17: Chapter 17 Intelligence Exchange and the Tactical Cultivation of a Loser

The afternoon sun was excessively scorching, baking the asphalt road until it was even slightly distorted.

The crowd in the cafeteria dispersed, and most students went back to their dorms to catch up on sleep.

Huang Mao was a commuting student and had no dorm to return to; just as he was hesitating about where to spend his free time, his phone vibrated—it was a message from Leng Qingxuan.

It was a location pin.

The location was the experimental building on the old campus; because the equipment there was outdated, basically no one went there except for a few elective courses.

"Come over and sit with me for a while."

It was followed by a cute, two-dimensional character sticker of someone kneeling and begging.

When Huang Mao followed the navigation to get there, the hallway was quiet, and he could only hear the cicadas screaming for their lives outside the window.

Pushing open the half-hidden wooden door, a scent of old books mixed with dust rushed toward him.

Leng Qingxuan was sitting in the third row by the window.

She didn't look at the person who entered; she kept her head down, her fingers tapping on the screen—she was probably burning stamina in a mobile game.

That focused look was completely different from the aloof campus belle he saw on ordinary days; she looked more like a gaming-addicted girl carefully calculating for a few diamonds.

The sunlight shone through the gaps in the loosely drawn curtains onto her profile, making even the tiny fuzz on her skin clearly visible.

"You're here?"

She didn't even raise her head, just pointed to the seat next to her. "Sit."

Huang Mao didn't stand on ceremony; he pulled out a chair and sat down, then casually pressed the cold cola he had just bought against her arm.

"Hiss—"

Leng Qingxuan flinched and looked up to glare at him, but she didn't refuse; she took it, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"How did you find this place? There's not even a ghost in sight."

Huang Mao looked around; the advanced mathematics formulas from the previous semester were still on the blackboard, covered in a layer of chalk dust.

"I checked the school's class schedule; this building is completely empty in the afternoon."

Leng Qingxuan put down her phone, the screen displaying the results interface of that two-dimensional game. "And the internet speed here is surprisingly good."

The reason was solid; there was no refuting it.

The two sat there for a while, with nothing but the occasional sound effects of skills from Leng Qingxuan's phone.

The atmosphere wasn't awkward; on the contrary, there was a strange sense of harmony, as if they were two bad students skipping class and hiding in a secret base.

"Um..."

Leng Qingxuan suddenly spoke, her fingers still mechanically grinding the stage. "Where did An Ran go this afternoon?"

"Physical fitness test."

Huang Mao leaned against the back of the chair, staring blankly at the ceiling fan. "She's probably suffering on the playground right now."

"Oh."

Leng Qingxuan responded, her tone devoid of any fluctuation. "Since we're going to be living together, shouldn't I get to know her a bit better?"

Here it comes.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

This woman really had no good intentions; she was fishing for enemy intelligence.

Huang Mao didn't intend to hide anything; after all, there were basically no secrets when it came to An Ran's affairs.

"What do you want to know?"

"If possible, as much as you can."

Leng Qingxuan finally put down her phone and turned around, her cold, clear eyes staring straight at him. "Since you are childhood sweethearts, there must be a lot of history between you that I don't know about, right?"

"The past, huh..."

Huang Mao scratched his head and began to search his memory banks for material.

"Actually, there's nothing special. She was even naughtier when she was a kid; she didn't consider herself a girl at all."

"When she was six, she insisted on racing me to climb a tree, but she couldn't get down. She got stuck on a branch and cried until snot bubbles came out. In the end, I had to call my dad to bring a ladder to get her down."

"And in the third grade of elementary school, she got into a fight with a boy from the next class and knocked his front tooth out. We had to pay a lot of money in compensation. When she got home, her mom chased her for three streets with a feather duster. She finally hid under our bed, and it was only after my family and I pleaded for her that she escaped disaster."

Huang Mao spoke very casually, even with a hint of teasing.

But to Leng Qingxuan, these trivial, and even somewhat embarrassing, past events formed a picture she had never possessed.

There were no strict etiquette lessons, no cold piano classes, only mud-splattered clothes and unbridled laughter.

It was proof of two souls intertwining without reservation during their purest years.

"That's so nice."

Leng Qingxuan sighed softly, a trace of imperceptible envy flashing in her eyes. "I've never had that kind of feeling of being so well-acquainted with someone around me."

Her childhood was a planned spreadsheet, with every cell filled with tasks that had to be completed.

As for friends?

They were resources used to expand connections, or tools used for comparison, but never partners for sharing secrets.

"It's nothing that great either."

Huang Mao shrugged. "You don't know, there are downsides to being too familiar."

"For example, she knows I'm ticklish, so she threatens me with that every time we argue; I also know she's actually timid, so when the power goes out, I sit next to her and tell ghost stories to scare her."

"That's what you call 'mutual harm'."

Leng Qingxuan was amused, the curve of her lips finally having a touch of real warmth.

She picked up her phone again; it seemed like she had finished burning her stamina, and she began to boredly scroll through the character list.

Suddenly, she asked as if casually:

"Then... since you know each other so well, have you two never had those kinds of thoughts?"

The air went quiet for a few seconds.

The sound of cicadas outside the window seemed to become a bit piercing.

This question was very sharp and very over the line.

Between ordinary friends, this would definitely be a death trap of a question.

But Leng Qingxuan asked it very naturally, as if it were as mundane as asking "What's for dinner?"

Huang Mao was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.

"Those kinds of thoughts? You mean dating?"

He smiled, his tone conveying a sense of frankness. "How could that be? My feelings for her are about the same as my feelings for my own left hand."

"Just think, you watch someone grow up from wearing split-crotch pants to now, you roughly know how many moles she has on her body, and you've seen the way she sleeps so badly that she can kick the quilt three meters away..."

