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Join the ServerUnder the astonished gazes of the crowd, Li Yunxin, having successfully exchanged the secret code, a wicked smile played on her lips. She had already obtained the answer she sought, but with so many students and instructors around, it was clearly not the time for an in-depth discussion.
“Good! Very good! Excellent!” Delivering the secret phrase with resounding emphasis, Li Yunxin turned with practiced ease and departed, not waiting for Su Liyue and Ye Xingchen to react.
“Isn’t that the classic line from the ‘Good Guy’ in *Sanguosha*? So, not only is this girl from my hometown, but she’s also a veteran fan of the Three Kingdoms era and anime?” Ye Xingchen mused belatedly.
Mu Wanqing, who had been bewildered the entire time, tugged at Su Liyue’s sleeve:
“Yueyue, what did you two mean by ‘Heavenly King Covers Earth Tiger’… and ‘Teemo’ and all that? What did it all mean?”
Su Liyue wryly pursed her lips in her mind. One could only say that traditional Chinese culture was vast and profound; so profound, in fact, that even if foreigners overheard their conversations, the probability of them understanding was almost zero.
“It’s… a special way for people from the same hometown to communicate, I suppose.”
“Friendly exchange? The way she charged over just now, it looked like she wanted to tear Ye Xingchen, that philanderer, to shreds…” Mu Wanqing pointed at the footprints Li Yunxin had left on the ground.
“Cough!” Su Liyue suddenly choked on her saliva, a suspicious blush blooming on her fair cheeks.
‘A philanderer, really? My best friend’s choice of words was rather… intense.’
‘Yet, recalling Li Yunxin’s murderous gaze… could it be that she actually had feelings for Ye Xingchen?’
‘Su Liyue suddenly realized an absurd possibility: was she about to become her own love rival, playing out a melodramatic plot where she fought herself for a man?’
Just as she was lost in wild conjectures, Liu Yuxuan came stumbling back, sniffling, a clear slap mark remaining on his left cheek, looking like a stamp of perverse approval. Evidently, Li Yunxin’s strike had dealt critical damage to his psyche.
“Brother Xingchen… boohoo… she’s not a young lady at all, she’s clearly a tyrannosaurus rex!” Liu Yuxuan sobbed, snot bubbles almost forming.
Ye Xingchen’s eyes glinted mischievously as a cunning plan suddenly sparked in his mind.
“Little Xuanzi, you’re going to cry over such a small setback?”
“B-but Miss Yunxin, she… she hit me as easily as swatting a slime…”
“Foolish child, only roses with thorns are the most fragrant~” Ye Xingchen revealed a knowing smile, as if an experienced elder, casually spinning a cliché from the CEO romance novels he’d read in his past life.
“Have you never heard the saying, ‘Beating is affection, scolding is love; no beating, no love’?”
“B-but…”
“Trust me, when that iceberg melts… you’ll understand what it means to be a tender-hearted tough guy.”
Ye Xingchen gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, feigning profoundness.
Liu Yuxuan, teary-eyed, looked up and incidentally glanced at Su Liyue beside him:
“R-really?”
“Of course! Just for calling me Brother Xingchen, I’ll definitely help you win her over!”
Su Liyue, standing nearby, suppressed her laughter and nodded with a stern expression:
“Mhm, we’ll all support you.” ‘Heaven knew how much willpower it took for her not to burst out laughing.’
“Even Chief Su…” Liu Yuxuan was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. To think that this icy beauty usually wouldn’t even say an extra word to boys, and now she was actually cheering him on! Instantly, he felt capable once more.
Liu Yuxuan immediately straightened his back as if injected with a surge of energy, even the slap mark on his face seemed to transform into a medal of honor.
Li Yunxin, who had walked some distance away, suddenly shivered inexplicably, as if an ill-intentioned scheme had set its sights on her.
****
Dean Yu Qinglan lightly flicked his sleeve, and his rich, resonant voice echoed throughout the venue:
“I declare this practical combat training officially concluded!”
As his words fell, the scoreboard hovering in mid-air burst forth with brilliant golden light.
“Will the representatives of the top three teams please come forward to receive your awards.”
Amidst a flurry of enthusiastic applause, three figures ascended the stage in succession. Su Liyue’s team proudly claimed the top spot, Xiao Yun’s team secured second place, while Chixiao’s team settled for third.
When Ye Xingchen stepped onto the stage to receive the award on behalf of Su Liyue, the spectator stands instantly erupted in an uproar. This perennial bottom-dweller, now actually had the nerve to stand on the champion’s podium?
“Congratulations to you all. You have demonstrated…” The Dean’s benevolent gaze swept over the three of them.
Below the stage, thunderous applause erupted, the instructors nodded in satisfaction, and the students either cheered jubilantly or engaged in lively discussions.
Only Xiao Yun, standing in the second-place position, had a face clouded with gloom.
He glared fixedly at Ye Xingchen beside him.
‘This good-for-nothing dares to stand on stage? He’s just basking in Su Liyue’s glory…’ Xiao Yun gnashed his teeth inwardly. ‘Just you wait! He was the direct descendant of the Xiao family, and he had countless ways to make this ignorant commoner disappear.’
His gaze swept past Ye Xingchen, landing on Su Liyue below the stage, who was meditating with closed eyes. A ruthless, possessive glint flickered in his eyes. ‘This woman was destined to be his, and no one else would dare lay a finger on her!’
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