Lin Luxi didn’t sleep well that night. The school was quiet, no rustling of mutated plants growing, no roars of mutated beasts, no cries of human fear and grief. Only the gentle sound of the wind and the soft rustle of leaves could be heard.
Logically, such a peaceful atmosphere should have made it easy to fall asleep, yet Lin Luxi couldn’t.
He lay awake almost until dawn.
“Morning!”
When he opened the door, he happened to run into Yue Xinghe coming out of his room. Lin Luxi had barely finished greeting him before letting out a huge yawn.
“Didn’t sleep well?” Yue Xinghe immediately asked with concern. There were faint dark circles under the boy’s eyes, and a few red streaks in the whites, making him look like a beautiful flower that hadn’t been properly cared for, slightly wilted.
Lin Luxi casually made up an excuse. “Yeah, I was a bit nervous about today’s match.”
Yue Xinghe patted his head. “It’s fine. Even if you don’t make it to the finals, it doesn’t matter. I’ve almost found a way to improve your mental power. Once both your physique and mental power improve, you can sign up again next year.”
He really was… too gentle.
Even more attentive than the original owner’s father.
Lin Luxi couldn’t help but feel touched.
But such kindness might have seemed like cheap charity to the original owner.
To Lin Luxi, however, it meant a lot. In the apocalypse, he had always been the protector, the one who shielded others, never the one being protected.
It was because his ability was special. In that environment, wood-element users could exert 200% or even 300% of their strength.
So it became only natural that he had to protect others.
Thinking of how the male lead in the novel had also always played the role of protector, Lin Luxi instinctively stepped a little closer and patted his shoulder in shared understanding.
Yue Xinghe’s gaze deepened, a faint smile at his lips. His large hand ruffled Lin Luxi’s hair, then slid down to the back of his neck, giving it a gentle squeeze, the veins on the back of his hand faintly pulsing.
Downstairs, Chris and Qin Hao had just finished their morning training and walked out of the training room, only to see Yue Xinghe being pushed down the stairs by Lin Luxi, a trace of helpless indulgence on his face.
At first, Chris had also been captivated by Yue Xinghe’s charming appearance and perfect personality, but after spending some time with him, her intuition as a woman told her he was dangerous. So even though he seemed gentle, she never dared to cross any boundaries.
Seeing this now, she couldn’t help but think that Lin Luxi was incredibly bold. And if others found out how well Yue Xinghe treated him, those girls would probably be furious.
Beside her, Qin Hao was also marveling at how bold Lin Luxi was.
After the initial amazement came pity.
In his imagination, Lin Luxi’s fate had escalated from a quick slit of the throat to something far more brutal, his limbs severed.
The happier he smiled now, the more miserably he would cry later. No… he might even be in so much pain that he wouldn’t be able to cry at all.
Lin Luxi had no idea what the others were thinking. In fact, he wasn’t the type to get familiar with people so easily. But after confirming yesterday how the original owner interacted with Yue Xinghe, he knew that if he showed even a slight inconsistency, it might arouse suspicion.
And if the male lead suspected that he had killed the original owner, then given how indulgent Yue Xinghe had been toward him, would he end well?
So Lin Luxi felt rather helpless too, he was just quickly stepping into the role.
The group went to the cafeteria for breakfast. Because of the competition these days, the school cafeteria was open to the public. Anyone with an electronic ticket could pay with their personal device and eat there.
So even at breakfast time, the cafeteria was packed, with barely any seats in sight.
The noisy, bustling hall gradually fell quiet as people’s gazes gathered on Lin Luxi and Yue Xinghe. Even in an era where genetic engineering had generally improved people’s appearances, the two of them still stood out strikingly.
“Xinghe, over here.”
In the silence, Elisa raised her arm and waved. When Yue Xinghe’s gaze shifted toward her, the elf known as the “ice goddess” curved her petal-like lips into a faint smile, making the surrounding boys clutch their hearts.
They felt jealous of the one who could make the goddess smile, until they turned and saw it was Yue Xinghe, at which point they all lowered their heads in shame.
