Chapter 2739 Transmigrated to a Noble Academy as a Special Admission Student (23)

Shi Heng was two years older than them. He had a gentle and tolerant personality and always acted as a mediator among the four of them.

At this moment, both Ling Yao, who looked displeased, and Lin Baiyu, who had a cold expression, temporarily restrained their emotions. Even Sith obediently came over and sat down with them, waiting for Shi Heng to speak.

Shi Heng did not directly judge who was right or wrong, but first looked at Lin Baiyu and said in a calm tone, "Baiyu, I heard that you have fought with Jin Chen a few times and admire him very much."

Lin Baiyu held the warm cup, his cool features appearing somewhat blurred in the rising steam. Hearing this, he hummed in response.

Shi Heng continued to guide him, "You are straightforward and simple-minded, and you put most of your energy into fighting and family responsibilities."

"Have you ever considered that your interest in Jin Chen might largely stem from... finally finding an opponent who can match or even surpass you in martial arts?"

Lin Baiyu raised his eyes. "Why do you say that?"

Shi Heng smiled. "It's simple. What's the first thought that pops into your mind every time you see Jin Chen?"

Lin Baiyu answered almost without hesitation, "He is very strong, impeccably strong."

Shi Heng nodded and turned his gaze to Ling Yao beside him.

"Hmm... And what about Yao? What's the first thing that comes to mind when you see him?"

Suddenly called out, Ling Yao pressed the tongue piercing against his tongue with the tip of his tongue. Hearing the question, he tilted his head, a hint of amusement in his voice, "He seems very approachable... oh, not just in appearance."

"Cough..." Lin Baiyu was caught off guard and choked on the hot cocoa. He lowered his eyes and coughed a few times. His fingers tightened around the cup, making it impossible to see his expression at that moment.

Shi Heng shrugged. "Right, so Bai Yu, maybe you could try to figure out how you feel."

"Is it possible that it's just mutual respect and a worthy opponent between strong individuals?"

Lin Baiyu held the cup, seriously considering Shi Heng's words.

After a while, he looked up at Shi Heng and asked, "How do we try?"

Shi Heng hissed at the question, stroked his chin, and began to think.

He looked at Ling Yao, whose ears were slightly red from his blunt remarks and who was pretending to drink cocoa with his head down, and ruffled his short hair.

“Ah Yao,” Shi Heng’s voice carried a hint of amusement, “he’ll be coming to see you tonight, right?”

Ling Yao looked up and responded, "Okay."

"how do you want to do it?"

-

That night, the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, with only a few scattered starlight falling on the path leading to the villa.

Jin Chen entered, already familiar with the place.

Although F4 lived together, the interior was clearly divided into sections, with the fourth floor being Ling Yao's private domain.

Jin Chen walked through the short corridor connecting the living room, his ears twitching slightly as he caught the deliberately suppressed breathing.

Jin Chen stopped in his tracks and looked up warily into the shadows of the living room.

Snapped--

Almost simultaneously, soft, warm yellow lights came on.

Lin Baiyu sat on the sofa in the living room, his back straight and his hands flat on his knees, clearly having been waiting for a long time.

The light fell on his pale face, making his eyes appear even colder.

Lin Baiyu slowly raised his eyes and looked at Jin Chen, who was standing at the intersection of light and shadow, his eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions.

Wearing his coat, Jin Chen subtly slipped the small box he had brought into his pocket.

The light illuminated his figure, but it couldn't penetrate the depths of his silent eyes.

"Young Master Lin," Jin Chen said in a distant yet polite tone, "who are you waiting for so late at night?"

Lin Baiyu's gaze fell on his face. He stood up calmly, his face appearing somewhat translucent under the light.

"I've been resting in bed these past few days, and I've fallen behind in training a lot." His voice was as cold as ever, but he spoke a little slower than usual, as if he was carefully choosing his words.

"You'll play a match with me."

Jinchen: “?”

First they sent a supplementary card, and now they want to fight in the living room in the middle of the night.

Is this person still recovering from a head injury?

