Mei Is About to Stake Her Claim!

"What time did you guys play until last night...? When I got up this morning, that stupid cat was still sleeping in the living room."

He was talking about Pardofelis, right...?

"It was a rare three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Elysia's still sleeping in my room."

Kalpas's hand paused as he flipped the food in the pan.

"I see... Hm..." He exhaled a smoke ring and sighed. "Youth is wonderful."

No, no, no. I felt like he had misunderstood something.

Just then, a pair of identical-looking figures came downstairs.

Of course, Xu Qi knew they weren't.

The mature woman walking in front wore a white dress. As she descended the stairs, the scenery hidden beneath her chest bounced with every step, making it impossible to look away.

As a result, whenever he saw a scene like this, Xu Qi would subconsciously overlook the adorable little girl following behind her.

"Are you going to your extracurricular class again today, Aponia?"

Everyone living here had long since become familiar with one another, so Xu Qi knew why Aponia was dressed to go out at only eight in the morning.

"Mhm! Good morning, Brother Xu Qi!"

Little Griseo poked her head out from behind her and nodded enthusiastically.

Thinking back to when she had first arrived and immediately hidden behind someone else whenever she saw Xu Qi, looking terribly shy, Little Griseo was now able to greet him like this.

Xu Qi couldn't help sighing. Time really was a wondrous thing...

"Good morning, Griseo. The comic books you wanted should arrive this afternoon. Remember to pick them up from the delivery station when you get back, okay~~"

"Mm!" Griseo's eyes sparkled like stars. "Really?"

"Probably. If the timing doesn't work out, I'll go pick them up for you."

Beside Griseo, Aponia wore an unmistakable wry smile. "Xu Qi, you really shouldn't spoil her too much."

The woman spoke slowly, with a holy, motherly warmth. Just hearing her voice made one feel healed.

"Haha, don't worry."

Although he said that, Xu Qi secretly winked at Little Griseo before she left.

She understood immediately and gave him an adorable little nod.

Seriously... children really were the best.

Xu Qi took the breakfast Jie Ge handed him. The moment he sat down, another sound of the entrance door opening came from the foyer.

"Did you forget something?"

"It's us, Brother Qi."

He turned his head and saw Fu Hua, whose sports shirt was already soaked through with sweat, followed by Kosma, who was gasping for breath.

"Morning exercise...? Kosma, are you going to make it? Look at Fu Hua—she isn't even out of breath."

Xu Qi casually picked up a towel from the living-room sofa and tossed it to Fu Hua, teasing him without mercy.

"Thanks."

Her waist-length hair was tied behind her in the high ponytail Xu Qi liked best. Fu Hua briskly removed her outer shirt and tossed it to Xu Qi, revealing a black sports bra underneath.

The girl's healthy abdominal lines and exquisite stomach were fully exposed before Xu Qi's eyes.

Nice... The only pity was that she was too flat...

"I'm going to take a shower, Brother Qi. Could you toss my clothes in the washing machine for me?"

"Of course."

Kosma, practically melted into a puddle, sprawled across the sofa. He stared fixedly at Xu Qi, seemingly having finally organized his words, and said between gasps, "You... why don't you... come try?"

"Hah."

Xu Qi walked over and handed him another towel. "Kid, guess why Fu Hua calls me Brother Qi?"

"!?"

Judging from Kosma's expression, he seemed to have fallen into another strange delusion. He probably thought I was some kind of great demon king.

The imagination of young people...

"Where are Kevin and the others?"

"At work..."

Kosma put on an expression that clearly said he didn't want to communicate with me any further.

What a terrifying life... It was a rare three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, and they still had to work? Yae and Su seemed to be in the same situation, not to mention Eden, who spent only a handful of days in the Golden Courtyard all year...

Everyone really did spend more time apart than together...

"Bzzzt!"

Xu Qi opened his phone, and his expression suddenly changed!

Mobius: Awake, are you? Come upstairs and test my medicine.

He quickly shoveled a few mouthfuls of breakfast into his mouth, threw Fu Hua's clothes into the washing machine, and rushed toward the door as if fleeing. Before leaving, he didn't forget to call out to Jie Ge.

"If the professor comes looking for me later, just tell her I went to work!"

Kosma blinked and looked at Kalpas, then pointed toward the door.

"Don't ask me. Hm..." Leaning against the stove and exhaling a smoke ring, Kalpas said calmly, like a man speaking from experience, "Maybe that's just how young people are."

As he spoke, the two of them saw Elysia rubbing her sleepy eyes as she emerged from Xu Qi's room. Her languid appearance easily made one wonder whether she and Xu Qi had engaged in some intense exercise the previous night.

"Hm? Ah~~ Good morning?~~ Kalpas, and Kosma too... Hm? Why aren't you saying anything?"

The scene before them was already too bizarre to comment on.

