Luo Jiajun had not anticipated the Chen family’s downfall to come so suddenly. To him, the family was an immovable mountain. When he first came here to the Imperial Capital, the Chen family was so prosperous and powerful that he had forgotten all about his own family. Blinded by their glory, he stayed with them in the Imperial Capital ever since.

So what if he was considered a good-for-nothing son-in-law of the Chen family? Life was much better here than back in N City where he had to work all day just to make a living. Here, there was no longer the need to rush around like a madman in chase of a wage. In fact, some of the rich folks here would congratulate him from time to time. This all was courtesy of the Chen family. As for his poor wife, well, good luck to her.

Luo Wenlang’s recent appearance had reminded him that he still had a son. Despite this, he still looked down on the boy as if he was just another small fry. After all, how much could one man do against the entire Chen family?

In truth, not only had he defeated the Chen family, he had also cut off their escape route!

Chen Feng, her father as well as the high-ranking officials involved in the scandal were all rounded up and placed under police custody. Some sources say that the amount of money involved in their criminal activities numbered over 900 million!

Such a massive amount meant that there was virtually zero chance of them ever making a comeback; if lucky, they might spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

Just what the hell was this Luo Wenlang made of? How was he able to take down the entire Chen family as if they were nothing?

He sat on the stool, waiting quietly for the officer to bring Chen Feng out. She had always treated him with indifference. All things business was handled by her own personnel and he was kept in the dark when it came to a majority of their family’s affairs.

Because of this, he was released by the police after spending two days behind bars.

“Are you here to laugh at me?” asked Chen Feng behind the tempered glass barrier that separated them. That piece of glass was like the boundary between two different worlds. It was only a couple of days and yet her face had undergone a visible change. Her once delicate face was now filled with wrinkles. It almost seemed like she had stepped into a time machine that went ten years into the future.

Luo Jiajun looked back at her. “I… I’m just here to take a look.”

“Now that you’ve gotten rid of me, gotten rid of the Chen family, why don’t you go find that son of yours, huh? Let’s see if he would like to have you back.” Chen Feng’s tone was filled with sarcasm. “Back then, you abandoned them for the sake of money. I guess you’ll be doing the same thing now, wouldn’t you?”

“You!” Luo Jiajun’s face turned beet red. Staring back at Chen Feng, his lips were trembling. And yet, he struggled to produce anything. She was right. He really was thinking about meeting his son, Luo Wenlang.

Without saying a word more, he stood up and left.

Seeing his receding back, the arrogant look on Chen Feng’s face shattered into a million pieces. She couldn’t comprehend why she had been reduced to such a sorry state. Luo Wenlang was nothing but an orphan. That very orphan who she was able to shove around forcefully without consequences back in N City.

Everything changed when she got that warning from the Jiang family. It had been nothing but a downward spiral since then.

She knew that Luo Wenlang was only being backed up by his company, Nine Heavens. If she was given one more chance to get back at him, she would not underestimate anyone from this company. At the same time, she would not give Luo Wenlang a chance to get help from Nine Heavens either!

“Nine Heavens, Nine Heavens…” Chen Feng started cackling like a madman. Just who was the one behind their rise? Who sentenced her family to death?! She had nothing but hatred towards that person!

Seeing Chen Feng return, her father and his accomplices pressed himself against the glass window of the prison cell he was in and with a panicky look on his face, he asked, “Daughter! Our trial will start tomorrow! Did you ask Luo Jiajun to beg for forgiveness from Luo Wenlang!?”

Chen Feng’s footsteps ground to a halt. She looked at the man, who once stood proudly over others now begging like a dog that has lost its master, wagging its tail pitifully as it did so.

“Beg? Where’s your pride? Where’s your courage? Why should I beg from him!? Who is he!?” There was something demonic about Chen Feng’s smile.

“You’ve gone mad! If this goes on any further, we will soon be executed!” Bewildered, one of the high-ranking officials yelled at Chen Feng. “You are the one responsible for the situation we are in right now! If it weren’t for your petty grievance with Nine Heavens, we wouldn’t sink so low as to spend nights sleeping in a damn cell like this!”

“My daughter, please listen to me. Get Luo Jiajun to beg for forgiveness from his son! For our sake!”

