Chapter 25
Chapter 25: You Smell Like Her Perfume~
“Who knows?” Qian Qi said lightly. “Perverts don’t even spare little boys.”
She leaned into it, pointing at Chen Tong like she was presenting evidence. “Don’t deny it. Everyone saw. Tell me—didn’t he grab my arm in public and refuse to let go? Didn’t he keep pestering me?”
The students exchanged looks, then coughed awkwardly and nodded.
“Uh… yeah. That did happen…”
“And he accused big shot Qian Qi of attempted murder and said she was trying to run.”
“Big shot is that confident in her hemostatic medicine. Why would she run?”
“Exactly. And I saw him trying to sneak off just now!”
“Damn, what’s his problem? Does he have a grudge against big shot?”
“I think he’s brain-dead. If it were me, I’d be worshipping her.”
The crowd piled on with frightening speed.
The shooting instructor’s expression darkened. She turned to Chen Tong. “Student, what’s your name? What class are you in?”
Chen Tong glared at Qian Qi.
Qian Qi lifted her leg and kicked his shin—not hard enough to break anything, just enough to make a point. “Teacher asked you a question. Do you know how to respect a teacher?”
Chen Tong breathed through his nose like an angry bull. “Chen Tong. Magic Beast Department, class 207.”
“Fine,” the instructor said coldly. “You and this classmate—come with me to the Magic Beast Department.”
She wasn’t their direct instructor. This mess belonged with their own department.
Then she looked at Qian Qi. “And you—what class are you in?”
Qian Qi immediately waved her hands, all innocence and restraint. “Teacher, let’s not make it a big deal. I’m sure this senior already knows he was wrong.”
Her grip tightened on Chen Tong’s arm. She flashed him a polite, fake smile. “Right, senior?”
Chen Tong didn’t know what she was playing at. Something about this newly “amnesiac” Qian Qi felt slicker, harder to handle.
But since she seemed willing to keep it small, he snorted. “Right.”
“Really?” The instructor looked surprised. “If you don’t mind, then—”
“Oh, no,” Qian Qi said brightly. “I mind.”
She smiled like a saint. “But if this senior apologizes on the spot, then I won’t mind anymore.”
She watched Chen Tong’s face with gleeful patience.
Someone like him—pride stitched into every nerve—would rather swallow nails than apologize in public.
Sure enough, his whole body started trembling.
“Qian—Qi!”
“Mm?” Qian Qi cupped a hand to her ear. “I’m listening~”
Chen Tong’s jaw clenched so hard it looked painful. Under the instructor’s stern stare, he finally forced it out. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have misunderstood you…”
Qian Qi tilted her head. “Sorry to who?”
Chen Tong’s eyes practically bled rage. “…Sorry, Qian Qi… junior.”
He bit down hard on the word junior, like he was trying to prove he wasn’t some kind of freak.
Qian Qi let out a small laugh. “It’s fine. I’ll forgive you this time.”
Just this time.
She turned back to the instructor, all considerate again. “Teacher, since he apologized, you should go check on classmate Wang. His safety matters more.”
The instructor hesitated—then nodded, visibly pleased. “All right. Since you say it’s fine, I won’t interfere any further.”
Qian Qi smiled sweetly. “Okay, teacher. Take care~”
The moment the instructor walked away, Qian Qi turned back.
Chen Tong’s face was storm-dark, humiliation burning through him. He leaned in just enough for his voice to turn sharp and nasty. “Don’t get cocky, Qian Qi. Just you wait.”
Wait?
Qian Qi’s grin widened into something theatrical and unsettling.
Why wait?
She lowered her head and spat—twice—into her palms. Then she rubbed her hands together like she was warming up for a game.
The original owner used to beat this bastard until he cried for his parents.
Now she wanted to see if she could do the same.
Come on.
An hour later, the office building.
Mo Yin Qiu stared at Qian Qi—hair wrecked into a bird’s nest, expression so innocent it was offensive—and dragged a hand down her face.
“Qian Qi,” she said through her teeth. “Didn’t I tell you last time? Hurt someone again and you’ll be expelled.”
Qian Qi stared down at her own toes like a scolded kid. “He threatened me first.”
