She always felt that her grandfather was too indulgent toward Ning Chen. If it were up to her, she would have sent Ning Chen straight to the "Martial Arts Management Bureau" for some reform, just to teach him some discipline.
"I'm full."
Ning Chen didn't want to stay there any longer; he picked up his tray and stood up.
"Wait a moment."
Wen Yue called out to him, smiling as he took a pre-prepared business card from his jacket pocket. "Young friend, my number is on here. In case you run into any troublesome matters, remember to call me."
Ning Chen glanced at it. Good heavens, this old man had quite a few titles. Honorary President of Qingzhou University, Vice Chairman of the Board for Wenhe Pharmaceuticals, Standing Director of the Qingzhou City Branch of the Ancient Martial Arts Association. There were also titles as a researcher for some organization and an honorary advisor for various associations; it made Ning Chen's eyes glaze over.
"Alright, fine."
Ning Chen accepted Wen Yue's business card quite reluctantly, then took his tray over to the dish return area.
"Grandpa, why are you giving that brat so much face? I get irritated just looking at him. Who does he think he is?" Wen Qinglan was very unhappy with Ning Chen's attitude.
"Nineteen years old, External Force Great Accomplishment—isn't that enough qualification to be arrogant?" Wen Yue gave a bitter smile. "You’ve only just reached External Force Entry. It will take you at least five or six years of hard training to reach his level."
Chapter 33: Junior Sister Xu, Have You Ever Heard of Dimensional Reduction Strikes?
"Grandpa, why are you siding with an outsider?" Wen Qinglan was displeased. Breaking her usual cold and proud demeanor, she pouted her cherry lips. "I will work hard in the future. I will definitely surpass him."
"That will be difficult."
Wen Yue looked at Ning Chen’s retreating figure. This young man feared neither the Duan family’s retaliation nor the Martial Arts Association—was he truly just a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, or did he have some hidden source of confidence?
"Old Man Wen!"
Just then, a male student walked up to the table and looked at Wen Yue with a grin.
Wen Yue was taken aback, and Wen Qinglan beside him turned icy. She asked, "Who are you?"
"Hello, Senior Sister Wen. My name is Li Xuanming, the deputy class monitor of Clinical Medicine Class Two. I have a small matter I wanted to report to Old Man Wen today." The boy hadn't realized the gravity of the situation and wore a brilliant smile.
Wen Yue: "..."
"You have quite the nerve!"
Wen Qinglan was furious and slammed the table hard. With a loud "bang!", two trays flew into the air, and the long table shook precariously. The entire first-floor canteen went quiet as hundreds of students turned to look.
"Se... Senior Sister Wen, I just wanted to make a suggestion to the old president. The air conditioning in the school dorms is aging too badly, it should... it should be replaced..." Li Xuanming was so terrified he collapsed onto the floor, his face deathly pale. Even the aura of an External Force Entry Martial Artist was not something an ordinary person could withstand.
"And how dare you call him 'Old Man Wen'? Is 'Old Man Wen' a name you can just throw around? Are you tired of living?" Wen Qinglan berated him. If they weren't in the school cafeteria, she would have beaten this kid senseless.
"I heard Ning Chen from our class call him that, so I thought the old president liked it..." Li Xuanming stammered, then quickly scrambled off the floor and bowed ninety degrees in apology. "I'm sorry, Old President! I'm sorry, Senior Sister Wen! I... I..."
"Enough, call your class counselor over here!" Even Wen Yue had his limits.
A few hours later, the school broadcast announced a disciplinary action. Li Xuanming, the deputy monitor of Clinical Medicine Class Two, had shown disrespect to the president. To uphold school discipline and provide education, the school leadership decided to issue a warning to student Li Xuanming!
When Ning Chen heard the announcement, he was a little surprised. That kid Li Xuanming; he didn't look like much, but he was certainly something...
...
The most exciting event of the afternoon was the men's 100-meter sprint.
The final round of the semifinals began. Ning Chen was placed in the fourth lane. He ran forward at a steady, moderate pace and ultimately took second place, advancing to the finals "without any surprise or danger."
At this moment, two beautiful girls, one tall and one short, walked past the plastic track. The shorter one pointed at Ning Chen in surprise and called out:
"Shuyan, look, isn't that Big Brother Power?"
The short girl was Jiang Tang. The tall girl was, naturally, Xu Shuyan. She glanced at Ning Chen, quite surprised. "He actually made it to the finals."
