Love, Gun, Cupid

Chapter Twenty: "I Don't Know"

Everyone has considered themselves extraordinary in childhood. Whether they like it or not, reality brings them back to their rightful place, allowing no room for subversion. Thus, transcending the ordinary becomes a mere fantasy instead of an ideal.

Now that fantasies have the chance to become reality, and the pure and romantic fantasies of childhood are flooding into the adult world, how could Lin Jiade possibly remain calm?

The next day, he got up with dark circles under his eyes, and Du Juan said with a smile, "I remember when I learned my first magic, I looked just like you."

What was your first spell?

"It is the magic of pain, one of the four magics that bring about love, but the magic of pain is used to separate lovers far more often than to bring them together."

Lin Jiade didn't understand: "Why do you have to break up lovers?"

Du Juan lowered her eyes: "People can love each other to their heart's content, but lovers may not always stay together. Life is unpredictable, as it always has been. This is Cupid's mission. Those who are blessed regard us as angels, while those who are torn apart curse us as devils."

I myself don't understand, is Cupid an angel or a devil? Is the love we forged a fleeting ephemera or an eternal spirit?

"?"

Lin Jiade felt that there was something wrong with what Du Juan said.

Cupid explained: "Elves hold their value better than gold. Before the diamond scam took hold, Homo sapiens nobles used to give each other elves as part of their courtship rituals."

Lin Jiade felt his newly solidified worldview crumbling again. He pressed his temple and said, "Why did diamonds replace elves?"

"Because diamonds are cheaper to produce and more profitable, there are no moral risks associated with buying and selling elves. Even if you know they're not worth it, habit and vanity can force someone who wants to get married to spend money on them."

"...I think I can accept this setting."

Du Juan looked somewhat confused. Lin Jiade reached out his hand, but hesitated for a second before pulling it back. Then he clenched his fist and slammed it roughly on his thigh, as if to encourage himself.

The courage born of the pain allowed him to place his hand on Du Juan's head as he wished. The silky touch flowed between his fingers, as if he were caressing the finest silk.

Du Juan stiffened for a moment, but she did not resist. Instead, she looked up at Lin Jiade and said, "Am I being pitied by you?"

“I consider us friends. This isn’t pity; it’s comfort.”

"All I feel is that you messed up my hair."

Lin Jiade's hand left, but Du Juan grabbed his hand at that moment. He looked at her in confusion, while Du Juan used her other hand to touch his palm and pinched up a strand of her hair.

After separating from her original body, her hair lost its disguise effect within seconds and turned back to peach color.

“Uh, sorry,” he said.

Du Juan smiled and put the strand of hair back into his hand.

"Why?" he asked.

"Take it, it might bring you good luck."

Cupid might be a god, or perhaps a messenger of the gods. Lin Jiade dared not discard it carelessly, so he found an empty box to keep it safe. Du Juan smiled when she saw this and continued reading the rest of the magic book.

Lin Jiade had public classes in the morning and afternoon. When he returned in the evening, Du Juan had already collected all the packages that had been sent and placed them in the living room.

Lin Jiade quickly unpacked the package, checked the raw materials, but didn't brew the potion because he had Jasmine's lesson tonight. So he took out the textbook to review it again, ate dinner, and arrived at the agreed time with Jasmine.

The moment the door opened, Lin Jiade saw Jasmine stand up from her wheelchair. He thought her legs were healed, but Jasmine quickly sat back down. But without a doubt, it was a good start.

Because Du Juan said that Jasmine's identity was X, Lin Jiade couldn't help but take a few more glances at Jasmine, but no matter how he looked at her, he felt that Jasmine was just a human girl.

"What's wrong?" Jasmine asked.

"You look beautiful today."

Jasmine glanced down at her school uniform: "Your taste is truly unique."

Lin Jiade laughed awkwardly: "If you're pretty, you'll look good in anything... Uh, I'm not having any bad intentions, but why a school uniform?"

"I wore my ugliest clothes because I was going to see someone I really disliked... I'm not talking about you," Jasmine said. "Aside from studying, you can handle things on your own."

