Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 214 Class
The previously harmonious atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly turned tense.

Jin Ping'an felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He had originally intended to laugh it off.

But Ai Liang's aggressive gaze made it impossible for him to let the matter drop.

After a silence of more than ten seconds.

Jin Ping'an didn't make any excuses, and honestly lowered his head to apologize: "I'm sorry."

Since it was the first time Cheng Lejia had met Ai Liang, he couldn't very well act as a peacemaker.

He could only sit silently to the side.

Another half a while passed.

After the people around the three of them had all been replaced, Ai Liang finally spoke.

"no more chance."

Jin Ping'an immediately patted his chest and promised, "I swear I will never tell anyone about this again!"

After saying that, he looked at Ai Liang with expectant eyes: "Um, you really can't contact the messenger?"

"The last time we were able to contact the messenger was just an accident, because he didn't throw away his old SIM card. Didn't I tell you that before?"

Ai Liang explained while eating fried mushrooms.

The messenger had been dead for seven or eight years; he was essentially a non-existent person.

Ai Liang couldn't possibly use this identity to contact them all the time.

Otherwise, over time, others will definitely notice that Ai Liang and the messenger have never appeared together.

Leaving aside Jin Ping'an, that idiot, Tian Hao and Cheng Lejia aren't fools either.

Since they know that Ai Liang "found" the messenger, they will definitely pay attention to him.

If this continues, flaws will inevitably be exposed.

After explaining, Ai Liang didn't give Jin Ping'an a chance to ask any more questions and got up to leave with the plate.

This time, Jin Ping'an didn't chase after him, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

So, did Ai Liang know that Jin Ping'an had told others about the messenger?
The answer is yes.

Ai Liang knew very well that, given Jin Ping'an's personality, he would never keep it from Tian Hao and Cheng Lejia, the two people he trusted most.

The reason I just held Jin Ping'an accountable was to give him a warning.

If you forgive Jin Ping'an's careless personality too easily...

Then he definitely won't take it to heart, and there will definitely be a next time.

This is similar to some students who, upon learning they got the lowest score, swear to their parents they will study hard.

After a week, the regret subsided, and they continued eating, drinking, and having fun.

In short, they only respond to force, not persuasion.

Ai Liang put the plate into the dish return cart and left the restaurant.

I hadn't walked more than a few steps when I saw Ye Qing playing on her phone on a bench under a maple tree.

Ai Liang stepped forward, but before he could speak, Ye Qing asked first, "Is Jin Ping'an your friend?"

"You know him?" Ai Liang asked back.

Ye Qing smiled and showed Ai Liang the information on her phone: "I know him, but he may not know me. This guy is quite a celebrity in Qianhua City."

Ai Liang took a closer look: "'Live-action juvenile detective, underage criminal police consultant...' So he's quite famous?"

"Of course, how could reporters let go of such an eye-catching news story as a junior high school student serving as an advisor in the criminal investigation team?"

Ye Qing shoved the phone into Ai Liang's hand, stood up, and patted her pants: "This is only because his popularity has declined in the last two years. I remember when he first debuted, almost every time I opened my phone, the local news would push information about him. It was so annoying."

Ai Liang scrolled through the text; the entire post was praising Jin Ping'an.

Phrases like "heroes emerge from among the young," "young talents," and "the righteous messengers of Qianhua City" are used to describe this.

It also listed many real-world examples.

Clearly, someone is trying to create momentum for Jin Ping'an.

Based on his understanding of Jin Ping'an's interpersonal relationships, Ai Liang judged that it was very likely Cheng Lejia who did it.

Of all the people Jin Pingan knows, only he has the ability to manipulate the media.

It's not that Shi Hongfang couldn't do it, but given his position as the captain of the criminal investigation team, it wasn't convenient for him to do so.

As for the purpose of doing this...

It was probably to protect Jin Ping'an.

Either remain unknown, or become very famous.

Only by having a certain reputation in society can one protect oneself.

If a public figure who fights against organized crime were to suddenly suffer an accident, it would certainly cause an uproar in society, leading to a host of conspiracy theories and public outrage.

With public opinion as a safeguard, others will definitely have some reservations when they take action.

Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't kill Jin Ping'an, and since he was a lone bachelor, he was not threatened at all, which made people hate him to the core.

Therefore, Jin Ping'an is considered highly respected in society, but in the eyes of some people, he is completely disliked.

