A Rendezvous

The next morning.

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

In the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the wall of the training room stood a version of himself that felt somewhat unfamiliar.

The dark cyan B-grade combat armor had sleek lines that clung to his physique, and he had thrown a long black trench coat over it—the hem reaching just past his thighs—which he had asked his mother to buy for him at the last minute the night before.

"Is it okay?" he turned to ask.

Li Xiuying leaned against the doorframe, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons as she smiled.

She walked over and straightened his collar for him. "My son looks good in anything."

"It's just that this armor... isn't it a bit too formal? The young lady is just taking you out for a meal, and you're dressed like you're heading to war."

Song Chen looked down at himself.

"I don't have any other clothes."

"Besides, I'm used to it."

Li Xiuying opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back down.

For eighteen years, the boy's closet had only ever contained school uniforms and a few old T-shirts washed until they were faded white.

Before, they hadn't had the money to buy more; now that they did, he simply never had the time to go shopping.

She patted his shoulder. "Next time, Mom will buy you some nice things. Go on, don't keep her waiting."

When Song Chen left the house, Song Zhengye was reading a newspaper on the sofa, not even lifting his head.

"Come back early."

"Got it."

Stepping out of the residential complex, the sunlight was just right.

The streets of the inner city were filled with the faint scent of osmanthus. He hailed a hover-car and gave the address for Third Martial Arts High School.

Twenty minutes later, the car pulled up to the familiar school gate; they had agreed to meet at the school.

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

Song Chen got out of the car and spotted Lin Qingxue at a glance.

She was standing under the cherry blossom tree beside the school gate, wearing a light pink dress with her long hair draped over her shoulders. As a breeze blew by, her skirt and hair fluttered gently together.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the petals, casting dappled light and shadows upon her.

She saw him, her eyes brightened, and then she pursed her lips and smiled.

"You're here."

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

She looked him over, her gaze lingering for a second on the combat armor and trench coat he was wearing. "No, I just arrived."

"Your outfit..."

"Is it inappropriate?" Song Chen asked.

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

"It looks a bit like you're about to head out on a mission."

Song Chen was silent for a second.

"I don't have any other clothes."

Lin Qingxue froze for a moment, then began to laugh softly. The sound was light, like wind blowing through wind chimes.

She turned and walked into the campus. "Let's go, let's walk around first."

"Aren't we going to eat?"

She looked back at him, her eyes curving. "It's still early, I want to take a look around the school."

Song Chen followed her, and the two walked side by side along the small campus path.

The campus of Third Martial Arts High School was not large, but it was very quiet.

Both sides were lined with sycamore trees, their leaves already beginning to turn yellow. Sunlight spilled through the canopy, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground.

They walked very slowly.

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

Song Chen looked over; it was where they used to have their combat practice classes.

The white lines drawn years ago still remained on the concrete floor, though they had been worn away until they were blurry and indistinct.

"I remember."

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

Song Chen was stunned.

"Why?"

She smiled as she replied, "I wasn't convinced. My blood-qi value was so much higher than yours, yet I was defeated by your technique. My dad scolded me after he found out, saying my combat awareness was far too poor."

She paused, her voice dropping lower.

"Back then, I just thought I had to win it back. That's why I kept coming to you for sparring, asking you questions about the martial path..."

Song Chen remembered. During that period, Lin Qingxue had indeed sought him out frequently.

Between classes, after school, even on weekends, she would appear before him, clutching a wooden sword and saying with complete sincerity, "One more time."

He had assumed she was just competitive.

"And then?"

Lin Qingxue lowered her head, watching the path beneath her feet. "Later... later I didn't want to win anymore."

"Why?"

She was silent for a long time.

The small path took a turn, passing by a row of old teaching buildings.

Sunlight shone in from the side, stretching their shadows out long.

"You know a bit about my family's situation, right?"

Song Chen nodded.

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

Her father was a Tier 3 martial artist serving in the Garrison Command, and her older brother was in the City Defense Force, already a Tier 2 martial artist at a young age.

The family had high expectations for her; from a young age, her life had been filled with various training courses.

She looked at the ground and said softly, "From the time I was little until now, everything I do has been arranged for me."

"What time to wake up, what time to train, what time to eat, what time to sleep, what martial skills to learn, what school to test for, what friends to make... someone else decided it all for me."

She stopped walking and looked up at the sycamore leaves overhead.

"Do you know? Even when I got my period for the first time, my first reaction wasn't fear, but worry about whether my blood-qi value would drop that month."

Song Chen didn't speak; he didn't know how to respond.

Lin Qingxue continued, "My dad never praises me. When I got first in class, he said I was supposed to be first anyway. When I practiced a martial skill to proficiency, he said I was still far off. When my blood-qi value broke 1.0, he said your brother was faster than you back then."

Her voice trembled slightly, but there was still a smile on her face.

"I thought all families were like that."

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

Song Chen's heart skipped a beat.

"You're different. You never felt inferior because your blood-qi value was low, and you never felt beneath others because your family background was poor. When you practiced martial skills, there was real light in your eyes."

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

"No matter how many times I asked, you would explain it earnestly. If once wasn't enough, you'd do it twice; if twice wasn't enough, you'd do it three times. Sometimes, after you finished explaining, you'd even ask me, 'Did you understand?'"

Her eyes were a little red.

"Do you know? No one had ever asked me if I understood. No one had ever cared whether I had actually learned anything."

Song Chen stood where he was, his throat tightening.

Lin Qingxue looked up at him. "Later, I didn't want to win anymore, because if I won, you wouldn't explain the problems to me anymore."

The wind blew, and a few sycamore leaves drifted down, swirling between them.

Song Chen looked at her.

The sunlight fell on her face, dyeing her eyelashes gold.

Her eyes were very clear, like a mountain stream, where one could see straight to the bottom at a single glance.

He suddenly remembered many things.

He remembered the towel and water she would hand him after every sparring session, and how she would pretend it was accidental when she sat in the seat next to him between classes.

He remembered how she had run all the way to the school gate before the field training just to bring him a combat blade.

He remembered when she said, "Just come back alive," her voice so low it was almost inaudible.

He remembered her red-rimmed eyes at the Martial Arts Association when she saw his 2.2 blood-qi value and called him a "liar."

He remembered the way his heart had raced last night when she sent him a message.

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

"Hm?"

He looked at her and said earnestly, "In the future, whenever you want to ask something, you can come to me anytime."

Lin Qingxue froze for a moment, and then she smiled.

It wasn't that polite, reserved smile, but a genuine one that welled up from the bottom of her heart.

Her eyes curved into crescent moons, the corners of her mouth turned high, and a faint blush bloomed on her cheeks.

"Okay."

The two of them continued walking forward.