Chapter 46.1 – Bloody Ferrara (18)
◎ Lying Low ◎
This area was specially designated as the post-race waiting area, where many friends and family groups gathered, eagerly awaiting the emergence of the competitors.
Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair was positioned at a distance from the others, his solitary figure stretched out by the streetlight.
A faint smile graced his lips as he asked, “Why is your face so puffy? Did someone bully you?”
“No.” Song Ke pursed her lips.
Still saying no even though she felt wronged almost to the point of showing it on her face. But Zhuang Qingyan kindly didn’t expose her, saying, “Alright, if you say there isn’t, then there isn’t.”
He paused, wearing an expectant expression, then continued, “But if you ever say there is, I’ll think of a way to help you get back at them.
“Anyway, you’re my golden thigh. Bullying you is like slapping my own face, isn’t it?”
Song Ke’s mood was a mix of speechlessness and complexity.
It was hard to describe her true feelings in this moment: surprise? happiness? gratitude? unexpectedness? None seemed entirely accurate.
It was like when she and Xu Xing, as the family’s hopes, confidently went out, only to be splashed with mud by other kids and end up rolling in the mud, dirty all over. Yet, when she returned home, the parents asked if she wanted them to seek revenge for her.
Such thoughts were surreal, and Song Ke herself found them outlandish. She shook her head to clear her mind and quickly brushed them aside.
She didn’t take Zhuang Qingyan’s words seriously. After all, all the power-enhanced awakeners who survived today’s competition were experts in their own right. Zhuang Qingyan was just an ordinary person in a wheelchair. How could he stand up for her and seek revenge on someone else?
Song Ke changed the subject, asking, “Why, why are you here?”
Zhuang Qingyan replied, “I came to pick you up since the competition is almost over.”
In truth, Zhuang Qingyan had set off long before Song Ke’s qualification was confirmed. As he said, he came here for two reasons: to pick up the two lost children and to confirm another matter.
Song Ke lowered her gaze and noticed slight wear and tear around the joints of Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair. However, overall, it still looked clean and neat. She had found this wheelchair in the Qingsong Biotech, and although it was a top-of-the-line model with all the features, the distance from the hotel to Mirror Lake wasn’t that far, it was just that on such a cold day, him going out alone and running such a distance to pick them up was quite a feat.
Song Ke considerately jogged up to him, grasping the wheelchair’s handles, ready to push him back.
“Wait,” Zhuang Qingyan lightly pressed her hand back.
His gaze shifted to the other side of the passageway, and Song Ke and Xu Xing followed his gaze.
A young man with ice-blue eyes was slowly emerging from the passageway. He looked like a blood-soaked demon, leaving crimson imprints wherever he walked. People around him avoided him as if they feared being tainted by his presence.
“Lu Xinglan!” a clear voice rang out, and a clean towel was thrown through the air, caught by the man with one hand.
A person slowly emerged from the crowd, holding his nose in disgust. He poured water from a bottle while complaining, “You must be really free, not content with just watching. You had to participate in the competition yourself and end up in this sorry state.”
Lu Xinglan’s face was covered in blood, someone else’s blood. He casually wiped it off a few times with the white towel, quickly turning it crimson.
“Xie Ningyu, that’s enough. Stop chattering. I didn’t drag you into this,” Lu Xinglan retorted.
“You want to drag me into it? Lu Xinglan, do you have any conscience at all?”
Zhuang Qingyan’s hand tightened suddenly.
The night breeze tousled his hair, and the slight curve of his smile slowly faded away as he gazed unblinkingly at the man not far away, the one with a teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of his eye. His expression seemed to drift off for a moment.
This change was too apparent, especially considering that Zhuang Qingyan had never lost his composure before. Song Ke noticed it almost immediately, and for the first time, she realized that when Zhuang Qingyan stopped smiling altogether, his expression looked terrifying.
She asked him in a low voice, “Do you know, know them?”
Those ice-blue eyes had caused her quite some trouble in the arena, and if Zhuang Qingyan knew them, she needed to find out who they were.
The two men on the other side soon noticed the lingering gaze on them. They turned their heads towards Song Ke’s direction. Lu Xinglan still had wounds from a spirit weapon on his face, but his eyes were clear, and he appeared very composed, indicating that the trouble in Mirror Lake was intentional.
Xie Ningyu’s gaze passed over Xu Xing, Song Ke, and Zhuang Qingyan one by one before losing interest and shifting to his companion. He continued, “When are we going back to Erjia? I don’t want to stay here; it’s so boring.”
Upon closer inspection, Xie Ningyu’s appearance was indeed striking. He had an intensity that was neither too pronounced nor too subtle, embodying an aloof air of youthful arrogance along with a touch of vibrant charm. Especially that teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of his eye, it was like the finishing touch that brought his entire expression to life.
