Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 223: Leane reveals the scheme

Xiaobao’s reaction was quieter but far more lethal. She crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. Her dislike for Alarna had nothing to do with the usual drama. No, hers was personal. She had discovered, through a bit of clever sleuthing, that Alarna, thinking she was anonymous, had been trash-talking Yu Xi on the school forum. Calling him ugly, manipulative and fake. She complained what sort of esper sticks to another esper all day long and Yu Xi was weird.

Xiaobao had even caught a few stray insults herself. Alarna had called her style "disgusting" and "tragic."

Since then, Xiaobao had made it her mission to quietly ruin Alarna’s online presence. She didn’t do anything traceable. She just made enough trouble to make her real accounts glitch, her posts disappear, her followers drop mysteriously especially those ones with Jian Ci.

Now, as Alarna approached with that fake-sweet smile, Xiaobao’s fingers itched to smack the pretense off her face.

"I am so proud of you," Alarna said, her voice sweet and practiced as she stepped into their circle.

Jian Ci gave her a polite smile. "I am proud of you too."

She lingered, clearly waiting for something more. Her arms twitched slightly like she wanted a hug but didn’t dare ask for one in front of these three. Jian Rui, Jian Wei, and Xiaobao stood like a wall of indifference, their expressions unreadable at best, hostile at worst.

Alarna turned to them with a brittle smile. "Hello."

"Hi," Jian Rui said flatly.

"Hn," Jian Wei muttered.

Xiaobao didn’t even bother. She just blinked once and looked away.

Alarna didn’t seem fazed. She turned back to Jian Ci, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "My dad couldn’t make it, but my mother’s here. She would really like to see you."

Jian Ci’s eyes widened slightly. "Uuuuuhhhh..."

He glanced at his brothers like they might rescue him. They didn’t.

"I won’t be able to meet her this time," he said quickly, trying to sound regretful. "We have got family things—"

But before he could finish crafting his excuse, a woman in a high-collared silk coat appeared beside Alarna, her smile wide and eyes gleaming with ambition.

"There you are, darling!" she said to Alarna before reaching out to clasp Jian Ci’s hand with both of hers. "Your Highness, you were magnificent up there. So poised and commanding just like your father."

Jian Ci gave a tight smile, nodding politely. She turned to Jian Rui next. "And you must be prince Rui. Such presence. I have heard so much about you."

Jian Rui nodded once, cool and unreadable.Then she looked past Jian Wei like he didn’t exist. To her, anyone who wasn’t an esper or a guide wasn’t worth the breath. Xiaobao tsked under her breath and turned away, arms crossed.

Jian Wei leaned down slightly and murmured to her, "Don’t worry about it. Sooner or later, she will get what’s coming to her."

Xiaobao smirked. "You know, sometimes I hate you less."

Jian Wei blinked. He replied, "...Thanks?" with a confused expression.

While they endured Alarna and her mother’s presence, Yu Xi was behind a pillar standing in front of Leane. He had a half-zipped black bag in his hand. It had been handed to him by her.

Inside were three empty bottles. Yu Xi’s eyes narrowed. He recognized the brand instantly. It was the drink Jian Ci downed like water whenever he was stressed or bored or just wanted something sweet. Yu Xi had packs of it stashed in his room, always ready for him.

He picked up one of the bottles and asked, "What’s this?"

Leane replied, "I have held on to that since first year," she said softly. "I didn’t know who to give it to. My family’s nowhere near as powerful as Alarna’s."

Yu Xi looked at her, then at the bottles again. His fingers tightened slightly around the black bag. The pieces suddenly began to click together with a cold, mechanical precision. But how was this possible?

Jian Wei had tested Jian Ci from head to toe when it happened. He had tested his blood, sweat, lymph and even cerebrospinal fluid. Every test had come back clean. There were no toxins foreign agents or traces of tampering and yet, Jian Ci’s mental collapse had been catastrophic. It was even more violent and extreme, unlike previous episodes.

They had blamed the suppressant thinking Jian Ci had taken too many of them which he had. They had believed there was no foul play... until now.

Yu Xi’s voice was quiet, but sharp as he asked, "How did she do it?"

Leane exhaled, relief flickering in her eyes. She hadn’t needed to explain much. Yu Xi had already understood. "She asked to help me carry the supplies for the team before the mission," she said. "At some point, I left to get more storage boxes. I was only gone a few minutes."

Yu Xi’s fingers tightened around the bottle. "What else?"

Leane’s voice was low, but steady as she said, "She was acting weird. Way more clingy to Jian Ci than usual. Hovering around him like a shadow. And at night, if he so much as shifted in his sleep, she would react. Like she was waiting for something."

Yu Xi’s jaw clenched tighter with every word. His hands were still, but his entire body radiated tension, like a blade drawn but not yet swung. He nodded slowly, suppressing the violent storm building behind his eyes. He didn’t want to scare Leane so he was forced to suppress it.

"I see..." he said, voice quiet, controlled. "Why are you telling me this?"

Leane scoffed, looking away. Her fingers twisted around each other, her jaw working as if she were chewing on the decision. Then she exhaled, sharp and bitter.

"That night," she said, "Elias had a mental collapse. It was so bad... The kind that makes you think he was... he was going to die if he didn’t get help."

Yu Xi’s brows drew together, startled. He hadn’t expected that that’s how they got together.

"I was following Alarna," Leane continued. "I knew she was up to something. But I lost her in the forest and ran into Elias instead. He was shaking and he couldn’t speak. I had to—."

Yu Xi’s voice was low saying, "You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to."

Leane composed herself for a second before looking at him dead in the eye. "Turns out he drank a small cap of Jian Ci’s drink. It was just a sip but that’s all it took."

Yu Xi’s breath left him in a slow, controlled exhale. He hadn’t expected that.