Chapter 37: Stripped Clean

Inside the bookstore, the setting sun cast its final glow across the sky. The lingering light filtered through the glass door, brushing against Mu Xiaowei’s profile. Shielding her eyes with her left hand, the girl’s fair, delicate fingers traced over various exercise books. She turned her head slightly to avoid the glare, and as a soft breeze stirred, her dark hair was dyed a light coffee hue by the sunlight. Her gaze rested briefly on Su Yi, her thoughtful brow smoothing out as a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Su Yi, what university are you planning to apply to? Have you thought about it?" Mu Xiaowei leaned naturally toward his shoulder, pretending to browse the workbook in her hands as she asked softly. To make it seem less abrupt, she reached out and handed him a vocabulary book.

"I haven't decided yet. I’ll aim for a good one. If my performance remains steady, I should be able to get into Tsinghua or Peking University like you." Glancing sideways at the girl, Su Yi answered honestly. He was making rapid progress, though as he had mentioned in the classroom, even the top-scoring boy in their class was still eighty points behind her. However, he had the confidence to close the gap—perhaps even overtake her, given how hard she had been studying lately to avoid showing any flaws.

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiaowei paused, her smile growing sweeter. "Does that mean you want to go to the same school as me?" She pressed the workbook against her chest, her body stiffening with anticipation as she waited for his answer.

"Where are you going?" Su Yi asked.

A spark flashed in Mu Xiaowei’s eyes. She clenched her hands into a determined gesture, bubbling with excitement. "The Department of Mathematics at Tsinghua University. Of course, if you can’t get in, I could choose elsewhere, as long as the major is..."

Before she could finish, Su Yi poured cold water on her enthusiasm. "Fine, then I’ll go to Peking University."

"Eh?!" Mu Xiaowei couldn't help but exclaim. She felt as if Su Yi were teasing her, which made her feel a bit embarrassed. She had intended to say that if his grades weren't ideal, she would be willing to forgo Tsinghua or Peking and follow him to another university, provided the major was mathematics. If she were firm enough, she could convince her father and Aunt Xu. After all, with Su Yi's grades, he would at least secure a spot at a key university.

"Why do you want to go to Peking University?"

Su Yi’s expression turned solemn as he stared at her with a grave tone. "Two kings cannot rule the same land. We need to divide our territories; one of us shall dominate each campus."

Hearing this nonsensical statement, Mu Xiaowei pursed her lips in confusion. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Do you mean you want to be the student council president? That would be very difficult. Besides, I wouldn’t compete with you." It was common knowledge that only a tiny fraction of students got into Tsinghua or Peking through exams; the difficulty of standing out there was incomparable to a small place like Luocheng High School.

"No, no, no. Everyone needs space and distance." Su Yi shook his finger. He could never allow someone of unknown strength to linger by his side. The thought of enduring such torture for four years was impossible—there was no way they were going to the same school. Beyond the sea lay freedom, and even an ally could not easily trample his pursuit of it.

"But..." Mu Xiaowei took a step forward, about to say more, when a hooded man hurried through the bookstore. He bumped hard into Su Yi’s shoulder as if on purpose, causing Su Yi to stumble a few steps before regaining his balance.

"Oh, sorry, sorry! I was looking for something," the man said, waving his hand.

"It’s fine," Su Yi replied with a nod.

Watching the man in the light green hoodie wander around the store and leave empty-handed, Su Yi turned back, reached into his pocket, and a faint smirk played on his lips. "I’ll just take this set of 'Tracking Exercises.' It’s getting late, the sky is almost dark. Let’s head back."

Night fell rapidly in the twelfth lunar month. The lingering sunset had vanished entirely, and the layers of fire-colored clouds had lost their crimson glow, with faint stars beginning to emerge. Su Yi urged her on, handing Mu Xiaowei the small stack of workbooks she had chosen. He picked up his own, walked to the counter, and scanned his phone to pay.

*Hmph. He’s been acting so strange ever since he returned from being missing,* Mu Xiaowei grumbled to herself. Changing the subject was truly Su Yi’s specialty. She felt increasingly unable to keep up with his rhythm; his words were always scattered and disjointed, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. She stuffed the books into her little teddy bear backpack and followed him.

They walked through Chengnan Road, crossed a green belt, and strolled slowly along the overpass. About five minutes later, Su Yi pointed to a fork in the road. "Alright! Your rental is that way. I’m heading home."

