The next day, Chen Daolin, Ji Xuan, and Lin Xiao—three close friends from high school—met up at a café in Yangzhou City.
Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan had both become martial artists, and at the end of the month they were heading to the Elite Training Camp at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall headquarters. They probably wouldn't be back in Yangzhou City for a long time. Lin Xiao had also been accepted into Jiangnan Second Military Academy, and once the term started, she'd be leaving Yangzhou City to study in the main urban district. They'd likely get fewer and fewer chances to see one another. Thinking about it, Chen Daolin couldn't help feeling a little wistful.
Lin Xiao cupped her drink in both hands, resting her chin on the table. "You two really are joined at the hip now. You even went abroad together. Honestly, when are you going to treat me to wedding candy? Ow! Why'd you hit me?"
Ji Xuan gave an awkward but polite smile as she lowered her hand from the top of Lin Xiao's head.
Chen Daolin was used to Lin Xiao's unfiltered remarks and knew she was joking, so he didn't take it to heart. He speared a piece of cake and stuffed it into her mouth, laughing as he scolded her. "Find yourself someone first before you start talking about us."
Lin Xiao chewed on the cake and huffed. "I'm so pretty that plenty of people will want to date me once I'm at university. Why should I worry? You two are the ones I'm worried about. One has no sense, and the other is cold and boring. I'm afraid I'll have grandchildren before either of you gets a partner."
Chen Daolin: "..."
Ji Xuan: "..."
Why'd she have to say something so true?
Lin Xiao sighed. "I never thought that one day I'd have two genius martial artists as friends. By the way, once you graduate from that Elite Training Camp, you'll be God of War-level, right? Wow, does that mean I'll have two God of War friends? No one will ever dare bully me again."
Compared to Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan, Lin Xiao really was an utterly ordinary girl without anything special about her.
But the friendship between them was pure and sincere.
That was why Chen Daolin enjoyed how relaxed he felt around Lin Xiao, even though she was always blurting out whatever came to mind.
Just then, a delighted voice came from nearby.
"Ji Xuan?"
"Hm?"
The three of them turned toward the voice and saw a handsome, refined young man in a white suit standing not far away, his face beaming with delight. Beside him stood a strikingly beautiful woman in a bright red dress, with an air of elegance about her.
"Xu Lei?" Ji Xuan hesitated before recognizing the familiar face of a classmate from all three years of high school.
Xu Lei clearly hadn't expected to run into Ji Xuan there. He hurried over, a broad smile on his face. "Ji Xuan, what are you doing here? It's been ages. How have you been?"
"I... I'm fine." Under Xu Lei's ardent gaze, Ji Xuan felt distinctly uncomfortable.
Chen Daolin and Lin Xiao looked from Xu Lei, who was brimming with enthusiasm, to Ji Xuan, who seemed ill at ease. They exchanged a glance, both wondering if there was something going on between the two.
"Little brother, who is this? Aren't you going to introduce me?" The beautiful woman in the red dress walked over. Her lovely phoenix eyes swept thoughtfully across the three of them, then settled on Ji Xuan.
Xu Lei smiled awkwardly. "Oh, I almost forgot. Everyone, this is my older sister, Xu Ranran. Sis, these three are my high school classmates: Ji Xuan, Chen Daolin, and Lin Xiao." At last, he remembered there were two other people with Ji Xuan.
Xu Ranran gave a cool reply. "Oh."
Her manner was cold.
Xu Ranran was displeased. Her younger brother was the dignified second young master of the Xu Family and its future heir, yet he was so warm and friendly with ordinary high school classmates. More importantly, she could tell that her brother, Xu Lei, seemed to like that tall, graceful Ji Xuan, with her unusual air about her. That was what really bothered her.
How could a young master of the Xu Family like an ordinary woman?
So Xu Ranran didn't bother hiding her disdain, letting her coldness show. They were just ordinary people from the lower rungs of society. There were plenty of people like them who fawned on the powerful. Xu Ranran wondered if Ji Xuan knew who her brother was and was deliberately trying to latch onto the Xu Family.
Hah. Did these women have no sense of their own place?
Xu Ranran decided she'd better remind her brother later not to let the woman in front of him lead him astray.
"Little brother, the eldest daughter of the Yang Family is still waiting for us. We can't keep her waiting. Let's go." Xu Ranran smiled.
Xu Xin's expression stiffened for a moment, then returned to normal. He apologized to the composed Ji Xuan and the others. "Let's catch up another time."
Watching the Xu siblings leave, Chen Daolin asked Ji Xuan, "Does he like you?"
Lin Xiao stared at Chen Daolin in disbelief. So much for me saying you had no sense—you really don't! How could he ask a girl something like that so bluntly?
She turned to Ji Xuan, looking utterly serious. "Does Xu Lei like you?"
Ji Xuan: "..."
Meanwhile, the Xu siblings, already on their way out, were having a conversation of their own.
"Little brother, do you like that girl, Ji Xuan?" As the eldest daughter of the Xu Family, Xu Ranran put all her imposing force into interrogating her younger brother.
Xu Lei hesitated, then his face set with resolve. "Yes." He did like Ji Xuan, and his feelings hadn't changed. But he didn't know whether she felt the same way about him.
Xu Ranran was exasperated. "You're my little brother, the second young master of the Xu Family. How can you like an ordinary woman? I'm telling you, you'd better put that idea out of your head and let the family arrange a proper blind date. Otherwise, I'll tell Mom and Dad about this."
The Xu Family was one of the twelve great families of the HR Alliance in Huaxia. As the second young master, Xu Lei was the person most likely to inherit the family. His marriage was no longer something he could decide on his own; it could affect the entire family.
"Sis..." Xu Lei said helplessly. "I'll handle my own affairs."
"Calling me Sis won't help."
In a private room at the café, two young women sat together chatting. One of them was none other than Zhuge Qing.
"Qingqing, you went to all this trouble to come see me, and now I'm making you come along while I go on a blind date. I'm really sorry." The beautiful young woman in a white dress held Zhuge Qing's hand and apologized.
"It's fine, Leilei. I had nothing else to do, so I might as well come out and get some fresh air with you." Zhuge Qing looked a little more haggard than before, but otherwise seemed well.
"I heard your family arranged for you to meet someone from the Xu Family?" Zhuge Qing asked.
"Yeah, the second young master of the Xu Family. I think his name is Xu Lei." Yang Lei sounded resigned. She was instinctively against blind dates, but she couldn't go against her family's wishes, so she'd come to humor them.
"By the way, Qingqing, I heard you took the Martial Artist Practical Examination a few days ago. How did it go?" Yang Lei asked curiously.
"I..." Zhuge Qing recalled the terrifying Rat Tide, then thought of Han Lei, followed by Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan. Her expression grew somber. All of it had been weighing on her, and she couldn't talk to anyone about it. Since she was with a close friend today, Zhuge Qing simply poured out her troubles to Yang Lei.
"I see. Are Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan—the ones who saved you—really going to the Elite Training Camp at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall?" Yang Lei asked, grabbing Zhuge Qing's hand.
Just then, Xu Lei and Xu Ranran entered the private room, arriving just in time to hear Yang Lei's question.
"..."
After Yang Lei and Zhuge Qing left, Xu Ranran and Xu Lei sat in the private room. Xu Ranran suddenly said, "Little brother, I take back what I said before."
"Sis?" Xu Lei was confused.
"You can go ahead and try pursuing Ji Xuan."
"..."
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