Lin Jiade brought over disposable paper cups and went to the water dispenser. Nearby, there was a hidden cabinet with photos of Jasmine and her family on it.

Lin Jiade glanced at the man in the photo frame with some concern. It was the man who had given him the magic book, and then erased the related memories and the existence of the magic book.

If Cupid hadn't come to his side, he might never have known about this. But Cupid is no longer here, and this matter remains an unsolved mystery.

He picked up his water glass and drank it all in one gulp, then poured himself another glass before going to Jasmine's bedroom. In a place out of sight from the living room, there was a wooden table and a bench. Jasmine struggled to get out of her wheelchair and sat on one side, while Lin Jiade occupied the other.

"I used to sit on a stool like this in high school, and I had to discuss it with my deskmate every time I needed to go to the bathroom," he sighed.

He looked at Jasmine and found that she was looking at him too. Even though their eyes met, she looked at him frankly. Lin Jiade's embarrassment escalated exponentially; he felt his cheeks burning.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked.

“I was just wondering, do you like me?” Jasmine replied.

Jasmine struck Lin Jiade like a cannonball, leaving him dazed. The girl's emerald eyes were illuminated by the light, and she continued to exert pressure.

Because of her size, Jasmine didn't have the same imposing presence as Azalea, so Lin Jiade could barely handle the attention.

"Why would you ask that?" he said.

"You used to stand by and watch like everyone else, but now you're suddenly getting close to me. That's strange."

Lin Jiade hurriedly explained, "I had my own things to do back then, but now I finally have the time. Then, we met in a dream and played a football game happily together, which made me start to care about you."

“At first, I thought you were going to hurt me,” Jasmine said.

"?"

"Everything you've done seems like a deliberate act."

Lin Jiade tensed up. Although he meant no harm, the facts described by Jasmine were indeed easy to associate with an FBI warning.

"But bad people aren't that... naive."

Lin Jiade sighed. He knew that Jasmine wanted to call him stupid. With her Chinese score of only 70 out of 150, it was already an exceptional performance for her to find a mild word to describe him.

“So I think you approached me because you like me?” Jasmine said.

Lin Jiade understood that if he didn't give an answer, Jasmine would keep pressing him all night. So he took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and tried his best to convey his sincerity to Jasmine... his sincere answer: "I don't know."

Chapter Twenty-One Compensation

Jasmine tilted her head: "Don't know?"

"I'm not the kind of person who's good at understanding my own feelings. I'm more suited to the role of daydreaming in class and running happily on the green field. So, I don't understand the subtle and delicate thoughts between people... not even my own."

Lin Jiade tapped his textbook: "When I see you, I feel a desire to get close to you and protect you. Talking to you makes me happy, but is that feeling love?"

I didn't know, so I came here to work and figure out my feelings. I originally wanted to keep it a secret... but I couldn't hide it from you.

Once I figure it out myself, I'll give you the answer, and I hope you'll give me an answer then too. For now, let's focus on our studies, shall we?

Lin Jiade was worried that Jasmine would end their contract, but Jasmine looked at him for a while and finally nodded almost imperceptibly. Lin Jiade's heart raced under her gaze, and he turned his head to one side.

"Let's study," Jasmine said.

Lin Jiade felt like he had been granted a pardon. With her permission, he looked at a photocopy of her exam paper. When he was in high school, the results of every exam were posted in class, and the lists for important midterm and final exams were also shown at parent-teacher conferences.

Now, exam scores have become students' privacy, and it seems that even the tradition of ranking the best students according to their scores and selecting them into special classes to compete with each other has been lost.

Lin Jiade's own Chinese language score was only around 120, but he was confident in teaching someone who scored 70.

After a quick glance, he found the two most embarrassing parts of Jasmine's Chinese test paper: one was the reading comprehension questions, where she only got 3 points, and the other was the composition, where she only got 27 points.

Both sections of the questions have a format; they require filling in content within a framework based on the text and the questions. Lin Jiade had forgotten the format, but the teacher's instructions were still in the textbook, so he first taught Jasmine the reading comprehension questions.

Lin Jiade's textbook and Jasmine's textbook were side by side. One was filled with dense notes, while the other was as clean as a blank sheet of paper. His diligence contrasted sharply with Jasmine's laziness.

