Yu Tianheng looked at Dugu Yan's resolute gaze, and his heart gave a sudden jolt.
Although he had no idea how Qin Feng had offended Yanyan enough to make her this furious, since Yanyan had spoken, the kid's days were numbered.
"Good! Since you put it that way, Yanyan, I'll play with him myself."
Yu Tianheng turned around, his gaze on Qin Feng filled with cruelty.
Since Yanyan wanted to vent her anger, he couldn't be blamed for showing no mercy.
Ye Lingling, standing beside Dugu Yan, furrowed her pretty brows slightly.
She gently tugged at Dugu Yan's sleeve and spoke in a low voice:
"Yanzi, isn't this a bit too much?"
Ye Lingling might have been cool-tempered, but she had a very kind heart.
In her view, Qin Feng had been a little rash, but he didn't deserve this.
If Yu Tianheng went all out, someone could die.
Hearing her friend's attempt to stop her, the frost on Dugu Yan's face softened a little, but the shame and fury in her eyes didn't diminish at all.
How could she explain this sort of thing to Lingling?
Should she say that the bastard had been fantasizing about her figure in his diary?
If she said something like that out loud, how could she ever show her face again?
"Lingling, stay out of this."
Dugu Yan leaned close to Ye Lingling's ear and gritted her teeth as she said, "Qin Feng is a shameless lecher through and through. He has no shame at all! If I don't teach him a lesson today, I won't be able to quench the hatred in my heart!"
"And no matter how badly he gets beaten later, you are not allowed to heal him!"
"I want him to hurt! I want him to learn who he can mess with and who he can't!"
Ye Lingling froze slightly.
A lecher?
The Qin Feng she remembered hadn't talked much, but his eyes had seemed clear. He hadn't looked like some wicked villain.
What was wrong with Yanzi?
While Ye Lingling was puzzling over it, Qin Feng wasn't idle either.
[Ye Lingling is here too!]
[Tsk, tsk, that bearing of hers really is one of a kind in the Douluo Continent.]
[Ye Lingling is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, beautiful and kind. When I first came to the academy, people ostracized me and I couldn't even get a meal. It was thanks to her that someone secretly brought me a few steamed buns. I, Qin Feng, will always remember that kindness.]
The contents of the diary slowly appeared in midair before Ye Lingling.
At the same time, a black notebook radiating a faint glow silently appeared in her palm.
Ye Lingling's delicate body trembled, and the eyes that had been as calm as still water instantly churned with stormy waves.
Th-this... what was this?
She instinctively looked at Dugu Yan beside her, only to find Dugu Yan staring fixedly at the arena, seemingly unaware of the sudden change.
Ye Lingling lowered her head, her gaze falling on the diary.
As the latest lines appeared one by one, the pretty face hidden beneath her veil reddened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
[Ye Lingling's big, clear, innocent eyes are so captivating. That black veil, barely hiding her face, adds an alluring air of mystery that makes you want to pull it down and see what she looks like.]
[Especially those jade-like legs—they're long and straight, practically one of the top picks on Douluo's must-eat list!]
Must-eat list...
Ye Lingling felt her ears burning.
Although she didn't quite understand what the phrase meant, anyone could tell from the context that it was definitely nothing decent.
This Qin Feng...
He seemed so honest and straightforward, but he was such a womanizer at heart?
And he wanted to pull off her veil?
A wave of embarrassment and indignation surged through Ye Lingling. Her urge to plead for Qin Feng had faded considerably.
No wonder Yanzi was so furious and wanted Yu Tianheng to beat him half to death.
Someone with a mind full of wicked thoughts like that really did deserve a lesson!
However, when the next passage in the diary appeared, the indignation in Ye Lingling's heart suddenly froze.
[Come to think of it, Ye Lingling is a pitiful girl too!]
[Although the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul is powerful and hailed as the number one healing Martial Soul, its wielders bear a curse: only one can be passed down in each generation.]
[Only two Soul Masters with the Nine Heart Begonia can exist in the world at the same time. The next generation can only truly grow up once the previous generation dies.]
[In the end, to keep her mother alive and prevent this inheritance from being severed, Ye Lingling can only choose to grow old alone. She'll never marry, and she won't even have a close friend she can confide in.]
[What a wonderful girl, yet she has to bear such a heavy fate.]
The fingers gripping the diary trembled slightly.
This was the greatest secret of her family. No outsider could possibly know it; only her immediate family did.
How did Qin Feng know?
Moreover, the deep regret and affection between the lines stirred something in Ye Lingling's heart, long sealed away in icy solitude.
Ever since she was little, because of this curse, she hadn't dared to grow close to anyone, nor had she dared to hope for love.
She was like a begonia growing on the edge of a cliff—beautiful, yet lonely.
And yet now, someone had seen the deepest pain in her heart through this mysterious diary.
Then the final lines appeared before her eyes.
[Now that I, Qin Feng, have come to this world, I won't let her grow old alone!]
[Those legs are so fine... ahem, she's such a wonderful girl, of course I'll be the one to protect her!]
Ye Lingling was stunned.
An indescribable warmth rose from the depths of her heart, quickly spreading through her whole body and even washing away the embarrassment caused by that indecent "must-eat list."
He wouldn't let her grow old alone...
Did that mean he wanted to...
The blush on Ye Lingling's face spread to her neck. Thankfully, her veil hid it; otherwise, anyone who saw her would have been stunned.
"Hmph, easy for him to say."
Ye Lingling silently spat the words, but the corners of her mouth lifted slightly despite herself.
"He calls me a wonderful girl, yet he's also got his eye on my legs..."
"Men really are all pigs."
Though she scolded him in her heart, the resentment she'd felt toward Qin Feng had already vanished without a trace.
"Lingling?"
Just then, Dugu Yan noticed something was off with her friend.
She glanced at the diary's contents in her mind and guessed what had happened.
Dugu Yan's beautiful eyes widened in surprise.
"Lingling, do you have a diary too?"
Ye Lingling came back to her senses, nodded lightly, and a complicated look flashed through her eyes.
"Mm, it just appeared."
Dugu Yan froze at first, then seemed to understand. She said, as if exasperated by her friend's lack of sense:
"Lingling, don't believe his lies! He's a complete fraud!"
Ye Lingling didn't argue. She simply reached out and gave Dugu Yan a light pat on her shapely bottom.
Smack.
The crisp sound wasn't loud, but it was especially clear between the two of them.
"Ah!"
Dugu Yan cried out in surprise and jumped half a step away like a startled rabbit. Clutching her bottom, she stared at her usually dignified and reserved friend in disbelief.