Sophia Zhou picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with her chopsticks, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Say, Beixing, summer vacation will start at Shi University in a little over ten days, won't it? Do you have any plans for the holidays?"

"Summer vacation plans... If nothing unexpected happens, I should probably head back to Yanjing. Why do you ask?"

As he stuffed the sweet and sour pork and rice into his mouth, Zhang Beixing mumbled his question, his words unclear.

"Going to Yanjing? That's quite a coincidence, Beixing. I'll be making a trip to Yanjing soon as well. Once we're there, how about we hang out together?" Sophia Zhou was initially taken aback, then eagerly asked.

Once in Yanjing, she would be able to go out and have fun with Zhang Beixing again. And there wouldn't be an interruption like today, where their good time was cut short by others!

Hearing Sophia's words, Zhang Beixing was somewhat surprised; clearly, he hadn't expected their vacation plans to coincide so fortuitously.

Just the two of them...

"It's a bit hard to say!" Zhang Beixing pondered. If he were going to Yanjing for sightseeing, then hanging out with Sophia and shopping wouldn't be an issue. But the thing was, Zhang Beixing's purpose for visiting Yanjing wasn't for a vacation. He was going there to find Teacher Liu's brother to learn the Yue family spear technique.

"This... I might be a bit busy on my end. Going together is fine, but as for hanging out later... let's play it by ear. Anyway, if I have time, I'll contact you then, okay?" Zhang Beixing replied vaguely.

Not getting a definite answer from Zhang Beixing, Sophia Zhou was a bit disappointed, but the thought of traveling to Yanjing together made her happy nonetheless. For someone with a crush, many small things could delight her for an entire day. Even just sitting in the same cafeteria to eat, merely stealing glances, simply indulging in some thoughts, or the sudden sight of his name somewhere would be enough.

This was something Dong Guoning knew all too well.

So Sophia nodded, indicating they'd keep in touch.

Afterward, the two chatted about this and that for a while. It was nothing more than recent events, like how Sophia did in the provincial competition and so on.

They continued until they had finished off all the dishes on the table. By then, it was eleven at night.

After escorting Sophia back to her dorm at Shishi Teacher's College, Zhang Beixing also headed back to Shi University. After showering and doing laundry, he changed into clean, comfortable shorts, lay down on his bed, and soon drifted off to sleep.

「The next day, at seven in the morning, in a small grove.」

Zhang Beixing, who should have been practicing martial arts, was not doing so. Instead, he sat on a tree stump with his phone, getting scolded like hell. On any other day, Beixing wouldn't have tolerated this and would have argued back immediately. But today, he said, "I'm sorry, really sorry, Mom. I just got carried away at the time and wasn't thinking. Besides, look, I'm fine, aren't I? If you don't believe me, I'll show you."

Saying this, Zhang Beixing placed his phone beside the tree stump, stood up, and turned around in front of it. After showing off his body—completely healed and in perfect health—in front of the phone, Zhang Beixing had thought his mother wouldn't be so angry anymore. Unexpectedly, after learning that Zhang Beixing was completely unharmed, his mother scolded him even more fiercely!

"Zhang Beixing, do you think just because you got away without a scratch you can do whatever you please? This time you were lucky, and nothing happened, but what about next time? Can you guarantee that you will be safe every time? Did I raise you all these years just so you could go off and do such risky things? Sure, you're famous now. The community office even came to visit, the whole neighborhood knows you're my son, and relatives are calling to praise you. But what if something happens to you?"

His mother laid into Zhang Beixing with a barrage of scolding. It's a good thing technology isn't that advanced yet. Otherwise, Zhang Beixing felt like his mother would reach right through the screen to give him a good thrashing. Although she was scolding, there was an undeniable hint of pride in her tone.

After Zhang Beixing's mother finished her scolding, the image on the phone shook, as if someone had taken it. Right after, his father appeared on the phone's screen, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his expression stern and humorless. He looked Zhang Beixing up and down, and after confirming that there were no injuries on Beixing's body, his serious face visibly relaxed.

Then he turned to his wife and rebuked, "What are you shouting for? Our kid was just doing a good deed. As his mother, instead of supporting him, you scold and belittle him. What kind of mother does that? Beixing, don't listen to her. That's just a woman's soft-heartedness. As for your act of bravery, you did the right thing. You're truly your father's son—this is how it should be done! But Beixing, where did you learn to do that? Teach me when you get back..."

"Go to hell with that nonsense! What kind of father are you, to talk such rubbish? Zhang Jianfeng, I'm telling you, if Xiao Xing gets into trouble next time because of your words, I'll skin you alive!"

Before Zhang Beixing's father could finish, a large foot kicked him aside, and the screen became chaotic again. A deep but vigorous voice came through the phone. Afterward, an elder with a bald head appeared on the phone, his face brimming with kindness, showing no trace of the fierceness he'd displayed when kicking Zhang's father away. He looked at Zhang Beixing, smiling so widely it almost reached the back of his head, and said, "Xiao Xing, don't listen to what your father says. That man has no brains, and everything he says is nonsense. Listen to your grandpa; we can't do such dangerous things anymore. Even if you really must act, really must be a hero, you have to put your own personal safety first, understand?"

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