Chapter 14: The Magical Store (Part 3)
Yin energy is a great tonic for ghosts and spirits.
The reason Qi An had been plagued by misfortune throughout his past life was because this thick yin energy had attracted the attention of ghosts and spirits.
In their eyes, he was always the most special existence.
Both the same kind yet also different.
Like a gift meticulously crafted by God just for them.
They wanted to completely destroy him, yet couldn't bear to do so.
The class bell rang on schedule. The teacher neatly picked up the book from the podium and walked out of the classroom. The student on duty went up to erase the chalkboard. Without exception, the new students were surrounded by enthusiastic classmates.
It wasn't just about seeing the new classmates, but more importantly wanting to make a good impression on them.
Since Class F had mostly male students, the crowd gathered around Ji Xiaoyu was particularly large. The smiling, radiant girl had crescent-shaped eyes, and her warm and generous nature helped her quickly blend in with everyone around her.
The male students orbited around her like stars around the moon, filling the entire classroom with laughter and joy.
"Pei Ying's position as class belle might not be safe anymore." A girl who had edged closer to Qi An spoke with a mocking tone.
There was jealousy in her words, and resentment, but mostly a sense of malicious satisfaction.
Qi An looked up at her. The girl speaking was quite pretty, with a neat bob cut and thick soft bangs covering her forehead. Though she stood beside Qi An, her attention wasn't on him at all—her eyes were locked死死地盯着季小雨.
If it weren't for how vicious her gaze had become, drawing too much attention, her eye shape would have been quite beautiful.
Inky and bright, rotating灵动地, so clever.
"Don't keep picking on Pei Ying like that?" A boy nearby overheard and retorted irritably. "What did she ever do to you? Why won't you let it go?"
"What exactly do you mean by that?" The girl was stung like by something, slamming her hand on Qi An's desk hard enough to make the books inside rattle. "How have I been targeting her?"
"Hmph, if you ask me, you're just jealous that she's pretty and think she stole your spot as class belle." The boy's eyes carried disdain, his words utterly merciless. "We've told you so many times—Pei Ying became class belle through a unanimous vote by us guys. We prefer girls who have both inner and outer beauty, not someone with a venomous heart like yours."
Those words stabbed the girl right in the heart. Her grip on the desk tightened more and more, and beneath the pale, translucent skin of her hand's back, the veins began to bulge slightly.
Their conversation hadn't been hushed at all.
The boys gathered around Ji Xiaoyu had all turned their heads as well, though they seemed to be on the speaking boy's side, all of them looking unfriendly, their gazes toward the girl carrying varying degrees of contempt.
Most of the girls chose to be bystanders, with only a few walking over to the girl's side to clash with the boys.
"Tch, easy for you to talk nice now, my heart is venomous?" The girl laughed coldly. "Back then, weren't you all the same? Every single one of you—was there even one person who stood on Pei Ying's side?"
Her voice was sharp and piercing, completely drowning out the boys' rebuttals. "As for Pei Ying... let's just see how much longer she can enjoy herself."
By the end, her eyes had already turned dark and murky.
Like they had been heavily涂抹 with thick layers of ink and color.
Qi An watched the girl's furious retreating back with a complicated expression. Just as he was about to look away, his expression suddenly changed—his gaze focused on the girl's feet, where he noticed a faint wisp of black energy creeping upward.
Very tiny, very hidden.
If it hadn't been for the girl wearing a pair of dazzlingly white leather shoes, even Qi An might have overlooked it.
Something might be hiding inside this bright, spacious classroom.
Cowering in a filthy corner,瞪着大大的眼睛, gazing maliciously at this group of lively, lovely students.
Waiting for just a crack to appear.
It'll seize the opportunity to slip in, corroding your heart.
Dragging you into darkness.
When the bell for the next class rang, whether it was the classmates chatting enthusiastically or the ones sitting at their desks sulking, everyone obediently returned to their seats.
Qi An glanced at his deskmate, fished out a matching book from inside the desk, placed it on top, and continued to watch the teacher quietly.
His body appeared too frail, so the teacher called on students according to the seating chart. All the others were called by name, but Qi An was deliberately skipped over.
"Pei Ying."
The tall, thin teacher standing at the podium pointed to a math problem on the blackboard. Dissatisfied that the previous students couldn't figure out the approach, he called out the name of a student he thought could solve it.
Rising to her feet was a girl of average height.
