Dong Cheng Fengâs invitation promised a high class restaurant, and the gastronomical delights associated with such haute cuisine made my mouth water. My only desire in this life was to eat and drink for free, and here, presented to me, was a great opportunity that couldnât be so easily missed. Thus, I stopped grinding at around noon-I had finally reached Lv 73- âtwas time to log off!
Full of expectation, I arrived below the female dorms and there I beheld Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue all dressed up and waiting by the Audi TT, which was parked by the curb. We immediately got in as Dong Cheng Yue started the car and we sped towards the city, finally stopping at the restaurantâs underground parking lot. After getting out, Dong Cheng Yue carried a small purse and walked ahead. Wan Er, on the other hand, trudged alongside me and secretly threw a few glances at me before reaching out to hold my arm. However, at that moment, Dong Cheng looked back at us and the little miss didnât know what to do with her hand. She could neither reach out to hold my arm, nor take it back. The only option left was to awkwardly pull my sleeveâ¦â¦
I wasnât sure whether to laugh or cry, so I just let her continue holding onto my sleeve as we walked up the stairs.
â¦â¦
In the private room, the head of the Dong family sat upright in his chair. Upon witnessing our entrance, he greeted us with a kind smile, âYue Er, Wan Er, you have arrived! Ah, Li Xiao Yao, youâre here as well. Ha ha, today will be rather lively!â
Dong Cheng Lei stood up and called out, âBrother Xiao Yao!â
I nodded at him, âAh Lei, I havenât seen you for a quite some time. You seemâ¦â¦ um, more robust?â
Dong Cheng Lei hesitated for a second, then candidly said, âIâve been eating too well latelyâ¦â¦â
Dong Cheng Feng couldnât help but smile and said, âAh Lei, you bratâ¦â¦â
Lin Wan Er tugged on my sleeve, urging me to sit down. Dong Cheng Yue took the seat on my other side, before pulling out a menu saying, âDaddy, have you guys ordered already? I want to eat and I want to eat meatâ¦â
Dong Cheng Feng was even more speechless at that revelation. Finally he said, âI got itâ¦I already ordered a lot of different meatsâ¦â¦â
âGoodâ¦â Dong Cheng Yue then sweetly smiled, âDaddy, why did you suddenly think of inviting us to eat? Youâre normally so busy that you donât even have the time to celebrate my birthday with meâ¦â
Dong Cheng Feng smiled, âActually, I invited you all to eat today because I wanted to introduce someone to you. Soon he will also be your schoolmate. His main duty is⦠to be around Yue Er and guarantee her safety. Lately, there have been strange events around Hang Zhou, so we need to be cautious.â
âOh? Who are you introducing us to?â
âJust wait, theyâre almost hereâ¦â
âOkâ¦â
â¦â¦
A few minutes later, someone knocked on their private room door. It was an elegant young man clothed completely in white; he looked vaguely familiar. He smiled at Dong Cheng Feng and modestly announced, âUncle, Iâm here!â
Dong Cheng Feng stood up and said, âYes, this is the person I wanted to introduce you to. His name is Tang Qi and heâs from Si Chuan. I think, you guys should be able to recognize this person is!â
Dong Cheng Yue hesitated for a second then said, âThisâ¦â¦ is this the Feng Shui Master, The Seventh Tang?â
Tang Qi grinned and said, âYes it is me, Miss Dong Cheng, but please, just refer to me as Tang Qi. From now on, we are friends. In addition to being friends, in compliance with your fatherâs wishes, I will be accompanying you at school to ensure your safety.â
As he finished talking, Tang Qi looked at Wan Er and said, âHello Cang Tong. I didnât think I would meet you in real lifeâ¦â
Wan Er glared at him and said, âI donât know you!â
Dong Cheng then looked suspiciously at Dong Cheng Feng, âDaddy, I donât thinkâ¦â¦I donât think I ever asked for a bodyguard, isnât that right? Besides this Tang Qi⦠what gives him the right to protect me? Is he really talented?â
âThisâ¦â
Dong Cheng Feng quietly said, âYue Er, donât be stubborn. Tang Qi is only here to take care of your safety and wonât meddle in your personal life. Besides, Tang Qi isnât much weaker than Li Xiao Yao, heâs also on the Royal Air level. This is something that an old friend of mine tested outâ¦â¦â
âWhat?!â
Tang Qi was shocked, âLi Xiao Yao is also a peak Royal Air Level?â
I look at him and said, âSo thatâs whyâ¦â
Tang Qi smiled and said, âThen⦠How about we cross swords for a bit?â
I grinned back, âJust what I was thinking!â
Unexpectedly, Dong Cheng Lei angrily roared out, âYou want to bully my Brother Xiao Yao? Dumbass! Donât you dare touch a hair on my Brother Xiao Yao or else Iâll beat you up!â
Raising his fist, Dong Cheng Lei threw a punch with his god-given strength!
