Chapter 152: Chapter 85: Don’t Push Your Luck

The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month!

As a historic and cultural city, Lin City really knew how to celebrate these traditional festivals.

The ancient charm of Langya, a city of mountains and water!

Glazed lanterns cast the shadows of paper-cut dragons, while LED screens displayed poems from “Upper Yuan.” It was a stunning fusion of ancient and modern that left onlookers speechless.

Beneath the elegant, traditional-style architecture, young women in Hanfu held up luminous sugar paintings. Their every glance was full of charm, as if they had traveled through a thousand years to let you relive the innocent romance of a bygone era.

Naturally, Zhao Rui had invitations, and more than one.

Tian Yaru, who had been trying and failing to catch him all winter break, certainly wasn’t going to miss a great festival like this.

Besides, she was bored to death cooped up at home.

She showed up at Zhao Rui’s house before seven, and after arriving, she even managed to snag a free meal. It was hard to tell if she hadn’t eaten enough at home or if she just had a big appetite.

In any case, the young lady claimed her family’s chef couldn’t cook as well as Auntie Xue Wenhui.

This delighted Xue Wenhui, who kept piling more food onto her plate.

Before the meal was even over, Yang Fan arrived with Sun Tiantian and Xiaoxue, so the group headed off to Langya Shuiyun City together for some fun.

A lively festival, happy people!

It was a joyful end to a fulfilling winter break.

「The next morning」

Zhao Rui boarded a high-speed train and set off for Dongqi University.

Fortunately, there were no train hijackings this time, and the train arrived safely at Jeju Railway Station.

However, things were different from usual. Security and identity checks were noticeably stricter, and there were far more patrol officers from the Patrol Office on the train.

Every one of them had long, steady breaths—they were at least Middle Tier Martial Artists of Level 4 or higher.

After leaving the station, Zhao Rui hailed a taxi and went straight to the university.

Classes started on the eighteenth of the first lunar month, so he had arrived two days early. First, he needed to tidy up his apartment; after a month of being empty, it definitely needed a cleaning.

Second, he wanted to readjust to the university atmosphere. Being at home and being at school were two completely different experiences.

As he pushed open the door to his rented apartment, a stuffy, stale smell hit him in the face.

Zhao Rui hurried to the balcony, opened all the windows, and then began to clean meticulously.

As he got into the rhythm of cleaning, he would occasionally execute a few Martial Arts moves, showing off a little.

By the time he finished cleaning, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Zhao Rui was just about to take a stroll around campus when Li Xinran called, asking if he had arrived.

“Just finished cleaning. What’s up? Are you treating me to dinner, Senior?”

Smart people always strike first.

“Damn it, I was planning to make you treat me. Forget it, let’s just go Dutch.”

Li Xinran couldn’t help but curse. This semester, she was no longer a member of the Martial Arts Team, and she was still feeling pretty down about it.

She had hoped to get Zhao Rui to treat her, to soothe her fragile heart a little.

Who knew the kid was so crafty?

“Ha, Dutch it is, then. Heh heh. Give me half an hour.”

“You’re not a girl, what’s taking you so long!”

“I’m taking a crap!”

“…”

’Damn you! You really don’t see me as a woman at all!’

Li Xinran rolled her eyes and hung up in a huff.

All she could think about now was giving Zhao Rui a good beating when she saw him; she’d completely forgotten about the depressing fact that she had left the team.

A little over half an hour later, in Dining Hall Eight, a fashionably late Zhao Rui shamelessly sat down across from Li Xinran.

“Senior, it’s been a whole winter break. You’ve gotten prettier.”

Zhao Rui said with a light chuckle.

Li Xinran shot him a glare and said irritably, “You’re just trying to get a rise out of me. Don’t you know I can’t be on the Martial Arts Team this semester?”

“You could at least try to comfort me!”

“Oh, in that case, I can give you a hug later. Don’t be sad.”

“Get lost!”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Fish-fragrant eggplant over rice! A bottle of coke, and a side of stir-fried shredded pork!”

“Are you a pig?!”

Li Xinran raised her hand as if to hit him.

Zhao Rui chuckled, got up, and walked to the food window. He bought some food and brought it back.

“I’m worried you’ll be too upset to enjoy your meal, so let me tell you something that’ll cheer you up.”

“What is it?”

“This semester, I’ll make time to teach you. If you study hard and don’t get discouraged, you might just be able to break through to Level 9 in your junior year!”

Zhao Rui said seriously.

Hearing this, Li Xinran was stunned for a moment. Then, with a pout, she said in a slightly coquettish way, “You haven’t even broken through to Level 8 yourself, and you’re already worrying about others. I don’t need you to teach me!”

But her tone clearly held a hint of touched affection.

“Teaching a small fry like you won’t take up any of my time, okay?”

“You’re the small fry!”

Li Xinran huffed, her tone having lost the harsh edge it had when they first met. Looking at the handsome young man before her, she couldn’t help but say:

“Really, it’s fine. I’ll just follow the teacher’s instructions step-by-step. Not being on the Martial Arts Team won’t affect my progress. Don’t worry about me!”

“Zhao Rui, you can’t slack off either. Hurry up and break through to Level 8. I’m waiting for you to win a prize in the competitions!”

“I know!”

’When he had time, he would just teach her a few Martial Arts techniques that could increase her Power.’

The two of them chatted about interesting things that happened over winter break while they ate. After dinner, they went for a stroll before heading back to their respective residences.

「The night passed without incident.」

The next day, after finishing his Morning Practice, Zhao Rui washed up and headed to Mingcan Courtyard with his backpack.

Below the bare hills and the mountain pavilion that stood tall against the wind, the dense forest had long been reduced to naked branches.

Scattered leaves and patches of unmelted snow huddled beside the slightly muddy, frozen ground, as if afraid the warm sun in the sky would find them.

What a desolate scene!

Zhao Rui strode into Mingcan Temple and soon ran into a few other team members who had also arrived early.

Having just celebrated the New Year, everyone was in high spirits. They greeted each other and exchanged a few pleasantries about the holiday.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep