Jiang Qingli made no effort to hide her actions, so it didn't take long for people to notice the conflict and recognize their faces.
"What's going on? Isn't that Ling Sheng? Why is Jiang Qingli pointing a gun at them?"
"They're probably just messing around, right? Ling Sheng is Ling Qing's younger brother. Jiang Qingli used to suck up to them all the time."
"Now that you mention it, I remember. She once cursed out Baili Jing for Ling Sheng's sake in public. It's a good thing he's too well-mannered to expose her. If that got online, his fans would have torn her to shreds..."
The two of them never expected the person they were gossiping about to overhear them, and their expressions changed drastically.
But they quickly relaxed.
Especially Ling Sheng, who was the one being held at gunpoint. He sidled closer with a grin. "Hey now, Qingli, look at you. Are you really mad? I was just kidding!"
"Kidding?" Jiang Qingli's lips curled as she clearly enunciated three words. "Are you worthy?"
Ling Sheng's expression changed instantly. "What do you mean by that?"
Because of Ling Qing, Ling Sheng had always been one of the people Jiang Qingli tried to suck up to.
Over the past year, Ling Sheng had relied on his brother to get countless benefits from Jiang Qingli.
He was used to throwing his weight around by riding on others' coattails. So when Jiang Qingli, the "tiger" herself, suddenly turned on him, he started cursing without a second thought.
Jiang Qingli raised an eyebrow and applied more pressure, forcefully pressing the cold muzzle of the gun against his forehead.
Onlookers lined the path, their whispers incessant.
"Are they really fighting?"
"I heard Jiang Qingli broke off her engagement with Ling Qing. She's probably furious just seeing Ling Sheng now."
"That Ling Sheng is always putting on airs. It's so satisfying to watch these dogs bite each other!"
The other male sensed Jiang Qingli's displeasure and immediately backpedaled hard.
The tall male bowed, wringing his hands nervously, and pleaded in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Miss Jiang. We just heard that from rumors. It was an honest mistake, please don't be angry..."
"What's there to apologize for? All he did was say a few words about you!" Ling Sheng was just as arrogant as Ling Qing. "Go on, shoot if you have the guts! If you dare, I'll tell my brother right now—"
Before he could finish, a loud BANG erupted.
BANG—
The bullet grazed past Ling Sheng's face.
To prevent accidental injuries, the bullets used in the training class had a safety mechanism, causing them to explode into colored smoke when they got close to a person.
But the range was too close, and it still left a scratch on Ling Sheng's face.
Ling Sheng never imagined that Jiang Qingli would actually dare to shoot at him!
He stood there, stunned. A scratch appeared on his face, and warm blood trickled down his cheek.
Jiang Qingli smiled. "Sorry. An honest mistake."
Ling Sheng trembled with rage. "Jiang Qingli! You really did it! Believe me, I'm going to tell my brother and have him teach you a lesson!"
She gave a nonchalant smile. "Go tell your brother, you big baby."
"But next time I hear you two gossiping, it won't be this simple."
After speaking, Jiang Qingli patted Ling Sheng's pale face with her gun, then grabbed Qin Muye and left.
A few steps after she turned to leave, Ling Sheng clutched his face and roared.
"JIANG! QING! LI!" Flames of fury practically shot from Ling Sheng's eyes. "I'm telling my brother right now! She's finished!"
With that, he pulled out his terminal and dialed Ling Qing's number.
At the same time, he roared at the onlookers, "What are you looking at! Scram!"
The other male didn't dare say a word and scurried away, but not before giving Jiang Qingli a quick, surreptitious apology.
After all, the Ling Family had been in decline in recent years and was no match for the Jiang Family.
If Jiang Qingli hadn't been so fond of Ling Qing, the Ling brothers would never have had the chance to get so arrogant with her.
After both parties had dispersed, the onlookers clicked their tongues.
"His temper is awful. No wonder when rumors about him and Miss Jiang started, Miss Jiang had to post over a dozen threads on the forums to deny them..."
"It's good to knock him down a peg. It'll save us from his daily barking."
