Chapter 251 - 250: The Drama-Eating Handsome Man

A torrent of colorful Crystal Stones, swept up by an invisible force, surged toward Jian Yu.

Half a meter away from her, a rain of Crystal Stones began to fall, hovering just above the ground.

Jian Yu noticed Zhang Qin and Lu Yi exchange a look. It was as if they had discovered something, yet at the same time, nothing at all.

Sheng Yue frowned, and Ji Shiyin narrowed his eyes.

The members of Team Six, including their supervising teacher, wore expressions of pure amazement and envy, tinged with a hint of jealousy.

Jian Yu lowered her eyes.

’It seems that besides Teacher Hu, I’m the only one who can see those smoke-like purple ribbons.’

The rain of Crystal Stones stopped.

Zhang Qin and the others bowed to the Silver Python.

Wang Hu said fawningly, "Thank you, Big Bro, for the Cloud-piercing Crystals."

Seeing there was no danger, they took out their bags and started gathering the Crystal Stones.

They were quick and nimble.

The cave entrance closed, and the Silver Python departed reluctantly.

As Jian Yu gathered Crystal Stones, she asked, "Why aren’t any of you the least bit surprised?"

No one answered her.

She turned to see that everyone had already finished and was off to the side, counting their haul of Crystal Stones.

Jian Yu: "..."

After hastily grabbing the last two Crystal Stones by her feet, she scurried over and obediently set down her bag.

Zhang Qin opened her bag and added its contents to the total count.

He glanced at Jian Yu, his heart softening. "You must be tired. Why don’t you take out a chair and rest for a bit?"

"It’s okay, I’m not tired." Jian Yu remained in a slight crouch, a palm-sized ball of fluff nestled on each of her shoulders.

Yin Jiu squinted its eyes contentedly.

The Little Flying Bear had flattened itself out completely.

The two Soul Beasts looked like little toys from a shop, perched as decorations on the shoulders of her dress.

Jian Yu’s wide eyes fixed on the Crystal Stones in their hands. "How many are there?"

Zhang Qin blushed and scratched his head. "Same as yesterday. Three hundred and twenty."

Jian Yu fell into thought.

’Three hundred and twenty. Once is a coincidence, but twice is a little...’

’Could it be an anniversary?’

’Like, March 20th?’

Jian Yu turned her head to look at Teacher Hu.

He still wore the same benevolent expression.

Teacher Hu’s voice was quiet. "Keep that Beast Plant safe."

Jian Yu nodded.

She glanced around. Just as she’d thought, no one else had heard Teacher Hu speak.

Lu Qi looked at the Crystal Block cradled in his hands and said softly, "The quantity is the same, but the Level of these Crystal Stones is even higher than the ones the Heavy Python gave us last time."

Lu Yi waved it off. "That’s to be expected. Among Heavy Pythons, Silver Pythons are naturally a higher Level than Black Pythons."

Zhao Jiangyou didn’t know much about this.

He voiced a question similar to Jian Yu’s. "Why is it giving us things?"

Zhang Ziyue corrected him sternly, "They were a gift for Jian Yu."

"I wasn’t trying to take them," Zhao Jiangyou mumbled, shrinking back and falling silent.

Zhang Ziwen tugged on his sister’s arm.

Zhang Ziyue clamped her mouth shut.

’Everyone says I’m too blunt. My younger sister says I’m prickly, but I don’t see it.’

’If I don’t realize there’s a problem, then it’s not my problem.’

Zhang Ziyue glanced at Zhao Jiangyou’s reddened eyes. Her gaze was cold and her tone stiff as she said, "I didn’t mean it like that."

Zhao Jiangyou pressed his lips together. "Yeah, I know."

Mu Yunzhou walked over with a smile. "Heavy Pythons are a type of Primordial Beast. Humans and Primordial Beasts generally keep to themselves and don’t interfere with one another."

His gaze fell on the Crystal Stone that Wang Hu was tossing in his hand. "Primordial Beasts are quite sentient. If they encounter a human they don’t dislike, they might offer a gift. Most of the time, it’s a Beast Plant."

