Chapter 16: They Are Hotels, I Am Home

The crowd turned around to see a noble and elegant young man walking into the room.

The moment they saw him, a collective gasp erupted from the crowd.

"Baili Jing?! Why is he here?"

"Didn't Baili Jing break ties with Jiang Qingli? Why is he still speaking up for her?"

"Speaking of which, is Jiang Qingli really a full A? It's rare for anyone in the entire academy to have a full A, isn't it? Especially in physical training... the last full A was Jiang Youchen..."

"Who knows if what he's saying is true? There's plenty of room for manipulation in guaranteed admission scores."

"Last year, Jiang Qingli gave Baili Jing so much attitude because of Ling Qing, yet he's still lying for her. He's truly in love..."

"Shh! Ling Qing is right behind him!"

To the beastmen, the surrounding whispers were incredibly clear.

Baili Jing acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. He walked to Jiang Qingli's side, naturally nudged Qin Muye aside, took her hand, and asked warmly, "Qingli, you aren't hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine." Jiang Qingli hadn't expected him to come.

Reason told her to avoid him, but facing Baili Jing's concerned gaze, a pang of bitterness rose in her heart.

His palm was dry and warm, possessing a power that brought peace of mind.

As if they had done this countless times before, Jiang Qingli squeezed his hand back and gave it a gentle tug.

She complained in a practiced, low voice, "You took so long to get here."

Baili Jing froze.

In the eyes of others, it was just a brief, ordinary interaction lasting only a few seconds.

But the hand holding hers trembled slightly.

The usually gentle young man felt a tempest raging in his heart, nearly unable to suppress his overwhelming joy.

If his previous thoughts were merely guesses, then now, Jiang Qingli's unconscious reliance on him, her spoiled complaining just like she had for the past decade, and the way she looked at him—all of it made him absolutely certain of his judgment.

Jiang Qingli was back.

Not the soul that had occupied her body.

But the Jiang Qingli who had grown up with him, who used to lean on his shoulder and ask him if they should be together, the one who had shared countless beautiful moments with him... she was back.

"Qingli..." Baili Jing tightened his grip on her hand. He had a thousand words to say, but in the end, he only said, "Don't worry. I'm here."

Standing a few steps away, Qin Muye felt an inexplicable barrier between the two of them that made him feel extremely annoyed.

He looked down at his own hand, which had just held Jiang Qingli's, frowned deeply, and let out a cold snort. "If you want to act in a teen drama, go back and do it somewhere else."

Jiang Qingli snapped back to her senses and tried to pull her hand away, but it wouldn't budge.

Baili Jing stared into her eyes, his gaze burning and intense.

But after a few seconds, he let go.

Baili Jing realized that Jiang Qingli might not have her past memories right now.

Therefore, before he could clarify the situation, he could not expose too much of the fact that he had recognized her.

Across from them, Ling Sheng was so disgusted by their display of affection that he immediately shouted to the young man standing by the door, "Brother! You're finally here! Come and get justice for me!"

"Jiang Qingli, what is going on?"

Ling Qing stood with one hand in his pocket, his cold features sharp, his voice as arrogant as ever.

As he spoke, he cast a dissatisfied glance at Baili Jing standing beside Jiang Qingli.

They had been in the middle of a business dinner when Ling Sheng had called in tears.

Ling Qing's face had darkened immediately.

He had assumed it was just another trick by Jiang Qingli to grab attention and had intended to ignore it.

But after hearing about it, Baili Jing had insisted on coming along.

He had claimed that as Jiang Qingli's beast-husband, it was only right and proper for him to be here.

He was Jiang Qingli's beast-husband?

Had Jiang Qingli ever given him a kind look?

As they exited the elevator, Ling Qing spoke coldly, "Mr. Baili, you chose to follow her. If Jiang Qingli does anything to you later, you must bear the consequences yourself."

Hearing this, a hint of dejection flashed in Baili Jing's eyes.

But his handsome face maintained a gentle smile. "She won't."

Ling Qing only found this desperate clinging to be both pathetic and laughable.

Over the past year, between him and Baili Jing, Jiang Qingli had always chosen him.

The entire interstellar community knew that Jiang Qingli was obsessed with Ling Qing, to the point of having no bottom line.

Therefore, today, Jiang Qingli would surely stand on his side.

However, at this moment.

Jiang Qingli didn't spare Ling Qing even a single glance.

Instead, she looked toward Ye Linyuan on the side. "Teacher Ye, can you release my training footage?"

