Chapter 30: Yaoxing Academy 30 Part 1

Luo Xunan raised both hands and clarified seriously, “Let me make this clear first. The grass and leaves around here are so dense that I didn’t see a thing you two were doing just now.”

Lu Zhou stared at him intently. “Why?”

“Why?” Luo Xunan looked puzzled. “Restarting the game wasn’t a good thing? If I remember correctly, you joined voluntarily, didn’t you? You really needed the prize money from the game, right?”

“You restarted the game for Lu Zhou?” Xun Ji was somewhat surprised.

“Not exactly.” Luo Xunan scratched his head. “It was because you weren’t organizing it anymore, Young Master Xun. I thought such an interesting game would be a shame to let go just like that, so I tried putting it together myself.”

He curved his eyes into a smile. “I didn’t expect such a great response. I made a lot of money, too.”

“By the way, I haven’t introduced myself properly. My family runs a casino, so I have plenty of experience with this kind of operation.”

Lu Zhou’s expression changed. “A casino?”

“Yeah,” Luo Xunan nodded. “Lu Zhou, I actually noticed you right when you started school. I never thought the son of a gambling addict who owed tens of millions could get into Yaoxing Academy.”

“But after getting to know you, I found you pretty interesting. Even with your gambling-addict dad and sickly mom dragging you down, you haven’t been crushed. Hell, you even managed to latch onto Young Master Xun.” His tone carried genuine admiration.

Lu Zhou’s face drained of all color. He asked word by word, “How do you know exactly how much Lu Jianming owes?”

Luo Xunan looked surprised. “Didn’t I mention? Uncle is a regular at my family’s casino.”

Lu Zhou lunged forward and grabbed Luo Xunan by the collar, saying hatefully, “You knew all along… You knew from the start. Why?! Luo Xunan, I thought we were friends.”

“Hey now,” Luo Xunan raised his hands high to signal Lu Zhou to calm down and chuckled. “Business is business, and friends are friends. Besides, Young Master Xun likes you so much now, and he even paid off your uncle’s debts. It won’t affect our friendship at all.”

Paid off the debts? Xun Ji was mildly surprised but quickly realized it must have been Xun Qian’s doing.

“Friends?” Lu Zhou let out a miserable laugh. “Yeah, I actually believed you truly saw me as a friend…”

His eyes gradually grew cold as he asked Luo Xunan, “What about Yu Fangbai? Is he your friend too?”

Xun Ji’s brow furrowed slightly. Sure enough, Lu Zhou had noticed it too.

The smile faded from Luo Xunan’s lips. He brushed off Lu Zhou’s hand and slowly straightened his collar.

“He was unlucky and exhausted himself before falling. What does that have to do with me?”

Lu Zhou sneered coldly. “I only asked if Yu Fangbai was your friend. What are you feeling guilty about, Luo Xunan?”

Thinking of how Yu Fangbai had fallen, Xun Ji felt his mood sour even more.

“He could have held on back then. The helicopter would have been close in just a few more minutes,” Xun Ji said with clear displeasure. “Why did you abandon him?”

The smile vanished completely from Luo Xunan’s face. He gave Xun Ji a strange look and asked, “What did you think, Young Master Xun? Who would the helicopter rescue first?”

Xun Ji was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that question.

“It’s obvious, right?” Luo Xunan said. “It would rescue you first, Young Master Xun. Then it could pick up Lu Zhou on the way, and as for me…”

He paced a few steps in place. “I had two people hanging off me, so naturally, I’d make sure they were saved before it was my turn.”

“Young Master Xun,” he drawled slowly, “I would be last.”

“How long would that whole process take? I was already exhausted by then. Could I really have held out until rescue arrived?”

“Yu Fangbai just wasn’t up to it. I barely moved, and he slipped off. Someone with Lu Zhou’s stamina? Even if I thrashed around, he’d have held on tight.” He shrugged. “So, you can only blame him.”

Xun Ji was momentarily speechless.

He recalled when he had first transmigrated and taken Luo Xunan to the Sea Island to do some good deeds, how Luo Xunan had frantically come begging for help when Lu Zhou was taken away by Yan Feng’s group, and how during the Star-Plucking Championship, their team of five had encouraged each other like any ordinary group.

It had all been an illusion.

In matters of life, there was an order of priority. Friendship came with conditions. So-called good deeds were just a game played when bored.

He pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

Luo Xunan frowned. “Your phone should have been confiscated when you entered the game. Why…”

“It’s me,” Xun Ji said into the connected call. “You can come in now.”

He casually yanked off the collar around his neck and tossed it aside. Only then did Luo Xunan realize it wasn’t a Magnetic Collar from the Hunting Shadow Game—it was just a plastic ring.

“Young Master Xun, what exactly are you trying to do?”

His question was answered soon enough.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

The lights in the Botanical Garden all flicked on in an instant, illuminating the sky as bright as day.

Dozens of people poured into the Botanical Garden in a chaotic rush. Most were from the campus security department, accompanied by doctors, teachers, students’ parents, and stern-faced school leaders.

Former Principal Kong Jing was among them. She nodded slightly to Xun Ji. “Xun Ji, you’ve done well. Leave the rest to us.”

Luo Xunan stood stunned for a long while before bursting into laughter. “Young Master Xun, oh Young Master Xun. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d almost suspect you weren’t the same Young Master Xun from before.”

He eyed Xun Ji curiously. “Have you gotten addicted to doing good deeds and started thinking you’re actually a good person? The inventor of the Killing Game, the one who drove people to jump off buildings—now teaming up with the school to stop this game?”

Xun Ji ignored him and greeted Principal Kong before turning to leave.

“Wait,” Luo Xunan called out. “How will the school handle me? Exile me abroad like they did to you?”

Xun Ji paused and smiled faintly at him. “You said it yourself—this school has only one person with privileges, and that’s me. As for you? Expulsion and get lost, of course.”

Luo Xunan could no longer laugh. He tried to step forward but was blocked by the nearby security personnel.

“Don’t forget, Young Master Xun—Lu Zhou was a participant too, and he joined willingly. If there’s punishment, he can’t escape it either!”

Lu Zhou had been utterly silent since earlier. Luo Xunan’s words made him lift his eyes slightly, glance at Xun Ji’s figure, then drop them again.

Just moments ago, they had been intimately entwined, yet now he seemed to have anticipated Xun Ji’s response.

“Of course.” Xun Ji smiled. “Lu Zhou will be expelled too and leave Yaoxing Academy forever.”

Lu Zhou’s fingers twitched. The bite mark on his lip from Xun Ji suddenly throbbed with pain.