He might be a freshman, but he was good-looking, exceptionally talented, ranked first in every subject, and had a great personality. Only someone this perfect could be worthy of their goddess.
Someone at Elisa’s table had just finished eating, freeing up a few seats.
The four of them bought breakfast and sat down, while whispers gradually rose around them.
Amid the murmured gossip, Lin Luxi chewed his food while observing, out of the corner of his eye, the girl sitting opposite them, cold and aloof in demeanor, yet looking at the male lead with eyes full of tenderness.
From her slightly pointed ears and the decorative green leaves behind them, Lin Luxi guessed her identity. Then Chris happily called out her name, confirming it.
Elisa, one of the three female characters with the most screen time in the original novel, and also the most popular among readers.
If the story had continued normally, she might very well have become the female lead.
Although she was a cold and aloof elf, when facing Yue Xinghe, she was like melting ice, indifferent to everyone else, yet uniquely gentle toward him.
Moreover, her status within the elf race was not low. With her outstanding beauty and curvaceous figure, she had made countless readers swoon, many of whom demanded the author elevate her to the main wife position.
Unfortunately, those readers never got their wish in the end.
Thinking of the original plot, Lin Luxi recalled how Elisa had drugged Yue Xinghe, saying “I will love you” while teasing him up and down. If the male lead hadn’t stabbed his own thigh to steady himself and then knocked her out in one decisive move, she might actually have succeeded.
After all, back then, even after the original owner took the lead in betraying him, Elisa had always seemed to support the male lead. Who could have guessed she would be the one to betray him? All that silence had merely been her holding back for a big move.
Now, watching Yue Xinghe speak to her, his expression gentle, his voice flowing like a warm spring breeze, as if winter had just given way to spring—
Lin Luxi couldn’t help but wonder whether he would still be able to smile like that once he knew Elisa would one day drug him.
Lost in thought, Lin Luxi didn’t notice a girl walking past with a tray. She seemed to stumble, her hand tilting, leftovers and soup about to spill.
“Watch out!”
Lin Luxi had just started to dodge when he realized it was already too late. Yue Xinghe pulled him in by the waist and drew him into his arms.
The surroundings fell completely silent.
Yue Xinghe’s back was splattered with leftover food and soup, while Lin Luxi was perfectly protected, not even the edge of his clothes was stained.
Seeing the golden hair now dripping with broth, bits of vegetables and rice clinging to it, the girl’s face turned deathly pale. Terror filled her expression as cold sweat poured down her body; she looked like she might faint at any moment.
It’s over.
She had only wanted to make Lin Luxi lose face! Why would Yue Xinghe protect him??
Her face shifted between green and white, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of her throat.
She had meant well, well, even if it hadn’t worked out, Yue Xinghe was so gentle, he would surely understand her.
The girl hurriedly looked at Yue Xinghe, only to shudder violently, as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.
Those eyes, those warm, gentle golden eyes, she could hardly believe she had just seen coldness and disgust in them.
It lasted only an instant. When she blinked and looked again, his gaze toward Lin Luxi was once more as soft as a spring breeze and rain, as if everything before had been nothing but an illusion.
Frozen with fear, the girl stood rooted to the spot, forgetting to apologize. Her friend tugged at her clothes, urging her to quickly apologize and leave.
But when the girl looked at her, her pupils trembled. In her panic, she lunged forward and grabbed the other girl’s hair. “This was your idea! You were the one who told me to target Lin Luxi! This is all your fault!!”
The other girl, seeing people around them gathering and pointing, immediately turned pale and denied it, trying to run. But at some point, the path had been blocked by the crowd, there was nowhere to escape.
“You did it yourself, what does it have to do with me? Ah! I just spent two thousand on this hair, let go, you bitch!!”
Neither of them wanted to take the blame. They both knew what those obsessive fans of Yue Xinghe were capable of. Now that things had blown up, they didn’t care about saving face anymore, they just desperately tried to shove the blame onto each other.
