Lin Xue beamed, ignoring Su Qingqing entirely, and turned to Ye Ning instead. "Did you hear that? Tonight you'll sleep in my cousin's room again—she's more than willing anyway."
Su Qingqing shot Lin Xue a dirty look, grumbling in annoyance, "What are you talking about? I was talking about Master Hidden Dragon, not Ye Ning. Even if his painting skills are decent, how could he possibly compare to Master Hidden Dragon?"
Clearly, in Su Qingqing's heart, Master Hidden Dragon held an incomparable position.
"What if I told you I know Master Hidden Dragon?" Lin Xue asked with a mischievous grin.
Giving Lin Xue another sideways glance, Su Qingqing said petulantly, "Alright, stop joking around with my idol. I've had a tiring day and I'm exhausted. Let's get some rest early."
Seeing that Su Qingqing didn't believe her, Lin Xue said anxiously, "I really do know Master Hidden Dragon! If I'm lying, may I be cursed with thirty periods a month!"
Holy crap.
What a vicious oath. Even Ye Ning was stunned.
To make Su Qingqing believe her, this girl really would say anything.
Even Su Qingqing was taken aback. Seeing how earnest Lin Xue looked, her interest was instantly piqued.
"You know Master Hidden Dragon? Where is he? Is he a man or a woman? What does he look like—tall, short, fat, or thin? How old is he?" Su Qingqing fired off questions like a machine gun.
Lin Xue, however, was in no rush. She glanced sideways at Ye Ning and said, "Actually, you know this Master Hidden Dragon too."
"I know him too?" Su Qingqing froze. Seeing Lin Xue put on a mysterious front and stubbornly refuse to give up the answer, she knew full well the little girl was just whetting her appetite.
"You little wretch, daring to tease me like this! I'm going to tickle you!" Su Qingqing reached out with a menacing look.
The two girls instantly tumbled together into a tussle.
Standing nearby, Ye Ning watched them as their shoulders shook with laughter, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
"Alright, alright, I yield! I'll tell you who Master Hidden Dragon is," Lin Xue begged for mercy.
Under normal circumstances, Su Qingqing wouldn't have let her off so easily, but this time she decided to spare her.
With bright, eager eyes, Su Qingqing stared fixedly at Lin Xue.
"Right under our noses," Lin Xue said, casting a glance at Ye Ning.
Su Qingqing's rosy lips dropped open in utter disbelief.
Master Hidden Dragon was Ye Ning? How was that even possible?
"Impossible," Su Qingqing shook her head.
In her mind, Master Hidden Dragon was a transcendent, worldly-detached master—someone who absolutely had nothing to do with a man in his early twenties.
Unfazed by her skepticism, Lin Xue smiled and said, "If Ye Ning isn't Master Hidden Dragon, why would Tan Qingshan pay one hundred million to buy his painting?"
At that, Su Qingqing froze.
Right. One hundred million.
Among contemporary painters, whose work could command a price of one hundred million?
Of course, it wasn't completely unheard of, but such painters were exceedingly rare.
Most of them were well-established masters whose names she already knew.
The only one whose face remained a complete mystery was Master Hidden Dragon.
That meant Ye Ning really was Master Hidden Dragon.
"I still don't believe it," Su Qingqing muttered, fighting her own doubts.
"This morning at Master Hidden Dragon's exhibition, Ye Ning painted *A Gathering of Cranes*. There should be reports of it online right now. Just look it up and you'll see whether I'm telling the truth," Lin Xue said with a smile.
Without another word, Su Qingqing pulled out her phone and searched the internet.
Within moments, she found *A Gathering of Cranes*.
She zoomed in on the image, and her eyes went wide.
This was undeniably the work of Master Hidden Dragon. Ye Ning actually was Master Hidden Dragon.
Her mind was in complete disarray; she desperately needed some time alone.
"Don't bother me. Just let me be by myself for a bit," Su Qingqing said, walking away.
As she watched Su Qingqing's retreating back, Lin Xue called out, "Cousin, don't forget—you said you were going to marry Master Hidden Dragon!"
Thud.
The door slammed shut, and Lin Xue broke into a wicked grin.
Ye Ning yawned, fixed his gaze on Lin Xue, and said, "Wife, let's go to bed."
With that, Ye Ning reached out to pull Lin Xue upstairs with him.
Startled, Lin Xue quickly protested, "Your room is already made up—it's that one right there! I'm tired and going to sleep. I still have school tomorrow. Goodnight!"
With that, Lin Xue bolted into her bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it from the inside.
Ye Ning let out a sigh. Another day of sleeping alone.
Early the next morning, Tan Qingshan arrived.
Lin Muhua accompanied him personally, showing him the utmost respect.
"What? My son-in-law is Master Hidden Dragon? Elder Tan, you must be joking!" Lin Muhua exclaimed in shock.