Chen Feng did not answer her father. Instead, she resumed walking forwards at a constant pace. Previously, she did not hold back against Luo Wenlang so who was to say that he would show her mercy? This was especially so after having taken down his relatives one after the other.

And even if he decided to forgive them, what could he do realistically-speaking? That boy at best, had a higher-than-average intelligence. The true curse that has caused the destruction of her family was the man behind Nine Heavens’ wheel. In comparison to that person, Luo Wenlang was nothing but a speck of dust. He was just a bystander.

That person was pretty clever too. Every man with connections to the Chen family had been rounded up by the police. She had originally planned to use these connections against Luo Wenlang but she did not expect him and his company to strike pre-emptively.

If she knew that she was going up against such a fearsome adversary, she would not have screwed over Nine Heavens. Still, what has happened, has happened; there was no cure for regret in this world.

The corner of Chen Feng’s mouth twitched as what’s left of the glow in her eyes died out, leaving a pair of soulless eyes that stared into empty air.

For such a big family to be toppled so suddenly, members of the ruling class would undoubtedly continue talking about this incident for the days to come before gradually dying down.

Although a member of the ruling class, the Chens were nowhere near significant that it would destabilize the entire capital. However, they were big shots in the criminal underworld here. Just like how the old man had warned Gu Xiqiao during their brief exchange, that Nine Heavens would be shooting itself in the foot by messing with their family, even before the Chens could shoot themselves in the foot, they had already been casted into a well from which they would never emerge.

Bystanders who were watching the Chen family crumble couldn’t help but be awed by Nine Heavens’ might. Nowhere in history was there a startup company that had brought down an entire family of criminals like them. They must be resilient to be able to pull off such a terrifying feat.

As the saying goes, a dog that bites does not bark. The Chens who were rushing through their plan were the complete opposite of Nine Heavens that had remained shrouded in mystery the entire time leading up to their collapse. It was only after the pulling out en masse of their investors did Nine Heavens reveal their row of pearly whites. This was a show of might to their investors, as well as to remove the Chen family from the capital once and for all.

The final blow however, was dealt when they had uploaded evidence of the Chen family’s crimes onto the internet. Everyone already knew that they were actively engaging in criminal activities but the level of detail in the collected evidence was far beyond any of their expectations.

This was the most terrifying part of Nine Heavens. Virtually all of the ruling elites here in the capital had done things that weren’t supposed to be exposed to the public. Should they piss this company off, there was no saying that they wouldn’t be exposed in the same manner as they had done towards the Chen family. It would already have been too late if it ever came to that.

***

Gu Xiqiao was completely unaware of the level of interest the public had on her identity. Some had started speculating about her age and gender. The most popular conclusion was this:

He’s a man.

He’s very far-sighted and a good tactician.

He must be an older gentleman.

He fights with one clean blow, meaning he must be younger than 50.

So in the end, they created a bogeyman who was a forty-something-year-old male entrepreneur.

When the system told her about this, Gu Xiqiao unconsciously reached up to rub her nose. A forty-something-year-old dude?

‘Do I look like an old man?’

You earthlings are so funny. Everyone thinks they’re a detective or something. But, they certainly have provided good reasons for their guess. In fact, I’m almost convinced that you are an old geezer.

“I think they have gone overboard with this.” Gu Xiqiao started her car and slowly drove towards the night market. She had agreed with Wu Hongwen to meet up with Yao Jiamu tonight.

When she arrived, there were already two men waiting for her at the entrance of the nightclub. Because of how eye-catching Gu Xiqiao’s car was, they knew instantly that she had arrived.

Wu Hongwen stormed toward her. “I thought we agreed to come here on Monday night. I can’t believe you’ve been postponing this for the past eight days!”

“Come on, I have some things to deal with. It’ll be my treat tonight, okay?”

“Ahem.” Wu Hongwen cleared his throat but his eyes were looking somewhere else. He was staring at Xixi, who was perched on her shoulder.

“Why’d you bring it here?”

Who on earth would think that bringing a pet bird to a nightclub was a good idea?

“No harm bringing it, right?” Gu Xiqiao gently combed the feathers on its head. It’s not like she wanted to bring it here in the first place. Though, Jiang Shuxuan insisted over the phone that she brought Xixi with her just in case.

