[GL] I'm Just A Side Character... So Why Is The Heroine Chasing Me?!-Chapter 29: Closer than intended

The first week at the Imperial Academy passed in a whirlwind.

Every day brought new lectures, new techniques, and new ways for Zhao Lingxi to quietly terrify everyone around her. In Spiritual Cultivation Theory, she answered questions that left the instructor speechless. In Tactical Strategy, she dismantled hypothetical battle formations that had stumped students for years.

But it was Combat Arts that turned heads.

Master Jiang, the combat instructor, was a scarred veteran with one eye and zero patience. He paired students randomly for daily sparring, and Zhao Lingxi won every single match.

"Fourth level of Qi Condensation, and she fights like she’s at Foundation Establishment," Lan Yue overheard one student whisper. "It doesn’t make sense."

"Her technique is too refined," another muttered. "Where did she learn it? The countryside?"

By the end of the week, no one was calling her trash anymore.

They were calling her dangerous.

---

On the seventh day, Master Jiang made an announcement.

"Next week, the Academy will hold its annual Trials of Spirit. First-year students will enter the Misty Gorge in pairs. Your objective is to collect Spirit Jade tokens hidden throughout the gorge. The pair that collects the most tokens within three days wins."

He paused, his single eye sweeping across the students.

"The gorge contains spiritual beasts, natural hazards, and traps left by previous students. Injuries are common. Deaths are rare but not unheard of." His scarred lips curved into something resembling a smile. "Choose your partner wisely."

The lecture hall erupted into frantic whispers. Students immediately began looking for allies, the strongest fighters, the best cultivators, the most strategic minds.

Lan Yue watched from the back, her stomach churning with worry.

This wasn’t a test. It was a battlefield.

---

That evening, Zhao Lingxi sat at her desk, studying a map of the Misty Gorge. Lan Yue brought tea and set it down beside her.

"Who will you partner with?" Lan Yue asked.

"I don’t need a partner."

"It’s required. Master Jiang said pairs."

Zhao Lingxi’s brush paused. "Then I’ll find someone who won’t get in my way."

A knock at the door interrupted them.

Lan Yue opened it to find Bai Xuelan standing in the hallway, her silver hair glowing in the lantern light. She wore casual robes of pale lavender, and her ice-blue eyes carried that same sharp curiosity from before.

"Miss Zhao," she said, looking past Lan Yue entirely. "May I come in?"

Zhao Lingxi didn’t look up from her map. "It’s late, Senior Bai."

"I won’t take long." Bai Xuelan stepped inside without waiting for permission. Her presence filled the small room like winter frost. "I want to be your partner for the Trials."

That made Zhao Lingxi look up.

"You’re ranked first," she said. "You could partner with anyone."

"I could." Bai Xuelan smiled. "But no one else interests me."

She moved closer to the desk, leaning down until her face was level with Zhao Lingxi’s. The silver curtain of her hair fell forward, brushing against the map.

"That golden light during the assessment," Bai Xuelan murmured. "I’ve read about it in ancient texts. It only appears in cultivators with a very specific type of spiritual foundation. One that hasn’t been seen in centuries."

Zhao Lingxi’s expression didn’t change. "And what type is that?"

"I’ll tell you," Bai Xuelan’s smile widened. "If you accept my offer."

A charged silence filled the room.

Lan Yue stood by the door, her jaw tight. Something about the way Bai Xuelan looked at Zhao Lingxi made her skin prickle, like watching a beautiful predator circle its prey.

She’s too close. Why is she always too close?

"I’ll think about it," Zhao Lingxi said finally.

Bai Xuelan straightened, looking satisfied. "Don’t think too long. Others will come asking."

She turned to leave, pausing beside Lan Yue at the door. Her ice-blue eyes swept over the servant girl with mild interest.

"Cute," she said softly, and left.

Lan Yue’s face burned. What was that supposed to mean?

---

After the door closed, Zhao Lingxi returned to her map without comment.

Lan Yue fidgeted.

"Are you going to accept?" she finally asked.

"Perhaps."

"She’s suspicious. She clearly wants something from you."

"Everyone wants something from me." Zhao Lingxi glanced at her. "You’re frowning."

"I’m not frowning."

"You are. You’ve been frowning since she walked in." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Lan Yue crossed her arms. "I just don’t trust her."

"You don’t trust anyone who gets close to me."

"That’s—that’s not true!"

Zhao Lingxi set down her brush and turned to face Lan Yue fully. The candlelight played across her features, softening the sharp lines of her face, making her dark eyes look warm for once.

"Lan Yue."

"What?"

