Sinister

Gu Yue sat down three steps away from him, her plain dress torn open by nearly a foot. Her black hair hung over one shoulder as her violet eyes watched him, the faint curve at her lips still lingering.

Tang Wulin paused, then held out his hand. "Get up."

Gu Yue placed her hand in his palm and used his strength to rise. But just as her toes lifted half an inch off the ground, before she had regained her balance, Tang Wulin's wrist suddenly sank.

Gu Yue gave a soft "Mm" and stumbled straight into his arms.

Her forehead struck his collarbone, and her black hair brushed his jaw. Tang Wulin instinctively brought both arms together, holding her steady. They were close enough to hear each other breathe.

Below the arena, Xie Xie's expression exploded like a dandelion puff.

"What the fuck!!!"

His shout was loud enough to blow the roof off the waiting area. The Light Dragon Dagger in his left hand spun away and embedded itself in the stairs, while the index finger of his right hand trembled as if he were having a stroke. Every strand of his blond hair stood on end. "Shameless!! Who the hell are you, hugging him in broad daylight?! Stop bewitching my boss!!!"

He nearly leaped onto the registration platform before Yao grabbed him by the back of his belt. "Hey, hey, Brother Xie Xie, calm down—"

"Calm down my ass!" Xie Xie struggled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "My boss doesn't even blink when that female tyrant beats him up! But now some violet-eyed girl falls into his arms and he hugs her?? Is this how you celebrate a tactical victory?? He's been cursed!! Gu Yue, cut it out!!"

Yun Ying leaned against her spear shaft, her brown ponytail stuck to the sweat on her cheek, her jaw nearly dropping to her chest.

The spear tip was wedged into a crack between the stair bricks, while the shaft bent slightly backward beneath her weight. Her eyes were even wider than when she had heard "Tang Wulin versus Gu Yue." Reflected in her pupils were the two people on the stage—Tang Wulin's arms around Gu Yue's waist, Gu Yue's violet eyes curved faintly as her bangs brushed his neck, as though she were testing the water temperature.

"...These two." Yun Ying forced out the words through her throat. "Flirting... in broad daylight??"

Her voice cracked, full of grievance and confusion. So Gu Yue had punched Yun Ying hard enough to leave her sitting on the ground for ages, but only scratched Tang Wulin and then held back? And now she had even conveniently fallen into his arms so he could hold her?? This double standard had gone beyond the barrier??

Yao had already sat upright beside them, the Star Sword laid across his knees and glinting faintly. His grin stretched to his ears as he slapped his thigh. "Oh my—catching a fallen beauty with one hand? This is called 'a golden-scaled dragon captures a silver moon, and spring winds fill his arms'! Cheer, cheer!"

He actually pursed his lips and whistled, the hilt of his Star Sword knocking against the stair bricks with a clang. "Brother Tang, what skills! Gu Yue, what a figure! A perfect match—"

"Dongfang Yao, shut up!"

Yun Ying swung around and slapped him without even using the Phantom Crystal Spear. Her palm cut through the air and landed on the back of Yao's head with a crisp smack. Yao yelped and pitched forward, his bangs turning into a messy bird's nest as the Star Sword slipped from his hand and rolled down two steps.

"Ow, ow, ow—Yun Ying, why'd you hit me? I wasn't the one hugging her!" Yao covered the back of his head, aggrieved.

"You're still trying to justify cheering them on?" Yun Ying shoved the spear shaft backward while still leaning against it, pointing her chin toward the stage. "They're hugging in broad daylight, and you're over here singing wedding songs? Is your Star Sword a drum and gong now??"

"I was just watching the fun and hoping it got bigger..." Yao rubbed his head, but his eyes still drifted toward the stage. "Look at Gu Yue's face. That little smile, her eyes curved into crescents, and Brother Tang hasn't let go either—this doesn't look like they recognized each other. It looks like they became family."

"Recognize your head." Yun Ying shook her spear in irritation.

Xie Xie had already gone frantic beneath the stage.

His blond hair shook like weeds in the wind. He summoned another Shadow Dragon Dagger into his left hand, gripping it so hard that his knuckles turned bluish white. "Gu Yue! You brat! Don't touch my boss!!"

