At dusk, two beautiful female cultivators walked arm in arm along the commercial street adjacent to Wuyue Advanced Middle School.
One of them was obviously prettier, to the extent that even the surrounding vendors recognized her.
"Lin Yao, my tropical fruits are half off today. If you want to buy, I'll definitely give you an even better price," the fruit vendor said enthusiastically.
Lin Yao waved her hands in a flattered manner, her pure and stunning face showing a clear sense of apology as she bowed slightly to the vendor, saying politely and without losing her grace, "Thank you, but I don't feel like eating fruit right now, sorry."
An unnoticeable flush appeared on the vendor's dark face.
His heart started beating faster, unsure if it was because Lin Yao had spoken to him.
After a brief daze, the usually straightforward vendor bashfully said, "Ah, no problem, no problem. You don't need to worry about it."
The scene of Lin Yao talking to the vendor was witnessed by many on the commercial street.
Some were amused by the vendor's reaction, while others were astounded by Lin Yao's beauty.
Among all the eyes on Lin Yao, only the one by her side was the most complicated.
That gaze belonged to Tang Qian, Lin Yao's classmate, filled mostly with envy, and the rest with reluctance and jealousy.
In junior high school, Tang Qian was the prettiest girl in class, even in the entire school, with admirers lining up from the classroom door all the way to the sports field.
However, in high school, all the attention that used to be on her was now wholly taken by this female cultivator named Lin Yao by her side.
Everyone only cared about Lin Yao's thoughts, no one paid any attention to her opinions.
But these were not the things that made Tang Qian the most reluctant.
What truly vexed Tang Qian was that even when she herself faced Lin Yao, the thought of "She's so beautiful, much more than me, no wonder everyone likes her" would inevitably rise in her heart.
For a long time, a sense of powerlessness surrounded Tang Qian, as if the whole world was telling her that she was just a nameless female classmate beside Lin Yao. Until three days ago, Zhou Yiwen, Lin Yao's former pursuer, confessed his love for her.
Zhou Yiwen was the son of a mysterious wealthy businessman from Wuyue City.
Even among the illustrious Wuyue Advanced Middle School, Zhou Yiwen was one of the most outstanding male cultivators.
Previously proud and never engaged in romances, Tang Qian this time agreed without hesitation to Zhou Yiwen's confession.
Tang Qian didn't actually like Zhou Yiwen, but his choice to give up on Lin Yao and turn to her meant she couldn't be much worse than Lin Yao. After all, taking something from Lin Yao's hands wasn't something just any female cultivator could do. If it meant overshadowing Lin Yao, even if it meant marrying Zhou Yiwen and becoming his cultivation partner in the end, Tang Qian didn't care.
"Yaoyao, we've been shopping for so long, how about we find a restaurant and have a meal? I'll treat today. Did you know, half of this commercial street belongs to Yiwen's family... Yiwen..."
Yiwen?
Who is that?
Is it Zhou Yiwen?
Zhou Yiwen...
Lin Yao's mind gradually recalled what Zhou Yiwen looked like.
It was around the second term of the first year of high school that Zhou Yiwen began to appear frequently in Lin Yao's sight.
Lin Yao naturally understood the intentions of this guy, or rather, before Jiang Cheng appeared, she understood the thoughts of all male cultivators who hovered around her.
Lin Yao didn't point it out, watching Zhou Yiwen float through until the second year and finally mustered the courage to confess to her.
"I'm sorry, I don't like you, you're a good person, but I just want to be friends with you,"
Facing Zhou Yiwen, Lin Yao couldn't even be bothered to make up an excuse, she directly rejected him with the formulaic Good Person Card.
In the third year, Zhou Yiwen confessed twice more and, unsurprisingly, was rejected by Lin Yao again.
Still, sometimes Lin Yao would take the time to reply to the messages Zhou Yiwen sent her.
In the words of Lin Yao's best friend Zhao Qin, Lin Yao was neither after money nor affection; she simply enjoyed the feeling of being liked and the attention.
When Zhou Yiwen got tired, Lin Yao would encourage him appropriately.
