Lu Jianhan’s doubts weren’t coming out of nowhere.
After all, it wasn’t like Ji Chenxi had never run into people he knew before. But when it came to those familiar faces, how should it be put—he wasn’t exactly cold, but he definitely didn’t show mercy.
Personal ties were personal ties. A match was a match.
When points were on the line, even people he knew well didn’t get a free pass. Not even that senior just now, the one who clearly looked super close to him. Ji Chenxi had still said straight up that next time they met, neither side would hold back. So why did this person—who also seemed to know him—suddenly get special treatment?
They were all students from the First Military Academy, and Lu Jianhan had already seen this person at the start of the trial. Bai Anran—another S-rank from the academy this time around.
The reason Lu Jianhan thought Bai Anran was Ji Chenxi’s lifelong enemy, rather than some close friend, was because of the way Bai Anran looked at Ji Chenxi, and Ji Chenxi’s attitude in return.
Meanwhile, Ji Chenxi had no idea that the “lifelong enemy” he’d casually mentioned had already been swapped out for someone else in another person’s mind. He’d only pulled Bai Anran up because he happened to run into him. They’d been close as kids, after all. As for why he still acted so distant after helping him—that was simple. Bai Anran was an omega. He was an alpha. If an alpha helped an omega and then acted overly caring, no matter how you looked at it, it’d feel weird. Bai Anran might even get the wrong idea. Keeping some distance was just right.
Unfortunately, that small bit of thoughtfulness toward an omega was completely misunderstood by Lu Jianhan.
Ji Chenxi and Lu Jianhan worked together pretty well, and Ji Chenxi had no plans to drag along extra dead weight. So after saving them, he planned to leave with Lu Jianhan. He didn’t expect one of the alphas from Bai Anran’s team—way too familiar for his own good—to suddenly invite Ji Chenxi to travel together.
Ji Chenxi hated trouble, so he turned him down without a second thought. “Let’s forget it. We’re in a hurry to check out the west zone.”
The moment the alpha heard “west zone,” he got even more hyped. “The west zone? That’s perfect! We’re heading to the west zone too. That means we’re going the same way!”
Ji Chenxi was about to continue refusing when the overly familiar alpha spoke again. “Really, classmate, come with us. The reason those seniors targeted us before wasn’t because of how many points we had. It’s because Bai Anran triggered a hidden mini-mission earlier and got the underground map of the west zone.”
Ji Chenxi, who normally hated trouble, suddenly perked up. Calmly, he shot a sidelong glance at Bai Anran. Bai Anran noticed and gave a slight nod, silently confirming the map really existed.
He even spoke up himself, extending the invitation. “Good day, Third Prince. We did get a map earlier, though its accuracy isn’t guaranteed. If you’re not in a rush, you could come with us. Of course, we could also redraw the map for you ourselves.”
Bai Anran’s words were flawless—he offered to travel together while politely suggesting that if Ji Chenxi didn’t want to be slowed down by them, he could just take a copy of the map.
But because Bai Anran was overly considerate, Ji Chenxi felt awkward taking the redrawn map and walking off alone.
A moment later, with a shift in thought, he smiled and accepted Bai Anran’s offer. “It wouldn’t be right to just take your stuff. I’ll go with you. Even if we run into those point-stealing seniors later, I can give you a hand.”
Lu Jianhan: “…”
He had been completely wrong. This was not some lifelong enemy.
The Third Prince’s sudden change in attitude was entirely because of Bai Anran’s words. But here’s the question—would a lifelong enemy save their worst foe? Would a lifelong enemy travel together just because their enemy said so? Of course not. Mutual respect isn’t built like that. Rather than a lifelong rival, it was more accurate to say Ji Chenxi liked the other person.
Unaware that Lu Jianhan was still imagining things, Ji Chenxi noticed him watching Bai Anran, still surprised by this unexpected encounter. Lu Jianhan had even picked up on Bai Anran right away, something he hadn’t done when they first met in the black book.
It was their business anyway, so Ji Chenxi didn’t pay it any more mind.
The reason Ji Chenxi chose to travel with Bai Anran was obvious—sometimes Bai Anran just had inexplicably good luck. For example, Ji Chenxi and Lu Jianhan had been scouring the area for half a month and hadn’t spotted anything related to the map. Yet Bai Anran found it with ease.
As Ji Chenxi and Bai Anran’s group made their way toward the west zone, Chi Zhuo wasn’t idle either.
“Mr. Chi, I think we can remodel this underground maze a bit, make things harder for the little brats,” said a man with a messy mist-blue tuft of hair, a sly grin stretching across his face, mischief written all over him.
Chi Zhuo twirled the golden coin representing ten thousand points in his hand, the imperial academy’s emblem gleaming on it. Having already been to the west zone, he had thoroughly scouted the area—and even dug up the hidden point coins there.
“There’s still one left,” Chi Zhuo said tersely.
“Ah, could it be a coin from the First Military Academy?” The man ran a hand through his messy mist-blue hair, making the chaotic tuft even more chaotic. “Maybe we’ll need a map too.”
“Mm.”
“So cold… but your showing up already surprises me. What’s the plan?” The man leaned lazily against the stone wall.
“Set up a little mini-game for them, then trap them like cats in a jar.”
“Ha, cats?” The man perked up, beckoning, then crushed the flight recorder that had flown toward him. “Cats, huh? Let me think… among the people coming this time, whose spirit form is cat-related? You’re not talking about that spotted leopard, are you? That guy’s annoying enough.”
Chi Zhuo didn’t respond. He tucked the casually spun golden coin away and began redesigning the traps in the west zone underground maze.
As Chi Zhuo moved forward, the man didn’t get angry that he hadn’t waited. Instead, he followed and said, “Now that I think about it, there’s a famous cat among the new students too—our Third Prince. His spirit form is a beautiful snow leopard, and of course, the prince himself is quite the handsome one.”
“Cats can mean everyone.” Chi Zhuo’s voice grew colder.
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)
