Watching all this go down, Ji Chenxi’s eyes widened just a little. What the hell was that stupid cat doing?
A strange silence spread between the few of them. Lan Mu first glanced at the snow leopard and Chi Zhuo, then shifted his gaze to Ji Chenxi.
The storm inside Ji Chenxi only lasted a second. By the time Lan Mu looked over, his face was already calm again. He coolly withdrew his spirit form, then said to Chi Zhuo in an offhand tone, “Oh, don’t mind it. It’s just thanking you. For that spider, it rolled around on the ground who knows how many times.”
He was clearly talking to Chi Zhuo, and though his tone sounded distant, it made Lan Mu—who had been at odds with him just moments ago—curl his lips into a smile. “So the Third Prince’s spirit form shows gratitude in a pretty direct way.”
Ji Chenxi gave him a fake smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Lan Mu, meanwhile, went on casually, “But it’s normal for a pretty big cat to be a little delicate. My spider’s delicate too. Chi, the way you’re squeezing it, it’s about to cry.”
Chi Zhuo casually tossed Lan Mu’s spirit form back to him. The blue spider slipped into Lan Mu’s hand and instantly darted into his sleeve, vanishing from sight.
Lan Mu raised a brow slightly. “Chi, you scared it.”
“It’s not that timid.”
Lan Mu let out another soft laugh. “It’s a little girl, you know. Can’t you be gentler?”
Chi Zhuo and Lan Mu weren’t exactly warm with each other, but there was still a kind of easy back-and-forth between them. Ji Chenxi stayed expressionless the whole time. This guy named Lan Mu was way too familiar with Chi Zhuo—so familiar they looked like close friends.
And that, honestly, annoyed him.
Ji Chenxi was suddenly very glad he had taken his spirit form back. Otherwise, instead of rubbing against Chi Zhuo to “show thanks,” it would probably be biting his hand out of anger right now.
“So what now?” Lan Mu asked.
“A freshman already pushed you to use that move. Doesn’t that count as losing?”
Chi Zhuo was answering Lan Mu, but the corner of his eye was still on Ji Chenxi, watching every tiny change in his expression.
Lan Mu lifted his brow again. “That’s true, but wasn’t I helping you save face?”
Only then did Chi Zhuo fully turn his gaze onto Lan Mu—frowning this time. His relationship with Lan Mu was nowhere near that close. Under that sharp look, Lan Mu shrugged. “Alright, alright. I was just a little curious…”
The half-finished sentence was vague, but it left plenty of room for imagination.
After a slight pause, Lan Mu finally added what he hadn’t said before. “Curious what kind of person could snatch points from you.”
Bai Anran: “…”
The heart that had just been hanging in his chest finally settled back down.
“Don’t be so curious. Either way, it has nothing to do with you,” Chi Zhuo said coldly.
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve forgotten—once a freshman’s points pass the highest score among the seniors, we’re supposed to step off the stage.”
In other words, from the moment Ji Chenxi snatched that coin from Chi Zhuo’s hand, this stage no longer belonged to Lan Mu and the others. As someone the school paid close attention to, there was no way Lan Mu hadn’t received the notice. He had clearly done all of this on purpose—he had even pierced his own recorder drone with spider silk ahead of time.
“Then, Your Third Highness, I wish you good luck in advance,” Lan Mu said lazily. “Let’s see if you can hold up against all the freshmen from both schools.”
Ji Chenxi put on his polite smile mask and gave a slight nod in response.
“Chi, leaving together?”
“No.”
Lan Mu didn’t care much about Ji Chenxi’s attitude. Compared to that, he was far more curious about what exactly was going on between Chi Zhuo and Ji Chenxi. Was Chi Zhuo being a little too indulgent with the young prince? That discovery was even more interesting than crushing a bunch of freshmen.
After stirring the waters just enough, he left with a grin, open and unbothered. The dense swarm of blue spiders vanished with him.
Once Lan Mu was gone, Chi Zhuo looked at Ji Chenxi and said, “Your Highness, may I have a word with you?”
“And what if I say no?”
Chi Zhuo fell silent for a moment, pressing his thin lips together. “Of course, we’ll go with Your Highness’s wishes.”
Ji Chenxi laughed. “Take care, senior. I won’t see you out.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
