Flowing Spring Jade - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I had imagined all kinds of ways Chen Xuan might try to “seduce” me.

But he never made a move.

It was as if he’d completely forgotten what he’d promised his dear brothers.

Not until archery class two days later, when the instructor ordered us to pair up for a joint shooting test.

Chen Xuan walked up to me with his specially made Five-Stone Bow on his back. The tall young man lowered his head to look at me and said stiffly, “Team up with me. I can get you through the test.”

What painfully wooden acting.

This man didn’t bother with any foreplay at all. He just charged straight in.

Holding back my laughter, I shook my head. “You’re with Ling Wumei. Who knows if you’re trying to scheme against me and drag me down during the test?”

Chen Xuan, who was indeed here to scheme against me, just not in that way: “…”

He pressed his lips together and emphasized in a heavier tone, “I don’t joke around when it comes to martial arts.”

I casually glanced into the distance, where Ling Wumei and the others kept looking this way.

“Fine, then. I’ll team up with you.” I patted his solid arm. “Thanks to you people, no one else is willing to partner with me anyway.”

Chen Xuan, despite being touched, didn’t sense anything wrong at all. All that showed in his eyes was relief that I hadn’t refused him.

But Ling Wumei, who had been watching from afar, nearly jumped out to curse me.

The young lord, held back by Mu Baishu, screeched, “He actually touched Chen Xuan! That lecherous damn cut-sleeve! He’s taking advantage of Chen Xuan!”

I pretended not to hear and turned away to laugh to myself.

Heh. How was touching an arm considered taking advantage?

With the Young General’s rarely seen, excellent physique right in front of me, how could I not have my fun and live up to all their painstaking efforts?

Chapter 5

Seeing Chen Xuan take the initiative to team up with me this time, quite a few people began muttering under their breath.

“Doesn’t Young Master Ling hate Xie Jiaoyu? Why is Chen Xuan still teaming up with him? Ling Wumei can actually put up with that?”

Of course Ling Wumei had to put up with it.

After all, according to their plan, Chen Xuan was supposed to display his manly charm in front of me, then lend me a helping hand when I struggled with the test, thereby making me develop a favorable impression of him.

If it were my gullible, fragile idiot of an older brother, he might really have taken Chen Xuan for a good person because of it.

But since the one standing here today was me…

Once the test began, Chen Xuan drew his bow and nocked an arrow. I stood beside him as well and picked up a feathered arrow.

Hearing the sound, Chen Xuan glanced sideways and said coolly, “I can score enough points by myself.”

I tilted my head and smiled at him with curved eyes. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just warming up a little.”

Chen Xuan wasn’t a man of many words. Seeing that I insisted, he withdrew his gaze and said nothing more.

Then he drew the bow and took aim-

Thwack!

Two arrows struck the bull’s-eye at the same time.

Chen Xuan looked at me again. This time, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

I waved it off modestly. “Ah, pure luck. Just a warm-up.”

For the next half incense stick, I continued to get “lucky,” hit by “coincidence,” and land shots by “accident,” striking the target forty-nine times in a row.

After seeing what was happening with my and Chen Xuan’s team, everyone gathered around in astonishment.

“Is that Xie Jiaoyu? Was he always this good before…?”

“Could he actually beat Chen Xuan?”

The noisy clamor drilled straight into people’s heads, and archery demanded focus above all.

Chen Xuan had already done his best to block out all distractions, but this crowd’s comments were unpleasant to the ear and poked right at what he cared about most.

So when Chen Xuan released his final arrow, his fingertips trembled ever so slightly.

That split-second mistake meant that while his arrow still hit the target, it veered away from the very center of the bull’s-eye.

At the same time, long since accustomed to showing off my archery in busy marketplaces, I calmly sent out my final arrow without the slightest ripple in my gaze.

Once again, it struck dead center.

Obviously, anyone with eyes could tell that even if, by the test rules, Chen Xuan and I had the same score…

The one who had taken first place this time was me.

Chen Xuan, whose face had been expressionless for ten thousand years, actually frowned for once.

The people whispering around us were immediately frightened into silence and scattered like startled birds.

I, however, wasn’t the least bit intimidated. I reached out again and patted Chen Xuan’s firm, heated arm.

“Come on, we’re teammates. Don’t take it so seriously. I was just playing around. If you’re upset, I can let you have first place.”

“I don’t need it.”

Chen Xuan fixed his gaze on me, as if he were seeing me clearly for the first time.

“Xie Jiaoyu, I’ll remember you.”