Chapter 18: Take a Shot
“Fasten your seatbelt.” Ji Yueling said coolly.
Gu Qing sat in the passenger seat, silently fastening his seatbelt, looking at Ji Yueling gripping the steering wheel. He suddenly asked curiously, “Wasn’t this car’s front end smashed in on New Year’s Eve?”
“Regenerative metal alchemy technology. Repairs are quick.”
“I see. But big sister, why don’t you take off your high heels first?” Gu Qing asked carefully.
Ji Yueling looked ahead without starting the engine immediately, saying coolly, “Didn’t you say you’re not afraid to die?”
“Not being afraid to die doesn’t mean actively seeking death.” Gu Qing spread his hands, answering matter-of-factly.
Ji Yueling turned slightly sideways, lifting her long, snow-white legs completely and resting them on the passenger side. Gu Qing was startled at first, then gently grasped her ankle, carefully removing her high heels. Her ankle was slender, and her small, pale feet were beautifully shaped—white, smooth, and with a hint of delicate bone structure.
Gu Qing neatly placed the high heels aside, then she turned back around and started the engine.
………………………………
The streets on the sixth day of the New Year still had few people.
Gu Qing quietly sent Lu Qianqian a message saying he’d probably be back very late tonight, telling her not to wait up and to sleep early.
Meanwhile, Ji Yueling drove faster and faster. The street scenes that had been slowly retreating were now blurred beyond recognition. The roar of the engine filled his ears, and the powerful force pressed his body firmly against the seat. He had no doubt that if the car crashed into a wall right now, they might be instantly torn apart, with no time for treatment.
But he wasn’t afraid.
He turned to look at Ji Yueling’s profile and realized her eyes were getting brighter. Those previously cold eyes seemed to show a trace of madness.
Dawn City’s suburbs had a mountain called Empty Distance Mountain. The winding mountain road up Empty Distance Mountain was particularly treacherous, but it was also often used by racing enthusiasts for speed competitions. To get there, you first had to cross the river bridge. What should have been at least an hour’s journey was now being frantically shortened by Ji Yueling. Gu Qing sat in the passenger seat, his face slightly pale.
Even so, Ji Yueling still had the presence of mind to speak: “Your face looks a bit bad.”
“Can’t I get carsick?” Gu Qing’s voice trembled slightly.
Humans have an instinctive pursuit of thrills. Whether it’s racing, skydiving, or various extreme sports, the feeling of hovering between life and death gradually becomes addictive—no different from smoking or drinking in essence.
“We’re going up the mountain.” Ji Yueling suddenly said.
“Mm.” Gu Qing nodded lightly.
“I’ve driven this road many times. You don’t need to worry.” Ji Yueling’s voice was now slightly gentler.
“Many times?”
“Sometimes I race with Alliance people here.”
“Do you win often?”
“Sometimes.” Ji Yueling answered coolly.
Under the moonlight, the silver-painted sports car became a streak of light, flashing like lightning on the winding mountain road. Several times her drifting made Gu Qing think he was about to be thrown out. His stomach churned as he fought the urge to vomit, looking at the moon outside the window.
No matter how blurred the scenery outside the window became, the moon was always there.
Ten minutes later, Ji Yueling’s car stopped at the mountaintop. Gu Qing unfastened his seatbelt, opened the door, rushed to a tree by the roadside and began vomiting uncontrollably. It was a while before he finally recovered.
He dragged his still-dizzy head back to the car. Ji Yueling was still sitting inside, but her door was also open, and she’d unfastened her seatbelt. She was turned sideways, holding her black high-heeled Mary Janes in her hand, while her snow-white legs under her dress were already raised, her pale feet pointing toward Gu Qing. The meaning was obvious.
Getting someone to do a small favor for you, then after they get used to it, having them do more troublesome things—with some positive feedback, this process becomes easier and easier. She held the high heels in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.
Gu Qing took the water, rinsed his mouth, then set the water aside. He took the high heels from her hand, bent down slightly, gently grasped her ankle, and began carefully putting her shoes on.
Her skin was fair, her frame delicate, so her dainty feet were beautiful.
For beautiful things, Gu Qing never spared his praise: “Big sister’s pretty little feet are beautiful.”
“Thank you. You’re disgusting.”
Ji Yueling looked at him with slight disgust but still let him put on her shoes. Only then did she get out of the car. Walking a bit further along the mountaintop path, there was a pavilion by the cliff edge. From the pavilion, you could overlook the entire scene below the mountain, and now you could see many dense stars clustered around the bright moon.
Clear moonlight scattered down, like laying a thin layer of salt frost on the ground.
Ji Yueling carried a lamp in her hand, took another bottle of wine from the car’s front trunk, and after reaching the pavilion, produced two wine glasses. Then she leaned against a chair in the pavilion, poured wine into the glasses, and drank alone without looking at Gu Qing again, seemingly having no desire to initiate conversation.
