Chapter 119

Song Haowen decisively moved Gu Ziwei’s hand away, explaining that it wouldn’t be good if their classmates saw them like that. Reluctantly, she let go but stopped walking.

He asked what was wrong, and she said, “If you don’t like me, why are you so good to me?” He was taken aback, reached out to touch her head, worried that she was talking nonsense. She didn’t avoid it, letting him touch her forehead, and tears suddenly streamed down her face.

Song Haowen panicked and hurriedly explained, “Senior Sister Gu, you can’t think like that. Our relationship is just a pure friend but a bit better than the usual. You’ve helped me, and we both have been through injuries. Being kind to you is only right, and there’s absolutely no other meaning.”

Gu Ziwei wiped away the tears with the back of her hand, controlled her emotions, and stared at Song Haowen. She said, “I know you already have someone you like. Don’t overthink it. I’m just joking. Don’t take it seriously. We’re just good schoolmates.”

Feeling a strange pang in his heart, Song Haowen thought? Who do I like , Why I don’t know? He forced a smile and said, “Now that you’ve said that, I feel relieved. Okay, it’s getting late. Let’s walk a bit faster.”

Gu Ziwei remained silent, lowered her head, and walked ahead. Song Haowen followed quietly. When they reached the school gate, she looked back at him, her lips twitched, and she forced a smile at him. Then, like a gust of wind, she ran into the school.

Song Haowen sighed and turned around to walk back slowly. It was close to the store, and he arrived within a few minutes. Opening the door, he found Zhu Hongyu and Ren Hua sitting in the living room, silently watching him without saying a word.

His scalp tingled, worried that they might have seen him sending Gu Ziwei. Just as he was about to say something, Ren Hua slammed her hand on the table with a loud “smack,” startling him.

Ren Hua suddenly stood up, pointed a finger at Song Haowen’s nose, and said coldly, “Song Haowen, we treated you like a younger brother, but look at you. You passed the initial exam without telling us, and now you’ve passed the final one without saying a word. Do you still consider us classmates?”

Song Haowen, relieved that it wasn’t about Gu Ziwei, replied, “In my heart, you two are as dear as my second sister. I really consider you both my sisters. You can ask my second sister if I’ve informed her about the graduate entrance exam; I haven’t because I wasn’t sure about the outcome. I’ll let you know once the final results are out to avoid unnecessary excitement.”

Blushing, Zhu Hongyu said, “Even if what you say is true, why hide it from us after you’ve been accepted? Are you afraid we’d be jealous?”

“My dear sisters, the interview took place this afternoon. There’s no way the results would be out so soon. Maybe you misunderstood,” Song Haowen explained.

“Where’s the misunderstanding? This was told to me personally by Teacher Jin before the end of school. She even mentioned that two professors argued over you and caused a commotion in the principal’s office,” Zhu Hongyu said with resentment.

“Ah, there’s such a thing? Did I really get accepted?” Song Haowen couldn’t believe it.

Ren Hua punched him hard in the chest. “Look at how pleased you are! Seeing you like this, you still don’t know you’ve been accepted? Teacher Jin said the acceptance letters will be distributed tomorrow.”

“I really had no idea… This is the first time I’m hearing it from you guys,” Song Haowen chuckled.

Zhu Hongyu also stepped forward and pinched Song Haowen’s cheek, causing him to grimace in pain and shout. Still holding a grudge, she said, “For hiding it from us, you must treat us to a meal!”

“Alright, alright. If the news is true, I will treat you tomorrow. I’ll invite…” Song Haowen hurriedly promised.

“No, we don’t want tomorrow! We want you to treat us now! We haven’t had dinner yet!” Ren Hua insisted, refusing to let it go and demanding an immediate treat.

Song Haowen felt a bit helpless. “My two aunties, it’s almost eleven at night. Where can we find food at this hour?”

“No excuses,” Zhu Hongyu persisted. “You have to figure it out. Anyway, you have to treat us.”

Song Haowen knew he was in the wrong and didn’t dare to argue further. He could only grab one hand of each of them. “Fine, everything will be as you two say. If we can’t find an open restaurant, I’ll go knock on the door of the next one. Even if I have to pay a high price, I’ll make sure they prepare a delicious meal for you two aunties!”

“That’s more like it.” Ren Hua held onto Song Haowen’s arm and gave him a peck on the cheek. “This is my good little brother!”

Zhu Hongyu also smiled and kissed Song Haowen on the other cheek. “Yes, that’s the attitude we want to see when you admit your mistake.”

Song Haowen looked disdainful. “Which one of you looks like a sister? You two are just a pair of female rogues!”

The three of them roamed the streets for an hour but couldn’t find any open restaurants. Even roadside barbecue stalls seemed to have disappeared as if blown away by the wind.

