Yuanen Yehui stared at Tang Wulin in shock. Golden scales covered his chest, shoulders, and right arm. He held Yuanen Yehui’s fist in his scaled hand. Although she held back at the last second, he had stopped her punch far too easily. He had grown even stronger!

  Xie Xie, on the other hand, gazed at Tang Wulin in admiration. His was broad and imposing, and it instilled a sense of safety into Xie Xie.

  Tang Wulin sighed. “Could you stop for now, Yuanen? Help me understand what’s happening here. How did Xie Xie offend you this time?”


  “This is all your fault,” Yuanen Yehui growled. She shot a glare at Tang Wulin, and ran away.

  Tang Wulin turned to Xie Xie, his golden scales fading away as he gave him a curious look. “What did you do now? Explain from the beginning. Why’s she so mad?”


  “I saw something I shouldn’t have seen,” Xie Xie said with a strained smile. He explained exactly what happened without omitting a single detail.

  As Xie Xie recounted the events, a nervous expression formed on Tang Wulin’s face. It seemed some blame really did lay with him. To keep her promise to guard him, Yuanen Yehui had chosen to risk washing herself in the courtyard, and Xie Xie happened to return while she was doing so.

  It was actually hard to say who was at fault here. Unlike the previous incident in which Xie Xie looked into Yuanen Yehui’s room on his own, this time was just a coincidence. It wouldn’t be fair to lay all the blame on Xie Xie. All three of them shared the blame this time.

  Soon after Xie Xie finished explaining things to Tang Wulin, Yuanen Yehui returned fully clothed. Her face was ashen, and her gaze was glued to Xie Xie. It held a ferocity that could tear him to pieces. This was the second time he had peeped on her. The second time! She refused to believe that was mere coincidence. I’m going to beat that bastard to death!

  Xie Xie stared back at her in abject awe.

  Tang Wulin had no choice but to step in to mediate. “Yuanen, I’m really sorry about what happened. It’s all my fault. This happened because you promised to guard me.” He scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Xie Xie didn’t mean to peep on you. He wanted to surprise us by returning early. He only just got here, so he barely caught a glimpse of you before you noticed him. Xie Xie, hurry up and apologize to her.”


  No matter how Tang Wulin framed things, Xie Xie was still in the wrong. He had violated Yuanen Yehui’s privacy.

  Xie Xie bowed deeply, his head low. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have returned without telling you. I barely saw anything, I promise.”


  Although Xie Xie said this, Yuanen Yehui’s bare womanly charms were seared into his mind! He had been enchanted by her tempting figure bathing in the sunlight. He harbored no dark desires, he simply admired her beauty. Even after she transformed into her Titan Giant Ape form, he found her stunning.

  Yuanen Yehui fought to control her ragged breathing as she held up two fingers. “That’s two times now. Two! He’s an agility-type! Who knows when he arrived? How could I possibly trust him when he says he only got a glimpse of me? And even if he were telling the truth, a glimpse is still unacceptable!”


  Xie Xie remained silent, maintaining his deep bow.

  “Yuanen, I really am sorry!” Tang Wulin said hastily. “This is my fault. As an apology, how about I give you a spirit alloy with a harmony rate of eighty-five percent or higher, no charge?”


  “No way!” Yuanen Yehui shouted him down. “Are you saying my body is only worth a single spirit alloy?”


  Tang Wulin smiled awkwardly. “Then what do you want to do about this? We aren’t adults yet, and Xie Xie truly didn’t peep on purpose. It was just an unfortunate coincidence. Tell us what you want to happen and we’ll do our best to make it so.”


  Yuanen Yehui glared at him. “Of course a guy attracted to other guys wouldn’t understand the value of a girl’s body! I just want—”


  “Wait.” Tang Wulin raised a hand to interrupt her. “Wait just a minute now. What did you say?”


  Yuanen Yehui realized what she said and averted her gaze. “Sorry, I shouldn’t bring up your sexual preferences here. My bad. But still—”


  “Hold on!” Tang Wulin shouted this time. “Where did you get the idea that I like guys? Who told you that?”


