CH 8

After Luo Xi got off the field, Cheng Qing let go of Zhou Minli’s wrist and sneered, “Bullying others with no fans?”

Zhou Minli grimaced as she rubbed the wrist that Cheng Qing had grabbed, “I attended this practice match due to an invitation from the program group. The battle between her and I complied with all the fencing regulations.”

Cheng Qing scoffed, “It complied with all the rules you say?”

Zhou Minli had just returned from earning first place in a rigorous competition, so what did she know about Cheng Qing? 

Her knowledge was limited to the sentences of what her younger brothers and sisters would say: She came to look for a job, but she also defeated the curator!

In the eyes of the students, defeating the curator was already extraordinary, but Zhou Minli knew the curator was injured that day so defeating him was probably a fluke!

Zhou Minli glowered at Luo Xi who was standing behind Cheng Qing, haughtily, she said, “This is your type? Let me tell you Princess, not everyone can beat me.”

Zhou Minli turned to look at Cheng Qing whose face resembled a cold beauty, tinged with a slight irritation. 

“I have wanted to fight with you for a long time, but I’ve been practicing for the tournament so I didn’t have time before,” Zhou Minli smirked, “Now, I simply happened to try upon this chance.”

Cheng Qing raised her chin and her eyes sharpened like a knife, “Then try it!” Cheng Qing turned around and swiftly strode out of the arena. 

She saw that Luo Xi was still standing in front of the field so she stepped forward and pulled her over, “Come with me to change clothes.”

Luo Xi immediately ignored her, she was too ashamed and angry with herself for losing the match so humiliatingly, “Do you need someone to accompany you when changing clothes?”

Cheng Qing hooked the corner of her cherry-red lips and said, “…But my clothes are on you. Can’t you take them off and give them back to me?”

Luo Xi was taken aback, thinking of the camera behind her she dragged Cheng Qing and ran to the changing room, the photographer behind her didn’t even have time to catch up. 

Cheng Qing let Luo Xi gently pull her after seeing her behave this way and noticed that Luo Xi’s ears were slightly red. Cheng Qing found this amusing and the rage in her heart began to fade away.

Luo Xi was a bit arrogant but with the world being so big and containing a population of more than 7.8 billion, how can everyone be gentle and virtuous? It was only one person, one character.

***

As soon as the two entered the room, Luo Xi began to complain while Cheng Qing closed the door.

“If you want the clothes, just tell me! Why did you have to say it so vaguely in front of the camera, it was so embarrassing to be recorded!”

Cheng Qing thought Luo Xi looked cute when she behaved like this and approached her more closely. 

She leaned her body forward and started to unbutton the uniform while coaxing Luo Xi, “Alright, I’ll be more careful next time.”

Seeing Cheng Qing like this, Luo Xi blushed again and secretly took a look at her.

Cheng Qing had her head lowered, wearing a solemn expression as she undressed her. The sunshine streaming in through the window created a lively glow on her handsome face.

The lightly colored fluff on her skin appeared to be noticeable, making the tenderness between her brows and eyes even more endearing.

“Actually I wasn’t injured that badly, I was only hit once,” Luo Xi said as she quickly averted her head.

Cheng Qing’s face became softer and reminded her, “More than once.”

Luo Xi proudly raised her chin up, “That’s okay, I don’t mind being the villain.”

Cheng Qing cast an unexpected glance at Luo Xi and lifted one of her brows, “Hmm~? It’s rare for anything like this to happen without the princess being in a rage.”

Luo Xi was given the nickname “princess” by her followers and had long forgotten the sense of reacting to the name after hearing it so many times, but when Cheng Qing spoke it, she felt guilty and irritated.

“…you called me princess?” Luo Xi clenched her jaw.

Cheng Qing chuckled, “We’re roommates so it would be unfamiliar to call you by name, right?”

Then just ask me!!! Luo Xi didn’t want to admit that she wished for Cheng Qing to call her by name; how could she answer like this!

Instead, Luo Xi coughed and said, “Then I’ll call you Qingqing from now on!”

Cheng Qing was taken aback for a moment but her eyes soon sparkled as she smiled and hummed, “It’s an honor.” 

Luo Xi buried her head and blushed a bright red.

Cheng Qing didn’t notice Luo Xi blushing though because her gaze was quickly pulled to the blood-stained clothes as she unbuttoned them. 

