Deceiving

The Spring Festival passed, and time arrived in February.

These days, Xu Qing had been living at Qin Lin's home, spending every day very happily because he could eat delicious food every single day.

Moreover, Qin Lin would often take him out to have fun.

In comparison, when he was at the Xu Family Manor, Xu Xin rarely took him out to play because, as the daughter of the Xu family, she often lacked that kind of freedom.

Most of the time, Xu Qing would just stay inside the Xu Family Manor with Xu Xin, rarely stepping out.

Of course, Xu Qing had not forgotten to practice his guiding technique every day; he had promised Qin Lin that he would work hard to become stronger.

Qin Lin had also picked up her training again, practicing alongside Xu Qing every day.

"Let's go, we're heading to the Limit General Hall to test your fighter rank," Qin Lin said one day as she took Xu Qing out.

She had tied her hair into a high ponytail, a rare look that brought out an inherent heroic spirit; even after working as a university teacher for several years, it did not affect her aura as a War General-level fighter in the slightest.

The off-road vehicle sped along the wide road, and in less than twenty minutes, they arrived at the Limit Dojo building in the city center.

This place could also be called the Limit General Hall of Jiangnan Base City.

It was not Xu Qing's first time here; it was his third.

"Let's go," Qin Lin smiled, took Xu Qing's hand, and walked into the General Hall building.

Qin Lin and Xu Qing arrived at the first-floor lobby.

"Oh? Qin Lin, you're here," a middle-aged man walked over, a look of surprise on his face.

The man was someone Xu Qing recognized—he had met him twice before—it was Wu Jiang.

When he saw Xu Qing beside Qin Lin, he grew even more surprised. "It's you, little guy."

"Hello, Uncle," Xu Qing greeted him naturally.

"Uh, I feel like you called me 'Uncle' last time too, why is it 'Big Uncle' this time?" Wu Jiang's eye twitched; 'Uncle' sounded at least a bit younger, didn't it?

"Ah, it's all the same, all the same," Xu Qing waved his hand.

Only then did Wu Jiang notice that Qin Lin and Xu Qing were holding hands. He froze for a moment, his gaze darting between the two. "Qin Lin, you two are..."

"As you can see, Xiao Qing is my boyfriend now," Qin Lin said with a faint smile, admitting it directly.

Hearing this answer, Wu Jiang's mouth fell open. He remembered that Qin Lin was only seven or eight years younger than him, putting her at around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

As for Xu Qing, he remembered that when he last saw him, he was seventeen; he should be eighteen by now.

That was a full ten-year gap.

"Hey, Big Uncle, what's with that expression? Is it that strange for us to be a couple?" Xu Qing stared at him.

Wu Jiang gave a sheepish smile. "Not at all, it's just a bit unexpected. I didn't think you two would become a couple."

He was a fighter himself and had seen many older male fighters marry women much younger than them. Ten years was nothing; there were even gaps of twenty years, such as forty-year-olds marrying twenty-year-olds—there were quite a few of those.

Furthermore, many high-level fighters would even take multiple wives.

Therefore, even if there was a ten-year gap between Qin Lin and Xu Qing, it really didn't amount to much.

"Anyway, Qin Lin, I wish you both happiness," Wu Jiang said.

Qin Lin smiled slightly. "Thank you, Brother Wu."

"What's there to thank me for? Right, I should remind you, that guy Ye Feng is here too, in the training hall," Wu Jiang shook his head, then remembered something.

"Mm," Qin Lin only nodded faintly, her tone very cold.

Seeing Qin Lin's indifferent demeanor, Wu Jiang couldn't help but feel pity for that Ye Feng.

Ye Feng and Qin Lin had become fighters during the same period; he was two years older than Qin Lin and had always been in love with her.

It was just a pity that Qin Lin had no feelings for Ye Feng at all—a classic case of the falling flower having intentions while the flowing water remains heartless.

"Linlin, who is Ye Feng? He isn't my love rival, is he?" Xu Qing pricked up his ears.

"Nothing of the sort," Qin Lin laughed.

However, Wu Jiang spoke up. "Little guy, you're right. Ye Feng is your love rival. He has always liked Qin Lin, and he still does now."

"Linlin, that seems a bit unfair. I have a love rival, but you don't," Xu Qing muttered.

"I told you, it's nothing of the sort. You are not allowed to go out and recruit love rivals for me, do you hear?" Qin Lin cupped his face and rubbed it vigorously.

Xu Qing had no choice but to agree. "I know, I know, stop rubbing, my face is getting squashed."

Seeing the interaction between the two, Wu Jiang knew their relationship was genuine, and he no longer had any doubts.

"Right, Qin Lin, what are you doing here bringing your little boyfriend?" Wu Jiang asked.

"Getting Xiao Qing's rank tested," Qin Lin replied.

"So fast? It's only been half a year, and this little guy has already broken through from a junior fighter to an intermediate fighter? Isn't he in university? He's actually been training seriously? Not bad at all," Wu Jiang said in surprise.

As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Qing's expression shifted slightly, as if he felt a bit guilty.

"Brother Wu, you know Xiao Qing?" Qin Lin finally realized this question.

Wu Jiang nodded with a smile. "Of course. The last time this little guy came to participate in the prospective fighter assessment, Supervisor Bai arranged for me to be in charge. Later, he seemed to have passed the actual combat assessment too. A seventeen-year-old fighter, tsk tsk."

"So that's how it is," Qin Lin understood, looking at Xu Qing with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

She realized in an instant that Xu Qing must have deliberately hidden his strength during the quasi-martial artist assessment.

Meeting Qin Lin's gaze, Xu Qing gave a silly laugh and played dumb.

"In that case, Brother Wu, I'll take Xiao Qing to test his martial artist rank," Qin Lin said, choosing not to expose the matter in front of Wu Jiang.

"As it happens, I'm free right now, so I'll go take a look as well," Wu Jiang smiled.

Xu Qing quickly interjected, "Uncle, don't you need to cultivate? How can a martial artist say they have nothing to do? You must cherish every single second and strive to improve your strength."

"No, I just finished a session and came out to take a break," Wu Jiang said, amused.

"Uncle, you really lack perseverance. What do you mean by 'take a break'? Look at you, you're not even flushed or out of breath; you don't look like you need a break at all. You should go right back to cultivating. We martial artists must have the determination that if it doesn't kill us, we train until we're half-dead. Uncle, your awareness is still far too low," Xu Qing said, wagging his finger.

He looked just like a senior lecturing a junior, sounding incredibly old-fashioned.

Qin Lin was nearly convulsing with laughter, never expecting that Xu Qing could spout such nonsense just to get rid of Wu Jiang.

"If it doesn't kill you, train until you're half-dead? Isn't that a bit exaggerated?" Wu Jiang's mouth twitched; that was far too ruthless, surely there was no need for that.

"See, see? I told you your awareness wasn't high enough. You call that exaggerated? To survive the slaughter against monsters, no amount of desperate training is too much. What does a little fatigue even count for?"

"Uncle, listen to me and go back to cultivate. The effort you put in today will definitely help you in the future. Trust me, I wouldn't steer you wrong," Xu Qing continued to bluff.