Xixi, being a sentient bird, decided not to give Gu Xiqiao too much trouble tonight. Silently, it stood on her shoulder as if it was just a regular bird.

Wu Hongwen’s eyes narrowed when looking into its beady eyes before moving down onto Gu Xiqiao’s body. She was sporting her classic “t-shirt and jeans” combination which made him facepalm uncontrollably.

‘Why did I forget to tell her to dress up tonight?’

This was his first time visiting a nightclub but he had done some research beforehand. After all, he was bringing two girls with him so he felt more secure after reading up about the establishment they were visiting.

Though, considering their strength as a whole, no wait, considering Gu Xiqiao’s strength, he really shouldn’t be the one worrying about things. The ones who should be worried were those who might try to stir up trouble with them.

Xiao Yun, who had been briefed by Wu Hongwen had put on a black dress. It was an ordinary black dress you’d find at the mall but for some reason, it seemed way prettier when worn by her. Perhaps it was her well-developed figure that made her all the more alluring or was it her beautiful face that would make countless men throw themselves at her feet?

And so, even before stepping into the club, Xiao Yun had successfully made countless heads turn.

In comparison, Gu Xiqiao’s eyes were glued onto the floor. Her outfit was way too casual and her frame, so slender that she seemed like a prepubescent girl. Here at the classy nightclub, she stood out like a sore thumb. Luckily, Xiao Yun was here to outshine her in every aspect.

It was getting late so the trio entered the club straightaway. Upon stepping in, it felt like they had moved into a different world. It was far greater than a regular pub. Everything here was scaled-up, from the entertainment facilities, to the drinks counter, to the KTV booths as well as their public bath.

The lights inside the nightclub had been turned down to the bare minimum. Gu Xiqiao looked over to Wu Hongwen. “Did you tell Yao Jiamu that we would be coming over?”

Wu Hongwen smiled as he whipped out his phone. “I did. You guys wait here for a moment.”

There was a massive dance floor on the first floor where a lot of people were moving toward the upper floors. At the moment, it was drowned in strobing lights.

Shortly after, Yao Jiamu came down from upstairs. It has been such a long time since they met and so much about him had changed. The most noticeable was his face, which has grown even colder than before.

Though, this look melted away as soon as he recognized his three old friends.

“Welcome! Come, follow me upstairs.” He brought them to a private room on the sixth floor. There were all sorts of services offered for this particular room.

Along the way to the room, they walked past a handful of employees. These employees would all stand to the side and bow respectfully towards Yao Jiamu and his guests.

“Hmm, seems like a pretty cool place you got here,” said Wu Hongwen with a raised brow. Seeing how deeply the employees were bowing, he figured that Yao Jiamu must’ve been a prominent figure at this establishment.

Yao Jiamu turned back with a smile. “I’m one of the more lucky ones.”

That’s right. He was lucky. His original plan called for him and his men to occupy a piece of land before slowly cannibalizing on the surrounding territory. However, right before his plan started, he saved a person who coincidentally, belonged to the Dong family who owned this very club. On the streets, he was called Big Boss Bai. Both sides of the world referred to him as “Big Brother” so evidently, he was a pretty powerful man.

On Yao Jiamu’s first night here, he and his men subdued a mob on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, marking his first move ever made here. In the land that fell under his protection, he saved Big Boss Bai, who had been shot twice, one of which landed dangerously close to his heart.

If it weren’t for Yao Jiamu, this man would undoubtedly have been dead. Because of that, Big Boss Bai became the godfather of Yao Jiamu. In addition to that, Yao Jiamu was offered the job as the general manager of this club.

“It’s that medicine that you gave to Wenlang that helped me. Because he feared that I would get mortally wounded in a fight, he gave it to me. We were this close from losing him but thankfully, your medicine came at the right time.” Yao Jiamu recalled how blood spurted out uncontrollably like a fountain from Big Boss Bai’s wounds. It was Gu Xiqiao’s magical medicine that had supported the man’s life before ER could arrive. Of course, Big Boss Bai wanted to meet the creator of this medicine but obviously, the chance did not arise.

Wu Hongwen looked at him enviously. “And because of that, you now run this huge-ass nightclub?

