Chapter 30: Misunderstanding
On the fifty-second day, after four days of observation, Shen Xing finally confirmed the fixed time when Song Yuanqing would come to see Ouyang Lin.
That day, Shen Xing put in all his effort and finished his training tasks ahead of schedule. Ouyang Lin felt both surprised and somewhat pleased. Seizing the opportunity, Shen Xing made a request to spar with her.
Ouyang Lin thought he had become a bit arrogant and decided it was necessary to give him a good lesson, so she agreed to his request.
The two of them fought in Ouyang Lin’s home. Shen Xing could only hold out for a few moves before quickly becoming overwhelmed. Even without using her vital energy, Ouyang Lin’s skill alone was enough to easily dominate him.
Yet Shen Xing refused to admit defeat and struggled to hold on. Seeing his stubbornness, Ouyang Lin couldn’t help but smile slightly.
But shortly after, Shen Xing suddenly let out a painful scream. After exchanging a punch with Ouyang Lin, he collapsed onto the ground.
“Ah!!!”
Shen Xing lay there groaning in pain, beads of sweat forming densely on his forehead.
“Are you alright?” Ouyang Lin asked, somewhat surprised, and immediately moved to help him up.
But Shen Xing waved her off, his face pale.
“Don’t move yet. It’s nothing serious—just an old injury in my arm flaring up.”
Ouyang Lin frowned.
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“Well… I didn’t want you to look down on me.”
“…Speechless. Wait here, I’ll call the medic.”
Rolling her eyes, Ouyang Lin turned to get her phone.
“No, don’t go to so much trouble. I know my condition. Calling a doctor won’t help. The pain will pass soon.”
Shen Xing hurriedly stopped her.
“Really? Don’t push yourself.”
Ouyang Lin was skeptical.
“Lying is for puppies. But… I have a habit—when it hurts, I want something sweet. Can I… go outside and buy some ice cream? Otherwise, it’s too unbearable.”
Shen Xing pleaded humbly.
“You have quite a few quirks. But you’re not going out. I’ll have someone buy it for you.”
Ouyang Lin immediately refused, but then muttered to herself:
“On second thought, I’ll go myself. I have some things to buy anyway. Letting someone run errands for you might make the military district think I’m giving you special treatment.”
She glanced at her watch and instructed:
“If anyone asks for me, just say I’ll be back soon and ask them to wait a moment, alright?”
Shen Xing obediently nodded.
“Don’t worry.”
Ouyang Lin shot him another glare, grabbed a coat, and left.
As she put on her shoes by the door, she grumbled inwardly:
“He really is a troublemaker. I wanted to have a nice walk after meeting up, but now he’s completely messed up my plans.”
Once Ouyang Lin had gone far enough, Shen Xing got up from the floor.
He then made a few subtle adjustments to the furnishings in the living room, leaving behind faint, almost imperceptible traces.
After checking twice carefully, Shen Xing glanced at the time.
Silently watching the clock’s second hand pass one and a half minutes, he then took off his clothes and went into the bathroom.
He didn’t take a proper shower, just turned on the water briefly to wet his body and, importantly, soaked his hair.
Half a minute later, the doorbell rang.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Xing whispered:
“The time to test my acting skills has come!”
He hurriedly wrapped a towel around his waist and, bare-chested, went to open the door.
“Commander Song… it’s you.”
Seeing the elegant and poised Song Yuanqing outside, Shen Xing’s eyes flickered with clear panic, and his voice trembled slightly.
Song Yuanqing held a bouquet of flowers and looked momentarily taken aback.
He appraised Shen Xing from head to toe, then after a moment of silence asked:
“Where’s Ouyang?”
“Commander Ouyang Lin? She… she went out shopping.”
Shen Xing gripped the edge of his towel tightly, his eyes shyly avoiding Song Yuanqing’s gaze.
“Why are you here?”
Song Yuanqing asked calmly.
“Today’s training was lighter, so I finished early. Commander Ouyang specifically called me over to check my training progress. We sparred a few moves, but she’s just too formidable—I stood no chance. Oh, please come in.”
Scratching his head awkwardly, Shen Xing said in a simple manner, then suddenly remembered and gestured Song Yuanqing inside.
“Make yourself comfortable. Although Commander Ouyang didn’t say when she’d be back, you can call her. She definitely won’t keep you waiting long. I… I’ll go get dressed and leave so as not to disturb you commanders.”
Shen Xing spoke almost obsequiously, then quickly grabbed scattered clothes from the sofa and rushed into the bathroom.
Inside the living room, Song Yuanqing did not sit down. Holding the flowers, his eyes slowly scanned the room.
The living room had clearly been hastily tidied, with subtle wrinkles left behind in some corners.
The chairs around the dining table were not neatly arranged.
The entire space radiated an uncomfortable sense of discordance.
This was completely unlike the impression Song Yuanqing had always held of Ouyang Lin.
He knew this was not the work of Ouyang Lin’s hand.
Because she was a person with a slight obsessive-compulsive streak and mild cleanliness obsession.
Her home’s furnishings were always spotless and arranged with meticulous order.
Most importantly, Song Yuanqing carefully sniffed the air.
Though faint, there lingered a very familiar masculine scent.
Recalling Ouyang Lin’s recently indifferent attitude towards him, Song Yuanqing suddenly smiled bitterly to himself.
“So this is your decision? Instead of outright refusing, you chose this subtle hint. No wonder you’ve delayed our engagement talks time and again. It seems you’ve lost even the patience to stall.”
Anger welled up inside Song Yuanqing, but not to the point of losing control.
He carelessly tossed the bouquet onto the coffee table, his heart finally arriving at a conclusion about this relationship.
In that moment, he even felt a sense of relief.
They were never the type each other truly liked. Had it not been for pressure from the elders to matchmake, they would never have tangled so long.
“This is better. Since you don’t want to be the one blamed by both families, I’ll take that role.”
With that, Song Yuanqing turned and left.
Meanwhile, Shen Xing, lingering in the bathroom for a moment, finally exhaled in relief.
Though he had come to understand both their personalities quite well over this time, matters of the heart could never be fully reasoned.
If Song Yuanqing had lost his temper and called Ouyang Lin to confront her outright, things would have become complicated.
Even though Shen Xing had prepared contingency plans, he did not want to resort to them.
Fortunately, things had progressed rather smoothly.
Both were proud and accomplished individuals, and a clear trait of such people was their strong trust in their own judgment.
“Hmph, this blend of excellence and arrogance is the perfect breeding ground for misunderstanding.”
Shen Xing dried his hair, put on his clothes, quickly tidied up the outside, and opened the windows to air the room.
Five minutes later, Ouyang Lin returned carrying a shopping bag.
Seeing that Shen Xing was still alone in the living room, she frowned.
“No one came?”