His voice pierced the barrier's hum, making even the referee turn to look at him. Xie Xie ignored it, his wild blond hair flattened into an utter mess as his right foot planted on the edge of a stair. "Let go! That's my boss! Brotherhood is stronger than elemental affinity! Stop bewitching him! He's the type who takes a beating without fighting back—he's the easiest to fool!"

Gu Yue seemed to hear him onstage.

Rather than breaking free from Tang Wulin's arms, she rested her temple against his shoulder. Her violet eyes glanced down from beside his neck toward Xie Xie below, and the faint smile at her lips softened before curving again, barely there—not provocative, more like an elder hearing a child make a fuss, annoyed but not angry.

Tang Wulin looked down at her. His golden eyes remained calm, and his arms did not loosen.

Xie Xie flew into a rage. "See? See! She's still smiling! Boss, wake up! Her ice spike nearly stabbed your throat! And now she's pretending to be sweet and falling into your arms?? A woman's heart is deeper than the sea—this girl's heart is twenty thousand miles under it!!"

Yao added from behind him while rubbing the back of his head, "Brother Xie Xie, you sound like you're afraid some delinquent girl will run off with your kid."

"Get lost!" Xie Xie flung his blond hair. "This is a battle to protect brotherhood! Gu Yue, don't try that with me! You went all out against Yun Ying, but went easy on Tang Wulin and even threw yourself into his arms—double standards! Blatant double standards!"

The moment Yun Ying heard the words "double standards," the pent-up frustration in her chest finally exploded.

She leaned against the spear shaft, her brown ponytail slipping forward. The spear tip remained fixed in the crack, but her body tightened and loosened with each breath. She stared at Gu Yue's faintly smiling face on the stage, then remembered the humiliation of being unable to get up after sitting on the ground for so long—why?

Why did that girl hit her without mercy, yet seem unwilling to spill even a drop of Tang Wulin's blood, only to conveniently tumble into his arms afterward?

"I..." Yun Ying mumbled half a word, her arm going limp as she pressed another half inch against the spear shaft.

The shaft was flexible, but it could not withstand the sudden release of her full weight. With a creak, it bent into a bow. Her brown ponytail drooped to the bend of the shaft, while "double standards," "flirting," and "broad daylight" churned into a muddle in her mind. Then, carried by the rebound of the spear shaft, her body was sent forward—

The Phantom Crystal Spear shaft snapped straight with a boing.

Yun Ying: "—Eh?"

She was already shoved half a step forward. Her toes caught on the stairs, her knees buckled, and she pitched forward. In the morning light, Yun Ying landed face-first with a solid slap against the worn, pale-blue bricks of the waiting area.

Flat on her face.

The spear shaft lay crooked at her side. Yun Ying's chin hit the ground, her brown ponytail spread out like a flattened duster. She froze for two breaths, then clenched her right hand into a fist, drew a breath, and punched the ground.

Thud.

Dust rose from the cracks between the bricks.

The waiting area fell silent for half a second.

Xie Xie was still pointing at the stage and shouting, "Gu Yue, let go," when he caught sight of Yun Ying hitting the ground from the corner of his eye. His voice caught. "...Yun Ying, what are you doing lying there?"

Yao retrieved the Star Sword from the stairs while rubbing the back of his head and laughing. "She got so mad over the double standards that the spear shaft launched her. She fired herself."

Tang Wulin finally loosened his arms onstage.

Gu Yue's heels touched the ground. The tear in her plain dress fluttered in the breeze as her violet eyes lifted from his shoulder, first looking toward Yun Ying striking the ground below, then toward Xie Xie with his exploded blond hair. The faint curve at her lips finally settled.

Tang Wulin withdrew his hand, his golden eyes sweeping over those below without a word.

Yun Ying lay on the ground, her fist braced against the blue bricks, dust coating her knuckles.

What spun through her mind was no longer, Do those two know each other? Instead, an even more humiliating thought followed—

So today's arena match had ended with Tang Wulin defeating Gu Yue, Gu Yue getting Tang Wulin, Xie Xie losing to Gu Yue, Yao losing to the back of his head, and Yun Ying... losing to her own spear.

Thud. Another strike.

Dust rose from the brick cracks again.