CHAPTER 345: CHAPTER 178: COME ON, LET’S HURT EACH OTHER!_3

"I’m definitely not getting a nice-guy card now."

Chen Yanfei looked at Han Lie with a teasing half-smile and replied with a double entendre, "Do you want a medal of honor?"

As soon as she took the initiative, Han Lie immediately recoiled.

"No, no! A medal of honor earned through beatings? How is that honorable? Give me something worthwhile!"

Chen Yanfei, feeling a bit dizzy from his antics, asked, "Like what? What kind of worthwhile thing?"

Han Lie smiled slyg at Ding Xiang, making the bashful girl’s ears turn bright red.

"How about you send your bestie over to me!"

WHACK!

Chen Yanfei slapped her own forehead, utterly speechless at Han Lie.

Ding Xiang was even more flustered, her eyes practically sparkling with infatuation, her heart pounding. Does he really like me? Why does he always talk so enthusiastically but never takes the initiative to ask me out?

"Hey! Wake up!"

Suddenly, Chen Yanfei patted her best friend’s shoulder, issuing a dire warning.

"You better not listen to his nonsense, not a single word. That bastard! His nickname ’Tough Guy’ is all wrong. He shouldn’t be called ’Tough Guy’; he should be ’Playboy Heartbreaker’! He clearly used to be full of affection for me, but then he got cocky when his options increased, and he started to string me along without responding. He probably thinks I’m too difficult to fool, so he’s especially conflicted, right? His flirting with you is purely to mess with both of our heads, to buy himself time. He’s rotten to the core! Han Lie, just you wait. You have to go home for the holidays, right? Don’t you dare give me a chance, or I, your Sister Fei, swear I’ll smash your damn head in!"

DAMN!

Brother Lie was completely stunned, his eyes bulging as his composure shattered.

Two and a third seconds later, Han Lie reeled his eyes, which had nearly dropped to the floor, back in. He smiled bitterly as he brought his palms together, bowing to Chen Yanfei.

I’m so screwed!

I surrender, I surrender! Do you still beat someone to death after they’ve surrendered?!

Ding Xiang looked on blankly, dazedly staring at Han Lie, her brain seemingly having crashed. Chen Yanfei’s sudden confrontation, Han Lie caving so readily, and the surreal turn of events—it was all too much for an ordinary person to process.

As she was still bewildered, she suddenly heard that dog of a man grumbling resentfully—

"That nickname of yours, ’House-Guarding Beast,’ really wasn’t a mistake. Any little demon that dared to enter would be smacked to death by you..."

"HA!"

Chen Yanfei provocatively raised an eyebrow. "So, I wasn’t wrong about you, was I?"

"No, no, no! Your insight is profound, wise one!"

Han Lie agreed so readily that Ding Xiang found it hard to believe.

Are they... just joking with each other again?

Pouting, her mind muddled, she looked left, then right... She’s so adorable, it makes me want to give her a playful punch!

Forget it, forget it, not today, Han Lie thought. Today, just surviving Chen Yanfei is a victory in itself.

Han Lie rapidly engaged his brain, his 79 points of Intelligence and talent for situational judgment quickly proving invaluable.

Hmm, no big deal! Although it looked quite serious at first glance, in reality, it was nothing to really fuss over. It was just a matter of deliberately avoiding her, that’s all. I didn’t deceive her, so what harm could it do? The benefits are clear now, right? I’m standing on completely solid ground!

"Old classmate..."

Actor Lie sighed, unleashing his full acting prowess, simultaneously cajoling and persuading.

"Look at you. You’re not good at anything serious, yet when it comes to who likes you, you know it in your heart as clear as day without even needing to think. What, did you put all your talent points into romance?

Alright, let’s be real—I’ve had a crush on you since high school. But you said it yourself, which guy wouldn’t feel pressured around you? Is it abnormal for me to be conflicted?

Liking Ding Xiang is much more normal! She’s so naive and pure. Around her, I can more easily find a man’s sense of accomplishment; she inspires a man’s protective instincts.

And in front of you? I tremble!

Honestly, you’re too mesmerizing and too dangerous. I’m absolutely certain that if I accepted you, I’d fall deep. Love is sweet, but I’m not worthy! I’m currently giving my all for my career; I can’t afford any distractions. So it’s not that I’m intentionally stringing you along; it’s that I’m genuinely torn!

You know my family’s situation. I don’t want to be bullied by bastards like Pan Shaohang anymore! I don’t want to be beaten down by rich idiots again, having to worry if I can even afford the medical bills if I fight back! You’ve seen me at my most pathetic. Tell me, is my choice wrong?

If I don’t strengthen myself, improve myself, and temper myself, who can I rely on to protect me and the ones I love? Pan Ge? Or you?! Am I worthy? Would you really like the useless person I was?

Yanfei, let’s discuss right and wrong later. For now, can we put our feelings aside, okay? When I go home for winter break, you can hit me as much as you want. Once you’ve let out your anger, we can continue being friends, okay?"

Mentioning that past beating, Han Lie’s eyes reddened.

His final two "okay"s were laden with heartfelt sorrow.

Ding Xiang, soft-hearted and kind, felt such empathy that her eyes turned even redder than Han Lie’s.

A renowned stock market magnate, hospitalized by an uneducated rich kid, and all in front of his secret crush—how cruel is that?! Yet he didn’t give up on himself. Instead, he bore the humiliation and persevered, aspiring to be a better version of himself, eventually becoming a young hero who stunned the world. Could there be a more inspiring story?!

Cry! Everyone should be crying!

Whether others could cry or not, Ding Xiang didn’t know, but she couldn’t hold back and shed several large, glistening tears.

As for Chen Yanfei...

She empathized even more easily.

Han Lie being beaten up had happened right before her eyes.

To this day, she could still recall Han Lie’s bruised and swollen face, and the nonchalant smile that had spread across it—a forced smile, put on to comfort her, to prevent her from blaming herself.

In her life, no other conversation had ever shaken her as much as their exchange at that moment.

"No choice, once you’re in the fray, time just rushes by..."

"Hahaha! Has your ’fray’ been too unkind to you?"

"That’s why I’ve ’matured’ so quickly!"

"Matured quickly" was Han Lie’s self-deprecating way of putting it.

Finally hearing his true feelings today, Chen Yanfei truly understood his frustration, anxiety, repression, and his forced nonchalance.

I’m sorry, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have pressured you... You never had the kind of support I did; you could only count on yourself to become a tough man...

"Okay! I understand."

Chen Yanfei sniffled, looking at Han Lie with determination.

"For now, you focus on working hard. After the holidays, you take the initiative to ask me out! I’ll personally take you to see Pan Shaohang. I want him to see clearly what a successful, true man the ’loser’ he once bullied at will has become!"

Han Lie blinked, as if he couldn’t believe it, then seemed to stare blankly into the void.

On the system panel, experience points were flooding the screen.