Chapter 86: The Bait and the Lunatic

One day, as they made their way to Mo Qiu’s house, Bai Chen finally broke the silence.

“We’re almost there. Tell me, what’s the plan?”

“I can’t believe Manager Cheng Xuan actually agreed. What exactly did you say to her?”

Su Wanghai countered, a hint of suspicion in his voice, “You didn’t sell your soul, did you…?”

“Sell your *head*!”

Bai Chen nearly kicked him into the street.

“I simply explained the situation to her, and she agreed.”

Su Wanghai paused, utterly dumbfounded. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

In truth, it wasn’t quite that simple. Bai Chen himself harbored a deep curiosity about why Manager Cheng Xuan had agreed to cover for Su Wanghai. Manager Cheng Xuan’s stated reason was a direct order from her superior, instructing her to pay closer attention to Bai Chen.

Even knowing that Su Wanghai had been the one to summon Bai Chen, Manager Cheng Xuan still prioritized Bai Chen’s well-being. Such were the advantages of his distinguished military record.

“I knew there was a reason that old geezer was still single. Could it be she… has a thing for ‘snacking’ on people your age?”

“You should be thankful Manager Cheng Xuan isn’t here.”

If those words had been overheard, Su Wanghai would face far more than a mere lecture.

“Stop with the idle chatter! We’re almost there. Tell me, what’s the plan?”

Unlike the agitated Bai Chen, Su Wanghai calmly motioned for him to relax, straightened his collar, and began to explain.

The plan was simple: Bai Chen would intentionally tell Mo Qiu he had an urgent matter, claiming he needed to study.

He had to deliver the news in person and act a little nervous.

This would hopefully sow a seed of suspicion in her mind.

If Mo Qiu had no ulterior motives, the matter would simply end there, and Bai Chen would just need to reassure her later.

However, if Mo Qiu *was* indeed problematic, approaching Bai Chen with some hidden agenda, she certainly wouldn’t give up so easily. Instead, she would secretly follow him.

As Su Wanghai finished speaking, Bai Chen’s expression grew increasingly grim, and he couldn’t help but question him.

“What kind of plan is this? It’s clearly unreliable! Why would Mo Qiu following me automatically mean she’s suspicious? What if she’s just a very persistent person? How would you explain that?”

“Don’t rush,” Su Wanghai chuckled. “Let her follow for a while, and we’ll see what she does.”

“Bai Chen, you just need to walk your path ahead. Leave the observation to me.”

‘Are you really reliable?’

“Damn it, I might not be good at fighting, but this is just tailing someone, isn’t it? Simple as can be.”

Even so, Bai Chen remained deeply worried. He wished he had asked for more details beforehand.

However, they had already arrived at the apartment building where Mo Qiu lived.

There was no turning back now.

‘I’ll trust him just this once.’

Such was Bai Chen’s thought, but when it came to execution, he found it far more challenging than he had imagined.

“Bai Chen, are you listening?”

“Ah, yes!”

Upon arriving at Mo Qiu’s home, Bai Chen sat beside her, and they began studying the exam papers together.

Mo Qiu was wearing a long-hemmed red dress that day, its fabric extending well past her hips. Her white stockings, sheer enough to hint at the delicate pink of her skin beneath, constantly drew his gaze.

Bai Chen couldn’t tell if it was his imagination, but he had a persistent feeling that she wore nothing else beneath those white stockings.

“Bai Chen, is something on your mind?”

“No, let’s continue.”

More than half an hour had passed since he arrived at Mo Qiu’s home, and Bai Chen had been caught in a constant internal battle, oscillating between speaking and remaining silent. Even though he knew Su Wanghai was waiting for his signal, a wave of guilt prevented him from opening his mouth.

“Perhaps we should take a break?”

The girl leaned closer, seemingly intent on presenting her ample bosom directly before Bai Chen.

“No, I… I…”

Bai Chen instinctively leaned back, his arm accidentally knocking a pen off the table, sending it rolling to the other side.