Fortunately, Gu Qing didn’t speak either. He just quietly sat there looking at the stars, pouring himself a glass of wine.
Sometimes when his eyes got tired from stargazing, he’d turn to look at Ji Yueling sitting not far away. Her evening dress made her figure look especially good, and her figure was so slender and tall. Her carefully braided hair was gently stirred by the wind, her eyes lonely and cold, now seemingly somewhat intoxicated by the alcohol.
“Your ability isn’t very suitable for combat.” Gu Qing broke the cool, quiet atmosphere, suddenly speaking.
Ji Yueling glanced at him sideways. “What?”
“Your ability should come from a demon called the Snow Silkworm Spider. Its silk threads can heal human diseases and injuries, but if you frequently use them to strengthen yourself, it will greatly consume your human lifespan. I remember you’re A-class, right? If you keep developing your ability in the healing direction, it should be fine. But if you try to evolve toward combat, after reaching S-class, you probably won’t live past forty.”
Ji Yueling wasn’t frightened by Gu Qing’s words but instantly adopted that interrogative, suspicious posture again: “How do you know?”
This was her biggest secret—she’d never even told her family.
“Because of those demon memories from when my ability awakened. I happened to see a Snow Silkworm Spider, and I know a bit about both demons and Extraordinaries. After seeing various places these past few years, I’ve gained some experience. This should be the logical conclusion.”
Gu Qing’s words might not be entirely true, but Ji Yueling knew asking more would be fruitless, so she just answered coolly, “Mind your own business.”
“I’m not planning to manage you… I just thought I’d mention it in case you didn’t know.”
“I know.” Ji Yueling answered coolly.
“Fine.” So Gu Qing stopped talking and continued drinking.
The world was completely silent, with only the sound of wind blowing through fallen leaves. Ji Yueling suddenly felt a bit cold. Clearly her ability had long made her immune to cold, but she couldn’t say why—she instinctively wanted to curl up her body. Perhaps it was because the moonlight was too cold.
She suddenly felt her high heels were uncomfortable, so she kicked them aside and put her bare feet on the chair, curling up her body slightly. This position made her skirt fall a bit lower, revealing the perfect curves of her long legs.
Gu Qing remained silent, just drinking steadily until he’d consumed most of the bottle. Only then did he hear Ji Yueling slowly ask, “How did you join Fight Club?”
“Taotie referred me.”
“But I remember that for humans to join Fight Club and truly get along with them isn’t that simple.”
“That’s true, so they set up a test for me back then.”
“What?”
“An old game—Russian roulette. One bullet. However many shots I dared to take, that’s how much respect they’d give me.”
“How many shots did you take?”
“Guess?”
“Five shots.”
“You guessed it—how am I supposed to act cool now?” Gu Qing’s eyes widened, then he indignantly took another big drink.
“What gave you the nerve?” Even though she’d guessed the right answer, she still couldn’t understand.
Death is humanity’s greatest fear—no one can escape that subconscious instinct. Gu Qing quickly provided her with an answer: “It’s really just like racing or skydiving. The near-death feeling makes your body secrete massive amounts of hormones, making you excited to the point of trembling. Each shot increases the excitement, so the more you pull the trigger, the more you anticipate it, the more addictive it becomes.”
“Would you still dare play such a game now?”
“Huh? I quit that long ago. Don’t try to tempt me into performing for you.” Gu Qing immediately shook his head like a rattle, but Ji Yueling looked at him coolly. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Gu Qing change his mind: “Unless there’s a reward.”
“What do you want?” Ji Yueling was suddenly curious.
Because the Gu Qing in her eyes had always been without desires or demands, and such people were the most frightening—being without desires made them uncontrollable.
“Let me kiss you.” Gu Qing suddenly spoke smugly.
Ji Yueling tilted her head—this was completely outside her expectations.
Betting his life just to kiss her was indeed something both crazy and stupid.
“Your reason?”
“Why do you need so many reasons to want a kiss? Maybe I want to know if you—this woman who’s always wearing a sour expression and acting cold—would blush if someone kissed you?”
“Fine.” Ji Yueling answered coolly, then produced a revolver, spinning it once on her fingertip. As a combat team member of the Alliance, she could get as many of these as she wanted.
But this time she’d brought out an ordinary revolver, excellently maintained and loaded with one bullet.
But Gu Qing beside her started rambling again: “You’ve never been kissed before, have you?”
“Never. I’ve never dated anyone, and I’m still a virgin. Does that answer satisfy you?”
Gu Qing casually took the revolver from her hand, pressed it to his temple, then answered, “I figured. You don’t look like someone who’s dated.”
“Mm?”
“Anyone would think you’re beautiful at first glance, then get disgusted by that cold, sour face and arrogant attitude, right?” Gu Qing said casually, then pulled the trigger.
Click—empty chamber