The Ability Association moved fast.
Shortly after Zhang Yuqiang filed his report, an evacuation team arrived to clear the chaos.
They took the unconscious Cao Wei along with the remaining bottles of Life-Burning Potion.
The agents who arrived whispered in astonishment, "How reckless is this kid to down half a box of forbidden potions all by himself?"
They assumed Shen Xiao had only won because of the insane effects of the drugs.
Shen Xiao didn't care what they thought.
In fact, he requested the Association to keep the incident confidential.
To them, this was strange, a Rank 1 practitioner defeating a pseudo-Rank 4 enemy was a massive feat.
However, they assumed Shen Xiao just wanted to protect his future, having lost so much of his lifespan to the potion.
Shen Xiao let the misunderstanding stand, it was much easier to lie than to explain his Gacha system.
In reality, he had only consumed two bottles of high-grade spiritual energy recovery potion from his inventory.
Though expensive, his stock was plenty, 99 bottles per slot, and he had five slots.
Despite feeling perfectly fine, Lu Qingyue insisted that Shen Xiao be hospitalized for three days.
Unable to bear the sight of the girl's worried face, Shen Xiao finally gave in.
After Lian Mao and Lao Shi finished the administrative procedures and left, Lu Qingyue approached Shen Xiao's bed.
She reached into her coat pocket warily and pulled out a plastic bag.
"Shen Xiao... this is my loot from those scumbags earlier. Take this, don't tell the Association."
The contents?
Cash, a watch, and three Spirit Stones.
Shen Xiao was stunned. Incredible! It turned out the "looting" talent of the Empress had already awakened.
He had only taught her once, and within hours, Qingyue had practiced it so neatly that even Shen Xiao hadn't noticed.
"Am... am I wrong? Should I return it?" Qingyue asked anxiously.
"No, this is the spoils of war. You did well," Shen Xiao praised.
He handed the three spirit stones back to her. "Keep these for your cultivation. Think of it as a loan so your strength can grow faster."
Ding!
[Gained Lu Qingyue's favorability, Fate Ticket +100]
Shen Xiao cheered internally.
An hour with the Empress was far more profitable than a month of hard work with anyone else!
As dawn broke, Qingyue prepared to head home briefly to grab a change of clothes and cook some food.
Before she left, Shen Xiao decided to test his luck.
"Qingyue, may I ask for one thing that's a bit... daring?"
Qingyue's heart hammered against her chest.
After everything Shen Xiao had done for her, she nodded obediently.
She went to the bathroom to wash her face and tidy her hair, then returned and leaned against the bedside table with her eyes closed, waiting resignedly.
Ding!
[Gained Lu Qingyue's favorability, Fate Ticket +100]
Shen Xiao rubbed his hands together.
Gently, he pinched both of Qingyue's supple, smooth cheeks.
The sensation was completely different!
Click!
He snapped a photo of the moment.
This photo would be worth millions of yuan in the future!
Who else would dare pinch the cheeks of the Demon Empress but me? he thought proudly.
He briefly considered kissing her but immediately restrained himself.
He didn't want to break the girl's trust too soon.
"Done," Shen Xiao said.
Qingyue opened her eyes, her face flushed crimson.
"Don't you dare upload that to the internet!"
"Of course not. This is just to cheer me up for my recovery. I'll ask your permission first if I ever want to post it."
"Then I'll be going now. What do you want for lunch? I'll cook for you."
After Qingyue left, Shen Xiao checked his balance.
[Fate Tickets: 1233.49]
"Getting rich quick does require risks. Yesterday it was zero, now it's back in the thousands," he muttered with satisfaction.
The next three days?
Lying in a hospital, being spoon-fed by my future Empress, and growing stronger.
Being powerful... was truly enjoyable if you knew the way.
Ahhh.... I loved her....
...
"Miss, wake up, we've arrived at the terminal."
Lu Qingyue jolted awake from her deep sleep on the bus.
Due to the lack of sleep all night, she hadn't realized when she'd drifted off.
