Chapter 139: Want to go up for some practice?
"Tracking?" The word choice was... interesting.
The others looked at Lin Mu with disdain and disgust. This kid is utterly shameless! To think he actually followed us just to suck up.
Li Ping said, "Even if you regret it now and want to apologize to Director Jiang, what good would it do? Don’t think we’ll let this go just because you know Ye Tong."
"Even if he wants to apologize, it’s up to us whether we accept it or not," Gu Can said, his attitude toward Lin Mu equally unfriendly.
"Apologize?" Lin Mu curled his lip. "You’re overthinking things."
Jiang Xia was speechless. So were Ye Tong and everyone else.
If he’s not here to apologize, then what’s his goal?
Li Ping’s chest heaved as she suppressed her anger. "If you’re not here to apologize, then why were you following us? Don’t tell me you have a crush on our Ye Tong? You think you’re worthy of her?!"
Ye Tong was outstanding in both figure and appearance, so she naturally had no shortage of admirers. But the only one worthy of her is Jiang Xia.
Lin Mu shook his head, not wanting to argue. Instead, he looked at the frail girl beside Ye Tong, a sincere smile appearing on his face.
"Long time no see."
So many years had passed. She seemed to have changed so little, yet also so much. She was still frail, with eyes as clear as water that seemed to hold a gentle light, stunning the passage of time. She had simply grown taller, fairer, and more beautiful. The shy and timid girl from his memories seemed even more bashful now.
"Lin Mu, is it really you?" Song Wenrou’s voice was soft, matching her delicate frame. Her face was flushed, and she spoke so faintly it was as if she were afraid of disturbing the others.
"Wenrou, you’ve got the wrong person. Let’s go," Ye Tong said, pulling on Song Wenrou while shooting Lin Mu a fierce, warning glare.
But Song Wenrou didn’t leave. She uncharacteristically shook her head and insisted, "No, I’m not mistaken. That’s him! That’s Lin Mu!"
No matter how many years had passed, she could never forget him.
Jiang Xia’s expression turned ugly. He was pursuing Ye Tong because she had feelings for him, and more importantly, because Song Wenrou trusted Ye Tong completely. Now, seeing that Song Wenrou also knew Lin Mu—and that their relationship seemed more complicated than he’d thought—made Jiang Xia feel deeply unsettled.
It felt as if his most prized possession was about to be stolen.
"Wenrou, Tongtong, let’s go. Don’t bother with this kind of person," Jiang Xia said.
However, Song Wenrou ignored him. She walked toward Lin Mu and smiled. "It’s so good to see you again." Her tone was so gentle it made you worry she might break at the slightest touch.
Guan Jiaojiao glanced at her and then nudged Lin Mu, whispering, "Old flame?"
"Don’t be silly."
Song Wenrou’s face turned slightly red as she asked, "Your girlfriend?"
Guan Jiaojiao waved her hands frantically. "Definitely not! My standards aren’t that low. I’m not into this kind of oblivious straight man."
Lin Mu pressed a hand on top of her head. "No one would think you’re mute if you kept your mouth shut."
Song Wenrou giggled, her beautiful eyes softly gazing at Lin Mu as she said, "That term ’straight man’ didn’t exist back then."
Lin Mu flushed with embarrassment. Back then, he hadn’t been good with words and preferred to keep to himself. He remembered one time when Song Wenrou felt unwell, and the teacher asked him to take her to the nurse’s office. His only reply had been, "But I haven’t finished my homework yet." The entire class had nearly lynched him.
Thinking of this, Lin Mu glanced at Song Wenrou, his brows furrowing slightly.
Song Wenrou lowered her head, not daring to meet Lin Mu’s gaze, her little face flushed red.
"Ooh, something’s happening here," Guan Jiaojiao whispered, covering her mouth to hide a giggle.
Lin Mu felt helpless and didn’t dare respond.
Jiang Xia and the others watched this scene, grinding their teeth in anger.
Just then, the cheers from the crowd grew louder, signaling that the match in the ring was about to conclude. The battle between the two was intense, with both sides exchanging blows; to an outsider, it looked very impressive.
Even the gentle-natured Song Wenrou was captivated, her gaze fixed on the ring. "They’re amazing."
Jiang Xia, seizing the opening, remarked dismissively, "They’re alright, I guess."
Lin Mu merely smiled.
Li Ping scoffed at Song Wenrou’s amazement. "What’s so amazing about that? Don’t you know our Director Jiang was on the city’s official Sanshou team? Of course he’s qualified to judge their match."
The others also looked at Jiang Xia with admiration.
Jiang Xia waved a hand in a show of modesty, but his tone was brimming with confidence. "I’m not trying to brag, but the guys on that stage are all undisciplined amateurs. On the Sanshou team, we underwent professional, systematic training. These guys are fighting without any real technique. There’s nothing to see here."
"Besides, I heard a match like this only pays a few tens of thousands. When I competed in the provincial Sanshou tournaments, the prize money started at hundreds of thousands, to say nothing of the national boxing championships where the minimum prize was a million. The two aren’t even comparable."
His words immediately earned nods of agreement from the others. Li Ping quickly added, "Exactly! Everyone has seen Director Jiang’s strength. I heard he was even on TV! Of course these little scuffles between country bumpkins can’t compare."
Gu Can and Xue Fei looked surprised. "Director Jiang has been on TV? That’s amazing."
Jiang Xia waved his hand dismissively, as if downplaying it all. "That’s all in the past. A true man doesn’t dwell on past glories. In any case," he continued with a chuckle, "a small-time event like this is only exciting for people who haven’t seen much of the world."
"The real main event is the upcoming Martial Way Tournament. Top masters from all three provinces of Jiangling will be gathering here. Now *that* will be thrilling."
"Director Jiang, will you be participating? If you went up and showed them a few moves, that would be incredible!" Li Ping said with a swooning expression.
Gu Can chimed in, "Yeah, Director Jiang! I don’t think those so-called masters are anything special. I bet they’d be no match for you."
Jiang Xia said, "I’ll see how I feel. It’s not particularly interesting, but I don’t mind going up for a round. It could be a good opportunity to teach certain people a lesson on how to conduct themselves."
This time, even Ye Tong looked at Jiang Xia with a hint of admiration. Now that’s a real man, so much better than some people. She then shot a disdainful glance at Lin Mu.
Her admiring gaze was deeply satisfying to Jiang Xia.
Lin Mu could only listen to Jiang Xia’s group with an amused, wry smile. This Jiang Xia is unbelievably arrogant. To put it nicely, he’s overconfident. To put it bluntly, he’s just an ignorant fool who thinks a little Sanshou training makes him invincible. He has no idea that there’s always someone better out there.
His subtle shake of the head might have gone unnoticed, but not by Jiang Xia, who had been watching him the entire time.
Thinking Lin Mu was laughing at him, Jiang Xia sneered, "It seems Brother Lin has a different opinion about what I said?"
At once, the gazes of Li Ping, Gu Can, and the others turned hostile as they glared at Lin Mu.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Ye Tong quickly interjected, "That’s enough, Jiang Xia. Lin Mu doesn’t understand any of this, there’s no need to stoop to his level."
Jiang Xia snorted coldly. "If Brother Lin disagrees, how about we go up there later for a little practice match?"