Qin Wei

The one who opened the door for Chen Yuan was a young girl.

She looked about sixteen or seventeen, still of high school age. She had delicate, pretty features, a tall figure, fair skin, and radiated youthful vitality.

Memories from the past surfaced, allowing Chen Yuan to recognize the girl. She was Qin Zhan's daughter, Qin Wei.

What caught Chen Yuan off guard, however, was that along with information about the girl, those memories also contained a deeply buried trace of affection.

Chen Yuan's expression turned strange. The memories that had suddenly flooded his mind made him realize something was off, and after digesting them, he found himself seeing things in a new light.

In Chen Yuan's view, his predecessor's personality had been utterly twisted. He liked her but did not dare pursue her, trailing after her every day with eager eyes, hoping she would notice his feelings. In the end, he had placed her higher and higher on a pedestal while imagining himself as increasingly lowly.

"Wasn't this just being a total simp?" Chen Yuan could not help grumbling inwardly. "No wonder the previous me always seemed a little inferior in front of Qin Zhan. Case closed."

Chen Yuan was immensely relieved that his predecessor's memories could not affect him. Otherwise, if it had been the previous Chen Yuan, he probably would have been unable to resist going up to Qin Wei and fussing over her the moment he saw her.

But Chen Yuan himself had absolutely no intention of fawning over anyone. He secretly decided to stay farther away from Qin Wei in the future and avoid trouble.

Meanwhile, when Qin Wei saw Chen Yuan standing blankly at the door, she remembered her father's earlier instructions, and her expression immediately cooled. "Why are you so late? And now that you're here, why aren't you coming in?"

Qin Wei's cold tone instead made Chen Yuan sigh in relief. He merely smiled, apologized, offered no explanation, and walked straight past her into the house.

The dining table was already covered with all kinds of delicacies. Qin Zhan was bringing out dishes, and when he saw Chen Yuan, he quickly called out, "Xiao Yuan, you're here. Sit down, dinner will be ready in a moment."

Chen Yuan answered with a smile and walked over to sit at the table.

Qin Wei followed Chen Yuan inside. Looking at his back, she found him extremely strange.

Based on Qin Wei's past experience, Chen Yuan should have immediately come over to hover around her, saying all sorts of dull, uninteresting things.

Though that behavior only made Qin Wei find him noisy, she had to admit that it had also secretly made her proud of her own charm.

Now that Chen Yuan had truly ignored her outright, Qin Wei could not help feeling an indescribable discomfort in her heart.

Qin Zhan, however, did not notice the subtle atmosphere between his daughter and Chen Yuan. Ever since Qin Wei had gradually grown up, he had been considering setting her up with Chen Yuan. After all, in this era, people were marrying younger and younger. Many started dating in high school and married as soon as they graduated.

In Qin Zhan's eyes, Chen Yuan's qualifications were excellent. He was neat and handsome, had decent talent, and his strength as a Martial Artist was enough to support a family. Not to mention that he owned a detached villa. From an outsider's perspective, Chen Yuan was a bona fide tall, rich, handsome guy.

Besides, the boy had always treated Weiwei well. He knew how to care for people and was considerate in every way. No matter how Qin Zhan looked at it, he was an ideal match.

That was why, before calling Chen Yuan, he had already instructed Qin Wei and hinted that he wanted to bring the two together.

As for Qin Wei's own thoughts, he had not paid much attention to them. In Qin Zhan's view, the two had grown up together and could be considered childhood sweethearts. Qin Wei should not object.

What Qin Zhan did not know was that because the previous "Chen Yuan" had simped far too hard, it had backfired. Qin Wei had subconsciously come to look down on him. Then, upon hearing that her father wanted to match her with someone she looked down on, the resistance in her heart only grew stronger.

Even though Qin Wei felt that Chen Yuan seemed somewhat different today, the earlier hint had been too strong. It caused her to overlook Chen Yuan's change, and she kept a cold face throughout the meal as she ate in silence.

Chen Yuan, meanwhile, was happy to have some peace and quiet. He ate while casually responding to the topics Qin Zhan brought up.

Thus, a strange dinner unfolded. Both parties involved remained silent, while Qin Zhan alone awkwardly kept the conversation going.

It was not until halfway through the meal that Qin Zhan finally noticed something strange. Only he and Chen Yuan had been talking the whole time, while the other main character at the table had not said a word.

Qin Zhan gently kicked Qin Wei under the table. When she looked over, he gave her meaningful looks, signaling for her to speak.

Qin Wei frowned, then relaxed her brow. Suddenly, she smiled and said, "Chen Yuan, I heard that you were knocked into the hospital by an Iron-Haired Wild Boar in the Wilderness Zone before?"

