Chapter 41: Hey, Beautiful

Inside the hotel room, Qin Xuan gently helped Liu Qianqian onto the bed and covered her with a quilt.

“Don’t leave me…”

Liu Qianqian murmured softly.

Qin Xuan glanced back and saw her sleeping deeply, recognizing she was dreaming again.

“Mom…”

He sighed, leaving her a note instructing her to call his number if she woke up. Then, he quietly closed the door and left the hotel. The receptionist watched his departing figure with a puzzled expression.

“How strange. Did I get it wrong, or does that guy only last three minutes?”

…

When Qin Xuan returned to the private room, everyone wore ambiguous smiles.

“Boss, honesty brings leniency, resistance brings severity! Tell us, what’s your relationship with Liu Qianqian?” Zhou Xiaoyu was the first to ask, unable to contain her curiosity.

“There’s really nothing between us.” Qin Xuan spread his hands. “At most, we used to play together in the mountains. Our masters are good friends.”

“Oh, so you’re childhood friends then.” Zhou Xiaoyu responded with an “oh.”

Qin Xuan was speechless. Could that really count as childhood friends?

He was eight when he became a disciple and knew nothing about his life before that. He met Liu Qianqian at twelve, and though they spent a fair amount of time together, it hardly qualified as childhood friends.

“All right, next question.” Zhou Xiaoyu grinned slyly. “What about Dongfang Qingwan? Boss, are you trying to pursue her?”

He had always believed so.

Qin Xuan shrugged. “I’m her bodyguard. My master sent me down the mountain with the task of protecting her for three months.”

“That settles it!” Zhou Xiaoyu clapped his hands.

“Exactly!” Gao Tie snapped his fingers nearby. “Isn’t that how a lot of novels go? The bodyguard for the campus beauty, and then things develop…”

A bead of cold sweat slid down Qin Xuan’s forehead.

“That’s just fiction…”

“Fiction can be instructive, can’t it? Boss, want me to recommend some novels? I guarantee you’ll win over Dongfang Qingwan, the beautiful campus belle!” Zhou Xiaoyu suggested.

“You’re getting more and more indecent. Let’s eat, cough.” Qin Xuan changed the subject.

Truthfully, Qin Xuan liked Dongfang Qingwan, such a gentle beauty. But as a swordsman, he valued letting things follow their natural course. Forcing matters wasn’t good; it would stagnate his sword heart and impede his cultivation—a bad thing for him.

Everyone laughed and began eating.

At one o’clock in the afternoon, Qin Xuan received a call from Dongfang Qingwan. She had arrived at the school gate.

“Dongfang Qingwan is here. I’ve got to go.” Qin Xuan stood up.

“Go on, Boss, good luck! We won’t play third wheel, we’ll just keep drinking. Cheers!” Zhou Xiaoyu was quite the drinker; even Xiao Gang admired him.

“Don’t forget the grade meeting later, drink less. See you soon.” Qin Xuan waved and left.

The Sichuan restaurant wasn’t far from the school gate, and soon Qin Xuan spotted a graceful, gentle figure waiting by the entrance, still clad in her elegant blue dress, drawing many admiring gazes.

Dongfang Qingwan, Business School, Class One of Business Administration, a freshman, and a prospective campus belle. The “prospective” part was only because the campus forum hadn’t officially started its selection yet.

Even so, her presence at the gate attracted plenty of attention. Some boys lingered nearby, gazing from afar but not daring to approach.

Qin Xuan walked up naturally, smiling. “Let’s go. The grade meeting is in the Business School building.”

Dongfang Qingwan frowned slightly, suddenly pulling out her phone and handing it to him.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Xuan asked, puzzled.

“Take a look. Wenhao just sent me this.” Dongfang Qingwan sounded a bit displeased.

Qin Xuan glanced at the phone and felt awkward. The screen showed a photo of him helping a woman in a red dress into a hotel. The timestamp was 12:15 p.m.

Someone actually caught that?

Qin Xuan couldn’t help but admire their boredom.

“Impressive. You’ve hooked another beauty so quickly. Are you always this reckless?” It wasn’t that Dongfang Qingwan felt anything for Qin Xuan, but she disliked reckless people, especially if that person was to be her bodyguard and live with her for three months. Now, she felt it necessary to reconsider his character.

Seeing Dongfang Qingwan’s calm expression, Qin Xuan could only smile wryly. “You’ve misunderstood. She’s just a friend—”

There it went. The goodwill he’d finally built up vanished in an instant. So much for Dongfang Wenhao’s promise not to cause trouble; what was this, then?

“Whether she’s a friend or not, I’m not interested in knowing. Let’s go.” Dongfang Qingwan spoke coolly, stepping forward with gentle grace. She began to distance herself from Qin Xuan, but since he was her bodyguard, she couldn’t just dismiss him. She silently decided to discuss things with her grandfather again that night…

Qin Xuan followed, conflicted. Not that he cared much about Dongfang Qingwan’s opinion, but being misunderstood like this was truly irritating. As he walked, considering how to explain, a whistle suddenly sounded nearby, followed by an extremely flippant voice.

“Hey, beauty! This country is indeed exhilarating.”

Qin Xuan turned at the awkwardly accented Chinese, spotting the same basketball court from that morning. At the edge, three men in white shirts were eyeing Dongfang Qingwan, seemingly eager to make a move.

Qin Xuan frowned.

The basketball court was even less peaceful than in the morning. Several men in white shirts were encircling someone, about to start a fight.

The person in the center was none other than Chen Yuchen, the basketball team’s six-foot-two giant.

Almost as soon as Qin Xuan looked over, Chen Yuchen, enraged, punched a smaller man away. Instantly, a group of foreign students rolled up their sleeves and launched into a brawl. Even though Chen Yuchen was tall and strong, his teammates were nowhere to be found, and he couldn’t hold out for long…

“Japanese students,” Dongfang Qingwan muttered, wanting to leave quickly.

Unfortunately, the three who seemed to be the leaders were already standing in front of them. The one in front had messy blond hair, stood about five-foot-seven, hands in his pockets, chin raised.

“Hello, beauty. My name is Shinji Kato. It’s a pleasure to meet you in this beautiful campus.” Kato extended his hand.

“Would you please step aside? I’m not interested in meeting you.” Dongfang Qingwan replied, attempting to walk around him. But the two men behind Kato quickly moved to block her again. At this point, Qin Xuan had to intervene.

“Shinji Kato, is it? This is not your playground,” Qin Xuan said, eyes narrowed.

Only now did the three foreign students notice the young man beside the beauty, dressed in an old-fashioned black robe. Shinji Kato instantly wanted to beat him up, mainly because Qin Xuan was taller.

“Showing off comes at a price, don’t you agree, beauty? Yoshi!” Kato clapped his hands, and the two behind him stared at Qin Xuan with predatory eyes.

Inside and outside the basketball court, two conflicts unfolded, making the crowd of onlooking students tense up. Even those playing basketball had stopped. Though indignant, not one dared to intervene.

They all knew that fighting with these foreign students would bring them nothing but trouble, even if they won. At Jinling University, even ordinary fights were strictly dealt with, let alone beating up foreign students…