Finally, with no other option, they bought a large bag of pastries from a 24-hour department store and had them with tea. After the two women were satisfied, they went straight to their rooms to rest, no longer bothering Song Haowen with their emotions.

After parting ways with the two women, Song Haowen lay alone on the kang (a heated brick bed), lacking the desire to sleep. Sometimes he thought about the anger of the two women because he hid his postgraduate exam, sometimes he thought about the inexplicable emotions of Gu Ziwei, and the resentful gaze of Zhong Lizhi.

It seemed that having good relationships with women was not always a good thing. To avoid these troublesome thoughts, he had no choice but to get off the kang and practice martial arts to distract himself.

During this time, although Song Haowen rarely had long periods to practice, due to the autonomous circulation of true energy in his meridians, it was equivalent to him practicing all the time.

Unconsciously, his internal strength became stronger, and his martial arts skills became more formidable. However, for now, it seemed that his martial arts had not found a practical application; it could only be considered as enhancing his physical fitness.

Until dawn, Song Haowen still didn’t sleep. Perhaps due to cultivation, he didn’t feel a bit tired and instead felt full of energy. He went to the courtyard and practiced Tai Chi, feeling that his moves were steady and powerful, and a strong wind circled around him.

He thought that if there was another martial arts competition, those five opponents wouldn’t be a match for him.

What surprised Song Haowen even more was that not only did his internal strength increase, allowing him to grab objects from a distance, but his jumping ability also made significant progress. With a light jump, he could reach a height of over a meter. He was confident that, given time, he could refine his lightness skill.

As for how to use true energy for healing, he couldn’t figure it out for the time being, so it wasn’t part of his current considerations.

At that moment, a magpie landed on a tree in the courtyard, less than two meters away from Song Haowen. Suddenly feeling playful, he activated his true energy and sucked the magpie towards him, grabbing it in his hand.

The magpie, confused about how it went from watching the young man dancing on the tree to being in his hand, shivered with fear, staring with its big eyes without daring to struggle.

Finding it amusing, Song Haowen released the magpie, and when it flew about a meter away, he made a gesture, sucking it back into his hand. After three or five attempts, he became more proficient at the skill of grabbing objects from a distance. Unfortunately, no matter how he let go or even tried to shoo it away, the magpie refused to leave.

Song Haowen was happily playing with the magpie when unexpectedly, Ren Hua walked into the courtyard. Seeing a magpie perched on his palm, she couldn’t hide her excitement and rushed over, intending to catch the magpie for play.

However, before her hand could touch its feathers, the magpie suddenly pecked her hand with force, causing her to quickly withdraw her hand, tears welling up. She rubbed her injured hand while scolding the magpie angrily.

Amused, Song Haowen scolded the magpie as well. Seeing its fearful and submissive appearance, he handed it to Ren Hua. However, still a bit scared from the previous peck, she hesitated to reach out.

After repeated persuasion from Song Haowen, she cautiously touched its feathers. Strangely, this time it behaved well, not launching an attack. Instead, it seemed to apologize with a “caw,” making her pleasantly surprised.

Soon after, Zhu Hongyu also arrived in the courtyard and saw the magpie in Ren Hua’s arms. She too was overjoyed and rushed over, eager to snatch the magpie. Ren Hua quickly dodged, exclaiming, “Don’t touch it, be careful of its peck.”

Confused, Zhu Hongyu listened and was puzzled. Song Haowen immediately explained the incident of Ren Hua getting pecked, leaving Zhu Hongyu sweating. However, she couldn’t understand; the magpie seemed to be getting along well with Ren Hua. There was no sign of animosity.

Not only did Zhu Hongyu not understand, but Ren Hua was also puzzled. Both of them stared at Song Haowen, waiting for an explanation. In reality, even Song Haowen didn’t know why.

He speculated that the bird might have been frightened by his internal energy, developing an instinctual fear of him. As for others, it treated them as wild enemies unless he gave it a signal.

Indeed, when Song Haowen handed the magpie to Zhu Hongyu, it didn’t panic or struggle, appearing calm and docile. As Zhu Hongyu played with the magpie and stroked its feathers, she asked where it came from and why it obeyed him so well.

Not wanting to reveal his internal energy skills, Song Haowen intentionally said that the bird was destined to meet him, flying over whenever it saw him. The explanation seemed unbelievable to the two women, but they didn’t know how to refute it.

As the time for school approached, the two women started worrying about how to arrange the magpie. Without a birdcage at home, they couldn’t confine it, but they also couldn’t bear to let it go.

They asked Song Haowen for a solution. Uninterested in keeping a pet bird, he advised them to let it go and give it freedom. Reluctantly, after his repeated urging, they handed the magpie over to him with a hint of reluctance.

He placed it back on the tree, saying, “You’re free now, you can fly away.” However, the magpie stared at him, unmoving on the tree, possibly trying to guess his intentions. Song Haowen didn’t have time to bother with it and left with the two women.

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