“Whose girlfriend?”
Bai Tao asked subconsciously.
“Mine, of course—”
The two of them answered at the same time.
They froze, turning to glare at each other.
Zuo Senye grabbed Bai Tao’s elbow.
“Hey, Mu, wasn’t I the one who pinned the badge on first?”
Not backing down, Zuo Mubai grabbed Bai Tao’s wrist and pulled her toward him.
“No, no, no, Sen.
Anyone could see my badge was pinned 0.35 seconds before yours, so it should be me.”
The crackle of electricity seemed to fill the air between them.
Zuo Mubai’s dark pupils slowly narrowed into slits.
“Sen, haven’t I let you go first every single time before this?”
“A week ago in the school cafeteria, you were the one who carried Little Taotao away.”
“No matter how you look at it, it should be my turn this time, right?”
Zuo Senye’s gray eyes glowed.
“It seems less like you ‘letting’ me and more like I fought and won, doesn’t it?”
Zuo Mubai pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, his expression darkening.
“That’s because I wasn’t as interested as you, Sen.
Going first or second didn’t matter to me.”
Zuo Senye brushed his bangs back.
“Fine.
In that case, I’m actually a little curious to see what you’re like when you’re not ‘letting me’ win, Mu.”
“Ming,” Zuo Mubai called out.
The moment the word left his lips, the Purple Ring Snake bracelet coiled around Zuo Mubai’s wrist suddenly emitted a faint glow.
Immediately after, the ground began to shake violently.
A colossal Purple Ring Snake appeared behind Zuo Mubai.
Sinister eyes flanked its triangular head, and it opened its massive, blood-red maw, hissing as a forked tongue flickered from the crimson slits at its cheeks.
Its tail was raised high, swaying back and forth without pause.
The Purple Gold Ring Snake called “Ming” abruptly whipped its tail, striking at Zuo Senye.
In an instant, the floorboards exploded before Bai Tao’s eyes.
But the scattered splinters of wood didn’t fly toward her; the snake’s tail batted them all away.
“Mu, you’re actually serious?” Zuo Senye’s jawline tightened.
Zuo Mubai’s lips curled.
“What do you think?”
He crooked two fingers, and Ming reined in its attack.
The snake’s body shot upward, shattering the skylight and sending a shower of glass fragments down from above.
Zuo Mubai shielded Bai Tao with his hands and leaped onto Ming’s back.
A light breeze brushed back the hair from his brow, revealing the avarice in his eyes.
He glanced back over his shoulder.
“Sen, well then, I’ll be taking my leave.”
It all happened so suddenly that by the time Zuo Senye reacted, Zuo Mubai had already ridden Ming out of sight.
‘That bastard Mu…’
‘Damn it.’
The bracelet on Zuo Senye’s wrist flashed.
“Cang, follow them.”
With a loud RUMBLE, another huge hole was torn in the auditorium’s ceiling.
From a corner, a small, slender girl slowly emerged.
“Awakening System, is that girl the one you found to push the plot forward for me?”
[Yes, Host.]
[Could it be that you’re having second thoughts?]
Lin Xiaowu’s previous innocent and worldly-unaware demeanor vanished.
She crossed her arms over her chest.
“As if.
Who would want to get tangled up with those psychos?
I can’t wait for them to stay far away from me.
Every single one of them has family issues that are just…”
Her mouth suddenly felt as if it had been bound by something.
The moment she tried to speak the keywords, no sound would come out.
[Host, those words are forbidden in this world.
Saying them without authorization will cause the world to collapse.]
“I get it.
What a pain.”
“Anyway, I just want to know, is this person you hired reliable or not?”
“When exactly is this protagonist halo of mine going to disappear completely?
I want to get out of this world as fast as possible!”
She thought back to what happened this morning.
She had clearly followed the map, yet she still got lost.
She had clearly tried her best to walk steadily, yet she still tripped and fell on flat ground after receiving her badge.
It was as if some brute force in this world was guiding her, forcing her to act like a fool, to be that innocent, helpless flower.
If there was one thing that didn’t follow the original plot, it was that F5 hadn’t helped her up when she fell, and it seemed the crowd’s aggro hadn’t been directed at her.
[Whether this person is reliable… I’m afraid I cannot answer that.]
[It’s mainly because you quit so suddenly, and our system has limited personnel.
We could only send the White Moonlight System, who got the job through connections, to find someone for you.]
[The White Moonlight System isn’t very responsible.
It’s possible that girl still knows absolutely nothing about this world.]
“What?
Then didn’t you lie to me?”
[Please don’t be anxious, Host.
The protagonist halo wasn’t going to disappear all at once anyway.]
[The faster Bai Tao gets on the plot’s track, the faster your protagonist halo will transfer to her.]
As they spoke, the chattering sounds of voices came from the auditorium outside the door.
It was Pei Jue and Bu Zhongyao.
They were spitting out the name “Bai Tao” through gritted teeth.
[See, Host?
According to the original plot, those two villainesses, Pei Jue and Bu Zhongyao, were supposed to come after you.
Now, their minds are completely filled with Bai Tao.]
[This proves that Bai Tao’s intervention has been effective.]
[Whether you want to wait and see or fan the flames from the shadows, the choice is yours.]
Lin Xiaowu was lost in thought.
Bai Tao couldn’t believe she was flying through the air.
“Zuo Mubai, snakes can fly?”
Ming twisted its body, moving at incredible speed.
Bai Tao could vaguely hear the sound of water rushing past her ears, and by stretching out her hand, she could even touch the misty droplets created as Ming broke through the clouds.
Wait, misty droplets?
Zuo Mubai guided her hand to poke through the mist.
“Both Cang and Ming are Purple Gold Ring Sea Snakes.
In their complete Beast Mimicry forms, they can transform their surroundings into an environment suitable for their movement.”
“So, to be precise, Ming is swimming.”
Bai Tao poked her head out curiously, but Zuo Mubai’s arm around her suddenly loosened, releasing most of its hold.
A sudden feeling of weightlessness hit her.
“I’m falling!” Bai Tao instinctively reached out and hugged Zuo Mubai tightly, her body pressing completely against his.
There wasn’t a single gap left between them.
Only then did Zuo Mubai reapply his strength to support her.
Lowering his head, he could easily use the tip of his nose to brush aside the dark hair covering the nape of her neck, nuzzling and sniffing at her skin.
Her faint fragrance continuously stimulated his senses.
“Much better.”
Bai Tao realized what had happened.
“You did that on purpose?”
Zuo Mubai gave a wicked smile.
“Am I some kind of flimsy snake that can’t hold you?”
Ming hovered in front of a window on the top floor of a villa, lowering its head docilely.
Zuo Mubai leaped inside while holding Bai Tao, his index finger toying with a strand of her hair.
Bai Tao carefully took in her surroundings.
The room alone was five or six times the size of her dorm room.
The bed was already made with a night-blue, four-piece silk sheet set, and the scent of a custom aquatic fragrance filled every corner of the room.
“Little Taotao, from now on…”
“This will be our room.”
He glanced sideways at Ming outside the window and called out to it.
Ming immediately adjusted its form, sweeping its body past all the room’s windows and doors.
A series of CLICKS echoed through the room.
Every door and window was locked.
Zuo Mubai pushed her down onto the soft, slippery bed.
He lifted her hand to his lips, his cool, thin lips parting slightly as he gave it a gentle bite.
He lifted his gaze, his eyes fixed on her without wavering.
“Now, no one will disturb us.”
“How about we do something that girlfriends and boyfriends do, shall we?”