Chapter 86: Something Unusual

After eating my fill, Huang Daxian passed through the wall to leave again.
This time, he didn’t go through the window but slipped through the door.
He ate an extra portion of pork, but at least the deal was done.

Afterward, Xiao Qing sent me today’s homework.
I finished copying it before taking a shower to get ready for bed.
Ever since I took on Xia Yubing’s form, I’ve been showering much more diligently.

On one hand, it’s to keep clean.
On the other, her body is undeniably beautiful.
Plus, the integrated bathroom in this new place is incredibly comfortable—shower, sauna, and dryer all in one.
I’d never had such luxury before, so why not enjoy it while I can?

But I kept feeling an odd itch on my body, faint but persistent.
I wasn’t sure if it was an allergy or maybe an insect crawling on me.
When I checked the itchy spots, though, my skin seemed normal.
If it didn’t clear up in a day or two, I’d have to buy some anti-allergy medicine.

Fortunately, the slight itch didn’t keep me from sleeping.
I’d thought moving to a new place might make it hard to adjust to an unfamiliar environment, but these past couple of days, I’ve fallen asleep quickly and slept soundly.
This new place seemed to have a calming, soothing effect.

But as I was dozing off, half-asleep, I thought I heard the sound of a door opening.
Normally, that wouldn’t be strange—someone going out to handle something in the early hours isn’t unusual.
But then there were footsteps, going up and down the stairs, back and forth repeatedly.

The footsteps weren’t particularly heavy.
If not for the itch on my skin and my recently sharpened hearing, I might have ignored them.
Now, though, the constant pacing up and down the stairs was starting to annoy me.

Thankfully, it didn’t last too long.
With another sound of a door opening, the hallway fell silent.
I quickly drifted back to sleep, waking only when my alarm blared in the morning.

Another day of classes awaited.
Today, I didn’t run into Fan Yuxuan on my way out.
Instead, I noticed a wreath on the door of my neighbor at 12-1.
It was quite pretty, almost like the kind foreigners hang on their doors at Christmas.

Come to think of it, this entire floor belonged to Xia Yubing’s parents.
The other residents were tenants, meaning I could collect rent from them in the future.
I didn’t know the rental rates, but for a four-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, it should fetch a decent amount.
Maybe just the rent could cover my daily expenses.

I should find a chance to meet the other two tenants.
Who knows, I might end up relying on them to get by.

With these thoughts, I stepped into the elevator.
It stopped at the tenth floor, and an elderly woman stepped in, giving me a smile.

This time, she didn’t greet me.
Listening closely, I realized she was chanting Buddhist sutras, her fingers moving over a string of bodhi beads, much like a monk with prayer beads.

A golden aura emanated from her.
It was a sign of true Buddhist protection.
Compared to the immense aura Master Yanming had exuded during his rituals, it was far weaker, but it was still genuine, born from her heart.

This must be tied to the Buddhist artifacts she wore all over her body.
She’d likely been chanting sutras for years, cultivating something real enough to channel the artifacts into forming a Buddhist glow.

When the elevator doors opened, I politely let her exit first, holding the “open” button to keep the doors from closing.
Then I noticed an interesting detail.

The elevator’s display showed “Floor 0.”
I hadn’t realized this elevator had a “0” setting.
Some buildings do this, where the actual first floor houses shops, warehouses, or parking, so the residential floors start from the second floor, labeled as the first.

In our complex, the first floor was all convenience stores, supermarkets, and delivery services, so calling it “Floor 0” made sense.
I didn’t think much of it and followed the old woman out of the elevator.

When I got to school, I’d barely stepped through the gate when an annoying guy approached me—Cao Bao.
He came closer with a smug, irritating grin and asked, “Junior Xia, need any help?”

“No, I don’t.”
I rejected him outright.
I wasn’t doing anything that needed help.
I’d known before that Cao Bao had a thing for Xia Yubing, even sending his goons to rough up any guys who got close to her.

I didn’t know how the real Xia Yubing had reacted to Cao Bao’s fawning advances.
But after that day when his group beat me up, my impression of him was rock bottom.
I didn’t even want to look at him.

“Heh, I have something I’d like to talk to you about, Junior Xia.
Could we go somewhere quiet?”
Cao Bao said with another smile.

“No need. Whatever you have to say, you can say it here.”
I replied, feeling safer with so many people around.

“Alright then.
I heard that your family recently suffered a tragedy. My condolences.”
Cao Bao said, standing on the school pathway.

“How do you know that?!”
I turned to him sharply.
The Painted Skin Ghost incident was tightly controlled by the police—no news had leaked.
How could a student like him know about the Xia family’s annihilation?

“Some of my buddies were caught up in that incident too.
But I heard you arranged for a master to perform rituals for them.
Junior Xia, you’re as kind as you are beautiful.
I thank you on their behalf.”
Cao Bao said.

So it was about his group of thugs.
When I arranged rituals for them, the police had invited their parents.
Cao Bao must have been close with a few of them and heard rumors from their families.

And now he was using that as an excuse to pester me.
Thanking me for his friends was just a pretext—his real goal was probably to pursue Xia Yubing.
To think he’d exploit even his friends’ deaths—those thugs would probably die restless if they knew.

He likely thought that with Xia Yubing’s family gone, she’d be vulnerable, steeped in fear and grief.
He could swoop in to comfort her, earning her favor.

Too bad he miscalculated.
Sure, I’d lost my family too, but the deaths of those distant parents only stirred faint ripples in my heart, nothing more.
Especially now, with my immediate crises mostly resolved, I had no emotional vulnerabilities for him to exploit.

“No need to thank me.
I was just doing what needed to be done.
Now that you’ve said your piece, I’ll be going.”
I turned to leave.
I didn’t know how the real Xia Yubing felt about Cao Bao, but I wanted nothing to do with someone like him.

Cao Bao was stunned.
This wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.
He even reached out, grabbing my arm, and said, “Junior Xia, why are you in such a hurry to leave?
If you have anything on your mind, you can talk to me!”

“I don’t have anything to talk about.
Let go of me.”
I tried to pull my hand back, but suddenly, Cao Bao’s grip tightened, like a vice clamping down.

A sharp pain shot through my hand.
As expected of the school’s bully leader, used to violence, his strength was overwhelming.
Instinctively, I yanked my hand back—and to my surprise, I broke free from his tight grip.