"Speaking of which, has Miss Jiang had a personality transplant or something? How dare she open fire in public? Isn't she afraid of being disciplined..."
"Afraid of being disciplined? Her? Besides, Jiang Youchen is coming back to the First District soon."
"Holy crap, that sis-con is no joke when he goes crazy. Rumor has it that the reason he took a post in the Lower District three years ago was because he killed a few nobles who got into a conflict with Jiang Qingli..."
"Oh god, that means Jiang Qingli will be even more lawless from now on! Everyone, stop gossiping about her for a while!"
-
After being dragged along for a few steps, Qin Muye finally came to his senses.
His gaze fell involuntarily on the hand pulling him.
The female's hand was beautiful, with slender, snow-white fingers and pink knuckles.
It looked so fragile, as if a little pressure could snap it.
Yet this was the very hand that had just held a gun to the man spewing venom.
Recalling what Jiang Qingli had just said, Qin Muye's breathing slowed.
Plenty of people had cursed him out, but this was the first time... a female had ever stood up for him.
'She's supposed to be a wicked female who's greedy, lecherous, and afraid of death.'
'She looks so frail and doesn't have any real skills.'
'Yet she went this far for me...'
The fierce anger that had been burning inside him moments ago paused, then faded significantly without him realizing when.
His heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
Qin Muye couldn't help but slow his pace. His fingers curled slightly, and he took hold of Jiang Qingli's wrist.
Jiang Qingli didn't notice him grabbing her wrist.
She was feeling very agitated right now.
'Logically, I should have just pretended I didn't hear them. Showing off like that just invites trouble and increases my risk of dying.'
'But when those guys were insulting the Jiang family, this intense rage surged through my chest. I wanted to rip Ling Sheng's head off and kick it like a ball.'
'Who is he to curse the Jiang family?'
This burst of emotion felt strange to Jiang Qingli.
'I'm not the original owner of this body, so why would I have any feelings for the Jiang family...'
'Maybe it's because I was an orphan, or... maybe this body still has some residual conditioned reflexes?'
'That's how it always goes in novels.'
Jiang Qingli pressed her lips together and sighed again.
In Qin Muye's eyes, this looked like Jiang Qingli was grieving over her ex-fiancé, that "Ling Qing" fellow.
Qin Muye's brows furrowed tightly.
'I knew Jiang Qingli had bad taste. That Ling Sheng guy is nothing special, so how much better could Ling Qing be?'
'Her taste is just terrible!'
An even fiercer fire burned in Qin Muye's heart, and he couldn't stop himself from wanting to say something.
"Hey—"
He had just started to speak when Jiang Qingli suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, staring in shock at the person who had abruptly appeared before them.
The male with black hair and golden eyes had a cold demeanor. His gaze was chilling and sharp as it swept over Jiang Qingli's captured wrist.
"Had your fun?" he seemed to scoff. "You've got some nerve."
Jiang Qingli instinctively pulled her hand back, her eyes wide as she stared at him. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"Quick, apologize, Qingli!" one of the girls from her group sidled up to Jiang Qingli, tugged on her wrist, and whispered, "This is Professor Ye, the special guest professor for this class! You have to be respectful to him... He deducts points regardless of who you are!"
'P-Professor?!'
Jiang Qingli stared at Ye Linyuan in disbelief.
'This guy is actually their professor?!'
'No wonder he's at the academy!'
Before Jiang Qingli could recover from her shock, Ling Sheng's voice rang out, "Cousin!"
"Cousin! It's great that you're here!" Ling Sheng ran up to them, clutching his face and pointing an accusing finger at Jiang Qingli. "I want to report this woman, Jiang Qingli, for assaulting a fellow student! It's a heinous crime! She should be disciplined—no, expelled!"
'Cousin?'
Jiang Qingli looked at her friend in a daze.
Her friend was frantic. "It's over, it's over! Professor Ye is your ex-fiancé's and Ling Sheng's cousin!"
"You're so screwed now! He's definitely going to punish you!"