"Chen Xuan, I really didn't expect you to be such a big eater," Qin Feixue said, blinking her pretty eyes.
Chen Xuan smiled and said, "Haven't you ever heard that people going through a breakup tend to binge eat? Could it be that you've never been in a relationship yourself?"
"Please, is being in a relationship supposed to be some great achievement?" Meeting Chen Xuan's teasing gaze, Qin Feixue couldn't help blushing. "Besides, looking at how relaxed you are, you don't look like someone who just went through a breakup."
"I'm just putting on a brave face..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Xuan sensed someone walking rapidly toward their table.
He turned his head to look and saw a tall, robust young man wearing high-end designer clothes, followed by three lackeys. The group strode over aggressively, clearly not here to eat.
"Qin Feixue, did you really hook up with this stinking loser?" The young man's very first sentence was dripping with insults directed at Chen Xuan.
At the same time, the three lackeys behind him cast contemptuous and threatening glances at Chen Xuan.
Seeing who had arrived, Qin Feixue frowned and said, "He Chao, who I hang out with is none of your business. We're not even that close."
As it turned out, this tall and burly young man named He Chao was one of Qin Feixue's many suitors, and his family was extremely wealthy.
He Chao was also the president of the Tianhai University Karate Club, rumored to have reached a fourth-degree black belt. He threw his weight around on campus and no one dared to cross him.
The news of Qin Feixue announcing in the campus square that Chen Xuan was her boyfriend had reached He Chao's ears almost immediately.
Having found out that Qin Feixue and Chen Xuan had come to this Western restaurant to eat, he had brought several of his karate club underlings straight over.
Hearing Qin Feixue's words, He Chao let out a cold sneer. "Not close? I've chased after you for a whole year, giving you all sorts of luxury goods and sports cars, and you wouldn't even give me the time of day. How long have you known this punk, and you're already with him? Are you intentionally trying to humiliate me?"
With that, he glared fiercely at Chen Xuan. If he knew that Chen Xuan had known Qin Feixue for less than a day, he would probably be furious enough to jump out of his skin right then and there.
"He Chao, you're overthinking things. We're eating right now, so would you please not disturb us?" Qin Feixue bluntly told him to leave.
Over the past year, He Chao had pestered her relentlessly with all sorts of cliché tactics, and Qin Feixue was long sick and tired of it.
At that moment, she even thought that if pretending to be with Chen Xuan for a while could make He Chao give up, it wouldn't be such a bad idea.
At this thought, Qin Feixue stole a glance at Chen Xuan. She saw his sharp brows, bright eyes, and an extraordinary temperament that other guys lacked—he was vastly superior to this arrogant and overbearing He Chao.
Her heart fluttered involuntarily. Where was her mind wandering? She quickly pulled her gaze back.
He Chao let out a few cold humps. Unwilling to burn bridges completely with Qin Feixue, he looked at Chen Xuan and said, "Your name is Chen Xuan, right? What year and major are you in? Have you ever heard of He Chao?"
"Never heard of you," Chen Xuan glanced at He Chao and said lazily.
He Chao's pupils constricted, and anger instantly rushed to his face. In the entirety of Tianhai University, not a single student had ever dared to speak to him like that.
If Qin Feixue weren't standing right here, he would have smashed Chen Xuan's mouth to pieces with a single punch without a second thought!
"Moron, you don't even know our boss!" cursed one of He Chao's underlings from behind him. "Let me tell you, Boss He is the president of the Tianhai University Karate Club, and a formidable fourth-degree black belt to boot. You can't afford to mess with him!"
"You've said a lot, but I still haven't heard of him," Chen Xuan replied in a languid tone.
He had zero interest in some bullshit club president or black belt ranks.
Seeing Chen Xuan's attitude, He Chao was gnashing his teeth with rage. Instead of getting angrier, he laughed coldly. "It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of me. You only need to know one thing: Qin Feixue is destined to be my woman. I want you to get away from her right now, or else I'll make sure you find out firsthand what a fourth-degree black belt is all about!"
"He Chao, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? Get out of here right now!" Qin Feixue's pretty brows knitted in anger and her almond eyes widened; she truly could not stand this kind of person any longer.
However, He Chao turned a deaf ear to her words, staring unblinkingly at Chen Xuan while radiating a murderous aura from his eyes.
"Heh, are you threatening me?" Chen Xuan met He Chao's gaze without a shred of fear, a hint of chill seeping into his voice.
A mere fourth-degree black belt—with Chen Xuan's current strength, how could he possibly be scared?
"That's right, I am threatening you. What are you going to do about it?" He Chao said with utter disdain. "Teaching a penniless, powerless loser like you a lesson—I can certainly afford a few months of medical bills. If you know what's good for you, get lost as far away as you can!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly tensed his muscles, bulging them all over his body with full momentum. It was clear he really had formal training.
"What if I say no?" Chen Xuan showed not a single trace of surprise at He Chao's display of muscles, speaking in a leisurely tone instead.
He Chao was about to be blown away with anger by Chen Xuan's languid delivery. He cracked his knuckles loudly, glanced at Qin Feixue, and managed to forcibly hold himself back.
He still didn't want to resort to physical violence in front of Qin Feixue and ruin his image.
