"Thump, thump, thump—"
That evening, someone knocked on Su Qing's door again. Before seeing that lovely face, he'd assumed it was Bei Bei, since Bei Bei had been bringing him meals these past few days.
"Sister Lexuan!"
Su Qing's face lit up. He remembered perfectly well what Zhang Lexuan had said: if he won the championship, she'd be with him. The finals hadn't even begun yet, but winning the competition would be a piece of cake for him.
Seeing him practically launch himself at her, Zhang Lexuan didn't push him away. She let him tumble into her arms. Su Qing was still a little shorter than Zhang Lexuan, so when he bowed his head, he could bury his whole face in her chest. Without blocking his nose, he could even catch the faint scent of magnolia on her.
Hearing Su Qing take a deep breath against her, Zhang Lexuan's pretty face flushed. She pinched his waist and chided him coyly, "How did I never realize you were such a little pervert?"
"You only just realized? Too late! Just surrender to me, obediently, my pretty!" He let out a wicked cackle.
The pinch made Su Qing shiver, but only worked him up even more. Not only did he start saying strange things, he kept letting out odd little laughs.
Zhang Lexuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Where had this brat learned to talk like that? But with the door wide open, she first drew him into the dorm room, then shut the door with her foot.
"You brat, where did you learn to say things like that? Who's surrendering to you? You haven't even won the championship yet. And from now on, no more of those weird laughs, got it?"
Only then did she begin to lecture him. But their position made it look more like they were flirting. Su Qing had been pushed down to sit on the bed, bracing himself with both hands so he wouldn't fall over. Zhang Lexuan leaned toward him, one leg planted diagonally on the floor and the other bent, its knee pressing into the mattress between his legs. Her left hand propped against the wall while her right tugged at the tie that went with his freshman uniform.
Their position made Su Qing feel light-headed. Gazing at Zhang Lexuan's sultry, half-lidded eyes, he was suddenly overcome by a surge of excitement. Kiss her!!!
The thought spread through his mind like ink dispersing in a lotus pond. His head grew hot, and he leaned forward with lightning speed. Zhang Lexuan felt a warm, faintly fragrant touch brush quickly across her lips. When she came to her senses, she met Su Qing's violet eyes, shimmering as if flames were burning within them. Perhaps it was an illusion, but she thought his pupils had turned into hearts.
But none of that mattered now. Such a brief, tentative taste clearly couldn't satisfy the restless heart beating inside her. His expressive eyes seemed to keep testing the boundaries of danger. So she stopped pretending to be reserved and leaned in again. The warm sensation returned, and the triumph of returning from victory with a prize in hand swept away her reason. They no longer lingered on a superficial touch, but embraced and savored each other's softness.
"Mmm..."
Before long, Su Qing let out a soft groan, and Zhang Lexuan finally released him. His nose had been blocked by accident, and he greedily gulped in air mixed with their scents. That was close—he'd nearly suffocated...
"Le... Lexuan, next time, could you turn your head a little? Otherwise, I can't breathe..."
Su Qing gazed at her pleadingly, but Zhang Lexuan tilted her head and let her eyes go unfocused, putting on an innocent, clueless look.
"Sister Lexuan, if you keep doing that, I'll... Mmph!"
Faced with Zhang Lexuan's ambush after feigning sweetness, Su Qing's eyes widened. Young people had no sense of honor... But he soon sank into it again. This time, Zhang Lexuan took his advice and turned her head slightly, allowing him the right to breathe...
"Teacher, if I had Xiaotao compete with Lexuan for him, would Lexuan kill Xiaotao?"
Below the freshman dormitory, Mu En had barely finished greeting Zhang Lexuan when Yan Shaozhe approached him with a probing question.
At this absurd question, Mu En struggled to lift his heavy eyelids and glanced at him before slowly replying, "How would I know what the children are up to? Why don't you ask Lexuan directly?"
"Teacher, I'm not joking."
Yan Shaozhe was a little embarrassed by the joking-sounding answer. He couldn't quite read Mu En's attitude, so he had to emphasize that he wasn't joking. Ask Zhang Lexuan himself? That would be like walking straight into a wall. Would she agree?
"I think that child can only accept feelings that aren't mixed with ulterior motives. If you so blatantly order Xiaotao to get together with him, you'll never be able to move him."
Seeing that Yan Shaozhe still looked the same, Mu En sighed. He was an old hand at matters of the heart, after all. Approaching someone so blatantly with an agenda wouldn't just fail to stir their heart; it would make them wary before you even got close. Especially since Ma Xiaotao's personality wasn't as balanced, measured, and adept at advancing or retreating as Zhang Lexuan's.
"But Xiaotao's Evil Fire problem is getting worse. I'm afraid she'll lose control again one day and turn into an Evil Soul Master..."
Thinking of Ma Xiaotao's condition, Yan Shaozhe was frantic with worry. But Mu En didn't answer. He simply vanished from his chair, leaving Yan Shaozhe utterly at a loss. In the end, he chose between the dignity of the dean and his disciple's future...
Two days later, the freshman assessment finals arrived. This time, Su Qing didn't bring his teammates. He Bin and Luo Luo knew their own limits and didn't want to become a weak link, so they decided to let Su Qing use the strategy of one person eating his fill while the whole family went hungry.
The finals venue had no spectator stands, so the teachers could only watch from the open space outside the ring. Compared to the semifinals, though, this time there were two more people among the spectators: Yan Shaozhe and Zhang Lexuan.
"Xiao Qing, we'll definitely win!"
Xiao Xiao, standing opposite Su Qing in the ring, pumped her little fist. She hadn't been very hopeful at first, but Huo Yuhao had said he still had a secret weapon he hadn't used. Remembering their last battle against Dai Huabin's team, Xiao Xiao immediately relaxed. Huo Yuhao wouldn't make empty promises, would he?
"Mm, I'm looking forward to seeing how much you've improved."
Seeing Xiao Xiao's confident swagger, Su Qing didn't dampen her spirits. Instead, he gave them a boost. As for why they seemed so sure of victory, he could guess. At this point, Electrolux had probably awakened too. He'd likely log on and take over as soon as the battle began.
But honestly, although Su Qing's spiritual power was less than Huo Yuhao's in quantity, its quality was genuinely at the First-Level God level.
Huo Yuhao couldn't use Electrolux to take over and attack his Sea of Consciousness. There was no way he could do that, so Su Qing wasn't worried at all.
"Wind-Gathering Wing-Weaving!"
As soon as the referee announced the start of the match, Su Qing's First Soul Ring lit up. In the next instant, he teleported behind Huo Yuhao, holding the spear by its butt and sweeping it sideways, aiming to knock him straight out of the ring. But Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong naturally weren't going to stand by and watch. The Wing Blade and the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron immediately attacked from above, to his left, and behind him.
He first swung his spear and sent Wang Dong flying. Then he leaped after her, intending to knock her out of the ring first. But in the next instant, he felt himself being locked onto.
A strange feeling welled up inside Su Qing. He glanced back and met Huo Yuhao's hazy gray eyes.
"Little friend, why can't I see the slightest trace of surprise in your eyes?"