158: Chapter 158 The Deadly Slippers

The air came to a brief standstill at this moment.

Jennifer had long grown accustomed to being ostracized and treated like a freak.

She could command venomous insects without batting an eye and calmly track serial killers through sleepwalking, but her defense mechanisms lacked any contingency plan for such a direct romantic confession.

A visible flush quickly rose from her neck, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.

“How... how am I included?” Jennifer turned her head slightly, trying to hide her loss of composure with her loose black hair, but her slightly panicked tone had already betrayed her.

“It's my turn to ask you a question.” Qin Ming had no intention of stopping while he was ahead; instead, he took a small step forward, further closing the distance between them.

Jennifer instinctively retreated half an inch, but her heels felt as if they were nailed to the ground.

She looked up, feigning composure. “What?”

“What is one plus one?” Qin Ming asked with a straight face.

Jennifer's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly.

She was well aware of the boy's intelligence and methods that far exceeded common sense; a kindergarten-level question like this definitely had a trap hidden within.

Yet she followed his lead and tentatively gave the common-sense answer: “Two?”

“Then what about five plus five?” Qin Ming's speaking speed didn't increase, but his gaze became deeper.

“Ten?” Jennifer answered quickly this time, but the confusion in her eyes deepened.

“No.” Qin Ming shook his head.

“Then what is it?” Jennifer asked instinctively.

“Give me your five fingers.” Qin Ming pulled his right hand out of his jacket pocket, palm up, and held it out to Jennifer.

Jennifer froze for two seconds, looking down at the well-defined hand.

It was the hand that had easily crushed a demon's soul just a moment ago, yet now it lay open and defenseless.

As if possessed, Jennifer slowly raised her right hand and placed it upon his.

Her hand had a slightly cool touch due to years of handling natural herbs and nighttime sleepwalking.

Meanwhile, Qin Ming's hand maintained a comforting warmth.

As soon as their hands touched, Qin Ming flipped his hand and gripped hers.

His fingers slid between Jennifer's, interlocking perfectly.

It was a textbook case of interlaced fingers.

A searing heat instantly surged from her palm through her entire body.

“Five plus five equals us.” Holding that slightly cool hand, Qin Ming nonchalantly delivered the final blow.

Even the night wind seemed to stop blowing at this moment.

Jennifer felt as if her brain had been placed under some sort of binding spell, completely losing her ability to think.

She stared blankly at their tightly clasped hands.

A few seconds later, an intense surge of shyness washed over her like an overwhelming tide.

Jennifer abruptly lowered her head, biting her lower lip hard, even covering half her face with her free hand.

But even so, the corners of her mouth that she couldn't stop from curling upward and her earlobes, red enough to bleed, still clearly fell into Qin Ming's line of sight.

She was no longer the cold Psychic Girl.

Just as the pink bubbles were about to materialize.

“And now, I think I need to make a run for it.” Qin Ming spoke decisively, his tone even carrying a hint of unprecedented gravity.

Jennifer was still immersed in the massive flutter of her heart; her brain hadn't quite caught up yet.

She looked up blankly, her eyes a bit dazed as she looked at Qin Ming. “Why?”

“Because your dad is running over here with a slipper in his hand.” Qin Ming gave a rapid-fire statement of fact.

“What?” Jennifer stiffened all over, instinctively preparing to turn back toward her house.

At the exact moment she turned her head.

Qin Ming seized this extremely brief opening and moved suddenly.

At his current height, he was still a bit short compared to Jennifer.

Qin Ming decisively stood on his tiptoes.

*Smooch.*

A kiss—extremely light, fast, yet undeniable—landed with unerring precision on the cheek Jennifer had just turned away.

The contact was fleeting.

Jennifer felt like she'd been hit by high-voltage electricity, instantly freezing into a beautiful statue.

Having taken his prize, Qin Ming didn't linger for a second.

“Swift Shadow Step,” activated.

Like a bullet from a gun, he slid and bolted wildly through the shadows of the street.

This god-tier movement skill, usually used to dodge fatal attacks and rush in to slay high-level evil spirits, was now being used by him to flee, executed with fluid, unhesitating grace.

“You brat—!!” followed by an extremely violent roar.

A middle-aged man in plaid pajamas, wearing only one shoe, charged onto the street like a mad bull, clutching a thick rubber slipper in his hand.

His bloodshot eyes glared at the direction where Qin Ming had vanished, the slipper in his hand whistling through the air with a terrifying sound, as if if Qin Ming had been a fraction of a second slower, that slipper would have smashed into the back of his head with world-shattering force.

“Stop right there! You reckless brat! Seducing my daughter in the middle of the night! I'll skin you alive!” The father's chest heaved with rage, his voice echoing over the silent town and startling a few innocent crows from the treetops.

However, Qin Ming was simply too fast; within a few breaths, he had completely vanished around the corner, leaving not even a silhouette behind.

The father waved the slipper in vain a few times before finally turning around in a huff to look at his daughter, who was still standing there dazed.

“Jennifer! Get inside right now! You're not allowed to have any more contact with that boy! Do you hear me?!” the father bellowed.

But Jennifer seemed completely oblivious to her father's fury.

She remained in that same head-turned position, her cool fingers lightly touching the cheek that had just been kissed. The temperature there was shockingly hot, and her heartbeat was so loud it almost burst her eardrums.

Jennifer slowly lowered her hand, looking into the darkness at the end of the street where the figure had long since disappeared. A smile that couldn't be hidden blossomed across her usually cold features.

It was a pure, heartfelt joy.

Even while running for his life, even while being chased with a slipper.

“Wow...” Jennifer muttered softly to herself, “Qin Ming, even your escape is so cool.”

On the other side, having returned to his room via Larry, the first thing Qin Ming did was pull out his phone.

He opened his contacts, found Jennifer's name, and tapped quickly on the keyboard.

“Arrived safely. Say hello to your dad's right-foot slipper for me.”

Click send.

In less than ten seconds, the screen lit up.

“He just announced that tomorrow's schedule is to go to the hardware store and buy a solid wood baseball bat.”

Qin Ming looked at the screen, chuckled, tossed his phone onto the bed, turned around, grabbed a change of clothes, and walked into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Qin Ming dried his hair and stepped out of the bathroom, collapsing directly onto the comfortable large bed.

With a thought, he commanded in his mind, “Upgrade Faith Halo.”

[Ding! Host request detected. Upgrading [Faith Halo] from Lv.1 to Lv.10 requires 500 points. Confirm?]

“Confirm.” Qin Ming didn't hesitate.

[500 points deducted. Upgrading...]

An imperceptible pale gold ripple spread out from Qin Ming's body, instantly sweeping through the entire room. Even the invisible physical Holy Halo behind his head produced a high-frequency resonance.

[Ding! Upgrade complete.]

[Faith Halo has been upgraded to Lv.10.]

[Current believer limit: 50 people.]