Tan Qingshan's face darkened. "How could I possibly joke about something like this? I watched him paint with my own eyes yesterday. He is undoubtedly Master Hidden Dragon."
Tan Qingshan possessed absolute authority in the art world.
Since he said so, there was no doubt left that Ye Ning was Master Hidden Dragon.
Inwardly, Lin Muhua was overjoyed. His daughter really had struck gold.
Not only was Ye Ning skilled in medicine and martial arts, but he was also Master Hidden Dragon.
He couldn't even begin to imagine what other surprises Ye Ning might bring him in the future.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Lin Muhua put on a serious expression and said, "Now that's not playing fair, Elder Tan. Since you knew my son-in-law is Master Hidden Dragon, you only offered one hundred million? You got a massive bargain."
Tan Qingshan gave an awkward laugh. "You know how it is—I don't have that much cash lying around. One hundred million was already my absolute limit."
At that, Tan Qingshan glared at him indignantly. "You've grown some nerve, haven't you, daring to lecture me? Don't think I wouldn't dare smack your backside right now."
Lin Muhua offered a wry smile. Tan Qingshan was a comrade-in-arms of his late father and had given him plenty of beatings when he was a boy.
It was only in recent years, after Tan Qingshan moved away and only returned in the last two years, that their interactions had decreased.
In reality, the two families still shared a very close bond.
Even though Lin Muhua's father had passed away, their relationship remained strong, much like that of an uncle and a nephew.
"Uncle Tan, my mistake. Let me take you to see Ye Ning," Lin Muhua said with a bitter smile.
Tan Qingshan shook his head. "No need. We'll wait right here. Whenever Master Hidden Dragon wakes up, we can ask him for a painting. I don't want to disturb his mood."
Lin Muhua: "……"
Only then did he realize just how much reverence this uncle of his held for Master Hidden Dragon.
Even burning with anxiety and desperate for a painting, he was willing to wait until Ye Ning woke up rather than disturb him.
This was the kind of deep respect one showed to an honored elder, yet Tan Qingshan was showing it to someone much younger.
Tan Qingshan's reasoning was simple: what if Master Hidden Dragon hadn't slept well and just casually dashed off a mediocre painting for him? Wouldn't he be the one losing out?
As the two men chatted idly, Su Qingqing arrived, holding a painting in her hands.
She looked somewhat dazed, still failing to process everything.
She had just witnessed Ye Ning paint a piece with her own eyes, and it had left her shaken to her core.
He was definitely Master Hidden Dragon; there simply wasn't another painter in the world with Ye Ning's level of skill.
Even the person currently hailed as the top painter in the art world relied heavily on marketing hype, whereas Ye Ning's talent clearly surpassed theirs.
"Qingqing, is Ye Ning awake?" Lin Muhua asked.
Su Qingqing replied, "Ye Ning has already left with my cousin to go to school. He asked me to hand this painting over to Elder Tan."
With that, Su Qingqing passed the painting forward.
Tan Qingshan took it, his hands trembling slightly.
He swallowed hard, feeling extremely nervous.
What kind of painting had Ye Ning made for him? Given how quickly it was finished, how was the quality? Everything was a complete unknown.
It gave Tan Qingshan the thrilling suspense of opening a mystery box.
Seeing his nervous state, Lin Muhua chuckled. "Uncle Tan, don't worry. If you don't like it, I can just have Ye Ning paint another one for you. We're all family anyway."
Before Tan Qingshan could respond, Su Qingqing piped up indignantly, "Uncle, what kind of talk is that? How can you ask Ye Ning to just casually paint another one? A single piece of his is worth hundreds of millions!"
She then turned to Tan Qingshan with a dissatisfied frown. "Elder Tan, you're taking advantage of him. Our Ye Ning doesn't know the market value, but offering only one hundred million is way too low. Which of Master Hidden Dragon's paintings sells for less than two hundred million?"
By this point, Su Qingqing was already referring to Ye Ning as "our Ye Ning."
Ever since discovering his true identity, her attitude toward him had undergone a complete one-eighty.
Tan Qingshan offered an apologetic, bitter smile. "Forgive me, Miss Su. I really don't have that kind of cash—one hundred million was all the funds I had. If that's truly not enough, the villa I live in is worth around forty million; I can transfer the deed to Mr. Ye."
Hearing this, Lin Muhua panicked and quickly interjected, "Uncle Tan, don't listen to the girl. You're my father's brother—how could I let you sell your home? One hundred million is one hundred million. If Ye Ning feels it's not enough, I'll make up the difference out of my own pocket."
"You're not a bad kid," Tan Qingshan said. "It makes up for the time you peeked at that girl taking a bath back in the day and I took the fall for you. Otherwise, knowing your old man's temper back then, the grass on your grave would have grown flat by now."Su Qingqing widened her eyes and looked at her uncle in surprise. He actually had such a glorious past?
