This Doesn't Matter

Xu Lingqu spent the night in the medical room at Moye Military Academy.

Her smart device was flooded with a fresh wave of concerned messages, mainly from Jin and Xu Xiqin. She took the opportunity to explain the situation to them.

"What made Doctor Li and Ou Liefu suddenly think there was a problem with the emergency Xilai Concentrate?" Shen Shouli asked only this.

"They have their reasons, I suppose." Xu Lingqu, who was only pretending to be injured, brushed it off without a second thought.

The injury report and the emergency Xilai Concentrate application that Li Haisha and Ou Liefu had painstakingly forged overnight were finally posted on the Sky Network Medical Center's bulletin the next day.

Only then did she return to the base from Moye. The moment she opened the dorm door, the most anxious and worried of all was Liuming.

He thought he'd been abandoned by his master again. While Xu Lingqu was still competing, he'd been on the Sky Network reading posts and arguing with people, assuming she'd be back that night. But he'd argued until the sky was completely dark and Xu Lingqu still hadn't come home.

Liuming nearly ran out to find her. Fortunately, Xu Lingqu had the foresight to tell Liu Zheng to go to her dorm and hold the dog down so he wouldn't wander off.

Liu Zheng was extremely effective and literally held Liuming down all night, only leaving just before Xu Lingqu arrived.

Liuming was on the verge of tears. Liu Zheng was the only one of Xu Lingqu's companions he actually approved of! How could she do this to him!

But that sadness was completely forgotten the moment Xu Lingqu walked through the door.

Xu Lingqu spent a long time trying and failing to peel the dog off herself, finally giving up and letting him be, crawling back into bed to catch up on sleep.

Liuming just lay on the bed staring at her, determined to prevent another mysterious disappearance.

Once the medical center's announcement came out, it stirred up another wave of commotion on the Sky Network, directly overshadowing the second group's ongoing matches.

[Now I truly feel sorry for her—injured and commanding the entire match with such intensity]

[Now I get why Xu Lingqu didn't personally go deal with Tansen Meilin. I understand. I understand everything now]

[Come on, you guys actually believe she's hurt? That marketing machine is marketing herself again]

[People who believe Xu Lingqu is a marketing machine should be careful in their later years. I feel like they'll buy health products until they go bankrupt, or donate money to a cult until they go bankrupt. In short, bankruptcy]

[Actually, I also don't think she's injured, or rather, Xu Lingqu is too calm. It's really hard to analyze her true state. Anyway, the emergency item was used, so let it be. As long as she's fine now]

[They're still competing over there. Shaji is beating up the other three academies. Guan Chuanjun thought this would be his chance for revenge, but the bullet comments and Sky Network forum posts are all about Xu Lingqu. When he finishes his match and takes a look, he'll feel like the sky is falling]

...

After washing up and resting in her dorm, Xu Lingqu confirmed she had recovered enough energy and was about to contact the starship pilot when she opened the door and saw an uninvited guest.

Tang Muwen stood at the door, his face a sickly grey, looking at Xu Lingqu. He seemed to have been hesitating at the door about whether to ring the doorbell.

He must have seen the announcement as well. Coming to find her specifically meant he had something to say.

Xu Lingqu stepped aside to let him in while casually confirming the butterfly knife secured in her coat pocket.

Although Tang Muwen had never shown her any aggression before, knowing he was a Federation spy and had been complicit in Xu Chengbi's plan to harm her with addictive substances, Xu Lingqu couldn't afford to let her guard down.

Tang Muwen sat down on the chair, took a deep breath, and looked at Xu Lingqu. "You're injured?"

"Mm." Xu Lingqu nodded. "I'm fine now."

Tang Muwen's face turned even more ashen. In his eyes, the fact that Xu Lingqu was injured and treated with Xilai Concentrate was indisputable; he could now report this "good news" to Xu Chengbi.

Xu Lingqu had to admire Tang Muwen's acting skills. If she hadn't known his true identity in advance, his current worried expression might actually seem like he genuinely cared about her.

The Federation spy training was quite good.

Tang Muwen opened his mouth, several times feeling like he was about to say something, but always ending up closing it again.

He sized up Xu Lingqu before him. She looked no different from usual. She'd opened the door the moment he hadn't knocked or rung the bell, meaning she'd been planning to go out for training.

Xu Lingqu seemed to sense nothing, yet in this state, she'd been exposed to the addictive substance Xu Chengbi had arranged for her.

Tang Muwen clutched his own clothes tightly. He'd been resisting using it on Xu Lingqu all along.

He couldn't even begin to imagine what someone like Xu Lingqu would become under the torment of an addictive substance. Would she be destroyed? Losing her will entirely, becoming the kind of person who would do anything for a fix?

In the Federation, in the intelligence bureau where Tang Muwen originally belonged, he'd seen such things all the time, sometimes even enjoying the pain and struggle of these people with his colleagues.

But the thought of Xu Lingqu sinking to such a level made Tang Muwen unable to smile. The ugly expression on his face right now was definitely not fake. He kept asking himself: wouldn't destroying Xu Lingqu mean destroying a formidable enemy of the Federation?

Shouldn't he hate Xu Lingqu?

Hate her for his fawning over her being met with her constant wariness, hate her for having just as rotten a start in life yet still growing tenaciously in Moye, hate her for never changing herself based on others' words, unlike him who had completely lost his own personality to achieve his goals.

Tang Muwen thought, I really should hate her. He looked at Xu Lingqu before him and finally spoke: "Then take care of yourself recently. Get plenty of rest."

Xu Lingqu had no idea about his dark, twisted inner turmoils at that moment. She just found Tang Muwen truly hypocritical—telling someone he believed to be already addicted to say "take care of yourself and rest" was like stabbing someone to death and then covering them with a blanket, saying "Don't catch a cold."

"Thanks." Xu Lingqu gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Tang Muwen's composure completely crumbled at that point. He stood up flustered, ready to leave, but paused abruptly at the door.

"Xu Lingqu," he called softly.

"Is there something else?" Xu Lingqu watched him from behind, her hand sliding into her pocket, gripping the butterfly knife.

This time, Tang Muwen paused for about ten seconds. Just as Xu Lingqu thought he might say something truly serious, he finally spoke: "I heard you keep a dog. Why didn't I see it today?"

He forced a smile that looked worse than crying.

"She's sleeping in my bedroom," Xu Lingqu replied.

After answering, Tang Muwen finally left. Liuming, in his ring form, was on her finger.

She'd already explained some things to him, and he knew about Tang Muwen's identity as a Federation spy.

He checked the surroundings, sensing no eavesdropping or hidden cameras, before speaking: "I feel like he had some ulterior motive. What did he really want to say to you?"

"Don't know, and I don't want to know."

To her, this didn't matter.