Ten Thousand Carp Paying Homage to the Dragon!

This scene unfolded too quickly and suddenly, leaving no time for anyone to react.

As Zhang Chen charged forward, his two companions by his side also launched their attacks simultaneously.

They planned to form an oval encirclement from three directions to attack Li Mu Yang—although they felt Zhang Chen could easily defeat Li Mu Yang alone, having Zhang Chen fight by himself would make him seem barbaric and violent, which wouldn't help maintain his image as the campus heartthrob.

If the three of them attacked together, it would look much more imposing and powerful, and it would also make them seem very loyal.

They were only halfway there when Zhang Chen was sent flying. The sudden shift in the situation left them flustered.

The planned straight-line charge suddenly curved into a massive wave. They circled around Li Mu Yang and then stared blankly at his retreating back from a distance.

"What just happened?" They were all too busy running to have seen anything.

Li Mu Yang looked at his fist with confusion.

What exactly had happened just now? Why did he suddenly feel such a surge of violent anger?

The old Li Mu Yang had always operated on the principle of enduring what he could. As long as the other party wasn't pushing too far, he would happily cooperate. This was because it would result in the least amount of harm to himself—what else could he do when he couldn't beat them?

Also, how could his usual weak self, who couldn't even lift a chicken, have sent Zhang Chen flying with a single punch?

And he hadn't even used much force—he really wanted Zhang Chen to stand up so he could punch him again and see what was going on.

Zhang Chen groaned and struggled to get up from the ground.

His gaze towards Li Mu Yang was three parts astonishment and seven parts terror.

The power Li Mu Yang had suddenly unleashed shocked him. How could Li Mu Yang possess such strength?

He hated guys who pretended to be weak but were actually strong!

Swish—

Swish—

Swish—

Li Mu Yang walked through the grass, step by step, towards Zhang Chen.

"Were you trying to attract Cui Xiaoxin's attention?" Li Mu Yang asked.

This time, it was his turn to look down at Zhang Chen, and the feeling was indeed wonderful. His dark face had become much more handsome, transforming him into the imperial idol Louis Koo.

Zhang Chen's mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't say anything, like a grass carp that had accidentally jumped onto land and was dying of thirst.

Although he hadn't looked back, he knew Cui Xiaoxin was standing behind the crowd. She always liked to stand at the very back, maintaining a certain distance from everyone.

Could he deny Li Mu Yang's question? No.

"You used the wrong method," Li Mu Yang said with a look of regret, shaking his head and sighing. "Cui Xiaoxin is the kind of girl who is smart, reserved, and proud. She would like someone who is gentle, wise, introverted, yet possesses strong charisma—by you occasionally mocking me and bullying me, do you think you're showing your strength and brilliance?"

The girl, as quiet as a lily, opened her mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.

Her eyes were like sharp blades, peeling away Li Mu Yang's flesh layer by layer, trying to see what his heart was thinking.

"This guy isn't just ugly, he's also really annoying," the girl thought to herself.

"Actually, in Cui Xiaoxin's eyes, this is completely a cheap trick that can't be brought to the table, an ugly incident that evokes contempt and disdain. You treated me as a clown to be bullied, and your act of bullying me is also a clown's ridiculous performance in Cui Xiaoxin's eyes—"

Li Mu Yang pointed to his own face and said, "Look at my face—you're more handsome than me. At least you're fairer than me."

"You're taller than me, you're smarter than me—oh, right, you're also good at soccer and polo. Many times I wished I could be you—"

"A wise man once said: to judge a person's caliber, look at their opponent. You chose someone like me as your opponent, or rather, the object of your bullying—you've dragged yourself down to my level. Do you think someone like that can win Cui Xiaoxin's favor? Naive."

"Li Mu Yang, you—"

"I'm very ordinary," Li Mu Yang grinned, his dark, lively eyes as captivating as his skin tone, the only striking feature on his entire face—or rather, his entire body. "But you're very pathetic."

Zhang Chen was completely enraged. He lunged forward and grabbed Li Mu Yang by the neck, roaring, "Li Mu Yang, who are you calling pathetic? Who are you calling pathetic?"

"They're fighting, they're fighting—"

"Quick, someone pull them apart—"

"Teacher, someone's fighting—"

—

"Put some effort into it," the red glow in Li Mu Yang's eyes flared again as he stared at Zhang Chen and growled, "Put some effort into it, just like how you used to stomp on me."

"Pfft—" Zhang Chen spat out a mouthful of blood, possibly due to severe internal injuries, or more likely, from frustration and suffocation.

The frantic Zhang Chen was eventually pulled away. Zhang Chen kicked Li Mu Yang's fishing rod away and sneered, "Li Mu Yang, what right do you, a loser, have to pity me? You're neither educated nor skilled, your appearance is ugly, and you're always the last in every exam—you can't even catch a fish when you're fishing. Do you think you'll amount to anything? You'll just be a pig living day to day for the rest of your life."

Li Mu Yang rubbed his reddened neck and smiled, "You were sent flying by me just now."

"—"

Zhang Chen pointed at Li Mu Yang's head with his finger, turned around, and walked away.