The forces that had been harmed by Jin Ping'an even gave him an alias: Gao Wangzhong.

In short, a despicable scoundrel.

After returning the phone, Ai Liang asked, "So you deliberately avoided him?"

"It's not that bad, it's just that it's awkward for the three of you guys to sit together and me being the only girl."

Ye Qing casually stuffed her phone into her pocket: "By the way, how did you meet him?"

As Ai Liang walked, she said, "We met when I was giving my statement at the police station. Not long ago, Jin Ping'an and I were kidnapped by bank robbers."

"Oh... what did you say?!"

Ye Qing subconsciously responded, then suddenly realized that Ai Liang seemed to have said something incredible.

She looked at Ai Liang with suspicion and uncertainty: "You're not kidding, are you?"

Ai Liang calmly replied, "No, in the first few days after I moved here, wasn't there a bank robbery? The two hostages who were taken hostage by the robbers were me and Jin Ping'an."

His calm demeanor, as if he were answering someone's question about what he ate for breakfast, showed absolutely no sign of being kidnapped.

What, you think these robbers are tour guides, driving you around on a trip?
Ye Qing subconsciously thought that Ai Liang was joking, but Ai Liang wasn't the type to make jokes like that, so it was very likely true.

"Such a big thing happened, how come you never told me about it!"

Ai Liang gave Ye Qing a strange look: "It's all over, what's there to say? It's not something worth talking about."

Ai Liang had been exposed to the dark side since she was a child.

Given the previous security situation in Nevada, criminals wouldn't feel at ease unless they killed several people every day.

Kidnappings and the like are commonplace, with the mother cooking the meals.

The people of Nevada are already used to it.

Moreover, compared to Ai Liang's bloody past, kidnapping is just child's play.

"No, it's me, it's you..."

Ye Qing was speechless for a moment, completely unsure of what to say.

It took her a long time to recover: "So how exactly did you escape?"

"When I was kidnapped, I grabbed a cell phone from someone and used it to call the police."

Ai Liang omitted a lot of the process and only mentioned the final result.

Ye Qing was clearly not satisfied with this explanation, but she wisely refrained from asking further questions.

After all, being kidnapped is not a pleasant memory for most people.

………………

The two did not rush back to the classroom, but instead, at Ye Qing's invitation (or rather, her pulling), they strolled around the campus.

The first two days of school for new students are generally uneventful; they're mainly used to get familiar with the campus.

Ai Liang was pulled by Ye Qing and they toured the entire school, which took nearly two hours in total.

Especially in the student organizations department.

After seeing the promotional slogan that there were prizes for participating in the competition, Ye Qing couldn't take her feet up.

The prize money isn't much; the top few only receive a few thousand to tens of thousands.

But playing badminton, basketball, and sprinting—things where you can earn money while having fun—deeply attracted Ye Qing.

She had heard before that playing games and becoming a streamer could make money, but unfortunately she couldn't afford the streaming equipment and didn't have the time to build a following.

Now that there's a job that's both entertaining and lucrative, Ye Qing doesn't want to miss it.

The two wandered around for a while but still couldn't find where the club registration location was.

Ye Qing temporarily put aside her intention to sign up and planned to ask the homeroom teacher after the afternoon class meeting.

Ai Liang and Ye Qing wandered around for a long time before returning to the teaching building, bypassing the group of volunteers who were trying to seduce the freshmen.

The main concern is that someone might come up and strike up a conversation.

During the two-plus hours they spent walking around the school, they encountered no fewer than three groups of volunteers who came up to ask if they needed any help.

Even disregarding their looks, freshmen without parents are quite popular with volunteers.

With elders present, the students were all too reserved to relax.

On her way back, Ye Qing kept fantasizing about how she would amaze everyone, dominate the competition, and win the prize money all by herself.

She had already started discussing with Ai Liang how to spend the prize money.

Ai Liang didn't speak, only occasionally letting out a soft "hmm".

He didn't refute Ye Qing's wild idea, because based on her physical condition, the possibility was very high.

Ye Qing only needs to understand the rules to dominate the entire school.

In the face of absolute strength, any skill is useless.

The two slowly walked up to the second floor.

Seeing that the homeroom teacher was busy talking to the parents, Ye Qing greeted the teacher and went into the classroom.

