Su Chan looked at Li Yundong with utter confusion. "What's so great about attending this school? That teacher looks incredibly fierce!"

Li Yundong stared back at Su Chan with an expression of utter collapse. "School? Teacher? Sister, you are completely out of touch! Did you just travel here from ancient times?"

Su Chan blinked her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Li Yundong stammered, unable to speak for a long moment. After a while, he let out a long, defeated sigh. "Forget it, you wouldn't understand. If I get kicked out of school, I won't get my allowance money from Mom and Dad!"

Su Chan whispered weakly from the side, "Then, did I do something wrong just now that caused you trouble?"

Li Yundong shook his head. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. It's my fault."

Li Yundong took a deep breath, then exhaled fully, seemingly releasing all the frustration in his chest. He was naturally an optimistic person and quickly adjusted his mood, smiling as he said to Su Chan, "I'll show you my school."

It was past ten in the morning, during class time. Li Yundong didn't want to go back just yet, so he took the little fox for a stroll down the tree-lined paths of the campus.

Though he couldn't hold the little fox's hand, having dappled sunlight falling across his shoulders, being side-by-side with a beauty as exquisite as a blossoming flower, and breathing in the faint scent of maidenly fragrance mixed with the freshness of green grass and leaves—wasn't this also a heart-fluttering, serene pleasure?

Along the way, Li Yundong and the little fox encountered many students. Every student who saw them turned their heads, marveling inwardly at the subtle allure radiating from the little fox's purity. This kind of gaze secretly pleased Li Yundong.

"Your school—ah, your xuetang—it's so large!" Su Chan looked around curiously, exclaiming in admiration.

Li Yundong smiled. "This is just some obscure university. If it were a national key university, the campus would be even bigger!"

Su Chan said enviously, "Really? I truly wish I could see one someday."

Li Yundong laughed. "You seem to really enjoy crowds?"

Su Chan thought for a moment, then said softly, "Perhaps. I might have spent too long in the mountains before. Sometimes, I wouldn't see another person for years."

Li Yundong opened his mouth to speak, but then a voice drifted from a small grove of trees: "Zhou Qin, I really like you. I'd do anything for you."

"Huh?" Li Yundong's heart stirred. A confession?

Ha! In the past, I was always the one confessing, ending up with videos posted online to embarrass me. Today, the tables have turned!

Li Yundong was greatly amused. He held a forefinger to his lips. "Shh! Let's go check it out!"

The little fox, naturally playful, caught Li Yundong's mood and her own playfulness flared up. She grinned from ear to ear, put a finger to her lips in imitation, and shushed him.

The two looked at each other and shared a smile.

Because the grove of trees offered dense shade, and the confessor was standing in a pavilion not far from them, a cluster of low bushes conveniently shielded them. Li Yundong and Su Chan crouched near the shrubs, straining their ears to listen.

"Zhao Yujian, we really aren't suited for each other..." That was Zhou Qin's voice—pleasant to hear, but carrying an inherent, deep-seated coldness.

"But, Zhou Qin, please give me a chance. What part of me isn't good enough for you? I will work hard to improve," Zhao Yujian pleaded desperately.

"Hey, why are you being so annoying? What makes you worthy of our Zhou Qin?" As this voice spoke, Li Yundong’s eyebrows shot up. Huh? Is that Ding Nan?

Li Yundong cautiously peeked his head out from behind the bushes toward the pavilion.

He saw Zhou Qin with her back to him, wearing a sheer, light-cyan, mid-sleeve top with lace trim. Her long, raven hair fell straight as a waterfall over her shoulders, and she wore a light-brown, ruffled long skirt. Standing in the antique-style pavilion with its overhanging eaves, gusts of wind blew, catching the hem of her skirt. In that instant, she possessed the ethereal beauty and grace of a celestial fairy, her demeanor utterly transcendent.

Su Chan had met Zhou Qin before, but her attention had been entirely focused on Li Yundong then, so she hadn't really studied her. Seeing her now, even she couldn't help but exclaim, "So beautiful!"

