Chapter 196: Acting Separately

"Who do you plan on talking to?" Guan Xinyue asked alertly.

Luo Qi stood up, "You stay here and keep Du Zhengyi company; Majiang has already walked into the hallway outside."

"You're suddenly acting a bit like a Mage," Guan Xinyue said, narrowing her eyes threateningly, "but can you guarantee your own safety? In my experience, every time you want to do something, you're just causing trouble for the big shots."

Luo Qi ignored her words, "I'll be back by tomorrow at the latest. If Majiang asks, just tell him that. Du Zhengyi won't wake up until tomorrow anyway."

Aside from Du Zhengyi, no one else could do anything to him.

"You haven't been bewitched by someone from yesterday, have you? By that ghost?" Guan Xinyue stood up, uneasy, suddenly realizing that now that Du Zhengyi had collapsed, if Luo Qi wanted to do something, there would be no one left to stop him. "At least discuss it with Majiang."

"That ghost has already been strangled to death by someone who was ashamed and angry," Luo Qi said, recalling the cold, gloomy gaze of the clownfish.

"Luo Qi," Guan Xinyue blocked him, thinking quickly, "then let me go with you. They won't notice a human. I can keep a certain distance from you; I've worked with Du Zhengyi like this before. If something happens to you, at least I can notify Majiang immediately. Two people are better than one."

Luo Qi tried to bypass her, but she quickened her pace and jumped into the foyer to block his path. She changed tactics; she had long known that being nice to Luo Qi was useless, and even Luo Qi himself didn't make a living by acting cute or obedient.

She leaned her back against the hotel door and lowered her voice to threaten him, "Majiang is about to reach the door, right? If you don't take me, I'll tell Majiang immediately. Guess what he'll do? I bet he'll wake Du Zhengyi up right away, and then you can go to the back room and kneel before your brother!"

"Damn it," Luo Qi looked panicked, staring down at Guan Xinyue, and hissed in a low voice, "Can you have some bottom line?"

Behind them came the rising electronic tone of a key card unlocking the door. Guan Xinyue widened her eyes and looked at Luo Qi provocatively, mouthing the words, "Can I just watch you be shameless?"

"Xinyue?" Majiang said in surprise at the door, "What are you doing?"

Luo Qi glared at her, and she turned around and stepped out of the room, her footsteps light and springy. Luo Qi remembered that this art student must have learned to dance when she was young.

"Nothing," Guan Xinyue said, "Have you finished eating? It's my turn to go eat with Luo Qi."

"Alright, alright, go eat quickly," Majiang didn't suspect anything and even stepped back to let them pass first. "Luo Qi, don't look so gloomy either. I told you Du Zhengyi will be fine; he just needs to sleep a little longer this time."

"Mm," Luo Qi said vaguely, pausing to ask, "Do you want me to bring back coffee? Or tea?"

"Ah, get me a latte," Majiang said casually.

Luo Qi nodded, and Guan Xinyue was already waiting for him at the elevator, one hand pressing the down button.

"I have an appointment to meet someone," Luo Qi said only when the elevator doors closed. "Do you remember Liu Ziyi?"

"Do you like her?" Guan Xinyue asked immediately, "She is indeed very cute."

"Forget it, she's far worse than me," Luo Qi said. Not having a cat in his pocket made him uncomfortable, so he clasped his hands behind his back.

"That's true, but your shamelessness is truly unrivaled," Guan Xinyue said.

"Thanks for the affirmation; a person has to have some strengths," Luo Qi said, "I won't take you to meet the person I'm seeing, but I can give you a task."

"What is it? Talking business?" Guan Xinyue said, sounding dissatisfied, though her tone was reserved; she was always curious about Luo Qi's proposals.

"I've chatted with Liu Ziyi, and they've added me to the Qionglin Gossip Circle now," Luo Qi said.

"What?" Guan Xinyue said in astonishment, though upon reflection, this was exactly the kind of thing Luo Qi would do. She had mistakenly thought Luo Qi was too upset about the Ganzhou affair to be in the mood for this. "Well, congratulations, you finally have one area where you surpass your brother."

"I don't want to compete with him; my life's pleasure is to be second-best," Luo Qi said in a low voice. The elevator stopped on the first floor, and he walked out with Guan Xinyue into the bright morning sunlight. Even in such beautiful sunlight, he only felt silence; thick city walls had been built up in his heart, and neither the sunlight nor the sounds of people could penetrate them.

Guan Xinyue glanced at Luo Qi, "Those warriors in Qionglin just accepted you into their gossip?"

"And Execution Mages. Wen Lin pulled me in. There are always some anonymous people inside who probably think using their real names on human technology is beneath them. If Fan Shi weren't so devoid of a sense of humor, I'd almost suspect he was in there too." Luo Qi sighed, "I've chatted privately for a few days with a few people I get along with, and I think it wouldn't hurt to get in touch with some of them."

"Like Liu Ziyi, who helped me?" Guan Xinyue said as they walked quickly through the hotel lobby.

"Are you willing to chat with her and be friends?" Luo Qi asked her seriously.

Guan Xinyue shrugged, "If you're paying for the shopping, then there's no problem."

"That's good," Luo Qi said, "I'll steal a credit card later to pay you back."

"Fine," Guan Xinyue said, "Do you want me to dig for information inside Qionglin?"

"You don't need to dig for anything. If you think she can be a friend, just be good friends with her—go shopping, play games, watch movies," Luo Qi said as they crossed the lobby and walked out the front door of the hotel. "I think she is very smart, and although Du Zhengyi might not feel it or care, she has deep feelings for him. Don't make that face; she always calls Du Zhengyi 'Senior Brother,' and Du Zhengyi is like her older brother. She will help him."

"Oh, so you think you and Liu Ziyi are kindred spirits?" Guan Xinyue looked up at Luo Qi, "It's not that my heart is cold; that stuff is useless."

"Why is it useless? Wen Lin likes Du Zhengyi quite a bit," Luo Qi replied offhandedly, "Look at how actively she helps."

"I still think you're just taking the opportunity to get rid of me," Guan Xinyue mused, "You aren't telling me the truth. You're really becoming more and more wicked."

"Just be good friends with her. We aren't like Du Zhengyi, that Genius War God who can ignore everyone and go his own way. Small fry like us need to huddle together for warmth, you know?" Luo Qi said.

"Mm, that makes sense," Guan Xinyue nodded, then looked Luo Qi over again, "What about you? Will you tell me after you find out the truth? About what my grandfather is actually doing?"

"If telling you is safe for you, I will definitely tell you," Luo Qi said.

Later, Guan Xinyue thought about it: the bastard Luo Qi hadn't actually promised anything at all.