Chapter 31 Falling in Love (Asking for recommendation votes, but too timid to ask for tips, afraid of criticism)

That afternoon, nearly all the classmates assigned to the same task had already left, since the ghost had given everyone only a month’s time, and completing these assignments required urgency.

Hu Xiaotian and Jiang Jiewei were both sent to a mysterious village to locate an ancient corpse within a coffin, so they had departed early on. Gu Seling, who shared their dormitory, seemed to have gone out of town with someone else as well; he mentioned he was carrying out a troublesome task. Thus, only Zhang Xiaofan remained in the dormitory.

He opened the Underworld Taobao Mall, pondered for a moment, and decided not to spend all his money on physical transformation. Instead, he used ten thousand coins to enhance his physique to fifty percent. The previous battles had already shown him that, even with only a nine percent enhancement, his offensive power was impressive enough. There was no need to spend everything—after all, that red envelope hadn’t come easily.

This time, luck had blessed him with an unexpected windfall, but there was no telling what the future would bring. He believed it wiser to be frugal with his resources.

Then, after glancing through the rest of the mall, he spent a few hundred coins on some talisman papers and antidote pills. These items were not expensive for him now, yet would be quite useful.

At that moment, Su Qianqian called, inviting him to dinner to thank him for helping her the day before. Zhang Xiaofan agreed.

They met in the school cafeteria. For some reason, Su Qianqian’s expression didn’t look too good. After ordering a few dishes and eating for a while, she finally spoke. “Xiaofan, thank you so much for yesterday.”

“It’s nothing. It was my first time doing something like that, so I understand you’d be burdened by it. But remember, those people were bad,” Zhang Xiaofan said as he ate.

“Yes, they were bad people. But you know, I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed the corpse was chasing me, and even our whole class wanted to kill me,” Su Qianqian said sadly.

With a sigh, Zhang Xiaofan reflected that Su Qianqian’s temperament was still too soft; if she didn’t change, trouble would befall her sooner or later.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaofan asked, “Did you exchange the money from your red envelope?”

Su Qianqian shook her head. “I don’t know what I’ll face next, so I’m afraid to use it.” Then her eyes brightened. “Xiaofan, you must have exchanged yours, right? Can you teach me?”

Zhang Xiaofan nodded. Su Qianqian took out her phone, and Zhang Xiaofan helped her choose. She had over ten thousand coins—quite abundant—so he selected several physiques for her to consider: water affinity, stone body, fire-sight. But Su Qianqian found none of them appealing.

In the end, she turned to equipment and spent two thousand on a small pair of scissors.

When he saw the scissors, Zhang Xiaofan was speechless.

Golden Scissors: Forged from extraterrestrial meteorite, extremely sharp. With powerful spiritual input, can enlarge or shrink at will for easy carrying. Useful as a household tool for cutting things—tailors’ favorite. Physical attack: eighty percent. Spiritual attack: fifty percent. Drawback: small size at first, but requires tremendous spiritual power.

“Qianqian, why did you buy these scissors?” Zhang Xiaofan asked, exasperated.

Su Qianqian answered honestly, “Ma Ying chose a soft sword, but I don’t like weapons for fighting and killing. I like tailoring clothes, so I bought scissors to play with.”

To play with...

Zhang Xiaofan could hardly believe it. Good heavens, this game is deadly serious—didn’t she realize how valuable the red envelope was? It could buy many useful things, and she spent it all on a pair of scissors.

He shook his head. Fortunately, these scissors seemed somewhat powerful, especially since they could grow and shrink with the user’s strength—much more useful than some talismans. At least she now had something for self-defense.

“When you get back, think carefully about what kind of physique to exchange for. Equipment is just an external aid; improving yourself is what matters most,” Zhang Xiaofan advised.

Su Qianqian nodded sheepishly and suddenly looked at him. “Xiaofan, you’re so good to me. But did you really break up with Lin Rou?”

“We weren’t really together in the first place,” Zhang Xiaofan replied.

“Hmm, looking at our class now, you, Murong Feng, and Wang Hu are the most impressive. But I admire you most. I just can’t understand why Lin Rou would let someone as good as you go,” Su Qianqian said in a sweet, coy voice.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan instinctively pinched her cheek, saying, “If you talk like that, you’ll make me misunderstand you, you know.”

He had to admit, Su Qianqian’s skin was soft and delicate; he couldn’t get enough of it.

Su Qianqian swatted his hand away, blushing furiously. “What are you doing? People are watching,” she said bashfully.

Zhang Xiaofan laughed. “So what? We’re different from them now. We ought to be content. Besides, I must say, you have excellent skin.”

“Oh, stop. You love teasing me,” she said.

“I mean it. I could play with your little face for three days and nights.” Zhang Xiaofan, emboldened by her adorable look, blurted this out.

Su Qianqian rolled her eyes at him. “As if I’d let you,” she retorted.

“Oh, still denying it?” Zhang Xiaofan suddenly grabbed her hand. He’d always had a crush on Su Qianqian, and seeing her like this, even a fool would know she liked him too. If he didn’t act now, he’d truly be a fool.

He held her delicate hand. Su Qianqian struggled a bit but couldn’t break free. A flush rose to her beautiful cheeks as she said sweetly, “Xiaofan, what are you doing? Everyone’s watching.”

Zhang Xiaofan feigned shamelessness. “Say you’ll be my girlfriend, and I’ll let go.”

“Ah…”

“If you don’t agree, I’ll pick you up and kiss you right here in front of everyone,” Zhang Xiaofan threatened playfully.

“Don’t! I—I agree.” Su Qianqian’s face was red enough to drip.

Hearing her answer, Zhang Xiaofan immediately took her hand and leaned in to give her a quick kiss, grinning. “Let’s go.”

“Shameless rogue.” Despite her words, Su Qianqian’s face was aglow with happiness. The two of them left under the surprised gazes of students from other classes.

“Xiaofan, tell me honestly—do you like me or Lin Rou more?” Su Qianqian asked sweetly.

This time, Zhang Xiaofan replied earnestly, “Of course it’s you. Who could resist, with your figure?”

“You scoundrel, always bullying me.” Su Qianqian patted his chest, but not very hard; he caught her hand in turn.

Just then, as Su Qianqian watched in surprise, Zhang Xiaofan leaned in and kissed her again. The two were once more entwined.

“Xiaofan, do you… really not want me anymore?” At that moment, Lin Rou suddenly appeared behind them.