Li Qi is a woman who doesn't fear death. You'd better not anger such a person, whoever you might have offended. It seems our fates are forever entwined now—I suppose from here on it'll be either her demise or my survival.

Having fulfilled her request by knocking her unconscious with my bare hands, I turned to leave the dormitory before it collapsed entirely in flames. As I stood up, Li Qi stirred suddenly and spoke with an unexpected gentleness: "Zhao Qian, don't go. Do you think you can just beat me senseless and vanish?"

She was probably unharmed physically—though my strikes had been brutal, I had controlled myself to avoid causing serious injuries—"What else should I do? Wait here for you to challenge me again?"

Li Qi moaned through her swollen lips: "Challenge what? My bones feel shattered. You're the first person who's ever beaten me senseless, Zhao Qian. I'll remember this for life."

I said bluntly: "That was entirely your doing. Why did you try burning down my dormitory?"

"Because it was a joke," she groaned, reaching out with her bruised hand. "Carry me to bed—you won't believe how sleepless I'd be otherwise."

"What? A joke about arson?" Though furious, I could see the damage I had inflicted and decided carrying her was only right. Her eyes were nearly swollen shut as she pointed the way to her room: "Next time don't hit my face—how will I explain these injuries to my father tomorrow?"

As we walked, I said: "Miss Li, please stop playing games with me. You tricked me into beating you up—can't we just be done now and leave each other alone?"

"Not likely," she said, gesturing toward her chest which bore the mark of my 'rowdy fist'. "My breasts are killing me right now. I need to get checked tomorrow—you'll pay for any damages."

"Pay what? I don't have that kind of money!"

"I don't care about that. The whole fight was recorded on video—imagine a tall man bullying an innocent woman like this, aren't you embarrassed?"

I was too angry to answer. She had charged at me unprovoked! "You call yourself an innocent woman? You're more like a venomous scorpion!"

"Say what you want, Zhao Qian. I might not kill you but trust me—I'll make your life a living hell if you don't obey me from now on."

In my rage I threw her onto the bed: "Are we really going to finish this with murder?"

Li Qi laughed through her injuries: "Go ahead—rape and murder both work for me. After all, you're the only man who's ever made me feel alive. It'll be worth dying if I can't conquer you first."

I was utterly defeated by such a woman. "Don't talk anymore—I'm leaving to Mars tomorrow so we won't see each other again." (The truth is I've never respected anyone, but now I finally respect her.)

Li Qi couldn't laugh loudly with her swollen face: "Hehe... fine then. Just sit on my bed and keep me company so I can fall asleep."

When I didn't move immediately she pouted dramatically: "Zhao Qian, look at the state of me! Think about how cruelly you just attacked—now all I'm asking is for your company. Can't you do this small favor?"

Softening slightly I sat beside her bed: "Li Qi, to be honest with you—you really need psychological treatment. Your mental condition is abnormal, likely caused by excessive stress which leads to extreme emotional outbursts."

With closed eyes she held my hand—no one would guess we'd just fought a deadly battle—"I love this feeling right now. Though every muscle hurts, it's actually calming compared to my afternoon ordeal."

This poor girl... I suddenly felt sympathy for her. To relieve stress and insomnia, she had devised such an extreme method of provoking me—the bottom line is she remains fundamentally abnormal.

"Zhao Qian, there's something strange about you. Though you anger me, after thinking all afternoon I can't find any other reason to hate you. You're different from other men—I actually feel a sense of loss just being away from you for hours."

I sighed: "What nonsense was that fight between us? Now we're speaking calmly—why go through the trouble?"

Li Qi said softly: "I provoked you on purpose—the heavier, the better. But next time please don't hit this area..."

To my horror she suddenly placed my hand directly over her chest!

Startled I pulled back immediately: "No—we can't do that. I already have a girlfriend."

Without opening her eyes she said: "Of course—there's an entire floor of girls above and below who're just as good, including the Fang girl. That's what puzzles me most—you aren't special in any way yet all these women throw themselves at you. Though I haven't found the real reason, I've sensed something."

Standing beside her bed I said nothing while Li Qi reclaimed my hand: "Zhao Qian—rub it for me, it hurts so much! Don't you remember your own cruelty? Please, I'm in this state now and won't annoy you anymore..."

My mind was a complete mess. I had never encountered such rapid emotional shifts before—who could handle this? She's like a ticking time bomb: harmless for the moment but who knows when it'll start counting down again.

Leave or stay? If I left she might still seek me out tomorrow and God knows what she'd do to my friends if provoked. But giving her rubs would define our relationship as enemies, lovers or strangers?

"Cough...cough..." Li Qi suddenly coughed up blood from the corner of her mouth, lying there like a battered flower full of desperate expectations.

I hesitated without moving—my feelings for Li Qi remained confusing. Though I usually dislike overly self-centered women, she now resembled an injured kitten that was impossible not to love.

"You're completely swollen," I said apologetically. "It's all my fault for being too rough."

She gripped my hand: "I deserved it. Lie down next to me a while."

As soon as I lay beside her Li Qi suddenly hugged me tightly, immediately wincing in pain from the movement: "Stupid Zhao Qian—why so aggressive? Just two hits would've been enough for fun! Now look what happened—I'm injured!"

