the window, the dark clouds in the sky grew denser.

“The storm is coming…”

The murmured words echoed in the room, lingering for a long time.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Defense Line Camp, a group of people quietly appeared.

They looked travel-worn but carried an impressive Aura.

They followed orders strictly, yet each seemed full of individuality.

At the forefront of this group stood two figures.

“We’re here.”

One of them looked at the distant camp, as if unable to wait any longer, and laughed.

“That woman Xu Qianqian should have arrived by now, right?”

No one answered this question.

Only the other leading figure spoke calmly.

“Please be patient, now is not the time to act.”

Although the speaker wasn’t as distinctive as the other person, the Aura emanating from him far surpassed everyone else present, even more terrifying and oppressive than all the others combined.

The rest all bowed their heads to this person, seemingly quite fearful of him.”I know.” Even the impatient leader seemed somewhat dissatisfied, yet calmed down again, saying: “Anyway, with you here, sir, Xu Qianqian definitely won’t be able to escape this time.”

“I can’t take action openly.” The person addressed as sir still spoke indifferently: “Otherwise, your father definitely wouldn’t get past the Family Head.”

Hearing this, that person fell silent.

However, the hand hidden beneath the black clothes quietly clenched.

“I’ll show grandfather who is truly the most outstanding person of this generation in the Xu Family.”

A cold voice slowly sounded.

“Xu Qianqian, I’d like to see how you plan to compete with me this time.”

(End of Chapter)