NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 26: If You Look Down on Him, How Could He Ever Look Up to You?
Chapter 26: If You Look Down on Him, How Could He Ever Look Up to You?
For a moment, the atmosphere in the Chen family's great hall grew somewhat stifling.
"Why aren’t you speaking? Have you not understood that you should retreat now that I’ve been so clear?" Lu Ying frowned and asked.
Chen Zhixing remained silent for a while, then took a deep breath and asked, “Miss Lu, I’m curious about what makes you think I must be interested in you and that you are the only one?”
Lu Ying responded calmly, “If you weren’t interested in me, would you have asked the Chen family to find my father and propose a match between us? If you weren’t interested, how would you know I like osmanthus cakes and specifically bought them to see me?”
At this, the middle-aged man in plain clothes stood up in anger, his face red. "Lu Ying, the matter of you and Zhixing becoming partners was initiated by me approaching the Chen family head. I had to persuade him before he agreed to introduce you to Zhixing. Before that, Zhixing didn’t even know who you were!"
At once, Lu Ying’s face turned pale, overwhelmed by a surge of intense embarrassment and awkwardness. Before she could react, a soft, regal female voice came from outside the hall.
"Miss Lu, I believe you are mistaken. This osmanthus cake should be for me."
A flawlessly beautiful woman in white walked into the great hall.
Chen Zhixing turned to face her, a warm smile appearing on his face. He stood and moved past Lu Ying to stand before the woman in white.
He didn’t even glance at Lu Ying.
"Yue'er, you’ve arrived," Chen Zhixing said as he handed the osmanthus cake to Mo Qingyue.
"Little Zhixing, you’ve grown taller, and you’re now as tall as me," Mo Qingyue said, taking the osmanthus cake with a smile.
She then looked at the now pale Lu Ying and said gently, "Miss Lu, you continuously belittle Zhixing. Have you ever considered that he would never look up to you?"
The words hit hard.
Lu Ying’s face grew even paler, and she stood frozen in the center of the hall, feeling like countless eyes were on her, mocking her as if she were a clown.
Chen Zhixing ignored her, instead turning his gaze to Chen Daoyan. “Master, is there anything else? If not, I’ll be leaving now.”
Chen Daoyan nodded. "No major matters. Just remember that in a few days, the family will hold the Southern Border Trial to prepare for next month’s Eastern Xuan Domain competition. All Chen family members will participate, so don’t forget.
And also, Zhaosheng has returned from the Qianyang Academy. He will also participate in this trial and the Eastern Xuan Domain competition. If you want, you could go pick him up. Actually, forget it, you probably won’t go. Just head back."
Chen Daoyan sighed, feeling a headache coming on from the constant conflicts between Chen Zhaosheng and Chen Zhixing.
"Alright, I’ll take my leave then."
Chen Zhixing cupped his hands in respect to Chen Daoyan and then left with Mo Qingyue.
Throughout, neither of them glanced at Lu Ying again.
Watching their departing figures, Chen Daoyan patted Lu Yuan’s shoulder and sighed, "Lu brother, your daughter is rather misguided!"
Lu Yuan forced a smile. "Well, it seems the two don’t have fate with each other."
Chen Daoyan shook his head, knowing that Lu Yuan still thought this was simply a failed marriage alliance and didn’t realize what he had missed out on. Of course, he chose not to mention this.
Lu Ying could become Chen Zhixing’s partner, which he would support. If it couldn’t happen, he wouldn’t mind either.
"By the way, Daoyan, the Zhaosheng you mentioned, is he the prodigy with the Nine Ancient Patterns?" Lu Yuan asked suddenly.
"Yes, that’s right. Why do you ask?" Chen Daoyan was surprised.
"Well, how about letting my daughter meet Zhaosheng? They’re both young and might find common ground," Lu Yuan suggested.
"Alright, let’s go pick up Zhaosheng together."
In the great hall.
Lu Ying, who had been pale, brightened slightly at the keywords 'prodigy' and 'Nine Ancient Patterns'.
On the mountain path to the Third Peak, Chen Zhixing and Mo Qingyue walked ahead, with LuoLuo following closely behind.
"Little Zhixing, it’s been a year since we last met, hasn’t it?" Mo Qingyue smiled.
"Yes, Yue’er, you look even better," Chen Zhixing responded with a smile.
"Flatterer!" Mo Qingyue playfully glared at Chen Zhixing, then couldn’t help but smile.
"You always know how to make me happy."
As they continued chatting, they walked toward the Third Peak.
"Yue’er, how’s the reconstruction of the Jia family going?" Chen Zhixing asked casually.
"Not too bad," Mo Qingyue replied, then narrowed her beautiful eyes and added, "During the process, I found I still have much to learn about cultivation. I came back specifically to consult with you."
Mo Qingyue glanced at Chen Zhixing, remembering that years ago, she had discovered his exceptional insight. Even problems she faced in cultivation, he could solve effortlessly.
This impressed her greatly.
Later, she often used the excuse of 'reconstructing the Jia family and needing help' to test Chen Zhixing’s limits, hoping to understand where his true boundaries lay.
This time, she returned from the Heavenly Saint Palace with the hope of seeing if Chen Zhixing could solve a problem that even a renowned elder of the Heavenly Saint Palace couldn’t.
After all, that elder was famous in the cultivation world and known as a master of arts and techniques!
"Alright, Yue’er, just go ahead and ask," Chen Zhixing said without hesitation.
"Great! Little Zhixing, I’ll be frank then!"
They arrived at a cliff on the Third Peak.
Mo Qingyue began demonstrating the Burning Sky Technique, a fundamental but significantly weakened version of the technique.
To ensure Chen Zhixing could see clearly, she displayed the operation of the Burning Sky Technique.
Faint lights appeared around Mo Qingyue and moved through her body’s channels, forming a complex and intricate operation pattern.
Finally, these lights gathered in her palm, forming a blazing black flame.
"How is it? Can you see any issues?"
Mo Qingyue looked at Chen Zhixing, concerned that the complex operation of the Burning Sky Technique might be too challenging for him to resolve.
"This seems easy but is actually quite difficult."
"Shall I demonstrate a few more times to make it clearer..."
Before she could finish, a flame identical to Mo Qingyue’s appeared in Chen Zhixing’s hand.
"Ah?"
Mo Qingyue’s eyes widened in surprise, momentarily stunned.
In the next moment, Chen Zhixing furrowed his brow and pondered, "There’s an issue with one of the nodes in the technique’s structure."
At once, Mo Qingyue’s heart jolted.