‘What bullsh*ttery is this!? I am jealous! I am extremely jealous! You guys must be raking in so much dough, I mean look at the size of this place! What’s more, being in a prime location in the Imperial Capital, this place must be worth a crazy amount!’

“So you’re not planning to go to school?” Xiao Yun eyed Yao Jiamu. Her opinion of him had changed drastically ever since she stopped getting her ass whooped by him.

Yao Jiamu pushed open the door to the room on the sixth floor. Turning around, he said, “No, how can I do that? In any case, I still have to bring a degree back to show my dad. Classes are few and far between in my first semester so I’m able to juggle between working here and studying.”

“That must mean you’re staying here most of the time? What about your men?” From Gu Xiqiao’s understanding of him, Yao Jiamu must be against the idea of bringing his men here. After all, they would cease to be his men if that was true; they would all come under Big Boss Bai’s leadership.

Her deduction turned out to be more or less the reality. “I’m only here for the experience. My men are still in their respective territories. Didn’t you allow me to teach them a trick or two? Most of them can hold off ten men by themselves now. In fact, they have become so powerful that we’ve assimilated with two other smaller gangs in the area.”

As expected, Yao Jiamu did not rely entirely on his new boss’ strength. Though he had to admit, the process of completing tasks was much smoother with the help of Big Boss Bai.

Gu Xiqiao nodded in response. Before she could open her mouth, the system’s voice suddenly blared out.

“Ding! Daily Mission activated: Save Ning Qing! Mission completion reward: 10 points!”

“Ding! Random Mission activated: Help Ning Qing actualize her dreams! Mission completion reward: 800 points!”

The two abrupt notifications broke Gu Xiqiao’s train of thought.

‘Ning Qing? Who’s that? Also, 800 points? It’s been such a long time since I’ve heard such an amount.

‘System, sounds like you’re becoming more generous as of late.’

“As generous as I may be, you should know that mission rewards directly reflects the difficulty level. To be honest, Beauty Qiao, I’m worried about Ning Qing’s dream.”

“What is there to be worried about? After all that we’ve been through, you’re now chickening out?”

The System has started playing games recently because of how scary the outside world was. That meant that old habits have started resurfacing as well.

“It may be hard but nothing will ever come close to chain missions.”

Speaking of chain missions, Gu Xiqiao suddenly realized that it has been a long time since she received such missions. She wondered when the next one would come.

Suddenly, a clear board materialized in front of her eyes. On it was a red arrow that was pointed in the direction of the door. That must be where Ning Qing was standing.

Gu Xiqiao’s current level of mental powers meant that she could now scan the entire nightclub with little to no effort. Her powers, like water bursting forth from a busted dam, enveloped the entire vicinity, locating her mission target within the fraction of a second.

Yao Jiamu decided to play bartender for the night. Working here, he had picked up a trick or two when it came to drinks mixing. Using just the tip of his finger, he was able to make the liquor bottle do backflips through the air without shattering into a thousand pieces. Both Wu Hongwen and Xiao Yun were captured by how cool his bar tricks were.

Gu Xiqiao’s eyes shifted over to the door. Then, she turned around and smiled at her friends.

“You guys have fun. I’m gonna head to the bathroom for a minute.”

Yao Jiamu had already finished mixing a couple of drinks when Gu Xiqiao disappeared behind the door. With doubtful eyes, he asked them, “Isn’t there a bathroom in the room? Why is she outside?”

He was a little worried about her safety as this wasn’t exactly the safest place for a young woman to be wandering around alone. Still, he was more worried about the men who might be beaten into a pulp by her if she goes berserk.

‘Crap, if anything happens… I don’t think I can afford to pay compensation!’

“Don’t try to guess what Er Qiao is thinking. I mean, you know how violent she can get. Tonight might be the worst night ever for those who decide to provoke her.” Wu Hongwen shuddered when he thought about how badly Gu Xiqiao once beat up her victim. “How about you teach me how to mix drinks. This is precisely what makes a man a chick magnet man!”

***

Ning Qing was washing her face in the bathroom. Then, she wiped off the water droplets that had sprayed onto the mirror. She stared blankly into the now clean mirror. As of this year, Ning Qing was 25 years old. She wasn’t what you would consider “young” in the entertainment industry. Ever since her debut at 22, the biggest role she had ever played was as the female villain which everyone despised. Her Weibo followers were under ten thousand, half of which were strawmen set up by her company.

