“Why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to leave with your father?”
Ye Xi rubbed her messy hair and propped herself up with one hand, still sounding groggy.
“Shouldn’t you be more curious about why you’re not dead right now?”
“That’s obviously because I…”
Shen Ji almost blurted out “the System,” but he caught himself just in time. He quickly corrected himself, “That’s obviously because I’m too tough to kill!”
Ye Xi rolled her eyes helplessly.
“Fine, Shen Ji, you’re tough. Whatever. Anyway, because of you, I have no home to go back to. From now on, your house is my house.”
Shen Ji’s expression turned wooden.
He wanted to object, but he realized that aside from a pair of boxers and the bandages wrapping his body, he was practically naked.
What shocked him even more was that these boxers weren’t the ones he was wearing when he left the house!
The System definitely couldn’t have done that.
Besides his unconscious self, only Ye Xi was in this cramped room.
The answer was self-evident—she had done everything for him.
He couldn’t understand it.
Ye Xi could have ignored him and followed her father’s arrangements to leave, yet she insisted on staying by his side.
Or perhaps, he had misjudged her before.
Was it possible she wasn’t plotting anything against him, but was simply an utter “love brain”?
Shen Ji looked at Ye Xi with a complicated gaze, but she remained indifferent.
She tied up her hair, rolled out of bed, stepped into Shen Ji’s slippers, and walked toward the kitchen.
“Your body is still in the recovery phase. You’d better not get out of bed.”
Shen Ji let out a long breath and touched the blood-stained bandages on his abdomen.
Waves of pain radiated from the wound.
Thinking back, although he had sensed the presence of death at that moment, he hadn’t had time to activate his Blood Tribe Form.
What surprised him even more was that his opponent hadn’t even transformed; they had nearly killed him while remaining in human form.
‘Could it be that after a certain number of Evolutions, the human form also gets strengthened?’
Then there was that eerie ability.
One moment there were people everywhere, and the next, the surroundings changed, and even the sky turned a dark red.
The secrets and abilities of the Blood Race appeared before Shen Ji one after another.
This feeling of being unable to grasp the situation gave him a deep sense of powerlessness.
It seemed it was time to consume the other bottle of Blood Plasma Liu Yao had given him.
The more members of the Blood Race he encountered, the more he realized how insignificant he was.
The System could save him once, but it might not save him a second time.
Only by becoming strong enough could he face the unknown.
With that thought, Shen Ji reached behind his pillow for the bottle of Blood Plasma, but his hand met only air.
‘That’s not right. I clearly put it here.’
Shen Ji forced himself up to sit against the headboard and searched the surrounding area, but he couldn’t find it anywhere.
“Are you looking for this?”
Ye Xi leaned against the doorframe, shaking the empty glass bottle.
“You drank it?!”
“Shouldn’t you explain where this Blood Plasma came from first?”
Ye Xi looked at Shen Ji with a scrutinizing gaze.
“I… I found it.”
“Where did you find it?”
“Just on the road.”
Ye Xi narrowed her eyes and said softly, “Shen Ji, oh Shen Ji. I’ve given you my heart and soul, yet you’re keeping secrets from me?”
Shen Ji opened his mouth but didn’t make a sound.
He really wasn’t sure if he should tell her.
If Ye Xi found out he was making deals with The Official, she would definitely have some opinions about it.
Furthermore, Ye Xi was a so-called Blood Second Generation.
She likely harbored some hostility toward The Official.
On top of that, she had a powerful father.
If he found out, he might come back to stab him through the heart again.
The air seemed to freeze as the two faced off in a stalemate until a burnt smell wafted from the kitchen, breaking the tension.
Ye Xi rushed to the stove in three steps.
Looking at the fried egg stuck to the bottom of the pan, she was about to throw it away when she suddenly remembered Shen Ji’s attitude just now.
Ultimately, she placed it on top of a bowl of clear noodle soup.
“Keep your secrets then, you jerk, Shen Ji…”
A moment later, Ye Xi carried the noodles back to Shen Ji with a cold expression.
She picked up the egg with her chopsticks and tried to shove it into his mouth.
Looking at the black, blurry object in front of him, Shen Ji’s eyes widened.
‘Wait, your dad didn’t manage to kill me, so now it’s your turn to poison me?’
“Eat.”
Ye Xi’s tone was icy and left no room for argument.
It was as if she had returned to her usual self—the cold, beautiful Ye Great School Beauty.
Shen Ji gave a bitter smile.
“I’ll do it myself. Thank you for taking care of me.”
Ye Xi was already frustrated by Shen Ji’s evasiveness, but hearing him say “thank you” made her even angrier.
She slammed the bowl and chopsticks onto the nightstand and turned to leave, but a sudden knock at the door made them both tense up.
‘Did Ye Hai change his mind?’
Ye Xi wondered.
Shen Ji furrowed his brows.
This time, he mobilized the energy in his body ahead of time.
With a single thought, he could complete his Blood Tribe Form transformation.
At worst, he would fight to the death; at the very least, he could turn and run.
The knocking continued for a moment and then stopped.
Just as the two thought someone had come to the wrong door, Shen Ji’s phone suddenly rang.
Ye Xi looked at Shen Ji suspiciously.
Shen Ji raised an eyebrow at her, picked up the phone, and saw the name “Jiang Jianyue” on the screen.
‘The Little Stutterer? Why is she calling me?’
“Hello? Little Stutterer, what’s up?”
“Shen… Shen Ji, are you h-home?”
“I am. Is something wrong?”
“Oh, then… then please op… open the door.”
Shen Ji hung up the phone, cleared his throat, and scratched his head.
“Ye Xi, a friend of mine is here. Could you please get the door?”
Ye Xi remained silent with a dark expression.
Clearly, she had heard the female voice on the other end of the line.
“Ye Xi?”
Thinking she hadn’t heard him, Shen Ji tried calling her name again.
“I know.”
With that, Ye Xi walked to the door without looking back.
As the door opened, Ye Xi’s eyes met a pair of watery ones.
Jiang Jianyue tilted her head in confusion, then took half a step back to check the unit number on the doorframe.
Looking at the dazed Jiang Jianyue, Ye Xi felt a slight flicker of emotion, but her voice remained cold.
“You have the right place. He’s inside.”
Jiang Jianyue was naturally timid.
Seeing the icy and beautiful Ye Xi, she instinctively shrank back and whispered, “Th… thank you.”
“Also, please move aside.”
“O… okay.”
Jiang Jianyue stepped back to give her plenty of space.
Watching Ye Xi’s departing back, she suddenly remembered that Ye Xi was also from Nanjiang No. 1 High School and was even in the same class as Shen Ji.
But why was she here?
The little Jiang Jianyue couldn’t hold so many questions in her mind.
After a moment, she picked up her lunchbox and stepped inside, silently cheering herself on.
‘Shen Ji was willing to talk to me last time, which means he’s starting to forgive me. I have to seize this opportunity and make sure he forgives me completely.’
With those thoughts in mind, Jiang Jianyue pulled the door shut behind her.