“…I don’t know them,” it took quite a while before Zhuang Qingyan withdrew his gaze, his tone indifferent. “Let’s go.”
You don’t know them, but you stared at them for so long?
Song Ke became suspicious. Although the man was quite good-looking, when did Zhuang Qingyan become so concerned about appearances?
When no one was paying attention, she sneakily assessed the man in the wheelchair: well, thin lips, straight nose, dark eyes. He’s not inferior anywhere, is he?
Song Ke comforted him with a sincere tone, “You, you’re handsome too, no need, need to envy anyone el, else.”
“Hmm?” Zhuang Qingyan took a few seconds to understand her convoluted train of thought and couldn’t help but smile, “Thank you for the compliment.”
“You’re welcome,” Song Ke replied calmly.
The three of them hadn’t walked more than a few steps when Xu Xing suddenly tugged at her sleeve. “Sister, look over there…”
Following his pointed direction, Song Ke unexpectedly spotted someone who shouldn’t be here under any circumstances. “Wu… Wu Xianghai?”
Wu Xianghai looked furtive and constantly glanced around as he took a few steps. When he unexpectedly ran into them, his expression was as if he had seen a ghost. He didn’t even greet them and quickly turned a corner to flee.
He was participating in the Throne Race Competition too, and he advanced? That’s incredible, isn’t it? Didn’t they say only D-level or higher could sign up? Song Ke distinctly remembered that when she was with the Azure Phoenix squad, An Qiwen had said that Wu Xianghai was an E-level awakener.
She exchanged a glance with Xu Xing, both of them sharing the same bewilderment.
“I think I know why he can participate,” Zhuang Qingyan spoke up at the right moment.
“Why?” Song Ke asked.
“We don’t need to rush into it; let’s discuss it when we get back,” he said, his eyelashes twitching slightly, as he discreetly glanced towards a dark corner and lowered his voice to caution, “Song Ke, take a detour. There are some unwanted followers behind us.”
Song Ke shivered and released her psychic power to investigate, indeed finding several lurking figures tailing them.
“Someone is tracking, tracking us?” She whispered to confirm.
“Not just that. Many of the participants who left this place are being watched,” Zhuang Qingyan replied.
“Greedy people always try to take advantage, and right now, Mirror Lake is a treasure trove of crystals,” he continued.
The Throne Race Competition’s organizing committee was wealthy, and the crystals earned by the participants in the arena didn’t have to be handed over. They could take them directly. Song Ke had also taken that Level 2 crystal with her, and she hadn’t expected to be targeted as soon as she left.
On second thought, these people were too audacious. Which of the teams that advanced to the top 64 was easy to deal with? Trying to snatch crystals from them? They’d probably lose their lives before they could lay their hands on the goods.
However, it was best to avoid trouble if possible. Song Ke didn’t look back and silently increased her pace. Following Zhuang Qingyan’s guidance, they took some intricate side paths, finally managing to shake off those pursuers…
…
After returning to the hotel, Zhuang Qingyan tried to calm down and persuade the overly excited Song Ke and Xu Xing, who were eager to watch the projection together all night, by saying, “It’s quite late now, let’s go rest first. We can discuss the competition later after I review it thoroughly tomorrow.”
Song Ke reluctantly agreed, “Alright…”
Zhuang Qingyan had gone to pick someone up after watching the competition. He hadn’t had the chance to review the last Endless Slaughter mode and the true abilities displayed by other teams. Moreover, he had only received half the answers to what he wanted to confirm, so he needed to watch several more match recordings.
As for how Song Ke had been “bullied,” even if she didn’t want to talk about it, he could easily figure it out, right? If he wanted to know all the details, it wasn’t difficult, especially since there was a mobile informant inside the arena.
In the living room, Zhuang Qingyan called out to Xu Xing, who was about to return to his room, “Xiaoxing~”
“What, what, what do you want?!” As soon as Xu Xing heard his voice, he immediately felt a shiver down his spine. The painful memories of the month of devilish special training came rushing back. “Don’t call me like that; it’s disgusting!”
Facing Zhuang Qingyan’s cunning eyes, Xu Xing swallowed hard, feeling more nervous than when facing the water monster.
“I did my best today!” Xu Xing protested.
Zhuang Qingyan smiled gently, “You did well today. I called you for something else.”
Xu Xing secretly sighed in relief, “What is it?”
“Come closer, and tell me how Lin Youyou managed to deceive you all.”
Watching the competition in a first-person perspective had its limitations, and Song Ke’s drone often lost connection, leaving some details unclear to Zhuang Qingyan. It was better to directly question another involved party.
Xu Xing’s eyes lit up at the opportunity. Lin Youyou has now risen to the top of his most hated people list (formerly occupied by Zhuang Qingyan). At this moment, he and Zhuang Qingyan put aside their past grievances, united against a common enemy, and angrily condemned Lin Youyou’s evil deeds.
