The afternoon sunlight streamed through the cafeteria's towering glass windows, casting lazy patches of light across the greasy floor.
The air was filled with a jumble of food smells and noisy voices. Lin Xiao carried his tray to a relatively quiet table in the corner and slowly sat down.
Like a loyal guard, Fatty Wang followed close behind with a tray piled into a small mountain. A trace of nervousness showed on his chubby face as his beady eyes warily scanned the surroundings.
Lin Xiao's right arm was still bound with cloth and hidden beneath his oversized coat. His complexion was better than it had been that morning, but the lingering fatigue and weakness caused by overexertion remained clearly visible deep in his eyes.
He had little appetite. Mechanically, he pushed around the bland food on his tray with his left hand, his mind still calculating the matter of his Source Energy Points.
-1.3 points! The number weighed on his heart like a heavy stone.
Fatty Wang still had no new information about Su Qingxue, and low-grade Energy Stone fragments were something one could only stumble upon by chance.
He subconsciously touched the few remnants in his pocket that had completely turned into ordinary stones. Their rough, cold texture brushed against his fingertips.
Just then, a current of air filled with obvious malice disturbed the calm of the cafeteria corner.
"Oh! Isn't this our great martial artist Su's 'good friend,' Lin Xiao?"
A mocking voice, dripping with sarcasm, rang out.
Lin Xiao did not even raise his eyelids. He continued pushing around his food.
Fatty Wang, however, reacted like a startled rabbit. He abruptly raised his head, and the color instantly drained from his chubby face.
Three students in martial arts class training uniforms were walking over with trays in hand, swaggering along without a care.
The leader was tall and heavily muscled. Contempt and provocation were plain on his face. He was Zhang Kun, another capable lackey under Zhao Hu.
The two lackeys behind him folded their arms as well, their faces filled with anticipation as they waited for a show.
Zhang Kun slammed his tray onto the table in front of Lin Xiao with a loud clatter. A little soup splashed out and landed on the edge of Lin Xiao's tray.
"What's the matter? Great 'friend' Lin, just because you've climbed onto a high branch, your meals haven't gotten any better? Or is this pig feed the best match for you?"
Zhang Kun bent down. His sweat-scented breath nearly sprayed onto Lin Xiao's face, and his eyes brimmed with malice. "I heard you nearly got beaten to death by Brother Hu yesterday? Tsk, tsk, you've got a tough life, huh? Did you kneel down and hug School Belle Su's leg, begging her to save you?"
The surrounding noise abruptly dropped.
Countless gazes focused on them—some curious, some excited, and even more gloating.
Everyone knew Zhang Kun was one of Zhao Hu's men. He had come to restore his boss's reputation!
Fatty Wang trembled with rage and suddenly stood up. "Zhang Kun! Watch your mouth! Brother Xiao, he..."
"Fatty, sit down."
Lin Xiao's voice was not loud. It carried a strange calmness, yet instantly suppressed Fatty Wang's fury.
He finally raised his head. There was no anger on his face, only his trademark lazy, roguish smile. His calm eyes rested on Zhang Kun's provocative face at close range.
"You're Zhang Kun, right?"
Lin Xiao tapped the soup splashed into his tray with his chopsticks. His tone was as casual as if he were discussing the weather. "Did your hand slip? Or did you not eat enough this morning and couldn't carry the tray?"
"Quit pretending you don't know what's going on!"
Lin Xiao's unconcerned attitude enraged Zhang Kun. He suddenly slapped the table, making several trays bounce. "Lin Xiao! Don't think no one will dare touch you just because you've latched onto Su Qingxue! I'll settle Brother Hu's debt with you sooner or later! Today, I'll collect some interest first!"
With a vicious grin, he reached for Lin Xiao's collar with his fan-sized hand!
The grab came with a rush of wind. Clearly, he had put considerable force into it!
His target was Lin Xiao's immobilized right arm!
If he got a solid grip, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Gasps erupted from the surrounding students!
Fatty Wang's eyes nearly split with rage. He wanted to rush over and stop him, but it was already too late!
Just as Zhang Kun's hand was about to touch Lin Xiao's collar—
A bone-chilling cold, without warning, swept through the entire corner of the cafeteria like a polar storm!
The temperature seemed to plunge ten degrees!
The students nearby could not help shivering!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Zhang Kun's hand, reaching for Lin Xiao, abruptly froze in midair, less than an inch from Lin Xiao's collar!
The vicious grin on his face solidified. In its place appeared utter astonishment and a trace of fear that penetrated to the marrow.
He felt as though his blood were about to freeze solid!
A powerful, icy aura filled with the pressure of a superior descended like an invisible iceberg, crashing down and pinning him in place!
Even breathing became extraordinarily difficult.
Silence.
Absolute silence enveloped the area.
Every gaze, filled with extreme shock, turned toward the source of the cold.
The cafeteria entrance.
Su Qingxue stood there quietly.
She was still dressed in an immaculate white martial arts uniform, her figure straight as a solitary peak in the snow.
The afternoon sunlight outlined a cold halo behind her.
Her face held no expression. Her eyes were calm and utterly still, like profound ice that had remained unfrozen for ten thousand years, merely gazing over at them.
Yet it was precisely this extreme calm and coldness that radiated suffocating pressure!
A martial artist's aura! Genuine and undeniable!
She merely stood there without doing anything. She had not even released any True Qi. The pressure from her elevated level of life after breaking through, combined with the natural chill of her ice-attribute True Qi, was already enough to intimidate everyone present!
Zhang Kun stood frozen in place, his face deathly pale as fine beads of cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.
The hand suspended in midair began to tremble slightly against his will.
