Chapter 46

Xu Qiao stopped her lotus spirit from shooting water arrows at Zhao Feng’s face again. Using all her strength would expose her level, and holding back would not only spare Zhao Feng from injury but also prevent him from seeing it as some kind of flirtation.

In fact, Zhao Feng had outstanding features, and his snow wolf spirit was quite likable. During the three years Zhao Feng pursued her, most of the girls in their class only envied her, even thinking she was too arrogant for rejecting someone as excellent as him for three years.

However, Xu Qiao always remembered the look in Zhao Feng’s eyes the first time he appeared in front of her.

He openly examined her face, like a wolf choosing the most delicious prey among a group of targets, convinced that he was destined to have her and that she would have no choice but to accept.

People said she was the beauty of the healing department, not the most beautiful girl in the three schools. Yet, Zhao Feng only pursued her, which was enough to prove his sincerity and infatuation. Wolves are known to be loyal to their partners, and being able to awaken the snow wolf spirit suggested that Zhao Feng was likely not a womanizer.

However, a lot of evidence proved that the character of ability users did not have an absolute correlation with the nature of their spirit forms. Within the same spirit family, some men were devoted to their partners, while others changed partners multiple times a month. Some women were resilient and independent, while others sought to cling to the powerful.

More importantly, Xu Qiao did not like Zhao Feng, so she could refuse him regardless of his feelings.

At that moment, Xu Qiao received a private message from the bride, Yu Zhu.

Yu Zhu: [Qiao Qiao, I’m sorry.]

[Earlier this year, I got together with Chu Ling. I only found out I was pregnant in May and started planning the wedding. It was also the first time he took me to meet his teammates. On that day, I recognized Zhao Feng first. When he saw my expression, he remembered me, then asked me to keep this a secret from you because he wanted to give you a “surprise” at the wedding.]

[I told Chu Ling about you two and that you would definitely be angry, so Zhao Feng wouldn’t call you. Do you know how Chu Ling responded to me?]

[He said in that particularly lighthearted tone, “If you’re feeling pressured, then the wedding won’t happen.“]

[I’m sorry.]
—-
After reading the message, Xu Qiao lifted her head.

In front of her, the wedding stage was adorned with colorful lights, and there was a wedding photo of the bride and groom.

As she looked at Yu Zhu’s bright smile, she recalled their three years in military school. Although the four roommates had different personalities, they all shared the same seriousness towards their studies, hoping to graduate and work at the most prestigious public hospitals for high salaries. In terms of relationships, Xu Qiao was the type to go with the flow, while Yu Zhu was clear about her goals, openly declaring that she wanted to marry a high-level ability user and move to the central district.

Xu Qiao remembered the graduation wishes she wrote for Yu Zhu, wishing for all her dreams to come true.

Wang Lanlan also messaged her: [Qiao Qiao, if you don’t want to stay here, I can leave with you.]

Xu Qiao: [Forget it. Since we’re roommates, let her finish this wedding peacefully.]

If she left, Zhao Feng would probably chase after her, and she didn’t know how messy that would get.

Wang Lanlan: [Then you sit next to me; let’s switch places.]

Xu Qiao: [It’s fine; let’s just leave it as is.]

Xu Qiao treated Zhao Feng as if he were a stranger sitting next to her and didn’t look at him. She worried that switching places might cause Zhao Feng to retaliate against Wang Lanlan.

As family and friends gradually arrived, the wedding officially began.

When Yu Zhu looked at her from the stage with a hint of worry, Xu Qiao responded with a smile.

During the segment where the groom confessed to the bride, Yu Zhu was moved to tears and choked up, unable to speak.

Xu Qiao thought that those tears were probably unrelated to feeling touched.

During the meal, Xu Qiao exited the group chat with her roommates and blocked Yu Zhu’s contact.
—-
After the wedding, Zhao Feng gallantly suggested driving Xu Qiao home, but she coldly refused and got into Chen Fei’s boyfriend’s car with Wang Lanlan.

Zhao Feng stood at the hotel entrance in a suit, staring intently at the car as it drove away.

Three teammates gathered around him. One joked, “I didn’t understand why the captain was so infatuated with a former classmate. Now that I see her in person, it’s really worth it—she’s so fresh and delicate…”

Zhao Feng turned his head, his gaze icy.

The person quickly shut up.

Zhao Feng looked at the others, “I don’t care if you tease me about others, but don’t let me hear you discuss Xu Qiao even once.”

Returning home in the evening, Xu Qiao logged onto the mercenary forum and blocked the only way Zhao Feng could still contact her. The reason she hadn’t blocked him earlier was that Zhao Feng had never harassed her on the forum. He occasionally shared videos of their uncle and nephew taking down beasts. Plus, after graduation, Zhao Feng had been busy becoming a professional mercenary and hadn’t shown up again. With the distance, Xu Qiao thought he had probably moved on.

