Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

"Finished?"

Yan Xi's voice was lazy, like a cat basking in the afternoon sun.

The heavy doors of the training hall slowly closed behind Li Chen, completely shutting out the deathly silence inside and the hundreds of shocked gazes.

Inside and outside the door, it felt like two different worlds.

Li Chen looked at her; the afternoon sun outlined her gentle profile, and the wind blew a few strands of her hair.

The slight agitation that had just arisen from taking action was instantly soothed.

"Okay." He nodded and walked over.

"A waste of time."

Yan Xi rolled her eyes at him and stuffed the still-steaming brown paper bag into his arms.

A warm, caramel-sweet aroma filled my nostrils.

It's roasted chestnuts.

"Get in the car."

Yan Xi opened the car door and got into the passenger seat.

Li Chen was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening, walked around to the other side, and got into the driver's seat.

It's Zhao Zixuan's Porsche.

"Why did you drive this car?"

Li Chen asked as he started the car.

"I borrowed it from your roommate."

Yan Xi fastened her seatbelt, her tone matter-of-fact, "I can't expect you to walk back after a fight, can I?"

Li Chen smiled and didn't say anything more.

He skillfully steered the car out of the stadium area.

The car window was open, and the evening breeze was blowing in, which felt very comfortable.

There was no music playing in the car, only the sweet and sticky aroma of chestnuts and the steady breathing of the person next to me.

An inexplicable sense of peace enveloped Li Chen.

He suddenly felt that the fight he had just fought was worthwhile.

At least, it brought us this moment of peace.

Instead of driving directly back to the dormitory, the car, under Yan Xi's direction, took a detour to the quietest tree-lined path on campus.

The area is lined with tall sycamore trees, and the afterglow of the setting sun shines through the layers of leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on the ground.

"Let's stop here," Yan Xi said.

Li Chen parked the car on the side of the road and turned off the engine.

"Want to take a walk?" Yan Xi turned her head to look at him.

"it is good."

The two got out of the car and walked side by side on the path covered with fallen sycamore leaves.

The high heels made a soft "rustling" sound as they stepped on the fallen leaves.

Li Chen held the bag of warm chestnuts, feeling somewhat unreal.

Just over ten minutes ago, he resolved a conflict in the most direct way in a tense situation.

But now, he's like a high school student who just got out of school, taking a walk on campus with the girl he likes.

This feeling is wonderful.

"Not eating?" Yan Xi glanced at the paper bag in his arms.

"oh."

Li Chen then realized what was happening and awkwardly pulled a scalding hot chestnut from the bag.

The chestnuts were small, their shells were roasted until shiny and oily, with a few cracks.

His hands, which could once lock someone's joints in an instant, now seemed somewhat clumsy.

He carefully began peeling the crack with his fingernails.

The chestnut shell was so hot that it burned his fingertips.

After finally peeling off the outer shell, there's a thin inner skin clinging tightly to the chestnut meat.

It took him a lot of effort to finally peel off that layer of skin completely.

A whole, golden chestnut kernel finally appeared in his palm.

He presented the chestnut to Yan Xi's lips as if it were a treasure.

Yan Xi didn't speak, but simply lowered her head slightly, opened her mouth, and ate the chestnut.

She chewed slowly and gracefully.

"How is it?" Li Chen asked nervously.

"It's getting a bit cold," Yan Xi commented.

Li Chen: "..."

He looked at his fingertips, which were scalded red, and felt a little wronged.

Looking at his expression, Yan Xi finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Her smile was like the first melting of ice and snow, adding a touch of brightness to the surrounding golden sunset.

"fool."

She took the paper bag from his arms, took out a pill herself, and gently squeezed it with an extremely skillful technique that Li Chen couldn't understand at all.

A "click" sound.

The chestnut shell cracked open, revealing the intact flesh inside.

She handed the peeled chestnut to Li Chen.

"Eat up, it's a reward for you."

Li Chen looked at the perfect chestnut kernel on her fingertip, then at the pitted and uneven chestnut in his own hand, and silently opened his mouth and ate it.

Very sweet.

"Senior, did you used to eat this often?"

He couldn't help but ask.

"Mmm." Yan Xi started peeling the second one. "My dad used to buy it for me all the time."

"He doesn't know how to peel them, so he always buys pre-peeled ones, but pre-peeled ones don't taste good if left for too long."

"Later I learned it on my own."

Her tone was flat, as if she were talking about someone else's story.

