Chapter 61: Reunion with Long Yanyu

“I say, you fat fool, are you messing with me again? I just got drenched in the counselor’s spit and I’m still annoyed. Stop bothering me,” Liu Fan said curtly, his mood soured by the earlier incident. Now this trick again—did they take him for an idiot?

“Brother Fan, I’m not lying this time! Really, there’s a beautiful woman looking for you. Even if I had the guts, I wouldn’t dare fool you twice,” Zhao Feizhu hurriedly insisted.

Liu Fan sensed something amiss. Had his words earlier been too harsh, and now Liu Ningshuang was back? He probed further, “It’s not the counselor again, is it? If it is, just tell her I’m busy and have no time for her.”

“Oh, come on, Brother Fan! Don’t you trust your old Zhao? I swear, it’s not the counselor this time. Sure, I might look a little rough, but my character is solid. Turn around and look—do you recognize that beauty under the tree?” Zhao Feizhu swore up and down.

That piqued Liu Fan’s curiosity. What was going on today? He’d never seen a single beauty’s shadow before, and now two had shown up in succession. Truly strange. He turned to see a woman under a tree outside the classroom beckoning to him. This time, he saw clearly—it was Long Yanyu, a member of the Dragon Squad whom he had once saved. Instinctively, Liu Fan rubbed his nose, recalling the fragrant and intimate healing process, and mused, “Why is she here? Could it be…”

A quick thought made it clear to Liu Fan that Long Yanyu must be here on official business. Calmly, he strode outside.

“Well, if it isn’t our heroine! What brings you to visit a nobody like me? Could it be you’ve missed me?” Liu Fan didn’t know why, but seeing Long Yanyu made him want to tease her, so his words took on a roguish tone—a true scoundrel.

“Hmph! There’s no hope of wisdom coming out of your mouth. Who would miss a rogue like you?” Long Yanyu rolled her eyes, responding sourly. In truth, she was here on an assignment. After reporting how Liu Fan had saved them, the higher-ups realized he might possess divine martial skills and became intent on recruiting him, sparing no effort. They gathered all his information. Long Yanyu had arrived in Shanghai days ago, but Liu Fan was away at military training, so she couldn’t find him. Today was the first official day of classes, so she came early, but still missed him, only catching up after hearing he’d returned in the afternoon.

“If a dog’s mouth could spit out wisdom, now that would be something. Are you capable of it?” Liu Fan’s words only made him want to tease her more.

“I obviously can’t spit out wisdom—ah, you…” Long Yanyu followed his lead out of habit, but halfway through realized something was off—he’d set a trap. Angrily, she shouted, “You’re the dog! Your whole family’s dogs, hmph!”

Liu Fan watched Long Yanyu, flustered and furious, shouting away, but remained unbothered, saying languidly, “Hey, I told you, girls should be more ladylike. Why always act like a tomboy? How will you ever get married?”

“None of your business. As long as I don’t marry you, I’ll be fine. Men are all no good, hmph!” Long Yanyu retorted, fuming.

“Please. With no figure, no curves, and a terrible temper, even if you were given to me, I wouldn’t want you. Aside from your pretty face, I see no redeeming qualities—you’re nothing more than a vase. Don’t flatter yourself,” Liu Fan shot back mercilessly, criticizing every inch of her.

“What? Do you even know how many people in Beijing want to pursue me? The line stretches from downtown all the way to the Great Wall at Badaling. You dare say such things to me, you rogue? If you were in Beijing, hundreds would have hacked you to death in the street, hmph!”

“As if! That long a line? Do you think you’re a star or an alien? Stop putting yourself on a pedestal,” Liu Fan replied with disdain.

“You rotten scoundrel, I…I…I’ll bite you to death!” Driven to rage, Long Yanyu grabbed his hand and bit down, showing just how much she hated Liu Fan.

“Ah! You little brat—are you part dog? Why bite people? Let go, you, let go…” Liu Fan hadn’t expected her to abandon her image and bite him. Caught off guard, he was bitten right on the hand. But with his body’s strength, he wasn’t worried; his cries were just for show.

“Listen, girl, that’s enough. I did save your life, after all—a hero rescuing a beauty. If you won’t marry me, fine, but why repay kindness with vengeance? Had I known, I wouldn’t have healed your chest wound, let you become an ugly duckling, and see what you’d do then,” Liu Fan complained, unconcerned about the bleeding from his hand, as though it wasn’t even his own, still nagging away.

