Love, Gun, Cupid

He gave it his all, but ended up in a sorry state, being toyed with like a clown by the biological sciences champion. There was no excuse for him; he could only blame his own lack of skill.

Thus, they became the backdrop, a stepping stone for the team led by the biology department's star player to the top. Everyone said, "Third place isn't bad either; it's just that you encountered players from professional club youth training programs."

Even Lin Jiade himself defended the crushing defeat in this way. When he talked about it with Jasmine, he discussed it calmly, as if he had already accepted the outcome.

Are you really willing to accept this?

Yeah, right! Nobody wants to lose! Whether on the football field or in the martial arts classroom, Lin Jiade always wants to win!

Amidst painful and powerless memories, a surge of rage engulfs Lin Jiade, for anger is the power of a warrior.

Respecting needs has become Lin Jiade's primary need. Guided by higher-level needs, his swordsmanship skills, the energy active in his body, and the guidance given by the sword orchid... these three elements are integrated into a brilliant counterattack.

Unable to dodge the sword with her agility, Mu Mian could only hold her weapon horizontally in front of her. Lin Jiade's sword tip pierced Mu Mian's blade, sparks flying.

The offense and defense switched in an instant. Lin Jiade's sword was deflected to the side by Mu Mian. Mu Mian followed up, pushing the sword horizontally, aiming the blade at Lin Jiade's neck.

At that moment, the inscription on Lin Jiade's sword lit up, transforming into a gust of wind that slammed into Mu Mian's body. Mu Mian's stance crumbled, and Lin Jiade caught up with the bodysuit-clad monster, thrusting his sword at his unsteady opponent. But he wasn't the only one who could use magic.

Mumu pulled the trigger, using the recoil to forcefully change her posture, letting Lin Jiade's sword pass in front of her. Then, Mumu grabbed Lin Jiade's sword-wielding arm, crawled into his arms, and threw him to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw, before quickly immobilizing his joints.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Playing with Fire (Bonus Chapter)

Lin Jiade's head buzzed for a moment, but the enhanced physical strength brought him back to his senses quickly. He tried to resist with brute force, but his joints were immobilized and he couldn't exert any strength. He shouted, "Stop, stop, let me rest for a while."

Then he realized that he was being held in place by the kapok tree. The kapok tree was not using much force at the moment, so his head could move within a limited space.

This pose might be misunderstood... But the feel of these thighs is inexplicably amazing, a feeling I can't get from Jasmine.

The moment he had this thought, he heard the sound of a camera taking pictures. Looking towards the source of the sound, he saw Hehuan standing smiling at the door, with Jasmine leaning on her cane behind her.

Lin Jiade got up quickly. He hadn't done anything, but he felt inexplicably guilty.

Jasmine walked toward him with her cane, and each strike of the cane against the ground felt like a hammer blow to his heart.

The red dragon offspring reached out and touched his arm. He thought she was going to hit him, so he stood still and tensed up. Jasmine simply stroked his skin and asked, "Does it hurt?"

Lin Jiade looked down and saw the crisscrossing marks that the cotton tree had left on his body. He had been fighting so fiercely that he had somehow managed to fight the cotton tree back and forth for a few seconds. At that time, he did not feel any pain in his body.

After that aura dissipated, he looked down at the crisscrossing red marks on his body and grimaced, saying, "Of course it hurts."

Kapok explained, "I'm sorry, but I could feel your progress every time, especially in the last round of attack and defense. That was the first time your attack posed a threat to me, so I unconsciously increased my intensity."

"If I may ask, during the last sword training session, I was about as skilled as Senior Kapok when she was 12 years old. How about now?" Lin Jiade asked.

"12 and a half years old, almost 13."

"How old is Senior Kapok this year?"

"21 is old."

Lin Chia-te joked, "That means after 17 more training sessions, I'll be able to keep up with Senior Kapok."

“As long as it won’t hurt your body,” Jasmine said. “Next time… I won’t come. Seeing you like this, even though I know it’s the inevitable price to pay for improving your strength, I still want to grab Kapok and spank this guy to avenge you.”

"Jasmine, you're so sweet!" Lin Jiade hugged his girlfriend, touched. "When the time is right, let's spank our senior together!"

"Is it really okay for you to be plotting so loudly?" Hehuan asked.

"If you have the strength, I'd probably be pleased to get beaten up," said Kapok. "However, when you attack me, be prepared to get a spanking too."

