Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Shocking! A Gorgeous Teen Girl and a D Level Contract Beast, Love and War?

When Qian Qi returned to the dorm, she found Classmate Miao Miao sprawled on her bed, her arms and legs wrapped with layers of medical bandages.

“Classmate Miao Miao!” Qian Qi cried as she dove onto the bed and hugged her, face full of worry, and said: “How did you end up like this? Who bullied you? Tell me, I’ll get revenge for you!”

[How could anyone rough up my backup Little Qian wallet like this? Now I’ll feel bad asking Miao Miao to treat me to dinner.]

Chen Miao Miao’s eye twitched. Faced with this crazy woman, she was full of speechless annoyance. [Who bullied me? Who else but that awful Qian Qi!]

She had worked hard to sneak into the office and find Qian Qi’s Magiplant application form. She thought she had gotten the recipe for the potion’s raw materials. But to her shock, Qian Qi had applied for as many as thirty kinds of Magiplants. After asking around, she learned that Qian Qi had signed contracts with classmates: if she cured their Magiplants and helped them finish their lab reports, they would give her the remaining seed quota.

And Qian Qi really did cure them.

Miao Miao still held a small hope that all those Magiplants were ingredients for the Hemostatic Potion. She even had the nerve to ask every classmate for advice and took careful notes on how to plant and treat each Magiplant. But many accidents happened during planting. She almost got bitten to death by a Magiplant. Because she had to tend so many plants, days and nights blurred together. She grew pale and skinny, dark circles bloomed under her eyes, and when she finally went to a hotel with Senior Chen, she fell asleep before anything even started.

In the end she had to swallow her pride and use the finished plants her classmates had grown. But even then, when she tried to mix the potion in the lab, she almost blew herself up and ruined her face.

She had worked herself to the bone and got nothing. All she had left were scars on her body and in her heart.

And it was all Qian Qi’s fault.

Now, she didn’t believe there was any real recipe at all. The Hemostatic Potion had to be something Qian Qi bought from outside. The application forms and all that were just a smokescreen.

“Let me go,” Chen Miao Miao hissed through clenched teeth.

“Oh no, sorry, did I hurt you?” Qian Qi quickly let go, then shook her head at the sight and said: “I was going to invite you to the betting match with Senior Chen the day after tomorrow, but seeing you like this, you probably can’t even get out of bed.”

Chen Miao Miao’s heart lurched. She stared at Qian Qi and asked: “You and Senior Chen Tong? What did you bet on?”

“Hmm? I only said Senior Chen,” Qian Qi said with a thoughtful rub of her chin, then asked: “Classmate Miao Miao, I didn’t say Senior Chen Tong.”

Bad. Chen Miao Miao scrambled to cover and said: “I, you said his surname is Chen, so I could only think of Chen Tong. Besides, if you hadn’t fought him, I wouldn’t even know who he is…”

“Oh, I see,” Qian Qi said, choosing to believe the poor, unloved Classmate Miao Miao. “Alright then, rest up. I won’t bother you.” She turned and went back to her own bed.

Chen Miao Miao froze. [What? You’re just leaving? What exactly did you bet with Senior Chen Tong?]

But Qian Qi was done talking. She sat on her bed, happily opened her newest Light-Brain, and a few minutes later she chuckled.

“Wow, Senior Chen is funny,” she said, giggling again and again, and added: “Why is he rushing to give me money?” Then she tsked and said: “I should treat Senior Chen better,” and finally cooed: “What a silly sweetheart.”

Those vague words made Chen Miao Miao snap to high alert. Afraid Qian Qi was about to block every path she had left, Miao Miao yanked up her Light-Brain and shot a message straight at Chen Tong.

She typed: “[Miao Miao Works Hard]: Senior, are you teaming up with Qian Qi?!”

A reply popped almost at once: “[Chen Tong Is Not Sorrowful]: ?? Are you out of your mind?”

