Probably Doesn't Like Him

Inside Li Mu's private residence courtyard.

Jiang Jiang sat in the courtyard without saying a word.

Li Mu muttered, "My Jiang Jiang, you won't say anything no matter what I ask. How am I supposed to teach that bastard a lesson?"

She shook Jiang Jiang's arm. "He bullied you. How about I throw him out?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a figure silently appeared behind her.

The figure said slowly, "Miss Mu, you had me take you to the banquet today, and now you're throwing me away after using me? That's hardly righteous."

Li Mu's body trembled, and she hurriedly turned around.

Once she saw who it was, she said in embarrassed anger, "Are you dead? Can't you make any noise when you walk?"

Before she could continue making trouble.

Jiang Jiang, who was standing beside them, rose to her feet and said calmly, "I drank too much during the day and failed to control my emotions. I caused you trouble. Sorry."

"You idiot girl! He was clearly the one in the wrong, so why are you apologizing?" Li Mu pulled Jiang Jiang into an embrace, then glared viciously at Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming looked at her helplessly.

Why are you glaring at me? I didn't do anything!

He then mobilized the blood qi within his body, making it vibrate slightly. A voice transmission went straight into Jiang Jiang's ears.

"I'm Zhou Ming. No need to apologize."

Jiang Jiang's body trembled. Her cold, lonely eyes instantly reddened, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You..."

She seemed to remember something and forcibly swallowed the words that had just left her lips.

Seeing her best friend shedding tears again, Li Mu hurriedly said, "Jiang Jiang, what's wrong? If you don't want to see him, I'll throw him out right now."

With that, she stepped forward and pushed Zhou Ming backward toward the exit.

"Go, go, go. You made my Jiang Jiang cry twice in one day."

Zhou Ming lowered his head and saw Li Mu, who was pushing him, frantically winking at him. He couldn't help finding it amusing.

What, are you giving up on your little friendship boat?

At that moment, Jiang Jiang stepped forward and grabbed her.

"Don't!"

Li Mu, having been pulled away, rolled her eyes and said softly, "Jiang Jiang, something's off with you!"

She then circled Jiang Jiang twice, looking at Jiang Jiang, then at Zhou Ming.

She clapped her hands. "You two have something going on, and you're hiding it from me."

She immediately grabbed Jiang Jiang and headed toward the room.

As she was about to close the door, she saw Zhou Ming still standing in the courtyard. Li Mu said, "Stinking man, why did you break into our courtyard in the middle of the night? Why aren't you going back to sleep? Trying to peep?"

Bang!

The door shut!

Zhou Ming had barely turned around when he saw three figures standing atop the courtyard wall, forming an encirclement from left, center, and right.

"Brother Zhou, sneaking into a woman's courtyard at night is improper."

Fang Yang was the first to speak.

Lu Hao cleared his throat. "Brother Zhou, I get it if you have needs, but go after her openly and properly."

Fu Shan sneered. "So this is where the Martial Examination takes place. I've learned something new."

Zhou Ming's fists instantly clenched!

In the next instant, the three men's pupils shrank as they remembered Zhou Ming's strength.

We're done for!

We're getting beaten up.

In a flash, the three of them bolted toward their own courtyards.

Zhou Ming moved like a swimming dragon and caught up with Fu Shan in an instant, kicking him in the backside.

Bang! x2

Listening to the two doors slam shut.

Fu Shan, sprawled on the ground, rolled over and looked at the figure before him. "I was the last one to speak. Why did you hit me first?"

On the way to Qing Prefecture City, the group had traveled about sightseeing and enjoying themselves, and they had also sparred from time to time.

Lu Hao, Jiang Jiang, and Li Mu participated the least.

The first two knew Zhou Ming's strength, so naturally they wouldn't often seek out a beating.

Li Mu liked martial arts, but she didn't enjoy fighting.

As for Zhou Ming, he had always lacked actual combat experience, so he could only keep picking on Fu Shan and Fang Yang.

He didn't hit too hard, so they wouldn't end up bruised and battered, but sore backs and aching waists were unavoidable.

Sparring with each other and honing their martial arts naturally had its benefits. Fang Yang enjoyed it.

Fu Shan, however, refused to accept it. Every time, he felt that he had only been a little short.

Zhou Ming looked down at Fu Shan, twisting his wrist and rolling his fist. "Because you refuse to accept it!"

Then miserable screams rang out.

"Ah!"

"Don't hit my face!"

"I still need to attend the banquet and make new friends!"

"Ah!"

"Brother, I was wrong, I really was!"

After venting, Zhou Ming felt thoroughly refreshed and turned toward his own courtyard.

Inside Li Mu's room.

Listening to the screams of the one-sided beating outside, she and Jiang Jiang looked at each other.

Then burst out laughing.

After a while, Li Mu stared at Jiang Jiang, her chin slightly raised. "Come clean. What's going on between you and Zhou Yuxi?"

Jiang Jiang tucked back her beautiful hair. A faint blush colored her lovely face as she calmly said, "Nothing."

In an instant, the bedding churned and the soft mattress sank as the two rolled into a ball on the bed.

Li Mu's long hair was in disarray. With her arms wrapped around Jiang Jiang's chest, she straddled Jiang Jiang's waist and declared triumphantly, "Are you going to talk or not? If not, I'm going to use torture!"

Jiang Jiang's hands were pinned beneath her. Her face was flushed as she looked at Li Mu sitting on top of her and said coyly, "My dear sister, stop fooling around! There really is nothing between him and me."

"Oh? You were made to cry twice in one day. Once when you got drunk, and once after apologizing to him when you met. When I tried to drive him away, you wouldn't let me. And now you're saying there's nothing between you two?"

Li Mu teased, "Did you fall for him?"

Jiang Jiang blushed, turned her head aside, and said nothing.

"No way. How long have you even known each other? Where is he from? Is he married? Who is in his family? Do you know any of that?"

Li Mu fell back onto the bedding and looked at Jiang Jiang as she asked.

"I don't know," Jiang Jiang said softly.

"Then how did you meet?"

"I can't say."

"I'll ask your brother-in-law."

"Don't."

"Then what do you like about him?"

"I don't know."

"Jiang Jiang! Keep this up and I'll use torture!"

"I saw him before. At first, I didn't feel anything. Then I started thinking about him, and that was it. I liked him."

"Does he like you?"

Jiang Jiang froze, her gaze dimming. "He probably doesn't."

Li Mu sat up cross-legged on the soft bedding. "Then there's no hope. If a man doesn't like you, he truly doesn't like you."

Jiang Jiang pursed her lips. After a moment, she seemed to figure something out and said, "I don't care. If I like him, I like him. Whether he likes me is his business."

Li Mu looked at the sparkle flowing through Jiang Jiang's eyes and slapped her forehead. "My Jiang Jiang, don't be silly. Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged stinking men are everywhere."

"Why do you care?"

"Fine, fine, I won't. So tell me, how did you meet?"

Jiang Jiang propped herself up and looked at her seriously. "I really can't say!"

"Then don't. Sleep."

With that, she took off her outer robe, lifted the covers, and burrowed straight underneath.

Jiang Jiang removed her outer robe and looked at the tightly covered lump of bedding. The corner of her lips lifted as her lively eyes shifted.

Then she slipped beneath the covers.

"Ah!"

A soft cry came from beneath the covers.

"Don't, don't fool around!"

"You rogue Jiang! Let go!"

Their playfulness continued beneath the covers.

The candle burned slowly until it went out.

The moonlight was cold and desolate. After a gust of frigid wind, flakes of white slowly began to fall.