There was something demonic about her. She had a pair of enchanting eyes and cherry-red lips. There was no denying that she was a beautiful woman, but her looks meant that she was only suited for “bad guy” roles. And so, apart from playing the villain, she had only been given small, insignificant roles.

She was an artist under Tang Enterprise. Her manager was responsible for two other artists but she was the worst-performing one of them all. It was hard enough to find a film for her to play in, what more to say of a major role.

After persisting for three years, she felt that she could no longer hold on. Her manager was frustrated at how little she had progressed over the years. In fact, he recommended that she start sucking up to a couple of major players in the industry. If she could do that, there was a chance that she might land a major role in some film that might turn her career around. However, she was firmly against that idea.

She pulled out a couple of napkins to dry her hands. Just before she chucked the napkins away though, a silhouette suddenly appeared behind her. Then came a disgusting voice.

“Miss Niiing.”

A hand came out of nowhere and pressed itself firmly against her lower back. Out of a sudden, Ning Qing felt an icky sensation rise up within her. She recognized in an instant who this voice belonged to. He was none other than the real estate tycoon who had sat at the same table as her during dinner.

Ning Qing originally thought that he already had his eyes on another girl, Peng Zixian. She wanted to laugh at herself for making such a terrible mistake. From what she heard, this guy was a big shot in the entertainment industry as well. Recently, he had invested a huge amount into a book-to-movie adaptation, with Peng Zixian being the lead actress. On the other hand, she herself was only given a minor role in this film.

Her manager would sneer at her from time to time, “So what if you’re pure? You think it’ll put food on the table? Wake up Ning Qing! Do you really think every celebrity out there made it because of their own ability? It’s all fine and dandy if you come from a rich family, but do you? Take a look around you. See that everyone has already surpassed you in their career! Look, you have to compromise when the situation calls for it! Think about it!”

Her eyes closed shut. Her hands which fought to break free of his grip slowly went limp and powerless.

Seeing how she had stopped resisting, a slimy grin surfaced on the real estate tycoon’s face. His clammy hands were about to reach up beneath her skirt when someone grabbed onto his wrist with a death grip.

This hand appeared delicate and frail. Despite the dim lighting, her complexion was noticeably pale. This was the most beautiful pair of hands he had ever seen throughout his lifetime. In the next second though, a jarring pain shot up his arm. The man squealed in pain like a pig that had been shot by an arrow.

Gu Xiqiao twisted his ears then with a subtle movement, she sent the man who seemed twice her size, head over heels. As if that wasn’t enough, she raised her leg before slamming her heel down right at the center of his chest.

“Shut up!”

The real estate tycoon’s disgusting squeals stopped immediately. His mouth was twisted in pain and the both of his arms were waving around violently but not a sound escaped from his fish lips. With his beady eyes, he stared back up at Gu Xiqiao in fear.

Now that the noise had subsided, Gu Xiqiao’s tense expression loosened up. Then, she pulled out a packet of napkins from her pocket to wipe clean her fingers that had touched the real estate tycoon’s body.

Ning Qing did not expect things to take such a huge turn. Turning around to see her savior, she was dumbfounded by her beauty even though she had been working in the entertainment industry for so many years now.

This woman stood out from the rest of the girls Ning Qing worked with. Her natural brows were perfect, like a brushstroke and her face, delicate like a piece of jade. The most eye-catching thing though, were her eyes, which reminded her of a cloudless, starry summer night sky.

There she stood, sporting a basic T-shirt and jeans combination but oddly enough, the way she moved was graceful, like that of an aristocratic young lady.

She must’ve been God’s little pet before being sent down onto the human realm! If her manager were to see this girl, no doubt, he would force her into a contract with his company immediately.

With that face of hers, she could refuse to work and countless firms would still be offering her a job at their place.

“You’re gonna give in so quickly?” Suddenly, a cold voice broke the silence, snapping Ning Qing out of her daydream. Her eyes quickly darted up to look at Gu Xiqiao. Her mouth opened and closed, as if she was about to say something.

And yet, without waiting for her to speak, Gu Xiqiao had the system display Ning Qing’s information in front of her. From the display, she got to know that Ning Qing had spent the first half of her life as an immoral person who had done some unscrupulous things just for the sake of achieving her goals. However, ever since coming under that man’s control, she had been toiling away day-and-night in the entertainment industry to no avail.

