Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Formidable Cousin

At this moment, Liu Fan sensed the atmosphere was becoming awkward, so he spoke up, “Um, well, let me introduce my dorm brothers.” As he spoke, he pointed at Chen Gang, “This is our eldest, Chen Gang.”

Facing such stunning beauties, Chen Gang appeared a bit shy, scratching his head and giving a sheepish smile, “Hello, everyone.”

The three ladies smiled and nodded at him in response.

“This is our fourth, Wang Shiren,” Liu Fan continued, pointing at Wang Shiren. The latter was even more embarrassed, lowering his head in bashfulness, unable to meet the girls’ eyes, which only made the girls giggle.

“This is… huh? Where’s our second?” Liu Fan was about to introduce Zhang Yi, but found his side empty; only when everyone turned around did they see Zhang Yi had somehow already moved ten meters away, sneaking off with exaggerated, furtive movements as if he were a thief.

The three girls also noticed this. Suddenly, Chen Yazhi shouted loudly, “Zhang Yi, stop right there! Trying to run away as soon as you see me? Get back here!” At her command, Zhang Yi froze as if he’d been hit with a spell, then trudged back with a defeated look, arms limp at his sides, deflated like a balloon.

This left everyone puzzled. Could it be that the two knew each other? As if confirming their suspicions, Zhang Yi, returning as if his soul had departed, muttered, “Cousin.”

Hearing this, everyone realized the truth—the two really were close. They turned to Chen Yazhi, who quietly explained their relationship: they were cousins. Chen Yazhi’s aunt had married Zhang Yi’s father, so the two had known each other since childhood. Zhang Yi was weak as a child and often bullied by Chen Yazhi, who practiced martial arts. A few years ago, Zhang Yi’s father’s job brought the family to settle in Shanghai, and since then, Zhang Yi hadn’t kept in touch with Chen Yazhi. Earlier, he hadn’t recognized her, but when Zhao Wanyi mentioned Chen Yazhi’s name, he realized and tried to slip away, only to be caught.

“Why are you running? I’m not going to hit you,” Chen Yazhi said, seeing Zhang Yi’s pathetic state. She raised her hand as if to smack him, but Zhang Yi darted behind Liu Fan as if bitten by a snake.

“I’ll warn you, our third brother here is a martial arts master. If you don’t believe it, you can try him,” Liu Fan said.

“And do you believe I can call Aunt right now and tell her you’re messing around at school? Then you’ll really be in trouble,” Chen Yazhi countered. Though she respected Liu Fan’s martial arts, she had plenty of ways to deal with Zhang Yi.

“All right, when will you two siblings stop? Let’s head to Fenghai Grand Hotel. If we’re late, we might not get a private room,” Liu Fan interrupted, unable to stand Zhang Yi’s cowardice, but as a brother, he still stepped in to help.

Thanks to Liu Fan’s intervention, the group ceased their banter and walked out of the school gates, boarding a taxi toward Fenghai Grand Hotel.

After Liu Fan and his companions left, some onlookers recognized Liu Fan’s silhouette and clothing, noting an uncanny resemblance to the protagonist of the “Goddess’s Tears” incident that was circulating on the forum. Rumors spread like wildfire: “The goddess has found her match, the two are dining together,” and so on.

The car soon arrived at the hotel entrance. Guided by the staff, the group entered a private room—luckily, they arrived just in time, or even the last room would have been taken.

“What would you like to eat?” As the initiator of this gathering, Liu Fan courteously handed the menu to Zhao Wanyi, whose beautiful eyes shifted toward the other two beauties.

Before anyone else could speak, Sun Junyao snatched the menu, adorably declaring, “Let me order, let me order.” She leaned casually against the table, scanning the menu, then mused, “I’ll have a bird’s nest soup—I hear it’s good for beauty. And papaya stewed in fresh milk…”

She paused mid-sentence, sensing something odd in the atmosphere. Looking up, she saw everyone staring at her with strange expressions, especially the men, who were openly ogling her impressive curves, swallowing hard.

“Oh my, future brother-in-law, you’re so naughty, why are you staring at me?” Instead of being embarrassed, she arched her chest and teased Liu Fan with a coquettish smile. How could anyone not let their imagination run wild? Sun Junyao was already voluptuous, now she was ordering more nourishing dishes—wouldn’t she become even more buxom? No wonder Liu Fan and the others reacted as they did.

“What are you dirty men imagining? I ordered these dishes for Wanyi and Yazhi. If they were as full-figured as me, it would be perfect,” she said, tracing an arc in the air with her hand. Liu Fan and his companions nearly collapsed at this; the girl was truly fearless in speech, leaving Zhao Wanyi and Chen Yazhi blushing. In truth, their own figures were not small, but compared to Sun Junyao, they seemed insignificant.

“Uh! Ahem, the weather is nice today, sunny… cough, let’s order, let’s order.” Liu Fan grabbed the menu, randomly pointing at a few signature dishes, then urged the waiter to bring the food quickly. Fortunately, Liu Fan was an immortal—otherwise he might not have been able to control himself. This clumsy diversion barely passed, but his eyes still drifted now and then toward Zhao Wanyi’s alluring cleavage beside him, and his heart stirred at the sight. Zhao Wanyi had been watching Liu Fan since they entered, and happened to catch his glance, which brought joy to her heart. Seeing carefree Sun Junyao, she realized the difference between them and let her thoughts wander.

“Do men always prefer bigger? Mine are a bit small—will he mind? Oh, why am I thinking such things…”

Zhao Wanyi struggled to calm her unease. Liu Fan, noticing her changing expression, thought she was unwell and gently asked, “Wanyi, are you all right? Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Should I check your pulse?”

“He’s concerned about me… So I do matter to him,” Zhao Wanyi thought to herself. Hearing her beloved’s caring words warmed her heart. She shook her head and replied softly, “I’m fine, perhaps the air in the car was a bit stuffy earlier.”

“That won’t do. Illness should be treated early, or it gets troublesome when it worsens. If you trust me, let me take a look,” Liu Fan said firmly.

Touched by Liu Fan’s concern, Zhao Wanyi’s beautiful eyes grew hazy, full of affection and admiration. Then she asked in surprise, “You know medicine?”

“Of course. My grandfather is the most famous healer for miles around. I started following him into the mountains to gather herbs at three, by five I could recognize medicinal plants, by seven I was treating patients, and by eleven I could prescribe remedies. Now, I can call myself a young doctor, haha.” Back when Old Doctor Liu taught him medicine, Liu Fan was an inconsistent student, but now he boasted to boost Zhao Wanyi’s confidence in his skills. In truth, he had reason to brag.

“Wow, future brother-in-law, you’re amazing! Can you treat paralysis of the lower limbs?” Hearing Liu Fan’s claim, Sun Junyao grew interested; her grandfather had suffered a car accident years ago, resulting in paraplegia. They had seen countless doctors, even sought treatment abroad, but nothing worked. Hearing Liu Fan, hope sparked anew.

“As long as the person’s alive, there’s a chance for recovery—medicine treats the living, after all.” Liu Fan wasn’t being modest; even if someone had died, he could use spells to revive them. He spoke calmly, but not everyone was convinced.

“Bragging without proof—no doctor claims they can cure severe paralysis,” Chen Yazhi retorted. Compared to Zhao Wanyi and Sun Junyao, she was more rational and skeptical about Liu Fan’s words.

“Oh? How do you know I’m lying?” Liu Fan looked at Chen Yazhi with amusement.

She found his gaze tiresome, thinking he was like all the men who ogled her. But she failed to notice that his eyes were clear. She turned away with a cold snort, “Hmph, all talk and no action.”