“I’ll bite, bite you to death, you damned scoundrel!” Long Yanyu, still furious, held on tight, mumbling indistinct threats through her clenched teeth.

Now Liu Fan was at a loss. He could easily pull his hand free with just a flick of his power, but that would surely ruin Long Yanyu’s teeth. Out of concern, he didn’t dare use force, so he let her bite, ready for a prolonged standoff.

Soon, Long Yanyu’s mouth went numb and sore. As she loosened her grip, a salty taste of blood filled her throat. Looking closely, she saw Liu Fan’s hand was already bleeding profusely, and panic set in.

“You…you idiot! Why didn’t you dodge? I’ll take you to get bandaged and cleaned, or it’ll get infected,” she stammered, flustered, hands fluttering as she lost her composure. The fearless heroine was gone, replaced by a girl who’d made a mistake, helpless and aimless.

Long Yanyu’s nonsensical words left Liu Fan dizzy. He thought, am I even able to dodge? Now it’s my fault for getting bitten—how unjust!

He thought it, but didn’t say it. Instead, he put on a calm face and said, “Listen, girl, can you stop circling around? You’re making me dizzy. If I don’t die from blood loss, I’ll die from you spinning. Stop fussing, it’s just a little wound. Did you forget how I saved you all?”

“Really? But…you’re bleeding so much. Maybe we should go to the hospital,” Long Yanyu said, still doubtful, now just a girl who’d done something wrong, forgetting she was a fire-type ability user. Such is the chaos of concern.

“When did you become so fussy? Anyway, you still haven’t said why you’re here today,” Liu Fan didn’t want to drag out the topic, so he shifted to business.

“Ah! I almost forgot—I blame you for bullying me!” At Liu Fan’s prompt, Long Yanyu remembered her mission. But thinking about it brought her grandfather’s words to mind, making her blush.

After Liu Fan rescued her in Shanghai, Long Yanyu returned to Dragon Squad headquarters and reported everything. The leadership valued Liu Fan’s abilities highly and ordered his recruitment at any cost. As the top commander, Long Juetian—her grandfather—spoke to her at length, saying if Liu Fan wouldn’t join, she should seduce him. For such a remarkable, talented young man, making him his grandson-in-law was a foolproof deal. The suggestion stunned Long Yanyu, who promptly yanked several of his moustache hairs.

“Hey, girl, what are you daydreaming about? Smiling so wickedly, drooling even,” Liu Fan called out, but she didn’t respond.

“Huh? What?” Long Yanyu reflexively wiped her chin, as if to clear away drool, then realized she’d been tricked. Her cheeks flushed as she snapped, “You’re the one drooling! Your whole family drools!”

“No, but why did you wipe so fast? Clearly you’re guilty. I asked you a question and you didn’t hear me,” Liu Fan pressed on, sensing something odd.

“I was thinking, so what? None of your business. Why don’t you worry about your hand? Watch out, or next time I’ll bite harder!” Long Yanyu shouted, grasping for excuses. As the saying goes, those with reason don’t need to raise their voice.

“All right, all right, a gentleman doesn’t argue with a lady. Tell me why you’re here—surely you didn’t come just to spar words with me?” Having just been frustrated by Liu Ningshuang, Liu Fan was finally enjoying himself with Long Yanyu and felt much better. He didn’t want to drag the banter out, lest his mood sour again.

“Mm! This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s find somewhere quieter, and I didn’t come alone. My two colleagues are waiting outside. What do you think?” Speaking of business, Long Yanyu reverted to her cool, professional demeanor.

“Fine, whatever you say. But you have to treat me to dinner,” Liu Fan said seriously at first, then couldn’t resist adding a joke. Long Yanyu, trying to be serious, couldn’t help but laugh, giggling before saying, “Eat, eat, eat! Is that all you think about? Can’t you be more ambitious? Such a foodie.”

“Man is iron, food is steel; miss a meal and you’ll be starving. I’m just an ordinary guy, not a god, so of course I need to eat. Or do you think you’re so pretty you’re a fairy and don’t need food?” Liu Fan replied with confidence. Long Yanyu, unable to refute him, gave him a fierce glare and stomped off.