The Clown Zhou Da

"Ling Yun, I want to give it a try too. But can I use both hands against you?"

Jiang Yingqing tilted her face up, her voice sweet with a hint of coquettishness.

Ling Yun nodded and readily agreed. "Of course." He pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Then you'd better take this seriously, Ling Yun. I practice Rock Climbing a lot, so I'm really strong."

As she spoke, Jiang Yingqing extended her hand. A sly, slightly provocative smile hung on her face as her bright eyes stared straight at Ling Yun.

That smile made Ling Yun pause slightly.

In his previous life, he had indeed held some vague affection for Jiang Yingqing. But back then, he had looked ordinary, ranked near the bottom academically, and hadn't even had the courage to speak to her much less receive such an intimate gaze from her.

Besides, not long after that, she had... A trace of gloom crossed Ling Yun's heart, only to be swept away by the reckless freedom of having another chance.

In this life, he no longer wanted to cower. If he liked someone, he would pursue her. As for how many he could win over?

The corner of his mouth curled into an almost imperceptible smile. The path of cultivation was long—why set limits for himself?

"Ling Yun, what are you spacing out for?" Jiang Yingqing waved a hand in front of his eyes.

Ling Yun came back to himself and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, my mind wandered."

"Oh? You actually dared to underestimate me!"

Jiang Yingqing immediately puffed out her cheeks and pouted like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on. "Just wait and see how I deal with you!"

With a hint of petulance, she grabbed Ling Yun's right hand with both of hers.

Their palms overlapped.

This time, Ling Yun did not unleash his strength instantly and crush her like he had with the boy earlier.

He steadily held Jiang Yingqing's hands, the muscles in his arm tightening slightly. Yet he controlled his strength perfectly, neither allowing her to easily force him down nor making it seem as though he was holding back. He even "forced" a light sheen of sweat onto his forehead.

"Hehe, now you know how strong I am, right? That's what you get for looking down on me earlier!"

Watching Ling Yun's "gritted-teeth struggle," Jiang Yingqing could not hide the smug little expression on her face as she continued exerting force.

Ling Yun merely stared intently at their clasped hands and at her cheeks, which had reddened slightly from exertion. He said nothing.

Second by second, time passed. The smugness on Jiang Yingqing's face gradually gave way to confusion.

Something was wrong... Ling Yun clearly looked like he was about to lose, so why was his hand still as immovable as if it had been welded to the table, even though she was using all her strength?

Her arm began to ache, and her strength drained away as quickly as air from a punctured balloon. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her smile became somewhat strained.

"I'm done! I concede!" Jiang Yingqing finally let go in defeat, her cheeks slightly flushed as she shot Ling Yun a reproachful glare. "You were teasing me the whole time, weren't you? You pretended to be struggling so hard!"

Ling Yun released her hands as well and smiled, offering no explanation.

"Brother Yun really is something else! What a brilliant move! Pretend to use all your strength, and as long as our Beauty Jiang doesn't surrender, hehe, doesn't that mean you get to keep holding her little hands? Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"

Just then, Zhou Da, the "Know-it-all" who had been watching from the sidelines, squeezed over, slapped his thigh, and loudly began his analysis.

Zhou Da's words were like a stone tossed into still water. Jiang Yingqing abruptly realized what he meant, and her pretty face instantly flushed scarlet. Her eyes darted nervously toward Ling Yun, as though waiting for him to deny it or explain himself.

However, before Ling Yun could speak, the girls around them exploded first.

Ling Yun's outstanding looks, along with the "restraint" he had shown just now, had already won him the favor of most of the girls in the class.

"Zhou Da, what nonsense are you talking about?"

One girl immediately retorted in displeasure. "Ling Yun was just being a gentleman! He held back because he was afraid of hurting Yingqing! Do you think everyone has such crooked thoughts as you?"

"Exactly! Don't make him sound so dirty, okay?"

"You think everyone's complicated just because your own mind is complicated!"

"At first, I thought you seemed like a decent guy. I didn't expect you to be this much of a turnoff."

The barrage of accusations instantly drowned Zhou Da.

He had only wanted to "reveal the truth" and draw some attention, but he had not expected to stir up a hornet's nest.

Surrounded and attacked by a group of girls he had only just met, his face turned bright red. He was at a complete loss, looking as though he was about to crack under the pressure right there.

"Alright, alright, everyone."

Ling Yun spoke up at the right moment, his gentle voice clearly cutting through the chatter.

"Zhou Da was just joking around to liven things up. Don't take it too seriously."

He looked around at them with a soothing smile.

"If this goes on, our 'Know-it-all' is really going to get depressed."

The moment Ling Yun spoke, it was as though he possessed some kind of magic.

The girls, who had been indignant just moments ago, immediately quieted down and replaced their expressions with friendly smiles.

"Ling Yun's right. Forget it, forget it."

"Zhou Da, don't make jokes like that again."

The girls called to one another and quickly dispersed back to their seats. With the crisis resolved, Zhou Da let out a long breath and shot Ling Yun a grateful yet faintly resentful look, feeling like a drowning man who had just been pulled ashore.

Jiang Yingqing, however, did not leave immediately.

She hesitantly edged closer to Ling Yun, lowered her head, and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "What Zhou Da said just now... was it true?"

There was a faint, barely perceptible tension and shyness in her voice.

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Ling Yun turned his head, looked at the reddened tips of her ears and her lowered lashes, and nodded openly. "Yes."

Jiang Yingqing suddenly looked up, her large eyes filled with surprise. "W-why?" She had not expected him to admit it so readily.

Ling Yun looked at her slightly parted pink lips, so close at hand from her surprise, and those moist eyes. Suddenly, he felt like teasing her.

