Ye Lingling stopped in her tracks.
She glanced to the side.
There was no one there.
But when she turned back again,
she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Hey~"
A big-eared, chubby guy had suddenly appeared from who knew where.
He was standing very close to her.
It was Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun held a rose in his hand.
With an utterly greedy, blissful look on his face, he brought it close to his nostrils and took a deep, long sniff.
Then he said, "Hey, beautiful, are you here alone too?"
Ye Lingling: ...
Ye Lingling stared coldly at the fatso in front of her.
Her slightly furrowed brows
made it clear she didn't want to deal with him.
But Ma Hongjun didn't seem to notice.
Or rather,
he didn't care.
It was getting late.
There was no one around.
It was the perfect time to hit on a beauty.
If he could pull her into his arms tonight, right here and now,
it would be simply wonderful.
But
Ye Lingling only gave him a cold look.
She had never liked dealing with people.
And this fatso looked incredibly sleazy.
He disgusted her.
Ye Lingling ignored him.
She walked straight on,
passing him by.
Every extra second she spent there annoyed her.
"Hey..."
"Don't go, beautiful."
"Why don't you stay and chat for a bit..."
Seeing that Ye Lingling was so unreceptive,
Ma Hongjun felt unwilling to give up.
He immediately hurried after her,
almost refusing to take no for an answer.
Just as Ye Lingling grew furious
and was about to make a move,
a voice suddenly rang out
through the air.
"Yeah."
"It's a nice night. Sitting down to talk about today's Soul Fighting would be nice too."
At the corner,
a shadow appeared.
Under the moonlight,
the figure of someone holding a curved bow came into view.
It was none other than
Ji Feng.
Whoosh!
Ma Hongjun, grinning lewdly,
and Ye Lingling, her expression cool and aloof,
both turned their eyes toward Ji Feng at the same time.
Ji Feng stepped out from around the corner.
He held a curved bow,
a smile playing on his lips.
But that smile
didn't sit quite right with Ma Hongjun.
At that moment,
Ma Hongjun's face stiffened.
His smile faltered.
What was this guy doing here at a time like this?
I only beat him by luck just now.
He couldn't even beat Third Brother. I'd better watch out!
At the thought,
Ma Hongjun's face darkened.
Beside him, meanwhile,
a flicker of surprise appeared on Ye Lingling's cold face.
It's him...
For some reason,
when Ye Lingling saw that it was Ji Feng,
something stirred in her icy heart.
She even felt a wave of relief.
As if in a daze, she walked lightly over to Ji Feng.
Then she turned around,
standing with Ji Feng to face Ma Hongjun.
That move also brought a strange glint to Ji Feng's eyes.
"Huh?"
This scene
left Ma Hongjun completely dumbfounded.
That damned third wheel—why couldn't he have shown up earlier or later?
He just had to come while I was hitting on a girl.
Was he doing this on purpose to ruin things!?
"Ji Feng!"
Ma Hongjun lost it.
Ji Feng said, "So it's the defeated loser from Shrek Academy!"
He spoke with casual indifference.
"Who are you calling a defeated loser!?"
Ma Hongjun had a fiery temper.
He immediately blew his top.
But Ji Feng wasn't afraid of the sleazy fatso.
He said calmly, "What, want to try taking another arrow?"
As he spoke,
he raised his right arm and lifted his curved bow,
rolling his wrist.
"You!"
Ma Hongjun stared at the gleaming bow,
and immediately ducked his head.
He stammered, "I just remembered I have something to take care of at home. I'll settle things with you another day!"
He gritted his teeth,
then left, thoroughly unconvinced.
Back at the Great Soul Arena,
he had already seen how formidable this guy was.
Now that he was alone,
he probably wouldn't get the better of him in a fight!
Ma Hongjun was gone.
"Are you all right?"
Once he'd left,
Ji Feng spoke first.
Ye Lingling was as cold as ever.
But with Ji Feng,
she was surprisingly unbothered by how close they were standing.
She looked at him.
Ye Lingling's eyelashes were long.
Her eyes fixed on Ji Feng, tender and clear.
She gave a slight nod.
A faint "Mm" escaped her lips.
"Since you're all right, I'll head back first."
Ji Feng spoke.
He'd only been passing by.
He just happened to see Ma Hongjun pestering Ye Lingling.
They'd encountered each other in the Star Dou Great Forest before, so they weren't exactly strangers.
That was why he'd stepped in to help.
Now that Ma Hongjun had already left,
there was no reason for him to stay.
"You..."
Ye Lingling started to speak, then stopped.
By the time she'd thought of what to say,
Ji Feng had already walked away.
Ye Lingling's eyes trembled.
She bit her lip lightly.
She regretted it a little. If only she weren't so cold by nature.
But what she was thinking
was something Ji Feng would never know.
Shrek Academy's quarters.
Back at the academy,
in the students' dormitory,
the lights in the rooms were still on.
There was no need to guess—
everyone was still awake.
Ma Hongjun snuck back in.
"Fatty!"
Suddenly,
a hushed voice called out to him.
He must have been afraid of waking the others.
Ma Hongjun jumped.
He turned to look.
It was no one else.
"Third Brother!?"
Ma Hongjun's eyes widened.
He scratched his head. "You're still up?"
"Fatty, where did you go just now?"
Tang San's question
made Ma Hongjun's eyes shift.
Then he asked slyly, "Third Brother, do you know much about Ye Lingling from the Imperial Academy?"
Tang San was taken aback.
It seemed Fatty's nature couldn't be changed.
He'd actually set his sights on another girl with that devious mind of his.
Still, this was probably for the best.
At least his teammates wouldn't have to suffer from all that mischief of his.
Besides, Ye Lingling seemed to be very close to that detestable Ji Feng...
At the thought,
Tang San's lips curled upward.
He had an idea.
So he said, "Fatty, Ye Lingling has a lot going for her. If you make an effort to win her over, you might have a chance."
Seeing Third Brother speak so casually
and show no objection to his intentions,
Ma Hongjun's eyes widened.
He was completely surprised.
"Third Brother? You know Ye Lingling?"
The Imperial Fighting Team's residence.
"Ye Lingling."
She had just walked out of the residence.
From a long way off,
she saw a man in red waving at her.
He was being very attentive.
"That damn fatty..."
Ye Lingling looked up.
Her brows knitted slightly.
She didn't want to deal with him.
Just as she was about to turn away,
Ma Hongjun immediately showed off his nimble moves.
He blocked Ye Lingling's path. "Hehe, Ye Lingling, don't leave just yet. I have something to tell you."
Ye Lingling had never met anyone so exasperating.
She didn't want to deal with anyone else.
"Move!"
Her cool voice rang out.
But it did nothing to rein in Ma Hongjun.
"How do you know Ji Feng?"
Ye Lingling: ...
The girl glanced at him.
Clearly, she didn't want to answer
such a pointless question.
Before you continue