"In this situation, it's hard to have those kinds of romantic thoughts, right?"

"To me, she's more like family, or rather... a frenemy? Anyway, she doesn't fit the term 'girlfriend' at all for now."

This was the truth.

At least that's how it seemed to Huang Mao at the moment.

Upon hearing this answer, the hand holding the phone paused slightly.

She lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes hiding the emotions in her eyes.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

This was her first reaction.

Immediately after, some strange, mischievous fantasy began to ferment in her mind.

Just family?

Just a frenemy?

Then what if... in front of this "family member," she stole the "older brother" she relied on most, watching her jump with anger but feel helpless...

Just imagining that scene made one feel immoral yet excited.

It was like playing one of those multi-ending visual novels; there was clearly a pure romance path right in front of the player, yet the player insisted on choosing that NTR branch full of drama.

She even imagined An Ran wearing sportswear, hiding in a corner drawing circles, crying while shouting, "But I was here first!"—that classic loser scene.

It was too abstract.

Leng Qingxuan felt her thoughts slipping a bit and quickly shook her head to shake off those inappropriate images.

"What's wrong?" Huang Mao saw her shaking her head and thought her neck was sore.

"It's nothing."

Leng Qingxuan quickly returned to her cold, aloof demeanor, though the tips of her ears were slightly red.

She turned the phone screen toward Huang Mao. "Do you usually play this? The 5v5 one."

On the screen was the icon for that national MOBA mobile game.

"I do play it, but..." Huang Mao took out his phone and glanced at it. "I haven't logged in for a long time; it'll probably take a while to update."

"It's fine, the internet speed here is pretty good."

Leng Qingxuan pointed to the signal bars. "Just download it; we still have some time before the next class anyway. If not, we can play during class; I feel like even if I hold my phone horizontally, no one will think I'm playing games."

"Alright."

Huang Mao tapped update and watched the progress bar slowly climb.

"What position do you play?"

"Mage."

Leng Qingxuan confidently tilted her chin up, that competitive spirit belonging to a gaming nerd instantly coming online. "Mid-lane expert, I'll carry you."

"So confident?"

"Of course." Leng Qingxuan snorted softly. "I'm actually quite good at many mobile games, unlike in reality where I'm so... so useless."

...

Meanwhile.

On the track and field at the west side of the school.

The plastic track emitted a rubbery smell under the scorching sun.

A figure just rushed past the finish line, kicking up a gust of hot wind.

An Ran supported her knees with both hands, panting heavily.

Sweat dripped down her chin onto the red track, instantly evaporating into a small water mark.

She wore a tight, quick-drying sports short-sleeve shirt, which was now completely soaked with sweat and clinging tightly to her body, outlining the highly explosive body lines usually hidden by her loose school uniform.

It wasn't that kind of skinny, bony look, but a firmness full of youthful vitality.

Especially the curve of her chest rising and falling violently with her breathing, making several boys responsible for timing nearby unable to resist taking a few extra looks.

The sports shorts below were also a bit short, revealing those thighs that were exercised year-round, with smooth muscle lines after just finishing exercise.

"Huff... huff..."

An Ran straightened up, grabbed the towel hanging around her neck, and wiped her face messily.

In that last 800-meter set, she had run her best time to date.

It was entirely because she treated that woman named Leng Qingxuan as a hypothetical enemy, and every step was stomped on the face of "that bad woman," which caused this amazing combat power to erupt.

"An Ran, not bad! This speed is almost a school record!"

The P.E. teacher shouted from over there, holding a stopwatch.

An Ran waved her hand, too lazy to speak.

She walked to the shade of a tree nearby, sat down on the grass, and took a few big gulps of mineral water.

The cold liquid slid down her throat, finally suppressing the restless fire in her heart.

Actually, thinking about it calmly, that move this morning was simply crazy.

That decision of "I want to move in too" was completely a product of a hot-headed moment.

But she didn't regret it.

Not at all.

An Ran tightened the bottle cap, looking at the teaching building distorted by heat waves in the distance, her eyes gradually becoming firm.

Although she still hadn't figured out what to do after moving in.

Although she still didn't have much confidence when facing that high-level Iceberg Campus Belle.

Even just thinking of that half-smiling gaze of Leng Qingxuan made her scalp tingle.

However.

As long as she was there.

As long as she was stuck in Huang Mao's house like a nail.

Then Leng Qingxuan couldn't make a move on Huang Mao unscrupulously!

This was like playing a tower-pushing game.

I might not have your skills, I might not have your equipment, but I can defend the high ground!

I can clear the minion waves!

As long as the crystal doesn't explode, this game isn't lost!

"Hmph..."

An Ran forcefully squeezed the empty water bottle in her hand, making a crisp "crack" sound.

At worst, it's mutual torture.

Even if I don't get any sweetness, I will absolutely not let you, this sudden arrival, succeed in stealing the base!

A double loss is still better than letting you win alone!

"An Ran! Get ready for the standing long jump!"

The class monitor's shout came from afar.

"Coming!"

An Ran sprang up from the grass and patted the grass clippings off her butt.

Don't know why, but ever since that confrontation in the morning, she felt an inexplicable physiological repulsion toward Leng Qingxuan.

It wasn't just because of the love rival relationship.

It was more like... incompatible magnetic fields?

That woman was too fake.

Even if she acted as soft and cute as possible in front of Huang Mao, An Ran always felt that under that exquisite mask, there was something hidden that made her hair stand on end.

However.

Who is the better hunter, isn't it too early to draw a conclusion now?

An Ran narrowed her eyes, strode out with her long legs, and ran toward the sand pit, her tense calf muscles shining with a healthy luster in the sunlight.

This war has only just begun.