Shield (Part 1)

But Zhao Liya immediately blushed again and secretly chided herself, "What's wrong with me? What's there to show off in front of a wooden man! I'm not even ashamed!"

Seeing Zhao Liya, who had been smiling like a flower just moments ago, now blushing prettily and lowering her head, lost in thought, Zhang Hupan couldn't help but stare. Women are naturally sensitive about certain parts of their bodies. When Zhang Hupan's gaze inadvertently fell on her chest, Zhao Liya snapped back to reality. Blushing, she angrily exclaimed, "Hey, Zhang Hupan, you pervert! Where are you looking!"

This sharp cry was like a bolt from the blue, scaring Zhang Hupan out of his wits. He no longer dared to let his eyes wander over Zhao Liya, lowering his head to look at his toes like a child caught stealing! The scene at the foot of Wudang Mountain flashed before his eyes again. "Damn it, how did I make such a low-level mistake again? I wonder if this little girl will fly into a rage again, but her chest has indeed become much fuller than before!" While his heart was in turmoil, he couldn't help but compare them.

Seeing Zhang Hupan like a child who had done something wrong, Zhao Liya's anger dissipated. She also felt waves of shyness for her own ambiguous words just now. The two fell into a brief silence again.

Perhaps it was the immense embarrassment at the foot of Wudang Mountain, but Zhang Hupan felt an inexplicable guilt whenever he faced Zhao Liya. Therefore, in front of her, he preferred to remain silent rather than initiate a conversation.

Finally, Zhao Liya broke the awkward silence and said sweetly, "I want to ask you to be my boyfriend!"

"What!" Zhang Hupan was immediately flustered and at a loss. The beauty who had been fierce with him just moments ago was now asking him to be her boyfriend. Women are truly strange creatures. Could it be that Hu Zhiming's theories were correct? The less you pay attention to them, the more they care about you! Zhang Hupan was completely confused. Suddenly, Liu Xizhen's lazy, beautiful face flashed through his mind, giving Zhang Hupan the answer in an instant.

"No!" Zhang Hupan said hesitantly, afraid of offending the beauty in front of him.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhao Liya immediately realized she had spoken incorrectly, omitting the two words "fake." However, when she saw Zhang Hupan's panic and even outright refusal, she felt an unprecedented anger and humiliation. For years, countless wealthy young men and handsome guys had surrounded her, but she had never given them a second glance. She never expected this wooden block, this bumpkin from a remote mountain area, to refuse her so readily.

"What makes me not good enough for you?" Zhao Liya's face was flushed with anger, her eyes glaring fiercely at Zhang Hupan as she stepped closer.

A faint, warm fragrance wafted towards him, and he could even smell the fragrance on her breath. My goodness, they were too close. Zhang Hupan could even clearly see the flawless, pearly white teeth in her red lips, neat and beautiful.

Her beautiful face was close to Zhang Hupan. Although her eyes revealed a hint of fierceness, Zhang Hupan saw only infinite beauty.

Under the beautiful woman's relentless advance, Zhang Hupan could only adopt a policy of retreating step by step. However, the path by Huajia Pond was only so wide. Soon, Zhang Hupan was forced to the edge of Huajia Pond. One more step back and he would be a drowned rat. Zhang Hupan's retreat had to stop abruptly!

Zhao Liya stared at Zhang Hupan, still furious, completely unaware that Zhang Hupan had nowhere else to retreat. Zhang Hupan's sudden stop caught Zhao Liya off guard, and her beautiful, voluptuous body uncontrollably fell into Zhang Hupan's arms!

"You, why aren't you backing away?" Her angry voice held a hint of panic.

Her face was flushed like a beautiful sunset, so beautiful! Zhang Hupan couldn't help but praise her inwardly. Of course, Zhang Hupan wasn't foolish enough to explain anything at this moment, merely giving an innocent look behind him.

Zhao Liya naturally realized the reason for this situation. However, a maiden's reserve and her first experience with the opposite sex made her a little flustered, so she continued to glare unreasonably at Zhang Hupan. Another brief silence followed, but this time, it was filled with more ambiguity and awkwardness!

"What did you want to see me about? You don't really want me to be your boyfriend, do you!" This time, Zhang Hupan had finally learned his lesson. He knew that if he didn't speak up and change the subject now, this beautiful woman might get angry and embarrassed, and the scene at the foot of Wudang Mountain might repeat itself!

It was then that Zhao Liya remembered the purpose of inviting Zhang Hupan out. Although Zhang Hupan's actions earlier had angered her, compared to those wealthy young men, Zhang Hupan was clearly much more likable. At least he didn't cling to her lewdly. Thinking of the word "lewd," Zhao Liya suddenly remembered that Zhang Hupan's eyes seemed to have that kind of glint. "I don't care about him anymore. This wooden block is much less annoying than those perverts anyway!"

"It's like this, I have a party tomorrow night, and I want to ask you to pretend to be my boyfriend for a while." Despite still feeling a bit annoyed about what had just happened, Zhao Liya said seriously.

To play the role of a boyfriend, especially for a beautiful woman, no one who isn't an idiot would refuse. Moreover, if he played the part well, who knows, he might become her real boyfriend one day. Unfortunately, our Zhang Hupan was truly an idiot when it came to wooing women. He suddenly remembered that he had to work at the bar the next night, so he refused without thinking, "I'm sorry, I have something else to do tomorrow night!"

This time, Zhao Liya was completely enraged. She had never been rejected before in her life, let alone twice in a row. In Zhao Liya's opinion, "having something else to do tomorrow night" was just an excuse to refuse. Even if she had something to do, was it more important than accompanying her to a banquet? Beautiful women can be terrifyingly unreasonable sometimes. She didn't want to think why someone would insist on accompanying her to a banquet, just because she was beautiful?

If it were another girl, being rejected like this, she might have already turned and fled, vowing never to speak to such an unromantic guy again. But Zhao Liya wouldn't. She had been a proud and arrogant person since childhood. Being so unceremoniously rejected by a boy from the mountains was no less than a great insult to her! If she went back dejectedly like this, Zhao Liya would probably never be at peace for the rest of her life! Now, for Zhao Liya, it wasn't a matter of whether she could get Zhang Hupan to pretend to be her boyfriend, but rather that she had to get Zhang Hupan to pretend to be her boyfriend, otherwise she couldn't swallow this insult!

"What do you have to do tomorrow?" Her voice was tinged with anger, her pretty face flushed red.

Logically speaking, being questioned like a criminal, the highest authority of the Wudang Sect should have already left in a huff. For some reason, Zhang Hupan couldn't get angry with Zhao Liya. The intoxicating touch from earlier still left a lingering virgin's fragrance on his chest, making him savor it.

"I found a part-time job, and I have to work tomorrow night!" For some reason, Zhang Hupan honestly stated the reason.

Hearing that it was for such a trivial matter, Zhao Liya became even more furious. "Isn't it just for a little money? Can't I hire you for one night?" Although Zhao Liya said this with a hint of disdain, as soon as she spoke, she began to secretly regret her rash words. After all, Zhang Hupan was purely her classmate, and his performance over the past few months had been evident to all. As a student from the inland mountainous regions, he had learned English more fluently than anyone else in less than a month, displayed great skill at the sports meet, had never overstepped his bounds with her for months, and now he was working to support himself. Deep down, Zhao Liya admired Zhang Hupan quite a bit, otherwise she wouldn't have asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend. But words, once spoken, are like spilt water. Zhao Liya, having been pampered since childhood, found it harder to admit she was wrong than to ascend to heaven! (To be continued)