"Who would have thought Big Brother Power is not only strong but also so fast!" Jiang Tang secretly bumped her best friend with her shoulder and laughed slyly. "Shuyan, you'll be lucky to marry Big Brother Power in the future~"
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting!" Xu Shuyan caught the subtext of Jiang Tang's words and glared at her irritably.
"Junior Sister Xu?"
Suddenly, a tall, handsome boy ran over from the track area, looking at Xu Shuyan in delight. Even though Xu Shuyan was wearing a sun hat and sunglasses today, those beautiful legs of hers had attracted the attention of countless students as she walked. Xing Xufei recognized the owner of those legendary legs at a glance.
"Who are you?" Xu Shuyan half-removed her sunglasses, glanced at the boy, and knew immediately it was just another annoying pursuer.
The boy paused. "Junior Sister Xu, it's me, Xing Xufei, from the track team. We were talking in the canteen the other day..."
"Oh, it's you." Xu Shuyan responded, her face devoid of expression. Her memory wasn't that poor; she simply didn't want to engage.
Yet, Xing Xufei, failing to take the hint, still leaned in with a smile. "Junior Sister Xu, the finals are about to start. Are you going to stay and watch me compete?"
"No, I have something to do later," Xu Shuyan stated coldly.
"The race is starting soon," Xing Xufei insisted desperately. He was at his coolest on the track, and he had to make sure Xu Shuyan saw his agile form.
Just then, some passing students recognized him.
"That's Xing Xufei from the track team! He really is handsome!"
"I heard Senior Xing has been training for sprints since he was a kid. He's a member of the provincial team now and has a shot at the national team. Maybe we'll see him at the Olympics in the future!"
"And Senior Xing's family owns a company! He's super rich!"
Many freshman girls looked at Xing Xufei's handsome profile, their faces blushing as they harbored secret crushes. Some even thought about coming over to ask for his contact information, but upon seeing the beauty of Xu Shuyan and Jiang Tang, they knew better and backed away. Xu Shuyan didn't even need to show her face; those glowing white legs alone were enough to outshine them.
"You're that famous?" Xu Shuyan glanced at Xing Xufei.
Xing Xufei smiled. "Just a campus heartthrob, not worth mentioning. Junior Sister Xu should still stay and watch me win the title; the race starts in a moment."
Xu Shuyan scoffed. "The race hasn't even started, and you already know you'll win?"
"Heh." Xing Xufei laughed again, his face filled with confidence. "In this school, no one can beat me in a sprint. I am the absolute king!"
"Junior Sister, have you heard of 'dimensional reduction strikes'? I'm a provincial team member; competing in the school sports meet is a dimensional reduction strike."
Xu Shuyan crossed her arms, half-believing. "Is that really true? You're that amazing..."
"Junior Sister, I'll head over first. You'll see what a 'dimensional reduction strike' is in a moment." Xing Xufei winked at Xu Shuyan and raised an eyebrow, almost making her gag.
"Such a show-off!" Xu Shuyan shook her head. She hated guys like that the most. "Little Tang, let's go... Little Tang?"
Jiang Tang was gone. She was jogging across the track, appearing behind Ning Chen.
"Big Brother Power!" Jiang Tang tapped Ning Chen on the shoulder from behind, appearing before him with a charming smile. "Hi~!"
"Little Tang? Why are you here?" Ning Chen turned his head in surprise, habitually patting her little head with a smile on his face.
"Look, isn't that Jiang Tang, number five on the campus beauty list?"
"She's actually letting a guy give her a head pat!"
"Is that Jiang Tang's boyfriend?"
Surprised gazes were cast from all around. Fang Xiaopang and Zhang Dachun’s jaws nearly hit the ground.
"Big Brother Power, let me tell you..." Jiang Tang stood on her tiptoes and whispered a few words into Ning Chen's ear.
Ning Chen’s eyes immediately lit up. "Really?"
Jiang Tang nodded very earnestly. "Guaranteed!"
"Alright, no problem!" Ning Chen patted his chest. "It's just a championship, I could win it with my eyes closed."
"Really, Big Brother Power? You're that amazing?" Jiang Tang's beautiful eyes were filled with pleasant surprise.
"Sister, you might as well listen to his bragging!" The voices of two sophomore boys came over. They were warming up for the race.
"The 100-meter sprint champion is definitely Xing Xufei from the juniors. That's a given."
"You should be glad if you don't come in last, let alone wanting to win. You're daydreaming..." The two boys were full of mockery, clearly trying to show off in front of Jiang Tang.
Ning Chen couldn't be bothered to respond.
"Little Tang, why did you run over here?" Xu Shuyan chased after them, looking displeased.