“I’ll get it.”

Mo Qiu immediately bent down, disappearing beneath the table, and Bai Chen let out a silent sigh of relief.

However, his relief was short-lived. As Mo Qiu crouched under the table, her bottom, barely concealed by her long top, swayed tantalizingly before him.

The question that had been plaguing Bai Chen was finally answered: she truly wasn’t wearing anything underneath!

Beneath the white fabric, a matching pair of small panties, adorned with a tiny bear print, appeared and disappeared with her movements, as if beckoning him to come and play.

If he were a beast, he would surely seize this “opportunity” to take things further. But Bai Chen couldn’t. If he were to do such a thing, he knew he would never forgive himself.

When Mo Qiu resurfaced, she found Bai Chen sitting as if on fire, his head tilted away.

Just then, Bai Chen’s phone vibrated.

It was Su Wanghai’s signal. Bai Chen pulled out his phone, feigned checking a message, and then announced.

“Apologies, Mo Qiu, but something urgent just came up. I have to leave.” Bai Chen hurried toward the door.

“Is that so?” Mo Qiu pursued him, her expression unreadable. “Is it important?”

“Yes, very important.”

“Let’s reschedule for next time.”

Mo Qiu nodded, offering no resistance. She followed him into the hallway, watching his quick, hurried steps as he departed the apartment building.

‘It’s almost as if he’s trying to lure someone… But his acting is truly terrible.’

‘Bai Chen clearly isn’t skilled at lying. This “urgent matter” is likely a ruse to get me to follow him. But what could his objective be?’

‘To think he’d try to trick me. This little boy is far too suspicious.’

Mo Qiu could easily turn around and return inside, letting his plan fall apart. However, considering that there was an unknown “wild woman” lurking around Bai Chen, what if something happened and she couldn’t intervene?

‘Bai Chen and that wild woman, conspiring against me? Unforgivable!’

Mo Qiu took a deep breath, then quickly returned to her room to put something on.

If they wanted to lure her, Mo Qiu would deliberately take the bait, curious to see just how far that wild woman would go.

Bai Chen’s pace noticeably slowed, and Mo Qiu didn’t take long to catch up.

This only strengthened her conviction that Bai Chen was intentionally trying to lead her on.

‘Playing such petty tricks in front of a deceiver? Hah, they’re two millennia too early!’

Walking down the street, Mo Qiu periodically scanned her surroundings, searching for any suspicious female figures.

Simultaneously, she pondered how she would deal with that wretched woman once she caught her.

‘Daring to seduce Bai Chen, even managing to get him to conspire against me? Mo Qiu had spent two months and couldn’t achieve such a feat. What right did she have?’

‘Such a person is too dangerous; she must be eliminated!’

Walking ahead, Bai Chen occasionally glanced down at the messages Su Wanghai was sending him.

‘That guy, he actually wants me to go to an amusement park? Does he need me to run that far?’

Bai Chen dared not look back, unsure if Mo Qiu was indeed following him.

If he had his way, he would wish Mo Qiu would stay safely at home and not go anywhere.

As for standing her up, he resolved to apologize profusely and make it up to her the next time they met.

His phone vibrated, a message from Su Wanghai stating that he had already set up an ambush near the amusement park and urging Bai Chen to speed up before their “prey” escaped.

‘He’s really treating Mo Qiu like an enemy, that guy.’

Bai Chen muttered under his breath.

He still had quite a distance to the amusement park. If he wanted to get there quickly, he would have to take the alleyways.

Fengling City was riddled with alleyways, some areas so intricate they resembled labyrinths.

However, if one knew how to utilize them, they transformed into convenient shortcuts.

Seeing Bai Chen suddenly quicken his pace and turn into an alley, Mo Qiu paused in surprise.

She initially thought she had been discovered.

‘Still no sign of that wild woman. Where in the world is she?’