As long as Zhao Feng didn’t appear, Xu Qiao could tolerate his occasional “show-off.”

As for Yu Zhu, she was already a stranger, and Xu Qiao didn’t want to waste time being angry.

Stimulated by Zhao Feng’s presence, Xu Qiao practiced her abilities hard that night, along with her spirit form.
—-
The next day was Monday. Xu Qiao changed back into her usual work clothes and went to work feeling refreshed.

The director of Dr. Hua’s clinic was a lady named Hua Wenliu, who was in her seventies. Her spirit form was a mandala, with both wood and poison abilities at grade B.

The director originally lived in the central district but moved to the second ring to open this clinic after her husband passed away, unable to bear the memories tied to their old home.

Her grade B healing ability made her popular among lower-level ability users, while her grade B poison ability intimidated the more difficult patients. Therefore, the working environment in the clinic was quite pleasant, and Xu Qiao and the other therapists rarely had to deal with any tricky doctor-patient conflicts.

Around five in the afternoon, Xu Qiao tidied up the consultation room and changed clothes in the locker room, marking the end of her workday.

As she rode her bicycle around a corner, she noticed a super cool motorcycle parked by the wall—black wheels and a silver body.

Leaning against the wall was a tall figure in black combat gear, wearing a silver helmet and absorbed in playing with a communication wristband.

Suddenly, the person glanced her way.

Xu Qiao casually looked away.

After riding a dozen meters, she heard the sound of the motorcycle starting up behind her. The roar quickly approached, but then slowed down when it was level with her.

Xu Qiao turned to look.

The person held the handlebars with one hand and took off the helmet with the other, flashing her a handsome smile.

It was Zhao Feng.

Xu Qiao: “…”

Zhao Feng leisurely followed her, sighing, “I think I mentioned before that I wouldn’t pester you anymore, but after seeing you at the wedding yesterday, I realized I really can’t let go. Xu Qiao, please tell me, what exactly do you dislike about me? I can change, okay?”

Xu Qiao maintained a stern expression. “Seeing you puts me in a bad mood. If you promise not to show up anymore, maybe I can add you as a friend on the forum.”

Zhao Feng replied, “I know, and I’ve tried. You see, I haven’t come to find you in the past two years, but it’s just too hard for me. I can’t keep this up.”

Xu Qiao: “If Uncle Lu were still around, would you still be able to persist?”

Zhao Feng looked at her and smiled, “You really can’t hide anything from you. But I’m not gloating; I just can’t help but come see you.”

Xu Qiao: “Even if all the men in the world died, I still wouldn’t choose you. I advise you to give up as soon as possible.”

Zhao Feng said, “If you won’t choose me, then you can’t stop me from seeing you. You’re single, and I’m single; we might as well be single together for life. If we got together, it would be the same. Of course, if you can find someone stronger than me who dares to beat me, then I truly won’t bother you anymore.”

Xu Qiao stopped responding, knowing that it was pointless to say anything.

Zhao Feng handed her an ice lotus: “I sculpted this while waiting for you just now. I’ve been practicing this whenever I have free time over the past two years.”

Xu Qiao didn’t look at it. The ice lotus floated in front of her, with eleven petals, resembling her spirit form’s original appearance.

Xu Qiao grasped the stem of the ice sculpture and melted it into water before throwing it on the ground.

Zhao Feng didn’t mind and continued to talk about his life over the past two years.

Ahead was another intersection.

Xu Qiao turned without showing any expression, but she noticed a mobility vehicle parked by the side of the road. Standing straight beside it was Jiang Rui, who immediately locked his deep black eyes onto her before glancing at Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng looked at Jiang Rui and then back at Xu Qiao, who had changed her expression, and laughed, “Is he chasing after you? A bodyguard?”

Xu Qiao couldn’t be bothered to respond; her mind was in turmoil.

Should she smile and pretend to be happily chatting with Zhao Feng to make Jiang Rui give up, or should she continue to ignore Zhao Feng and let Jiang Rui see that she was being bothered by him?

If it were the latter, given Jiang Rui’s personality, he was very likely to step in and argue with Zhao Feng.

If it were the former, Zhao Feng might take it too far.

However, Xu Qiao didn’t need to do anything; within those short seconds after they turned the corner, Jiang Rui had already keenly assessed the situation. At the very least, he could tell that Xu Qiao didn’t appreciate the man with the motorcycle who was grinning at her.

“Miss Xu, good afternoon.”

As Jiang Rui stepped a little closer, he greeted Xu Qiao.

