"Was it you who caused Wu Ya to drop out?" One of the men spoke with a dark, icy tone. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get into Yinshan Academy?"
The other man, equally hostile, reached into his pocket as if he might pull out a knife at any moment.
"Me?" Ye Shuang chuckled. "Conspiring with friends to frame a classmate—someone like that would’ve been a master schemer in ancient palace dramas. Too bad in this society, they’re just a pathetic little wretch."
Wu Ya’s eyes widened. "Who are you calling a wretch?!"
"Say it again!" The man beside Wu Ya stepped forward aggressively, raising his hand to slap Ye Shuang.
But before his hand could land, Chen Qin suddenly slapped the man across the face. The blow stunned him momentarily, and before he could react, Ye Shuang followed up with a sharp kick to his stomach.
The seamless combo sent the man sprawling to the ground.
"Pathetic," Chen Qin remarked, sounding bored as she draped an arm over Ye Shuang’s shoulder and looked down at the fallen man.
"You bastard!" The other man lunged forward but froze when he saw the numbers on Ye Shuang’s side. Instead, he pulled out a gleaming dagger from his pocket.
"None of you are leaving here today," he sneered.
"Eek!" Tang Keke paled.
But Ye Shuang remained unfazed. Meanwhile, Chen Qin walked to the car’s trunk and pulled out a grain sampler—a meter-and-a-half-long tool with a sharp, spear-like tip and a blood groove designed to make wounds that wouldn’t stop bleeding easily.
"Ye Shuang, let’s poke a few holes in these thugs," she said casually.
"We live in a civilized society—no need for violence," Ye Shuang said, though he took the sampler from her. "This is just a friendly duel. We’ll stop before things get ugly."
The man’s face twisted in disbelief. What kind of person keeps something like that in their trunk?!
He glanced at his puny dagger, then back at the massive grain sampler in Ye Shuang’s hands, his expression souring. The difference in reach was laughable.
"Weren’t you saying none of us would leave? Why are you just standing there? Cat got your tongue?" Ye Shuang taunted.
"You—you—"
At that moment, Chen Qin drawled, "As The Analects say: ‘When a man is about to die, his words are kind.’"
Ye Shuang nodded. "Meaning, once you beat someone half to death, they’ll start talking nicely."
What the hell?!
Are you two some kind of outlaws?!
And since when does The Analects mean that?!
Wu Ya was genuinely terrified now. The last time Ye Shuang had slapped her twice, the pain had lingered for days. If he was willing to use that grain sampler on her…
In the end, the three of them could only slink away in defeat.
Ye Shuang watched them go before handing the sampler back to Chen Qin. "Why does your brother even have something like this in his car?"
"Self-defense, obviously. You know Chen Hai loves road trips. Sometimes you run into troublemakers blocking the road in the middle of nowhere."
"And the cops don’t check it?"
"It’s just a grain sampler, not a weapon," Chen Qin said with a grin. "You gotta be prepared. What, you’d rather wait to get stabbed or killed before calling the cops?"
"Justice delayed is justice denied—especially if you’re already dead."
Ye Shuang didn’t argue. He glanced at Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke—the former as calm as ever, while the latter was still shaken.
"Let’s go. No big deal," Ye Shuang said with a smile.
The incident was just a minor hiccup. Soon, the four arrived at a dessert shop—though it was more of a high-end restaurant.
"888 per person?!" Tang Keke’s eyes nearly popped at the menu.
Since when was dessert this expensive?
"What’s wrong?"
"It’s a bit pricey. I didn’t bring enough," Tang Keke admitted sheepishly. She hadn’t planned on letting Ye Shuang and the others pay in the first place.
"My treat. Eat as much as you want," Chen Qin said warmly, her demeanor a far cry from the fierce woman who’d slapped someone earlier.
"Don’t worry, Keke. Dig in," Ye Shuang added, and she finally relaxed.
After a while, Tang Keke couldn’t resist whispering to Bai Yuyou, "Yuyou, is this the same sister who gave you the car?"
Bai Yuyou, cheeks stuffed with pudding like a little hamster, blinked and nodded.
"Rich, gorgeous, and confident… tough competition," Tang Keke muttered. She wasn’t sure Bai Yuyou stood a chance.
Money-wise?
Probably outmatched.
Looks-wise?
Though Bai Yuyou was ethereally beautiful with her unique aura, Chen Qin wasn’t far behind.
Personality-wise?
…
Tang Keke glanced at Bai Yuyou, who was wholly absorbed in her dessert, then stole a peek at Chen Qin, who was chatting and laughing effortlessly with Ye Shuang. Yeah, not looking good.
"Yuyou, Yuyou, you need to step up your game," Tang Keke whispered urgently.
Bai Yuyou tilted her head, confused.
"Never mind."
Just then, Chen Qin asked the waiter for a candle and lit it on a small cake.
"Happy early birthday, Ye Shuang," she said, resting her chin on her hand. The candlelight flickered against her face, making her even more radiant.
"Thanks."
Ye Shuang blew out the candle, though internally, he sighed. Twenty-seven already?
It felt like graduation wasn’t that long ago, yet here he was, barreling toward thirty. The thought of marriage and kids, once so distant, now loomed uncomfortably close.
After dessert, they strolled around the mall before it was time for Chen Qin to leave.
"Let me drive you."
"No need," Chen Qin said, glancing at him. "The airport’s a long round trip… and you still have to take the little one bra shopping, right?"
"I could still drop you off."
"I just don’t want you overexerting yourself," she said, pressing a slender finger to his forehead with a soft laugh. "Remember—next week, you’re taking me shopping and cooking for me."
"Got it."
With a wave, Chen Qin hailed a cab and left. There was so much more she wanted to say, but now wasn’t the time.
Not long after she left, Ye Shuang’s phone buzzed with a message from her.
Chen Qin: What I said earlier wasn’t meant to pressure you.
Chen Qin: Don’t think I’m desperate—plenty of guys are after me.
Chen Qin: Hmph.jpg
Ye Shuang replied with a sticker before turning to Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke.
"Let’s go."
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
