Yan Yan's Lover? Can He Measure Up?

[Lovely Ye Lingling fan art from the comic]

So this pretty boy...

Ye Lingling's face turned bright red.

Her mind went into overdrive: Could he be... the legendary... lover???

Dugu Yan noticed Ye Lingling's gaze darting between her neck and Lin Jiang. Her face turned even redder, and she wished she could pull the covers over her head.

"Lingling, you... don't get the wrong idea! We're not what you think!"

Ye Lingling lowered her head, the tips of her ears bright red. "I-I wasn't thinking anything..."

But the look on her face gave everything away.

Dugu Yan: "..."

That was it. Even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't wash away this misunderstanding.

Ye Lingling cleared her throat, trying hard to look normal.

"Ahem... So, Yan Yan, you..."

Dugu Yan pulled the covers up, leaving only her eyes showing.

"Um... I think I'll take the day off after all."

Ye Lingling nodded, but her brows drew together slightly, as if something was weighing on her mind.

"All right."

Dugu Yan could tell something was wrong. She poked her head out. "What's the matter, Lingling? You look troubled."

Ye Lingling lowered her head, her voice growing even softer.

"It's nothing... I'll just team up with that Osler..."

Dugu Yan froze, then suddenly remembered—

She and Ye Lingling were both members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team.

Every month, each team member had to earn a certain number of wins in the Soul Fighting Arena.

The seven-person team battles were easy enough to manage, but two-on-two Soul Fighting...

Ye Lingling was introverted and didn't like socializing. Before, she had only ever joined two-on-two matches with Dugu Yan.

She had never accepted anyone else's invitations.

And there were only a few days left in the month.

Dugu Yan had spent the past few days thinking about Lin Jiang every day and barely going to school. She had long since forgotten about this.

Ye Lingling was still nowhere near the number of wins she needed this month.

Dugu Yan's heart tightened. She threw off the covers and tried to get out of bed.

"Lingling, I was careless. How could I forget about this?"

The moment her feet touched the floor, her knees buckled, and she pitched forward.

Ye Lingling reacted quickly and caught her.

"Yan Yan, don't push yourself."

Dugu Yan clutched the edge of the bed, her legs trembling as she gritted her teeth in frustration.

"My useless body..."

Ye Lingling helped her sit back on the bed and said softly, "It's okay, Yan Yan. Osler and Yu Feng invited me to team up with them too..."

But there wasn't a trace of happiness in her voice.

Seeing her pretend everything was fine only made Dugu Yan feel more guilty.

Lingling was already introverted. Apart from her, she hardly spoke to anyone.

Making her team up with those two cowards, Osler and Yu Feng, was asking too much of her.

"No." Dugu Yan shook her head. "I won't let you suffer."

She turned toward the living room.

Lin Jiang was sitting there drinking tea, one leg crossed over the other, looking perfectly at ease.

Dugu Yan's eyes lit up.

"Lin Jiang!"

Lin Jiang's hand paused around his teacup. He turned to look at her.

"Yeah?"

Dugu Yan pointed at Ye Lingling and said with complete confidence, "You're going with Lingling to the Soul Fighting Arena!"

Lin Jiang: "..."

Ye Lingling froze too. She looked at Dugu Yan, then at Lin Jiang, and her face turned red again.

"Yan, Yan Yan? How could he..."

Dugu Yan waved a hand. "Why not? He's really strong!"

She turned to Lin Jiang, her eyes clearly warning him not to even think about saying no.

Lin Jiang put down his teacup and looked from Dugu Yan to Ye Lingling, who was standing by the bed, at a loss.

So I'm just a brick, huh? Wherever there's a hole, I get hauled over to fill it?

He was about to say something when Ye Lingling spoke first.

"N-no, it's okay... I can manage on my own..."

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's. She twisted the hem of her clothes, stole a glance at Lin Jiang, then quickly lowered her head.

But her thoughts were in turmoil: This pretty boy looks even younger than us. Can he really handle it?

She was a healing-type Soul Master. In two-on-two Soul Fighting, her partner needed to be strong enough to fight.

But this pretty boy...

It was hard to say whether he was even level thirty.

Dugu Yan took Ye Lingling's hand and smiled. "Don't be polite, Lingling. This guy has nothing better to do. Let him go."

Ye Lingling tried to refuse again, but Dugu Yan had already blocked every escape.

"Besides, just look at him. You'll be proud to take him out with you."

Ye Lingling: "..."

She stole another glance at Lin Jiang.

He certainly was handsome enough to make an impression.

But—

What good was a pretty face? If he wasn't strong, he'd just get beaten up in the arena!

Dugu Yan seemed to see what she was worried about. She patted the back of Ye Lingling's hand, her tone firm.

"Don't you trust me? He's definitely stronger than I am. You can relax!"

"Huh?"

Ye Lingling's big blue eyes widened in disbelief.

Stronger than Dugu Yan?

There couldn't be many people in the whole world who were stronger than Dugu Yan at their age, could there?

Could this Lin Jiang really handle it?

Dugu Yan had already made the decision, leaving no room for argument. "Lin Jiang, go!"

Lin Jiang leaned against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow.

"Did either of you ask what I thought?"

Dugu Yan glared at him, entirely unapologetic. "You brat! Don't act like you're getting the short end of the stick!"

Lin Jiang's gaze fell on the red marks on Dugu Yan's neck and collarbone. He fell silent for two seconds.

"...All right."

He straightened up and nodded to Ye Lingling.

"Then let's go now."

Ye Lingling lowered her head, murmured, "Thank you," and followed him out.

When she reached the door, she glanced back at Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan gave her an encouraging thumbs-up, then flopped face-first onto her pillow and went back to lying around.

Ye Lingling looked away and watched the unhurried figure walking ahead.

Suddenly, she felt a little nervous.

Going out with Yan Yan's... lover felt strange.

What if he lost?

What if he lost badly?

Then Osler and Yu Feng would surely start gloating again.

She clenched the hem of her clothes and silently followed Lin Jiang.

The figure ahead walked at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow, without the slightest hint of nervousness.

Ye Lingling bit her lip.

Was this guy really dependable?

The Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.

Lin Jiang and Ye Lingling entered through the main doors, one after the other.

Neither of them said a word along the way.

Ye Lingling simply followed behind Lin Jiang with her face red and her head lowered, like a little shadow.

Inside the hall, people milled about amid the noise and bustle.

There were Soul Masters registering, spectators who had come to watch the excitement, and uniformed staff hurrying back and forth.

Lin Jiang looked around, then headed straight for the registration counter.

After a quick registration—

"Martial Soul?"

"Golden..." Lin Jiang paused. "Golden Scale."

The staff member behind the counter glanced up at him, then continued writing.

"Name?"

Lin Jiang thought for a moment.

Better not draw too much attention. He should pick an alias.

How about "Dragon King"?

Wouldn't that draw even more attention?

"Golden Scale," he said.

Golden Scale sounded low-key, but still had a little flair.

The staff member scribbled a few strokes and handed him an iron badge.

"All set, Mr. Golden Scale. Here's your registration badge. Your starting rank is Iron Soul Fighter. You can rank up by accumulating wins."

Lin Jiang took the badge, turned it over in his hand, then slipped it into his pocket.

Just then—