Chapter 12: Gossip Queen (12)

Ning Keqing’s explanation made others unwilling to trust her. It just led to more misunderstandings.

Ming Shu finished the apple and flung the core away. She clapped her hands and looked at Jiang Xun. “Brother, could you please go out and keep watch for me?”

Jiang Xun frowned and asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Hit her.” Ming Shu pointed at Ning Keqing, who was still pretending to be innocent and pitiful.

Ning Keqing widened her eyes, surprised. Was Jiang Nian about to hit her here? And she even asked Jiang Xun to keep watch for her. Was she crazy?

“…” Jiang Xun was speechless. He swallowed words about doing it for her and said, “Be careful.”

Ming Shu smiled.

Jiang Xun glanced at Ning Keqing and turned to leave, his footstep gradually disappearing.

Ming Shu touched her chin. Jiang Xun… Maybe he liked the Host. But the Host didn’t know and even trampled on his love again and again.

And now Jiang Xun just met Ning Keqing when Ming Shu came to this world. So it was unlikely that Jiang Xun would fall in love with Ning Keqing.

Ah, it wasn’t technically sound to obtain Hatred Points this way.

“Jiang Nian, what do you want to do?” Ning Keqing leaned against the wall, her mask fading. There was anger and hatred in her gaze.

She really couldn’t remember when and where she offended Jiang Nian.

“I don’t want to do anything.” Ming Shu’s smile became a little obscene, her eyes shining. “I just want to reason with Miss Ning. After all, I’m a reasonable woman.”

“…” If Ming Shu really want to reason with her, why did she ask Jiang Xun to keep watch? Was she lying? She just said she was about to hit Ning Keqing! Did she think Ning Keqing forgot or didn’t hear?

“Jiang Nian.” Ning Keqing calmed down. She had lived two lives, she couldn’t be frightened by Jiang Nian. “When did I offend you?”

At first, when Jiang Nian had only poured juice on Ning Keqing, it could be that she was helping Song Man. But how could she explain what Jiang Nian had done later?

There was no reason for it.

“Maybe in your last life.” It was quite right. In Ning Keqing’s last life, she bullied the Host severely.

Ming Shu answered randomly. But Ning Keqing, who’d kept this secret, was quite frightened. However, when she thought about it, she found that she didn’t have any relations with Jiang Nian in her last life, so she must not have offended her back then.

“Jiang Nian, shouldn’t you give me a reason as to why you did all this to me?”

Ming Shu felt confused. “Eh, why are you pretending to be a white lotus?”

Because Li Shaonan and Jiang Xun were not here, Ning Keqing was unwilling to act. It was not professional. What if passersby saw her real self!

“…”

Ming Shu, with a smile on her face, walked toward Ning Keqing, step after step. Ning Keqing couldn’t back away anymore and sweat appeared on her forehead. She hadn’t learned Kong Fu, but she knew that Jiang Nian had.

Ning Keqing threatened her with words. “Jiang Nian, the journalists are outside. No matter what you do to me, it’ll be reported tomorrow.”

Ming Shu caught Ning Keqing’s arm and smiled. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not me who’ll become a laughing stock.”

Ning Keqing looked at Ming Shu’s smiling face and blanked out.

A second passed.

Ning Keqing felt a sharp pain.

…

Ming Shu stepped out, wiping her hands. Jiang Xun leaned against wall outside, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He was illuminated by the weak wall lamp, which made him appear lonely. Half of his face was in shadow, so his expression couldn’t be seen clearly.

He suddenly turned around and looked into Ming Shu’s eyes. Ming Shu’s mouth turned up in a perfect smile.

Ming Shu stood at the junction of light and darkness. Behind her was light, shining with boundless radiance; ahead was an endless darkness.

Jiang Xun paused for a moment and removed the cigarette, tossing it into a garbage can. He straightened up and asked, “Finished?”

“En.” Ming Shu walked into the shadows as if abandoning the shining light at her back.

Light flashed in Jiang Xun’s eyes for a second. He suddenly reached out and caught Ming Shu, who was passing by him, and pushed her against the wall.

They were so close to each other, Ming Shu could even hear the sound of Jiang Xun’s heartbeat, rapid and powerful.

Ming Shu didn’t resist. She looked at him and smiled wider. “Brother, what are you trying to do?”

Because she called him brother, Jiang Xun sobered up quickly. He lowered his head as if to hide something and released Ming Shu. He answered in a hoarse voice, “It’s nothing.”

Ming Shu righted herself and untied the knot on her dress, swaggering forward.

Jiang Xun really liked the Host.

It was a pity.

The Host would never know.

Ah… Lovers become brother and sister in the end.

[Guest, you could try to attract Jiang Xun.] the Harmony System suggested.

“Why?”

[When he falls in love with you, you dump him. You could get Hatred Points this way.]

Let people like you, then get rid of them. Was she such an evil woman?

Harmony System, are you really harmonious?

You shouldn’t give such suggestions.

You’re so shameless!

[Guest, don’t forget your task is to get Hatred Points. You should only regard these people as characters in a game. Besides, you are worse than now when you want to be bad.]

Ming Shu smiled. “I regard that as high praise.”

[…]

“I refuse.”

[Why?]

“Are you blind? Don’t you see Jiang Xun clearly? He must be smarter and stronger than me. I’m afraid I couldn’t get rid of him and have to kill him.” I don’t want to be in trouble.

[If you do that, you will obtain more Hatred Points.]

“…” In the fiction that she read recently, the system was good and kind; its aim was to rescue others. However, why did her system encourage her to be an evil woman and even kill people?

Maybe it was a fake system. “Well, why must you ruin everything?”

[Our task is to obtain Hatred Points.]

That meant they needed Hatred Points only and needn’t care for others’ lives.

You are so powerful, why don’t you destroy the world directly?!

“Hmph!”

Ming Shu ignored the Harmony System. She believed the system needed to learn graciousness, kindness, and beauty. What would she do if she was encouraged to do bad things all day in the future. After all, she couldn’t restrain herself.

Jiang Xun followed her, not too far or too close. She could feel his stare from time to time as if she was being watched by a poisoned snake: simply horrible.

Does Jiang Xun want to scare me to death in order to inherit my snacks?

So in order to protect my snacks, I only have to do bad things when necessary.

“Jiang Nian!”

This shout almost startled Ming Shu into dropping her smile.

A tall man walked toward her, radiating a strong sense of oppression. No need to guess. It must be Li Shaonan wanting to scare her to death to inherit her snacks.

Why do I always run into him?

Guards, protect my snacks!

“Where is Keqing?” Li Shaonan stopped before Ming Shu. Being tall, he looked down at Ming Shu disdainfully. There was fire in his eyes, as if he was going to tear her to pieces.

“Mr. Li.” Jiang Xun put his arm around Ming Shu’s shoulder and pulled her against his chest. He looked at Li Shaonan. “You’re scaring my sister.”

Ming Shu quietly slipped out of Jiang Xun’s hug. She glanced around and found there was a row of chairs in the corridor. She headed straight for them and climbed onto one, instantaneously becoming much taller than Li Shaonan. With a smile on her face, she replied, “Mr. Li, if you lose your canary, you can go to the zoo to look for it. Why did you ask me? I’m not the zookeeper.”

Are you just tall?

I am even afraid of myself when I’m tall.

“…” Is she crazy? Li Shaonan thought.

“…” My sister is quite strange , Jiang Xun thought.