You Like Women?

Long Haochen turned around and saw three people—two men and a woman—entering the restaurant. The one who had spoken was the woman among them.

She had fair skin, a medium build, and long pale blue hair flowing down her back like clouds. Her features were delicate, and her watery blue eyes easily stirred the urge to protect her.

She wore a dark blue mage's robe, with faint blue elemental ripples shimmering around her. On the left side of her chest was an insignia of three stars encircled by six golden lines.

From the mark on her chest, Long Haochen recognized at a glance that she was a third-rank, sixth-level mage. Judging from her tone, she seemed to know Li Xin.

Bang—

Li Xin slammed her palm onto the counter, turned around, and snapped, "Lin Jialu, who are you calling a glutton?"

Lin Jialu curled her lips. "Whoever spent 120 gold coins on one meal is the glutton."

Fury flared in Li Xin's eyes. "Are you looking for a fight?"

Li Xin swiftly drew the sword from her back and pointed it at Lin Jialu. Lin Jialu refused to yield, gripping her magic staff tightly as she prepared to cast at any moment.

Seeing this, the two young men who had entered with Lin Jialu hurried forward and shielded her from both sides. They were clearly Lin Jialu's guards.

One of the guards reminded them, "Please calm down, ladies. Just last month, you were punished by the Governor and the Chief."

"Humph!"

Li Xin and Lin Jialu snorted at the same time, glaring furiously at each other. The air was still thick with tension.

Long Haochen looked at Lin Jialu in surprise. So this girl had quite the background too. No wonder she dared to stand up to Li Xin. He just did not know what relation the Governor of Bright Moon City had to her. She was probably, like Li Xin, the daughter of some official.

Seeing that neither of them was willing to back down, the guard reminded them again, "The Governor and the Chief said that if the two of you fight again, you will both be confined."

At the word "confined," Li Xin and Lin Jialu visibly showed some apprehension. Li Xin returned her sword to her back, while Lin Jialu's grip on her magic staff loosened slightly.

However, even if the two women did not fight with their hands, they still had other weapons at their disposal—their tongues. In that regard, men were often no match for them.

Lin Jialu sneered. "You got lucky."

Li Xin's pretty face hardened as she mocked, "Who knows who got lucky? This young lady is already a seventh-level Knight, while someone is still only a sixth-level mage! Lin Jialu, do you dare make a bet with me?"

Lin Jialu snorted disdainfully. "What are we betting on?"

Li Xin grabbed Long Haochen's arm. "This is my new boyfriend, Long Haochen. Didn't you say he was some pretty boy? Fine, then I'll have him fight you for me and see whether he really is a pretty boy."

Long Haochen's face darkened. He had no desire to get involved in a dispute between two women.

Feng Xiu had once said that when a man encountered two women at each other's throats, he should stay as far away as possible. He must never get involved, much less try to reason with them. A meddlesome man would only bring himself endless trouble.

Only after hearing Li Xin introduce Long Haochen did Lin Jialu finally turn her attention to him. Though she had called him a pretty boy at first, she had only seen his back then. After he turned around, her attention had remained fixed on Li Xin, and she had not gotten a good look at him.

Long Haochen truly did have the face of a pretty boy—one so exquisitely perfect that it could drive countless girls wild. Combined with his clear pale golden eyes and that unique aura around him, he was even more captivating.

That face was so beautiful it hardly seemed like it belonged to a man.

Lin Jialu looked at Li Xin, then at Long Haochen. Lowering her voice deliberately, she asked Li Xin, "Li Xin, do you like women?"

The muscles on Li Xin and Long Haochen's faces twitched at the same time, and both were speechless.

Li Xin was upset because Lin Jialu had misunderstood her preferences, while Long Haochen was naturally upset because his gender had been misunderstood.

Long Haochen frowned. "Miss, I'm a man."

As he spoke, Long Haochen pointed to the not-so-obvious Adam's apple on his neck.

Seeing his gesture, Lin Jialu believed him. Her blue eyes lit up, and she thought to herself, Li Xin may have questionable character, but she sure knows how to find a boyfriend.

Li Xin said smugly, "Well? Isn't my boyfriend handsome? Jealous? Envious?"

Lin Jialu shot back without yielding, "Oh? I didn't expect your tastes to be so unusual. You like them so much younger than you. Judging by this little brother's appearance, he's probably not even fifteen yet, while you're already twenty. An old cow eating tender grass—have you no shame?"

"You..."

What Lin Jialu said was indeed true, and it struck right at Li Xin's weakness. Li Xin no longer wanted to continue trading insults with her.

"Enough nonsense. Are you taking the bet or not? Haochen officially joined our Hao Yue Sub-Temple today. He's a Knight too, just like me. If you don't dare, then get lost. Don't ruin the mood of my date with Haochen."

"A Knight?"

Lin Jialu froze for a moment before agreeing. "Fine, a bet it is. He's just a little brother, isn't he?"

Li Xin took out a white crystal from her clothes and continued, "You two will fight outside. And since it's a bet, there has to be a stake. I'll wager this magic crystal from a fifth-level light-type magical beast, a Golden Yan Tiger, against the Radiant Shield from your family's shop. Do you dare?"

The magic crystal of a fifth-level Golden Yan Tiger was extremely rare and worth far more than the Radiant Shield. Although Lin Jialu could not understand what trick Li Xin was playing, she could not back down in the face of Li Xin's provocation.

"I'll take the bet!"

The group left the restaurant and came to the area in front of it that was specifically used for parking carriages.

Li Xin pulled Long Haochen aside, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Haochen, sorry. I'm making you fight right after you've eaten. I'm doing this not only for myself, but for you too. I believe you can definitely defeat Lin Jialu."

When Li Xin proposed that wager, Long Haochen had noticed the sly glint in her eyes. Combined with what she had just said, he immediately understood her intention.

The Radiant Shield was Li Xin's true objective. She wanted to trick Lin Jialu into handing it over to him.

Long Haochen nodded, walked to the center of the open area, drew the heavy Knight sword from his back, and lightly tapped it against his right shoulder in a Knight's salute to Lin Jialu.

"Please go ahead, Sister Lin."

Long Haochen's polite manner instantly won Lin Jialu's favor. She thought, For the sake of this handsome little guy's manners, I'll go a little easy on him later.