Everyone laughed. Jasmine and Lin Jiade, Kapok and Albizia went together. At this moment, a cool feeling spread in Lin Jiade's chest. He looked up and saw the gladiolus pasted on the wall in the corner.

So, even the dead can feel lonely? Lin Jiade wondered.

Mu Mian told Lin Jiade to get ready and meet at the club's martial arts classroom at 7 p.m. that evening. Lin Jiade was familiar with the style of the bodysuit-clad weirdo, so he wasn't surprised.

He hadn't prepared much, only entrusting Senior Sister Hehuan to take care of Jasmine. He carried his .45 caliber revolver, magic potions for detecting spells, and talismans for storing longswords with him at all times.

As Kapok went to gather her other companions, she glanced back at Lin Jiade before leaving, tilting her helmet slightly to Lin Jiade's side.

"What's wrong, senior?"

"No, it's nothing." Kapok turned around. "How are things between you and Jasmine?"

"Great."

"Oh, that's good."

Kapok left, and Lin Jiade found the bodysuit-clad weirdo's question baffling. Only Lin Jiade and Jianlan remained. He suggested, "Before entering the Mirror Realm, where shall we go for a stroll?"

Gladiolus retorted, "Do you want to see me in pretty clothes for you?"

“I don’t deny it, but right now, I just want to be with you, madam.”

"Your tone and expression make it sound like you're treating me like that lonely old man in yesterday's TV commercial."

"Your loneliness has been conveyed to me."

"Perhaps there are some, but there's no need to worry about it."

The women Lin Jiade knew, from Du Juan to He Huan, would usually look at him with a sullen expression when they said "it doesn't matter." So Lin Jiade felt that they actually cared a lot and longed for attention.

So he replied, "I don't want you to be alone, ma'am."

"why?"

"Because I know you're not the type to enjoy solitude."

Gladiolus shook her head: "I really wish Jasmine was here right now, stepping on your foot. How pleasant that 'ow' would be."

"Oops, did I say something wrong again?"

"No, you're telling the truth, and the truth is the most hurtful. The connection between the phylactery and the lich has stripped us of our right to privacy."

Gladiolus turned away: "A woman of my age, if I talk about loneliness or anything like that, people will probably laugh at me."

"No, ma'am, you're not old at all. On the contrary, you look stunning, enough to have suitors lining up for blocks. As for loneliness, everyone feels lonely, from children to the elderly. Why laugh at that?"

When you, madam, are lonely, I feel lonely too. So I won't laugh at you; instead, I'll try to cheer you up, and that will make me happy too.

Jianlan looked at Lin Jiade. There was no lust in the young man's eyes, but she would rather he looked at her lecherously, so that she could just laugh it off and accept the young man's good intentions with the superiority of an elder.

So, should she take a step forward and respond to the young man's kindness, or keep her distance to prevent their relationship from sliding into a dangerous abyss?

Gladiolus felt it was her responsibility, as the elder, to set the tone for their relationship, and no one could help her with that. To accept or not to accept, that was the question.

If it's just a little bit, it shouldn't cause him any misunderstanding, right? As long as he doesn't develop a false infatuation with me, I'm perfectly fine. We have a friendship; what kind of thoughts could I possibly have about a child?

Jianlan convinced herself of this, and then she smiled at Lin Jiade. It was a smile she had retrieved from her lost memories, a smile that once belonged to someone else, but now belonged solely to Lin Jiade.

Lin Jiade was captivated by her smile. He scratched his cheek, looked away somewhat embarrassed, glanced at her quickly again, and then looked down.

His shyness satisfied Jianlan's vanity, and she hoped that when she changed into different clothes for him in the future, she could exude an even stronger sense of shyness from him.

Shyness is a safe emotion; it has a flowing desire but doesn't express it, thus limiting the feelings between men and women to an ambiguous distance—playing with fire... but not setting oneself on fire.

At this moment, Jianlan did not realize the contradiction in her heart, because emotions are not a balance scale and cannot maintain a precise equilibrium. When she affirmed Lin Jiade's good intentions towards her, it was tantamount to destroying and plundering Jasmine.

I owe 65 chapters in total, have paid 15, and still owe 50.

Chapter Thirty-Eight Reasons for Admission

"Also, thank you for what happened this afternoon. Without your guidance, I would have been beaten even more badly by Senior Kapok, but my body couldn't keep up with my thoughts, so I wasted ninety percent of your guidance," Lin Jiade said.