Ding Nan, standing beside Zhou Qin, was angled slightly toward Li Yundong. She wore a white, sleeveless sports top with a cute 'elliy' graphic on the chest. Below, she wore denim cut-offs that not only revealed her long, slender, pale legs but also accentuated the stunning curves of her full, pert hips.

Although Li Yundong intensely disliked Ding Nan, he had to admit at this moment: this woman exuded youthfulness mixed with sex appeal; she was worthy of being the department beauty of the Foreign Languages major.

Ding Nan's attire was cute, but her words were anything but, proving quite sharp and venomous.

"Ha, first there was that toad Li Yundong trying to eat swan meat, and now you pop up. I ask you, aren't you guys bothersome? Do none of you ever look in a mirror growing up? How can you all be so overconfident?" Ding Nan’s words made even Li Yundong, the onlooker, frown.

Su Chan stuck her tongue out to the side and whispered, "What a cruel woman. She even insulted you!"

Li Yundong offered her a slight smile, signaling her to keep listening.

Li Yundong shifted his gaze from Zhou Qin and Ding Nan to Zhao Yujian, who was standing in the pavilion. The young man was about 1.83 meters tall, powerfully built, and handsome, bearing a striking resemblance to Takuya Kimura.

Li Yundong recognized him as the president of the campus Taekwondo club, a champion of the city-level collegiate Taekwondo exchange tournament, and generally recognized as the campus heartthrob. No fewer than thirty girls had written him love letters.

Well, I never thought Zhao Yujian would be rejected by Zhou Qin...

Li Yundong was genuinely surprised. Zhou Qin was mysterious, rumored to come from a very influential family. Most importantly, she excelled in both academics and character, and her looks, figure, and aura were top-tier. Apart from her chillingly aloof demeanor, she had virtually no flaws.

What kind of man would such a woman end up with? She even rejected Zhao Yujian!

Zhao Yujian seemed stunned that he had been scolded so harshly by Ding Nan. His entire body trembled, his lips quivering uncontrollably as he pointed at Ding Nan and stammered, "You, you!"

Ding Nan snorted coldly. "You, you, you—what 'you'? If I were you, I’d find a hole to crawl into right now and stop embarrassing yourself here!"

Zhou Qin reached out and gently patted Ding Nan’s hand. "Xiao Nan, stop. Enough."

Then, Zhou Qin spoke to Zhao Yujian, "Zhao Yujian, don't come looking for me again. It's truly impossible between us."

Zhao Yujian’s face went ashen. He stood in the pavilion like a statue, staring blankly as Zhou Qin and Ding Nan walked away together.

Watching Zhou Qin's retreating back, Zhao Yujian suddenly let out a fierce roar, "Zhou Qin, you will regret this!"

Zhou Qin did not look back, nor did she slow her pace, as if she hadn't heard a word of what he shouted.

Ding Nan, however, glanced back at him, sneered, and then flipped him a middle finger.

Zhao Yujian's handsome face contorted instantly. He lunged forward one step, then abruptly stopped, pacing the pavilion like a raging lion. After a while, he cast one last intensely malevolent glare back before stalking off resentfully.

Only after Zhao Yujian was gone did Li Yundong and Su Chan emerge from the bushes. Li Yundong felt a pang of emotion. "When this happens to you, you don't feel it, but watching someone else get rejected in a confession shows how miserable it is. I truly admire myself for fighting repeatedly despite repeated failures!"

Having witnessed such a tragedy, Li Yundong lost the mood to show Su Chan around. He thought for a moment and said, "Let's go back. I'll cook you a few delicious meals."

Hearing this, Su Chan’s face lit up, and she almost drooled. She nodded her head vigorously like a chicken pecking grain.

Li Yundong laughed heartily. "Let's go, first we buy groceries!" He turned to Su Chan, "You help me buy them?"

Su Chan looked troubled. "But, I'm afraid I'll cause you trouble again."

Li Yundong smiled slightly, waving his hand, and pulled out a stack of at least ten red bills from his pocket, pressing them into Su Chan’s hand without argument.

Su Chan didn't realize that Li Yundong was finding a way to slip her some money for self-protection. Otherwise, why would buying groceries require so much cash? Were they planning a Manchu Han Imperial Feast?