Lin Muhua's face turned red, and he hurriedly said, "Uncle Tan, if you bring up things from back then again, you might as well sell your house."
Tan Qingshan laughed heartily. Without saying anything more, he unrolled the painting.
Upon seeing what was depicted, Tan Qingshan was so moved he almost burst into tears.
Su Qingqing curled her lips. If not for the subject of the painting, she definitely would have kept it for herself.
The painting was a portrait of Tan Qingshan himself, standing among towering mountains, looking as ethereal and otherworldly as an immortal about to ride the wind and depart.
Tan Qingshan had never imagined that Ye Ning would actually give him a portrait of himself.
This was drawn by Master Hidden Dragon's own hand, and he was overwhelmed with emotion.
To him, this meant far more than if Master Hidden Dragon had given him a painting of auspicious cranes.
He had originally intended to keep it for his personal collection rather than wait for it to appreciate in value.
He was a collector, not an art dealer.
Lin Muhua leaned in closer. Seeing what was on the scroll, he finally understood why Tan Qingshan was so emotional.
Buying a portrait personally painted by Master Hidden Dragon for one hundred million was an absolute bargain.
"Uncle Tan, you've made a massive profit this time," Lin Muhua sighed in admiration.
Tan Qingshan's aged face flushed with excitement. He nodded vigorously and said, "This painting truly holds a different kind of meaning for me. Please thank Mr. Ye for me. If there's an opportunity, I'd love to invite Mr. Ye to my home as a guest to properly express my gratitude."
"I'll thank Uncle Tan on behalf of Ye Ning first. When I have time, I'll definitely have him come visit you," Lin Muhua said with a smile.
Clutching the painting to his chest, Tan Qingshan left in high spirits.
Su Qingqing wore a look of resentment. She was also a hardcore fan of Master Hidden Dragon; if she could own a piece of his work, she guaranteed she would be even happier than Tan Qingshan.
"No way, I have to make Ye Ning paint one for me tonight too, even if I have to pay a little price..." Su Qingqing thought, her face turning red.
"Qingqing, why is your face so red? Are you coming down with something?" Lin Muhua asked.
Su Qingqing snapped out of it with a start, and awkwardly said, "I'm feeling a little under the weather, but it's nothing. If Uncle doesn't need anything else, I'm going to head to work."
"Mm."
Lin Muhua nodded. His niece was acting rather strangely today.
...
Meanwhile, Ye Ning had arrived at Lin Xue's university.
"They always say college girls are full of vigor and great in bed? Is that true?"
At the entrance of Gucheng University, Ye Ning suddenly asked.
Lin Xue gave Ye Ning a sideways glance and asked, "Do you want to experience college life?"
"Can I?" Ye Ning asked eagerly.
"Follow me," Lin Xue said with a smile.
With that, she led Ye Ning to a large lecture hall, where quite a few people were already seated.
"We're experiencing it here? Isn't there too many people?" Ye Ning frowned. Although he didn't care much, he didn't want his woman being watched by others.
Lin Xue was momentarily choked for words. This guy was definitely playing dumb on purpose.
"You've probably misunderstood. I brought you here to experience college life, not a college student's sexual stamina," Lin Xue explained in a low voice.
Ye Ning curled his lips and whispered in Lin Xue's ear, "No, you misunderstood me. What I want to experience is a college student's stamina, not college life."
"You bad guy."
Lin Xue's face flushed. The warm breath from Ye Ning's mouth brushed against her ear, making her heart flutter and her face turn red down to the roots of her neck.
Seeing the two of them whispering intimately, the students in the classroom widened their eyes in shock.
Who didn't know Lin Xue, the ultimate campus belle of Gucheng University?
Many people pursued her, but they had never heard of Lin Xue showing interest in anyone.
What was going on today?
Who was that man?
The eyes of quite a few male students blazed with fire, and they desperately wanted to walk over and beat Ye Ning up.
Sensing the gazes of the crowd, Lin Xue hurriedly said, "Alright, stop messing around. Everyone is watching."
Ye Ning didn't mind at all; he never cared what other people thought.
However, Lin Xue felt embarrassed, so naturally, he respected her wishes.
Seeing that many of the male students were still glaring at him as if he were their sworn enemy who had murdered their fathers, Ye Ning suddenly pulled Lin Xue into his arms, swept his gaze across the guys, and flashed a provocative look.
"What are you staring at? Never seen a handsome guy before? A bunch of uglies."
The male students in the classroom froze for a split second before a dozen or twenty of them stood up together, glaring angrily at Ye Ning.
They were already deeply dissatisfied with him, and now that he was actively provoking them, the anger in their hearts instantly flared up.
