Chapter 187: Xiaozhi's Heavy Price

At the reception desk of the Class Transfer Temple, a youthful and lovely girl rested her chin in her hands, observing the coming and going of professionals.

This girl was wearing a receptionist uniform; she was none other than Xiaozhi, who had persistently pestered Wang Chen out of sheer curiosity.

Noticing the public display screen due to a sudden uproar and discussion among the crowd, she caught the message scrolling across it.

"Someone has claimed a five-star quest again?" Xiaozhi exclaimed in astonishment.

The next instant, she immediately left the front desk and quickly ran to guard the gates of the Temple. Her sharp gaze swept across every person walking out.

"This time I'm definitely going to catch you, Wang Chen!" Xiaozhi muttered, clenching her small fists in determination.

She hadn't known Wang Chen's name initially, but recently Wang Chen had shot to fame, widely publicized across numerous media outlets.

Consequently, she had seen his familiar face, thereby learning his name and even details such as his status as a student.

"That hateful little thief! He's clearly a good guy, but why does he always run away every time he sees me, and even trick me?" Xiaozhi gritted her teeth so hard they clicked.

"If I catch him this time, I'll definitely..." Caught up in her anger, Xiaozhi suddenly grew confused.

"That's right, even if I catch him, what can I actually do to him?"

Xiaozhi realized she possessed no authority to punish Wang Chen. Even if the five-star quest was genuinely claimed by Wang Chen, it was entirely his right not to tell anyone.

Denying it wouldn't make him at fault either.

However, Wang Chen had left Xiaozhi unable to eat or sleep in peace for quite some time. Though she understood the logic, a lingering sense of grievance remained in her heart.

"At least I can go complain to her—err, to him!" Xiaozhi thought to herself.

Just at that moment, Wang Chen and Wu Jiajie walked straight toward them.

Upon seeing Xiaozhi, Wang Chen's mouth twitched.

He thought to himself, "Isn't this that girl who kept pestering me earlier? Is she guarding the exit to catch me now? This is way too terrifying."

Noticing Wang Chen's strange expression, Wu Jiajie asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Wang Chen immediately put on a serious face and replied, "Yes, my mouth hurts a bit. It might be due to excess body heat."

"Oh, then after we get back to the association, I'll have the chefs make you a few dishes to clear internal heat," Wu Jiajie said without a shred of doubt.

Wang Chen then began discussing with Wu Jiajie which of the association's chefs possessed superior culinary skills.

The two of them walked right past Xiaozhi in this manner.

Xiaozhi glanced at them casually before looking away. In her eyes, they were merely two ordinary pedestrians chatting away.

Apart from the fact that one of their voices sounded somewhat similar to Wang Chen's, there was nothing unusual.

"Huh? This voice..." Xiaozhi felt a bit strange, turned back to look, and happened to catch sight of Wang Chen's retreating back.

As it turned out, everyone had subtle differences in their walking posture and the arc of their arm swings.

And humans were capable of distinguishing such minute differences.

Although Xiaozhi had never spent day and night with Wang Chen, she cared far too much about him and had reviewed various captured video footage of Wang Chen from different media channels.

Thus, she was quite familiar with his movements.

With just this glance, she immediately felt that the walking posture of the young man ahead was extremely similar to Wang Chen's.

"But I clearly saw that guy's face just now; he looks older than Wang Chen, and he isn't as handsome as Wang Chen either."

Xiaozhi puzzled over it, "Could there really be two people in this world with such strikingly similar bearing?"

Just as she was hesitating and wondering whether she should stop the young man to question him, Wang Chen and Wu Jiajie vanished amidst a burst of warm white light.

"A portable teleportation array?" Xiaozhi froze. She had never expected that these two utterly unremarkable individuals—aside from the one wearing sunglasses who looked rather pretentious, both of whom wore quite simple clothes—

Were actually wealthy people capable of affording a portable teleportation array.

"Wait a minute..." Xiaozhi suddenly recalled the news reports about Wang Chen that she had previously read.

The earliest reports mentioned that Wang Chen had almost been late and used a portable teleportation array to arrive at the venue just in the nick of time.

"Could it be that I let him slip away again?!" Xiaozhi reached a conclusion that filled her with despair.

After all, such instances of brushing past Wang Chen had occurred far too many times, and the déjà vu right now was simply too obvious.

"No, no, no. Although portable teleportation arrays are precious, they aren't exclusively affordable to Wang Chen alone," Xiaozhi reasoned. "Even though they're rare, I've seen other professionals use portable teleportation arrays before."

"Besides, I couldn't possibly be that unlucky."

"Right, it won't happen again." Xiaozhi hypnotized herself and resumed staring intently at the people emerging from the Temple.

From this moment on, the nature of her wait had shifted: it was no longer solely about catching Wang Chen, but had also taken on the significance of proving herself.

Just then, a receptionist hurried over from the front desk toward her.

"Xiaozhi, why are you just standing here? If you're caught leaving your post without authorization, you'll be fined!"

The receptionist grabbed her arm and urged, "Hurry back, there's a customer waiting at your counter right now."

Xiaozhi pressed her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Sister Xu, take a break now and cover for me for a bit. I really have something important to do."

"Oh, I keep telling you, you'll be fined if you get caught," Sister Xu said anxiously.

"I won't get caught. That new supervisor doesn't even recognize all of us yet, how would he know whose turn it is to be on duty?" Xiaozhi pleaded. "If I do get caught, just tell him I went to the restroom."

Sister Xu put on a stern face. "Xiaozhi! You can't keep acting so willful! Last time I introduced you to a five-star hotel chef, you stood him up, and as a result, I got an earful of complaints from that boy's mother."

"Do you think I'm still not mad at you?" Sister Xu crossed her arms and put on an icy expression.

Xiaozhi was momentarily stunned, then pressed herself against Sister Xu and cajoled sweetly, "Sister Xu, I was wrong~"

"I'm young and ignorant, please don't hold it against me." She wrapped her arms around Sister Xu's, shaking them gently while wearing a flattering, adorable smile.

Sister Xu immediately broke character. "Oh, you little girl, I really can't do anything with you."

"Fine, I'll cover for you for a little while, just half an hour, mind you."

"Thank you, Sister Xu! Sister Xu is the best!" Xiaozhi said jubilantly.

"Wait, don't celebrate too early just yet. You have to promise me that you'll go to the next blind date on time and not stand the guy up," Sister Xu stipulated.

"Ah? There's another blind date?" Xiaozhi was dumbfounded.

"Can you do it or not? If not, get your butt back to the front desk right now!" Sister Xu put on a fierce expression.

"Fine, I'll go then," Xiaozhi said, somewhat dejectedly.

"This child, making you go on a blind date is like asking for a piece of your flesh," Sister Xu sighed and shook her head as she walked toward the front desk. "Remember, just half an hour."

"Got it," Xiaozhi replied, shifting her gaze back to the bustling crowd.

She silently vowed in her heart, "I'll definitely catch you, Wang Chen! Because I've already paid too heavy a price for you!"

A fighting spirit ignited in Xiaozhi's eyes.

...

Stepping out from the warm white light, Wang Chen and Wu Jiajie arrived right in front of the Professional Association.

The two of them ascended the steps side by side and walked through the main gates.