Just then, the race began, and the ten contestants walked toward the track. A tidal wave of noise erupted from the stadium seats.
"Shuyan, I just told Big Brother Power something," Jiang Tang said with a giggle.
"What thing?" Xu Shuyan asked.
"That... you can't hit me after you hear it, okay?" Jiang Tang looked a bit scared.
"Why would I hit you?" Xu Shuyan was confused.
"I told Big Brother Power that if he could win the championship, you'd let him kiss you... ah!"
Before Jiang Tang could finish, Xu Shuyan angrily raised her hand, pretending to swat her.
"Little Tang, you've gone too far!"
"Wuwuwu, Shuyan, you promised not to hit people!"
"I never said that!"
...
Bang!
As the starting pistol fired, the ten contestants shot forward like arrows released from a bow.
"Xufei's start looks good. He's got this." In a certain section of the stands, several track team boys were chatting while watching.
"Need you say it? Old Xing is definitely taking first."
"Ten in the finals, eight are from our school team. Who are the other two?"
"Nobody. They're just filling numbers because there weren't enough people."
These athletes had no doubts about Xing Xufei winning the championship. A provincial team member participating in a school meet—wasn't that exactly a dimensional reduction strike?
"Is Junior Sister Xu watching me?"
Xing Xufei wasn't even focused on the race. Passing the spot where he had met Xu Shuyan earlier, he turned his head and, sure enough, saw Xu Shuyan and Jiang Tang! At this moment, the two girls' eyes were filled with deep surprise!
"They must be surprised by my speed." Xing Xufei chuckled to himself. Sure enough, only on the track was he at his most charismatic. He was already imagining how, after he crossed the finish line first, Xu Shuyan and Jiang Tang would walk up to him, blushing and heart-racing, to ask for his contact information.
"No, wait, Junior Sister Xu is a campus beauty; she couldn't be that forward. I should take the initiative..."
Xing Xufei was immersed in his dream when suddenly, a black shadow flashed past him, the wind from its passage ruffling his hair.
"What!??" Xing Xufei’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw the shadow that had pulled ahead of him. "No, impossible! How could someone be faster than me?"
"Accelerate! Accelerate, dammit!" Xing Xufei gave it his all, unleashing the fastest speed of his life as he tried to catch up to that figure, even screaming at the top of his lungs. But the result was only falling further and further behind.
The two sophomores who had mocked Ning Chen before the race also had their eyes wide open, with one of them so shocked that he stumbled and fell.
"Ahhh! Big Brother Power is amazing!"
"Shuyan, did you see that! Big Brother Power is in first place!"
On the sidelines, Jiang Tang was jumping and shouting for Ning Chen. Xu Shuyan’s beautiful eyes were wide with disbelief—this guy, he could actually run that fast? Was he specifically trained?
"Look, who is that! He's actually faster than the sports students!"
"Holy crap, he's leaving Xing Xufei by several meters! That's insane!"
"Xing Xufei is a provincial team member!"
The audience was in an uproar. Tens of thousands of teachers and students followed Ning Chen’s figure as he dominated the race until he crossed the finish line, killing the competition.
"11.16 seconds!" The teacher in charge of recording times cried out, clutching his head. "Holy crap! This... this is national team level! Who is he? Who on earth is he?"
The buzz for the 100-meter sprint was indeed much higher than the shot put; almost everyone at the scene was watching. The students of Clinical Medicine Class Two saw Ning Chen cross the finish line first, some screaming, some completely dazed.
"Champion, Brother Chen is the champion!" Fang Xiaopang and Zhang Dachun hugged each other in excitement.
"He really won?" Su Wanwan covered her face with her hands, unable to believe that her previous fantasy had actually come true.
"This is impossible!" Li Xuanming gritted his teeth, nearly dying of jealousy.
"I never thought Ning Chen would be so amazing..." Class monitor Zhang Xinran also widened her eyes.
Soon, Su Wanwan, accompanied by several roommates, took a bottle of water and ran down the stands to find Ning Chen. But just as she got close, she gradually slowed her steps. Because she saw two incredibly beautiful girls surrounding Ning Chen. One of them was tall, with skin as white as snow, beautiful as a fairy descending to earth.
"Wanwan, who are they?" her roommate Jiang Ying asked.
"I... I don't know..." Su Wanwan shook her head.
"Well, you scumbag Ning Chen, you have Wanwan and you're still hitting on other girls? Shameless!" Another roommate, Xu Rongli, rolled up her sleeves, prepared to go over and confront him.
"Rongli, forget it. We... we aren't actually a couple..." Su Wanwan grabbed Xu Rongli and shook her head.
