Chapter 70: Lunatic / Sticky Gaze. The Finals / Entering Under the Eyes of Everyone…
Shen Shiyue’s side was mostly done. He had finally finished dealing with the customers, though nothing had been sold.
The boss pretended to tidy the table, his gaze constantly darting toward Jiang Chenyan. “Ah, Chenyan, how did you persuade that one to come over?”
“That one?” Jiang Chenyan was momentarily stunned before reacting. “Shen Shiyue?”
“I don’t mean anything; I’m just curious.” The boss gave a dry laugh, his hands not stopping.
Jiang Chenyan said frankly, “I just mentioned it casually, and he came over.”
The boss’s expression changed abruptly. The rag in his hand fell onto the table with a “slap.” He doubted if something was wrong with his ears: “Just mentioned it casually?”
“Mm.”
Seeing Jiang Chenyan nod, the boss acted as if he had encountered a ghost. He didn’t even bother tidying up anymore, saying hurriedly: “I’ll go send a message. You keep working.”
He turned to take a step, only to crash solidly into someone—it was like hitting a wall.
Shen Shiyue looked down, his gaze as dark as ink that wouldn’t dissolve. The boss saw it clearly. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back, and he didn’t dare to breathe. He pressed against the wall to pass slowly, carefully circling around Shen Shiyue.
“After you, after you.”
Shen Shiyue didn’t pay much mind to the boss, walking to the counter and standing quietly with Jiang Chenyan.
The moment he slowly raised his eyes, the gloom in them vanished, and his expression returned to normal. “Sorry, I messed up.”
Jiang Chenyan didn’t offer any blame. “It’s fine.” It was normal for a first time.
The corners of Shen Shiyue’s mouth turned up.
The boss, watching from the side, wanted to cry but had no tears. He was the one who spent money to open the shop, yet now he seemed like an outsider who had to watch employees comfort each other. Who exactly was the boss here?!
Unknowingly, a long time had passed. The crystal chandelier in the jewelry shop cast a soft, warm light, making the jewelry in the cases look even more brilliant. The diamonds reflected fine light spots that shimmered lightly on the floor.
Jiang Chenyan reached out his hand, his wrist swaying slightly. His fingers were slender and white, his knuckles distinct with a somewhat cool texture. He was gently holding a sapphire ring in a velvet tray, showing the customer the deep blue luster of the gem as it moved in the light.
Shen Shiyue’s eyes narrowed slightly. This warm hand, which was stroking the ring, had not long ago held a cold gun and fired round after round without hesitation.
A faint scent of disinfectant and the cool, moist aura unique to jewelry filled the air. The wall clock echoed with a “tick-tock,” and it was so quiet that they could hear each other’s breathing.
After the introduction and display, the customer left satisfied.
Jiang Chenyan suddenly spoke, breaking the silence: “Shen Shiyue, who else is in your family? I’m a bit curious.”
Shen Shiyue turned his head to look at him. “Why the sudden question?”
Jiang Chenyan knew Shen Shiyue’s difficulties and didn’t want to expose his embarrassment. He asked tentatively: “You have a grandfather, right?”
Shen Shiyue was silent for a moment, then nodded lightly: “I do.”
Jiang Chenyan: “Then can I meet him?”
Hearing this, Shen Shiyue’s movements suddenly stopped. His eyes darkened slightly. Jiang Chenyan frowned, thinking he had been too abrupt. Shen Shiyue would most likely refuse; after all, who would want an outsider to see their family’s hardship?
Unexpectedly, after a moment of silence, Shen Shiyue actually nodded slowly and spoke two words: “You can.”
Before Jiang Chenyan could feel happy, he heard him add: “But he’s a bit terrifying; he might scare you.”
The book described that the elderly person who rescued Shen Shiyue was disfigured in an accident, making their appearance somewhat frightening.
Jiang Chenyan didn’t care at all. “It’s fine. Why would I be afraid?”
Shen Shiyue nodded. “Alright then. After the finals are over, I’ll take you to see him.”
No one knew the secret hidden in Shen Shiyue’s heart. Those unhealed scars on his body weren’t caused by accidents; they were all inflicted by this elderly person personally, who never held back.
