Chapter 87

"Ah?" As soon as Zhang Qiu finished speaking, the two girls fell into a daze simultaneously.

This was really quite a shock! When they came to their senses, their cheeks instantly flushed with embarrassment, the redness extending all the way to their necks.

"What, scared? Ha ha, I was just joking!" Seeing the two girls not speaking and blushing so much, Zhang Qiu thought they were probably about to back out.

But Zhang Qiu's laughter only stirred Ning Lan's competitive spirit: "Hmph! If you want to bet, let's bet. Anyway, your chances of winning aren't that high! I don't believe I can't outperform you in an exam. Chen Lan, what about you?"

Hearing Ning Lan's question, Chen Lan gritted her teeth and nervously said, "I'll bet too! But you have to outperform both of us to win." Chen Lan probably didn't have much confidence and was relying on Ning Lan, so she added this condition.

"Uh... You don't mean I have to score higher than both of you combined, right?" Zhang Qiu asked.

"Would we be that unreasonable? I can outperform you on my own, and with Chen Lan, it's a done deal. Let's just compare individual scores. Chen Lan is right; we won't compare with you individually, but as a team. You have to win both of us to win. If either of us wins, you lose." Ning Lan seemed to want to ensure the bet was fair, so she agreed with Chen Lan's condition.

"Alright! You're really cunning. It looks like I can't take you on one by one." Zhang Qiu rubbed his nose and said.

"What about you? What stakes will you put up? You can't just take advantage of us, right?" Ning Lan asked again.

Chen Lan remained silent, still feeling incredibly embarrassed about agreeing to the bet. She had impulsively agreed when Ning Lan spoke confidently, but now she regretted it, thinking the stakes were too high.

Kissing was too embarrassing, and it didn't seem right. This Zhang Qiu was really a bad guy to come up with such a bet. Was he really fond of her, or just trying to take advantage?

But if he really liked her, why did he include Ning Lan? Had they kissed before? Why wasn't Ning Lan jealous?

Chen Lan's mind was a mess, lost in thoughts, and she wasn't paying attention to the conversation between Ning Lan and Zhang Qiu.

"Stakes? You name it! As long as I have it or can do it, I won't go back on my word!" Zhang Qiu said. He didn't know what stakes could win the kiss from the two beauties, so he had to make a blank promise.

This blank promise seemed to cost nothing but was actually priceless, giving the initiative to the two girls.

"Really anything?" Ning Lan asked.

"Sure, as long as I can do it!" Zhang Qiu nodded, "So go ahead and name it!"

"Since that's the case, if you lose, you'll agree to two requests from each of us. As long as it's possible, you can't refuse. What the requests are, we haven't decided yet."

"Remember what you said today! When I win, you can't back out!" Ning Lan said, "Chen Lan can be a witness. Chen Lan, do you have any requests?"

"Ah? What kind of requests?" Chen Lan had been lost in thought and hadn't paid attention to what they were saying. She was startled by Ning Lan's sudden question but still didn't know what was happening.

Seeing Chen Lan's cute reaction, Zhang Qiu couldn't help but laugh. Ning Lan, however, was a bit annoyed that her best friend had been distracted.

"I have no objections, let's go with what you said!" Chen Lan said. She had just joined in for the fun.

In reality, the main focus was on the competition between Zhang Qiu and Ning Lan, his childhood friend. She had confidence in Ning Lan and, even if they lost, though the stakes were embarrassing, she wasn't resistant to Zhang Qiu.

Zhang Qiu didn't expect the bet to be so easily agreed upon. It seemed the difficulty wasn't that high!

However, until the final decision was made, Zhang Qiu still had some concerns.

But thinking about it, until the college entrance exam results were out, the outcome couldn't be determined, and worrying wouldn't help. At worst, it would just be three failed tasks!

Thinking this way, Zhang Qiu became more relaxed.

With the bet in place, the meal that followed was much quieter. After the initial excitement, the two girls seemed to become shy again, and Zhang Qiu felt a bit awkward.

Would his suggestion leave him with a lecherous image?

Zhang Qiu wasn't worried about Ning Lan. He had made such jokes before, even recently when he jokingly tried to hug her at Jinling Neighborhood.

He believed Ning Lan wouldn't take it to heart; otherwise, they wouldn't be childhood friends.

Childhood friends and innocent playmates often go together, a special kind of relationship. More than just friends, but not quite lovers, yet in some ways, even more intimate, like a very close brother and sister.

