"Aunt Yuehua, it's so lively here. Won't you introduce everyone to me?"
Qian Renxue, wearing Xue Qinghe's guise, approached gracefully and joined the fray with force.
She seemed to be asking a question, but her eyes stayed on Lin Qian and his companions. Whose side she was on was plain to see.
Liu Erlong could see it now. Every last one of these people was targeting her. In that case...
I'm not putting up with this anymore!
"You..."
"Dean Liu, I'll join Blue Tyrant Academy. I just need a few days to go home, report to my uncle, and ask his permission."
To everyone's surprise, Lin Qian suddenly spoke up and agreed to her request.
Liu Erlong froze at first, then broke into a radiant smile, full of charm. "Then I'll wait for you at Blue Tyrant Academy. Be there or be square~"
With that, she turned and strode away with her head held high.
Even in the dim light and from far away, Lin Qian could clearly see a certain pair of waves swaying violently through the air.
"Enjoying the view?"
Qian Renxue gave him a positively nuclear smile and, pretending to walk over, pinched his waist hard!
"Hiss~" Lin Qian sucked in a cold breath of pain and was forced to look away. He transmitted his voice to her. "Trying to murder your own husband?!"
"Heh."
Qian Renxue sneered. Rather than letting go, she pinched even harder.
Now Lin Qian was on the verge of tears.
"Are you two... well acquainted?"
Only when Tang Yuehua's suspicious gaze swept over them did the two stop their secret struggle and say in unison-
"We don't know each other!"
"..."
Silence was today's Moonlight Pavilion.
Realizing something was amiss, Lin Qian stepped in to smooth things over. "His Highness the Crown Prince and I hit it off at first sight. If only we'd met sooner!"
As he spoke, he deliberately exerted himself, hugging Qian Renxue tightly and slapping her hard on the back several times, collecting his debts with abandon.
Up close, those increasingly surging waves rose and fell, swaying from side to side with his slaps.
Qian Renxue felt very uncomfortable, but she could not flare up, because... men had flat chests. Their chests could not hurt!
Yet Lin Qian, never afraid of making a spectacle bigger, asked maliciously, "What's wrong, Your Highness? Do you have heart disease? Why do you keep clutching your chest?"
Why not just wish yourself a seat at my funeral banquet?
Qian Renxue's chest hurt even more. After a moment's thought, she played along. "Yes, I just took a fast-acting heart pill. You really do share a connection with my heart, Li Si! I feel we're fated to meet. Why not have yourself cut and enter the palace? How about I appoint you chief steward of the Eastern Palace?"
Hey... this girl... her tongue's gotten sharper after a year apart!
Lin Qian refused to back down. "I have quite a few wives outside the palace, and they all need me. Thank you for your kind offer, Your Highness."
They... wives... quite a few?
You've got the nerve to say that!
Qian Renxue gave a flat laugh. "I couldn't tell that you were such a philanderer, Li Si. But a word of advice: you're so young, yet you're already fooling around everywhere. Don't die in the saddle and leave me to collect your corpse!"
"..."
While those two continued trading barbs, Tang Yuehua really could not take it anymore.
Were these two that close? How long had they been bickering? Were they ever going to stop?!
She gave a light cough and interrupted them on the spot. "This is Li Si. He studied at my Moonlight Pavilion for a year and has now successfully graduated. I intended to introduce him to Your Highness, but it seems I was doing something unnecessary~"
As she spoke, she released her domain. The bickering pair gradually grew calm and fell quiet.
By then, they too realized they had been improper. They should not have revealed so much in front of outsiders.
Fortunately, Tang Yuehua had not seen through them. She merely thought that young people were hot-blooded and that clashes were inevitable.
A year ago, when Lin Qian mentioned wanting to meet someone from the imperial family, she had made discreet inquiries and contacted Xue Qinghe through Xue Ke.
Unfortunately, he had been busy, and she had only finally managed to arrange a meeting now. Seeing how "harmoniously" they were getting along, she had completed her task and could rest easy.
After a little more idle chatter, Qian Renxue glanced at Lin Qian again.
She had to admit that, after studying at Moonlight Pavilion, he had an elegant bearing, picturesque features, and a respectable-looking facade. Compared with before, he made her heart... flutter even more.
She did not want to show weakness, especially by swooning in front of Lin Qian. That would be far too embarrassing.
So she feigned satisfaction and offered an olive branch at the right moment. "I've long heard of your outstanding achievements and youthful talent, Li Si. Meeting you today, I see your reputation is well deserved. Brother Li Si, let's sit down together sometime."
At the change in her form of address, both Lin Qian and Tang Yuehua breathed sighs of relief. The latter had completed her task, while the former... well, he had completed his task too.
Heaven knew I'd waited an entire year for this day!
Woman, how are you going to repay what you owe me?!
Before, Lin Qian would certainly have hurled a few harsh retorts at her to avenge a year of neglect. But after studying at Moonlight Pavilion, he could conceal his emotions well and achieve his goals through other means.
Xue Ke, standing nearby, could not resist chiming in. "Big Brother, remember to bring me along! I still want to learn music from Li Si!"
Look what you've done!
Qian Renxue shot him a slight glare with her beautiful eyes, while still smiling outwardly. "If Brother Li Si has no objections, neither do I."
Unlike Tang San in the original story, Lin Qian did not put on airs and readily agreed. "Then it's settled!"
As he spoke, he spread his arms again and slapped Qian Renxue hard on the back twice, reliving those surging waves.
His repeated rude offenses infuriated Qian Renxue, but she could not expose herself without breaking character. After considering it, she extended her hand seemingly naturally, then infused Angel Power into her returning grip. She would electrocute the bastard!
But she failed to steal the chicken and lost a handful of rice instead. Once her Soul Power entered him, it vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea, without a response. A moment later, it rebounded, shocking her until her scalp tingled.
If she had been a modern person, she would certainly have known about little toys. Those who knew, knew. That was precisely the feeling~
After losing out time and again, Qian Renxue finally lost her composure. She turned and left, dragging Xue Ke away with her.
That's what you get for being a womanizer! I'm not leaving you a single one. I'm taking them all!
As Xue Ke left, she looked back three times with every step, deeply reluctant to part. Had Lin Qian not been a commoner, she would have confessed her love long ago.
After all, who would not like such a handsome, accomplished young man?
When Lin Qian met her gaze, his tender regard for women prompted him to smile back. This threw Xue Ke's heart into even greater turmoil. Casting all shyness aside, she decided to ask her father, Xue Ye, to grant him a noble title once she returned to the palace, so he would be worthy of her!
Once everyone had left, Tang Yuehua watched Lin Qian calmly tidying up and burst into a chuckle. "Xue Ke asked me earlier what sort of noble title a commoner would need to marry a princess. I imagine she meant you? Congratulations in advance, Prince Consort. Don't forget me when you soar to glory~"
Lin Qian lowered his head, pretending to tend to the instrument's strings to hide the disdain in his eyes. When he looked up again, he was as gentle and refined as ever. "Madam, you know me."
After a year together, their relationship had deepened, and Tang Yuehua made a rare joke. "Oh?"
Rather than answer, Lin Qian stopped what he was doing and gave her a deep look, sending an unspoken hint. "There are too many eyes and ears here. Let's talk upstairs."