[GL] I'm Just A Side Character... So Why Is The Heroine Chasing Me?! Chapter 26: The fox and the snake

Two weeks passed in a blur of sweat and spiritual energy.

Zhao Lingxi cultivated like a woman possessed. Every morning before the sun rose, every night long after the moon climbed high. She pushed her body to the breaking point, rested just enough to keep going, and pushed again.

The results were undeniable.

She had broken through to the third level of Qi Condensation in the first week. By the end of the second week, she was knocking on the door of the fourth.

"That’s... not normal," Lan Yue muttered, watching Zhao Lingxi finish her morning practice. Spiritual energy swirled around the young woman like a visible current, drawn to her body like moths to fla.

Liu Ruyan, who had been sweeping nearby, nodded in amazent. "The Young Miss has always been talented. If she’d had proper resources from the start, she would have reached Foundation Establishnt years ago."

Three shattered spirit roots, Lan Yue thought. Everyone called her trash because of them. But what if shattered roots aren’t a weakness? What if they absorb spiritual energy differently, not less, but in a way no one understands yet?

It was just a theory. But watching Zhao Lingxi devour cultivation resources at an impossible speed, Lan Yue couldn’t shake the feeling that sothing extraordinary was waking up inside her mistress.

That afternoon, an unexpected guest arrived at the Clear Frost Garden.

But this ti, it wasn’t Zhao Ruoqing.

"Young Master Qin requests an audience with the First Miss."

Lan Yue’s blood went cold.

Qin Wen.

The man who, in the original novel, would marry Zhao Lingxi, and then strangle her to death on their wedding night.

He appeared at the gate with his trademark jade fan and a smile that could charm the scales off a snake. His robes were immaculate, pale blue silk embroidered with white cranes. Every detail scread wealth, elegance, and breeding.

But Lan Yue saw past the pretty surface. She saw the predator underneath.

"Miss Zhao." Qin Wen bowed with practiced grace. "It’s been too long."

Zhao Lingxi stood at the entrance of the main house, her arms folded. She didn’t bow back.

"Young Master Qin. I wasn’t expecting visitors."

"I apologize for the intrusion." His smile widened, warm and disarming. "I was in the area and thought I’d check on you. After what happened at the banquet, I’ve been worried."

Worried? Lan Yue wanted to laugh. You stood right there and watched. You didn’t lift a finger.

"How kind of you," Zhao Lingxi said flatly. "As you can see, I’m alive."

"More than alive." Qin Wen’s eyes swept over her, sharp beneath their gentle surface. "You look... well. Better than I expected, honestly."

He noticed, Lan Yue realized. He can tell she’s been cultivating. He can feel her spiritual energy is stronger.

That was dangerous.

"Won’t you invite in for tea?" Qin Wen asked pleasantly. "I’ve brought a small gift."

He produced a wooden box from his sleeve and opened it. Inside lay a single pill, glowing faintly with golden light.

"A ridian Cleansing Pill," he said. "Quite rare. I thought it might help with any lingering damage from the poison."

Zhao Lingxi stared at the pill, then at Qin Wen.

"You’re very generous, Young Master Qin."

"For an old friend? It’s nothing."

Old friend. The words made Lan Yue’s skin crawl. This man had been engaged to Zhao Lingxi once, before her banishnt. He was the one who would eventually destroy her if the novel’s plot held true.

"Please, co in," Zhao Lingxi said.

Lan Yue’s eyes widened. She’s letting him in?

They sat across from each other at the small wooden table. Lan Yue served tea, keeping her head down while her ears stayed sharp.

Qin Wen sipped his tea and glanced around the shabby room. "This place doesn’t suit you, Miss Zhao. Soone of your birth deserves better."

"My father disagrees."

"General Zhao is a man of war. He understands swords, not daughters." Qin Wen set down his cup. "I’ve heard about the Imperial Academy invitation. The Crown Prince’s doing, I assu?"

Zhao Lingxi didn’t confirm or deny.

Qin Wen smiled. "His Highness has always had an eye for talent. It seems he sees sothing in you that others have missed."

"And what do you see, Young Master Qin?"

The question hung in the air.

Qin Wen leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to sothing intimate. "I see a young woman who has endured more than anyone should. Who was wronged by her own family and abandoned by those who should have protected her." His eyes softened—or appeared to. "I see soone who deserves an ally."

"An ally," Zhao Lingxi repeated.

"The Qin family has resources. Connections. Influence at the Academy." He paused aningfully. "If you need help preparing for the examination, I would be honored to assist."

Lan Yue’s hands trembled as she refilled the teacups. Don’t trust him. Please don’t trust him.

Zhao Lingxi was quiet for a long ti. Then she smiled—a small, polite curve of her lips that revealed nothing.