He was just worried that his good image in Chen Lan's mind might be ruined.

After all, who doesn't want to maintain a good image in the eyes of the opposite sex? Zhang Qiu didn't want Chen Lan to develop a bias against him like Lin Lai. One girl like Lin Lai was enough; if there were more, Zhang Qiu would be in trouble.

After the meal, Zhang Qiu personally saw them off to their respective cars and then went to school alone.

During the meal, he had occasionally sensed the location of the Charm Peach Treasure.

Since the treasure hadn't moved, he remained calm. No movement meant it was safe and easy to find.

Following his sense, Zhang Qiu quickly found the location, which turned out to be in a teacher's building at the school.

It was clear that one of the teachers had taken his bag.

Zhang Qiu knocked on the door and was surprised to see the same Huang Laoshi who had encountered the virus in class open it.

Before Zhang Qiu could explain, Huang Laoshi said, "Zhang Qiu, you're here to pick up your bag, right?"

"Uh-huh. I didn't expect Huang Laoshi to be keeping my bag! What a stroke of luck!" Zhang Qiu smiled.

"Come in. When a classmate told me someone had fainted, I rushed over and saw it was you, so I helped you pack your bag. I haven't opened it, and it's been locked in a cabinet the whole time." Huang Laoshi explained as he led Zhang Qiu inside.

He then went to get the bag and handed it to Zhang Qiu, saying, "Check if anything is missing."

"No need to check, I can't doubt a teacher, can I?" Zhang Qiu smiled and put the backpack on.

"Still, it's better to check. Maybe something was missing before I got it. If anything is missing now, I can help you look for it." Huang Laoshi said.

"Alright." Zhang Qiu opened the backpack and checked it in front of Huang Laoshi, then smiled and said, "Nothing is missing! Thanks, Huang Laoshi!"

"Good, nothing is missing." Huang Laoshi nodded with a smile.

"See you, Huang Laoshi." Zhang Qiu said and was about to leave.

At that moment, a door in Huang Laoshi's room opened, and a woman in a blouse and slacks came out and asked, "Brother, do you have a guest?"

"A student." Huang Laoshi said.

The woman said "Oh" and glanced at Zhang Qiu.

At that moment, Zhang Qiu also looked over and was pleasantly surprised. The woman was a beauty, with regular features and a well-proportioned figure. If only considering her appearance, she was probably on par with Chen Lan. However, her demeanor was excellent, and overall, she was comparable to Su Yun.

Although the system didn't prompt him, and he couldn't use the Charm Eye on outsiders, Zhang Qiu felt that this beauty's level wouldn't be lower than a quasi-city level. Looking closely at her features, she seemed to resemble Huang Laoshi, and since she called him "brother," they were likely siblings.

He didn't expect Huang Laoshi to have such a beautiful sister, which was a pleasant surprise.

But why didn't the system prompt him? Had it already done so?

Unable to figure it out, Zhang Qiu decided not to think about it and turned to leave.

After Zhang Qiu left, Huang Laoshi's sister said, "Brother, your student has a good demeanor! When did you have such a high-quality student?"

"He's very capable! One day in class, the school's computers were all infected with a virus, and even the technicians were stumped. In the end, Zhang Qiu easily fixed it." Huang Laoshi praised.

"So he has real skills. No wonder he has such a good demeanor! He's so young and already has the skills you described; he must be a genius." Huang Laoshi's sister sighed.

Having retrieved the Charm Peach Treasure, Zhang Qiu's heart finally settled. He didn't need to check; just by sensing the treasure, he knew the Charm Peach was intact and hadn't been damaged when he fell.

After sensing the Charm Peach Treasure, Zhang Qiu also sensed the location of the Zitan Rosary.

Based on his sense and reasoning, Zhang Qiu was almost certain that Xiang Yufei wasn't at work. She was moving, and there were many positive energy groups around her, so he guessed she was shopping.

So he headed in the direction of the sense.

An encounter is always a beautiful expectation in people's hearts. Being able to meet by chance is inherently romantic. So Zhang Qiu decided to create a romantic moment and meet Xiang Yufei by chance.

Following the sense, Zhang Qiu directed the driver, and it took about twenty minutes to reach the destination.

He sensed that Xiang Yufei was still there.

Fortunately, it wasn't rush hour, and there was no traffic, or Zhang Qiu wouldn't have been able to create this romantic moment.

However, the environment here wasn't suitable for romance, as it was a bustling and often criticized market, known for its dirt, disorder, and poor conditions.