Chapter 2738: Transmigrated to the Noble Academy as a Special Recruit 23

Shi Heng is two years older than them, gentle and tolerant, and has always been the mediator among the four.

At this moment, whether it was Ling Yao with his untroubled expression or Lin Baiyu with his cold, solemn face, they all temporarily reined in their emotions; even Xi Si obediently came over, sat side by side with them, and waited for Shi Heng to speak.

Shi Heng did not directly judge who was right or wrong, but first turned to Lin Baiyu, speaking calmly, "Baiyu, I've heard that you've sparred with Jin Chen several times and admire him."

Lin Baiyu held the warm cup, his faintly cold brows and eyes blurred in the rising steam, and he hummed in response.

Shi Heng continued guiding, "You're straightforward, your thoughts are simple, and most of your energy goes into fighting and family duties."

Have you ever thought that perhaps a large part of your interest in Jin Chen comes from… finally finding an opponent in martial prowess who can match you, even surpass you?

Lin Baiyu lifted his eyes, "Why do you say that?"

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

Lin Baiyu almost instinctively replied, "He's strong, impeccably strong."

Shi Heng nodded, turning his gaze to Ling Yao beside him.

"Hmm… then what about you, Yao? When you see him, what's the first thing that comes to mind?"

Suddenly called upon, Ling Yao flicked his tongue stud with the tip of his tongue, heard the question, tilted his head, his voice tinged with laughter, "He looks very approachable… oh, and not just in appearance."

"Cough…" Lin Baiyu choked on his hot cocoa unexpectedly, lowered his eyes and gave a few light coughs, his fingers gripping the cup tighter, his expression unreadable.

Shi Heng spread his hands, "Right, so Baiyu, maybe you can try to figure out your own feelings."

"Could it just be mutual admiration between strong opponents and finding a worthy rival?"

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

After a moment, he lifted his eyes to Shi Heng and asked, "How do we try?"

Shi Heng hissed at the question, rubbed his chin, and began to think as well.

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

"Yao," Shi Heng's voice carried a hint of amusement, "he'll come find you tonight, right?"

Ling Yao lifted his head and replied with an affirmative sound, "Ng."

"What do you want to do?"

——

That night, the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, only a few scattered stars sprinkling the path to the villa.

Jin Chen entered, already familiar with the route.

Although the F4 lived together, their spaces were clearly divided, with the fourth floor entirely Ling Yao's private domain.

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

His steps halted, Jin Chen alertly lifted his gaze to the shadows of the living room.

Smack—

Almost simultaneously, a soft warm yellow light switched on.

Lin Baiyu sat on the living room sofa, back straight, hands resting flat on his knees, obviously having waited a while.

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

Lin Baiyu slowly lifted his gaze to Jin Chen standing at the edge of light and shadow, the depths of his eyes complex and inscrutable.

Jin Chen wore his coat, subtly slipping the small box he'd brought into his pocket without a change in expression.

The light outlined his figure, but could not reach the depths of his still eyes.

"Young Master Lin," Jin Chen said in a detached, polite tone, "why aren't you resting this late? Who are you waiting for?"

Lin Baiyu's gaze fell on his face, he calmly rose to his feet, his complexion appearing somewhat translucent in the light.

"I've been resting in bed these days, missing a lot of training." His voice retained its usual cold timbre, only slightly slower than usual, as if weighing his words.

"Spar with me."

Jin Chen: "?"

Earlier he gave me an extra card, now he wants to fight in the living room in the middle of the night.

Is this guy hurt in the head and not yet recovered?

"There's a training room here," Jin Chen reminded him, his tone flat, turning toward the direction of Ling Yao's living quarters.

Lin Baiyu watched his turning back, "Yao isn't inside."

Jin Chen's steps stopped, but he didn't turn back.

Lin Baiyu continued, "Shi Heng just returned to the academy; there are some urgent matters Yao needs to help with, so neither of them will be coming back tonight."

Jin Chen's gaze swept over the tightly shut living quarters door, his eyes darkening.

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

"Your current physical condition isn't suited for combat training," Jin Chen said lightly, "you couldn't possibly be unaware of that."

Jin Chen's sharp gaze fixed on Lin Baiyu, "So Young Master Lin, after all this roundabout talk, what exactly do you want to do?"

Lin Baiyu stared at him steadily, the eyes that always held ice and snow now seemed to ignite with an almost pure light.

"I know," he admitted, his voice dropping lower, "but it doesn't matter."

Lin Baiyu stepped forward, closing the distance between them, "Spar with me. Afterward, I'll tell you the answer."

Before his words even finished, he gave Jin Chen no time to refuse.

Lin Baiyu struck out, aiming straight for Jin Chen's face, his fighting style clean and crisp as usual, though his speed was not what it was before his injury.

A flicker of impatience crossed Jin Chen's brow.

He thought this person was really rude, and stubborn to the point of being laughable.

If I'd known asking him to be a fearful sparring partner would bring such side effects, I should have chosen a different target from the start.

Jin Chen felt impatient, yet his movements were not slow at all; without even taking off his coat, a slight shift of his body dodged Lin Baiyu's straight punch, he blocked and deflected the force with a backhand, then counterattacked.

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

His past physical fitness and fighting skills were top-notch; even if he couldn't match Jin Chen, he would never reveal such an obvious flaw in just a few moves.

After all, his body had not yet fully recovered; the violent movement tugged at his internal organs, Lin Baiyu abruptly halted his offense, uncomfortably coughing a few times, his face turning even paler.

According to common practice, at this point in the sparring, Jin Chen should have also stopped.

But he didn't.

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

Lin Baiyu had never been to the frontline battlefield of the frontier star system.

But even from his battle-hardened older brother, he had never felt such a sharp, icy killing intent, as if he were no longer the esteemed young master of the Lin family, but prey targeted by a top predator in the jungle.

A moment of fright caused Lin Baiyu's movement to show a deadly delay.

During the ensuing block that seemed simple but was actually extremely dangerous, a thought that made his spine chill flashed into his mind.

This person could really kill him, easily taking his life.

This feeling of mortal danger only lifted when Jin Chen suddenly stopped moving; Lin Baiyu then gasped, dropped to one knee, pressed a hand tightly against his painful chest, his chest heaving violently as he drew deep breaths, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

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

"I said before, I don't want to fight you anymore." His gaze swept over Lin Baiyu's slightly trembling arm, his tone cruel: "Your flaws are so many that they fail to interest me, young master Lin."

Lin Baiyu's originally straight back became stiff, he lowered his head, exposing a fragile nape; his heavy breathing sounded too clear in the living room, his fingertips trembling slightly.

However, beneath his lowered eyelids, what surged in his eyes was not fear, but rather…

An almost scorching excitement.

Like a stagnant pool that had lain still for too long, finally stirred into ripples.

Lin Baiyu kept his surging emotions well under control.

After a moment he pushed himself up with his knees, somewhat strained, his face already returned to its usual sternness, the unextinguished light in his eyes leaking his inner unrest.

Lin Baiyu looked at Jin Chen with deep meaning, his voice slightly hoarse: "I have found my answer."

"Good night."

Having said that, Lin Baiyu turned and went downstairs, his steps a bit slow.

Jin Chen stood where he was, not bothering to investigate what the so-called answer was, nor interested in paying attention.