bioinnovel Chapter 173 Where there is salvation, there is sacrifice.
Chapter 173 Where there is salvation, there is sacrifice.
After everyone from Lanzhiyuan set off separately, the rest room was empty, with only Xue Youyou remaining.
She stood by the window, watching the sun gradually move westward, her expression unusually solemn.
She spoke with certainty about the directions—east, west, south, and north—but deep down, she wasn't entirely sure. Lu Yuan was a shrewd and calculating person; if she was truly determined to run away, searching for her by manpower alone would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Therefore, she never expected that she could find Lu Yuan with just her group of ten or so people.
Xue Youyou took a deep breath, pushed open the door, turned around, and walked straight to the other end of the corridor.
The Leiming Academy's rest room is located at the end of the corridor.
Princess Lightning, Lei Ying, the second-ranked of the Ten Heavenly Kings, is the ace of the Thunder Academy and a perfect blend of beast tamer and pet bloodline.
The two had faced off in the preliminary rounds, but it was only one match, and they were definitely not close.
But when it comes to understanding, Xue Youyou knows better than anyone how terrifying Lei Ying's abilities are.
The core legendary technique of the Divine Speed Flow, Flowing Light, allows you to reach one-thousandth the speed of light at level 70, which is enough to circle the entire Yue Lanzhou in half a minute.
This is a god-level ability that once captivated Xue Youyou, making her want to form a contract with it.
When it comes to finding the right person, there is no one more suitable than Lei Ying in the entire city of Lanzhou this month.
But... just thinking about asking her for help made Xue Youyou feel extremely uncomfortable.
But when she thought of Lu Yuan, she gritted her teeth and pushed open the door to the Lei Ming Courtyard's rest room.
The moment the door opened, the lively atmosphere inside came to an abrupt halt.
Lei Ying was sitting in the center of the sofa with her legs crossed, a cookie in her hand and a mouthful of unswallowed black tea in her mouth. The five members of Lei Mingyuan's team were sitting on either side, chatting and laughing. When they saw that the person who pushed open the door was Xue Youyou, they were all stunned.
"Cough—cough cough cough!"
Lei Ying nearly choked on the cookie, patting her chest several times to catch her breath. Her almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief: "You—you—you—you—? You've come to the wrong place!"
The members of the Thunder Academy behind her exchanged surprised glances. During the league, the competition between the academies was fierce, and it was rare for them to visit each other's academies, let alone for the Blue Orchid Academy and the Thunder Academy to face off in the next round of the semi-finals.
Xue Youyou stood at the door, her expression incredibly interesting.
The thing she was worst at in her life was asking for favors. At this moment, every cell in her body was screaming "turn around and leave," but her feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, and she stubbornly held on.
"You didn't go to the wrong place."
Xue Youyou's voice was eight octaves lower than usual, her gaze somewhat unfocused, and she shamelessly said, "Lei Ying, I need your help with something."
The entire lounge fell silent for a moment, then a collective gasp rippled through the voices of the Thunderclap Academy team members.
How could Princess Shirayuki, who once defeated Princess Lightning, actually say the words "I need your help"?
Upon hearing this, Lei Ying realized that the other party had come to her door seeking her help.
Lei Ying stuffed the remaining half of the cookie into her mouth, chewed it slowly and deliberately, then picked up her teacup, took a sip, and gave a meaningful smile: "Oh, what can I help you with?"
"Help me find someone."
Xue Youyou didn't beat around the bush and directly stated her purpose: "Our Dean Lu Yuan of Lanzhi Academy has gone missing. The people of Lanzhi Academy have already split up to search, but we don't have enough manpower or time. But with your speed, you can search the entire Yue Lanzhou in half a minute..."
"So, you thought of me?" Lei Ying continued, suddenly narrowing her eyes.
Seeing Xue Youyou's unusually soft and pleading demeanor, Lei Ying was secretly overjoyed, but on the surface, she pretended to be nonchalant and lazy, leaning back and swinging her toes: "But Xue Youyou, what kind of relationship do we have? Why should I help you?"