While tidying her slightly messy hair, she got off the bus with mixed emotions.
She touched her cheek, right where Shen Xiao had pinched her at dawn.
The warm trace of it seemed to linger there.
On her way to the hotel, she found herself daydreaming.
Shen Xiao is so kind, genius, and handsome... while I?
Just a poor girl, disabled, with the worst talent. How could he truly like me?
Qingyue sighed. Perhaps she should just focus on finishing the mission and repaying the debt.
But... couldn't being in debt be a reason to stay by Shen Xiao's side forever?
Ah, my thoughts are getting out of hand, she thought, embarrassed by her own mind.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Qingyue headed to Lu Zihao's room to pick up Shen Xiao's change of clothes.
She knocked for a long time, but there was no answer.
Finally, her own room door opened.
Lu Zihao stepped out with a jacket draped over his shoulder, his face looking remarkably refreshed.
Shortly after, Su Qiao emerged from inside the room with her sweater slightly disheveled.
Qingyue froze.
Shen Xiao and I risked our lives all night, while you two... were "working hard" here?
"Qingyue! You're back?" Su Qiao greeted her cheerfully.
Qingyue stared at her friend in confusion.
Didn't Su Qiao say yesterday that she only went back to Lu Zihao for revenge?
To make him regret it for the rest of his life?
But seeing Su Qiao's happy expression, it seemed the "revenge" plan had changed course.
"Su Qiao, didn't you say you wanted to take revenge on him?" Qingyue whispered once they were inside the room.
"Of course! Making him exhausted from serving me counts as revenge, right?" Su Qiao answered casually.
"Besides, he apologized very sincerely, brought me roses, and bought me lobster. I've forgiven him. Oh, I saved some lobster for you; I'll heat it up later!"
Qingyue could only rub her temples.
She didn't want to meddle in other people's love lives.
She began packing things and shared that the mission was over.
Su Qiao jumped in surprise.
"What?! Already finished? That was fast! We've only been here for a day and a half!"
Qingyue shared a general outline of last night's events, but minus the Life-Burning Potion part, as per Shen Xiao's request.
She told her how Shen Xiao fought seven people alone and suffered "injuries."
"But... there was one incident that made me embarrassed," Qingyue muttered unconsciously.
"I... I ended up taking off my clothes in front of Shen Xiao."
"WHAT?!" Su Qiao screamed hysterically.
"It's not like that! I was wearing underwear, okay?! It was because the armor Shen Xiao gave me had to fit snugly!" Qingyue defended herself, her face turning bright red.
Su Qiao went silent for a moment, her eyes darting as if processing high-level data.
Then, she patted Qingyue's shoulder with a knowing look.
"I understand now," Su Qiao said seriously.
"Understand what?"
"I understand why Shen Xiao got hurt. It must have been because his concentration was broken after seeing you!" Su Qiao analyzed with total confidence.
"Shen Xiao was thinking about armor, while you went for the 'final strike' by taking off your clothes. No matter how mentally strong a young man is, he's bound to waver seeing that!"
Qingyue glared.
"Don't talk nonsense! He was hurt because he was ganged up on by seven people!"
"No, no. It's exactly because of your distraction that he lost focus in the middle of the battle and got hit," Su Qiao continued.
"But look on the bright side, Qingyue! That means Shen Xiao is 'interested' in you. If he saw you like that and remained indifferent or even disgusted, then you truly wouldn't have a chance."
Qingyue felt like her head was going to explode.
Why was her friend's focus always on such perverted things?
Yet, in a corner of her heart, she remembered Shen Xiao's gaze in the car last night... Shen Xiao really had been staring at her intently.
"Trust me, Qingyue! You have a great chance of becoming his girlfriend!"
Qingyue immediately cut the conversation short before it got any wilder.
"Enough! I want to borrow the hotel kitchen to cook some healthy food for Shen Xiao. Outside food is too oily for someone as 'weak' as he is."
While chopping vegetables in the kitchen, Qingyue smiled faintly.
At least, if he's sick, I have a reason to keep taking care of him, right?