She wore a neat ponytail, her eyes hidden beneath her delicate bangs as quiet as ink-wash painting. Very obediently and steadily, she walked to the front of the blackboard, took the chalk the teacher handed her, and began writing out the calculation process stroke by stroke beneath the problem.
几乎没有停顿。
Like flowing water, she finished more than half the blackboard.
The teacher watched her with relief. The male classmates below erupted in consistent praise.
Pei Ying looked a bit embarrassed, shyly pursing her lips.
Because the classroom was somewhat dark, they had turned on the lights.
This white light fell on Pei Ying's face, standing right in the center of the podium. Her face was beautiful, every feature perfectly proportioned. Anyone seeing her for the first time would genuinely admire her beauty—even competing with Ji Xiaoyu, she could稳稳地坐班花宝座.
The only slight flaw was.
Under the light's refraction, her skin was too deathly pale.
Not the kind of white that made Qi An seem fragile enough to evoke心疼.
But rather the pallid white of something涂抹劣质颜料的, like the white chalk in her hand—as if with just a light touch, crude and shabby powder would flake off.
Qi An gazed thoughtfully at Pei Ying, who was smiling shyly up on the platform.
The math teacher patted her arm encouragingly and gestured for her to return to her seat.
Qi An's gaze followed her steps.
He didn't have to worry about being noticed by Pei Ying, because Qi An noticed many boys in the class had cast their gazes toward her.
These gazes came from every direction.
Once Pei Ying returned to her seat, she continued listening attentively, her eyes never leaving the teacher. Qi An raised an eyebrow, pausing briefly on her slightly hunched shoulders.
This girl, cherished so carefully by all the boys in class, seemed to lack security.
Either overly sensitive, or self-abasing.
At that moment, Zhang Zhaoqi also twisted his head around from the diagonal front row. His ink-dark eyes静静地看着 Qi An. Because of his intensely present gaze, Qi An couldn't help but turn to look at him—only to find Zhang Zhaoqi had already turned his head coldly away to listen to the lecture.
"..."
"Do you like Pei Ying?" Deskmate Fang Delian had been watching Qi An's actions all along. Seeing that he hadn't looked away from Pei Ying since laying eyes on her, he couldn't resist asking.
But because of his personality issues, when he spoke there was still a clear sense of inferiority. Though phrased as a question, he delivered it with absolutely no force.
Qi An turned his head to look at him, revealing a perfectly contoured neck line.
His gaze lingered on the pupils hidden behind the large black-framed glasses. Instead of answering his question directly, Qi An gave a non-answer: "She's very beautiful."
Very beautiful.
When a boy says another girl is very beautiful, what could that possibly mean?
Fang Delian didn't speak for a long time. Only after a long while did he say,压抑着声音: "Indeed, she's very beautiful."
"But... she didn't used to look like this before..."
"Why did she, so suddenly, just become beautiful?"
Hearing this somewhat扭曲的声音, Qi An's expression stirred. He thought of the plot introduction for this mission.
The magical store.
It's said you can complete exchanges with the shopkeeper.
Pei Ying—surely is a key figure.
Yunhua High School was an institution where students could either commute or board. Upon their arrival, the guidance counselor had asked about their preferences. To better understand the academy, everyone except Zhao Qizhu chose to board.
Since they had no luggage, they agreed to stop at a nearby store to buy daily necessities before heading to the dormitory.
However, before that, Ji Xiaoyu proactively offered to escort the loli Zhao Qizhu to her lodging.
Once all the matters were taken care of, the several of them went to the dormitory. Possibly because they were transfer students, Qi An and Zhang Zhaoqi were assigned to the same dorm—a three-person room, Room 602.
The other permanent roommate wasn't here tonight, but had left a note on the table welcoming their arrival.
Qi An lay on the soft bed, his gaze drifting toward the window.
Faint stars hung in the endless night sky. The students of this high school had gradually sunk into sleep, but tonight, someone was destined not to sleep.
Since it was a haunting, most likely it would occur at night.
"Should we go investigate tonight?"
Qi An asked Zhang Zhaoqi. His complexion was much better, but still somewhat pallid.
"No need. Let's observe the situation first tonight." Zhang Zhaoqi shook his head, turned the room's temperature up a bit more, walked to the door, and pressed the light switch. "Sleep."
Qi An inexplicably felt that Zhang Zhaoqi's voice had become somewhat gentle.
Like the melting of ice and snow, carrying a slight tingle of sensation.