"Surpass... you?"
Staring fixedly into the girl's clear azure eyes, Xiao Yan's breathing suddenly stopped, his mind going completely blank.
A tingling sensation spread from his chest, yet he was in no mood to care about such seductive intimacy.
Was that truly what she thought?
Xiao Yan was certain that, given her personality, though she seemed lively and mischievous on the surface, she was more stubborn and unyielding than anyone. She would never willingly fall behind others.
Yet there was no teasing flirtation in her gaze now, only an unprecedented seriousness.
Hun Ruoruo had always been sweet and charming, full of strange tricks, but ever since Hun Tiandi appeared, she had become uncharacteristically quiet.
Could there be some unspoken difficulty behind this?
At that thought, Xiao Yan suppressed the lingering stirrings in his heart, raised a hand to stop the girl's affectionate movements, and said solemnly, "Ruoruo."
Seeing herself pushed away, Hun Ruoruo was first stunned, seemingly never expecting her usually irresistible teasing to fail. Then a trace of impatience quietly flashed across her pretty face.
"What?"
She clicked her tongue, shook off his hand, and said irritably, "You really are going too far. You weren't satisfied even when I said I'd let you surpass me?"
Before he knew it, the seductive look on her face had turned calm in an instant, as though scattered smoke and dust had vanished without a trace.
Rather than becoming anxious at the sight, Xiao Yan felt as if he had taken a calming pill and let out a slight breath of relief.
If this had been back during their time at Jia Nan Academy, he might have thought she was merely thin-skinned and unwilling to reveal her true nature before her father. But by now, he was no longer as naïve as he