Lowering his voice, he asked with a mischievous smile, "A girl as pretty as you took the initiative to hold my hand. Tell me... what boy would be willing to let go first?"

The words were far too direct, with a touch of ambiguous teasing.

Jiang Yingqing's cheeks instantly turned as red as a ripe tomato, and even her neck was tinged pink.

She shot Ling Yun a quick glance before immediately lowering her head again, squeezing out two embarrassed yet annoyed words from her throat. "...Pervert!" Then, like a startled rabbit, she turned and ran back to her seat, burying her burning face in her arms.

Watching her flustered retreating figure, the curve of Ling Yun's lips deepened, and a flicker of amusement flashed through his eyes.

At that moment, Zhou Da, who was still immersed in the relief of surviving a disaster while feeling the coldness of the world, let out a faint sigh. His entire body radiated the dejected air of someone abandoned by the world.

Ling Yun patted his shoulder. "Come on, let's go take a leak."

The "bathroom invitation" was like a lifeline. Zhou Da followed Ling Yun out of the classroom with his head hanging low.

In the hallway, away from the classroom's commotion, Zhou Da perked up a little. But he still could not help asking pitifully, "Brother Yun, be fair with me. Was my analysis right just now or not? Wasn't that how it was?"

With his hands in his pockets, Ling Yun walked along in a rather good mood. Hearing this, he glanced sideways at him and admitted frankly, "Yeah, more or less."

"See?! I told you my analysis was right!"

Zhou Da sounded as though he had found a kindred spirit, his voice rising.

"It's fine if they didn't believe me, but they even ganged up on me and tore into me! Brother Yun, tell me, am I being wronged or not? This damn mouth of mine..."

He began wallowing in self-pity again.

"Can't be helped."

Ling Yun's tone carried a matter-of-fact tease.

"Probably because your brother here is more handsome! Sometimes, even if I really do have a few 'bad intentions,' there are always great scholars... no, adorable classmates, who take the initiative to 'debate the scriptures' for me."

He shrugged, wearing an expression that said, "I don't want it to be this way either."

"..."

Zhou Da was so choked by that naked claim that looks trumped all that he nearly passed out.

His mood, which had just begun to recover, plunged back to rock bottom. Filled with grief and indignation, he said, "Brother Yun, is there any strategy that doesn't rely on looks?? Leave me a way to survive!"

"Well..." Ling Yun pretended to ponder deeply. "There really isn't."

The two arrived at the restroom entrance.

Zhou Da suddenly remembered something and sneakily sidled up to Ling Yun, lowering his voice. "Hey, Brother Yun, seriously, do you really like that Jiang Yingqing?"

"She's all right."

Ling Yun's tone was casual.

"She's quite pretty and pleasing to the eye. Isn't it normal for people to have some fondness for beautiful things?"

That textbook future-playboy statement made Zhou Da's lips twitch.

But then his eyes shifted, as though he had caught hold of some leverage. A sleazy grin appeared on his face as he leaned even closer.

Then, in a tone he thought was threatening, he whispered, "Yun Sang~ You wouldn't want Beauty Jiang to know that your 'gentlemanly conduct' during that arm wrestle was actually a carefully designed 'groping hand'... oh, no, a 'prolonged hand-holding' plan, right?"

Ling Yun stopped walking and looked at Zhou Da's face, which was trying hard to appear fierce but only looked especially ridiculous, with a half-smile.

At the same time, he drawled, "Do you think... you still have any credibility with the girls in class? Even if you went to the broadcasting station and shouted about it, they'd only think you were jealous of me or spouting nonsense again."

The smile on Zhou Da's face instantly froze, as if he had been struck by lightning.

That was right! After that "public denunciation meeting," his image in the girls' minds had already hit rock bottom. Who would believe anything he said? Prestige? What was that? It had long since shattered into pieces!

Seeing Zhou Da's blank stare and expression as though his world had collapsed, Ling Yun slowly drove the knife in deeper. "Besides, Jiang Yingqing already asked me about everything you analyzed just now."

He paused, admiring Zhou Da's suddenly widened eyes. "I admitted it."

"She... she wasn't angry?" Zhou Da's voice trembled.

"Yeah, she just seemed a little shy." Remembering Jiang Yingqing's bright-red ears when she ran away, Ling Yun's smile deepened.

"So..."

Zhou Da was completely petrified. A few seconds later, immense grief and indignation surged through him. Covering his face, he spoke in a tearful voice.

"So after all that! Me, Zhou Da! I was just the pure tool in your little play, responsible for breaking the ice, then getting focused down, all to enhance your ambiguous atmosphere?! What was I doing this for?! I'm a total clown! Boohoo..."

Watching Zhou Da beat his chest and stamp his feet exaggeratedly, looking as though he had nothing left to live for, Ling Yun finally could not hold back his laughter.

He patted Zhou Da's shoulder, as if soothing an agitated dog. "All right, stop howling. At the cafeteria at noon, order whatever you want. I'm treating."

The moment he finished speaking, Zhou Da, who had been immersed in the tragic drama of the clown was me all along just seconds ago, instantly fell silent.

He jerked his head up, the grief and indignation in his eyes vanishing without a trace, replaced by a dazzling gleam. His face broke into a fawning smile. "Really?! Bro! My real brother! You're so generous! Long live Brother Yun! Come on, come on, hurry up! Don't delay Brother Yun from handling important business!"

He eagerly pushed open the restroom door, as though that "clown" had never existed.

Watching him change expressions faster than turning a page, Ling Yun smiled helplessly and shook his head before walking in.

Zhou Da followed close behind, already excitedly planning what hearty dishes to order for lunch.

After relieving themselves, the two returned to the classroom to wait for school to end so they could eat.