The two lackeys behind him were even more terrified. Their faces had gone white, and they stumbled back several steps.
Su Qingxue's gaze, like two ice spikes, slowly swept over Zhang Kun's fear-twisted face before finally settling on Lin Xiao, who remained seated with an amused, roguish smile.
Her eyes paused for a moment on that roguish face that made her feel so complicated and irritated.
There was no concern or anger in her gaze, only a cold helplessness, as though she were looking at a troublesome object she had no choice but to deal with.
Then she spoke.
Her voice was cool and clear, like a cold spring in a mountain ravine. It was not loud, yet it pierced through the dead air and reached the ears of everyone present.
"He is my friend."
Five simple words.
There was no threat and no warning.
Yet the weight contained within them was heavier than a thousand pounds!
Zhang Kun shuddered violently, as though a basin of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe!
He felt the cold pressure instantly intensify several times over, almost crushing his bones!
He could no longer hold on. His hand, frozen in midair, jerked back as if scalded. He staggered back a step, his face filled with incredulous shock and overwhelming humiliation!
Friend! Su Qingxue had admitted it herself!
And in a setting like this, with an attitude that allowed no doubt!
This was more than merely acknowledging their relationship!
It was a blatant declaration and an act of protection!
"Su... Student Su, I...I..."
Zhang Kun's lips trembled. He wanted to explain, but he could not get a single word out.
Under Su Qingxue's icy gaze, he felt as insignificant as dust.
Su Qingxue did not look at him again, as though he were nothing more than a stone by the roadside.
Her gaze swept over Lin Xiao once more. The helplessness in her eyes seemed even deeper now, mixed with a trace of humiliation at being forcibly bound to him that was difficult to detect.
She seemed unwilling to stay another second. As though merely standing there were torment, she turned around, strode toward the serving window, and left behind a cold, lonely figure.
Only after she left did the bone-chilling cold that had enveloped the entire cafeteria slowly recede like the tide.
The silence in the cafeteria was replaced by even more heated discussion!
"Holy crap! It's true! Su Qingxue admitted it herself!"
"She stood up for Lin Xiao! She scared Zhang Kun away with a single sentence!"
"What exactly did Lin Xiao give Goddess Su to make her so bewitched?"
"She's a martial artist! Just one sentence, and she can make someone unable to raise his head..."
Countless gazes focused on Lin Xiao once again, filled with extreme envy, jealousy, and disbelief!
Zhang Kun and his two lackeys were like defeated roosters. Their faces shifted from green to pale as they could no longer remain under the crowd's mocking or pitying gazes. They did not even bother retrieving their trays, squeezing miserably through the crowd and fleeing in embarrassment.
"B-Brother Xiao! Did you see that? That was...that was incredible!"
Fatty Wang was so excited that he could barely speak coherently. His chubby face flushed bright red. "One sentence from School Belle Su! Just one sentence! That bastard Zhang Kun was scared witless! Hahaha!"
After Su Qingxue's back disappeared, the amused, roguish smile on Lin Xiao's face became even brighter and more smug.
Using a tiger's might?
No. This was borrowing momentum! This was control!
He leisurely set down his chopsticks, picked up a napkin, and slowly wiped the soup Zhang Kun had splashed onto the edge of his tray.
His movements were calm and unhurried, carrying the relaxed composure of someone in control of the entire situation.
"You saw it?"
He glanced at the excited Fatty Wang, his voice carrying a lazy smile. "That's the power of being 'friends.' Learn from it."
He leaned back in his chair, soaking in the envious and resentful gazes around him as though bathing in warm sunlight.
Even the pain in his right arm seemed to have eased considerably.
Though the weakness from overexertion remained and his Source Energy Points were still negative, an unprecedented feeling of rising through borrowed momentum filled his chest.
This felt damn good!
However, when his gaze swept toward the direction in which Zhang Kun and the others had fled, a cold glint flashed deep in his eyes.
The lackey had been scared away, but the real culprit was still lying in the hospital.
And there was Scarface Qiang. The real trouble had only just begun.
His left hand, tucked into his trouser pocket, tightened around the few cold fragments of Energy Stone once more.
In the end, strength still had to be held in his own hands.
Not far away, in a secluded corner on the second floor of the cafeteria near the railing.
Su Qingxue sat alone at a small table. An exquisite meal sat in front of her, but she had not touched it at all.
She lowered her head slightly. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow beneath her eyes, concealing the complicated emotions roiling within those cold eyes.
Humiliation! It gnawed at her pride like a venomous snake.
As a martial artist of the Su family, she had actually been forced to publicly stand up for a rogue, using her identity to intimidate a bunch of lowly thugs!
This was simply the greatest humiliation she had ever suffered!
Helplessness! That damned "deal" was like an invisible shackle, binding her firmly in place.
She needed Lin Xiao's power—or rather, his secret. At least until the family assessment was truly settled, she had no choice but to fulfill this nauseating "friend" obligation.
There was also a trace of powerlessness that she herself was unwilling to admit.
Faced with Lin Xiao's unfathomable, bizarre methods and his dangerous gaze like that of a wild wolf, she discovered that she had no other way but to use her identity to suppress him.
She picked up her chopsticks. Her fingertips had turned slightly white from the force, yet she still did not pick up a single bite.
The noise and discussion from the first floor drifted up faintly like the tide. Every word of the talk about her and Lin Xiao pierced her heart like a needle.
She took a deep breath. The cold air flooded her lungs, but it could not calm the turmoil in her heart.
She raised her eyes and looked through the gaps in the railing toward the fellow still sitting lazily in the corner below, that smug, roguish smile on his face.
Her gaze was as cold as a blade.
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