Serenade

Chapter 13

In a dull modern Chinese language class.

Jin Xi was drowsy, propping up her chin on the desk, and gently yawned. Her head drooped, then she suddenly became alert again, propped up for a while, then her mind became fuzzy again, nodding on and off like a woodpecker.

Afternoon classes on Monday and Tuesday were really tough to get through.

As soon as class was over, Jin Xi immediately became spirited, stepping out of the classroom with an energetic pace.

"Let's go out and play right after the National Day holiday, okay?" Chu Zhao suggested: "Let's go on a trip."

Before Jin Xi could speak, Lin Luo said: "Everywhere is crowded with people during the long National Day vacation, with you two so short, you might as well just go sightseeing at the origin of mankind, that's it."

Chu Zhao nudged Jin Xi: "Little Butt Xi, she's mocking you for being short, only suitable for looking at other people's butts."

Lin Luo was a girl from Northeast China, tall and beautiful. Wearing high heels she was close to 175cm, taller than many boys.

Jin Xi and Chu Zhao were typical southern girls, a bit disadvantaged in height, neither had reached the threshold of 160cm. Standing together with Lin Luo, it was as if she had brought along two little girlfriends.

Jin Xi said: "I heard that, she was mocking both of us, Chu Chu, what do you think?"

Chu Zhao: "She's fierce, I've decided to be patient, what about you?"

Jin Xi nodded: "I'll be patient too."

The two cowards had made up their minds to continue following Lin Luo shamelessly, not bothering to argue with her.

"I think we can skip going to scenic spots, but we can go downtown and play." Lin Luo said: "Eat, go shopping, I heard a new themed horror escape room opened, let's try it."

"Three people aren't enough to play an escape room, are they?"

Lin Luo thought for a moment: "We can ask some boys to come protect us, it won't be that scary."

As the girls were discussing, at that moment, an aggressive looking male student walked over from the corridor across from them.

Jin Xi recognized him as the buzzcut boy she had met at the cafeteria the other day.

The buzzcut boy seemed to be injured. His head was wrapped in gauze, and it looked like he was missing two front teeth.

After not seeing him for a few days, how did he become so disheveled?

The buzzcut boy came over with a few buddies, and yelled angrily at Jin Xi: "Damn woman, you played me!"

Seeing his malicious intent, Jin Xi instinctively moved closer to Lin Luo, who was the tallest.

Lin Luo stood in front of Jin Xi to protect her: "Do you want to fight in groups or just intimidate girls? Who can shout louder?"

"I've become like this now, all thanks to you!"

"I didn't... didn't have that ability." Jin Xi hid behind Lin Luo, peeking out with one eye, looking at him fearfully.

Sun Kai pointed at Jin Xi, furious to the point of shaking: "You have the nerve to play tricks on me, tricking me to go to the bar while you didn't show up yourself, then you had your cheap boyfriend Chun come over and smash a bottle on my head, and now you're pretending to be pitiful!"

Jin Xi thought for a moment: "Wow! So you're the one who got my brother taken to the police station!"

Thinking of what had happened to Shen Ping Chuan recently, she probably also understood what was going on.

In the past, Shen Ping Chuan had helped her resolve rotten peach blossoms, handling things cleanly and properly. But this time he had beaten someone up, which was uncharacteristic of the student cadre.

This buzzcut guy was clearly not a good person, to have angered her "veteran cadre" at home.

"That cheap Chun dared to lay a hand on me, so I'm going to get back at him through you."

Jin Xi was somewhat angry now, and explained: "Shen Ping Chuan is not a cheap Chun. If you keep calling him that, I'll..."

Sun Kai took two steps forward aggressively: "What will you do?"

Jin Xi shrank back a little, puffing her cheeks, glaring at him pretending to be fierce: "I'll tell the teaching department and deduct points from your conduct score!"

Some students from the National Defense Academy had just finished a public elective class. Bo Yan and others saw the commotion here, and strolled over lazily to squeeze into the crowd. As soon as they wedged in, they heard Jin Xi threaten to deduct points from the other's conduct score.

So fierce yet so cute.

Bo Yan faintly smiled, standing by with arms crossed as an observer.

Sun Kai: "As expected, you're cut from the same cheap cloth as that Shen bastard. Birds of a feather flock together."

Chu Zhao was so scared she was about to cry. She pushed Lin Luo and whispered: "How does he even know idioms!"

Lin Luo: "You can say them too, we're Chinese majors, never admit defeat. Don't be scared of his boorishness."

Chu Zhao mustered her courage and unleashed a torrent of abuse at Sun Kai: "A bunch of boys ganging up to bully girls, you are the ones who are birds of a feather! Of one mind!"

Jin Xi gave her a big thumbs up.

Sun Kai: ......

"Fine, you want to talk reason, right?" Sun Kai reached out and shoved Jin Xi. "Your brother beat me up like this, you have to give me an explanation at least."

At this moment, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Before he could react, he only felt a blow land on his wrist joint.

"Ow!" Sun Kai let out a cry of pain. His elbow was instantly crippled, and his body curled up in pain.

Bo Yan was ranked first in grappling skills assessment at the academy. His moves were always accurate, ruthless and decisive, leaving no room for resistance.

In Bo Yan's hands, he quickly took care of Sun Kai in just three to five moves, effortlessly dispatching him, to the cheers of the onlooking crowd.