Jian Yu, still hugging her knees, looked up at him.

’It seems more polite to look at people when they’re talking.’

And then... Mu Yunzhou froze mid-sentence.

His eyes flickered as he stared, openly appraising Jian Yu.

She wore a long cyan dress, looking like a freshly sprouted bamboo shoot. Her eyes were large and bright, her dark pupils shining with a lucid clarity.

Her arms were wrapped around her knees, her head tilted slightly. Loose strands of hair escaped her hairdo, swaying gently in the breeze.

She looked as docile as the Little Flying Bear on her shoulder. It felt as if a gentle touch would cause her to melt away like a soft mochi ball.

Mu Yunzhou’s gaze drifted away, the tips of his ears turning red as he averted his eyes.

Sheng Yue subtly shifted to block his view.

Mu Yunzhou composed himself, trying his best not to reveal the dazed look of a hardcore fan.

At their school, people’s feelings about Jian Yu were polarized: those who liked her were utterly infatuated, while those who didn’t, despised her with a passion.

The members of Team Six had waited for so long, only to end up with nothing.

Someone from their group looked over resentfully, their tone ambiguous. "We can’t control who the Primordial Beast gives its gifts to, but we were the ones who told them there was something valuable here. Shouldn’t we get a share?"

The speaker’s face was covered in dark pockmarks.

His tone was disdainful. "Some ’soothing and healing Soul Beast’? It was just a coincidence."

He was a third-year and had seen his fair share of the world.

"Don’t be so naive. Her whole image is manufactured, just like some movie star’s. This whole ’pure and innocent’ act? It’s all fake."

’So that’s it,’ Jian Yu realized. ’It’s not that my reputation is small, it’s that it’s fake.’

’No one actually believes it!’

Jian Yu stood up. "What are you getting at?"

"We split everything, fifty-fifty," the pockmarked man said defiantly. "We were originally going to wait for the president. If you all hadn’t come here with him, all of this would’ve been ours!"

Jian Yu let out a soft "Oh," before adding, "How shameless."

Her voice was soft, robbing the word of any real sting.

The pockmarked man stepped forward angrily, ready to argue his case.

Jian Yu’s fingers twitched.

But before she could make a move...

...the Red Earring Senior Sister next to him turned around, her face a mask of disgust.

Though the Red Earring Senior Sister was also green with envy, she wasn’t about to be so shameless.

’If they were from a different academy, whatever. Fighting over resources is normal.’

’But everyone here is a student from the same academy.’

The Red Earring Senior Sister lifted her leg and delivered a swift, hard kick. "If you had the guts to take them, would you have waited until now? You’re just a Monday-morning quarterback, spewing sour grapes. Being on the same team as you is utterly humiliating."

Her long leg was imbued with spiritual power. The pockmarked man couldn’t block it and was sent tumbling to the ground.

He scrambled up, grinding his teeth in fury. "If the president had been here, I would’ve charged in! You think I’m a coward like you? Fucking coward! It’s because you and Mu Yunzhou were too scared to go that we had no choice but to wait with you!"

Mu Yunzhou frowned.

’How did I get dragged into this?’

’Didn’t we all agree on this last night?’

Infighting.

The members of Team 6 all started talking at once, and the discussion quickly devolved into a noisy argument.

The pockmarked man argued that instead of waiting for the Silver Python’s handout, they should have attacked. With the president there, he would’ve dared to fight, even if it meant mutual destruction.

The others countered that Primordial Beasts give gifts based on their mood and whim. Not just anyone could receive one, not even the president. If they had actually fought, it would have been a total party kill, not mutual destruction.

Jian Yu couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

Ji Shiyin held out his hand. "Want some?"

Jian Yu glanced down and saw he was offering her sunflower seeds.

She looked at Ji Shiyin, her expression complicated.

In that instant, the idealized filter through which she viewed him shattered once more, breaking into at least seven or eight pieces.

The beautiful, fragile man was cracking sunflower seeds while watching the drama unfold.

And... he was even inviting her to join in.

’He’s way too down-to-earth. This isn’t helping me maintain my Little Fairy image at all.’