Of course, in Qin Feixue's mind, He Chao had lost any semblance of an image long ago.
Scanning the surroundings, He Chao suddenly walked over to an adjacent dining table and said viciously to Chen Xuan, "If I ever see you with Qin Feixue again after today, your fate will be the same as this table!"
With that, He Chao raised his right arm, veins bulging, and chopped down onto the dining table with all his might.
Crack!
Under He Chao's chop, the table split cleanly into two halves, startling the surrounding customers.
He Chao pulled back his right arm with a smug look of satisfaction and looked back at Chen Xuan, only to find that Chen Xuan still maintained his casual expression.
"Hmph, what a fake badass. You'll get what's coming to you!" He Chao waved a hand at his three lackeys. "Let's go!"
The four of them swaggered off.
Looking at the table broken into two halves, Qin Feixue turned to Chen Xuan with an apologetic expression and said, "I'm sorry, you got dragged into this because of me."
"It's fine, this isn't your fault," Chen Xuan comforted her with a smile.
Rich playboys like He Chao were used to being arrogant and domineering. With a suitor like that, no wonder Qin Feixue had been venting her frustrations earlier.
"Chen Xuan, you should still be careful. I'm afraid He Chao might actually come looking for trouble," Qin Feixue said, her delicate brows furrowing deeply as the worry in her eyes grew. "Sigh, everything has been going wrong lately."
"What is it? Is something weighing on your mind? If you don't mind, you can tell me," Chen Xuan asked.
Ever since the first time he met Qin Feixue, he had noticed a faint trace of sorrow lingering between her brows, as if some troublesome matter was plaguing her.
And right now, that look of sorrow on Qin Feixue's face was becoming more and more obvious.
Qin Feixue looked at Chen Xuan, parted her cherry lips, but hesitated to speak.
She had known Chen Xuan for less than a day; to spill her troubles so unreservedly like this felt somewhat improper.
Seeing her hesitation, Chen Xuan joked with feigned annoyance, "I thought that after what happened today, we were friends. Were you just treating me to a meal to repay a favor, and now you want to cut ties completely?"
Qin Feixue quickly explained, "Chen Xuan, I didn't mean that at all. Please don't misunderstand."
"Then tell me what trouble you've run into. Maybe I can help."
Meeting Chen Xuan's sincere and caring gaze, Qin Feixue hesitated for a moment before finally pouring out her worries.
It turned out that Qin Feixue's grandfather, Qin Mushi, had contracted a strange illness more than ten days ago. In the beginning, this strange illness showed absolutely no symptoms.
By the time it finally flared up, it had reached a critical, terminal stage, and Qin Mushi had lapsed directly into an unconscious coma.
The Qin family had rushed the old master to Tianhai People's Hospital, where tests revealed that he had been poisoned with a deadly toxin.
However, after studying the case for a long time, the numerous medical experts at the People's Hospital could not figure out what kind of poison Qin Mushi had even ingested.
The doctors held consecutive meetings for three days without coming up with a reliable surgical plan. In the end, it was only because the chief physician known as Elder Jin made the executive decision that a high-risk surgical plan was finalized.
When Chen Xuan asked just how risky the surgery was, Qin Feixue raised two fair fingers with a bitter expression. "The surgery has a success rate of only about twenty percent."
Chen Xuan finally understood why Qin Feixue had been in such a foul mood.
A surgical plan decided by a national-level expert like Elder Jin, yet possessing a mere twenty percent success rate—it was practically tantamount to handing down a death sentence to Old Master Qin.
"Actually, my grandfather used to be a miraculous doctor with extremely brilliant medical skills; there was practically no illness he couldn't cure," Qin Feixue said slowly, revealing another piece of surprising information to Chen Xuan.
Hearing Qin Feixue describe her grandfather as such an incredible figure, Chen Xuan couldn't help wondering: why had Qin Mushi been poisoned for over ten days without noticing it himself, right up until the toxin penetrated his bone marrow?
Chen Xuan couldn't help voicing his thoughts.
"You don't understand, Chen Xuan. My grandfather had a very eccentric temper. One day, he suddenly announced that he would no longer practice medicine, and after that, he truly never treated another patient," Qin Feixue said with a bitter smile. "With this severe poisoning, I suspect grandfather probably discovered it long ago, but simply didn't want to tell us."
Qin Feixue had lived with her grandfather since she was a child; no one knew Qin Mushi's eccentric personality better than she did.
Hearing this made Chen Xuan even more curious. Could it be that the old man was tired of living and felt his life was too long?
"Why would your grandfather do something like that?" Chen Xuan continued to ask.
Qin Feixue shook her head. "I don't understand either... After he stopped practicing medicine, grandfather became completely obsessed with antiques and jade. He didn't look like someone who wanted to end his life at all."
Qin Mushi was only in his seventies, and the Qin family was immensely wealthy. As long as he took good care of his health, it was entirely possible for Qin Mushi to live past a hundred.
Several questions instantly popped up in Chen Xuan's mind: What kind of poison did Old Master Qin ingest? Who poisoned him? If he poisoned himself, what was his motive?
"When is your grandfather's surgery? I'd like to pay him a visit before it happens." Having now inherited heaven-defying medical skills, Chen Xuan wanted to see just what kind of poison had left so many medical experts completely helpless.