"Where's Xu Qi?"

That question could at least be answered.

"The professor wanted him to test her medicine, so he ran away."

Brief and to the point—that was Kosma's style.

"What do you mean!"

Beautiful Elysia puffed out her cheeks, making her look even more charming.

"We hadn't even cleared it last night! I was planning to finish it the moment we got up, but he left first? It's not a good habit to stand a girl up like that..."

So they had only been playing games! Kosma and Kalpas felt their brains tremble!

At that moment, a voluptuous woman with disheveled hair and a white lab coat came downstairs. That figure of hers... even compared with Aponia, she was in no way inferior.

"Hm? Hi?~~ Mobius~~"

"Where's Xu Qi?"

"At work." It seemed Chef Qian really was looking out for Xu Qi.

"Hah?" The professor's brows furrowed sharply as she said irritably, "Could you at least put some effort into your lies?"

"What!?" Kalpas raised his voice. "What's it to you?!"

"Forget it..." Mobius stared gloomily at the doorway before suddenly smiling. "In any case, I can more or less guess where he went."

Chapter Three—Mei was going to declare her sovereignty!

On the Huazheng campus, a winding stream flowed past, while the willows along its banks swayed gently in the breeze, as if beckoning the young couples on either side of the street to come here and share their love.

"Mei, want to come have lunch? The Kendo Club is holding a group meal, and the club president will be there too."

"No, thank you, senior."

After politely declining the invitation, the girl named Mei continued walking forward on her own.

The willow branches drifted past Mei, just like the ponytail swaying behind her from time to time, brimming with youthful vitality.

The girl was beautiful. She strolled beside the river while quietly holding a book, her cool light-blue summer clothes complementing the greenery around her like a scene from a painting.

To encounter such a beautiful woman during one's school years was both fortunate and unfortunate.

The senior who had been rejected gritted his teeth and jogged after her. "Mei, you really aren't coming? The club president will be there, after all. If you don't go, you might seem a little out of place."

Mei stopped walking. The senior thought his words had worked, and a smug look appeared on his face.

He was just about to say more when someone suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why would she be out of place? Is your club president's name 'Place'? You're young—couldn't you learn something useful instead of imitating the way people in official circles talk and act? Don't you have anything better to do?"

The senior frowned. When he turned his head, he saw an excessively tall man standing behind him. Although the man was young, it was obvious at a glance that he definitely wasn't a student.

The youthful innocence that someone his age should have had had already faded from him. Stability and the sharp competence forged through years of navigating society made up most of his bearing.

The sophomore senior, still only a student, couldn't help weakening his tone. "Wh-who are you?"

"You start by asking that? You really are still a brat... I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you one minute. Leave as fast as you can."

"What did you say!? Are you insulting me? The ace of the Huazheng Kendo Club!?"

"Forty-eight seconds."

"You!..."

"Senior, I advise you not to act rashly."

The senior, who had just been about to make a move, clearly froze upon hearing the gentle advice.

He looked at Mei, apparently unable to understand why she would say that. Compared with me, you're actually the captain of the Kendo Club, aren't you? You're so strong—aren't you going to help me!?

"Thirty seconds."

The senior glared resentfully at that working man, then looked at Mei with a trace of disdain and regret, as if he had mistakenly convinced himself that he understood something.

In the end, he chose to retreat.

"If I'd encountered something like this at your age, I wouldn't have cared who the other person was. I would've punched him."

"That's too violent!"

Xu Qi chuckled, and Mei before him laughed as well. Their eyes met, and the girl couldn't help blushing before shifting her gaze away.

"Did you miss me?"

"Not at all. I knew you were busy with work and didn't have time."

"Today's a holiday. No matter what, I had to squeeze out some time. Shall we go? We can wander around."

"Mm!"

Mei nodded firmly and stepped forward to take Xu Qi's arm.

A sophomore student and someone who had graduated and worked for more than a year... Even though society was relatively open-minded nowadays, there was still no shortage of strange looks on campus.

But Mei didn't care.

She only knew that during the most desperate period of her high-school years, he had been like a ray of sunlight, adding a little color to her gray world.

"I'm saying... people are going to misunderstand if you do this."

The girl's body was soft and lovely, and Xu Qi certainly enjoyed it... But he also had to consider Mei's situation at school.

"Misunderstand what?"

"That we're dating."

Mei pondered briefly, then asked in return, "Aren't we?"

"I'm warning you, don't flirt with me. I won't be able to hold back."

"Pfft!" Covering her mouth with one hand, Mei couldn't help laughing. She bumped Xu Qi with her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "I wish you wouldn't hold back so much."

"I can't help it. I have to take responsibility for you. You're still young and haven't seen much of the world. Hanging yourself from this tree of mine so early—especially when it isn't even a particularly good one—would be a waste."