“Hey, hurry up and start,” Chu Liner urged anxiously when she saw Lin Hai wasn’t playing anymore.
“I’m not playing anymore. You cheat!” Lin Hai turned his head away in anger.
“Alright, alright, I won’t cheat anymore. I admit defeat, okay? But you have to keep playing with me, deal?” Chu Liner floated her body over to the other side of Lin Hai.
“No deal.” Lin Hai’s temper had flared up.
As soon as Lin Hai finished speaking, a gloomy aura enveloped him.
Startled, Lin Hai quickly looked up.
There stood Chu Liner on the bed. Her enchanting face showed neither joy nor sadness—it was unusually cold and stern. An air of authority radiated from her, making her seem both noble and icy.
“I, Your Highness, command you to play with me!” Chu Liner seemed to have transformed into a completely different person, her voice carrying an undeniable power.
An inexplicable sense of pressure welled up in Lin Hai’s heart. He suddenly felt incredibly small in that moment.
He swallowed hard and was about to speak.
Then, just as suddenly, Chu Liner threw herself back down beside him.
“Please, just play with me a little longer. I’m begging you.”
Pfft!
The dignified, imposing image Chu Liner had just built up in Lin Hai’s heart came crashing down.
Good grief, this girl is a shapeshifting enchantress.
Lin Hai was completely speechless.
Seeing that Lin Hai wasn’t responding, Chu Liner flipped her wrist, and a yellowish-brown bead appeared in her palm.
“Hey, consider that round a loss for me. I’ll give you this treasure, and you’ll keep playing with me, okay?”
“Oh?” Lin Hai perked up the moment he heard the word “treasure” and sat straight up.
“Show me the treasure first,” Lin Hai said, his eyes gleaming.
“Okay, but if I send it to you, you have to play with me,” Chu Liner said as she scanned it with her phone.
Ding dong!
Chu Liner has sent you a Spirit-Nurturing Pearl.
“Spirit-Nurturing Pearl? What’s that?” Lin Hai opened the Qiankun Pouch in WeChat and took a look.
Spirit-Nurturing Pearl: Can nurture the soul.
“What does that mean?” Lin Hai didn’t get it.
“Dummy, it means after you die, you can go inside the pearl and be nurtured.”
Pfft!
Seriously? Big brother here is alive and well. What use do I have for this thing?
“Hey, I already gave you the treasure. Now play with me.” Chu Liner urged him again.
“Knock, knock, knock!” Just then, there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll play with you later.” Lin Hai quickly got dressed and went to open the door.
“Hmph, you jerk.” Chu Liner angrily waved her little fist.
“Xiao Hai, get up and eat breakfast,” Song Qin said from outside the door.
“Oh, got it, Mom.” Lin Hai washed up and sat down at the table.
“Xiao Hai, why hasn’t Xinyue been coming over these past couple of days?” Lin Wen suddenly asked. He was quite satisfied with his future daughter-in-law, Liu Xinyue.
“Xinyue is getting ready for the Youth Song Competition. It starts next week,” Lin Hai said while eating.
“Oh my, Xinyue is entering a competition? Then we should all go and cheer her on!” Song Qin got excited when she heard that.
After eating, Lin Hai got in his car and drove to school.
Along the way, the lamp poles had been fitted with promotional light boxes for the city’s Youth Song Competition. Even the bus bodies had been painted with information about the competition.
When Lin Hai arrived at school, students were starting to talk about the competition in small groups. The atmosphere suddenly became much more lively.
Lin Hai called Liu Xinyue and found out she was practicing in the vocal room. He parked his car in front of the room and walked inside.
“Lin Hai.” Liu Xinyue ran over to him.
“How’s the practice going? Don’t overwork yourself.” Lin Hai ruffled Liu Xinyue’s hair.
“Pretty much there. These past few days, I’ve mainly been solidifying the songs and getting familiar with the lyrics.” Liu Xinyue seemed to be in a good mood.