Across from them, Gu Li Heng—the second-year instructor from the Magic Beast Department—looked at Chen Tong, who had red eyes and a face full of grievance, and rubbed his own forehead like he was developing a headache in real time.
How did Chen Tong never learn?
He knew he couldn’t beat Qian Qi, yet he still kept provoking her.
And then he lost.
And then he came to complain.
The audacity was almost impressive.
Gu Li Heng cleared his throat and turned to Mo Yin Qiu with a smile that tried desperately to be charming. “Teacher Mo… what do you think we should do?”
“Whatever,” Mo Yin Qiu said flatly. “See if they’re willing to reconcile.”
“I’m not willing!” Chen Tong snapped the instant he heard the word. “Qian Qi’s character is rotten! A student like her will only ruin the school’s reputation. She should be expelled!”
He wasn’t just angry. He was feral.
If he could get her kicked out, he could hire people and finish her off outside campus. Clean. Easy.
She was an orphan. If she died, who would even care?
Except Mo Yin Qiu wasn’t buying any of it.
At Awakeners University, fistfights were practically legal. In a world crawling with magic creatures, people were expected to toughen up. The last time she’d threatened expulsion, it wasn’t because Qian Qi fought—it was because Qian Qi had destroyed a student’s assignment and then fought them. That was a different level of mess.
This time… it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t catastrophic either.
And yesterday, the principal had called Mo Yin Qiu in. Not subtly, either. The principal had made it clear he was interested in Qian Qi—and wanted Mo Yin Qiu to pay attention to what she was doing, where she was going, and how her studies were going.
So expulsion?
Not happening.
“Of course I’m willing to reconcile,” Qian Qi said, still wearing that painfully innocent face. Then she turned to Chen Tong with a polite little tilt of her head. “Senior Chen Tong, what about you?”
Chen Tong sneered. She won, so of course she wanted peace.
But him?
He’d been humiliated so hard it felt like it echoed all the way into the Skills Department.
“If you don’t want to reconcile, that’s fine,” Qian Qi said, utterly casual. “Tomorrow I’ll go to your dorm and make sure every guy in the Magic Beast Department knows you lost a fight to me. Also, your pants got ‘accidentally’ yanked down, and everyone saw your cartoon frog underwear.”
Chen Tong’s eyes went bloodshot.
Mo Yin Qiu pressed her lips together and coughed, clearly fighting the urge to laugh.
Gu Li Heng leaned toward Chen Tong, voice gentle like he was calming a cornered animal. “Chen Tong… you don’t want her to do that, right?”
Chen Tong almost screamed.
[I’m the one getting bullied here!]
But he also knew the truth: he’d started it. He’d accused her first. He’d thrown hands too. He wasn’t exactly a victim.
Qian Qi smiled again—big, fake, generous. “Senior Chen Tong~ Let’s end it here. You know, I know, the instructor knows. Nobody else has to know.”
[Bullshit.]
Chen Tong’s nails dug into his palms. Half the Duel Square had seen it. And the campus forum would eat this alive.
He wanted to strangle her.
But between Mo Yin Qiu and Gu Li Heng’s attitudes, he understood it: there was no way she was getting expelled.
So he swallowed down the murder boiling in his throat and forced out, “Fine. I accept reconciliation.”
He could wait.
He was good at waiting.
Chen Tong stalked out of the office, fists clenched, face like thunder.
Qian Qi watched him go, rubbing her chin with slow, thoughtful satisfaction.
So that was it.
No wonder Chen Miao Miao had suddenly gotten brave enough to bark at her—she’d been leaning on Chen Tong as a shield.
From the moment Chen Tong appeared, Qian Qi had caught that same cheap perfume on him. The same one Chen Miao Miao reeked of. And the way he kept assuming she’d forgotten everything only made it clearer: the two of them were connected.
The original owner’s death back then…
Chen Tong probably had a hand in it.
And wow, his perfume was strong. How close did he have to get to pick up that much?
Also, during the fight, his strength felt weaker than before. Like he’d used himself up somewhere else first.
Which was… interesting, considering she vaguely remembered Senior Chen Tong having an official girlfriend.
Qian Qi’s smile turned sly.
[Oh, this is going to be fun.]