Why Are the Psychos Obsessed with a Mere NPC?

When Jian Yu entered the Director’s room, the Director was applying medicine to herself.

There was a dark bruise on her shoulder, and the skin on both of her knees was scraped, swollen, and frighteningly red.

"This medicine actually works pretty well. It stopped hurting as soon as I put it on." The Director noticed Jian Yu and lowered her pant leg.

She turned her head and patted the bed. "Come here, let Mama give you a hug."

Jian Yu walked over in silence.

The moment she sat down, the Director wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into an embrace.

"Good, you’ve put on some weight. The Noble Academy really is different. The food must be much better than out here."

Jian Yu knew she was a very picky eater and had been a source of worry for everyone when she was little.

She nestled into the Director’s arms, her lips pressed into a thin line. She didn’t quite dare to meet the other woman’s eyes.

’Whether it was Zhang Xin’er’s death or this recent kidnapping, I was the cause of it all.’

"You haven’t been fighting with them, have you?" The Director stroked Jian Yu’s hair, not mentioning a single word about Zhang Xin’er.

Jian Yu shook her head.

"They’re quite handsome, just like you described. They really fit the bill for those... what did you call them? ’Paper men,’ right?" The Director couldn’t help but chuckle.

She had only found out about Xi Yu and Ling Yanzhi’s true identities today.

At first, she had been a little worried. After all, the difference in their social standing was immense.

Then, after watching the livestream, Ling Chengfeng had come running over to ask her a bunch of questions she didn’t understand. It was only when the Director rewatched the stream herself that she learned Jian Yu was also an Awakener—and a high-level one at that.

"If you’re going to be in a relationship, be serious about it. Don’t get too lost in your novels. The characters in books might be perfect, but they’re still just that—characters. They aren’t real."

The Director patted the back of Jian Yu’s hand.

"I’ve always been a good judge of character. They aren’t as arrogant and conceited as people on the internet claim. At least, they were polite to me, and they clearly care for you deeply."

"Mama can’t help you with much, so I just hope I don’t drag you down. When I go back this time, I’m taking Little Yuan and the others and we’re going to move."

"We have enough money now. For the rest of our lives, we could hide away somewhere and never go out, and we’d still live better than most."

The Director’s brow furrowed. "Mama has been on the Star Network all day, and so many people are talking about you. You need to be more careful when you go out. There are a lot of jealous people out there these days."

’To suddenly Awaken, and with such a unique Soul Beast ability...’

’It’s hard to say whether it’s more of a blessing or a curse.’

All she could do now was hope that Xi Yu and Ling Yanzhi were reliable and would do their best to protect Jian Yu.

"I know." Jian Yu rested her head on the Director’s shoulder, watching the older woman’s worried expression.

’She’s probably holding back so many questions she’s afraid to ask.’

’Telling me to be serious about the relationship was just an excuse to gauge my reaction, to see if Xi Yu and his friends are serious, and if they might hurt me.’

’Her praise for them wasn’t really praise—it was more like the Director trying to reassure herself.’

’She doesn’t dare voice her real fears, afraid of panicking us both. All she can do is talk meekly about hiding away.’

’Even her warning about the danger was just a gentle reminder about people watching me online. She’s afraid that if she says too much, I’ll be too scared to even enjoy my food.’

Jian Yu knew the Director so well. She could analyze the hidden meaning behind every single word.

"We are."

"Ayan is wonderful."

"I’ll be okay."

After she spoke, Jian Yu lifted her head. Her large eyes were clear and still held a touch of youthful innocence.

Their eyes met, and the Director sighed.

Her eyes reddened. "If only Mama were a powerful person, too. Look at you... you poor thing, with no one to have your back."

Jian Yu didn’t think of herself as pitiful.

’Maybe I’ve finally grown up.’ When she was little, she would wait with longing eyes for the Director to comfort her. Now, she could be the one to offer comfort.

After some small talk, a thought suddenly flashed through Jian Yu’s mind.

She shot to her feet.

"Mama, come with me."

Jian Yu took her by the hand.

The two of them headed straight for the basement.

The door opened.

Ling Yanzhi was sitting in front of a virtual gaming machine. He turned his head.

He was dressed in a flamboyant, eye-catching red. His eyes swept upward as he looked at them. "Why aren’t you asleep yet?"