Holding her I said: "I was wrong. I apologize."

"Really?" she sounded unconvinced. "I thought you'd never compromise. Looks like this beating wasn't in vain, ha!" She shouted suddenly as if testing me: "Feeling great now! You should beat me often—if you get angry elsewhere, just come here and vent, though next time please remember not to hit my face or breasts—your fists can roam freely over my butt and thighs."

I sighed: "Looks like your mental condition is really bad. I'll take you to a doctor tomorrow."

She said with a laugh: "Why would I trust you? All those other girlfriends must be masochists, but I'm special—I need daily beatings to sleep. If you get angry at them elsewhere, just come here and vent on me!"

I couldn't tell who was really exploiting whom now—this girl seemed determined to turn me into a sadist. Where did she develop such pathology? Definitely worth studying.

Thinking for a moment I said: "Promise me you'll never be cruel to classmates or randomly hit people."

"I know, I'd risk dying otherwise!"

The ninety percent success rate is clear here—"Also don't take out your anger on my friends near you, understood?"

Li Qi pouted dramatically: "Zhao Qian you're wrong! Though I said those things with my mouth, I didn't even touch those two 'witches' and gave the others three hundred yuan for their performance. Only the truly annoying people deserved it—they were being obnoxious so they got what was coming."

I teased: "Then why did you get beaten? Were you also being obnoxious?"

Li Qi hugged me with a giggle: "Of course! I'm just being obnoxious in front of you—you can treat me like a puppy and beat me as much as you want. The more you hit, the more I love you."

"Abnormal!"

"You don't like it? Then let me hit you?"

"But your hits were light compared to my punches—like an insane dog charging headfirst into danger!"

Li Qi pouted: "You slapped me twenty times but I didn't even hit you once. That's unfair! Look at my swollen face—it might be disfigured permanently now. What are we going to do?"

Indeed her face was severely swollen beyond recognition—I awkwardly suggested: "Maybe let me take a few punches in return?"

She placed her hand on my cheek: "That's your choice."

I gritted my teeth and said firmly: "I'll keep that promise—no resistance at all. Hit away."

Closing my eyes I waited for the blows but after minutes of silence I only felt a warm touch against my face—it was Li Qi kissing me gently: "Zhao Qian, I can't bring myself to hit you—you're the only man who makes my heart race. Even if you kill me in the future, I'll never dare raise a finger at you again."

A wave of emotion flooded through me as I held her and kissed her swollen lips before she gently pushed me away: "That's enough—just give me this first kiss now while I'm unattractive. Later when we're ready I'll let you massage my face with ointment and keep me company until sleep."

This brief moment brought us closer, the tone of our conversation now laced with coyness rather than her usual icy demeanor.

As I applied red medicine to her wounds while telling her some amusing stories from my past, she suddenly stopped moving. Looking up I saw that Li Qi had already drifted into a peaceful sleep.

I covered her with a blanket and left a note on the bedstand: "If you ever feel like giving in again, just call me. Don't bury your feelings inside—truth be told you're actually a wonderful girl. Stop isolating yourself from people; when you step out you'll find this world is full of wonders. I hit too hard tonight and promise never to do it again. Good night."

Slipping out through the window, my heart remained conflicted about Li Qi. She was sweetly affectionate one moment but dangerously wild the next—could her current condition be just a rare release after prolonged repression? Perhaps things would improve from here, especially since she hadn't even punished me with slaps as promised and claimed not to harm me again no matter what happened.

Spotting lights still on in Xiaoyudip's room through the window I knocked gently. Seems she and Xiaohei had returned—I wanted to check how their research into the unified force core was progressing.

To my surprise, it was Yiaoxiaoru who opened the window with a sly smile: "Looking for some extramarital fun only to bump into me? Where have you been?"

"I just came back from school," I said. "Why isn't Xiaoyudi here yet? The lights were on so I wanted to check in."

"Brother," Xiaoyudi appeared from the living room, "I returned alone while Xiaohei got too absorbed in her research and refused to come home. I was worried about you though and came back first."

I went over to hug her: "Let me give my sister a squeeze."

"What's wrong with your clothes?" Xiaoyudi had sharper eyes that immediately noticed something amiss.

I said awkwardly: "Fought someone."

Yiaoxiaoru examined closely before declaring: "Probably another woman, right?"

"Hey hey—how did you know?"

She teased back: "Need I explain? What man could get this close to him otherwise? And there's definitely a woman's perfume on your clothes. Not just any ordinary fight either—the bed frame?"

I turned red: "You guys are too much! How would a broken bedframe look like this? It was life or death—of course there had to be some physical contact when we were grappling."

Xiaoyudi scolded: "Brother, you've only been back at school for days and already fighting with someone. Auntie will kill you if she finds out!"

I said: "Then let's just not tell her."

"What are you going to give us in return then?" Yiaoxiaoru sat on the bed holding Xiaoyudi.

I took off my shirt and jumped onto the bed: "Not leaving tonight—I'm staying with both of you."

"Who wants that!" they said in unison. "Mess around so much and we'll end up sleeping late."

"Shhh!" I pointed to the wall between us. "Don't let Fenfen Fangfang know I'm here—just our little trio tonight..."