As soon as she said that, Chen Yuan had yet to respond when Qin Zhan's face immediately darkened. He glanced faintly at Qin Wei, as though he had finally understood what his daughter was thinking.

Chen Yuan raised his brows and nodded. "That did happen."

Qin Wei drew out an "Oh," then said, "You should already be an Intermediate Warrior, right? How could you not even beat a Primary Beast Soldier?"

Upon hearing that, Qin Zhan's expression worsened, but for the sake of saving his daughter face, he still endured it without speaking.

"I am an Intermediate Warrior." Chen Yuan smiled faintly, showing no embarrassment at all. Instead, he mocked himself. "I was just inexperienced in real combat and let it exploit an opening. You should take it as a warning."

Because Chen Yuan had put himself down like that, Qin Wei found herself unable to continue. It was as if, if she kept pressing the matter, she would be the embarrassing one instead.

She could only give a sullen "Mm." After a long silence, she brought up another matter. "I'm about to become an Advanced Trainee at Limit Dojo."

There was a hint of pride in her tone, because everyone present understood that once she became an Advanced Trainee, she could receive a vial of Purple Light Dew from the dojo.

That also meant that Qin Wei, who had just turned seventeen this year, would soon become an official Martial Artist after drinking the Purple Light Dew.

Chen Yuan naturally understood the significance of becoming a Martial Artist at seventeen. He did not stint on praise. "Impressive. Becoming a Martial Artist at seventeen—becoming a War God in the future probably won't be difficult either."

When Qin Wei saw Chen Yuan looking like a complete outsider, the displeasure in her heart only grew. She said seriously, "The dojo has already talked with me. As long as I break through within a month, they can sign me to a Special Training contract, and I'll also receive ten million in startup funds."

Chen Yuan nodded repeatedly. "Impressive."

"You!" Seeing that Chen Yuan remained completely unmoved, Qin Wei became inexplicably angry. She stood up instinctively, about to say something.

Smack!

The bottom of a bowl struck the table heavily with a loud crash, interrupting Qin Wei.

Qin Zhan set down his bowl and looked at his daughter with a dark expression. "Sit down. What kind of behavior is this?"

Qin Wei bit her lip and stared silently at her father. After a moment, she pushed her bowl away. "I'm full."

With that, she turned and left.

Qin Zhan watched his daughter's retreating figure with a complicated expression. He then withdrew his gaze, and only after calming himself down did he force a smile at Chen Yuan. "That girl has been spoiled rotten. Don't take it to heart."

Chen Yuan waved a hand. "It's fine, it's fine. I didn't see anything today."

"Ah, what a mess." Qin Zhan sighed as well. He truly could not understand why Xiao Wei did not like such a good kid as Chen Yuan.

He had originally wanted to bring the two together, but now Qin Wei had mocked him and flaunted herself, while Chen Yuan had not even turned hostile on the spot. Qin Zhan found it unbelievable.

That only made Qin Zhan feel even more regretful. Chen Yuan had such a good temperament. Such a fine son-in-law had been pushed away just like that.

The dining table quickly fell silent. The two ate quietly, but Qin Zhan was so preoccupied that he could not even taste his food. Chen Yuan, on the other hand, remained fully focused on the delicacies before him.

After a while, Chen Yuan stood and thanked Qin Zhan. "I'm full. Thank you for the meal, Uncle Qin."

"Ah, I've wronged you today." Qin Zhan felt somewhat ashamed and was still apologizing to Chen Yuan on Qin Wei's behalf.

"It's fine. I didn't take it to heart at all." Chen Yuan waved his hands repeatedly. "Uncle Qin, I'll be heading back now. No need to see me off, really, no need..."

Qin Zhan insisted on seeing Chen Yuan to the door. Only after Chen Yuan disappeared around the corner did he sigh and close the door.

On the other side, Chen Yuan truly had not taken Qin Wei's behavior seriously, whether it was her mocking him for losing to an Iron-Haired Wild Boar or showing off about the Basic Training Camp.

As the saying went, as long as someone was weak enough, even their angry expression looked adorable.

Although Chen Yuan was not especially powerful right now, his horizons were unmatched across the entire Earth.

Qin Wei's words merely reminded Chen Yuan of a story. After catching a rotten mouse, an owl bragged to a phoenix flying through the sky, "Have you ever eaten such delicious food?"

When the phoenix approached, the owl glared and made threatening noises, afraid that the phoenix would steal its food.

Chen Yuan was the same. His sights were set only on the stars and the sea, on the depths of the universe, not on confining himself to a tiny planet and fighting an owl over a mouse.

So, once Chen Yuan left the Qin Family, he had already put everything that had happened behind him.

I wasted quite a bit of time. Tonight, I'll train extra hard. Chen Yuan looked down the road ahead as he thought.