Nobody knew that Ning Qing was truly passionate about acting. Her dream was to one day, gain global recognition and to receive an academy award.

However, before this dream of hers comes true, she had already been beaten down by harsh reality.

After wiping her fingers clean, Gu Xiqiao chucked the dirty napkin into the bin before walking up to Ning Qing’s side. “Are you going to hand over your fate that easily? You have already been persisting for three years so why give up at the last moment?”

Ning Qing was wide-eyed upon hearing Gu Xiqiao’s words. How did this stranger know so much about herself? Without thinking too much, her mouth started moving on its own. “I’m not giving in. I had no other choice, believe me. I have been holding on for so many years now and I’m tired. If I don’t land a role in any movie, I won’t even have enough money for rent next month.”

For an unpopular actress like her, the company would never bother to provide free accommodation. Apart from the occasional minor roles she would be assigned to play, she worked part-time in order to continue supporting herself.

It wasn’t that she was giving in due to weakness but sometimes, it was hard to fight back against a sh*tty fate.

“Don’t forget your dreams Ning Qing. Believe in yourself. Continue marching on and one day, you will arrive where you once thought you would never be in life.” Gu Xiqiao said with a reassuring smile.

Ning Qing’s eyes unconsciously moved downwards at the real estate tycoon who was lying on the ground pathetically. Did it matter if she continued striving forward? She had already pissed off a big shot in her industry. The glow in her eyes slowly fizzled out. She feared the worst was about to come.

As if she could read what was going on in her mind, Gu Xiqiao reminded her, “It’s fine, this guy will forget about everything when he wakes up tomorrow. You should hurry back for now. Let’s make sure no one knows about this alright?”

Forget about everything when he wakes up tomorrow? What kind of a joke was this? A painful smile broke across Ning Qing’s face. Still, for some reason, that girl was convincing enough that she headed straight home without looking back.

When she woke up the next morning, Ning Qing was relieved to find that her call log was empty.

Unbeknownst to her, her life would soon be headed in a completely different direction.

***

Gu Xiqiao did not remain for long at the nightclub before going back to her dorm. Xixi remained perched on her shoulder. The lady guarding the female dorm did not mind the little bird as long as it did not roam around the place, threatening to bite the students.

Only Xu Jing was present in the room when she entered her unit.

“Hey! Welcome back!” Xu Jing was busy writing her report when Gu Xiqiao entered the room. A beaming smile appeared on her face the moment their eyes met. She had decided, from now on, she would treat Gu Xiqiao like her queen.

According to her, the news department she was working in had been treating her rather poorly. However, this changed the moment she brought her painting out. Her work had been so effective that when it was brought onto display, countless students had lined up to register for the event. The number of registrants was so high that it was two to three times higher than what the student council had initially estimated there to be. Because of this, more funds had been directed into her department.

Now, everyone treated her like a precious asset, including the leader of her department.

Xu Jing knew that the actions of a certain somebody was the reason why she was being treated so poorly by her department. Her head throbbed in pain when thinking about how she would continue her life in the student council. No matter how hard she thought about it, the only feasible solution was for her to resign from her position. Who would’ve thought that the tide would turn so suddenly in her favor.

And so, from time to time, she would sing praise for Gu Xiqiao in front of Bai Xinran, who could only react with stiff smiles. Pretending that she wasn’t aware of her disliking of Gu Xiqiao, Xu Jing made sure to annoy Bai Xinran as much as possible.

“Wow, what a pretty bird!” Xu Jing said while spinning her pen. She was surprised by how stunning the color of Xixi’s feathers were.

Playing the role of a parrot, Xixi cawed, “Beauty! Nice to meet you! Beauty! Nice to meet you!”

Xu Jing rushed over from her seat. “It called me a beauty! Wahaha! It called me a beauty! What a smart bird you got there! It won’t leave your shoulder will it? Does it have a name?”

“Xixi,” replied Gu Xiqiao as she sat down in front of her computer.

It took a while for Xu Jing to regain her senses. “Haha?” Something was off, she felt. “No, I’m asking about its name. What are you laughing at?”