"Oh, okay. See you tomorrow!" Mu Xiaowei waved at him. Although the conversation that afternoon hadn't been ideal, Su Yi had promised to buy her breakfast tomorrow—just the thought made her heart flutter. She smiled, though she quickly tapped her forehead in regret. She had walked too fast to catch up with him and forgotten to buy pen refills at the stationery store! Her supply at home was completely exhausted. But she felt too shy to turn back in front of him. It seemed she would have to go tonight.

...

"Commander, are we just going to let that stalker go?"

Once Mu Xiaowei was out of sight and the surroundings were empty, Lorie finally deactivated her cloaking field. She emerged from the shadows, her face full of confusion as she looked up at Su Yi. She had had countless opportunities to make that pursuer disappear. When the man had bumped into Su Yi, she had nearly drawn her blade, but the Commander hadn't given the signal, so she had held back.

"I’ve reconsidered. He can meet with an accident, but definitely not near us. The implications would be too great." Su Yi shook his head, peeling a thin, paper-like adhesive metal ring off his shoulder bag.

"Commander! That’s a bug! What if he heard what we were saying?" Lorie’s eyes flashed with green light as her internal chips analyzed the object, her tone filled with anxiety.

"Don't panic, don't panic..." Su Yi patted Lorie’s soft, fluffy hair, waving his hand to reassure her. He pulled a headset from his coat and tucked it into her ear. Hearing his own voice coming through the device, Lorie blinked in surprise. "This... this is a listening device? Commander, how did you get this?"

"I didn't expect him to be carrying it. I swiped it the moment he made contact," Su Yi said, rubbing his chin. It had been a long time since he’d practiced his old trade; he thought his skills might have rusted, but the results were surprisingly good. "He can't hear a word we're saying now. By the way, I grabbed a few other things while I was at it."

He reached into his pockets and pulled out a pile of items: silver-framed glasses, an expensive-looking European windproof lighter, a Xiaomi 40 Pro smartphone, and a small black leather wallet.

"Commander, you're amazing..." Lorie exclaimed. She had been right there, yet she hadn't even seen his movements.

"Just picking up an old hobby," Su Yi said, offering a rare, modest shrug. The moment the hooded man had brushed against him, he had stripped the man clean. He had been a bit worried at the time that he’d been too greedy and that the man would notice the change in weight. He had turned back to stare at the man, but the stalker had been incredibly amateurish, failing to notice and even looking quite smug.

Back in the Wasteland, his "old hobby" was being a bounty hunter. The name sounded grand, but the work was varied. In his younger, less powerful days, thievery had been his primary means of survival. The Wasteland was a city of sin; without special skills, one couldn't survive. Since returning to the Blue Star, he had avoided these crooked ways to stay out of trouble.

He couldn't take all the loot home, though. He was interested in the Xiaomi 40, hoping to extract key intelligence, but it was password-protected, and he lacked the tools to crack it quickly. Keeping it on him would make him an easy target to track. It wasn't the time for sentimentality; he had to dispose of it. He wiped the fingerprints off the phone, snapped it in half, and hurled it into the sky. The device vanished into the night like a shooting star.

"Oh, this guy even had cash! Over 500 bucks! A nice surprise," Su Yi noted after checking the wallet. It was a shame there were no ID documents inside. He pried open the lighter, confirmed there was no tracking device inside, and tucked it into his pocket with satisfaction.

Money in his pocket meant he could rest on the weekend and wouldn't have to work at the construction site. How could a scholar be called a thief? Especially when the other party had provoked him first; he felt perfectly justified in spending the money.

"Commander, are we really going to let him go?" Lorie asked quietly.

"Of course not! If you dare to stalk me, you have to pay the price." Su Yi clenched his fist. This was the first person who had dared to stalk him so brazenly; he had to be taught a lesson. During that brief contact, he had already gauged the man’s strength—he was nothing, a total weakling. As long as he had the intel, Su Yi never held a grudge; he preferred to settle scores on the spot.

"It’s only been a moment, he can't have gone far. While it’s dark, let’s find him. Even if we don’t kill him, we’ll throw a sack over his head and beat him until he can’t get out of bed tomorrow!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Just as those words were spoken, Xu Chen, who had stopped by a stationery store and was reaching for the listening device in his pocket, felt a sudden, bone-chilling shiver run down his spine.