“Sounds like you’re pretty confident.” Lin Hai was happy to see Liu Xinyue in such good shape.
“At least among the contestants from our school, I’m confident I can win.” Liu Xinyue playfully pursed her lips, revealing two sweet little dimples.
“Oh, quite the bold statement, aren’t we?” A woman’s voice came from behind.
Lin Hai turned around and saw Zhen Shuang walking toward them with a half-smile.
Liu Xinyue frowned. Zhen Shuang had been practicing her singing these past few days too, and every day she’d come over and make snide remarks. It was really annoying.
“At least you’re not someone I’m worried about,” Liu Xinyue shot back.
“Is that so?” Zhen Shuang gave a playful smile. “It seems having our ‘King of Singers’ by your side really gives you a boost.”
“Miss Zhen, you flatter me. When it comes to confidence, who could have more than you? You’re practically the Lu Bu of the Three Kingdoms era!” Lin Hai gave Zhen Shuang a thumbs-up.
“Lu Bu?” Zhen Shuang frowned, instinctively feeling that wasn’t a good comparison.
“Kid, what are you babbling about? Our Miss Zhen is beautiful and sings beautifully. If you’re going to compare her to anyone, it should be Diao Chan. What’s she got to do with Lu Bu? So uncultured!”
A man who clearly wasn’t a student had somehow appeared behind Zhen Shuang. He placed his hand on her slender waist and sneered.
“Don’t interrupt!” Zhen Shuang felt like Lin Hai was implying something and quickly stopped the man.
“Don’t interrupt? How can I not?” Lin Hai shook his head.
“Lu Bu might be fierce, but three heroes against Lu Bu—heh heh…” Lin Hai gave a mischievous grin and shot Zhen Shuang a “you know what I mean” look.
By now, Zhen Shuang understood exactly what Lin Hai was referring to. No matter how thick-skinned she was, she couldn’t handle it. Her face flushed red all the way to the roots of her neck.
“What nonsense is this? Three heroes against Lu Bu? I’d rather talk about borrowing arrows with straw boats,” the man said contemptuously.
“Stop talking. Let’s go.” Zhen Shuang knew that Lin Hai must have overheard what Ye Ziming said that day. And the man beside her happened to be one of the three from that night.
Her embarrassing secret had been exposed in public. Even though it was hinted at subtly, she still felt incredibly ashamed and couldn’t stay any longer.
“Lin Hai, what did you mean by that? Why did she leave with a red face?” Liu Xinyue asked, confused.
Lin Hai pulled Liu Xinyue aside.
“Xinyue, here’s what ‘three heroes against Lu Bu’ means…” Lin Hai told Liu Xinyue what he’d overheard that day.
“Pfft, how shameless. How could she be with multiple people at the same time…” Liu Xinyue’s face turned bright red once she understood.
Lin Hai watched Liu Xinyue’s blushing face and felt a flutter in his heart.
He reached around from behind and wrapped his arms around her slender waist.
“Xinyue, when no one’s around, can we… you know… do that thing?” Lin Hai asked nervously.
“Mm,” Liu Xinyue replied in a voice even softer than a mosquito’s, her head lowered.
“Really!” Lin Hai was overjoyed.
Hell yeah! Xinyue said yes!
Haha, does that mean big brother is about to say goodbye to his virgin days?
“I need to practice singing. You should go to class?” Seeing Lin Hai so excited, Liu Xinyue became even more embarrassed. With her face still red and other students watching, she pushed Lin Hai out the door.
Lin Hai felt dizzy the whole way. Thinking about how he’d mustered up the courage to ask and Xinyue had actually agreed made him feel like he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Damn it, I need to find the right time, as soon as possible. Big brother’s been holding out for over twenty years. I can’t wait any longer!”
“Huh?” Just then, Lin Hai’s phone rang. He picked it up and looked.
“It’s him?”
