Chi Zhuo gave a soft “Mm,” and left almost without a second thought.
The scene in front of them made Bai Anran’s eyelids twitch nonstop.
Lu Jianhan was a straight A, totally clueless. He didn’t catch anything strange in that whole exchange. In his eyes, it was all perfectly normal—once the senior students finished their job, wasn’t it only natural for them to leave?
But Bai Anran, being the more sensitive omega, noticed something right away. Every line between those two sounded loaded, like there was more under the surface. Especially the way Chi Zhuo just walked off like that.
After Chi Zhuo left, Ji Chenxi didn’t show any clear anger on his face. He simply turned back and gestured to Bai Anran and Lu Jianhan. “I’ll go check what’s going on outside. You two see if the poison’s worn off. If not, the school should send someone with an antidote.”
Watching Ji Chenxi’s back as he walked away, Lu Jianhan frowned slightly and asked Bai Anran, “Did he just ditch us because we’re dead weight? Or is he worried we’ll steal his points later? I mean, the two of us together still couldn’t beat him.”
Bai Anran’s expression turned a little strange. “It’s not that…”
“Then what’s he going out there for?”
“…To check the situation.” Bai Anran said it with obvious guilt, almost failing to convince even himself.
Sure enough, Lu Jianhan’s face twisted in a way that was hard to describe after hearing that answer. “Now I get why Ji Chenxi treats everyone the same—except you.” After all, what’s wrong with giving a silly kid a bit more care?
Ji Chenxi followed the route they had taken into the maze, heading back out. The maze kept shifting, so the old paths no longer really worked, but he still walked along the previous route for quite a while—until he ran into someone he wasn’t at all surprised to see.
Chi Zhuo had probably only walked about fifty meters. If the maze hadn’t been so winding, Lu Jianhan and the others would still be able to see him.
“What are you doing?” Ji Chenxi asked. “Senior Chi Zhuo, aren’t you leaving?”
“Waiting for you.”
“Hm? What are you waiting for me for? I didn’t ask you to.”
“So I’m the one who wanted to wait.”
Ji Chenxi had meant to keep a straight face a little longer, but he couldn’t quite hold it and ended up laughing. Casually, he set up several layers of protection around them, then lowered his voice and asked, “How did the one from the Lan family get in touch with you? He’s openly favoring you like this—it’s not his usual style.”
“Recently, the First Prince and the Princess have been making small moves again. It started over a batch of goods from the Lan family. The Lan family is already at the very top among the powerful families, and there’s even a Lan in the council. On the surface, they’re fighting over the Lan family’s goods, but what they really want is the Lan family’s support. Lan Mu signed up for the freshman trial on purpose. He probably heard I was joining and wanted to drag me into this mess.”
Ji Chenxi gave a soft “Mm,” then asked, “Aren’t you angry?”
“What’s there to be angry about? If he’s dragging me in, he’s also saying in a roundabout way that whoever I choose, he’ll support. Your Highness, the Lan family’s support is a key piece.”
“I get the logic. But he really does seem close to you.” After circling through all the heavy talk, Ji Chenxi steered the topic back to the very start.
“We are pretty close. I’ve known him for eleven years. In those eleven years, he hasn’t beaten me once.”
Every single time, he’d lost. That kind of “close” was definitely not something Lan Mu would want. Chi Zhuo was making it clear—at his core, he and Lan Mu weren’t that close at all.
“Actually, I don’t mind you having friends.”
“Reverse talk?”
Ji Chenxi hadn’t expected that his rare moment of generosity would get that kind of reply. For a second, he didn’t know whether to laugh or get annoyed. “I’m really starting to wonder if you see me as some sharp-tongued villain.”
“Nothing like that.”
“Oh? Reverse talk?” Ji Chenxi smiled without quite smiling, neatly tossing the same words back at him.
Chi Zhuo was blocked for a moment, speechless, but his brows eased a little. On his usually cold face, a faint hint of a smile appeared. “Maybe. Your Highness, want to guess whether that was the truth or reverse talk?”
Ji Chenxi shook his head, clearly not interested in playing guessing games. He pulled the topic back again. “Seriously, on a rational level, I don’t mind you having friends. I’ve got close friends myself.”
“On a rational level?” Chi Zhuo caught the key phrase right away. “So Your Highness also has irrational moments?”
“Of course. Sometimes feelings just don’t listen to reason.”
“And how do your feelings misbehave?” Chi Zhuo’s voice softened just a little.
It was the kind of moment people look forward to. In a normal young couple’s talk, no matter what they truly think, the usual line here would be something like, ‘My feelings don’t want you to have friends. I don’t want to see you that close to anyone else.’ Whether the other person takes it seriously or not, it’s still a kind of flirting. People always get pulled into that push-and-pull tension. Even Chi Zhuo wasn’t completely immune.
When Ji Chenxi heard the question, he actually looked pleased—like he had dug a little trap and the other person had obediently stepped into it. It was almost a satisfied smile.
He leaned closer with that smile, moving right up to Chi Zhuo’s ear, and whispered, “Of course it wants to lock you up. Make it so you can’t see anyone but me. Leave you in the dark for so long that the only things you hear are your own breathing, your own heartbeat… and my voice. You’d slowly start to rely on me. You wouldn’t be able to leave me…”
Chi Zhuo’s breathing grew a little heavier, though it was hard to tell whether it was because of Ji Chenxi’s closeness—or the threat woven into those words.
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)
