Fight Alongside You

By the time the moon rose over the willow treetops, the banquet was finally drawing to a close.

The cake-cutting was the grand finale Zhou Youbai had carefully arranged. She pulled Jiang Yunlu to stand with her in front of the cake, and together they gripped one end of the knife each, bringing it down amid the applause of the crowd.

The cake had eight layers, topped with a tiny crown, and the frosting was a pale gold—exactly the same color as the dress Zhou Youbai wore that night.

To be honest, though, by the time the cake was being cut, not many guests remained. Some had wandered around, grabbed a bite, and left. Others didn’t even eat, just chatted briefly with the Zhous and then excused themselves with some polite reason.

Most of the people there were from the business world. Showing up, handing out a business card—that was enough. There was no need to stay the whole evening. The only ones who actually cared about this birthday were Zhou Youbai and her peers.

The Zhous—Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, along with Zhou Youbai’s two older brothers—kept smiling the entire time as they saw wave after wave of guests off. Not a single word was said about what happened that afternoon with Jiang Yunlu and Lin Mo making their move.

It was as if that fracas had never happened.

That silent, mutual understanding was far more meaningful than any open declaration.

“Yunlu, when did you get so good at fighting? I don’t remember you being like this back in school.” Zhou Youbai leaned in during a lull between seeing guests out, lowering her voice.

“I’ll tell you another time.”

“Then you have to come hang out with me more.” Zhou Youbai tugged gently at her wrist. “I’ve got so much more to say to you. We barely talked enough today.”

“Deal!”

Zhou Youbai was about to say more when her mother called her from across the room. With a regretful wave, she trotted off in her high heels, the hem of her dress swaying under the lights.

Jiang Yunlu watched her go with a smile, then turned and got into the car.

Uncle Zhao was already waiting in the driver’s seat, the air conditioning set to just the right temperature. The moment the door closed, the chaos outside was sealed away.

Jiang Yunlu flopped into the back seat, stretched luxuriously, and nearly smacked Lin Mo in the face with her arm.

“That was a lot of fun today.”

She turned her head to look at him, her eyes still bright, brimming with leftover excitement.

“You had fun because of the fight?”

Jiang Yunlu nodded cheerfully, seeing nothing wrong with that.

That was just who she was.

The kind of person who has to sit in the very front seat of a roller coaster, who wishes drop towers were thirty meters taller, who jumps off the platform in bungee jumping before the instructor even finishes counting down three-two-one.

If her father, Jiang Chengshan, hadn’t stopped her, she’d have long tried skydiving just to know what it felt like.

Adventure was carved into her very bones.

That’s why Jiang Chengshan always used to say Jiang Yunlu was so much like Situ Yunshu.

When she’d thrown those punches at the restaurant today, she’d held back the whole time.

The level of those guys on the other side—frankly—wasn’t worth her full effort.

But the feeling of her fists connecting solidly still got her adrenaline pumping.

She knew it was a bit off to think that way, but who cared.

“Look at you.”

Lin Mo glanced at her. “When we get back, I’ll spar with you. Let you go all out.”

Jiang Yunlu practically bounced in her seat.

“Really?”

“Why would I lie about that?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

She said “yes” three times, her voice getting louder each time, nearly startling Uncle Zhao at the wheel.

Lin Mo tapped the back of the front seat. “Uncle Zhao, let’s drop Yunlu home first. I’ll make my own way back after.”

“Sure thing, Young Master Lin.”

Uncle Zhao turned the wheel without a second thought, smoothly guiding the car down another street.

Jiang Yunlu rested her chin on her hand, looking at Uncle Zhao, then at Lin Mo, before blurting out:

“How come you’re the one acting like the young master of some rich family? Uncle Zhao listens to you faster than he listens to me.”

Uncle Zhao clearly heard her, but said nothing—not even his expression flickered. A good driver knew when to stay quiet.

She tilted her head in thought and added, “So what does that make me? Some little songbird you’re keeping at home?”

She’d probably had a few glasses of champagne at the banquet. It wasn’t strong, but the slight buzz put her mouth on autopilot.

Then again, given her current constitution, that much alcohol shouldn’t have had any effect at all. With her spiritual energy circulating, liquor practically dissolved on contact.

So whether the cause was the wine or something else entirely—that was hard to say.

Lin Mo didn’t take the bait. He just rolled down the window a crack, letting the night breeze in.

A few strands of Jiang Yunlu’s hair lifted in the wind. She reached up to smooth them down, mumbled something under her breath, and settled quietly into the seat.

Then she leaned her head gently against Lin Mo’s shoulder.

The car fell silent for a moment.

Outside, the streetlights slipped past one after another.

“You said you’d spar with me a moment ago,” Jiang Yunlu spoke up again, her tone more serious now. “Will you hold back?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether you can take it.”

Jiang Yunlu rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth still curled up.

The car soon pulled up at the big villa on Sansha Island.

“Nannan is back, so why are you still standing there?” Situ Yunshu looked at Jiang Chengshan, who’d been stationed by the window on the second floor, watching the gate.

That man had been standing there since eight o’clock in the evening, a full-blown statue of a father waiting for his daughter.

“Can’t I just look?”

The next second, he saw Lin Mo getting out of the car as well.

Holding his daughter’s hand.

Curses!

If only he didn’t know he couldn’t beat the punk, Jiang Chengshan would be downstairs right now separating the two of them.

But he still turned and went downstairs.

By that time, Situ Yunshu was already at the front door to greet them.

Jiang Chengshan had just reached the bottom of the stairs when he heard Situ Yunshu gasp.

“What? You want to spar with Lin Mo?”

At the entranceway, three people stood there.

“Yeah! I need to have some fun!” Jiang Yunlu waved her fists excitedly.

Situ Yunshu turned to Lin Mo, her expression clearly asking: Is she serious?

Lin Mo shrugged with a smile. “Let her go all out. She’s had to deal with some scumbags today.”

“Mom, don’t worry. Lin Mo will take care of me. Today, he’s my punching bag!”

“Hey, hey, I never agreed to be a punching bag. I’m hitting back, you know.”

“I don’t care. If you hurt me, I won’t talk to you anymore.”

With that, Jiang Yunlu was already dragging Lin Mo out the door.

“Come on, come on! I’m in the zone right now!”

The old dad who’d just stepped over to greet them heard his heart crack.

Situ Yunshu could read her husband’s expression perfectly. She gave him a nudge.

“You should have come down earlier.”

“Ah, forget it. Let’s go watch. Make sure Lin Mo doesn’t hurt Nannan.”

“Ha. Lin Mo has far more restraint than you do.”

Well, the old geezer’s heart cracked a little more.