"Huh?!" Her roommates were stunned.
Su Wanwan stood there with the water, quietly watching Ning Chen chat with Jiang Tang and Xu Shuyan, feeling an unspeakable sadness in her heart.
"The two girls next to him, they're really, so beautiful."
"Are they his friends?"
"No wonder he has no interest in me at all."
Su Wanwan couldn't help but compare herself to Xu Shuyan and Jiang Tang, and as a result, she felt deeply inferior. This inferiority stemmed mostly from her background. The clothes on Xu Shuyan and Jiang Tang probably cost no less than a thousand (in reality, tens of thousands), while she was wearing street-market finds. Jiang Tang's sunny, cute personality and Xu Shuyan's near-perfect features and figure all made her feel deeply inadequate.
Not far away, another campus beauty was also watching Ning Chen. However, she was filled with deep anger!
"This guy, is he treating what Grandpa and I said like wind in his ears?"
"Competing in the shot put was one thing, but the 100-meter sprint has so many eyes on it, and he dares to participate—and even ran at a speed comparable to the national team!"
"Is he really not afraid of inviting an investigation from the Martial Arts Association?"
Wen Qinglan stomped her feet, deciding she would have a good talk with Ning Chen in a moment. Seeing the two unbelievably beautiful girls standing next to Ning Chen, she scoffed, "So he was just looking to pick up girls..."
The most miserable one was Xing Xufei. He had assumed that as a provincial team member returning to his university for a race, he would easily take the championship and dominate. But instead, this was the result. He sat on the ground, completely defeated, looking at the center-of-attention Ning Chen, his entire worldview shattered.
A freshman running times comparable to the national team—this news quickly spread throughout the entire Qing University campus. The forums, bulletin boards, social media, and group chats were all flooded. Even the school leadership was alarmed. But after Wen Yue made a few phone calls, the commotion gradually subsided.
The old president sat in his office and sighed softly, "Young people, they really do love to show off, sigh..."
After the 100-meter sprint, Ning Chen had no more races. Under the gaze of the fifty-plus students in Clinical Medicine Class Two, he left the stadium directly, not even giving the class monitor Zhang Xinran a chance to strike up a conversation.
"Xu Shuyan, it's time you fulfilled your promise."
Chapter 35: Peach Blossom Hotel
On a tree-lined path on campus, Ning Chen looked at Xu Shuyan very seriously.
"Wha... what promise!" Xu Shuyan pretended not to know, her pretty face blushing, blooming like a flower.
"Don't pretend, Little Tang told me everything." Ning Chen shook his head. "To be honest, I've held it in for a long time..."
"Held it in for a long time?"
An unusual flash crossed Xu Shuyan's beautiful eyes. She quickly looked elsewhere and shook her head firmly. "Little Tang was joking; how could you take it seriously!"
"I have to take it seriously," Ning Chen said righteously. "The stuff you've made these past few mornings, is that even edible? The salty ones are deathly salty, the bland ones are deathly bland!"
"Anyway, since I won the championship, you will never make breakfast for me again. That's what you said, don't you dare go back on it!"
Xu Shuyan was dumbfounded. "What are you talking about..."
Beside them, Jiang Tang couldn't help but laugh and quietly took two steps back. Xu Shuyan noticed her best friend's reaction, and a surge of shame and anger rose on her face. "JIANG! XIAO! TANG! I'm going to kill you!"
"Ah! Murder! Big Brother Power, save me!"
...
Ning Chen had been suffering for the past few days. Because Xu Shuyan, whether out of a desire to repay a favor or to practice her cooking, had actually been making breakfast for him every day! If it tasted good, he would naturally be willing to enjoy it, but this young lady had been pampered for eighteen years and had never lifted a finger; was the stuff she made even for humans? If you served it to a dog, the dog wouldn't even eat it!
"Ning Chen, you're too much..."
After Xu Shuyan understood what had happened, she pointed a delicate finger at Ning Chen, her voice tinged with tears. "Do you know that even my daddy has never eaten a breakfast I made? If it weren't for repaying a favor, I wouldn't have made it for you!"
Ning Chen didn't have a shred of pity for her. He nodded and said, "It's a good thing you didn't make it for Uncle Xu; otherwise, Uncle Xu would have lived at least ten years less."
Xu Shuyan was almost angered to the point of fainting. "You..."
Ning Chen stated solemnly, "The favor is repaid. Don't go into the kitchen anymore. Really, it's just too terrible to eat..."
"Ning Chen, you bastard! I hate you to death!" Xu Shuyan yelled and ran away in tears.