Turbulence at the Martial Arts School (4)

After hearing Castle's words, Pei Shao suddenly understood. "So that's how it is. Since he had a way to find something as freakish as that, it'd be easy for him to come up with a way to make it snap in the middle! But I still don't get it—where did the electromagnetic waves come from?"

"There's a miniature electromagnetic wave receiver-transmitter installed in the soles of his shoes!"

"So that's it! Damn, isn't that basically cheating? I hate cheaters the most! And here I was admiring him just now..." Pei Shao muttered to himself for a while, only to realize that Castle had ignored him again and gone back to its own research. Meanwhile, as he and Castle spoke in low voices, Cui Jianhao had already swaggered elegantly over to Dongfang Yinyin's side. He took a deep sniff of the fragrance wafting from her body, then arrogantly swept his gaze across the room before letting it settle on the beauty beside him. With a light laugh, he said, "Yinyin, what did you think of that just now? What score would you give it?"

"It was... all right, I suppose. So-so." Although Dongfang Yinyin had her doubts about that kick, she had inspected the steel plate herself beforehand. She had found no cracks or other places where it could have been tampered with. Besides, tampering with a steel plate... that seemed fundamentally impossible! That left only one possibility! Had Cui Jianhao really mastered the ultimate technique of kicking through steel plates?

A Zheng and Zhang Huaiyuan also wore shocked expressions, but they quickly turned defiant.

Though Dongfang Yinyin had said "so-so," her opinion of him had actually improved a little. After all, she had always viewed powerful men differently. It was a habit she had developed from practicing martial arts for so many years. Otherwise, she would never have so easily forgiven Pei Shao for taking so much advantage of her, much less acknowledged him as her master. Still, even if her attitude toward Cui Jianhao had changed slightly, she was reluctant to immediately agree to go on a date with him.

So she could only turn a pleading gaze toward Pei Shao and ask, "What do you think?"

Swish! Everyone's eyes turned toward the face of the person standing behind Dongfang Yinyin. Cui Jianhao also knew that Dongfang Yinyin was looking for a way out at this point. But apart from shooting Pei Shao a cold glance, he said nothing. He did not believe a mere "hanger-on" like this could say anything that would surprise him.

Originally, although Pei Shao had learned from Castle that Cui Jianhao had used an extremely despicable method to deceive Dongfang Yinyin, first, while he was not afraid of those rich young playboys, he was not the sort of person who liked exposing other people's secrets everywhere. Second, Dongfang Yinyin was not his girlfriend, and he had no right to stop her from associating with other men. Third, Pei Shao considered himself an outsider when it came to martial arts, so he had not intended to butt in or offer any opinions.

But now Dongfang Yinyin was clearly looking at him for help. Should he expose Cui Jianhao's "cheating"? Even if he did, would anyone believe him?

Seeing Pei Shao hesitate, Dongfang Yinyin knew she was putting him in a difficult position. Even if he really was somewhat stronger than Cui Jianhao, he probably could not think of any way to stop this date. It seemed... sigh, she could only agree to Cui Jianhao.

Dongfang Yinyin's expression did not escape A Zheng and Zhang Huaiyuan. When they saw Pei Shao remain silent for so long, the anxious pair nearly blurted out in unison, "Yinyin is asking you a question!"

Deliberately putting on a humble, eager-to-learn act in front of Dongfang Yinyin, Cui Jianhao said, "May I ask what this classmate is called? If you have any thoughts about my kick just now, don't be embarrassed—go ahead and say them! If what you say is truly correct, I'll correct myself immediately!" Upon hearing this, A Zheng and Zhang Huaiyuan both cursed inwardly, Hypocrite! They wanted to say something to refute him and stop him from showing off so much, but they could not think of any way to do so.

Thinking of the upcoming date, Dongfang Yinyin felt somewhat depressed and failed to notice the awkward expression on Pei Shao's face. Pei Shao was no genius, but he was certainly not stupid either. Although Cui Jianhao's words sounded reasonable on the surface, after considering them carefully, Pei Shao realized that the other man had not taken him seriously at all. He was even using him to put on a grand display in front of Dongfang Yinyin. That made Pei Shao rather unhappy, and he could not help snapping, "What's so hard about kicking through a steel plate? I can do it too!"

The moment the words "I can do it too" left his mouth, Pei Shao felt as if his head had gone muddled. Even if he knew the secret behind this so-called steel plate, his shoes were not the kind that concealed electromagnetic equipment! Upon hearing him say that, Dongfang Yinyin also looked surprised. But that quickly turned into anticipation. After all, she had come here precisely to see just how strong Pei Shao, her so-called "master," really was. If he was not even as skilled as Cui Jianhao, would that not be terribly disappointing?

"Hahahahaha!" Just as Dongfang Yinyin was thinking this, Cui Jianhao gave the ordinary disciples behind him a meaningful look. Then they all burst into uncontrollable laughter. They laughed until they were bent double, laughed until the entire hall rang with it. By the looks of it, they would not have been satisfied until each of them had rolled around on the floor a few times.

Amid their deliberately mocking laughter, Pei Shao's face flushed crimson with embarrassment. He wanted to take back what he had just said, but in front of so many people, how could he go back on his word and lose a man's dignity?

Seeing him like this, Dongfang Yinyin's disappointment was plain to see. At the same time, she silently asked herself, Am I really being too willful? Is a man like this really worth keeping my promise to?

A Zheng and Zhang Huaiyuan also wore complicated expressions mingling mockery, regret, pity, and more.

At that moment, Pei Shao wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it. Yet he stubbornly held on, saying, "W-what are you laughing at? Don't you believe what I said?" By the end, his voice had grown smaller and smaller. Let alone them—even he did not believe himself.

The people behind Cui Jianhao laughed for a while longer before their laughter gradually subsided. Cui Jianhao was delighted inside, but outwardly he pretended to be a good guy as he rebuked them, "What are you laughing at? Maybe he really does have some special skill..." Then he turned to Pei Shao and apologized with apparent sincerity. "Sorry, they're immature. Don't lower yourself to their level! By the way, I enjoy making friends with highly skilled people the most. If you really can kick through a steel plate with one kick like I did just now, then I'll agree to any one condition of yours! How about it? Would you be willing to be my friend?"