Mo Qiu pursed her lips, then stepped forward, following him into the alley.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from behind her. Mo Qiu’s vigilance heightened dramatically.

She even pulled out the mirror card from her pocket.

What greeted her eyes, however, was the familiar bespectacled figure of Lin Qiyue. Mo Qiu quickly hid the card-clutching hand behind her back.

‘Why is he here? Is he involved with Bai Chen?’

“Mo Qiu, stop.”

‘Could it be true?’

Mo Qiu’s eyes widened slightly. She couldn’t believe Bai Chen had actually stooped to colluding with Lin Qiyue.

Fortunately, the Puppet Demon Eye didn’t retain memories, otherwise, if he reported her to Bai Chen, it would be troublesome.

Mo Qiu couldn’t be bothered with him; pursuing Bai Chen was more important.

“Mo Qiu, don’t you understand?”

The girl paused.

She turned her head to look at him.

“You’ve got your priorities all wrong. You’ve misunderstood what’s truly important!”

Lin Qiyue was exceptionally agitated, rummaging through his schoolbag as he spoke.

“Just look at this!”

Mo Qiu braced herself for whatever he might pull out, but when he thrust an exam paper right into her face, she instinctively took two steps back.

“See? A freshly printed exam paper! Isn’t it beautiful?”

Lin Qiyue continued, oblivious, “Don’t you feel the urge to pick up a pen and write down your thoughts after completing it?”

“I, for one, can barely restrain myself. If it weren’t for my mission to help you see the error of your ways, I wouldn’t have gone home to spend an entire evening with them!”

‘What is this person even talking about?’

“Studying is the most crucial thing for us! Stop pursuing romance and return to the embrace of academics!”

For someone like him, Mo Qiu had only one thought.

“Lunatic.”

“You can insult me, but you cannot insult studying!”

Lin Qiyue attempted to continue his harassment, but Mo Qiu, pushed past her breaking point, suddenly spun around.

Her eyes shimmered with pulsating pink hearts.

Lin Qiyue, who had been staring directly into the girl’s eyes, froze on the spot, pink hearts also appearing in his own.

It wasn’t long before his expression regained its vitality, the pink hearts still dancing in his eyes, as if he had become a different person. He pounded his chest forcefully.

“I shall fight for you, my master!”

Mo Qiu donned her mask, transforming into Libelle, and began to move forward in her small leather boots.

‘How should I deal with you?’

Mo Qiu didn’t want to waste too much time on him; she still needed to chase Bai Chen.

“I have it. The papers in your hand are toilet paper. You have a stomachache right now. Go find a public restroom quickly and use them all up.”

“Yes!”

“Make sure you use every single sheet! If it’s not enough, you can even scrape some from the adjacent stall.”

“Understood! I guarantee I won’t disappoint your favor!”

Once he had used all the exam papers, he would automatically regain his senses. His expression then would surely be quite spectacular.

As Mo Qiu pondered this, she happened to glance across the street at a printing shop.

A familiar figure caught her eye.

“Have you seen my exam papers? The ones I just printed? My bag is also gone!” The bespectacled man anxiously questioned the shop assistant.

“Lin Qiyue, that means the one just now…”

Mo Qiu spun around, looking at the ground behind her.

Lin Qiyue’s face was like a shattered statue, cracking open as numerous vines erupted from within.

Mo Qiu quickly leaped aside, narrowly dodging the vine’s attack.

The spot where she had stood was now marred by a shocking indentation from the vine’s strike.

If she hadn’t dodged in time, a human body would have been pulverized.

To trade a soiled dress for her life was an absolute bargain.

Mo Qiu crouched, gripping the mirror card tightly.

She looked up, just in time to see the figure standing on the rooftop.

It was the Mysterious Person, clad in a black robe with a hood obscuring their face!

“Long time no see, have you missed me?”

The girl’s eyes narrowed into stars, and she greeted them with a smile.

The Mysterious Person raised a hand, and a colossal shadow, blotting out the sun, surged toward the girl.