During Luo Xi’s match, the sabre struck her body with tremendous force, immediately injuring the underlying skin through the protective clothes.

The seeping blood painted Luo Xi’s shirt red, provoking Cheng Qing’s rage once again. But she was the type of person who could contain her feelings and always faced everything with a gentle smile.

Cheng Qing whispered quietly to herself as she feigned a smile, “This grievance cannot be taken in vain.” 

Cheng Qing had a keen eye for understanding other people’s emotions, especially herself, and Luo Xi knew this.

Cheng Qing would definitely protect her when she was wrongly beaten by Zhou Minli, but Luo Xi did not want Cheng Qing to get into this predicament nor did she want her to bear what she had endured.

Luo Xi was straightforward as she said, “I wasn’t wronged.”

Cheng Qing smiled sadly, “That’s not okay, you are the princess of so many people, how can you be bullied at my home court!”

Luo Xi: (#oo#) [TN: I think this is a blushing face?]

Ahhhhh, this woman is teasing me! I can feel it!

Cheng Qing finished unbuttoning the clothes and swiftly wore the uniform. Her entire demeanor shifted dramatically in the blink of an eye.

Normally, she would dress casually, giving the impression of a gentle and intellectual young lady. But at the moment, Cheng Qing was like a sharp knife ready to be unsheathed.

She put on the protective hood and looked at Luo Xi, “Are you going to stay here to apply your medicine?”

Luo Xi sprang up and quickly shook her head, “I want to follow.”

Cheng Qing stretched her arm out and softly caressed Luo Xi’s hair, Luo Xi didn’t avoid the gesture and heard Cheng Qing say, “All right then, let’s go have a look.” 

***

When the two returned to the arena, Zhou Minli was still standing on the field, holding the mask and smiling calmly.

Cheng Qing hadn’t played in person in a while except for when she was teaching students, so she was mostly carefree. Many people even forgot that Cheng Qing came in to look for a job by kicking the gym doors down.

Zhou Minli spotted Cheng Qing walking towards the arena and put her mask back on, “Ready?”

Cheng Qing took a step forward but Luo Xi softly tugged on her arm and held her back.

Cheng Qing stopped helplessly and looked back at her, “What’s the matter?”

Luo Xi stood on her toes to approach Cheng Qing’s ear and whispered, “How good are your skills? No, let’s just say that we’re running late on schedule so you don’t have to fight her!”

The dampness of Luo Xi’s exhaled breath caused Cheng Qing to pause for a moment, she could feel a slight tickle at the tips of her ears. 

Cheng Qing regained her composure and stretched out her hand to gently tap Luo Xi’s nose while showing her a tender smile, “Watch me carefully.”

Despite the fact that she had not handled a sword in a while, she had recently won an Olympic gold medal so her technique was at the highest level.

Cheng Qing took a step onto the field and looked around. She moved directly to the opposite end and approached Zhou Minli with a piercing aura. Cheng Qing’s look was icy, in contrast to her soft smile when she faced Luo Xi.

“Are you ready?”

Zhou Minli proudly held her sword and pointed it at Cheng Qing, “Do you honestly think that you can beat me? I recently won the championship and competed against all of the top domestic masters.”

Zhou Minli’s words made Luo Xi in the audience suddenly tense up, the other two stars around her also held their breath.

“Are you talking about that amateur competition?” Cheng Qing’s eyes did not fluctuate and her expression was as tranquil as the spring water.

Zhou Minli was so irritated that she almost vomited blood, she gritted her teeth and said, “There were also many professional players!”

“Try me then.” Cheng Qing said, her gorgeous face turned into a serious expression, making her look like a ruthless beauty. 

“Alright, let’s go! But don’t go begging for mercy when I beat you!” Zhou Minli was infuriated but was able to smirk provocatively. 

The curator glanced around with concern, but there was nothing he could do. They were both his favorite students. He glanced to the left and to the right for a while, but was saddened when he realized he couldn’t interfere.

Did Zhou Minli not realize how strong she was? Even so, Cheng Qing was aware that Zhou Minli was somewhat strong herself.

The students who stood watching from the side couldn’t help but sigh, “Haahh…The Great Demon King is back.”

Luo Xi was shocked and turned to look at the student who just spoke, it was a boy who looked to be in junior high. 