Bo Yan threw Sun Kai in front of Xu Chaoyang, his tone cold: "Instructor Xu, he's yours now."

Xu Chaoyang picked up Sun Kai by the collar, and bluntly said: "Don't have the guts to find Shen Ping Chuan, but here you are bullying my student. Are you still a man!"

Although Sun Kai had muscular arms honed at the gym, he was absolutely no match for these combat-trained masters from the National Defense Academy. He immediately surrendered, conceding weakly: "I just came to get an explanation. This girl played me, so I came to ask what was going on, that's all."

Jin Xi naively came forward wanting to answer, but Bo Yan grabbed her by the collar and pulled her behind him. He looked at Sun Kai, speaking in an extremely low and cold tone:

"You can't."

Sun Kai was frustrated and exasperated, but still clung to some bravado: "On what grounds!"

Jing Chi stepped forward, still holding two boxes of milk in his hands. He said to Sun Kai: "Do you see this? Shen Ping Chuan is honoring Master Bo. From today onwards, this little butt Shen Ping Chuan calls sister will be under Master Bo's care."

Jin Xi: !

At first, she thought they were just spouting nonsense, but looking closely at the two unopened boxes of milk in Jing Chi's hands, weren't those the two boxes of low-fat milk her Uncle Shen had brought back from a recent business trip to Australia, to help her grow taller!

How did they end up in Bo Yan's hands in the blink of an eye!

Seeing the milk, then seeing the little bunny Jin Xi shrinking behind Bo Yan, Sun Kai felt that damn, Shen Ping Chuan was quite sinister! Handing his own sister over to Bo Yan's protection, he didn't stand a chance anymore, not just him, no guy in the school stood a chance!

"Sorry for disturbing."

Knowing when to retreat is wise. Sun Kai shook his head helplessly, supporting his aching arm as he gloomily moved to leave.

But Jin Xi suddenly spoke up: "Apologize."

Sun Kai looked back: "What?"

"You called Shen Ping Chuan a cheap Chun, apologize."

Sun Kai hesitated and looked at Bo Yan. Bo Yan casually said: "It's only right to apologize for verbal abuse."

Sun Kai really couldn't afford to offend this group from the National Defense Academy. The hero's temper shortened his ambition, he had to tactically retreat for now.

Embarrassed, he apologized: "I'm sorry."

Xu Chaoyang laughed and said: "Louder please, my student can't hear."

"I'm sorry!" Sun Kai raised his voice: "I shouldn't have insulted Shen Ping Chuan, I'm sorry!"

A confrontation was "peacefully" resolved under Bo Yan's armed intervention, and Sun Kai's suffering also deterred many others in the school who had wanted to make a move on Jin Xi in order to get back at Shen Ping Chuan.

Shen Ping Chuan's move of "uprooting the source" by entrusting his sister to Bo Yan's care with two boxes of milk was beautifully executed.

Everyone in school knew Bo Yan loved drinking milk. Shen Ping Chuan sending these two boxes was also catering to his tastes.

Since the two neighboring dorms happened to be going for hotpot off campus at dinner time, they went together.

Jin Xi sat next to Bo Yan, her pair of dark and delicate doe eyes staring bitterly at Bo Yan's milk box. "Uncle Shen brought those for me."

Bo Yan shifted the milk nearer to himself: "Go find Shen Ping Chuan. Playing pitiful won't work with me. I won't let you have a single drop."

Right after he finished speaking, Jin Xi clasped the straw with her mouth and started chugging. In seconds she finished off more than half the bottle, until the bottle started making empty gulping sounds, nearly empty.

Bo Yan: ......

You win.

Jin Xi mumbled softly: "As expected, just a sister-in-law, I'm only worth two boxes of milk."

There was a gleam of amusement in Bo Yan's eyes. Putting down his chopsticks, he looked at her: "Then quote your own price."

Jin Xi thought about it seriously: "Two boxes of milk, plus five packets of racoon shaped crackers and a bag of potato chips."

Bo Yan reluctantly said: "Since that's the case, after we finish eating, you go buy the rest of this stuff from the supermarket yourself, then bring it over to me."

Jin Xi thought about it, didn't find anything wrong with that logic: "Okay."

That night, Jin Xi specially went shopping at the supermarket to replenish the "price" of herself for Bo Yan.

Xu Chaoyang complained to Bo Yan: "Just you and your sly tricks. My student is such a pure and innocent child. In your scheming hands, what will become of her in the future?"

Bo Yan ignored him, quickening his pace as he walked forward.

As night fell, bursts of shouts from young men on the school track field could be heard from time to time.

Jing Chi laughed and said to Xu Chaoyang: "Your student is Master Bo's lady now. Her big brother has decided, so just be envious."

"I thought he was just joking around." Xu Chaoyang chased up to Bo Yan and asked: "Are you serious? You're really going for it?"

Bo Yan arrived at the pull up bar, and did a one-armed pull up. The fair skin of his arm rippled with faint green veins. He murmured: "What's real or not."

"You've taken a liking to little butt Xi?"

Bo Yan dropped from the pull up bar. His tone was indifferent: "She's still just an undeveloped brat. What is there to like about her."

Just as Xu Chaoyang was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Bo Yan continue: "We'll see when she grows up."