Over there, the two girls had already fallen out completely, grabbing each other’s hair and fighting. Meanwhile, Lin Luxi was still sitting somewhat dazed in Yue Xinghe’s arms.
In fact, Yue Xinghe was only a few months older than Lin Luxi, but Lin Luxi still looked like a boy who hadn’t fully grown, while Yue Xinghe already carried the presence of a grown man.
His chest was broad, enough to shield others from wind and rain.
There was a faint scent of perfume about him, pleasant and clean, reminding Lin Luxi of sunlight, spring breeze, and the shimmering surface of a frozen lake in winter.
He had always been the one protecting others; no one had ever protected him before.
Because he had wood-type abilities, with strong vitality and healing power, even if he couldn’t win, he wouldn’t die easily.
So it was only natural that he was the protector.
“Did you get hurt anywhere?”
Seeing the boy remain motionless, Yue Xinghe looked him over carefully. His brows had just begun to furrow before smoothing out again so quickly it was almost imperceptible. Frightened? With such a timid nature, how could he be a spy?
“Even if you hadn’t moved, I would’ve been fine.”
Lin Luxi shot him a slightly annoyed look. He had already been about to dodge.
Jumping down from his lap, Lin Luxi saw the mess on Yue Xinghe’s back. His brows drew together, and his usually gentle face became unusually serious, his aura turning faintly dangerous.
Chris was startled by the sudden change in his expression, then quickly dismissed it as her imagination.
After all, he was just a useless person with F-rank talent and a lazy disposition.
Qin Hao glanced at Yue Xinghe’s messy back, his eyes going blank as he swallowed hard.
For a split second, he really wanted to switch jobs with his brother.
Lin Luxi, completely unaware of what the others were thinking, felt a bit worried.
The food itself wasn’t a big deal, but he was concerned the soup might have scalded his skin.
Gently lifting Yue Xinghe’s hair and pulling down the back of his collar, he saw the skin was still fair and uninjured, but asked anyway, “Does it hurt here? Did you get burned?”
So the little spy was worried about this. Yue Xinghe took his hand down, his expression easing slightly. “I’m fine.”
“Xinghe has an S-rank physique, even boiling water wouldn’t hurt him.”
Only then did Elisa seem to notice Lin Luxi. “You must be Lin Luxi. Hello, I’m Elisa, Yue Xinghe’s friend.”
After speaking, Elisa glanced at Yue Xinghe. Seeing that he didn’t deny it, she touched the green leaf behind her ear and lowered her head with a slight smile.
“I’ve heard of you, Elisa,” Lin Luxi nodded. When he smiled, he seemed as soft as a cloud. “The rumors aren’t exaggerated, you really are very beautiful.”
As for the matter of S-rank physique, he wasn’t originally from this world, so he had momentarily forgotten about it.
Elisa inclined her head modestly, though there was a hint of pride. “You flatter me.”
Because of Lin Luxi’s reputation on the star network, she hadn’t had a good impression of him before. But now, that view softened slightly. If nothing else, his face alone would be considered outstanding even among the elves.
The scene of a handsome man and a beautiful woman exchanging polite smiles looked like a painting.
Yue Xinghe adjusted his hair, lowering his gaze with an almost innocent air. “My hair’s tangled.”
Lin Luxi slapped his forehead. “Look at me, how could I forget? You must feel really uncomfortable like this, all sticky. I’ll go back with you to change. If we hurry, there should still be time.”
Nearby, the two girls were still struggling with each other, their hair and clothes already in disarray. Many students around them were recording with their devices, and some were even egging them on, guessing who would win. Watching chaos unfold without concern was a common human trait.
Lin Luxi grabbed Yue Xinghe and quickly left, while Chris and Qin Hao stayed behind to explain the situation to the campus security team that had arrived to handle it.
Author’s Note:
Next chapter, bath time.
Yue Xinghe: The little spy is too timid, easily startled.
Lin Luxi: Being protected for the first time… kind of touching~