The classmate with a worried face turned around at the sound and shivered a little at the sight of Qian Qi's rather terrifying grin.
Oh no, Mom, I've been targeted by Qian Qi!
I might not be able to enter the second year!
In that moment, Xiao Liu had already imagined his future: once targeted by Qian Qi, his magic plants would be trampled to pieces by Qian Qi as soon as they sprouted, and he would need to pay extra every meal to buy food for Qian Qi. This would continue until he was penniless, leaving Awakener University with a failed planting report. Then, in order to make a living, he would reluctantly enter instances, hired by awakeners to identify weaknesses in dangerous magic plants, and finally end up as a human shield, dying miserably at the hands of magic beasts or plants, living a poor and grim life!
Did Liu Dabao really have to face such a tragic end, despite living a life of integrity and low profile?
Xiao Liu sadly shed a tear.
Qian Qi, staring at this classmate, scratched her head in confusion, "What's wrong with him? He looks so desperate."
[... you might want to pay attention to your expression.]
"What's wrong with my expression?" Qian Qi touched her face, thinking she was smiling warmly?
[...] Is she really unaware, or just pretending?
The system's silence left Qian Qi puzzled for a moment, but she quickly put it aside, patting Xiao Liu's back in a comforting way, "Classmate, don't be scared, I came to check if you need help since you look so worried."
Xiao Liu snapped back to reality and hurriedly shook his head, "No need, really no need, Qian, you go on, don't worry about me!"
"How could you not need help?" Qian Qi said sincerely, "Look at your magic plant, it's almost dying."
"It must be tough caring for it, and you must feel unwilling to lose it, right? You really want it to thrive, right?" Qian Qi was coaxing, "After all, it's related to the final exam. If it doesn't pass, you'll have to pay 4500 bucks in tuition next year!"
At the mention of tuition, Xiao Liu's face instantly dimmed, "Yeah... if it doesn't pass, I'm done for..."
"I actually have a way," Qian Qi took the opportunity to continue, "but it depends on what you think."
"What way?" Although Xiao Liu didn't trust Qian Qi, he still asked with a glimmer of hope.
"Have you heard that Senior Sister Li Shuyun successfully planted the Fire Qilin Lotus," said Qian Qi, well-versed in language strategies, first presenting her impressive achievement to build trust, "not only that, she also got three Fire Qilin Fruits!"
"Huh?" Xiao Liu muttered, "Wasn't it planted a long time ago, and there was only one Fire Qilin Fruit."
All the students in the Magic Plant Department knew about it two weeks ago, and the teacher even mentioned it in class.
"Tsk, see, you're already behind on the news!" Qian Qi put on a mysterious expression, "A week ago, Senior Sister Li's Fire Qilin Lotus was destroyed, and the fruit was picked, which made her very upset!"
Xiao Liu glanced at Qian Qi, suspecting that she was likely the culprit.
Qian Qi didn't notice Xiao Liu's gaze, and she deliberately lowered her voice, "Then someone appeared and promised to help her replant the Fire Qilin Lotus within a week. Guess what happened."
Without waiting for Xiao Liu's response, she exaggeratedly continued, "It worked successfully, and even produced three Fire Qilin Fruits! If you don't believe me, you can ask Senior Sister Li, it's absolutely true!"
Xiao Liu scratched his face, knowing that Qian Qi always talked nonsense, he really didn't believe it.
Seeing Xiao Liu's disbelief, Qian Qi directly dragged him in front of Li Shuyun, who fortunately was still working with her Fire Qilin Lotus in the field. She cheerfully called, "Senior Sister! Can you tell him, is this Fire Qilin Lotus really planted in the last week?"
Li Shuyun, busy sampling, turned around when she heard this and saw Qian Qi holding a student by the collar of his shirt.
The student appeared timid, with a look of panic on his face, evidently "forced" to come along with Qian Qi.
Li Shuyun couldn't quite understand why Qian Qi asked this, but she still replied, "Indeed, it was planted within the last week."
Xiao Liu trusted Li Shuyun's words, especially now after seeing with his own eyes the three vivid red Fire Qilin Fruits in the experimental field.
He became excited at once, "Senior Sister, who did you ask to plant them? Can I also get some guidance?"
Li Shuyun glanced at Qian Qi and sighed, "It was Qian Qi who planted them."
Xiao Liu: ...
Xiao Liu: ???
Xiao Liu turned his gaze towards Qian Qi.
Qian Qi proudly puffed her chest, "That's right, it was me!"
Xiao Liu turned back, giving Li Shuyun a "Senior Sister, you've changed, you're associating with someone like Qian Qi" expression.
Li Shuyun: ...
"Junior, I'm not lying." Although she hadn't witnessed the actual process, the undeniable fact was that this Fire Qilin Lotus was indeed cultivated by Qian Qi.
"She damaged my previous Fire Qilin Lotus, and this was her compensation. Thanks to her, I obtained a lot of new data."
Seeing Li Shuyun so sure, Xiao Liu was also a bit confused, since Li Shuyun was the granddaughter of the Magic Plant Department's dean. She surely wouldn't lie out of fear of Qian Qi destroying her field.
"See, I wasn't fooling you." Qian Qi patted Xiao Liu's shoulder, smiling, "I'm a bit tight on cash lately, so I decided to offer paid tutoring for your planting assignments. As long as you pay me 45 bucks, I can help save your magic plant!"
Xiao Liu's previous confusion instantly turned into "Of course," knowing that Qian Qi had laid this long foundation just to ask for money!
And once there's a first time, there will definitely be a second, a third!
"I have no money." Xiao Liu felt he couldn't escape the clutches of fate, and resolutely said, "Sorry, Qian Qi, you should help someone else, I can do it myself."
After saying that, Xiao Liu turned and ran.
Qian Qi stood there stunned for a while, then turned to Li Shuyun, "Senior Sister, what kind of person was I before?"
In her memory, the original owner often used her roommates' toilet paper, shampoo, and laundry powder without asking, and worse, frequently got into fights with some guys.
But that was mostly in the first semester, she seemed to have fought less in the second semester?
Li Shuyun looked at the puzzled Qian Qi and wasn't sure if she was playing dumb or what. She hesitated and finally cautiously said, "Um... you seemed like someone who disliked magic plants."
Qian Qi was even more confused, "I dislike magic plants? Why would you say that?"
"Isn't it?" Li Shuyun glanced at the back hill, "Aren't you often destroying the magic plants that others painstakingly grow in the experimental field? I thought you hated magic plants."
Qian Qi: ...
Qian Qi: ???
Whoa, was the "previous her" really such a jerk!