After Lucas and the others left, only Qin Heng and Chu Yun remained.

Chu Yun stood under the tree. The dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a golden halo on her and enhancing her already delicate features with an even more dazzling radiance.

"Qin Heng, did you just say I'm beautiful?" She lowered her head, her voice soft and gentle, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"That's right, you are indeed beautiful." Qin Heng was startled, then nodded. He had only spoken the truth, which, to him, didn't seem like a big deal at all.

After all, it would be obvious to anyone but the blind that Chu Yun was beautiful.

Upon hearing this, Chu Yun's face grew even redder, her hand on her chest. She could feel her heart racing, almost as if it were bashing against her ribs.

She hesitated for a moment, her gaze sweeping the area, realizing that no one else was around.

So, she took a deep, quiet breath, summoned her courage, and made up her mind to lift her head. She looked at Qin Heng, her lips parting slightly, her pearly teeth just about to release the words she'd always wanted to say.

DING DONG!

At that moment, a notification tone suddenly rang out from Qin Heng's pocket, abruptly interrupting Chu Yun's thoughts. The courage she had just mustered dissipated, and she lowered her head again.

Qin Heng didn't notice Chu Yun's change. He took out his phone, glanced at it, and realized it was a WeChat message. After opening it, he couldn't help but be a little stunned.

It was a message from Qu Linglong, the flight attendant he had saved from Li Tianhu in London; she had a great figure and was also beautiful.

"Mr. Qin, do you have time on Saturday? I'm off work and would like to invite you to The Bund to properly thank you," Qu Linglong's WeChat message read, asking Qin Heng for a date at The Bund this weekend.

"Sure, let's make it seven o'clock in the evening," Qin Heng replied simply, put the phone in his pocket, and then turned to Chu Yun, puzzled. "Was there something you wanted to say?"

"No, nothing." Chu Yun's face flushed, her head lowered. She no longer had the courage she'd just felt, and she couldn't articulate her words. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Well, uh... I mean, it's self-study time now, and standing here like this isn't really appropriate, is it?"

"It doesn't matter." Qin Heng waved his hand dismissively and smiled. "Not even Li Hecai would dare to mess with me. Nobody at Tianhai No.1 Middle School will give me trouble for being outside at this time."

"But..." Chu Yun trailed off. She wanted to suggest perhaps they could sit in the pavilion on the sports field but didn't have the courage to say it.

"Are you worried the school will give you a hard time?" Qin Heng frowned slightly and nodded. "Then I'll take you back first. With me by your side, no one will give you trouble."

"No, it's not that..." Chu Yun's pretty face turned even redder, nearly on the verge of tears. But she couldn't bring herself to refuse and could only nod, saying, "Okay."

The classroom wasn't far, just two or three minutes away. Qin Heng escorted Chu Yun to the classroom door before turning to leave. He was too lazy for the self-study session, which he considered a complete waste of time.

"Qin Heng," Chu Yun suddenly called out to him in a low voice, her head down. She whispered, "I heard there's going to be a martial contest this afternoon in the gym, students from America challenging the Hua Wu Club. Could you... could you come with me to watch it?"

The martial contest at the gym this afternoon?

Qin Heng was slightly taken aback at her words. Isn't that the very contest Li Hecai wanted me to attend?

"Sure," he agreed offhandedly.

Since I was planning to go anyway, having a beautiful girl like Chu Yun by my side sounds pretty good, he thought.

"Mhm!" Chu Yun seemed extremely pleased, nodded happily, and turned back into the classroom.

For Qin Heng, self-study held no appeal. The classroom was too crowded, and the air quality poor. So he returned to the VIP room, turned on the air conditioning, and took a can of Coke from the fridge, taking a sip.

He took out his phone, intending to play some games to pass the time, but saw Qu Linglong's WeChat avatar flashing. It must have been a message that came while I was preoccupied and missed, he realized.

He opened the notification.

"Great, let's meet at The Bund near the Qin's harbor tomorrow night at seven~" It was Qu Linglong's reply, the tilde at the end giving the tone an added touch of softness.

Judging from the timing, she seemed to have hesitated for two or three minutes before replying, Qin Heng pondered for a moment. Perhaps it's because of the time we arranged to meet? Seven o'clock in the evening. After dinner, it'll probably be nine, and if we chat for a while, it might be ten. Ten at night, a man and a woman alone together... Anyone would overthink that.

"If you're really considering these things, it's quite normal," Qin Heng said to himself with a soft laugh. Then he closed WeChat and opened a game.

He ground away at the game for two hours.

DING DONG!

A text message from Chu Yun arrived. The competition was starting soon; members of the Hua Wu Club and the people from America had already arrived.

Qin Heng suddenly thought of the foreigner who had displayed untoward intentions towards Chu Yun earlier. They're quite fast. It couldn't be that blond kid, could it? he mused, nodding to himself. It's very likely. After all, there aren't many foreigners in high school, and even fewer young ones. A sudden appearance of a few probably means they're the same American teens who look down on Chinese martial arts and boasted about sweeping through the Martial Dao Club of Tianhai High School.

Qin Heng got up and left the VIP room to join Chu Yun.

At that moment, the gymnasium was already packed with over a thousand students, along with school leaders and teachers at all levels. Even members of the Tianhai City Martial Dao Association were present.

Clearly, both the school and society placed great importance on this bout. Although it was just a personal challenge, Lucas's previous track record was so astonishing that it had drawn much attention.

Now, Lucas stood in the center of a temporarily constructed platform. He had taken off his shirt and was wearing shorts, revealing his well-defined muscles. Combined with his handsome face and bright demeanor, he made many of the female students' hearts flutter.

Members of the Hua Wu Club stood at the edge of the platform in unified white martial arts uniforms with black patterns. There were five of them, all ready for combat, watching Lucas on the platform with intense focus.

The atmosphere was incredibly tense. Everyone present, whether spectators or representatives from various sectors, held their breath, silently waiting for the competition to begin.

BANG!

Just then, the doors to the gymnasium suddenly burst open.

Qin Heng, accompanied by Chu Yun, walked in. Instantly, nearly two thousand pairs of eyes focused on them, startling Chu Yun so much that her delicate frame trembled, and she instinctively hid behind Qin Heng.

When Li Hecai saw Qin Heng, he relaxed slightly. I've heard about Lucas's strength, and I was genuinely worried if the Hua Wu Club could win, he thought. Now that Qin Heng has arrived, there's at least someone to back them up. I can be at ease.

However, not everyone was aware of Qin Heng's abilities. In the eyes of many, he was just a wastrel, squandering his family's wealth and lacking ambition, a good-for-nothing who relied on his parents.

Many shook their heads upon seeing him, and even the members of the Hua Wu Club glanced at him only once before dismissing him.

When Lucas saw Qin Heng arriving with Chu Yun, a flicker of rage flashed in his eyes! Is this meant to be a declaration of sovereignty right in front of me? Damn Chinese! he seethed internally.

He was furious, and his gaze turned fierce. He looked towards the members of the Hua Wu Club and tilted his head up arrogantly. Flashing his left middle finger, he spoke in Chinese with a strange accent, "Come on, Chinese pigs. Let me see how powerful the kung fu you sick men of East Asia boast about is. Let's see if you can take three of my punches!"