The group of lackeys behind him paused for a moment, scrutinizing Li Mu Yang as if they had never seen him before, then quickly followed and ran off.

The excitement ended, the crowd dispersed, and Li Mu Yang sat alone in the grass by the lake, lost in thought.

He was always alone.

Just like before.

"Li Mu Yang—" the girl's voice was clear and crisp, like the arc left in the air by a kingfisher gliding.

Li Mu Yang turned to look and saw that Cui Xiaoxin was still standing in the same spot.

This time was a little different from usual.

"Whether you agree with me or criticize me, it doesn't matter—actually, do you know? Just by you staying to talk to me, others will look at me strangely—some with surprise, some with jealousy, and some with envy. A beautiful flower blooming on a pile of mud is indeed a very fresh thing. For me, it's ultimately a beneficial situation. If I were you, I'd pretend nothing happened just now."

Without turning his head, Li Mu Yang knew the shock the class beauty's decision to stay and talk had caused others.

Cui Xiaoxin hadn't expected Li Mu Yang to say something like that. A mist appeared in her beautiful eyes, which then instantly cleared to the bottom. After a moment of thought, she said, "You guessed two things right and two things wrong."

"It seems you're willing to talk with me at length. Is this our first formal conversation?" Li Mu Yang said with a smile.

"First, I don't like Zhang Chen. In my eyes, his behavior is indeed like a clown seeking attention."

"Second, I do like the type of man you described—gentle, wise, reserved, yet possessing powerful control over situations. He has ability but doesn't constantly show off his capabilities. This is the type of man I like."

Li Mu Yang nodded and said, "Then what are the things I got wrong?"

"First, I don't think you're a clown. You're just an ordinary person, like many other ordinary people. You haven't done anything wrong, it's just—"

"It's just that fate has been too unfair to me," Li Mu Yang said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Poor and ugly, with a brain like mush—neither good at academics nor martial arts, I can only accept fate's arrangement and become a useless person who just eats and waits to die, right?"

Cui Xiaoxin's pupils once again sparkled with brilliance. This guy, who was mocked and bullied every day, renowned yet low-key and silent, seemingly without any outstanding qualities, actually possessed such sharp thinking and a cutting wit?

"I was just saying," Li Mu Yang peeled a stalk of sugarcane grass and chewed it in his mouth. The sweet juice made him feel a little better. "Continue."

"The reason why flowers can bloom on mud is inevitable. Although it appears unremarkable on the surface, it actually possesses abundant energy within that can provide for the growth and blooming of flowers—it tries its best, proving its value through the flowers on its head."

"You think I'm like that pile of mud, and can still be saved?" Li Mu Yang grinned and said, "Then are you willing—"

"I am not willing," Cui Xiaoxin refused directly and decisively. "I am going to the West Wind's side. Where will you go? We are not people of the same world, and our futures will have no intersection."

"That's true," Li Mu Yang said with a bitter smile. "This is also why I like you but have never confessed my feelings."

"What?"

"Isn't this normal? Like other boys in their adolescence, I've always yearned for beautiful girls. We like Xu Jia Rui, we like Zhang Xin Qi, and we like you too. We hope to be as dazzling as you, we hope to walk beside you, and we've also fantasized about you sitting beside us, blooming with smiles like flowers."

"However, beautiful girls always set their sights on more outstanding men—we can only look from afar. If a beautiful girl suddenly approaches and says a few words, neither enthusiastically nor coldly, it's already a great gift for us." Li Mu Yang tilted his head back, looking at the clouds above. "What else can be done?"

Cui Xiaoxin was silent for a long while, her voice finally carrying a hint of complex emotion. "Good luck."

With that, she turned and walked towards where the main group was gathered.

The lake tour activity was over. A brutal battle awaited them.

"Cui Xiaoxin—" Li Mu Yang suddenly called out.

Cui Xiaoxin turned to look at him, not understanding what this boy, with whom she had no prior interaction, wanted to say to her.

In truth, nothing he said would matter. She wouldn't accept love out of pity.

"I refuse," Li Mu Yang said.

"What?"

"You invited me to watch the grand show with you, and I refused," Li Mu Yang said loudly.

Cui Xiaoxin's pretty face, illuminated by the sunlight, looked like almost transparent, lustrous jade. She stared coldly at Li Mu Yang and said, "Idiot."

As the sun set, the lakeside of Sunset Lake, bathed in crimson light, possessed a grand, dreamlike, poignant beauty.

Li Mu Yang reeled in his fishing rod, preparing to return home with the main group.

Whoosh—

From the shimmering, tranquil surface of the lake, a colorful koi carp leaped out.

As if receiving some signal, countless koi carp then jumped out of Sunset Lake.

They were thousands upon thousands, stretching endlessly. They covered the sky and the sun, their colorful scales forming a continuous sheet that obscured half the surface of Sunset Lake.

In places invisible to the naked eye, even more carp surged towards this direction, as if on a pilgrimage.

They rushed towards the direction Li Mu Yang was leaving, like followers of their most loyal faith.

If any experienced elder saw this scene, they would surely exclaim: Ten Thousand Carp Paying Homage to the Dragon, this is a once-in-a-millennium sight!