In the hour or so that they were gone, quite a few people came to the classroom.

However, only a small number of people were chatting, and they were speaking in very low voices.

Many boys were peeking towards the upper left corner of the classroom. Most of them looked like they wanted to go up and talk to someone but didn't have the courage.

Ai Liang and Ye Qing had stationery on their seats, so no one went to reserve them. However, the seat behind Ye Qing was taken by someone else.

The familiar red-rimmed glasses, the familiar pigtails, only this time the floral dress has been replaced by a cream-colored T-shirt with a cover-up and jeans.

"Evanna?"

Before Ai Liang could speak, Ye Qing frowned and asked, "How come... Oh, your dad sent you in, right?"

"Ah! Ye Qing, it's been so long!"

Yi Wenna raised her voice slightly, drowning out the rest of Ye Qing's sentence, and kept giving her meaningful glances.

"Fine, fine, fine, I won't say anything more, do as you please."

Ye Qing waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

She had no intention of exposing Ivanna's weaknesses.

Yi Wenna was somewhat surprised. She first looked at Ai Liang, then at Ye Qing, and after observing their expressions, asked, "Do you two know each other?"

"I know him, what's wrong?"

Ye Qing turned to the side and leaned against the wall so that she could keep an eye on the people talking on both sides. Ai Liang in front of her also turned to the side.

Because he wanted to find Yi Wenna and get the second volume of that novel.

This turn turned the two of them directly to the entire class.

The already sparse chatter in the classroom became even quieter.

Now, it's not just boys; quite a few girls are looking this way too.

There was a handsome guy and two beautiful girls sitting in the upper left corner of the classroom.

If it were just a bunch of beautiful women or handsome men, perhaps someone would have the courage to come over, sit down, and strike up a conversation.

Now, the girls looked at Ye Qing and Yi Wenna, and the boys looked at Ai Liang, all completely losing the courage to strike up a conversation.

There is no harm without comparison.

At this moment, Yi Wenna's thoughts were much more complicated than those of the other students in the class.

'Does this person know Ye Qing? Is it because they both arrived very early and just met?'
No, it's impossible for a boy and a girl who just arrived early to enter the classroom together. But Ye Qing shouldn't have a boyfriend; their entering the classroom together is a coincidence!

After thinking about the relationship between Ai Liang and Ye Qing, Yi Wenna decided to use Ai Liang as a breakthrough point.

She came to sit down in the back seat after seeing the novel on the table.

After all, sitting with someone you've met once before in an unfamiliar class is always better than sitting with a complete stranger.

Yi Wenna spoke to Ai Liang across Ye Qing: "Ai Liang, you're here quite early."

She was testing Ye Qing's reaction.

Then... Ye Qing remained unmoved, and didn't even bother to ask how the two met.

This made Yi Wenna very unwilling.

"Since it's not convenient for me to bring the book home, I asked the bookstore manager to keep the novel that Ai Liang wanted for me. We'll go pick it up together this weekend."

On the surface, Yi Wenna covered her mouth and chuckled, but inside she was screaming wildly.

'Let me see quickly what your relationship is!'

However... Ye Qing remained unmoved, and even felt a little amused.

Ai Liang nodded without changing her expression: "No need, go get it yourself and then take it to the classroom."

Hearing this incredibly straight-male-like statement, even Yi Wenna, with her superb acting skills, almost couldn't hold back her emotions.

Before she could speak, Ai Liang added insult to injury: "I borrowed that novel first. Since I let you have it, it's not too much to ask you to bring it over for me, is it?"

Yi Wenna: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

'You're a devil!'

Yi Wenna looked at Ye Qing pitifully: "Xiao Qing..."

"What are you looking at? Is there a problem? I know your personality."

Ye Qing glanced at her, then took out her phone to kill some time.

"Xiao Qing, what you said is so hurtful..."

Faced with the extremely intimidating gaze, Yi Wenna let out a weak squeak.

“Come on, Ai Liang, tell me your first impression of her.”

"...Someone with a quick and flexible thought process?"

Ai Liang thought for a moment and then used a more tactful way of putting it.

"No need to be so subtle, she's just a scheming and annoying person. I thought I could get rid of her when I got to high school, what a terrible fate."

Ye Qing's expression was stiff, as if she had bought a discounted ginger-braised pork dish only to find that 80% of the food was ginger.

(End of this chapter)