In the café, the smile in Xu Xin's eyes deepened.
"It was fine. The trip went smoothly."
"Good. Keep it up."
In Luo Feng's sea of consciousness, Lin Mo continued to coach him.
"Don't just stare at her. Look out the window, or at the flowers on the table. Relax."
"Then ask her what she'd like to drink. I hear their signature coffee is good, or she could try some juice. Let her choose."
Luo Feng did as he was told, taking his eyes off Xu Xin's face.
He glanced at the small vase on the table, then picked up the drinks menu.
He passed it to Xu Xin naturally, his voice much steadier than before.
"See anything you'd like to drink? I hear their signature coffee is good, or would you like to try some juice?"
He remembered that Xu Xin didn't seem to like things that were too bitter.
Xu Xin took the menu, her fingertips inadvertently brushing against Luo Feng's hand.
Both of them paused slightly.
She lowered her head to look at the menu, the tips of her ears seemingly turning a little red.
"I'll have an orange juice."
After they ordered their drinks, the atmosphere seemed to grow more natural.
With Lin Mo coaching him personally, Luo Feng gradually found his rhythm.
He stopped asking those dry questions.
Instead, he began sharing some of the things he had seen and heard in the wilderness that weren't too bloody or dangerous.
He asked Xu Xin about her life at school.
His tone was caring rather than interrogative.
Now and then, he even managed to pick up on topics Xu Xin brought up.
He even made a couple of jokes that didn't fall too flat.
The surprise in Xu Xin's eyes grew more and more apparent.
The Luo Feng before her seemed very different from the quiet, sometimes slightly awkward young man she had known.
Luo Feng was still sincere, but there was more ease and thoughtfulness in his words.
His eyes were brighter and more assured, too.
This change in Luo Feng, as though he had suddenly wised up, struck her as novel and made her a little happy.
During a lull in their conversation.
Luo Feng looked at Xu Xin's gentle smile, and the decision in his heart gradually became clear.
He took a deep breath and decided to get to the point.
"Xu Xin, there's something I need to tell you. I've been accepted into the Dojo of Limits' Elite Training Camp."
Xu Xin's hand paused slightly as she held her cup, and the smile on her face froze for an instant.
A distinct trace of reluctance and worry flashed through her bright eyes.
"The Elite Training Camp? I've heard of it. It's the best training camp in the world, in Hongning Base City. It's a long way away."
Her voice grew quieter.
"Will you be gone long?"
Seeing her reluctance, Luo Feng felt the softest place in his heart stirred.
"Not long! My path is a bit unusual. I might only need to stay there for three or four months."
"Three or four months?"
Xu Xin raised her head. Some of the gloom in her eyes had lifted, but she still looked a little wistful.
"That's still a long time."
For two young people who had feelings for each other, a separation of three or four months was already long enough.
Luo Feng looked at her, a powerful impulse surging in his heart.
With Lin Mo silently encouraging him to say what he wanted to say and stop dawdling.
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze burning as he looked at Xu Xin, his tone more solemn than ever before.
"Xu Xin, wait for me."
"When I return from the Training Camp, I'll definitely be much stronger than I am now."
"By then, I'll have enough strength and confidence."
"I'll personally step through the Xu Family's gates, no longer as an ordinary fighter, but as someone worthy of you."
"I'll declare it to your family and to the whole world."
At that, Luo Feng paused, every word clear and forceful.
"My feelings for you."
There were no flowery words in his speech.
Yet it was filled with a young man's sincerest resolve and promise.
Xu Xin was completely stunned.
She hadn't expected Luo Feng to make such a direct and solemn promise.
Two rosy clouds instantly spread across her cheeks, reaching all the way to her ears.
She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, her heart pounding like a drum.
Shyness, joy, and emotion intertwined.
Several seconds passed before she finally gave a gentle nod.
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's whine, yet it reached Luo Feng's ears clearly.
"All right."
That single word seemed to carry the weight of a thousand jun, along with boundless tenderness and anticipation.
The two sat together a while longer, the atmosphere turning subtle and sweet.
Even their occasional glances carried an electric current.
But time passed all the same.
"I should get back."
Xu Xin checked the time and stood up reluctantly.
"Remember to take care of yourself when you get there, and be careful on the way."
"Mm, you too."
Luo Feng stood as well and walked her to the café entrance.
The last rays of the setting sun stretched their shadows long.
Standing by the street, Xu Xin looked back at Luo Feng, as though there were countless words in her eyes.
In the end, they became a single sentence.
"Luo Feng, do your best."
"Wait for me."
Luo Feng nodded firmly.
Xu Xin smiled radiantly, then turned and climbed into a brand-new Maybach.
The sound from the Maybach's Burmester audio system really was good.
Luo Feng listened to the music, free of any noise.
He thought back to how penniless he had been before becoming a fighter.
For as long as he could remember, he had lived in an old low-rent apartment.
Back then, his greatest wish had been to move his family into a big apartment with an elevator.
Now, Luo Feng had forty billion in savings.
And he had confirmed his romantic relationship with a rich young lady like her. Luo Feng felt as though he were dreaming.
After Xu Xin left, Luo Feng stood where he was.
He watched the Maybach merge into traffic and disappear around a street corner.
He stood there like that for some time.
The evening breeze brushed his cheeks, carrying the bustle unique to the city.
Yet it could not blow away the warmth churning in Luo Feng's heart or that weighty sweetness.
The scenes from the café replayed over and over in his mind.
Every detail was incomparably clear.
That confession, as though he had smashed his pots and sunk his boats.
Even now, thinking back on it, Luo Feng's heart still sped up despite himself.
She agreed!
A few months, just a few months!
Luo Feng was already sketching a picture of the future in his mind.
Luo Feng imagined himself graduating from the Elite Training Camp with outstanding results.
His strength would advance by leaps and bounds, approaching the Planetary Level!
Then, armed with enough strength and glory, he would personally step through the Xu Family's gates.
Not as an ordinary genius fighter who had to look up to the Xu Family.
But as a powerhouse, standing openly before the Xu Family elders and declaring his feelings for Xu Xin.
Luo Feng even thought further ahead.
If we have children someday, would a boy or a girl be better?
If it's a boy, I'll teach him to fight and protect his mother.
If it's a girl, she must be as gentle and beautiful as Xu Xin.
There's plenty of time to think of names.
"Ah."
In Luo Feng's sea of consciousness, Lin Mo sighed helplessly.
"Young people really are innocent and naïve, with the loveliest fantasies about the opposite sex."
"And full of unrealistic romantic hopes for the future."
He couldn't quite say what he was feeling at that moment.
As a powerhouse who had once roamed the universe unhindered, Lin Mo had seen far too many joys and sorrows, partings and reunions.
He also understood full well the role emotions played for a fighter.
To be honest, from the most rational perspective, he didn't support Luo Feng forming too many attachments.
The more attachments one had, the more easily one's heart fell into disarray.
The true path of a powerhouse was often destined to be accompanied by solitude and the universe.