Tang Qi immediately reacted and gathered both his palms at his abdomen. Suddenly his qi expanded and âPeng!â he caught Dong Cheng Leiâs fist, but was forced backwards several steps. His face was ashen. He didnât move even after a few seconds. His two arms were probably numb by now. Shocked, he looked at Dong Cheng Lei, âThisâ¦young master Ah Lei is so strong, so strongâ¦â¦â
Dong Cheng Feng yelled out, âAh Lei, calm down! Tang Qi isnât a bad person!â
Dong Cheng Leiâs arm suddenly tightened as he roared out, âBut he wants to fight my Brother Xiao Yao. How can he not be a bad person? Dad, donât get tricked by this bastard!â
Dong Cheng Feng helplessly said, âLi Xiao Yaoâ¦â
I couldnât help but smile, âAh Lei, please calm down a little. Tang Qi and I just want to arrange a time to spar. We arenât actually fighting. He isnât a bad person, at least he doesnât look like one!â
Tang Qi rubbed his nose and said, âHmph, the waters of Hang Zhou are truly deep. I need to be more cautious here next time. I need to take precautions or else Iâll be doomedâ¦â
â¦â¦
I nodded at Dong Cheng Lei to sit down. That brat doesnât even listen to his own dad, but he hears and obeys me.
Mumbling, he finally sat down next to his father.
Dong Cheng Yue wasnât feeling too satisfied with this and spun the lazy suzy. She shot a glance at Dong Cheng Feng and said, âDaddy, you really wonât discuss this with me? I donât want a bodyguard, and even if I did want one, I want to choose one myselfâ¦â¦â
Dong Cheng Feng said, âBrat, then who do you want?â
âLi Xiao Yaoâ¦â
âHmphâ¦â¦â
Dong Cheng Feng looked towards me, âLi Xiao Yao, do you want to? If you want to, then Iâll give you 10 times of what Lin Tian Nan is paying you. How does that sound?â
I looked over at Wan Er who was beside me and shook my head, âI really shouldnât. Thank you for your generosity Uncle Dong Cheng, but I already promised the Lin Family that I would properly protect Wan Er, and I have no intention of changing that.â
Wan Erâs small cheeks finally seemed to reveal a small smile as she happily looked at me but she didnât say anything.
Dong Cheng Yue pouted and said, âToo bad, thereâs only one Li Xiao Yaoâ¦â¦â
â¦â¦
Tang Qi couldnât take it anymore and said, âLi Xiao Yaoâ¦Li Xiao Yaoâ¦why does everyone want Li Xiao Yao. Whatâs so good about that bastard, to be so important to Miss Dong Cheng? Looks like I definitely need to test himâ¦â¦â
I glanced at him and said, âWhat is it, you want to duel with me?â
âJust what I was thinking!â
âHmphâ¦â Dong Cheng Feng said, âLetâs first eat. If you want to compete, this restaurant has a practice ground in the rear garden that you can use for your spar. Besides, I also want to see which of these two young elites is truly number one! Tang Qi, rumor has it that he is the strongest youth amongst the younger generation of martial arts in the South. Li Xiao Yao has never been heard of, but it seems as though he isnât bad. A perfect match up. Let me see who of the two younger generations is stronger.â
I nodded, âMhm, as you say.â
Tang Qi pulled out a chair and sat beside Dong Cheng Yue. He smiled and said, âLittle miss, how about I show you a magic trick?â
Dong Cheng Yue nodded and said, âDo what you wishâ¦â
Tang Qi took out a turtle shell from his pocket, tossed three coins into the shell and shook it around. Dong Cheng Yueâs face revealed some annoyance, âYou think a few parlor tricks will help you pick up girls? Give up already, I donât believe in my 8 characters* and I donât have any interest in finding out my future. My future will be something that I, Dong Cheng Yue, alone will control, you donât have to try and figure it out!â
Note: *8 characters in chinese culture represents a sort of fortune telling that is rumored to be pretty accurate. Everyone has 8 characters that represent them and can be used to calculate their compatibility with other peopleâs 8 characters
Tang Qi smiled, âLittle Miss, Iâm not telling you your future. Just watch carefullyâ¦â
As he finished talking, Tang Qi abruptly opened his hand, and the turtle shell suddenly started floating in mid air. Then, he lightly tugged the air in his right hand and the coins in the shell slowly flew out, one at a time, and began spinning around in the air. There wasnât a single string attached to the coins.