Xu Qiao’s mind was in chaos, and she didn’t pay much attention to the formalities. Out of courtesy, she stood on one foot and replied, “Good afternoon. What brings you here?”

Jiang Rui said, “I have a mission tomorrow and will be away for about half a month, so I came to say goodbye.”

Xu Qiao replied, “Okay, please stay safe.”

The tasks of the bodyguards were often life-threatening, and she hoped every bodyguard would return safely.

Ignoring the rude glare from the motorcycle’s owner, Jiang Rui asked Xu Qiao about her current situation: “Who is this?”

Before Xu Qiao could respond, Zhao Feng scoffed, “Who are you to ask? And what do you think you are to her?”

He hadn’t received a single word of concern or care from Xu Qiao during his two years as a professional mercenary!

Jiang Rui noticed Xu Qiao’s change in expression and said directly, “I’ll take you home.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a massive snow wolf spirit emerged, leaping several meters ahead. It turned around, lowered its head slightly, and slowly approached Jiang Rui, letting out a short, threatening growl.

Xu Qiao coldly reminded Zhao Feng, “Private fights among ability users are prohibited in the base. You should restrain yourself.”

Zhao Feng only stared at Jiang Rui. “He started it.”

Jiang Rui didn’t engage in pointless arguments with him and invited Xu Qiao, “Get in the car; I’ll drive you.”

The more Jiang Rui ignored him, the angrier Zhao Feng became. Did he still want to get in the car?

Suddenly, white frost crept up the entire mobility vehicle. In the instant it was completely frozen, the snow wolf spirit lunged forward, smashing the car to pieces with a swipe of its paw.

Jiang Rui pressed his lips together and raised his left wrist to call for help.

Just as he completed this action, the snow wolf bared its teeth and charged at him again.

A gust of wind-swept Xu Qiao away, carrying her several dozen meters away. At the same time, a strong and agile buffalo spirit landed on the ground, lowering its head as it charged at the snow wolf from the side.

With the buffalo’s weight and its sharp, hard horns, even if it was one level lower, it could still injure the snow wolf.

A massive ice cage descended from the sky, trapping the buffalo inside. Jiang Rui quickly dodged to avoid the snow wolf, but the snow wolf suddenly grew larger again. Its right front paw, which was originally meant to miss, reached out and directly grabbed Jiang Rui’s chest, knocking him to the ground.

Jiang Rui fell heavily, and the snow wolf’s right paw pinned him down without allowing any struggle, lowering its head and opening its mouth towards Jiang Rui’s throat.

Zhao Feng wasn’t crazy enough to kill a bodyguard within the base; he only wanted to threaten and humiliate this overconfident C-level man.

However, Xu Qiao was stimulated by this scene. She had no understanding of Zhao Feng’s insane and obsessive psychology and feared that Jiang Rui might actually die here, so she launched an attack on the snow wolf.

She released five ice needles in one breath.

Zhao Feng and the snow wolf both sensed the attack, but they were too familiar with Xu Qiao’s various attacks with her D-level water abilities. Zhao Feng didn’t dodge, and the snow wolf continued to hold Jiang Rui down.

Four of the ice needles were deflected by the snow wolf’s sturdy fur, but one successfully pierced the snow wolf’s side neck.

It hurt a little, and the snow wolf glared at Xu Qiao with resentment, not taking it seriously.

However, just as it continued to threaten the bodyguard beneath it, trying to force him to plead for mercy, the spot on its neck where it had been pricked suddenly became even more painful.

It was a familiar pain. The snow wolf felt uncomfortable and howled, flying back into Zhao Feng’s body.

The damage endured by the spirit immediately transferred to Zhao Feng. He glanced at the five ice needles scattered on the ground, and to his surprise, five black thorns were wrapped in the glistening ice needles.

He quickly covered his neck, where a swelling lump had already formed!

“Xu Qiao!”

Zhao Feng, suffering both physically and mentally, turned to Xu Qiao and shouted in anger, “You actually poisoned me for this person!”

Xu Qiao ignored him; C-level bee venom wasn’t lethal enough to kill Zhao Feng, at least not that quickly. She would treat him after he learned his lesson.

“How are you? Are you hurt?” Xu Qiao crouched beside Jiang Rui. Amid the wailing of approaching sirens, she tore open his shirt, which had been clawed apart by the wolf, revealing a bleeding claw-shaped wound.

Jiang Rui smiled bitterly, retracting the spirit trapped in the ice cage.

Xu Qiao pressed down around his wound, silently treating him.

Zhao Feng, enduring the swelling on his neck, kicked his newly bought silver motorcycle away with force.

The patrolling police, alerted by the surveillance alarm, arrived in time, looked at the two damaged vehicles and the two injured people, and took all three of them away to the police station for further questioning.