Gu Yue's Blitzkrieg Romance, Part 1

Blacksmith Association.

Inside the examination room.

With her ponytail tied high, Mu Xi had changed into a clean, practical outfit.

She skillfully secured the metal onto the forging table, proceeding unhurriedly through sinking, burning, heating, and other steps.

Then, Mu Xi took out her Forging Hammer and began forging.

She swung the Forging Hammer like a raging storm, every strike landing precisely on the metal, the thunderous booms deafening.

Under her forging, the metal visibly shrank, impurities gradually being removed as its interior continuously fused together.

Su Qiu and Mu Chen watched from the side.

"It's almost there." Su Qiu knew very well that as long as Mu Xi maintained her rhythm, she would easily complete Thousand Forging.

"Yeah." As her father, Mu Chen was filled with emotion. He sank into his memories, the image of Mu Xi's small, stubborn figure from childhood flashing through his mind.

Even when he had not been optimistic about her, she had persisted in practicing forging.

"Mu Xi has already come this far..."

"However."

Mu Chen grabbed Su Qiu's head and pressed it down. His tone was unfriendly. "If I remember correctly, Mu Xi was still quite a ways short in terms of strength not long ago."

"I didn't expect her to improve so quickly in such a short time. Xiao Qiu, do you have any idea why?"

Su Qiu looked surprised, with no sign of pretense. "Oh? That happened? I had no idea."

"Is that so?" Mu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. The brat was putting on quite a convincing act.

Mu Xi had secretly bought some Whale Rubber recently. He remembered telling her before not to use that item yet.

So who could have made Mu Xi go against her father's advice?

Such a difficult mystery.

In the end, Mu Chen did not expose him. Whale Rubber was indeed good stuff, but its side effects were not good for children.

Besides, when teaching forging, he placed greater importance on the basics. He believed in building up steadily before breaking through; treasures like Whale Rubber could wait until after one had established a solid foundation.

But since Mu Xi had already used it, so be it. At her age, it was about time anyway.

Bang!

Mu Xi's final hammer fell.

Thousand Forging was complete.

The echoes still reverberated through the room.

"I did it!" Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Mu Xi jumped up and cheered excitedly.

She had done it!

After putting in so much effort and practicing forging day and night, a thirteen-year-old Level 3 Blacksmith was rare even across the entire Federation.

Unable to wait any longer, she rushed toward her father, wanting to share her joy.

Mu Chen grinned and spread his arms, waiting for the girl to rush into his embrace.

But the next moment, he could no longer smile.

Mu Xi ran straight past him and hugged Su Qiu behind him.

"Did you see that, Su Qiu? I did it!" Mu Xi hugged Su Qiu tightly, her joy overflowing and filling the entire room.

"Thank you!" she said gratefully. "If it weren't for you, I don't know how much longer it would have taken me to complete Thousand Forging."

Don't thank me!

Su Qiu's eyes were filled with panic as he desperately hinted at Mu Xi. "Ha... that's because you're amazing, Mu Xi. What does it have to do with me?"

Upon hearing that, Mu Xi suddenly realized her father was still beside them. She immediately released Su Qiu. "Haha, I was thanking you for keeping me company. Thank you for always encouraging me."

Watching the two put on this little act, Mu Chen's face darkened. He had originally decided not to pursue the matter of Su Qiu encouraging Mu Xi to use Whale Rubber. After all, there was nothing truly wrong with it.

But Mu Xi's first instinct had been to hug this Little Blondie instead of her own father.

Mu Chen's displeasure gradually turned his gaze dangerous.

"Well... I have something to do. Since the assessment is over, I'll be leaving first." Sensing that things were going south, Su Qiu decisively made his escape. "Teacher, Mu Xi, goodbye!"

Mu Xi did not try to stop him. Instead, she threw herself into Mu Chen's arms, trying to change the subject. "Dad..."

But after completing Thousand Forging, she truly had many things she wanted to say to her father.

After walking out of the Blacksmith Association, Su Qiu saw a girl standing by the street.

Gu Yue had changed her style again today. Her hair was tied into twin ponytails, and she wore a cool white T-shirt paired with denim shorts, accentuating her slender figure.

"Huh? Su Qiu, what a coincidence." Gu Yue looked surprised.

"You're here too."

Su Qiu definitely didn't believe this was a chance encounter. Gu Yue had absolutely done it on purpose, but he couldn't exactly call her out on it.

He really had no idea what Gu Yue was plotting.

Was she trying to get on good terms with him?

But it didn't seem like that.

Su Qiu had never seen anyone make friends this way.

"Uh, it really is quite a coincidence." Su Qiu scratched his head.

"Oh, Su Qiu." Gu Yue seemed to remember something. She slapped her forehead and pulled two movie tickets from her pocket. Tilting her head in feigned cuteness, she said, "I was planning to see a movie. I was just thinking it'd be a little boring alone, but since we're so fated to meet and I happen to have an extra ticket, let's go together!"

Su Qiu could hardly believe what he had heard. "Huh? What did you say?"

The Silver Dragon King invited me to see a movie? How could I have a dream like this?

"I said, let's go see a movie together." Gu Yue moved closer and wrapped her arms around Su Qiu's arm. "It's the weekend, after all. Let's go have some fun."

"O... okay." Su Qiu's mind was already spinning with smoke. Unable to figure out what Gu Yue was up to, he was muddleheadedly dragged toward the movie theater by her.

Along the way, Su Qiu couldn't help glancing at Gu Yue again and again. He truly couldn't figure out what she was up to.

Sensing Su Qiu's gaze, Gu Yue inwardly admired her own wisdom.

After several days of experiments, Gu Yue had tested Su Qiu's preferences through all kinds of hairstyles and outfits.

She discovered that whenever she dressed more lightly, the frequency of Su Qiu's glances noticeably increased.

Most importantly, after reading countless books through Shocking Wisdom, Gu Yue had come up with a plan to win Su Qiu's heart today!

They walked down the street.

Gu Yue walked in front while Su Qiu followed behind, lost in thought.

Then, a breeze suddenly rose. It had come at just the right moment.

The breeze lifted the back of Gu Yue's white short-sleeved shirt into a slight curve.

Sunlight spilled down as the lines of her legs, outlined by denim shorts, swayed before him, making Su Qiu dizzy.

Though Gu Yue's features were delicate, her temperament was far too ethereal, always giving people the sense that she stood apart from the mortal world.

As if perfectly timed, the wind lifted her twin ponytails, brushing across Su Qiu's nose and making it itch.

Su Qiu stared at her swaying twin ponytails and suddenly felt that the warmth from when she had hugged his arm still lingered on his fingertips.

That sensation was too vivid, making even the question of what Gu Yue was trying to do impossible for Su Qiu to think through clearly.

They suddenly passed a dessert shop. Gu Yue stopped, and when she turned around, her eyes shone. "Su Qiu, wait for me!"

Before Su Qiu could respond, she had already hurried into the shop by the roadside. Standing on tiptoe, she gestured to the owner, her twin ponytails swaying from side to side with her movements like an excited little beast.

Su Qiu stood where he was, watching her bent-over figure as she picked out desserts, and suddenly recalled the outfits Gu Yue had kept changing into these past few days.

A woman dresses for the one who pleases her.

Could she have been dressing for me?

She likes me?

No.

Su Qiu frowned. He knew his own worth. Unless the Silver Dragon King had not separated Na'er from herself, it was absolutely impossible.