"I appreciate the offer, Young Master Qin. But I wouldn’t want to trouble you."

"It’s no trouble at—"

"However." Zhao Lingxi’s voice sharpened ever so slightly. "I am curious about sothing."

"Oh?"

"You and my Second Sister seem quite close lately. I’ve heard you’ve been visiting the main residence frequently." Her dark eyes t his. "Should I be congratulating you on a new engagent?"

The air in the room shifted.

Qin Wen’s smile didn’t falter, but sothing flickered behind his eyes. Surprise? Annoyance? It was gone before Lan Yue could identify it.

"Miss Zhao Ruoqing and I are rely acquaintances," he said smoothly. "Social obligations, nothing more."

"Of course." Zhao Lingxi took a sip of tea. "Forgive my curiosity."

They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Qin Wen excused himself. At the gate, he turned back one last ti.

"Think about my offer, Miss Zhao. The Academy can be a dangerous place for soone without allies."

Then he was gone.

The mont his figure disappeared, Zhao Lingxi’s polite mask dropped.

"Burn it," she said.

Lan Yue blinked. "The pill?"

"Whatever that pill is, it’s not a ridian Cleansing Pill." Zhao Lingxi’s eyes were ice. "I could sll the faint trace of Spiritual Root Rot hidden beneath the dicinal coating. If I’d taken it, my spirit roots would have degraded within days. Slowly. Painlessly. By the ti I noticed, the damage would be permanent."

Lan Yue’s stomach churned. "He tried to cripple you. Just like Zhao Ruoqing with the manual."

"They’re working together. They always have been." Zhao Lingxi stood and walked to the window. "Qin Wen is smarter than my Second Sister. She uses brute force—sabotaged gifts, poisoned manuals. He uses charm. He wraps his blade in silk and smiles while he pushes it in."

Her voice was low and deadly calm.

"In another life, I might have believed him. I might have accepted his help, trusted his kindness, fallen for his act." Her fingers curled against the windowsill. "But not this ti."

Lan Yue felt a chill run through her.

In another life. Did Zhao Lingxi sohow sense the truth of those words? In the original novel, she had trusted him. She had loved him. And he had killed her.

"What are you going to do?" Lan Yue asked.

"Nothing. Yet." Zhao Lingxi turned back, her expression sharp. "Let him think his gift worked. Let them both think I’m growing weaker. When the ti cos, I’ll use their arrogance against them."

She picked up the poisoned pill with two fingers, studying it in the candlelight.

"Actually, don’t burn it. Keep it safe."

"Keep it? Why?"

"Evidence." Zhao Lingxi’s smile was cold enough to freeze blood. "The day will co when I return every gift they’ve given . With interest."

Later that night, Lan Yue sat on the steps of the courtyard, unable to sleep.

The stars were scattered across the sky like spilled spirit stones.

Qin Wen. Zhao Ruoqing. General Zhao. Madam Hua. Shen Yiming.

So many enemies. And the Academy examination was only two weeks away.

"Can’t sleep?"

Lan Yue turned. Zhao Han stood in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket far too large for his small fra. His cheeks had filled out over the past weeks, and his breathing was steady and strong. The dicine had done its work.

"Hey, little man." Lan Yue smiled. "You should be in bed."

Zhao Han padded over and sat beside her. "I heard Elder Sister talking about the Academy. She’s worried, isn’t she?"

"Your sister? Worried?" Lan Yue laughed softly. "She’d never admit it."

"She doesn’t have to. I can tell." Zhao Han pulled the blanket tighter around himself. "When she’s worried, she paces. She was pacing all evening."

Sharp kid.

"She’ll be fine," Lan Yue said. "Your sister is the strongest person I’ve ever t."

And she ant it. In her past life, Lan Yue had led armies of survivors through the apocalypse. She had faced monsters that could tear steel apart. But Zhao Lingxi’s strength was different, quieter, deeper, more frightening. The strength of soone who had been broken and rebuilt herself from nothing.

"Lan Yue?" Zhao Han’s voice was small.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For taking care of Elder Sister." He looked up at her with wide, earnest eyes. "She pretends she doesn’t need anyone. But she does."

Lan Yue’s chest tightened.

In the original story, this boy dies. Killed by the people his sister trusted most.

She ruffled his hair gently. "Go to sleep, Xiao Han. I’ll always take care of her. I promise."

The boy smiled, bright and trusting, and shuffled back inside.

Lan Yue watched him go, her resolve hardening like steel in a forge.

Two weeks until the examination. Two weeks to get Zhao Lingxi strong enough to face whatever cos next.

And after that?

She looked up at the cold, distant stars.

We burn the whole rotten system to the ground.