Jiang Chenyan should still have an impression of that day—the rainy night when he was covered in wounds and wretched like a stray dog, sitting on the street. Jiang Chenyan didn’t ask a single question about the reason; he just silently opened an umbrella over his head.
The water dripping from the edge of the umbrella mixed with the rain and blood on his face as it slid down.
This was the first time Shen Shiyue had opened the scars in his heart, showing his wretchedness, pain, and shame to Jiang Chenyan without reservation.
Since Jiang Chenyan wanted to meet him, could he accept it?
The two finished work at the agreed time, walking side by side along a secluded path. The evening wind brushed past. Jiang Chenyan remembered that the finals were next week; he had to hurry and practice.
When they entered the school gate, the frenzy of the revelry hadn’t diminished at all.
Shadows moved on the brightly lit playground; the bustle showed no signs of stopping.
As luck would have it, they ran into Lode at a corner—no, to be precise, it was Frederick. He stood alone under the shade of a tree. When he saw Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue, an unreadable smile appeared on his face.
Jiang Chenyan’s brow furrowed. He pulled Shen Shiyue to turn and leave, deliberately taking a detour to avoid him.
Unsurprisingly, Frederick would be looking for trouble with them recently.
Frederick didn’t block the two from leaving, leaning against the wall with a low laugh. “Truly disrespectful. You don’t even know to greet your teacher when you see one.”
He took two steps forward, his voice drifting over with the evening wind, specifically emphasizing: “Student Jiang, you must win the finals. I’m looking forward to it.”
The curve of Frederick’s smile grew larger. His naturally bewitching appearance became even more terrifying. The corners of his eyes were tilted up, carrying a natural aura of evil, and his lips were thin, making his smile appear somewhat petty. Although he was smiling, it made one feel cold all over.
Jiang Chenyan stopped in his tracks. Lunatic.
He didn’t look back, pulling Shen Shiyue to speed up their pace. Their backs gradually merged into the night.
The smile on Frederick’s face suddenly vanished. His eyes narrowed as he spoke coldly to the empty darkness: “Everyone, do you still want to watch?”
A dozen figures emerged from behind trees and corners in response, closing in like stalking beasts. They wore uniform black military attire, their caps pulled very low, revealing only their cold, hard jawlines. Their tall figures cast large shadows in the moonlight.
The wind swirled through the night, bringing a sound of rustling fallen leaves.
Someone laughed lightly. “Quite interesting.”
The laughter wasn’t loud, carrying a bit of casual evil, becoming clear in the silent air.
Hearing this, the others also gave low sneers. The laughter rose and fell, like beasts grinding their teeth in the dark night, intertwining with the heavy and eerie surrounding atmosphere.
Frederick’s expression was ice-cold. It was more than just interesting.
…
After returning to the dormitory, Jiang Chenyan finished a simple wash, shedding his exhaustion. Just as he lifted the quilt to lie down, the optical computer screen lit up. It was a message from Kai Lan:
[Jiang Chenyan, I feel like something is wrong.]
Jiang Chenyan’s finger swiped across the screen, replying:
[There have been too many wrong things lately. Which aspect do you mean?]
The other side replied almost instantly:
[I secretly checked Shen Shiyue’s background and found that I couldn’t find anything.]
Jiang Chenyan looked at the words on the screen. His finger paused, and silence spread.
Could not find anything… how was that possible?
A dull pain hit his head. Pressing his fingertips to his temples, Jiang Chenyan recovered for a moment before replying to Kai Lan:
[Don’t worry. Everything is normal now.]
The priority was to complete the finals and get the recommendation slot. He had to quickly advance the tasks issued by the system; other matters could only be put aside for the time being.
Shen Shiyue definitely had a problem, but what exactly it was remained a point of doubt.
Could he be a person with no registered identity, which was why his background left no trace?
That was also a possibility.
Kai Lan replied:
[Fine, fine. You must be careful with everything. If anything happens, contact me. This brother will risk everything for you.]
Jiang Chenyan typed out “Many thanks.”
Putting aside his doubts, he fell into thought. The exhaustion of the past few days swept over him, and without realizing it, he fell into a deep sleep.
In the following days, the team that Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue were in devoted themselves almost entirely to practice. High-intensity coordination made the team synergy increasingly tacit. Relying on their ranking from the previous competition, they became a popular team that everyone had high hopes for. With attention came trouble; they were inevitably discussed.
