Li Fengyuan raised a brow.
"Hooligans," she said firmly. "Who only knows how to bully others!"
He blinked once.
Then he laughed softly.
"That's unfair," he said, placing a hand over his chest in mock injury. "I don't bully anyone. Don't you agree, Dazhu?"
Zhao Dazhu coughed loudly behind them.
If you didn't bully anyone, then perhaps nobody was tortured in hell as well.
But obviously he couldn't say that when Li Fengyuan was trying to win over Xiao Mei.
"Yeah, yeah… He only bullies people like Wei Tianhao!"
Zhao Dazhu added, trying to boost Li Fengyuan's image.
Xiao Mei gave Zhao Dazhu a look. She wasn't a fool and his words had no effect on her.
"Anyway, you should know your place. Don't provoke people like Wei Tianhao."
Xiao Mei warned him instead. She thought that if she hadn't interfered, Li Fengyuan might have suffered seriously.
"I didn't provoke him," Li Fengyuan replied calmly. "I simply stated facts. If facts provoke him, that's hardly my fault."
Her lips twitched.
Just slightly.
She quickly looked away.
"You're still reckless," she said. "Don't you know what kind of person Wei Tianhao is?"
Li Fengyuan studied her profile.
The way she kept her arms folded.
The faint pink still lingering at the tips of her ears.
"Are you worried I'll get hurt?"
He asked genuinely.
He thought that his impression on Xiao Mei was very bad at this period of time, but she seemed to still worry about him.
Perhaps he hadn't gone too yet, or maybe it was just the goodness in Xiao Mei's heart.
She turned back immediately.
"Hmph! As if! You are just an annoying harasser of Shen Yuyan. I won't care even if you die."
She replied angrily.
(As if I would care about someone who makes my best friend suffer so much.)
He nodded slowly. Well, considering Xiao Mei, he knew that those words were just words and she didn't mean much by them.
"Mmm… still, for someone who didn't care, you sure did stop Wei Tianhao for my sake."
Li Fengyuan said playfully.
"YOU—"
Xiao Mei was flustered. She hadn't noticed it before, but this Li Fengyuan was extremely good with his words.
"Yes, yes. I know you didn't do it for my sake. But I am still very thankful. What kind of reward do you want for it?"
Li Fengyuan continued.
"Perhaps you would like a kiss from me?"
"YOU—"
Xiao Mei froze.
Her face turned red almost instantly.
For a moment she looked completely stunned, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard.
Then embarrassment quickly turned into anger.
"You… you shameless flirt!"
She snapped.
She pointed at Li Fengyuan accusingly, still flustered.
"I didn't know you were such a flirtatious man before, Li Fengyuan!"
Her cheeks were still burning.
"I at least thought you were dedicated to Yuyan," she continued indignantly. "But looking at the way you talk…"
"Hmph!"
She folded her arms, glaring at him.
"I'll report you to Shen Yuyan!"
With that declaration, she turned around sharply.
Her robes fluttered as she strode past everyone without another word.
The surrounding students instinctively parted to make way for her as she left the training grounds.
Li Fengyuan simply watched her back as she disappeared into the distance.
"Cute," he muttered softly.
Whether she was angry or worried, he found everything about her cute.
Behind him, Zhao Dazhu stared at him with wide eyes.
Then he suddenly raised a big thumbs up.
"Bro," he said in admiration, "I have to give it to you."
"You actually managed to tease Xiao Mei to that extent!"
Zhao Dazhu shook his head in disbelief.
He had just watched the whole exchange and still couldn't quite process it. When did Li Fengyuan become so courageous and bold?
Not because Li Fengyuan fought Wei Tianhao.
No!
What shocked him more was how Li Fengyuan casually flirted with Xiao Mei despite her pushing him back so much.
If it were him, he didn't think he would even dare, not to mention be able to do so.
"You're really serious about pursuing her," Zhao Dazhu said after a moment.
Only now did it truly sink in.
Perhaps Li Fengyuan wasn't joking when he said he would stop pursuing Shen Yuyan and instead go after Xiao Mei.
Jia Hao, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"It's a fitting match."
He looked at Li Fengyuan thoughtfully.
"Fengyuan definitely deserves someone like her."
Previously, he would never have said such a thing.
The difference in status between the two was large.
Not to mention talent and reputation.
If Xiao Mei was at the top, Li Fengyuan was at the bottom of the bottom.
Back then, a person like Li Fengyuan didn't deserve Xiao Mei.
There was no way he could ever reach her.
Even Shen Yuyan was already considered far beyond Li Fengyuan's league.
The only reason Li Fengyuan could pursue her was because of his overwhelming family background.
But Xiao Mei was different.
Her status, talent, and reputation all surpassed Shen Yuyan's.
She was in an entirely different class.
Yet now—
Jia Hao looked at Li Fengyuan again.
After witnessing his performance today, his thoughts had completely changed.
Li Fengyuan's talent and knowledge.
With those, he believed that the Li Family would rise and perhaps replace the Five Great Nobles.
And most importantly… the drastic change in his personality.
The gap between him and Xiao Mei wasn't as impossible as it once seemed.
Li Fengyuan didn't respond to their praise.
He simply looked toward the direction Xiao Mei had left.
A faint smile still lingered on his lips.
"Don't overthink it. We still need to continue our training. Dazhu, don't think about skipping it just because of Wei Tianhao."
Zhao Dazhu groaned and complained, but he still did as he was told.
The three of them continued to train as if the confrontation with Wei Tianhao hadn't happened, leaving many onlookers in disbelief.
'You still have the mood to train?'