[Reboot Volume] Chapter 236: Don't Be Like This, Miss!

"Dong—"

The dismissal bell rang. Students and teachers gathered their belongings and bid each other farewell before leaving the classroom. Mo Xing and Li Xiangcao walked down the stairs together.

"Idol, what was your assessment score?" Li Xiangcao suddenly asked.

"Me? I just barely passed," Mo Xing paused. "Only six hundred and sixty-six points."

"Ah, no way," Li Xiangcao said in surprise.

"Yeah, that’s my score," Mo Xing nodded. "I think I mentioned to you before that my individual performance score wasn't very high."

"It's okay, it's okay! To me, you will always be that shining star!" Li Xiangcao smiled. "I will always support you! I’ll keep cheering for you!"

"Uh... thanks a lot," Mo Xing scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"By the way, who are you planning to choose as your mentor?" Li Xiangcao asked.

"I haven't decided yet. Besides, aren't we only able to vie for classes or be selected by mentors?" Mo Xing asked.

"Regardless of that, I really want to take classes with you, Idol," Li Xiangcao smiled. "It would be so motivating!"

"Uh... thanks for the compliment, but that’s really up to fate—"

Before Mo Xing could finish, someone blocked his path. He looked up to see a student holding a stack of newspapers.

"Classmate, classmate, want to buy a newspaper?" the person asked.

"This is..." Mo Xing paused.

"No need," Li Xiangcao rejected him flatly.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a look? Today's headline is explosive!" the person added.

"Really, no need," Li Xiangcao said.

"Just take a look, classmate! It’s a report on the freshman stimulant incident. Want to guess who the culprit is?" the person said with a smirk.

"Wait—"

Before Mo Xing could stop him, the person blurted out the name:

"Li Qingchi!"

Hearing this name, Li Xiangcao froze. She immediately snatched the newspaper from the person's hand. Upon seeing the text and the photo, her face turned deathly pale.

"Xiangcao..."

Mo Xing’s hand hovered in mid-air. He never expected this moment to arrive so quickly; for a girl, this news was no different from a death warrant.

"This... how is this possible?" Li Xiangcao said, each word trembling. "He... he would actually do something like this?"

"That’s right, hard to believe, isn't it? That Li Qingchi is just a hypocritical devil!" the person sneered.

"No! He is not that kind of person!"

Li Xiangcao shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. She tore the newspaper to shreds and ran off.

"Wait!" Mo Xing called out.

"Damn! Is that girl crazy? If she didn't want to buy it, fine, but why tear up the paper?" the newspaper seller complained.

"Sorry, sorry. I’ll pay you for the paper."

Mo Xing took a few gold coins he had exchanged at the school gate that morning from his storage bracelet, shoved them into the person's hand, and chased after Li Xiangcao.

"A girl with such a strange temper, and someone is chasing after her?" The newspaper seller rubbed his chin in thought. "Come to think of it, that guy looks familiar. I think I’ve seen him in the papers..."

"Li Xiangcao!"

Mo Xing chased her all the way to the hill behind the school, where he found Li Xiangcao slumped in a gazebo, sobbing.

"My brother... how could he be that kind of person?" she choked out.

"Uh..."

Mo Xing didn't know what to say, and he didn't have any tissues or a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

"From now on... I'll be all alone..." she continued to weep.

"Don't say that. You still have classmates and friends..." Mo Xing said, though he felt a heavy knot in his stomach.

"I... at school... I don't have any friends."

"That..." Mo Xing paused. "You can actually think of me as a friend."

"Ah..."

Li Xiangcao climbed up and wiped her tears; her bright, watery eyes were a bit red.

"Idol... are you serious? You... you acknowledge me as a friend?"

"Yes, we are friends," Mo Xing nodded, making a gesture. "I swear."

"Mm-hmm... thank you, Idol..." Li Xiangcao managed a faint smile.

"Actually, I..."

"What is it?" Mo Xing asked, puzzled. He noticed Li Xiangcao's face turning red as she leaned toward him.

"I really like you."

Mo Xing froze. Their faces were very close; he could even see the fine fuzz on her skin and smell her faint, delicate fragrance. Her eyes were misty and moist, her breath grew hot, and her lips were slightly parted. She looked so innocent yet alluring, and that pitiful appearance made his heart skip a beat.

Is this... is this going to be a kiss?

No, this won't do! I am a man of principle!

"Hey!"

Mo Xing quickly turned around and saw a familiar figure standing not far away. It was—

Shi Yan!

"Let go of Mo Xing!" Shi Yan shouted, her eyes full of anger.

"Shi Yan?!" Mo Xing was shocked.

"Who are you..." Li Xiangcao looked over as well.

"Don't worry about who I am," Shi Yan said, drawing her dual pistols from her storage bracelet. "Just don't think about making a move on him!"

"Must you be like this?" Li Xiangcao stood up and summoned her sword.

"Shi Yan, don't be impulsive! This is just a misunderstanding!"

Mo Xing scrambled to explain. At that moment, he felt like a celebrity caught in a cheating scandal.

