The glare of the harsh sunlight pierced his eyes, making Ye Chuqing squint, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly. "Is that really what you think?"
"Yeah." Fang Qingze nodded lightly, then shook his head with a somewhat dejected sigh. "Actually, I wish transcendent powers were real in this world. Maybe that way, we could figure out why the Crimson Vines appeared and develop the Wilderness where Desolate Beasts run rampant.
Humanity's living space is far too small these days; everyone is forced to live inside high walls cast from steel, where you can see the end of your life at a single glance.
On a smaller scale, having transcendent powers would also allow people to punish evil and uphold justice. The Federation's public security is terrible, with murder cases happening every few days..." Fang Qingze trailed off with a wistful sigh.
"Is that so?" Ye Chuqing nodded, smiling as she praised, "I had no idea. Classmate Fang has such a strong sense of justice. I always used to take you for a very cold person."
*Uh, no, not at all, I was really just rambling.* Fang Qingze blushed slightly at her words, nearly shattering his own persona.
He glanced back at the desk-mate whose smile was as bright as flowers. *You're one to talk. I always thought you were a cold, aloof girl, but it turns out you actually love to smile.*
"Still, to reiterate my point: as for whether Transcendents exist in this world, my official verdict is—whoever believes it is a complete idiot."
Fang Qingze put on a solemn face, firmly declaring his stance that the world definitely lacks Transcendents.
*Uh-huh.* Ye Chuqing cast a faint glance at Fang Qingze's left hand. *You're right.*
"Er, slipped and cursed there for a second, hope you don't mind..."
Ye Chuqing shook her head to signal she didn't mind. These days, most people throwing around dirty words didn't necessarily harbor malice; it was probably just venting.
After a brief silence, she suddenly asked in a soft voice, "Classmate Fang, do you live near Yuhu Park?"
Fang Qingze looked at his desk-mate in surprise. "Yeah, how did you know?"
Ye Chuqing pointed her index finger at the floor of the bus with a light laugh, "The stop before I got on this bus was Xiushui Square, so I figured you must live around there, since the terminal station is just a bit further ahead."
Fang Qingze raised an eyebrow and nodded. Fair enough, it wasn't that hard to guess. He smiled, "You're right, but why do you ask?"
"Well, I'm thinking of moving out of my house recently to get used to living alone beforehand, so when I passed by the Yuhu area this morning, I hopped off to check out some apartments."
"Living alone?" Fang Qingze was somewhat taken aback.
His desk-mate should be sixteen, just like him. Even though they were half-grown adults, she was, after all, a girl—and a very pretty one at that.
Living alone, pretty, beautiful young girl—pile those three buffs together, and even criminals would lose their minds just looking at her!
Taking a closer look, his desk-mate had delicate, flawless skin that seemed as though it would break at the slightest touch. No matter how you looked at it, she resembled a sheltered young miss who had never done any hard work and knew nothing of the world. Whether she could even take care of herself was a question.
Furthermore, as mentioned before, on the surface this city looked peaceful and calm, but underneath, undercurrents surged. Vicious criminals might be lurking in some corner, just waiting to devour people.
There were frequent reports of women living alone falling victim to home invasions, burglaries, and even rape-murders.
As for Fang Qingze himself, he didn't care; any criminal who showed up would get beaten to a pulp. It wasn't like he hadn't taught clueless thugs a lesson before.
When it came to fighting, thanks to his junior high school experiences, his combat strength was formidable even without transcendent powers.
By contrast, a pretty, youthful beauty like his desk-mate looked soft, frail, and utterly devoid of strength. If she went off to live alone, who knew? She might run into disaster one night just walking downstairs to buy something.
*You don't have much muscle, little desk-mate, you'd better just stay put.*
"I think you're still too old—uh, too young to live alone. You could try living in the school dorms first to get used to the feeling of being away from home," Fang Qingze rubbed his chin. "It's not very safe for a girl to live alone. If you stay in the dorms, the girls in our class..."
Fang Qingze abruptly stopped talking. Was putting her in the school dorms really a good choice?
Even though high schoolers were a lot more mature than junior high students—not nearly as naive and hot-headed—high school was still the peak of adolescent physical development, while their minds remained immature. The breeding ground for jealous bacteria grew very easily there.
Take his desk-mate: whether in looks or figure, she was top-tier for her age group.
In reality, a girl who is generally good-looking and has a great figure is not only pursued by boys, but also welcomed by girls—in fact, girls often like them even more than boys do.
That is, provided she isn't cold and aloof, and you are friends with her on good terms.
Unfortunately, at school, his desk-mate really did act indifferent toward everyone. For anyone who showed her goodwill, their warm faces were met with a cold shoulder, which naturally felt hurtful.
People would assume that her aloofness was an expression of contempt for everyone else, an unwillingness to associate with them.
Driven by a distorted "if I can't have it, I'll destroy it" mentality, people privately branded her as "fake." *Too funny, I never even wanted to be friends with you in the first place, and besides, you really are such a fake!*
Her aloofness was labeled as "putting on airs," and the charge was officially made. Fang Qingze had inadvertently overheard plenty of gossip and smears directed at his desk-mate. The kind of filth high schoolers could spout was beyond imagination.
Anyway, Fang Qingze felt that what they said was utterly unmentionable.
Under such circumstances, if she went to stay in the dorms, wouldn't she easily become a target for isolation?
So what was he supposed to say?
Whatever. Actually, whatever his desk-mate decided to do had nothing to do with him. Giving her a slight reminder in his capacity as a classmate was already doing all he possibly could.
*I really am a good person,* Fang Qingze told himself.
"Are you worried that I won't be able to take care of myself?" Ye Chuqing smiled, her eyebrows curving into crescent shapes, her eyes squinted into little arcs.
Fang Qingze felt a jolt in his heart. *Don't make it sound so ambiguous, my dear desk-mate! You're making it sound like I care about you so much.*
*And what's with that expression? Shouldn't you be acting all cold and aloof? Your persona is already shattering completely.*
"Uh, I just meant that if you really are going to rent a place and live alone, try to pick a busier, more crowded area and sign a proper contract..."
"Alright, alright~" Ye Chuqing helplessly interrupted Fang Qingze. "Do you think I'm that stupid?"
*Yes, yes,* Fang Qingze subconsciously nodded.
Many victims usually assumed they were brilliant, knew everything, and could handle anything on their own. *Desk-mate, you're treading on somewhat dangerous ground here.*
"Don't underestimate people, you know," Ye Chuqing crossed her arms. Her newly developing breasts were squeezed upward, their overall volume lifted slightly. Fang Qingze's gaze drifted uncontrollably toward them, but after a hurried glance, he immediately looked away and fixed his eyes straight ahead.
"I've given it a lot of thought. Near Yuhu Park, the security at Xiushui Residential Area and Jinyuan Apartments is really good, and there are plenty of tenants. There are supermarkets right downstairs, and they're quite close to the bus and subway stations. Plus, the scenery is really nice..."
As Fang Qingze listened to her chatter on about a bunch of details, his mind was elsewhere.
*Seriously, you can tell the desk-mate was never starved of nutrition growing up—she's developed so well...*