But Li Chen detected a subtle, almost imperceptible, longing for his childhood in his voice.

He didn't ask any more questions.

I simply walked quietly beside her, watching her peel chestnuts one by one.

She peeled one, ate half herself, and then fed the other half to him.

Li Chen ate his way through the journey.

It wasn't until they were almost at the dormitory building that the three rascals from room 302 caught up from behind, panting.

"I...I'm in heaven! Lao Li! What...what are you doing here!" Wang Qiang gasped for breath, clutching his knees.

After they came out of the stadium, they searched everywhere for Li Chen, but he and his car had vanished without a trace.

"Are you devils? You didn't celebrate after the fight, but came here to steal food?" Zhao Zixuan said with a look of grief and indignation.

Chen Mo pushed up his glasses, his gaze falling on the bag of chestnuts in Yan Xi's hand, which was only half full, and calmly analyzed the situation.

"Based on the amount of chestnuts remaining and their walking speed, they have been alone here for at least fifteen minutes."

Yan Xi glanced at them, stuffed the last peeled chestnut into Li Chen's mouth, and then precisely threw the empty paper bag into the trash can not far away.

"I've delivered the person."

She clapped her hands. "Let's go."

After saying that, she turned around, and in her high heels, walked towards the girls' dormitory without looking back.

Li Chen watched her retreating figure, the sweet aroma of chestnuts still lingering in his mouth.

"Old Li! You're fucking unfair!"

Once Wang Qiang recovered, he grabbed Li Chen's neck and said, "You left us at the gym and came here to date your sister-in-law?"

"Exactly! We were worried about whether you were hurt, and here you are, eating roasted chestnuts!"

Zhao Zixuan echoed.

"I'm fine."

Li Chen smiled. "Let's go back."

The four of them walked towards the dormitory building with their arms around each other's shoulders.

On the way, Wang Qiang still couldn't contain his excitement.

"Holy crap, Lao Li, you were absolutely awesome today! Three seconds! Just three seconds! And Sun Long was lying on the ground like a dead dog!"

"I was completely dumbfounded! What's that move you were using? Tai Chi? Wing Chun?"

Jeet Kune Do.

Li Chen answered calmly.

"Awesome!"

Wang Qiang gave a thumbs-up, "From today onwards, you are my only godfather!"

Although Zhao Zixuan and Chen Mo did not speak, their eyes were filled with shock and admiration as they looked at Li Chen.

Back in his dorm, Li Chen had just sat down when his phone vibrated.

He picked it up and saw it was a special notification from the campus network forum.

A bright red, featured, and pinned post with an eye-catching title.

"The Martial God Instantly Slays His Opponent, All for a Beauty's Smile While Peeling Chestnuts!"

The post contains more than a dozen high-resolution photos taken in quick succession.

The first picture shows Li Chen in the training hall, the moment he knocks Sun Long to the ground with a single move. His movements are elegant and his eyes are sharp.

The second picture shows him turning away, pushing open the door, his back bathed in sunlight.

Starting from the third image, the style changes abruptly.

The photos are all of him and Yan Xi taking a walk on the tree-lined path.

There was the image of him clumsily peeling chestnuts, wincing from the heat.

He carefully fed Yan Xi the peeled chestnuts to her cheek.

Yan Xi looked at him, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

The last picture is a distant view.

As the sun sets, fallen sycamore leaves carpet the path, casting long shadows of two figures. The girl is feeding chestnuts to the boy beside her.

The image is so beautiful, it looks like a poster for an art film.

The comment section below the post has exploded.

[1L: Holy crap! What kind of fairytale love is this?! I'm speechless!]

[2L: One second a powerful punch, the next a gentle peel – who can resist this adorable contrast!]

[3L: I declare this the most amazing display of affection I've experienced at Linjiang University this year! It's so sweet and addictive!]

[4L (Original Poster's Reply): Don't ask, the answer is I risked my life to take these photos! Do you know how hard I worked for everyone's entertainment?!]

[5L: So, Li Shen fights so fiercely just so he can leave work early and eat chestnuts with his girlfriend? I give that reason full marks!]

[6L: Waaaaah, Senior Yan Xi's smile is so sweet! It's the first time I've ever seen her smile so happily! Li Shen, please take good care of our Queen!]

As Li Chen looked at the photos and comments, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

He opened the photo of Yan Xi smiling at him and silently saved it.

Then, I set it as my phone wallpaper.