"It's not as if I asked you to help compile your father's teaching syllabus, nor did I actively ask you for the martial arts manual for the Falling Wild Geese Sword. You gave them to me willingly, just as you were the one who approached me in the first place. You fancied me, which I can understand, and I gave you the opportunity to get close, but you failed to seize it. That's simply your own lack of ability."
Lianshan Xin had formulas, so he solved problems fast.
Dai Yueying had no formula, nor any mother formula to speak of.
She was furious enough to kill.
"Lianshan Xin, a person cannot be this shameless."
She had assumed that, relying on their past acquaintance along with the innate allure of her charm physique, wrapping a minor figure like Lianshan Xin around her finger would be effortless.
She would first bewitch Lianshan Xin, making him her devoted follower, and then use him to approach Qi Shiyun and carry out the mission her master had assigned her.
Every part of the plan had been prepared.
Yet trouble had struck at the very first step.
She had never imagined someone in this world could be so brazenly shameless.
Lianshan Xin picked at his ear and remarked drily, "Classmate Dai, your vocabulary is remarkably impoverished. It's quite obvious you haven't been studying hard at all."
She couldn't even vary her insults.
Dai Yueying let out a laugh of pure exasperation. "I earned admission to Bailudong Academy through my own hard work, and you claim I wasn't studying hard?"
"Is that so? Congratulations, congratulations."
Lianshan Xin was genuinely a little surprised.
In his memory, Dai Yueying's academic marks had indeed been solid—after all, Master Dai would certainly have given his own daughter extra tutoring in private.
Her martial arts talent, however, had seemed mediocre at best; like him, she had only been a first-realm Body Tempering martial artist.
How could she have gained admission to Bailudong Academy?
"You broke through to the second realm, the Meridian Connectivity realm?"
"Naturally." Dai Yueying lifted her slender, swan-like neck with pride.
"Impressive." Lianshan Xin cupped his hands in salute.
That was a realm he had yet to reach.
"I truly envy you. If only I could break through to the Meridian Connectivity realm as well, I wouldn't have had to rely on a recommendation and end up as the only student this year personally selected by Lord Heavenly Sword to join Bailudong Academy. If I had the choice, I'd have loved to suffer through the exams alongside the rest of you."
Lianshan Xin let out a long sigh of mock regret.
Dai Yueying was struck speechless.
Back when she had pursued Lianshan Xin, she had never noticed he was this shameless.
In hindsight, her judgment of people had truly been abysmal.
Drawing a deep breath, Dai Yueying forced her emotions down and resumed her tender, gentle demeanor. "I could tell back then that you were no ordinary fish destined to stay in a shallow pond, Brother Xin, and that you would soar into the skies sooner or later. It seems my judgment wasn't so poor after all."
Lianshan Xin was somewhat astonished that an eighteen-year-old girl could maintain such emotional stability.
She was far more composed than he had been at eighteen in his previous life.
Even so, that alone was not enough to sway him.
In truth, Lianshan Xin had grown wary.
He had felt nothing toward the Dai Yueying of the past. Toward the present Dai Yueying, however, he sensed that something was slightly off. Her progress seemed a bit too rapid, and even her appearance had improved far too quickly.
Though three days apart might warrant seeing someone in a new light, Lianshan Xin still felt that the girl before him was somewhat unfamiliar.
"Classmate Dai, did you come looking for me today merely to rekindle old ties?" Lianshan Xin asked.
A perfectly measured blush surfaced on Dai Yueying's pretty face. "Brother Xin, now that both of us have earned admission to Bailudong Academy, if we work hard together from now on, studying and practicing martial arts side by side, we might become an immortal couple in the jianghu one day."
"Let's pass on that. You entered Bailudong Academy through the regular exam route; you're simply not a match for a favored child of heaven like me who came in via recommendation."
Lianshan Xin did not truly think this way, but he said it deliberately.
If Dai Yueying were an ordinary girl, hearing words like that would have prompted her to fling her sleeves and storm off, perhaps tossing back a parting boast along the lines of 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never underestimate a girl just because she is poor.'
If she had, Lianshan Xin would have immediately dropped to his knees to apologize and turn an enemy into a friend, never creating a female Xiao Yan for himself to fight.
Yet Dai Yueying did no such thing.
Instead, she replied with utter confidence, "Brother Xin, your martial arts aptitude isn't great. Once we enter the academy, your results might not even surpass mine."
Lianshan Xin narrowed his eyes slightly.
This reaction was far too abnormal.
Even a sycophantic pursuer wouldn't grovel like this... Well, that was hard to say for sure.
Still, based on his understanding of the former Dai Yueying, he did not believe she was the type to chase after someone so subserviently.
The current, far more accomplished Dai Yueying should be even less inclined to do so.
Was she deliberately trying to get close to him?
Could the advertising effect of his display outside the Qu household yesterday really have been that potent?
Logically, that could serve as an explanation, but wasn't this a bit excessive?
If Master Dai had come groveling before Lianshan Xin today, swallowing his pride to arrange a match between his daughter and Lianshan Xin, he would have understood the reaction.
A middle-aged man in his forties, burdened by life, might bow his head to an extent beyond what most could fathom.
An eighteen-year-old girl, however, should not.
"Did you see me throwing my weight around outside the Qu household yesterday?" Lianshan Xin asked.
Dai Yueying shook her head. "Brother Xin, things between us didn't just start yesterday. Back when we were at my father's academy, we were already very close, weren't we?"
"Yet that relationship was discarded by your own hand," Lianshan Xin said placidly.
"It wasn't like that. Back then, I was simply focusing on my studies."
"Once I enter Bailudong Academy, I will be focusing on my studies as well."
"Brother Xin, just what will it take for you to accept me?"
Dai Yueying stamped her foot, revealing a hint of girlish pique and petulance.
Lianshan Xin remained completely unmoved. Internally, his guard rose even higher, and his response grew entirely programmatic: "Classmate Dai, if you truly fancy me and want the best for me, you ought to let go. You wouldn't want to stop me from running toward someone better, would you?"
A blow heavy enough to snap Mount Buzhou in two!
Dai Yueying's pupils dilated, her red lips parted, and she froze in pure shock.
She had never encountered this formula before.
"You..."
"Classmate Dai, you may see yourself out."
Lianshan Xin issued a clear dismissal.
In truth, he had tried using his innate ability to inspect Dai Yueying.
Unfortunately, perhaps because it had triggered too many times yesterday, it failed to activate today.
Even so, Lianshan Xin was not someone who relied solely on his innate ability.
He resolved to keep a close eye on Dai Yueying in the days ahead.
This girl gave him a sense of danger—not an overwhelming one, but present nonetheless.
He should be able to handle it.
Dai Yueying departed in a daze, looking like a drowned chicken.
Seeing her in this state finally brought Lianshan Xin a familiar feeling.
This was how an eighteen-year-old girl was supposed to react.
Once Dai Yueying was gone, Lianshan Xin prepared to head back into his room to rest.
Then he saw two onlookers who had been thoroughly enjoying the drama step out from his room.
He Miaojun glanced at Lianshan Xin, then over at Lianshan Jingcheng, her tone subtle. "Husband, did you teach him that?"
Lianshan Jingcheng immediately clarified, "Wife, you know me. I have always been pure and honest by nature, and clumsy with words. I could never possess such eloquence."
He Miaojun considered it and agreed.
Turning back to Lianshan Xin, she spoke with earnest gravity: "Little Xin, whenever you face a woman stronger than you in the future, remember never to speak to her like that. It's an easy way to get yourself beaten to death."
Chapter 19