Chapter 19 : Take Your Heart

“Aaah! It’s Zhu Hanqi, right?! Long time no see! I’ve heard about you at school so many times! They say your girlfriend’s the great Zhu Lulubing—aaah!”

So loud.

“Aaah! I so want to meet Zhu Lulubing, that adorable baby! And the freshman rep, Shen Yingxu, so cute, pretty, and classy~ Totally slay~ You’re practically famous now! I tell people I knew you back then, and they don’t believe me!”

What milk tea should I order?

“Aaah! But Ye Qingshu, you okay? Don’t worry, those who know you won’t believe those rumors!! If you need help, just say the word, no problem!!!”

…Does this girl need to start every sentence with a screech like a groundhog?

Glancing at Jiang Xiang-senpai’s expression, I finally understood why she insisted I come immediately.

“T-Thanks…” Ye Qingshu replied hesitantly, acknowledging the kindness.

“Aaah! It’s what friends do~ We hung out at the mall, sang karaoke, trendy girls, right?”

Li Xiaowan, bursting with exaggerated energy, gave us a curious, teasing, probing look as we sat together.

“But why’re you two at a milk tea shop so late? Ooh~ Is something going on~~~?”

Ye Qingshu glanced at me instinctively.

“Nah, just happened to be shopping together,” I said with a smile.

“…Yeah, just out together,” Ye Qingshu echoed softly, head down.

“Oh, really~? I thought you two had something going on. You grew up together, didn’t you?”

Haha, now that she’s dropped the “aaah” shtick, it’s coming back to me.

She’s the one who said I was annoying for clinging to Ye Qingshu, isn’t she?!

“Even growing up together, no social boundaries can get annoying, right? I’ve learned not to rely on others,” I said, smiling. “Thanks to your reminder back then, Li Xiaowan. Though it felt like you were setting the stage for someone else’s grand entrance.”

“Huh? Haha… Did I say that? Sorry, it’s been so long, I forgot…”

Perfect. That fake smile shows a crack. My suspicion’s confirmed.

She’s definitely…

But my words didn’t just affect Li Xiaowan.

“No… I only said that because I was scared of being mocked for being too close to you! I was never annoyed! I never thought you were clinging… It was always me relying on you!”

…Ye Qingshu, do you ever read the room?

Her frantic confession plunged our table into an eerie silence.

“Miss, your sparkling water.”

“Thanks, and add a popcorn order.”

Jiang Xiang-senpai, sipping her drink through a straw, watched us like a bystander at a drama. “Wild, too wild. Shame I didn’t bring my recorder.”

…Journalism major vibes.

Seeing Ye Qingshu cover her face and go quiet, Li Xiaowan’s cheek twitched noticeably.

“Um, back then we were immature, and I caused you trouble, Zhu Hanqi… I’m really sorry,” she said, seeming sincere. “If you can’t forgive me, I get it, but at least believe Qingshu. You might not know, but she still cared about you back then…”

I grinned, looking at Li Xiaowan’s earnest act, and spoke.

“‘What’s with this b*tch? Why’s she suddenly so hung up on her loser childhood friend?’”

“‘Guess I’ll play the good guy too. Maybe it’ll make her resist more, and if Senpai gets annoyed and gives up, he might fall into my arms~❤.’”

In an instant, Li Xiaowan’s fake smile froze.

Jiang Xiang-senpai nearly choked on her sparkling water, coughing wildly.

“Zhu Hanqi…?”

Ye Qingshu, confused by my outburst, turned to me with a puzzled look.

I kept smiling at Li Xiaowan, whose expression shifted from stiff to wary.

“‘Coincidence? No way… He can’t know! At least not that precisely!’”

“!”

As I parroted her thoughts, Li Xiaowan’s face grew darker.

“…Looks like you’re starting to get what I’m saying.”

I smiled at her. “I’m not great at explaining or proving, so I used this method to make you believe. Hm… ‘Real? Fake? Is he bluffing? No way this is possible!’ …It is, Li Xiaowan.”

I pointed outside the shop.

“Too many eyes here. Let’s talk outside.”

“I’ll clear your doubts, you answer my questions.”

…

“‘Impossible, this isn’t anime or a novel—how could anyone read minds?!’ …Well, the world’s full of wonders.”

At the back door of the milk tea shop, I faced Li Xiaowan.

“Who are you—”

“Not important. I’ve answered your doubt, confirmed mind-reading exists. You don’t get to ask questions now.”

Her guarded expression was laced with deep unease.

