A Date

The next morning.

For the first time in his life, Song Chen stood in front of a mirror for this long.

In the floor-length mirror on the cultivation room wall stood someone who looked a little unfamiliar.

The dark blue B-Grade Battle Armor had sleek lines and fit him perfectly. Over it, he wore a long black trench coat that just covered his thighs. His mother had bought it for him on short notice the night before.

"Does it look all right?" he asked, turning his head.

Li Xiuying leaned against the doorframe, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.

She came over and straightened his collar. "My son looks good in anything."

"But this armor... isn't it a bit too formal? A young lady invited you to dinner, and you're dressed like you're going to war."

Song Chen looked down at himself.

"I don't have anything else to wear."

"Besides, I'm used to it."

Li Xiuying opened her mouth as if to say something, then swallowed her words.

For eighteen years, his wardrobe had contained nothing but school uniforms and a few old T-shirts washed so often they had faded.

They hadn't had the money to buy new clothes before. Now they did, but he didn't have time to shop.

She patted his shoulder. "Next time, I'll buy you a few nice things. Go on, don't keep her waiting."

As Song Chen left, Song Zhengye sat on the sofa reading the newspaper, not even looking up.

"Come back early."

"Got it."

Outside the residential compound, the sun was bright.

The streets of the Inner City carried a faint scent of osmanthus. He hailed a hovercar and gave the driver the address of Third Martial Arts High School.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped at the familiar school gates. They had agreed to meet at school.

The campus was quiet, with only a few guards on duty at the entrance.

Song Chen got out and immediately spotted Lin Qingxue.

She stood beneath a cherry tree beside the school gate, wearing a pale pink dress, her long hair falling over her shoulders. A breeze stirred, and her hair and skirt fluttered gently together.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the blossoms, dappling her with light and shadow.

When she saw him, her eyes lit up. Then she pressed her lips together and smiled.

"You're here."

Song Chen walked over. "Yeah. Have you been waiting long?"

She looked him over, her gaze pausing for a second on his armor and trench coat. "No, I just got here."

"About your outfit..."

"Does it not suit me?" Song Chen asked.

Lin Qingxue shook her head, her smile deepening as she tilted her head. "It looks great, it's just..."

"You look a little like you're about to head out on a mission."

Song Chen fell silent for a second.

"I don't have anything else to wear."

Lin Qingxue paused, then laughed softly, the sound as light as wind chimes in a breeze.

She turned and headed into the campus. "Come on, let's look around first."

"Aren't we going to eat?"

She glanced back at him, her eyes and brows curved with a smile. "It's still early. I want to look around the school."

Song Chen caught up, and they walked side by side along the campus path.

Third Martial Arts High School wasn't large, but it was quiet.

Plane trees lined both sides of the path, their leaves beginning to turn yellow. Sunlight streamed through the canopy, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

They walked slowly.

Lin Qingxue pointed to an empty lot beside the sports field. "Do you remember this place?"

Song Chen looked over. It was where they used to have practical combat classes.

Faded white lines they had drawn years ago still marked the concrete.

"I remember."

Lin Qingxue's voice was soft. "The first time you beat me here, I went home and cried all night."

Song Chen paused.

"Why?"

She smiled as she answered, "I couldn't accept it. My Vitality Value was so much higher than yours, yet you beat me with skill. After my dad found out, he scolded me and said my combat instincts were terrible."

She paused, her voice growing quieter.

"Back then, I thought I had to win next time. So I kept coming to find you for sparring and asking you questions about martial arts..."

Song Chen remembered. During that time, Lin Qingxue really had sought him out often.

Between classes, after school, even on weekends, she would show up in front of him with a wooden sword and earnestly say, "Let's go again."

He'd thought she was just competitive.

"What happened after that?"

Lin Qingxue lowered her head and looked at the path beneath her feet. "After that... I stopped wanting to win."

"Why?"

She was silent for a long time.

The path curved, passing a row of old classroom buildings.

The sunlight came from the side, stretching their shadows long across the ground.

"You know a little about my family, right?"

Song Chen nodded.

The Lin Family was considered a martial arts family in Anning City.

Her father was a Third Rank Martial Artist who worked for the Garrison Command, and her older brother served in the city defense force. Though still young, he was already a Second Rank Martial Artist.

Her family had high expectations for her. Ever since she was little, her days had been packed with all kinds of training.

She looked at the ground and spoke softly. "Everything I've done, ever since I was little, was arranged for me."

"What time to get up, when to train, when to eat, when to sleep, which martial skills to learn, which school to attend, who to be friends with... Someone else decided all of it for me."

She stopped and looked up at the plane-tree leaves overhead.

"Do you know, when I got my first period, my first thought wasn't fear. I was worried my Vitality Value might drop that month."

Song Chen said nothing. He didn't know how to respond.

Lin Qingxue continued, "My dad never praised me. If I came first in class, he said I was supposed to. If I reached Proficiency in a martial skill, he said I still had a long way to go. When my Vitality Value broke through 1.0, he said my brother had done it faster."

Her voice trembled a little, but she was still smiling.

"I thought every family was like that."

She turned to look at him. "Until I met you."

Song Chen's heart suddenly began to beat faster.

"You were different. You never felt inferior because your Vitality Value was low, and you never thought you were beneath anyone because your family didn't have much. When you practiced martial skills, your eyes really lit up."

She lowered her head, her voice growing softer. "When I asked you questions, you were never impatient."

"No matter how many times I asked, you always explained everything carefully. If once wasn't enough, you'd explain it twice. If twice wasn't enough, you'd explain it three times. Sometimes, when you finished, you'd even ask me, 'Did you understand?'"

Her eyes reddened.

"Do you know, no one had ever asked me if I understood? No one cared whether I'd actually learned."

Song Chen stood still, his throat tightening.

Lin Qingxue raised her head and looked at him. "After that, I stopped wanting to win, because if I beat you, you wouldn't explain things to me anymore."

The wind blew, and a few plane-tree leaves drifted down, spinning between them.

Song Chen looked at her.

Sunlight fell across her face, gilding her eyelashes.

Her eyes were clear, like a mountain stream, so clear you could see straight to the bottom.

Suddenly, he remembered so many things.

He remembered how, after every spar, she would hand him a towel and some water. He remembered how she would pretend it was a coincidence when she sat beside him between classes.

He remembered how she had gone out of her way to meet him at the school gate before their practical training, bringing him a battle blade.

He remembered how she had said, "Just come back alive," in a voice so quiet he could barely hear it.

He remembered how, at the Martial Arts Association, she had seen his Vitality Value of 2.2 and, her eyes red, called him "a liar."

He remembered how his heart had raced when she messaged him the night before.

Looking at the girl before him, he spoke. "Lin Qingxue."

"Hmm?"

He looked at her and said earnestly, "From now on, you can come ask me anything, anytime."

Lin Qingxue froze for a moment, then smiled.

It wasn't the polite, reserved smile she usually wore. It was a real smile, one that rose straight from her heart.

Her eyes curved into crescents, the corners of her mouth lifted high, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

"Okay."

They continued walking.