Quarreling

Early the next morning, Xu Lin rose from the sofa, feeling his life was less comfortable than the cat owned by the aunt downstairs. At least the cat had a warm little nest, but today Chu Qingchan would be cleaning up at her place too, preparing to move in.

He went to the bathroom to wash up. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he noticed he no longer looked as thin as when he first arrived—he’d gained a bit of muscle. He opened the system interface and discovered his physique had climbed to 4.6. What did that mean? After a night’s sleep, he’d increased by 0.3. For comparison, after running to and from school and exercising before bed every day for a week, he’d only managed a 0.3 increase.

Could it have been yesterday’s fight? Or was it the spiritual breathing technique? Or both? If it was linked to the breathing, he could simply spend more time each day on it. But if combat was also necessary… would he really have to seek out that master?

“No, no, that’s not combat—that’s just getting beaten up.”

He knew his own limits well enough. Unless he could find the last three chapters of the Xu Family Self-Defense Technique…

Yes, the martial art passed down in his family for a hundred years was missing three sections midway. It was originally nine sections; now only the first six remained. Even so, few people bothered to learn it anymore, but once he mastered it, he realized just how practical it was for self-defense.

By the sixth section, it even shifted from defense to offense, but after that, it simply cut off, so he was stuck at level 2. No matter how much he trained, he couldn’t progress past level 2; the rest was essential for further advancement.

“By the way, she said she’d find me this morning. I’m about to leave for school.”

A few minutes later, Xu Lin changed into his blue-and-white school uniform and ran towards Ji Yun’s building. This time, however, instead of running into a pretty girl downstairs, he was met by a familiar, short-haired, pot-bellied middle-aged man.

The man hurried out from the apartment building. Xu Lin’s heart skipped a beat—could something have happened to Ji Yun?

“Good morning, Uncle Ji.”

“Oh, Xu—it’s you. Good morning.”

He greeted him. The man forced a smile, then answered Xu Lin’s question before he could even ask.

“She’s not up yet. Stayed up late studying last night. I have something to do, so I’m heading out first.” With that, he strode to his car, revved the engine, and sped away.

“What, is this that time of the month for uncles now?”

He joked, but anxiety gnawed at his heart. Had something happened at Ji Yun’s home?

He stood waiting for over ten minutes before Ji Yun finally emerged, walking slowly. Xu Lin quickly went to meet her.

Ji Yun raised her head to glance at him, then abruptly looked away, bypassing him as she continued forward. Though it was only for a moment, he caught sight of the redness at the corners of her eyes—obviously swollen from crying. Something had definitely happened.

He jogged to catch up, only then realizing she wasn’t riding her bicycle. At this hour, walking meant she’d be late for school.

She had never been late or taken a day off in the entire year and a half of high school.

“Ji Yun!”

“Xu Lin… can I walk alone for a bit?” Her voice was hoarse, yet still so gentle it made his heart ache.

“Ji Yun, did something happen?”

“It’s nothing… I just want to walk. Please, leave me alone.”

Xu Lin didn’t reply. He simply walked alongside her in silence.

They spent ten minutes walking out of the neighborhood onto the main road. Without hesitation, she ignored the red light and started crossing the street.

“Ji Yun! What are you doing?” Xu Lin grabbed her, but she yanked her arm away.

“Let go of me!”

“I won’t.” Xu Lin frowned, gripping her wrist.

“Let go!” Ji Yun shouted, startlingly loud.

“I won’t,” he answered calmly, meeting her gaze.

“Let go!”

“I won’t!”

With his own shout, Xu Lin lunged forward, pulling her into his arms—and together, they tumbled heavily onto the pavement, just as a three-wheeled covered vehicle whizzed past, stirring the air.

“Xu Lin!”

“I’m fine. Are you hurt?” He winced from the impact but stubbornly suppressed the pain.

“No… no…”

Ji Yun clung to his chest, her breathing growing more rapid until it dissolved into sobs.

“Xu Lin… Xu Lin… I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“Don’t cry, don’t cry.” He gently wiped away two teardrops from her cheeks with his fingertip, afraid of hurting her already reddened eyes.

“There, there, everyone’s watching us.”

“Then why don’t you let go…” She glanced up, saw the curious stares of people waiting at the crosswalk, and quickly buried her face in his chest in embarrassment.

“Then tell me what happened?”

“It’s family stuff.”

“I just saw your father come out.”

“They had a fight—he and my mom.”

“I see. Well, honestly, couples argue sometimes—it’s normal. Nobody goes through life without a single quarrel.”

Although he said that, he knew this was more than a simple disagreement. But as an outsider, he couldn’t pry; unless Ji Yun wanted to confide in him.

“I know,” Ji Yun nodded. As Xu Lin helped her up, he noticed her pulling her hand back.

He quickly caught her hand, rolled up her sleeve, and before Ji Yun could react, he saw two purplish bruises on her fair forearm.

“What happened?” Xu Lin’s tone turned icy. Ji Yun pressed her lips together.

“I bumped it myself.”

“Tell me the truth.” Xu Lin looked at her steadily, anger and concern mingling in his gaze.

She wasn’t afraid—in fact, his worry brought a trace of sweetness to her heart. In a soft voice, she answered, “I really did bump it myself. It happened when I tried to break up the fight…”

“Sigh… There are things in your family I can’t interfere with. But as your friend, I have to tell you—take care of yourself.”

“Even if you’re breaking up a fight, some things can’t be solved that way. Your parents need to talk it out themselves. If it really comes to it, then as their daughter, you can step in.”

“I know. But I just didn’t want to see the people who love me most fighting like that in front of me…”

“If my parents ever fought, I wouldn’t know what to do either. Problems between parents always hurt the children most.”

“So, Ji Yun, you really can’t let yourself drift like this. If something happens to you, who will help your parents solve their problems?”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the better of me—especially not with you.”

“Oh, you silly girl. Even now, you’re gentle, quick to blame yourself. Let me take a look at those bruises.”

“No, if we don’t go to school now, we’ll be late.”

“We already are.”

Xu Lin lifted his watch, which now sported a fresh crack from their fall. It read 6:15—no way they’d make it on time, even running.

“Let’s go to the school nurse and get some ointment.”

“There’s a little clinic across the street. Even if you don’t want to go, I have to.”

“Didn’t you say you were fine?”

“I said I was fine and you believed me? Silly girl—ow! That hurts like hell! Come on, let’s go, let’s go!”

“Don’t call me silly, my grades are better than yours.”

“Still a silly girl!”