Chapter 6: I’m Here

“Are you really okay?”
Li Xiaoran’s voice now carried a deeper note of concern. She followed Lin Cheng’s gaze but saw nothing.
Lin Cheng rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s nothing. Maybe my wound hasn’t healed properly and the nerves are a bit sensitive.”

For some reason, the intermittent cold sensation inexplicably reminded him of Su Wanqing.

Seeing that Lin Cheng finally had some kind of reaction, Su Wanqing was so excited she nearly jumped.
The young lady started waving her hands.
“Lin Cheng, feel it again! I’m right here!”

Lin Cheng frowned, his eyes scanning the classroom again—but there was nothing.
He turned back to Li Xiaoran.
“Xiaoran, the mountain climbing trip is settled then.”

The blush on Li Xiaoran’s face hadn’t fully faded. Hearing this, she nodded softly, her voice like cotton.
“Okay… but your hand hasn’t healed yet. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Su Wanqing, off to the side, immediately gnashed her teeth in frustration, her small pink fists clenched tightly.
“Lin Cheng, you idiot! She’s just trying to take advantage of the situation—why don’t you get it?”

She wanted nothing more than to rush over and kick Li Xiaoran away, but she couldn’t even touch her. All she could do was watch helplessly as the two continued their lovey-dovey interaction.

Just then—
The shadow chain on her ankle suddenly tightened. A bone-chilling cold surged up her body, like a warning not to cause any more trouble.
Su Wanqing flinched from the pain. A wave of grievance and anger welled up inside her. She glared down at the dark chain, gritting her teeth.
“What the hell are you? What right do you have to control me!”

She tried to struggle, but the chain wouldn’t budge. Instead, it tightened further.
Su Wanqing jumped around in pain, yelping and screeching.
Finally, she curled up beside Lin Cheng’s desk, so aggrieved she was nearly in tears.
“Lin Cheng… you idiot… I’m already like this, and you’re still going on a date with someone else…”

There was a hint of a sob in Su Wanqing’s voice.
She knew she had no right to be jealous, no right to expect anything from Lin Cheng—but she just couldn’t suppress the sourness and unwillingness in her chest.

Lin Cheng looked at Li Xiaoran beside him. She was lowering her head to organize her schoolbag, her profile as gentle as a painting.

In the plot given by the system, Li Xiaoran was a side character, mentioned only once. There was no detailed description of her personality or background.
Everything Lin Cheng knew about her came from personal interaction.

But would the system really assign a mission involving a side character?
Could Li Xiaoran be a major villain in the second half of the novel?
Or was she part of a foreshadowed subplot?
Maybe she had some connection to Su Wanqing? Was that why the system mission involved her?

“Xiaoran,” Lin Cheng suddenly asked, “what was your relationship with Su Wanqing like?”

Li Xiaoran was momentarily stunned. She looked up at him, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
“I… wasn’t particularly close to Wanqing. Her personality was rather… um, strong. We didn’t talk much. But she was actually a good person—just a bit too proud.”

Lin Cheng nodded and didn’t press further.
Su Wanqing had always been proud and aloof, rarely giving anyone a second glance.
She was practically a walking template of the arrogant young lady in novels and TV dramas.

Lin Cheng wasn’t sure why all these thoughts were flooding his mind today.
But ever since this morning, he kept feeling a chill behind him—as if Su Wanqing was still somewhere watching him.

The next class began.
Zhou Mingyuan also returned to the classroom to continue attending lessons.

His return—now as both the young master of the Zhou family and the successor of the Su family—surprised many classmates.
After all, in wealthy circles, attending school was mostly a formality.
Now that Su Wanqing was dead, shouldn’t Zhou Mingyuan’s most important role be to stay by her parents’ side?

“Wanqing is gone, but I think I have to carry on her studies for her. At the very least, I’ll take the college entrance exam once and finish the final paper for Wanqing.”
Zhou Mingyuan’s explanation sounded quite reasonable.

But Su Wanqing understood all too well.
This was just the murderer’s way of avoiding responsibility, distancing himself from her parents to save himself the trouble.
He was already set to inherit the Su family’s fortune—what did he care about going to comfort her grieving parents?

Whether he took care of them or not didn’t matter anymore.
Su Wanqing had already severed all emotional ties.
Let her be heartless.
She was already dead.

The girl looked at Lin Cheng’s profile.
After yesterday’s events, Su Wanqing had calmed down a lot and had been thinking about many things.
She was a ghost now—or perhaps not.

She didn’t know how much longer she could linger, or where the chain would eventually drag her.

But,
As long as she was still here,
She had to protect Lin Cheng.
She couldn’t let that beast Zhou Mingyuan harm him.