Chapter 179: The Invitation

Watching Ye Xingchen walk away without looking back, Ji Ruxue felt, for the first time, as if she had been stunned.

It wasn’t just about losing face—what truly stirred her heart was the realization that this was probably the first time in her life she had been so bluntly rejected by a junior.

What baffled her even more was the look in his eyes when they met hers. There was an indifference to beauty, as if her face, which countless students admired, didn’t even register in his mind.

This feeling of being utterly disregarded was stranger than any harsh words, and it even brought a faint sense of defeat.

Though she disliked the title “Iceberg Goddess” that the boys had given her—dismissing it as their imagination based on distance—she was still a recognized genius in the Pharmacy Department. How could she be treated like this? Ignored by a junior? It was too disheartening.

Then, Ji Ruxue did something even she didn’t anticipate: she took Ye Xingchen’s hand.

“Wait, there’s something I want to ask you.” Her voice carried a slight tremor she herself didn’t notice, perhaps from the sudden initiative, or perhaps from an inexplicable emotion deep inside.

Ye Xingchen was also taken aback. He hadn’t expected the senior to be so forward.

But sensing no ill intent, he stopped, though he couldn’t help thinking wryly:

‘Back on Earth, when I was just a corporate drone, I never had such luck. Now that I’m a drone in another world, I’ve somehow become a hot commodity, attracting beauties one after another?’

“Senior, there’s a proper distance between men and women. And look, there are so many people watching.”

He wasn’t lying. By now, many passing students had stopped, their eyes fixed on their clasped hands, whispers surging like waves.

Ye Xingchen even felt he almost blurted out the joke, ‘When you don’t care about the details, every woman looks charming,’ but he managed to swallow it in time.

Ji Ruxue was jolted by his words. She snapped back to reality. The curious, shocked, and probing looks, along with the murmurs, pricked her like needles.

Her cheeks flushed, and she let go of his hand as if burned, stepping back half a step uncomfortably.

She usually didn’t care about gossip. Since entering the academy, she had kept to herself, earning a reputation as cold and aloof, which, combined with her talent in pharmacy, gave her the “Iceberg Goddess” title.

But she knew it was just a name the male students came up with. Just like the younger girls had a school beauty list, the seniors had a goddess list.

They wanted to put them on a pedestal, so that if they succeeded in winning them over, it would satisfy their pathetic sense of conquest.

She saw through the boys’ intentions clearly: they always wanted the best women to prove their own worth.

But to be honest, no male student in the academy had ever caught her heart. It wasn’t about looks—they were just too ordinary and too immature.

Yet this Ye Xingchen, despite pretending to be childish, had a look in his eyes that couldn’t be faked. It was a look she had only seen in some elders from families who had long been on the front lines—even more profound than any elder she had met. But he was just a student. How could he have such a look?

Something was off. Very off.

“Junior Ye, I’m not an unreasonable person. How about this: I’ll treat you to lunch. Would you do me the honor?”

The words “treat you to lunch” made the surrounding students freeze in place, their breaths seemingly caught. The male students, in particular, looked at Ye Xingchen with shock, jealousy, and a hint of frustration.

Ye Xingchen was already a “hot topic” in the Starcast Magic Academy. Everyone knew that the last-place student in his grade had caught the attention of Su Liyue, the number one school beauty, who even took the initiative to get close. That alone made many boys green with envy.

But now? On the very first day of the advanced practical class, even Senior Ji Ruxue, a name on the goddess list, was inviting him to lunch? This left no room for other guys!

Many began to feel indignant. ‘We’re all men, why him? He’s last in the grade, yet he has an aura that attracts beauties, while we can’t even get close to Ji Ruxue?’

“Senior, you’ve got the wrong person. I’m just a last-place student. How can I help you?”

Lunch? He hadn’t earned any favor, so why suddenly have a meal together? If it weren’t for the fact that the beautiful senior seemed socially awkward, he would have gladly accepted. But with her, he wasn’t sure. Her sincere eyes were almost watery, sending chills down his spine.

Besides, he knew he had to be gentle with women, or else his sister Ye Yunxi would scold him for being a blockhead again.

Though his sister was probably still in the cultivation world, and he didn’t know when he could return.

Just as Ye Xingchen was planning how to decline, Ji Ruxue suddenly stepped half a step closer, her gaze intensely serious, and dropped a bombshell:

“Junior Ye, I’ve actually been wanting to say this for a while… Could it be that you’re lacking in that certain area? I’ve noticed you lack a certain spark when you look at girls around you. If that’s the case, don’t worry—I have some secret recipes that might help.”

These words struck Ye Xingchen like a thunderbolt, especially with so many students around, all stunned by the remark.

What kind of brazen words were these? He had just started his third year, and a senior was already questioning his manhood? This level of devilry matched that seemingly aloof but secretly cunning Yaochi Saintess, Lin Ruoyao!

That sly little devil had a figure that was against the rules—just walking two steps, the astonishing rise and fall of her chest was visible. She was a true “lethal weapon” of the cultivation world. No wonder her name was Lin Ruoyao—she swayed with every step.

He still didn’t fully understand why she had taken a liking to him back then.

But now was not the time to think about that. Ye Xingchen looked at Ji Ruxue’s serious face and felt a vein throb on his forehead. This senior was even more shocking in her words than he had imagined.

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