Chapter 146: Inexplicable

Luo Yao awakened her abilities at the age of ten, and they were double SSS-rank talents at that. It would be impossible to say she didn’t possess a shred of pride. Over the years, the number of people pursuing her had reached an unbelievable level. Among them, some were drawn by her family background, some by her potential, and naturally, many were captivated by her beauty. However, truth be told, there wasn't a single one who caught her eye.

At first, she couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind. Eventually, as the number of suitors grew, she completely unleashed her true nature. She beat them down until they no longer dared to pester her, which is how she earned the moniker of the "Witch." As the saying goes, what young girl doesn't dream of romance? Luo Yao had also imagined what her other half might be like, but for so many years, she simply hadn't found the right one. She had vowed that any man she chose must be around her age and possess strength no less than her own. Was that one condition too much to ask? Unfortunately, that single requirement alone had eliminated 99.99% of men.

Until she met Lin Xiao.

Driven by a fit of pique, she had sought him out. Her original intention was to teach him a small lesson, but she never expected to be hoisted by her own petard. She had ended up losing to him and even being taken advantage of in the process. Although she hadn't used her full capabilities during that fight, a loss was a loss, and Luo Yao wouldn't deny it.

She wasn't foolish enough to think Lin Xiao was "The One," but it was undeniable that she had developed a deep interest in him. After being defeated, her secondary personality had temporarily receded. It was her first failure in so many years, yet after some reflection, she felt it wasn't a bad thing at all. In fact, this failure had loosened the bottleneck that had been holding her back from reaching Level Five. Barring any accidents, she would successfully advance in the next two days, and her combat power would undoubtedly reach a new height.

Therefore, she decided to set aside her prejudice against Lin Xiao, even contemplating progressing alongside him. It was a perfect opportunity to get to know him better; after all, he was the first boy in years who had made her feel he was truly different. What she hadn't expected was that by the time she wanted to find him, he had vanished. Now that she had finally tracked him down, there was no way she would let him off the hook so easily. Seeing him reject her time and again only fueled her interest. She had considered whether he was playing hard-to-get to grab her attention, but no matter how she looked at it, his expressions didn't seem faked.

Am I really that annoying to him? Watching Lin Xiao step back to keep his distance, Luo Yao couldn't help but ask, "Am I that terrifying?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiao couldn't help but roll his eyes. *Are you that unaware of yourself? "Terrifying" doesn't even begin to cover it!* He was about to answer, but seeing her earnest expression, he felt his resolve inexplicably soften. "It's fine, I just feel we aren't close enough to form a team yet."

Upon hearing this, a smile finally blossomed on Luo Yao's face. "That’s good then. I’ll work hard to make you accept me!"

Lin Xiao: (⊙_⊙) Huh? What is that supposed to mean? This girl isn't actually interested in me, is she? What's with this talk of acceptance? It’s completely inexplicable!

Luo Yao realized her words might have been misinterpreted. Seeing his shocked expression, she suddenly felt the urge to tease him. "What’s with that look? You’ve already done those things to me—you’re not planning on refusing to take responsibility, are you?"

At that, Lin Xiao retreated another two steps. What had he done? He’d accidentally touched her chest and smacked her bottom... *Ugh!* It did seem a bit excessive, but he’d been forced into it at the time, hadn't he? What was going through this girl's head? Did she really want him to take responsibility? "You... what do you want?"

Lin Xiao’s flustered state made Luo Yao giggle. She suddenly found him quite interesting. "Hehe, relax. I don't intend to cling to you. I admit I have a tiny bit of interest in you, but that’s all. My primary personality doesn't seem to care for you much. If you want to pursue me, you'll have to make both of my personalities fall for you."

Lin Xiao: ∑(°口°?) Hey, hey, hey! Why are you telling me this? When did I ever say I wanted to pursue you? Based on the current situation, it’s clearly you who wants to pursue me!

However, from her words, Lin Xiao gathered some information. The one interested in him was her secondary personality—the "Witch." Her primary personality, the more reserved one, was indifferent to him. That didn't seem like good news to him! If it were the other way around, he might have been more receptive. Not wanting to get entangled in this any further—who knew what kind of outrageous things this "Witch" might do—he cleared his throat. "Ahem! Let's not talk about that. I don't know what you wanted with me today, Miss Luo?"

Seeing him change the subject, Luo Yao didn't press the matter. She had originally come to find him to train together and spar, but she had abandoned that idea. She would just register as a mercenary herself. If this guy didn't want to take her along, couldn't she just follow him secretly?

"Nothing much, I just missed you and wanted to chat."

Alarm bells rang in Lin Xiao’s head. What a demoness! To say something so shameless. "Miss Luo, please show some self-respect! If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving!" Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away, though his departure looked somewhat hasty.

Luo Yao watched his retreating figure with a mischievous smirk. *It’s getting more and more interesting.* After a moment of thought, she took out her phone and sent a message to Hu Yu: [I have a few multi-billion dollar projects and am interested in cooperating with your family. The conditions are simple: keep a close watch on Lin Xiao’s movements and notify me immediately if he leaves school. Don't worry, I guarantee I won't do anything to harm him. You know what to do, right?]

After sending the message, she tucked her phone away. She trusted Hu Yu knew how to handle it. Become a mercenary? She hadn't registered yet; it seemed she needed to find time to do so. Should she give her old man a heads-up? She might as well; otherwise, having to handle everything herself would be too much of a hassle.

Only when Lin Xiao had completely disappeared from her sight did Luo Yao skip away, her mood clearly excellent.