Chapter Forty-Two: A Shocking Discovery in Flirtation

For the following two days, Ye Qian was unusually well-behaved. Not only did she stop insisting on going out, but she also took the initiative to be friendly with Long Fei, as if she had completely forgotten how much she used to dislike him. Yet Long Fei remained indifferent toward her, which left Ye Qian simmering with frustration. However, as she learned more about Long Fei’s situation, she no longer dared to look down on him. Besides, she had her own calculations—until her goal was achieved, she knew better than to offend Long Fei.

On the third day, Long Fei accompanied Ye Qian to school as usual. This time, instead of getting off halfway, he rode straight into the campus parking lot. By coincidence, they ran into Chen Xin again.

“So early today, Ye Qian?” Chen Xin said, clearly looking for a conversation.

Ye Qian glanced at Long Fei. Noticing the ambiguous smile on his face, she felt a bit annoyed and showed Chen Xin no kindness. She rolled her eyes at him and replied coldly, “I’ve already told you, I’m not interested in you at all. Stop pestering me—even if you keep at it, I’ll never say yes!”

“I didn’t say anything, did I? Can’t we at least be friends? Just ordinary friends?” Chen Xin’s patience seemed endless.

“No. Absolutely not!” Ye Qian slammed the car door shut, then turned to Long Fei with a gentle tone. “Cousin, wait for me in the classroom at noon, and we’ll have lunch together!”

Long Fei was taken aback. When did he become Ye Qian’s cousin? Hearing her suddenly speak so sweetly, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Still, he thought this arrangement was convenient. If anyone ever asked about his relationship with Ye Qian, he now had a ready-made excuse.

He cast a sidelong glance at Chen Xin and replied with a smile, “All right, cousin.”

Ye Qian, who had already walked a few steps away, paused in surprise. She had expected Long Fei to play along, but hadn’t imagined he’d be so enthusiastic about it. The way he called her “cousin” was almost embarrassingly intimate. Her cheeks flushed, she said nothing more, turned away, paused, then nodded and walked off.

Chen Xin’s reaction was not what Long Fei anticipated—he remained perfectly calm, his charming smile never fading. This irritated Long Fei. No matter how he looked at him, Chen Xin seemed better looking, better bred, and more self-contained than himself—no wonder he was more popular.

“Hey, pretty boy, aren’t you tired?” Long Fei taunted him with a wicked grin.

Chen Xin kept smiling. “Why should I be tired?”

“Got a mirror? If not, you can use the car window. Take a look at yourself—so fake, forcing a smile like that. Seeing how close I am with my cousin, doesn’t that make you feel bad? If it does, you might as well cry or curse me out. Why pretend like you don’t care? Must be exhausting—be careful you don’t hurt yourself holding it in!” Long Fei spared no words.

Unfortunately, Chen Xin didn’t get angry in the slightest. He just kept smiling. “Say what you want. But I know you’re not really her cousin—you’re her bodyguard, aren’t you, Mr. Long? Uncle Ye must have some connections, letting someone like you enroll here. I just find your background a bit curious. Are you really an orphan?”

Long Fei’s expression darkened, his gaze growing cold as he stared at Chen Xin for a long moment. Suddenly, he grinned wickedly again. Damn, two can play at this game. If you won’t get angry, neither will I.

“You seem to know quite a bit—have you investigated me? Let me warn you: don’t try to find out more about me. If you ever really do, you might regret it. Everyone has their secrets and their own space—they don’t like others prying into them, and neither do I.” Though Long Fei knew he was indeed an orphan, the word “stray” stirred his anger. After this exchange, he began to take Chen Xin seriously; perhaps this man was not as simple as he seemed.

It appeared that from the first day of school, Chen Xin had set himself against Long Fei. Yet Long Fei couldn’t quite grasp the root of their conflict. The obvious reason was Ye Qian, but from Chen Xin’s eyes, he couldn’t discern the slightest trace of affection for her—not even when she left just now.

Something wasn’t right, Long Fei instinctively thought.

“All right, I understand you’re not ordinary. But the reason I waited for you here and said all this is to tell you: don’t fall for Ye Qian. She’s the woman I want. Whether I love her or not, you can’t touch her. If you do, you’ll die—a miserable death.” There was a trace of contempt in Chen Xin’s eyes.

Long Fei found it amusing. Over the years, many had looked down on him—most ended up dead. What about this Chen Xin? Kill him? He didn’t have the mood or reason right now. But let him keep being so arrogant? No way. If he didn’t do something today, he wouldn’t be Long Fei.

“Hey, look over there!” Long Fei pointed toward the sports field.

Instinctively, Chen Xin turned his head.

The field was empty. Suddenly, Chen Xin sensed a gust of wind and leapt back several meters, a move that instantly revealed his true skill. Long Fei sneered. Then there was a ripping sound—Chen Xin felt a sudden chill below; Long Fei had yanked down his tracksuit pants, exposing a pair of red undergarments. Right in the center was an image of a cartoon sheep, standing up at attention.

“Damn, you like wearing red underwear? That’s twisted!” Long Fei darted off, laughing, “And with a cartoon sheep on it! You’re too perverse!”

Luckily, no one was nearby, but Chen Xin still felt mortified, his face burning and his body trembling. He was somewhat relieved Long Fei hadn’t torn his pants completely off, but couldn’t help swearing, “Bastard, I won’t let you get away with this!”

As he spoke, Chen Xin could no longer maintain his gentlemanly demeanor—his face was twisted with rage.

Long Fei had thought he’d arrived early, but by the time he finally found his classroom, the large room was already packed with students.

An overwhelming number of girls—that was Long Fei’s first impression stepping into the classroom.

Still, Long Fei was quite pleased; this was exactly what he’d hoped for. A quick count showed nearly fifty students, with fewer than ten boys. In other words, the gender ratio was less than one to four. As he’d anticipated from his online research, among the forty girls, quite a few were rather attractive, and there wasn’t an obvious “ugly duckling” among them.

Of course, the fact that these girls knew how to dress and that it was the height of summer, with everyone in light, revealing clothes, only made things more appealing in Long Fei’s eyes. To him, the view was all the more delightful for it.