Ye Ning smiled faintly and slammed his palm down onto the desk in front of him.
With a loud crack, the desk shattered under his single blow.Those boys swallowed hard. One of them, wearing glasses, stretched lazily and muttered to himself, "I've been sitting for too long. A good stretch feels amazing."
With that, he sat down.
Once someone took the lead, others followed suit.
"Nature calls, I'm going outside for a minute."
"Cough, cough, wait for me. Let's go together."
"I need to stretch too."
...
The group of boys all caved prudently, finding all sorts of excuses to sit back down.
Their hearts hammered against their ribs. They congratulated themselves on their quick wits; otherwise, had that slap landed on them, they wouldn't have been able to take it.
Only one chubby student remained standing.
Glaring furiously in Ye Ning's direction, amidst the admiring gazes of the crowd, he shouted, "Hurry up and let go of her hand!"
Everyone looked at him in awe. This fat guy was too brave. Later on, they vowed to dial 120 extra fast for him.
"Let go of that handsome man! You don't deserve him!" the fat guy continued.
What the hell?
Everyone's jaws nearly dropped to the floor.
This guy wasn't brave at all; he was simply shameless and thick-skinned.
Lin Xue's face darkened as she glared at the fat guy.
"Handsome, come over here, sit here. The feng shui is great, perfect for you and your missus to whisper sweet nothings," the fat guy went on.
Ye Ning walked over, patted the fat guy on the shoulder, and said four words: "A promising lad."
The fat guy grinned from ear to ear, sitting down happily, completely unfazed by the disdainful looks shot at him by the other students.
"Hello, handsome. My name is Li Hu. You don't seem to be a student at our school." Li Hu wiped his hand vigorously on his shirt, then reached out to introduce himself.
Ye Ning didn't shake his hand; he wasn't very fond of physical contact with other men.
"Ye Ning. Lin Xue's husband."
Li Hu wasn't awkward at all. He smiled and said, "Ah, Brother Ye! With your looks, you and the missus are a match made in heaven, an absolute power couple."
"Didn't you just say I didn't deserve him?" Lin Snow sneered.
"How could that be? My eyes must have been playing tricks on me earlier. I didn't realize it was our campus belle, so I misspoke. Please forgive me, campus belle," Li Hu said with a smile.
Lin Xue was speechless. She had always heard that Li Hu had thick skin, and today she finally witnessed it firsthand.
Seeing Li Hu chatting away happily with Ye Ning and the others, the people around them looked on with envy.To say nothing else, Li Hu's social networking skills were truly incredible, something one simply couldn't learn.
Right at this moment, a woman walked in. She was wearing a long black dress cinched at the waist with a belt, her slender waist so delicate it seemed as though it could be snapped with a single grasp. Her shoulder-length hair was styled in large waves, and she stepped gracefully in a pair of high heels, swaying as she entered.
With a lithe and graceful figure that swayed like a willow in the wind, she had glossy, full lips and exquisite makeup. A pair of peach-blossom eyes seemed to be casting electricity at every moment, and a single glance from her instantly made the young men's bones turn half-soft.
Even Ye Ning was somewhat startled. This woman was so pretty, easily a match for his three masters. Moreover, she possessed a seductive and alluring charm that was entirely her own.
Is this the teacher? Here to give a lecture?
With her coming to teach, how many of the boys sitting down here would have any mind left to listen?
Didn't you see that Li Hu right beside him had already glazed over, his saliva practically about to flow out?
Mature, beautiful, and sexy—she possessed a fatal lethality over young boys.
Chapter 15: A Massive Scene of Social Death
Afterward, Li Hu let out a sigh and lowered his head.
"What's wrong?" Ye Ning asked.
"A beauty like Teacher Yang would never fall for someone like me in this lifetime," Li Hu said with a bitter face.
Ye Ning glanced at him, patted Li Hu on the shoulder, and consoled him, "Brother, don't think like that."
Li Hu's eyes instantly lit up, and he asked in surprise, "Does Big Brother think I still have hope?Shaking his head, Ye Ning said, "I wanted to tell you that she won't fall for you in your next life either."
Damn it.
Li Hu rolled his eyes, having suffered one hundred million points of critical damage.
Beside them, Lin Xue snickered. This guy Ye Ning was too vicious.
"Those few students over there, what are you talking about? It's so funny, why don't you share it so the teacher can listen too?" Yang Lin suddenly said to Ye Ning and the others.
"It's over. We're totally cooked." Li Hu's face turned pale.
Although this most beautiful teacher at Ancient City University was gorgeous, she was notoriously strict when it came to teaching, easily ranking among the strictest instructors at the university.
Being targeted by her was absolute hell for any student at Ancient City University.
Even Lin Xue's little face changed, instantly wiping away her smile and not daring to speak.