Gu Xiqiao sighed. “I mean, it’s name is called Xixi.”

“Huh? Xixi?” Xu Jing’s mouth twitched. Looking at its luscious feathers, she asked, “You’re saying that you named this majestic-looking bird, Xixi?”

While waiting for her game to load, Gu Xiqiao said, “Yep, is there a problem with that?”

“No! Of course not!” Xu Jing returned to her table and continued writing her script. Still, how bad can her naming sense be?

Gu Xiqiao not playing games in her dorm room did not mean that she hated them. Waiting for her was the same little loli dressed in pink. She did not bring her helmet here so something felt missing while playing the game.

Bai Xinran and Sun Jiajia both looked over at Gu Xiqiao the moment they walked through the door. That girl, they thought, was like a phantom. She would disappear and reappear unannounced just as she did with this week. They rarely saw her on campus not to mention the fact that she had been absent from their dorm room throughout the entire week.

There were rules the freshmen staying in the dormitory had to follow. Evidently, Gu Xiqiao was acting outside of these rules. Whenever Sun Jiajia reported her deviant behavior to the student counselor, he would turn a blind eye.

“Are you talking about Gu Xiqiao? The one who scored near to full marks for every subject in her finals? I know her! Her brain operates like a supercomputer! What a legend. I bet you didn’t know that the lecturers would never forget to sing praise about her every time we meet. That she’s really smart and all.” Their interaction roughly went like this.

To her frustration, the counselor did not mind how Gu Xiqiao was breaching the rules. So what if she’s smart? Does being smart give someone the right to stay above the law? How could a counselor be so biased?!

To her, Gu Xiqiao was no genius. Sun Jiajia had never seen her flip open a book during their lectures.

‘Just wait till the exams arrive,’ she thought. ‘Then they’ll see that the top scholar is nothing compared to me!’

What Sun Jiajia did not know was that the counselor was scared of crossing Gu Xiqiao. This was the first time a person of such intelligence had ever studied at this university. Students who had achieved scores similar to hers had only been able to do so under some sort of privilege system. Gu Xiqiao on the other hand, achieved her near-perfect scores through her intelligence and sheer hard work. Because of this, every faculty in A University would not even hesitate before accepting her as a student.

The physics paper in the college entrance exam that she took was set by one of the physics professors from this university. It contained a question which he said no one would be able to solve but he included it regardless.

To his amazement, not only did someone answer the question correctly, she did so with unrivaled simplicity. The professor’s knees buckled when he scanned through Gu Xiqiao’s answer sheet. At that moment, he felt that she was the prophet sent down by God to spread the knowledge of physics.

It wasn’t only the physics professor who felt this. The dean of the Faculty of Mathematics too, felt that she was born to solve mathematical equations from how beautifully she solved the final question in the test.

A handful of professors from different departments went for each other’s throats in an argument of “which field Gu Xiqiao was most suited for”. In the end, she picked neither physics nor mathematics. She opted instead for medicine.

The Faculty of Medicine was excited to have her as their student since both her chemistry and biology scores were as high as they could ever get. Still, they weren’t sure whether her aptitude was suited for majoring in medicine. That night, a secret meeting was held by the leaders of the mathematics, physics, and medicine faculties of A University. They reached a unanimous decision that if she turns out to not be suited for medicine, the dean would allow her to pick between mathematics and physics.

In any case, the potential of a genius must be maximized.

The Faculty of Medicine was, in fact, extremely on edge about the thought of losing Gu Xiqiao. After all, they had agreed that a talent must not be wasted if she wasn’t as proficient in medicine than say, mathematics or physics.

However, it was just a week later that all of her professors started singing praise for Gu Xiqiao. Every professor would wear the same satisfied look after giving lectures to the class she was in. She was a master at all things related to human anatomy, as one of her professors noted.

Even the infamous Professor Jiang was impressed by Gu Xiqiao’s wits.

Considering how well she was faring in her current course, the mathematics and physics department did not make even a single squeak about Gu Xiqiao, what more to say of a little counselor like him? He feared that if he did so, she would just transfer into the Physics Department where there were fewer restrictions on their students. After all, it’s not unheard of for students to switch courses suddenly.

What the counselor did not know was that his words were reinforcing Sun Jiajia’s disapproval of Gu Xiqiao.