Before they knew it, his arm was pressed against Jasmine's arm. His arm was strong and warm, and his body heat seeped through the fabric, giving Jasmine's cool skin a ticklish sensation.

Jasmine looked at him, but Lin Jiade was immersed in his role as a mentor. She didn't understand his seriousness, nor could she comprehend his earnestness. Even though she had already accepted her fate of falling, he chose to pull her up.

Is it because of love? But even he himself doesn't know.

Jasmine scrutinized Lin Jiade. She understood that Lin Jiade wasn't a bad person, but not everyone who does bad things is a bad person. There was a shadow about him that made her uneasy, and she couldn't trust Lin Jiade until she could see through him.

After teaching his first tutoring class, Lin Jiade learned a lesson: without motivating students to learn and without proper cooperation between the two sides, cramming education will only result in less than half the effort.

He assigned homework to Jasmine, and also to himself. He needed to understand Jasmine better so he could tailor his teaching to her individual needs and be worthy of the salary she paid him.

The girl was very generous; she transferred the money via her mobile phone. When Lin Jiade saw it, he was shocked. It was an hourly wage that made Lin Jiade feel ashamed but unable to refuse.

He desperately needed money; yesterday alone, the purchase of the Embalming spell emptied his savings, and the Embalming spell was just the foundation—the subsequent spells would require even more money.

Under the guise of money, Jasmine became even more beautiful in his eyes, and her indifference and wariness towards him became insignificant flaws.

After the class, Jasmine didn't see him off. When he reached the door, he turned back and stood at her bedroom door, saying, "Are you still eating takeout?"

Jasmine, who was packing her things, nodded. Lin Jiade said, "I'll bring you some food for the three evenings of class each week. Eating those things all the time isn't good for your recovery."

My cooking skills may not be great, but I believe I have some insights into nutrition research.

When Lin Jiade, whom she knew but was not familiar with, suddenly became even more attentive, Jasmine narrowed her eyes and showed a wary expression.

Lin Jiade helplessly spread his hands: "The salary you're paying me is five times what college students earn doing part-time in this industry. I know my abilities don't justify this salary."

But I need money... so I feel guilty and can only try to make it up to you in other ways.

Jasmine's expression softened, and Lin Jiade said softly, "Your experience may make you feel that the world is full of malice, but I will prove that there will also be people who convey kindness to you."

Jasmine just looked at him, her eyes devoid of light. Lin Jiade knew his words hadn't moved her, but it didn't matter. Whether it was fighting his way through the exam hall or achieving success on the football field, he relied on action to get what he wanted.

He returned home full of fighting spirit, like a general who had met his match. However... even heroes have their weaknesses. When he saw Du Juan changing clothes inside the bedroom with the door open, his mood was replaced by panic and shyness.

“It doesn’t matter if you look,” Dujuan’s voice came from behind. “I’ve said before that I have holy light magic. If you want to remove it, you’ll have to neutralize it with an equal amount of shadow magic.”

"Do I have any shadow magic in the spells I've learned?"

Du Juan's eyes were full of smiles as she asked, "Do you want to learn?"

"No, I was just asking casually."

Lin Jiade felt a slight regret as he refused, but a second later he felt ashamed of his regret.

Du Juan returned to the living room, put her hair up, put gold-rimmed glasses on her nose, her cinched waist accentuated her beautiful curves, and her legs, adorned with lace-trimmed black stockings, peeked out from under her black pencil skirt.

This teacher's uniform is too form-fitting; it makes her look less like a gardener and more like she's doing cosplay.

Du Juan's previous outfits were all girlish styles. Specifically, she would refer to fashion trends and then magically transform them onto herself, just like a magical girl transformation in an anime.

Lin Jiade had expressed concern about Du Juan's magic, but she said that visual magic was consumed in very low quantities on this planet, and the magic she recovered in one night was enough to support her clothing for seven days.

"It's quite...unusual." Lin Jiade glanced at it and turned to comment, "Sure enough, beautiful people look good in anything."

"The next moment is a serious one, so I'm wearing a serious outfit to fit the occasion."