She blinked at the screen and typed: “[Miao Miao Works Hard]: ??”

Why did Senior Chen Tong call her crazy? Sure, Qian Qi was scary when she got mad, but when she wasn’t smiling, she was really pretty. More important, she could get the Hemostasis Potion, which made so much money. Who wouldn’t be jealous?

Chen Miao Miao didn’t believe Chen Tong wasn’t jealous. Maybe he would swallow his pride and use charm and cash to tempt Qian Qi. He had once lowered himself to team up with her to get rid of Qian Qi. Now he could lower himself to team up with Qian Qi to get rid of her.

After all, she had slept with Chen Tong for half a year. She knew him well. His heart wasn’t much cleaner than hers.

[What if Chen Tong gets drunk on profit, teams up with Qian Qi, and takes me out first? Or takes me out, then takes her out?]

The more she thought about it, the more sure she became that Qian Qi’s words were a warning. Qian Qi had probably already learned everything from Chen Tong and had rushed back to scare her.

No way. The day after tomorrow, she had to go in person and see what those two were plotting.

While Chen Miao Miao’s mind spun in chaos, Qian Qi’s mood was smooth and bright. She tapped her fingers on her Light-Brain and opened the Awakener University forum.

The hottest topic at the top was the Hemostasis Potion, which had been boiling for days. She clicked in and saw many students reselling the potion, with prices climbing higher and higher.

“Wow, these students do have a head for business,” she said with a grin. But she wasn’t here for that.

She changed her forum nickname, then posted under the main thread: “Shocking! Qian Qi sets a bet and will face a D level Contract Beast in a life and death duel?”

The post drew a flood of attention at once. Replies stacked up fast: “Whoa, going that wild? A life and death duel with a D level Contract Beast? Does she want to die?”, “That’s D level. Even a graduating D level senior might not win, right?”, “You’re missing the point. Where is the duel? I want to watch!”, “Me too!”

Seeing the heat rising, Qian Qi smiled and added a comment: “The day after tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., Beast Taming plaza. See you there.”

“Thanks, Brother Dong Fang, I’ll be there,” someone wrote. Another joked: “Bring umbrellas, there will be blood.”

She nudged the crowd again and wrote: “Not necessarily. I hear this duel is to test Qian Qi’s new medicine: Defense Fruit.”

“What new medicine? What did I miss? Tell us!” the thread exploded.

Qian Qi’s fingers danced. She fired off a stream of shiny, flowery Defense Fruit marketing lines. When the thread reached a good boil, she slipped out of the Hemostasis Potion topic with a sly smile and flexed her knuckles.

Just pushing one hot topic wasn’t enough.

She would sweep the whole forum.

Following the list by topic heat, she dove into other trending threads and boosted the hype.

Under “#Who is your campus beauty or hunk?” she posted: “Breaking! A gorgeous teen girl and a D level Contract Beast, love and war. Want details? Come to Beast Taming plaza at 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow!”

Under “#Is the principal actually bald?” she wrote: “Principal shocked bald! An ordinary student plans to face a D level Contract Beast? He will rush to Beast Taming plaza at 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow to stop a tragic fate!”

Under the hot thread “#Which combos of Awakener skills are the strongest?” she swaggered: “I’ll be blunt. Your combos are trash. If you disagree, come debate me at Beast Taming plaza at 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow. I’ll show you what real power looks like.”

She didn’t spare the cold topics either.

Under “#When will the school give out free hoverboards?” she teased: “It’s going viral! The miracle item everyone wants will be sold at Beast Taming plaza at 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow!”

Under “#Whose feet smell the worst on campus?” she quipped: “Official notice! At 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow, the best-smelling feet on campus will bet against the worst-smelling feet! Come to Beast Taming plaza to learn whose feet truly stink!”

For almost the whole night, Qian Qi dashed around the forum, leaving comments and fanning the flames, guiding Awakener University’s students to focus on the coming Contract Beast showdown.