Su Chan looked at the money in her hand, blinking in confusion. She had no idea how much it could buy or what its actual value was. She just looked at Li Yundong, uttered an 'oh,' and then clenched the bills tightly in her palm.

The two left the campus and headed to the wet market nearby.

Li Yundong led Su Chan to a meat stall and told her, "Tell her you want one jin of pork belly and one piece of marrow bone."

Su Chan sweetly repeated Li Yundong's instructions. The butcher, looking exceptionally impressed by the little fox, specially selected some very good pieces of pork belly and bone for Su Chan.

As Su Chan took the plastic bag and was about to turn, Li Yundong grabbed her, laughing. "Hey, hey, pay up."

Su Chan stuck out her tongue, made a funny face at the butcher sheepishly, "I forgot!"

Then, she poured all the money she had tightly gripped in her hand toward the butcher.

The butcher was startled. "That's too much!"

Li Yundong was left speechless, fighting a smile. He took one bill from the little fox's hand, handed it to the butcher, and then took the change returned to him.

Li Yundong placed the change into the little fox's other hand and explained, "You don't need this much money to buy groceries. This one bill can buy quite a bit, although if you plan to eat out at a restaurant, that's another story—one bill wouldn't even cover it."

The little fox blinked her eyes. "Is the food at restaurants tasty? How does it compare to yours?"

Li Yundong chuckled. "Hard to say; they probably each have their own strengths. I still have a few specialty dishes I haven't made yet."

While chatting cheerfully with the little fox, he walked toward the vegetable stalls.

After a few steps, Li Yundong noticed the vegetable stall owner who had extorted a hundred yuan from him a few days ago staring at him.

It was truly a case of enemies meeting, eyes blazing with animosity. Li Yundong wasn't exactly broad-minded, so he glared right back.

The vegetable seller naturally rolled her eyes back—after all, rolling eyes didn't require taxes!

Although Li Yundong wasn't particularly successful, he was deeply arrogant and high-minded. Fortunately, there was more than one green vegetable stall in the large market, otherwise, Li Yundong would rather starve than buy her vegetables.

After buying vegetables at another stall, the two carried their large bags and packages, preparing to leave.

Just as they exited the market and were walking down the road, Li Yundong suddenly spotted Er Lü, with whom he'd had a conflict a few days prior, standing not far away, staring at him with a dark, gloomy expression.

Er Lü glared viciously at Li Yundong, then his gaze fell upon Su Chan, his eyes filled with greed and desire. He turned his head slightly and whispered a few words to a young man standing beside him, whose hair was dyed golden yellow and who was dressed entirely in denim.

The young man nodded, looked at Su Chan, and a depraved, wicked smile spread across his face. He nodded and said, "Yeah, she's prime material. You’ve got good taste, buddy!"

Li Yundong's expression instantly hardened. He subtly edged closer to Su Chan while quickly glancing behind him. He saw five other people behind them, all holding newspapers that seemed to conceal long, hard objects.

Li Yundong's heart sank. He knew this situation wouldn't end peacefully. He also recognized the blond young man; his name was Xie Fei, a notorious third-year student from the Economics department—a known hoodlum, fond of fights and harassing women, with a terrible reputation.

Li Yundong gathered all the groceries into one hand, grabbed Su Chan's wrist with the other, and whispered, "Run with me in a moment."

Su Chan was stunned. As a cultivator, she didn't view these punks as any kind of threat, so she didn't grasp what was happening. She just asked blankly, "Why run?"

Li Yundong was so exasperated he almost laughed. He thought to himself: Nonsense! There are seven of them; are we supposed to stay and get beaten up?

Li Yundong didn't know that he had already been modified by the Yuan Jin Dan, so he certainly didn't see himself as a martial arts master like Jet Li or Donnie Yen.

Su Chan's voice reached Xie Fei. Xie Fei immediately burst into laughter. "Beauty, why run away? We won't do anything to you! Just have a meal with us!"

"Eat your mother!" Li Yundong suddenly attacked, flinging the grocery bags toward the group. Grabbing Su Chan's hand, he yelled, "Run!"