Chapter 29: This Is a War

With a crisp click, someone captured a photo of Qin Xuan and Liu Qianqian standing together. Qin Xuan felt a touch of helplessness—he had indeed been noticed.

“Wait here while I make a call. Don’t wander off,” he instructed Liu Qianqian, then pulled out his phone, intending to call Su Muqing. In this situation, he could only turn to someone familiar with the university, and Su Muqing was the first who came to mind.

“Hello, is this Teacher Su?”

“Oh, Qin Xuan, it’s you. Calling your teacher this early—do you need something?” Su Muqing’s voice, tinged with morning laziness, came through the phone, soft and alluring.

“Yes, I have a question I’d like to ask…”

“What question? Go ahead.”

Qin Xuan pondered for a moment before finding the right way to phrase it. “I wanted to ask if Nanjing University has a senior surnamed Hua?”

“A senior surnamed Hua?” Su Muqing sounded puzzled.

“Well, someone with some authority, probably older. I have a friend who needs to complete enrollment procedures and needs to find him…”

It really wasn’t easy to describe “Old Man Hua” without being disrespectful, and he certainly couldn’t call him that in front of Su Muqing.

“You must mean Professor Hua Rong,” Su Muqing replied after some thought. She could only think of one such person, though she wasn’t sure he handled enrollment matters.

“That must be him. How can I find Professor Hua?”

“That’s easy,” she replied. “Old Hua gets up early every day to exercise, strolling around the campus. You should be able to find him around now—just ask the students along the way.”

“All right, thank you,” Qin Xuan said, then hung up.

When he turned around, he was startled. During his call, Liu Qianqian had slipped away and just returned, dragging a boy by the ear.

“Ow, ow, my dear lady, I’m sorry! Please let me go!” Qin Xuan saw the boy’s flaming red hair, and though he hung his head from being pulled by the ear, Qin Xuan instantly recognized Yang Weiyang by his voice.

“Yang Weiyang? What are you doing here?” Qin Xuan asked, puzzled. He glanced at Liu Qianqian, who looked rather pleased with herself. “What’s going on with this guy?”

Liu Qianqian twisted Yang Weiyang’s ear and puffed out her chest, saying, “Hehe, while you were on the phone, this guy was sneaking around behind us. I thought he looked suspicious, so I caught him.”

“Oh?” Qin Xuan looked at Yang Weiyang. “What were you sneaking around for?”

“No… nothing, I wouldn’t dare, Qin! I just saw you and wanted to say hello, but this young lady grabbed me…”

“Who’s a young lady? Your whole family are young ladies!” Liu Qianqian twisted harder.

“Ow, ow, beautiful lady, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please just let go… ow…” Yang Weiyang felt as if his ear would fall off and was nearly in tears. Ever since he’d met Qin Xuan, he’d had nothing but bad luck. Since pursuing the new campus belle, Dongfang Qingwan, seemed hopeless, he’d started looking for new targets.

This morning, the moment he saw the stunning Liu Qianqian, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Unfortunately, she was with Qin Xuan, so he didn’t dare approach too boldly. He thought to himself: Qin Xuan already has Dongfang Qingwan; this beauty in red probably has nothing to do with him. Even if they do, it’s probably not like that. I still have a chance. Yes, I’ll check with Qin Xuan first.

But Qin Xuan was on the phone, so Yang Weiyang had to wait anxiously nearby, only to be mistaken for a suspicious character and dragged over by the ear.

“What did you call me?” Liu Qianqian’s beautiful eyes narrowed into crescents.

“Beauty! Gorgeous! Stunning beauty! Ow, could you please let go…” Yang Weiyang gave in completely. With a woman like this, he couldn’t handle her even if she was handed to him; better to give up.

“Hmph. Qin Xuan, do you know him?” Liu Qianqian still didn’t release him and glanced at Qin Xuan.

“Nope, do whatever you want with him.” Qin Xuan smiled and prepared to help her look for Old Man Hua.

The scene of Yang Weiyang being dragged by the ear by the red-clad girl was quickly photographed and immediately posted to the university forum with the title: “Beautiful girl torments Yang the Great—suspected new girlfriend of the Taoist.”

When Yang Weiyang first arrived, he had dubbed himself “The Emperor of Nanjing.” Based on this, the forum users affectionately called him “Yang the Great.” Once the post went up, many students who were still in bed browsing the forum leapt up, skipped breakfast, and rushed straight to the academic district.

“This is war! Red-clad beauty vs. Goddess Dongfang Qingwan—who will win?”

“Condemn the philandering fake Taoist, ladies beware!”

“Justice for Goddess Qingwan…”

As photos of Qin Xuan and Liu Qianqian together hit the forum, threads sprouted like mushrooms after rain. When a slightly blurry photo appeared, the debate grew even fiercer. It showed Qin Xuan and Su Muqing entering the Tenglong International Dining Hall together, the caption reading:

“Last night, while out, I spotted our university’s number one goddess and the Taoist together. Outraged, I took this photo and am exposing them.”

With that, the male students on the forum began to denounce Qin Xuan collectively.

In less than two days, Qin Xuan had already punched Yang Weiyang, offended Li Shihao, and was now linked to three campus belles. Some students—especially upperclassmen—were left disheartened and deeply envious.

…

But the uproar on the forum was nothing to Qin Xuan, especially since he was unaware that he had already become an internet celebrity on campus.

“Beautiful lady, when will you let me go?” Yang Weiyang wailed all across campus as they walked.

“When I’m in a good mood. Hmph. You were up to no good just now. If I let you go so easily, wouldn’t that be letting you off?”

“I swear, beautiful, I just wanted to greet Qin, not up to anything bad…”

Ignoring their banter, Qin Xuan walked ahead, glancing around in search of Professor Hua.

“Excuse me, have you seen Professor Hua?” Qin Xuan asked a bespectacled student he intercepted.

The bespectacled student, hurrying with his head down, was startled as Qin Xuan blocked his way.