  Stunned, she slowly raised a finger toward Xie Xie. “He did! He said you and Yue Zhengyu—”


  Tang Wulin whirled on Xie Xie, a grim look in his eyes.

  “Huh?” Xie Xie looked at Yuanen Yehui in astonishment. “Didn’t I explain things to you? That was just a misunderstanding.”


  Tang Wulin clenched his fists, then turned back to Yuanen Yehui. “You thought I was into guys this whole time?”


  Yuanen Yehui finally picked up on the fact that something was amiss. She looked back to Xie Xie and barked, “When the hell did you explain anything to me?”


  “Just listen to me!” Xie Xie sputtered, shaking his head frantically. “It was all a misunderstanding!” Desperate to save himself, he hastily explained what really happened between Tang Wulin and Yue Zhengyu.

  Tang Wulin clenched his fists even tighter. He tilted his head as he stared at Xie Xie. “Not only did you cause a misunderstanding, you spread it as a rumor too! Why don’t you tell the rest of the academy while you’re at it? Yuanen, I understand what you’re feeling now, so tell me, who’s beating his ass first? Me or you?”


  “No way! Boss, I made a mistake! I just forgot to explain things to Yuanen!” Xie Xie begged. He no longer even entertained the idea of running. With both Tang Wulin and Yuanen Yehui working together, he had no hope of escape.

  Tang Wulin flashed a brilliant smile at Xie Xie, grabbed him, and pulled him to Yuanen Yehui, maintaining his smile the entire time. “It’s unfortunate that this guy is such a bastard. I won’t try to protect him anymore. He’s all yours.” Tang Wulin pushed Xie Xie toward Yuanen Yehui before returning to their room.

  Yuanen Yehui locked eyes with Xie Xie. She raised her hand and made a fist.

  Xie Xie shut his eyes tight, his face contorted in fear He didn’t move an inch. He blamed himself for seeing what he shouldn’t have. He was prepared to face her wrath.

  Yet even after a minute of torturous waiting, he didn’t feel the pain of fist connecting with flesh. All he heard was the cries of birds in the distance.

  Xie Xie slowly opened his eyes, one at a time. Yuanen Yehui wasn’t facing him anymore. She was running back to her room. He could see something twinkling under the sun as she fled. It was a tear falling through the air. He moved to catch it, blurring from one spot to another, and it landed in his palm. He had no real reason to do this, but the sight of it made his heart throb with pain. If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have come back early.

  Xie Xie returned to his room in a daze. When he entered, he saw Tang Wulin sitting cross-legged on his bed. “Boss, I…… all of this—”


  “What’s done is done,” Tang Wulin interrupted him. “You’re just unlucky. There’s no point piling more misfortune onto you. So, she didn’t beat you?”


  Xie Xie shook his head and looked down at his feet, forcing out a bitter laugh. “I would have preferred it if she did. Instead, she cried.”


  Tang Wulin looked Xie Xie up and down, examining his forlorn friend. “Do you like her?”


  “Huh?” Xie Xie looked up, his mind clearly blank. Moments later, he nodded slowly. “But it’s hopeless! After all this, there’s no way she would like me back!”


  “I don’t understand the ways of the heart, but I do know that, no matter what happens, there is always a chance as long as you try. Give up, and your chances are zero. Think about that. I’m going to get some food.”


  Xie Xie watched Tang Wulin walk out the door before laying down on his own bed in a daze. The image of Yuanen Yehui’s figure flashed through his mind. He remembered each and every one of her frowns and smiles. She was already deeply imprinted on his heart.

  He leaped to his feet, ran out the door, and found the basin Yuanen Yehui had been using to wash herself. He also found her dirty clothes laying on the ground and threw them into the basin. Then he grabbed the other basin filled with water and cleaned up the courtyard. Once the courtyard was neat and tidy, he washed Yuanen Yehui’s dirty clothes and hung them up to dry. He brought the basins back to where she usually kept them, surprised to discover just how much he knew about her.