"No, I saw the seeds I watered begin to grow. In my opinion, your last few seconds of fighting with the kapok tree were beautiful, and I could feel your furious aura."

That's your true self after you've stripped away kindness and fear of death—pure competitiveness. Remember this feeling, Lin Jiade. Whether you're studying magic or practicing swordsmanship, competitiveness will give you powerful motivation," Jianlan said.

“I get angrier than usual, but it’s bad for my health. Besides, I have a hard time controlling my anger. I can’t get angry when I should…” Lin Jiade scratched his head. “Teach me, Ms. Jianlan. Is there any trick to it?”

Jianlan replied, "I don't understand swordsmanship. I think my magic is all about mid-to-long-range combat. You should ask Mumian about that. Your senior is like family to you and will tell you everything she knows."

"Senior Kapok said that one should hone one's skills and temperament as a swordsman through eight levels of needs, but to be honest, my level is only hovering around the most basic survival needs, and I can't reach the level of a sword saint who uses swordsmanship to express his own needs."

only……"

"Ok?"

Lin Jiade looked puzzled: "I don't understand why Senior Mumian is so good to me. I really don't get it."

"So you two don't have any special relationship, like being old acquaintances or anything?"

Lin Jiade waved his hand: "We only met last month. He's from a big city. What kind of relationship do we have? He's a native of a third-tier city."

However, since you, madam, can read Senior Kapok's energy flow and discern her mood through her gait, could you answer one question for me: Is Senior Kapok male or female?

Gladiolus asked curiously, "You didn't know?"

Lin Jiade looked distressed: "I asked Senior Hehuan, and she only answered 'Kapok is very big.' I've been troubled by what exactly is big about it, and it's even affecting my relationship with Senior Kapok."

"I see. So my answer is the same as your senior, Hehuan: 'The kapok tree is very big.' As for exactly how big it is, you'll have to use your imagination."

"No way, please, Ms. Gladiolus, just tell me."

"First of all, the one-piece latex suit your predecessor wore concealed all detection spells. I couldn't even see the opponent's soul flame, so I couldn't draw an accurate conclusion."

Secondly, I think the mimosa tree has its reasons for keeping the gender of the kapok tree a secret, and it would be somewhat unromantic of me to reveal them.

Besides, does the gender of the kapok tree really affect your relationship with it? What about men, and what about women?

“I… I care a lot about it,” Lin Jiade said. “To put it another way, the way I care about the gender of my seniors is like when you’re a player on the attacking side outside the penalty area after a corner kick in soccer, you always want to kick the ball without stopping it when you see it coming towards you.”

"I don't understand," Jianlan said.

"Let me put it another way. It's like I'm sitting in the living room, starving, looking pitifully at Ms. Jianlan. Would you like to get me something to eat to fill my stomach?"

"I think I understand now. I really don't like it when someone in the family goes hungry. Seeing the joy on your faces when you eat is a compliment to me for cooking."

"Your family is so lucky," Lin Jiade exclaimed.

"I don't know if I should ask, where are your family members?"

Lin Jiade scratched his head: "They're fine, but they work in other places, the kind of place where they go into the mountains and stay for half a year at a time. We talk to each other once a week, but there's not much to say. Our conversations always start with 'I'm fine, everything's fine here, don't worry.'"

This statement contains no information at all, because when I'm on an IV drip, I tell my parents that everything is fine, and they do the same. In order not to worry each other, we lie to each other like this.

I'm planning to visit them next month, but I don't know if I'll be able to see them.

Human loneliness can be categorized. The loneliness that Lin Jiade showed in front of Du Juan was one type, while the loneliness he is now presenting to Jian Lan is another.

Gladiolus understood, more or less, why Lin Jiade accepted these outcasts into his life: it was because his life outside of school was filled with a loneliness that entertainment could not fill.

However, the main reason is that he's a womanizer when it comes to looks. Gladiolus thought to himself. Even if someone possesses inner beauty, without a handsome appearance, he probably wouldn't notice them.

Lin Jiade didn't dare to eat too much before heading to the Mirror Realm that night, but his increased calorie needs after taking three enhancement potions left him speechless as he devoured four bowls of noodles by himself.

"Looking at the boss's expression, it was like he was sending off the heroes of Liangshan. It reminded me of the 'Ordinary World' that my high school teacher assigned us to read, where the brothers Sun Shao-ping and Sun Shao-an ate noodles."