Sun Jiajia rolled her eyes upon seeing Gu Xiqiao gaming on her computer.

“You’re playing this game too? Come join Xinran’s party, she can also invite you into the guild at the same time.”

“Yeah, since we’re living together, it’ll be easier for us to complete quests,” added Bai Xinran.

“No thanks, I’ve got my own party already,” replied Gu Xiqiao.

Sun Jiajia scoffed. “Stop playing with those noobs and come join us, big league players. Do you know our party leader? He’s the second-best player in the game’s ranking system, Smoke On Water!”

Gu Xiqiao remained silent. Well, Smoke On Water was her party member after all. In fact, this guy had always been one step behind her ever since this game was officially launched.

Team For A Millenium: You guys focus on killing these low-tier monsters. I’m going to take a shower.

Team Brother Wu: Go on ahead! Now, let’s have some fun shall we?

Team Smoke on Water: Ok.

Team Whispering Winds: Then I’ll go offline for a while too. I have to do some laundry.

Team Merciless Sky: So only three of us are left to fight these guys?

***

Gu Xiqiao stood up from her desk. In an instant, Bai Xinran’s eyes caught sight of the bird that perched on her shoulder. “Wow, is that a parrot? It looks so pretty!”

“Yeah.” Gu Xiqiao nodded as she picked up her dirty clothes.

“I can’t believe how red its feathers are.” Sun Jiajia then curled her lips downwards. “How old-fashioned.”

Gu Xiqiao couldn’t bother with entertaining them. She went straight into the bathroom. Of course, Xixi was left outside the door.

“This bird must be really expensive.” Bai Xinran ogled at Xixi, who awaited Gu Xiqiao obediently on her desk. “I think it’s worth at least ten grand.”

“Ten grand?” Sun Jiajia’s jaw dropped. She looked over at the bird whose feathers shone underneath the fluorescent ceiling lights. Her family’s savings account had precisely that amount, ten grand. To think that Gu Xiqiao had spent so much money on this dumb bird. Then, her mind immediately went back to Jiang Shuxuan. “Perhaps her boyfriend bought her this bird?”

Bai Xinran stared silently at the bird.

The color on its feathers was so fascinating. This bird must be of the highest grade in the realm of pet birds. It must be difficult to procure, even if you had a huge amount of cash. Only a select few had the right to possess such a bird, she thought. After all, she had never seen such a bird before, despite how rich and influential her family was. Also, from her observation, it was extremely well-trained.

Apart from her boyfriend, who else could have given her this bird?

Xixi hopped around Gu Xiqiao’s desk when suddenly, a massive shadow was casted under its talons. Looking up, it was a massive hand that was far uglier than the mistress’ hands. How ugly, it thought. In fact, Xixi was so disgusted by that hand that it wanted to spew fire to burn it. Too bad, it needed to keep up the act as an innocent little bird.

Being the well-trained bird that it was, Xixi allowed Bai Xinran to pick it up without much resistance.

This all happened in silence so Xu Jing, who was busy writing her script did not see what was going on.

Xixi was horrified at how toxic this woman was.

‘F*ck, she’s digging her nails into my body! F*cking evil b*tch!’

It wanted to smack Bai Xinran away but quickly abandoned that foolish idea. For now, it would let her off. Still, the way she held it hurt a lot!

The look in Bai Xinran’s eyes grew darker and darker. She thought, ‘If I press any harder, it would die. It would die.’

In the next second, a hand came in and grabbed her wrist firmly. Shocked, she suddenly looked up to find that Gu Xiqiao was already out of the bathroom. Water dripped off her soaking wet hair and dribbled down her neck.

Slowly, Gu Xiqiao reached out to retrieve her precious Xixi. However, Bai Xinran’s grip did not loosen up as she had expected it to. Instead, it continued growing ever tighter until suddenly, Gu Xiqiao raised her arm and tossed the bird abuser aside like a heavy sack of potatoes.

Bai Xinran gritted her teeth and despite the pain, she crawled back onto her feet.

‘S-She! How dare she?!’

At a snail’s pace, Gu Xiqiao inched closer to Bai Xinran. With a hostile look on her face, she warned, “Bai Xinran, I am a very short-tempered person. The next time I catch you doing this crap, I will destroy your entire family.”