Chapter 81: Four-Eyed Frog (3) The young nobles of Wuling rode east through the golden market, silver saddles gleaming atop white horses as they passed through the spring breeze.

Laughter erupted in the classroom, almost entirely filled with female students, who immediately turned their pens and tongues against Jin Hai.

"Exactly! He harassed Qin Lu before, even said he wanted to take her out to eat, but in the end he just bought a plain grain bun at the school gate, stuffed it with his family's pickled vegetables, and handed it to her."

"He's disgusting. I heard he secretly took photos of Qin Lu—who knows what he does with them at night."

"Qin Lu's boyfriend is so handsome! What brand is he wearing? It looks amazing."

"Her boyfriend is a businessman. I heard from the girls in her dorm that this Fang Yu is the son of a group president."

The girls chattered incessantly, criticizing Jin Hai until he was utterly worthless. Even the bespectacled "Four-Eyed Frog" himself knew better than to argue with a classroom full of girls, so he sat down sullenly.

"Alright, that's enough, let's continue the lesson." Though the female teacher was a little gossipy herself, she was still a university lecturer. She waved her hand to quiet the students and returned to the podium.

Fang Yu turned to the girl beside him with a smile. "Lulu, so that four-eyed frog actually took you out to eat?"

The girl lowered her voice, puffing her cheeks in indignation. "Of course not! That was the first time he asked me out, and since we’re classmates, I thought it was fine to go. Who would have thought he’d buy a plain bun at the school gate, stuff it with pickled vegetables, and say his mother made them herself—filthy! There’s no way I’d eat that."

Fang Yu almost burst out laughing. Jin Hai was even stingier than the snack vendor—at least the vendor knew to buy some cotton candy or jelly.

Finally, when class ended, he patted Qin Lu on her head. "Alright, Lulu, I have to go now. I’ll come by another day."

Qin Lu clung to his arm, pouting. "Hmph, once you leave, that Jin Hai will just come and bother me again!"

"I'm going back to discuss it with Cheng Chen and the others. You can't just beat up someone like that, and we can't exactly make him disappear. We need to find a way to solve this once and for all."

"You said it! Don’t disappear on me, you hear?" Only after Fang Yu promised did Qin Lu reluctantly let him go.

Back at Seven Stars Internet Café, he told Cheng Chen and the others about it, and Cheng Chen stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Damn, he’s just like that snack vendor—can’t kill him, but he’s a headache.”

“We still have our business to run, we can’t just run downtown all the time.”

“Exactly, so what do we do?”

As the two whispered in a corner, Xia Churan approached.

"Fang Yu, what are you up to? You disappeared first thing this morning; I didn’t see you when I arrived."

"I went to Qin Lu’s school today."

At this, Xia Churan huffed in annoyance. "Hmph, you only care about your girlfriend. I barely slept last night and you don’t even care."

"My lady, I barely have time to nurse my own headache. If you’re not feeling well, you should go home and rest early." He rolled his eyes and waved her off.

"Hmm? What’s wrong with you?" There was concern in her voice now.

When Fang Yu explained the situation, Xia Churan doubled over laughing.

"That’s it? Just a lovesick puppy. You handled Zhu Wei just fine, didn’t you?"

"That was different. Zhu Wei brought it on himself. Jin Hai’s another story; I can’t just knock out his teeth."

"Hah! Serves you right. Want me to help you?" She sidled up to him, grinning mischievously.

"You? And how would you help?"

"A mountain dweller always has a clever plan! Take me to Qin Lu’s school, and I guarantee Jin Hai will never bother her again." Xia Churan’s smile was sly.

No matter how he pressed, she refused to say more. Since he couldn’t think of a better idea anyway, he grumpily agreed. "Fine, tomorrow’s the weekend. I’ll take you to Qin Lu’s school, but don’t pull any stunts, you hear?"

"Hmph! Tomorrow, I’ll show you my skills!"

The next morning, after getting up, Fang Yu called Xia Churan.

"Where are you? We need to leave soon."

"Pick me up at the school gate, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes," she replied cheerily.

He grabbed his keys and stepped outside. A few minutes later, his Santana 2000 stopped at the gate of Blue Ocean Academy. Lighting a cigarette, he caught a waft of fragrant perfume on the breeze—of course, Xia Churan had arrived.

She wore a moon-white cocktail dress, ten-centimeter heels, her long hair cascading down her back, her eyes sparkling with lively emotion. With light makeup accentuating her delicate features, she looked utterly radiant. For a moment, he was dumbstruck.

"Well? Do I look good?" Xia Churan spun before him, her sweet scent swirling in the wind.

"What’s this? Aren’t we dealing with Jin Hai? Are you planning to seduce him dressed like that?" Fang Yu muttered discontentedly.

Xia Churan wrapped one slender arm around him. With her heels, she was almost his height.

"Hehe, just get Jin Hai to come out. He won’t know what hit him—he’ll be too distracted to bother Qin Lu after this."

Suddenly, Fang Yu understood—she wanted to handle it herself.

"But Jin Hai’s a real pest, even worse than Zhu Wei. Aren’t you afraid he’ll start pestering you?"

"You don’t need to worry about that. Just tell me—do you want my help or not?"

Weighing his options, Fang Yu realized he’d never be at ease until Jin Hai was dealt with. He couldn’t watch over Qin Lu every moment. Nodding helplessly, he relented.

"Alright, but aren’t you a bit overdressed? It’s November—you won’t be cold?"

"Not at all! I checked the weather—eighteen degrees today!"

"Still, that dress looks chilly." He mumbled as he started the car.

When Qin Lu heard Fang Yu was coming, she hurried downstairs to meet him, only to see Fang Yu and Xia Churan getting out of the car together. Tall and elegant, Xia Churan looked perfect at Fang Yu’s side—a truly striking pair.

"Hey, Fang Yu, why did you bring Senior Churan?" Qin Lu eyed them suspiciously.

Fang Yu grinned and whispered in her ear. Instantly understanding, Qin Lu blushed and hurried to Xia Churan.

"Thank you for helping, Senior. But Jin Hai is really annoying—are you sure this won’t trouble you?"

"Not at all. It’s just a little favor." Xia Churan replied breezily.

Qin Lu, not one for overthinking, was already warming to her. Today’s events had completely changed her opinion of Xia Churan, and she eagerly took her arm.

"Come on, Senior, it’s lunchtime. Our school’s food is pretty good—Fang Yu says so himself."

Arm in arm, the two girls headed for the cafeteria like lifelong friends.

Along the way, not only the boys but even most of the girls couldn’t help turning to look at Xia Churan’s dazzling appearance.