Ling Yanzhi rose to his feet and crossed the room in two strides of Instant Teleportation, appearing before Jian Yu.

Xi Yu had left early, knowing that Jian Yu would be sleeping with the Director tonight.

Seeing that an elder was present, Ling Yanzhi gave the Director a polite nod.

The Director knew that wealthy people could be very territorial.

She glanced around the hidden basement and quickly interjected, "I couldn’t sleep, so I asked her to show me around. We just sort of ended up here by accident."

The Director tightened her grip on Jian Yu’s hand, about to say that they would leave right away.

But Jian Yu pulled her straight inside, looking around. "Ayan, where’s my ling beast?"

The Director didn’t want anyone to criticize Jian Yu, so she decided she had to speak up first.

Her voice trembling, she tugged on Jian Yu’s arm. "You child, how can you be so rude?"

Caught off guard, Jian Yu stumbled.

’Seriously, Mama, could you give a signal before you start acting?’

Ling Yanzhi reached out to steady her.

He looked annoyed but knew he couldn’t retort too harshly. The Director was practically her guardian, after all.

He smoothly took Jian Yu’s other hand and smiled.

"There’s no need to be so formal, Mama. This is her game room. Sometimes even I have to get her permission to come in."

Mama? The Director’s expression froze for a second. A wave of joy was immediately followed by overwhelming regret and heartache.

She had always dreamed that one day her daughter, who had been fourteen and a half, would grow up and bring the person she loved before her to call her "Mama."

The thought of Xin’er, who was already gone, made the Director’s eyes grow dim.

GROWL—

The sound was just like a wolf’s.

Jian Yu was a bit puzzled. "It’s usually so well-behaved when I feed it. What’s wrong with it today? Is it sick or something?"

Ling Yanzhi glanced up. "It’s probably just spoiled. Don’t indulge it next time."

The ling beast was in its small pod. Because of the failed Contract attempt half a month ago, Ling Yanzhi had been secretly taming it, and not gently.

The more he tried to tame it, the more defiant the ling beast became.

Fortunately, Jian Yu now had her Jellyfish ’Soul Beast’.

Otherwise, Ling Yanzhi might have had to resort to less... humane methods.

He pressed a button, and a machine lowered the pod to the floor.

The Incubation Chamber had been swapped out for a larger one.

The ling beast had grown bigger, too.

It was a big, fluffy ball of fur, a festive, fiery red, and it looked rather like an Alaskan Malamute.

The Director must have had a keen eye. "Is this some kind of alien dog?"

The ling beast bared its teeth. "..."

Jian Yu crouched down and patted its head. "It’s a ling beast. A-level. An alien fox."

Ling Yanzhi had just been patching vulnerabilities in the gaming machine and reinforcing its firewall.

He only just now noticed that a new message had popped up on his Star Brain.

There was no need to read it, though. The sender was standing right in front of him.

Jian Yu looked up, blinking, and pointed at the ling beast. "Can I give it to my mama? I sent you a message, but you didn’t write back."

"It’s yours. You can do what you want with it." As Ling Yanzhi spoke, he thought of the various theories circulating on the Star Network, and a new one flashed through his mind.

He had put up the money and had Xi Yu win the ling beast at auction.

Once he gave it away, he never expected to get it back.

The Director was an ordinary person. If she could really form a Contract with an A-level Alien Beast with Jian Yu’s help, then...

Ling Yanzhi was once again grateful that he had made his move quickly. If he hadn’t, everyone would be trying to snatch her up, and he was worried he might not have won.

"What? For me?" The Director waved her hands dismissively. "It’s no use. Without a Spirit Contract to bind it, it won’t listen to me."

Ling Yanzhi glanced at the now-docile ling beast on the floor. "Even without spiritual power, a Contracted Beast can spontaneously generate a Spirit Contract and form a spiritual bond with its Contractor."

"That’s right." Jian Yu gently stroked her wrist.

A red mist began to seep from her wrist, gradually coalescing into a silken cord.

One end wrapped itself around the Director’s wrist while Jian Yu held the other.

She looked into the ling beast’s beautiful eyes. "Are you willing?"

’If it’s not, I’ll just have to try forcing the bond.’

’The Director is more important.’

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