"Why would I, a titled one of the Ten Heavenly Kings, do such errands for you?"
The question was quite blunt, and the members of Leiming Academy chuckled softly in response.
Everyone knows their chief is a total baby, not to mention running errands for others, sometimes they even need to feed him snacks.
Xue Youyou had anticipated this situation. She closed her eyes and asked, suppressing her temper, "What are your conditions? Tell me."
Lei Ying was waiting for these words.
She stood up from the sofa, put her hands behind her back, and slowly walked over to Xue Youyou. She tilted her head and looked her up and down, her bright eyes gleaming with a cunning light.
Despite her sharp tongue, she harbored an inexplicable fondness for Xue Youyou—admiring her abilities and envying her talent.
Moreover, both of them are rare mixed-blood beast tamers.
Lei Ying had clearly expressed her desire to take Xue Youyou as her concubine during the preliminary rounds.
However, after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Xue Youyou, she was too ashamed to mention the matter again.
In addition, the two were not from the same college, so they couldn't find any opportunities to interact naturally.
Now that the opportunity has presented itself, she would feel she would be doing herself a disservice if she didn't take the chance to tease this hateful woman she had been longing for.
"As for the conditions..."
Lei Ying deliberately dragged out the last syllable, circled around her once, then suddenly stopped and held up one finger: "It's simple, I'm thirsty, I want a cup of black tea."
Xue Youyou was taken aback: "That's it?"
"I haven't finished speaking yet."
Lei Ying's smile grew even brighter as she added, word by word, "I want you to personally brew me a cup of black tea, as my maid."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire lounge became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The members of Leiming Academy looked at each other, none of them able to believe their ears.
How could Xue Youyou, the proud Snow White Princess, serve tea to Lei Ying in front of so many people in such a subservient manner? What's the difference between that and slapping her in public?
Although... this request is indeed very much in Lei Ying's style.
Xue Youyou's expression changed several times in just a few seconds. She froze on the spot, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists, her nails almost digging into her palms.
Proud as she was, she had never been ordered around like this before. Not to mention having to serve this guy who had lost to her in front of an entire group of people from the Thunder Academy, acting like a maid.
She was almost about to turn and leave.
but--
She had promised everyone that she would return home safely and in good condition.
Xue Youyou slowly loosened her clenched fist, leaving several deep red marks on her palm from her fingernails.
She looked up, her gaze now calm, but her voice trembled slightly: "Black tea, right? Where are the tea leaves?"
Lei Ying was stunned for a moment.
She had expected Xue Youyou to turn hostile on the spot, or even slam the door and leave, and she was mentally prepared to chase after her and drag her back.
But to her utter surprise, this woman, who was just as proud as she was, actually agreed.
This caught Lei Ying off guard.
She blinked, pointed to the tea station next to her, and unconsciously toned down her playful tone: "In the second cabinet, Ceylon tea."
Xue Youyou nodded and walked towards the tea station without saying a word.
All eyes followed her retreating figure.
She opened the cabinet door, took out a tea canister, and calmly scooped two spoonfuls of tea leaves into the teapot. Boiling water, warming the pot, brewing, filtering—she performed each step meticulously, as if what she was doing was not a humiliation, but an ordinary matter.
Only those who are close enough can see that her fingers are trembling slightly.
Three minutes later, a cup of bright red, fragrant black tea was placed in front of Lei Ying. Xue Youyou held the tray with both hands, bowed slightly, her posture impeccable, and said in a calm voice with an indescribable suppressed emotion: "Lady Lei Ying, please have some tea."
No one spoke in the entire lounge.
Seeing this, Xue Youyou asked somewhat nervously, "Is there a problem?"
Actually, after doing it, it wasn't as difficult as I imagined, and it even had a unique charm.
However, bowing was the limit of what she could do; she would rather not kneel down.
Lei Ying took the teacup, but didn't drink it right away. She looked down at the clear tea in the cup, remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly put the cup down on the table, opened her arms, and rushed over to hug Xue Youyou tightly.
"Wow—YuYu, you're so cute!!"