Having your thoughts exposed repeatedly makes anyone question reality.

“Let’s start simple. What’s your relationship with Yang Xinwei?”

As she opened her mouth, I nodded.

“Oh, you’re obsessed with him, but he barely cares? Got it.”

“!”

This mocking self-Q&A probably felt scarier than torture to her right now.

Answers come with every question, no consent needed—like dying before deleting your chat logs or search history.

“Your dynamic with him—oh, you take candids for him, and he shows some gratitude? Tsk, spicy gratitude. Too bad it can’t go on 91 or Douyin.”

“Who are you—!”

Her voice cracked with a sob, like she’d been stripped bare in public.

“Please, let me go…”

“This is just the start, right? Compared to what I just saw, this is like I haven’t even dropped my pants.”

I said calmly.

She slid down the wall, crouching, clutching her head as if to stop thinking.

“Next, about Ye Qingshu. Look up when people talk to you, got it?”

I stared into her eyes, filled with ghostly fear.

“You were working with Yang Xinwei back in middle school, right? On the candid photos—you’re repeat offenders, aren’t you?”

“Where’re the photos and videos stored? …Cloud drive, huh.”

“Last digits of the cloud address? 4? 8? Oh, 6.”

“So, 6-digit address. How many letters, numbers? 3? No, 4 letters, 2 numbers.”

“Number positions…” “Letters are…” “Password length…”

…

Ten minutes later.

Li Xiaowan, unable to take the torment, let out a crazed scream, mentally collapsing as she shoved past me and fled.

No big deal. I got what I needed.

More importantly, the shadow I planted in her mind took root.

At the shop’s back door, I glanced at the dark corner and sighed.

“We’re temporarily allied, so do you really need to hold a knife, ready to physically intervene at any moment?”

“…I hid well. How do you always notice, then and now?”

Emerging from the shadows was none other than Shen Yingxu, who’d supposedly gone home.

“I’m pretty good at light magic.”

“Oh, it’s just a stock line. If you hadn’t shown up, I’d have said, ‘Senpai, stop hiding,’ or ‘Zhu Lulubing, come out.’”

I shrugged.

“…A scam?!”

Shen Yingxu’s eyes widened.

“What else? Your light magic’s great, but your brain’s not.”

Thud.

I dodged her thrown knife, wiping cold sweat.

I’d guessed her first because I sensed something off in the environment—no need to admit that. It’s Demon King survival smarts.

“…So, saying your first skill was postpartum care was a lie, right? It’s mind-reading!”

She asked with a complex tone.

“Mind-reading? Really?”

“…No way it exists.”

I said flatly. “Hearts are way more complex than magic. Tech and magic combined can’t crack them.”

“Then just now…”

Shen Yingxu stared, confused.

“I used a minor sensory-enhancing spell to guess her rough emotions, like a lie detector.”

I glanced at her.

“‘Had to go home but couldn’t stop worrying about Ye Qingshu, so I snuck out with magic to check…’”

“You did guess it!” Shen Yingxu’s eyes widened.

“Think with that dim brain of yours. Do you really form full sentences in your head? Thoughts flash and vanish—how could they be complete?”

I rolled my eyes. “I just read your expressions and actions, then said what fit your thoughts to make you think I nailed it.”

“What… Though, reading emotions is still scary,” Shen Yingxu said. “So that’s your first skill, right?”

“…Close enough. Sounds useless at first, but it helped me see through people’s schemes and selfishness early on, keeping me alive. Not as magical as you think, but you could call it mind-reading in a way.”

I smiled.

“A Demon King’s first spell is mind-reading, huh? Or maybe, because your first spell was mind-reading, you became a Demon King.”

I pretended not to hear Shen Yingxu’s murmur, lost in the night.

“So, what’d you get from talking to Li Xiaowan?”

Seeing her return to the main topic, I grinned.

“Of course, it’s pretty interesting.”

“But before discussing with you, I need to tell Jiang Xiang-senpai that Li Xiaowan left and take Ye Qingshu home.”

“Since you snuck out, you don’t have a curfew, right? Wanna go somewhere?”

“…Where?” Shen Yingxu asked curiously, yanking her knife from the wall. “You’re inviting me?”

“Zhu Lulubing’s place.”

Duh, I wouldn’t dare go alone. I still don’t get Zhu Lulubing’s deal—going solo’s not safe.

A tiger’s den calls for a buddy. If danger hits, I just need to outrun Shen Yingxu.

In her shocked expression, I gave a sincere smile.