A student's training footage is private; its release requires the individual's consent.

Qin Muye interjected, "Don't release mine."

"Then just release the clip of the first kill," Jiang Qingli said.

She was calm and composed, while the others in the classroom exchanged glances.

"There really isn't a problem, is there?"

"You can cheat on written tests, but you can't cheat on video. The school and the military use the same system; hackers and AI can't break into it..."

"Tsk tsk, if she proves her innocence, those people are going to be so embarrassed..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of several noble children who had questioned Jiang Qingli began to waver.

Bai Yiyi bit her lower lip and glanced at Jiang Qingli, feeling uneasy.

*It couldn't be, right? Jiang Qingli is just a vicious supporting character, a tool used to highlight me. How could she have a moment of glory...*

But Jiang Qingli's certain expression made Bai Yiyi extremely anxious.

She looked at Chi Yun beside her, seeking some comfort.

However, Chi Yun did not comfort her as he usually did; instead, he stared fixedly at Jiang Qingli, his eyes filled with resentment and anger.

Soon, Ye Linyuan accessed the permissions.

A translucent large screen appeared in the room.

In the footage.

A mutated beast let out a heart-wrenching roar and lunged toward the slender female.

In the next second, it was pierced by a bullet.

There were three cameras in the training field, recording everything with absolute fidelity to detail.

When Jiang Qingli raised her gun to shoot, her posture was standard and relaxed. Her crimson lips were slightly pursed, and a few strands of hair were blown by the wind, glowing with a divine golden light under the sun.

The entire room fell silent.

It wasn't until the footage finished playing and began its next loop that someone spoke in disbelief.

"It really is Jiang Qingli..."

"She got the first kill!"

"Holy crap, that shot just now was so cool. I need to change my opinion of her..."

The several nobles who had questioned Jiang Qingli looked extremely unsightly in the face of such ironclad evidence.

Chi Yun's fists were clenched tight, and his entire body was trembling.

How was this possible?

How could this be Jiang Qingli?

When did she learn how to do this? She was clearly a useless waste...

But her movements when she raised her hand looked as if she had trained countless times—she was even more standard than he was!

Confusion and helplessness surfaced in Chi Yun's eyes.

Bai Yiyi was the first to react, hurriedly saying, "That's great! Sister Qingli is innocent!" She breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it! You can't deny her present just because of things she did in the past..."

"Shut up." Jiang Qingli raised her hand to interrupt, pointing her finger at Ling Sheng. "Apologize to me."

"I'll—" Ling Sheng's eyes widened. "On what grounds!"

"So you want to face disciplinary action? I recall that slandering a classmate is also a violation of the rules, right?" Jiang Qingli looked at Ye Linyuan with a smile. "Professor Ye, should he receive a punishment?"

"Cousin!" Ling Sheng's eyes widened in terror, and he hurriedly looked at Ling Qing. "Brother..."

Ling Qing also wanted to protect his brother, but in public, there was no way to manipulate the situation.

If the matter escalated further, it might even make the news!

He was currently in a rising phase of his career; he absolutely could not afford any negative publicity!

Ling Qing gritted his teeth and scolded, "You're being so unreasonable. Apologize!"

Knowing that the situation was irrecoverable, Ling Sheng spat out three words unwillingly: "I'm sorry."

"Hmm..." Jiang Qingli thought for a few seconds and said with a smile, "I don't accept it."

"You!" Ling Sheng was so angry he lunged toward Jiang Qingli.

"Ling Sheng!" Ling Qing knew Jiang Qingli wouldn't let this go, so he could only endure the disgust and say to his brother, "Go receive your punishment!"

He shot a dark glare at Jiang Qingli.

*Using such low tactics because she couldn't have me—she really is a vile female!*

Ye Linyuan led them to the Academic Affairs Office.

Jiang Qingli followed behind him, her steps light.

The girl's ponytail swayed gently, like the triumphant little tail of a small animal.

With the main parties gone, no one had the heart to keep gossiping, and the crowd dispersed.

Baili Jing squeezed the hand that Jiang Qingli had held, a smile appearing on his face.

"All that effort for nothing, I see." Beside him, Qin Muye crossed his arms, his words laced with implication. "You traveled all this way, yet she walked off with another male."

"It doesn't matter." Baili Jing smiled very gently. "Females are always easily attracted to the colorful world outside."

"But no matter how long you stay in a hotel, it's never as comfortable as home."

Qin Muye: "..."