The Fragrance of Tea Overflows

The atmosphere on the badminton court was incredibly heavy. Xiao Yun stared at Liu Tingting with eyes full of killing intent, while Liu Tingting glanced sideways to size up Su Muzhi. Su Muzhi, meanwhile, was smiling like a blooming flower as she winked at Jiang Linyuan.

They say three women make a show, but what exactly was this performance? Empresses in the Palace?

Am I holding the script for the Emperor?

"Senior Jiang, don't space out while serving."

Su Muzhi stood in front of the net, speaking with a mischievous smile.

Since this girl is using me as bait, it wouldn't be excessive to collect some interest.

Liu Tingting stared at this incredibly pretty "Junior Su," feeling a bit wary. Refusing to be outdone, she added in a soft voice:

"It's okay, classmate Jiang. Even though we aren't on the same team, we can still cheer for each other!"

"This... green tea!"

Xiao Yun had now transformed into an angry potato, gripping her racket tightly with her cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish, glaring fiercely at Jiang Linyuan:

"Give me the shuttlecock! I'll serve!"

Jiang Linyuan handed the shuttlecock over, watching everything before him with great interest.

Women fighting is the most interesting thing! It's fun to watch!

Fight! Fight!

"Ha!"

Xiao Yun gathered all her strength and launched a backhand serve to the backcourt, heading straight for Liu Tingting.

Although Liu Tingting was a "green tea," she actually had decent badminton skills, not to mention the advantage of her height.

"This classmate, don't be anxious, stay steady."

She countered with ease, smiling as she offered a reminder.

It seemed she still hadn't realized that Xiao Yun was Xiao Hei's girlfriend.

Xiao Yun realized this too, becoming even more furious, and unleashed a violent smash!

Jiang Linyuan, on the other hand, was quite relaxed, just coasting along and watching the spectacle.

This is the way of the golden mean.

However, someone else didn't think so.

"Bang!"

With a loud noise, the shuttlecock flew past Jiang Linyuan. Before he could even react, it landed on the ground with a thud.

"Senior Jiang, I accidentally scored a point. Pay attention to the game."

Su Muzhi waved her racket, beaming with smiles.

Xiao Yun, on the side, also noticed Jiang Linyuan's distracted state and said with dissatisfaction:

"If you're going to play, then play properly!"

Then, she whispered:

"If we win, I can introduce Sister Muzhi to you."

Hm? Key element detected.

I was just worrying about a lack of intelligence; this is like having a pillow delivered just as I'm getting sleepy.

Hearing the keyword, Jiang Linyuan's eyes lit up, staring at Xiao Yun until she felt flustered:

"Is that true?"

"...It's true."

Xiao Yun swallowed hard, feeling that the aura around Jiang Linyuan had suddenly changed.

"Hmph, Liu Tingting and Su Muzhi, I will make sure they don't leave here unscathed!"

His own badminton skills weren't exactly top-tier, but having practiced with Jiang Zhiyao since he was a child, he certainly had a few tricks up his sleeve.

After a few rounds of back-and-forth, Su Muzhi seized an opportunity, set her racket, leaped high into the air, and the shuttlecock flew out fiercely!

Jiang Linyuan was stunned, barely returning a net shot with a backhand, and Su Muzhi followed up with a high lob.

Alright, alright! So you like playing high lobs, huh?

Damn it, I'll smash anything that goes high! You started the smashes! Don't blame me!

Jiang Linyuan quickly stepped back, pushed off the ground to leap into the air, and swung his racket with all his might!

"Boom!"

"Holy crap! Who fired a gun!"

People playing nearby heard the commotion and looked over.

When they saw what happened, they were all stunned. Good heavens, he was practically doing a high jump!

A beautiful, violent smash grazed past Su Muzhi. She stood frozen in place; clearly, she hadn't been able to react to Jiang Linyuan's sudden burst of power either.

"Junior Su, I accidentally scored a point. Do be careful when you play."

Jiang Linyuan mimicked Su Muzhi's tone from earlier as he replied.

This moment was exactly like that moment before.

So you like to mock people, huh! Come on then!

"Holy crap, this guy is a beast. He doesn't hold back at all against a girl!"

"Hmph, only a man like this is worthy of competing on the same court as me..."

"What a high-level smash. Speaking of high-level..."

A group of three women and one man was already rare, and with them being such attractive people amidst such a volatile atmosphere, it was no surprise.