But she would never give him any real chance or advantage.
She was like a mirage in the hearts of male cultivators, forever beautiful, forever out of reach.
The turning point occurred on June 12th.
On this day, Jiang Cheng confessed his love to Lin Yao.
Lin Yao had to admit, Jiang Cheng was impressive and completely different from any other male cultivator she had met before.
Jiang Cheng was an extremely skilled Cultivator at disguise, and he was very capable of enduring in silence.
He could maintain the guise of an honest Cultivator for a long time in order to numb his own vigilance. He could even suppress his affection in front of himself and exhibit feelings of disgust.
So skilled he hardly seemed human.
Compared to Jiang Cheng, other male Cultivators, whom he could manipulate at will, were simply as naive as three-year-old children.
The admiration of a three-year-old could no longer arouse even the slightest interest in Lin Yao now.
All she could think about was Jiang Cheng!
She must make Jiang Cheng fall at the hem of her skirt, willingly confessing his affection and admiration for her. Then, looking down from above, she would grant Jiang Cheng some attention and cruelly play with his emotions!
As for Zhou Yiwen, it seemed he had sent too many messages and was cursed by her one night.
Lin Yao couldn't remember exactly which day she had cursed at Zhou Yiwen, probably the 13th or 14th. Surprisingly, after she scolded him, he ended up pairing with Tang Qian.
In the past, Lin Yao would likely have used some strategy to make Zhou Yiwen come back to her of his own accord. But now, she felt that such casual, naive feelings weren't worth fighting for at all.
Let Tang Qian have him if she likes him.
As long as she has Jiang Cheng...
"Yaoyao, shall we eat at this barbecue place? Yiwen has a gold membership here; we could get a private room..."
Tang Qian's words interrupted Lin Yao's thoughts.
Lin Yao breathed a sigh of relief, temporarily banishing Jiang Cheng from her mind.
She smiled faintly, indifferently saying, "I'm okay with anything, you decide."
A cold sneer formed in Tang Qian's heart: Hah, "okay with anything," she's just jealous that I have Yiwen and is forcing a smile here. Lin Yao, Lin Yao, I didn't expect you to have this day!
Without exposing her thoughts, Tang Qian affectionately took Lin Yao's arm and walked into the barbecue restaurant.
But unexpectedly, just as she entered the restaurant, a waiter slapped her in the face.
The waiter directly ignored Tang Qian, turned to Lin Yao, and asked, "Hello, how many?"
Lin Yao replied with a smile and poise, "Hello, just the two of us."
With her teeth tightly clenched, Tang Qian still smiled and said, "I'd like to use my boyfriend's gold card to reserve a private room."
The alert waiter asked, "May I ask who your boyfriend is..."
Proudly glancing at Lin Yao, Tang Qian noticed that Lin Yao wasn't paying attention to this side at all and was instead looking into the distance.
Following her gaze, Tang Qian saw that Lin Yao was looking at a male Cultivator.
She seemed to recognize the Cultivator; he appeared to be from the class next door, and while handsome and sunny, he certainly wasn't as well-connected as Zhou Yiwen.
"Tang Qian, why don't we just eat in the hall? There are so many free tables," Lin Yao took the initiative to say.
"Ah? Well..."
Before Tang Qian could say anything more, Lin Yao took the lead and said to the waiter, "Let's just eat in the hall. Tang Qian, let's find a seat."
...
Jiang Cheng was now sitting on pins and needles.
What was Lin Yao, this Enchantress, doing appearing near the school for no reason?
The person by her side looked like Tang Qian. Is she Lin Yao's classmate?
Wuyue Advanced Middle School's senior year consisted of nine classes.
Jiang Cheng was in Class Three, Lin Yao in Class Four.
Classes Three and Four were taught by the same teacher, so Jiang Cheng and Lin Yao were considered fellow disciples but not classmates.
"Old Jiang, why aren't you eating?"
Cao Wang's voice came from across Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng glanced at Lin Yao and Tang Qian, who were not far behind Cao Wang, and said cautiously:
"Eat quickly; this is not a place to stay for long."