“There’s a training room here,” Jin Chen reminded him, her tone flat, as she turned toward the direction leading to Ling Yao’s living room.

Lin Baiyu watched his retreating figure as he turned away. "Ayao isn't inside."

Jin Chen stopped walking, but did not turn around.

Lin Baiyu continued, "Shi Heng just returned to the academy and has some urgent matters that need A Yao's assistance to handle. They won't be back tonight."

Jin Chen's gaze swept over the tightly closed living room door, and his eyes darkened.

He slowly turned to face Lin Baiyu again, the light casting shadows on his sharply defined profile.

“Your current physical condition is not suitable for combat training,” Jin Chen said casually. “You couldn’t possibly not know that.”

Jin Chen looked sharply at Lin Baiyu, "So, Young Master Lin, after going through all this trouble, what exactly are you trying to achieve?"

Lin Baiyu stared at him intently, and in his eyes, which were always filled with ice and snow, it seemed as if an almost pure light had been ignited.

“I know,” he admitted, his voice lowering, “but it’s okay.”

Lin Baiyu stepped forward, closing the distance between them, "Fight me. After we're done, I'll tell you the answer."

Before the words were even finished, Jin Chen was not given any time to refuse.

Lin Baiyu made his move, aiming straight for Jin Chen's face. His fighting style was as clean and efficient as ever, but his speed was not as fast as before he was injured.

An impatience flashed across Jin Chen's brows.

He thought this person was really impolite and ridiculously stubborn.

If I had known that having him as my sparring partner would lead to these kinds of problems, I should have chosen a different target in the first place.

Jin Chen was impatient, but his movements were not slow at all. Without even taking off his coat, he dodged Lin Baiyu's straight punch with a slight movement, blocked and deflected the force with his backhand, and counterattacked.

Lin Baiyu naturally lost, and lost faster than ever before.

His physical fitness and fighting skills have always been top-notch. Even if he were no match for Jin Chen, he would never have revealed such an obvious weakness in just a few moves.

Ultimately, his body had not fully recovered, and the strenuous movements aggravated his internal organs. Lin Baiyu abruptly stopped his attack, coughed a few times in discomfort, and his face turned even paler.

Logically, Jin Chen should have stopped after this exchange.

But he didn't.

Not only did he not stop, but Jin Chen's lazy, seemingly indifferent aura also revealed his killing intent.

Lin Baiyu had never been to the front lines of the outer star system.

Even from his battle-hardened elder brother, he had never felt such a chilling killing intent, as if he were no longer the noble young master of the Lin family, but prey targeted by a top predator in the jungle.

The sudden shock caused Lin Baiyu's movements to become fatally slowed.

In the ensuing seemingly simple yet incredibly dangerous parry, a chilling thought crept into his mind.

This person could really kill him; taking his life would be a piece of cake.

This feeling of life hanging by a thread lasted until Jin Chen stopped moving without warning. Lin Baiyu suddenly gasped for breath, knelt down on one knee, clutched his aching chest with one hand, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Jin Chen lowered his rolled-up sleeves, looked down at Lin Baiyu kneeling on the ground.

“I told you, I don’t want to fight you anymore.” His gaze swept over Lin Baiyu’s slightly trembling arm, his tone cruel. “You have so many weaknesses that they’re not interesting at all, Young Master Lin.”

Lin Baiyu's taut back stiffened, his head lowered, revealing a vulnerable section of the back of his neck. His heavy breathing was too clear in the living room, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

However, beneath his lowered eyelids, what surged in his eyes was not fear, but rather a kind of...

An almost burning excitement.

Like a stagnant pool that has been still for too long, it has finally been stirred up.

Lin Baiyu controlled his surging emotions very well.

A moment later, he supported himself on his knees and struggled to his feet. His face had regained its usual coldness, but the lingering light in his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.

Lin Baiyu looked at Jin Chen meaningfully, his voice slightly hoarse, "I've found my answer."

"Good night."

After saying that, Lin Baiyu turned and went downstairs, his steps a little slow.

Jin Chen stood still, neither investigating what the so-called answer was nor paying attention to it.