Soon, many spectators ran over to watch.

Su Muzhi picked up the shuttlecock and stared at Jiang Linyuan, the smile on her face never wavering.

She suddenly turned her head to look at Liu Tingting:

"Senior, you must be tired. Let me play a singles match against him."

Liu Tingting was still immersed in the handsome posture Jiang Linyuan had displayed during that split-second smash.

Badminton was a very intuitive sport, and the sight of a violent smash, in particular, allowed spectators to truly feel that burst of raw power.

Simply put, if Liu Tingting had only intended to treat Jiang Linyuan as a backup option at first, she was now genuinely craving him.

He was handsome and played beautifully; a man like this would give her plenty of face when she took him out to meet others. He was a prime catch worth showing off.

How could she possibly hand him over to someone else?

"I'm not tired yet..."

Just as Liu Tingting opened her mouth, she saw Su Muzhi stepping closer, her smile still radiant as she whispered with a laugh:

"You can 'farm' whoever you want in the future, but right now, you are tired."

Liu Tingting instinctively took a few steps back.

What is wrong with this woman? Is she really going to drop the act already?

Fine, fine, fine. She puts on a pure and cute act in front of Jiang Linyuan, but shows her true colors the moment she's with me!

Just wait until I get my hands on you!

"You wouldn't want your 'fish pond' to explode, would you? If you aren't tired today, you're going to be exhausted later."

Su Muzhi rested her racket on Liu Tingting's shoulder and said softly.

The racket wasn't heavy, but Liu Tingting felt an immense weight pressing down on her shoulder.

What a crazy woman!?

Never mind how she knew about her 'fish pond'; she suspected that if she didn't agree right now, Su Muzhi might just swing that racket right at her face.

Forget it, there will be other days.

Liu Tingting forced a smile:

"I am a bit tired. I'll go take a break."

Xiao Yun was naturally unwilling and just about to say something, but she saw Su Muzhi pat her on the shoulder:

"Xiao Yun, you head off. Let me play singles against Senior Jiang."

Looking at Su Muzhi's smile, Xiao Yun felt a shiver run down her spine.

It's over. I forgot about Sister Muzhi's refusal to admit defeat; she's definitely going to try and get her revenge.

Giving Jiang Linyuan a sympathetic look, Xiao Yun nodded and left the court.

"Oh, Senior Jiang, it's just the two of us now?"

Su Muzhi's smile grew even more intense as she looked at Jiang Linyuan.

At this moment, Jiang Linyuan was watching Xiao Yun's retreating back.

My intelligence officer! What are you doing! Didn't you say you were going to introduce Su Muzhi!

Su Muzhi looked at Jiang Linyuan and said:

"Senior Jiang, you're quite something, aren't you? Playing with other girls while being so distracted? Are you planning to keep a foot in both boats?"

Then, she acted as if she had just realized something and laughed mischievously:

"Don't tell me you're also planning to make a move on Xiao Yun? They say you shouldn't covet a friend's wife; how could you do this to your roommate?"

What kind of nonsense is this woman spouting?

"Junior Su, you have such an interesting way of speaking. I am actually a very devoted person."

Jiang Linyuan replied.

Su Muzhi smiled and retorted:

"Really? I thought Senior Jiang wanted to pursue both me and Liu Tingting?"

As expected of an A-rank Cha Cha, she really is difficult to deal with.

Jiang Linyuan thought to himself, then said righteously:

"Junior Sister Su, our relationship is purely platonic."

"Do not tarnish the friendship between us! If there is a next time, I will be angry!"

"I will forgive you this once, but don't do it again."

Su Muzhi tightened her grip on her racket involuntarily, and said with a stiff, insincere smile:

"How about a full-effort match against me?"

"No."

Jiang Linyuan refused flatly; the difficulty of clearing an A-rank Cha Cha was too high, and there were no rewards to be gained at this stage.

Can't you see the B-rank Cha Cha over there winking at me? I need to go farm rewards from her!

"If you win, I can help you set up a date with a pretty girl."

Su Muzhi said.

Tch, the same trick won't work on a Saint Seiya twice!

"It's the head of your External Relations Department, you know? Aren't you interested, Senior Jiang?"

But one shouldn't speak too definitively; one must learn to be flexible in life, right?

Hearing this, Jiang Linyuan stopped in his tracks again:

"For real?"

"Truer than pearls."

Su Muzhi covered her mouth and laughed.