"Mo Xing, don't trust her!" Shi Yan said. "She might not be a good person!"

"Don't you go spouting nonsense," Li Xiangcao frowned.

"Ladies, please stay calm! Harmony is precious!" Mo Xing thought to himself, how did this turn into a palace drama?

Before he could intervene, Li Xiangcao had already darted forward.

"Explosive Dual Strike!"

Shi Yan fired two blue-and-white missiles. Li Xiangcao swung her blade, releasing a "Spiral Storm" to dodge the attack.

Shi Yan’s brow relaxed slightly as she began to run, leaving a trail of afterimages. In the blink of an eye, she flashed in front of Li Xiangcao.

"Dominance!"

Li Xiangcao released the power from within her body, trying to blast Shi Yan back. However, Shi Yan performed a graceful turn, teleported behind Li Xiangcao, and fired two energy bolts, knocking her back.

"Whirlwind Strike!"

Li Xiangcao swung her sword backward, but Shi Yan vanished behind her again.

"Shadow Step."

Shi Yan appeared in front of Li Xiangcao, her body still trailing afterimages.

Shi Yan wound up for a kick, but suddenly a figure appeared in her path. She stopped instantly, her foot hovering ten centimeters from him. The sand on the ground kicked up, and dust swirled in the air.

"Stop this, all of you!" Mo Xing roared, his face full of anger.

"Mo... Mo Xing."

Shi Yan furrowed her brows and bit her lip.

"Idol..."

Li Xiangcao was stunned to see Mo Xing standing in front of her.

"You... you are both my friends. I don't want to see you fighting each other because of me," Mo Xing shouted. "I hate this feeling! So stop fighting!"

The three fell into a brief silence. Time seemed to stand still. Anger, jealousy, and other emotions were filtered through the passage of time, leaving behind a strange sentiment—it was hard to tell if it was tolerance, concession, or perhaps—love.

"I... I was wrong."

Shi Yan lowered her head, her tone filled with guilt as she returned her weapons to her storage bracelet.

"S-sorry."

Li Xiangcao also released her sword, returning it to her storage bracelet, and turned her head away to look into the distance.

"I was impulsive. I apologize," Shi Yan took a deep breath.

"I was at fault too. I shouldn't have been so rude," Li Xiangcao twiddled her fingers.

Seeing the two compromise, Mo Xing’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly.

"I still need to explain this," Mo Xing paused. "Li Xiangcao is just my fan. She received some bad news at noon and was quite emotional. I was worried, so I followed her and came over to comfort her."

"It’s all my fault... when I saw my idol coming to comfort me, I got carried away and wanted to lean in closer. I crossed the line..." Li Xiangcao’s voice grew smaller and smaller, like a mosquito.

"I see..." Shi Yan paused. Even though Li Xiangcao’s voice was quiet, she had heard it clearly.

"Anyway, it’s a misunderstanding."

Mo Xing let out a sigh of relief. He never expected his fan, Li Xiangcao, to want to "cross the line" and kiss him.

He might not be a saint, but he had to stick to his principles. That would have been his first kiss! Wasn't it always said that a first kiss should be saved for the person you love most?

It wasn't that Li Xiangcao was bad; she had her good qualities, and her appearance was exquisite. But truthfully, he only thought of her as a friend and didn't have those intense feelings for her.

At that moment when they were about to kiss, his feelings were complicated. If he had forcibly pushed her away, would it have left her with trauma? She had already lost her brother; would she now be rejected by her idol too? If he had accepted the kiss, he would have been tacitly agreeing to an uncertain relationship, which would have been irresponsible toward her.

Either way, it would have been incredibly awkward to see her later!

But Shi Yan’s sudden appearance had steered the situation in a different direction. Although he had explained himself, he still felt awkward in his current position.

"I understand," Shi Yan nodded. "If there’s nothing else, everyone should go back and have lunch."

"Mm-hmm, I’ll head back to the dorms then—" Mo Xing paused. "You two should head back too."

Mo Xing had wanted to say he hoped they could get along, but it felt awkward to say it, so he swallowed the words.

"Thank you for your tolerance. I’m sorry for causing my idol any trouble. I will be mindful of my behavior in the future and be a rational fan," Li Xiangcao mumbled. She realized her behavior just now had been quite improper.

"Yeah," Shi Yan replied with a single word and turned away.

Mo Xing didn't say anything further and followed suit.

Though he wasn't sure if Shi Yan cared about him, two things were certain: Li Xiangcao liked him, and he liked Shi Yan. Just as Senior Brother Cai Hong said, this love triangle was a real headache! They say a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; he had no idea if they had truly reconciled...

He hoped they had.

On the way down the hill, the three remained silent. No one spoke, as if they were all lost in thought. At the fork in the road, Mo Xing bid them farewell and walked toward the Ryan dormitory.

Along the way, Mo Xing wondered if they would argue on the way to the girls' dormitory, if they would start fighting again, or if there would be more conflict...

Mo Xing clutched his head with both hands and shouted internally: "Ahhh, why are there so many problems in my life!"

Girls are really hard to understand!