â¦â¦
âEh!?â Dong Cheng Yueâs eyes widened, âThis⦠this really is magic. You can actually lead objects through the air?!â
I couldnât help but smile. As a Royal Air Level expert as well, I could feel the flow of Tang Qiâs qi.
âLi Xiao Yao, why are you smiling?â Dong Cheng Feng asked.
I simply shook my head and smiled. Then I picked up the chopsticks next to me and gave it a casual toss before activating my own qi. At that moment, the chopsticks suddenly stood up in midair. I opened an empty palm and the qi pushed the chopsticks, forcing them to fly out. âPa!â the chopstick struck the coin in the center and shot it right into the other wall. When I rose my right hand, the second chopstick flew out as well. âShua Shuaâ three chopsticks shot down Tang Qiâs three coins right into the wall.
Wiping my hands, I smiled, âOh, it seems I can use magic too? Tang Qi, arenât you ashamed for using your repelling qi for parlor tricks? Youâve embarrassed the entire martial arts worldâ¦â
Tang Qiâs face burned, âHmph, so you studied this kind of stuff tooâ¦â
Dong Cheng Feng clapped his hands, âNot bad, not bad. The next generation truly is formidable. The skills of you two are truly shocking. Once we finish eating, I want to see your true strength!â
I asked, âWill I get rewarded if I win?â
Dong Cheng Feng hesitated, âEh, what do you want?â
I thought about it for a second and said, âThe reward I want is for Tang Qi to not become Dong Cheng Yueâs bodyguard. I donât want to see Dong Cheng Yue forced into something she doesnât want.â
âSuch a requestâ¦â Dong Cheng Feng deeply pondered for a few seconds then said, âI canât agree to this.â
âAlrightâ¦â¦â I smiled, âItâs no problem. Then I wonât compete with Tang Qi any more. Can I still eat?â
Dong Cheng Feng helplessly said, âJust eat, itâs no problem. Thereâs no need to spar, it wonât hurt our relationshipâ
âOk.â
Dong Cheng Yue pouted as her watery eyes looked at me. Tang Qi saw everything and gave a deep sigh, âAy, this trip to Zhe Jiang was truly hard and unprofitableâ¦â
â¦â¦
The banquet came to an end as I filled my stomach until it became perfectly round. I rubbed my mouth and followed Wan Er out.
Tang Qi walked up and said, âWan Erâ¦â¦â
âHm?â Wan Er turned around, âWhat do you need?â
âI wouldâ¦â¦I would like to go back to school in your car. Is that alright? Iâll be going to study at Liu Hua University as wellâ¦â
âWhy donât you get a taxiâ¦â Wan Er said impatiently.
Tang Qiâs face turned green, âIsnât that just a little too heartless?â
I smiled, âItâs nothing⦠itâs really easy getting a taxi here. Besides, I also remember what you said before-that I had no right to remain by Wan Erâs side, is that right? I still remember that very clearly. I wonât say anything else but this, meet me tonight at 10 at the schoolâs basketball court #7. Weâll decide whoâs better in secret.
âYou!â Tang Qi made a fist and said, âAlright, I accept your challenge!â
âGood, Iâll be waiting!â
â¦â¦
After getting into the car, the TT sped away.
Tang Qi stood at the curb and reached his hand out to flag a taxi. The car came to a stop and the driver asked, âWhere to?â
Tang Qi said, âLiu Hua University!â
âItâs out of the way! My carâs air conditioning isnât good either, it can only spit out hot air.â
âI donât believe you!!â
âGet in then!â
More than ten minutes later, Tang Qiâs face dripped with sweat as he crawled out of the taxi. After wiping off the perspiration off his face, he cursed, âF*ck, to think that I would get here trapped in a car at 39°C. These coastal peopleâs heads are truly made of something elseâ¦â