Seeing Luo Xi staring at him, he smiled shyly and said, “Coach Cheng has always been very serious. Every time she teaches us, she is very fierce.”

Luo Xi was taken aback, she couldn’t imagine seeing Cheng Qing like that.

Luo Xi: “Σ(☉▽☉ )  [TN: This is supposed to be a surprised staring face.]

She was always so gentle towards her.

In a fencing match, wins or losses can sometimes happen in an instant. 

As the match began, Zhou Minli made a lunge and attempted to approach slowly, but Cheng Qing had already rushed forward and leaped into the air, arriving in front of Zhou Minli in a flash.

Through the metal mesh of the mask, Zhou Minli’s pupils shrank violently as she tried to block the strike. Damn, she’s fast! 

Cheng Qing calmly observed Zhou Minli blocking her sword and used it to guide her strike into Zhou Minli’s chest, a beep suddenly sounded on the scorer indicating that Cheng Qing had scored the first point.

In just 20 seconds, she had successfully scored a point whereas other people couldn’t even see what had happened. The curator stood there, completely stupefied. This speed was definitely at the level of someone on the national team.

Not a professional player but performs like a professional player! Xiao Xing was right, she should be on the national team!

When Zhou Minli came back to her senses, she was in a daze. After all, she had participated in the national championship competition. Even if she was a professional player, it would not be so easy to get a point from her.

However, during the entirety of Cheng Qing’s attack, Zhou Minli couldn’t keep up with her rhythm and she easily scored the first point. 

Cheng Qing didn’t celebrate or taunt when the sound of the scorer rang, she withdrew to her position and waited for the start of a new round.

As the match went on, Zhou Minli finally experienced the feeling of being abused.

Cheng Qing showed her no mercy just as Zhou Minli did to Luo Xi. She used a much greater force than 500g to stab and slash scars on Zhou Minli’s arms, chest, and neck. Even though she was wearing protective fencing clothing, no one could see that her body was covered in scars.

In spite of that, Zhou Minli was not a novice and over the years she had endured much more painful injuries than this.

She didn’t say a word until Cheng Qing won all 15 points, the entire match didn’t even last 10 minutes. Not only that, but she lacked the ability to fight back, it was Cheng Qing’s massive talent that blew away all of Zhou Minli’s confidence and dignity.

There was no feeling of being special, the glory of getting first place in the national competition became meaningless at this point.

“How do you feel?” Cheng Qing took off the mask and looked at Zhou Minli with a calm expression.

Zhou Minli was panting like crazy as she also took off her mask. Her face was extremely flushed due to the high-intensity exercise.

Cheng Qing walked up to her and held out her hand. This was the etiquette after a match in fencing. Even if you have suffered a lot of grievances, you still have to shake hands with the opponent to make peace.

The two shook hands but Zhou Minli kept her mouth shut through the whole process.

Cheng Qing scoffed and said, “I guess it does feel good to beat up people sometimes.”

Zhou Minli didn’t dare to say a word anymore, in front of absolute strength, she was no different from Luo Xi.

Humiliation? That can only be endured.

Cheng Qing turned to leave but Zhou Minli took a step forward and accidentally moved the wound on her waist. She sucked in a breath from the pain of her injuries.

Zhou Minli firmly said, “Senior.” The title has already changed!

Cheng Qing stopped and turned around,  Zhou Minli could only endure her stinging wound and say, “A master like Senior should participate in this year’s national team selection!”

Zhou Minli continued, “Luo Xi is not worth it, when I went to participate in the qualifiers, I passed by the recording site and she-” 

Cheng Qing’s eyes pierced like daggers as she turned to look at Zhou Minli.

The camera quickly whipped around to face Cheng Qing for her reaction, obviously, everyone noticed the upcoming gossip.

Cheng Qing threw the mask in her hand to the ground creating a loud “bang”. She strode up to Zhou Minli with her long legs and towered over her with a dominating presence. 

Leaning in closer until her head was leveled with Zhou Minli’s, Cheng Qing wore a chilling expression while her eyes emanated a vicious spitefulness as she scrutinized Zhou Minli from top to bottom.

She placed her finely trimmed hands on her hip, raised an eyebrow, and slightly tilted her head to the side. Her canine teeth became visible as she smiled devilishly and spoke with a hint of malice.

“Hm? It seems that I couldn’t hear you, what did you want to say?”
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