"If I partner with Bai Xuelan, I’ll need someone I trust to watch over Zhao Han while I’m in the gorge." She paused. "Someone capable. Someone who can protect him if anything happens."

Lan Yue’s irritation deflated. "You want me to stay behind?"

"I want you to keep my brother safe. There’s no one else I’d trust with that."

The words hit harder than they should have. Lan Yue looked away, her chest tight.

"Fine," she muttered. "But if that silver-haired fox tries anything—"

"Fox?" Zhao Lingxi’s eyebrow rose.

"Nothing. Forget it."

A pause.

"You’re jealous," Zhao Lingxi said.

It wasn’t a question.

"I am absolutely not!"

"Your ears are red."

Lan Yue slapped her hands over her ears. "It’s hot in here! The warming talismans are too strong!"

Zhao Lingxi stared at her for a long moment. Then something extraordinary happened.

She laughed.

Not the bitter, hollow laugh Lan Yue had heard before. A real laugh, soft and warm, like sunlight breaking through winter clouds. It transformed her entire face, erasing the ice, the pain, and the years of suffering.

Lan Yue forgot to breathe.

She’s beautiful.

The thought hit her like a bolt of lightning. Not the distant appreciation she’d felt before, oh, the heroine is pretty, but something raw and immediate that made her pulse stutter.

"W-what’s so funny?" Lan Yue stammered.

Zhao Lingxi’s laughter faded, but the warmth lingered in her eyes. "Nothing. It’s just no one has ever been jealous on my behalf before."

"I said I’m not..."

"Good night, Lan Yue."

Zhao Lingxi turned back to her map, the faintest curve still on her lips.

Lan Yue retreated to her adjoining room and shut the sliding door. She pressed her back against it, her heart racing like a war drum.

This is bad. This is really, really bad.

She was supposed to be protecting the heroine, supporting her from the shadows, changing the plot so everyone survived.

She was not supposed to be developing feelings.

Get it together, Bethany. You survived the apocalypse. You can survive a crush.

Through the thin door, she heard the soft scratch of Zhao Lingxi’s brush on paper. Then, so quiet she almost missed it, a whispered word.

"Cute."

Lan Yue buried her face in her pillow and screamed silently.

---

Zhao Lingxi accepted Bai Xuelan’s partnership, sending ripples of shock through the Academy. The number one and number seven students, teaming up? It was the most talked-about pairing in years.

Meanwhile, Lan Yue prepared for three days without her mistress.

She made arrangements with Liu Ruyan to watch over the dormitory. She checked Zhao Lingxi’s supplies, healing pills, spiritual energy recovery talismans, emergency signal flares. She packed dried food and water purification tablets from her personal dimension, hiding them among the regular supplies.

On the morning of the Trials, the paired students gathered at the gorge entrance.

The Misty Gorge lived up to its name. A vast canyon stretched before them, filled with swirling white mist so thick that visibility dropped to barely ten paces. Ancient trees twisted upward from the rocky ground, their branches draped with glowing moss. Strange sounds echoed from the depths, distant roars, the crack of branches, the whisper of things unseen.

Zhao Lingxi stood at the edge, her hair tied back, her expression sharp and focused. Beside her, Bai Xuelan looked almost excited, like a cat about to be let loose in a room full of mice.

Lan Yue approached, holding out a small cloth pouch.

"Extra supplies," she said. "Just in case."

Zhao Lingxi took it. Their fingers brushed.

Neither of them pulled away.

"Be careful," Lan Yue said quietly.

"I always am."

"No, you’re not. You’re reckless and stubborn and you never listen to anyone."

Zhao Lingxi’s lips twitched. "Anything else?"

Lan Yue wanted to say a hundred things. Don’t trust Bai Xuelan completely. Watch your back. Come home safe. I’ll be waiting.

What she said was, "Don’t die."

"I’ll do my best."

Their eyes held for a beat too long. Then Zhao Lingxi turned and walked toward the gorge entrance where Bai Xuelan waited.

The silver-haired girl glanced back at Lan Yue with an amused smile, as if she had seen the entire exchange and found it entertaining.

The signal horn sounded.

The students disappeared into the mist.

---

Lan Yue stood at the edge long after the last figure had vanished.

The gorge swallowed all sound. Even the wind seemed to stop at its border, as if afraid to enter.

Three days.

She pressed her hand against her chest, feeling the steady thump of her heart.

Three days without her.

It shouldn’t have felt like anything. Zhao Lingxi was strong, capable, brilliant. She didn’t need Lan Yue hovering over her every second.

And yet.

Lan Yue turned and walked back toward the Academy, her fists clenched at her sides.

Come back safe, Zhao Lingxi.

Please.