Various threads appeared on the forum.
[# How do you think Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue’s team will rank?] [# Jiang Chenyan cannot take first place.] [# Regarding the GSDL team’s ranking.]
GSDL team—a team name put together from the capital letters of their names.
Under such discussion, there was some pressure.
The finals were approaching. They would still compete via simulator, but the rules were vastly different from last time.
The inner venue would invite important figures from the Alliance or the military academy to watch on-site to ensure fairness. The competition wouldn’t be broadcast live to the outside; the final results would be announced directly.
After entering the simulator, teams would first be placed in complex maze terrain filled with various military beasts as obstacles. Only by clearing all the military beasts in the maze could the simulator field change be triggered, entering the next stage to engage in direct combat with other teams.
The rules of the competition were simple and cruel: the last team surviving would be first place, with the others ranked in the order they survived.
After reading the rules, Jiang Chenyan’s heart remained calm. He just turned silently and continued to throw himself into high-intensity training.
The next day, the finals officially began.
The scene was bustling with people, including many familiar faces: Professor Ariel, General Cyrus…
Every person who could step into this place was someone of status, especially the few Alphas standing on the top platform. The pressure radiating from them made it hard to breathe; every gesture showed the steady majesty of those long in power.
Jiang Chenyan’s gaze swept across the venue, finally landing on a figure at the highest point—Xie Huaijin’s father, Xie Cheng.
The Alpha sat in the center with a stern expression, his eyes as deep as an abyss, calmly watching everything before him.
In the past, Xie Cheng would never attend such competitions in person. This exception was only because Xie Huaijin was participating. This was a perfect opportunity; he wanted to use this to send his son directly into the core of the Alliance.
Xie Cheng already had an understanding of the status of each team. Those who could pose a threat to Xie Huaijin, besides the one from the Mu family, were only…
The team of Jiang Chenyan and Shen Shiyue that had suddenly emerged.
Xie Cheng observed the few of them without any outward sign. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. They were either of unknown identity or of ordinary grade; such a team couldn’t cause much trouble and wasn’t worth fearing.
Too many big shots, whom people had only seen on screens before, were gathered here. Many students couldn’t hide their excitement. This might be the only time in their lives they would be the center of such attention, and all eyes were focused on the competing teams.
Jiang Chenyan’s back suddenly felt a chill, and a strange gaze felt like needles on his back.
He instinctively looked toward the source of that gaze. The moment their eyes met, Jiang Chenyan was suddenly stunned.
Jiang Xuanshen…
The other party noticed his gaze. His expression was as indifferent as if there were no ripples, and his eyes were as cold as if they had been dipped in ice.
Immediately after, Jiang Xuanshen opened his thin lips slightly, silently forming words for Jiang Chenyan that were clear enough to be identified: “Where did you hide your sister-in-law?”
“Little brother.”
Jiang Chenyan instantly broke out in a layer of fine goosebumps. That bone-chilling gaze, combined with that sticky, web-like address and questioning—his stomach churned, and he felt nauseous to the extreme.
Jiang Chenyan didn’t look a second time, retracting his gaze as his fingertips turned white from gripping.
the lights flickered, and the surrounding cheers and discussions entered his ears. For some reason, Jiang Chenyan thought of those boxing matches; when the fighters appeared, the audience would also seethe like this.
Perhaps some results were already decided, just like Xie Huaijin and Mu Sian, who were just going through the motions in this competition.
“Alright, please have each team enter the simulator.” The instruction from the broadcast interrupted Jiang Chenyan’s thoughts.
Just before entering, Jiang Chenyan instinctively glanced at the spectator stands. His gaze suddenly froze. In a corner sat someone wearing a mask and hat. Their slender build was out of place among the strong Alphas around them, and the silhouette was inexplicably familiar.
In the instant Jiang Chenyan’s heart felt suspicious, that person seemed to sense his gaze and deliberately raised a hand, touching the edge of the mask, trying to reveal that face.
Jiang Chenyan’s pupils contracted abruptly. The moment he saw that face, his vision nearly went dark. How could it be Kai Lan?
How could he appear in the inner venue?
Before he could investigate, in the next second, the world before his eyes fell into a thick darkness. His body had already been pulled uncontrollably into the virtual space of the simulator.
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