Chapter Thirty-One: Eccentric

Facing Yan Xue’s sigh, Kang Ge grinned brilliantly. “Of course! Even an old hunter can’t outwit a clever fox!”

“What are you talking about? It’s supposed to be an old fox can’t outwit a good hunter!” Yan Xue corrected him, half exasperated, half amused.

“The fox is a crucial part of the food chain. Whether the hunter is certified, or even hunting for the right reasons, who’s to say? So the matter of good and evil here is open to debate!” Kang Ge replied, dead serious in his nonsense. “Besides, you said that’s how it ‘should’ be said. But I’m Ge Ge.”

Yan Xue shivered as if she’d caught a chill, rolling her eyes at him in utter disbelief.

Kang Ge burst out laughing, but then abruptly changed the subject. “By the way, didn’t you say before that you, like Gao Yang, grew up with your parents constantly comparing you to others, always being forced to compete? How did you handle it? Were you the same as him?”

“Not at all.” The stands were empty and the night shrouded them in privacy, so Yan Xue rolled her eyes without reserve. “If they want to see me as a rival, that’s their business. To me, it was just like a swarm of flies buzzing around—annoying, but nothing more. If I let it get to me, just the fact that I, a girl, wanted to become a detective would’ve been enough to get me chewed up by their gossip!”

She really couldn’t be blamed for reacting that way. If everyone’s life came with a limited supply of good fortune, then she’d clearly spent all her points on other options and run dry when it came time to pick “relatives.”

She was smart enough, decent-looking, not born to wealth but never lacking food or stability. Her parents were gentle, kind-hearted and mild-tempered, showering her with love and freedom all her life.

Unfortunately, kindness invites bullying. Because both her father and mother were soft as dough and valued harmony above all, they became the easy targets among the relatives—like a little white rabbit or a piece of sacrificial meat.

Whenever there was a bargain to be had, the relatives flocked to take advantage. Even after getting what they wanted, they’d act superior, always trying to put her parents down. Soft-hearted and sentimental, her parents swallowed every grievance, never fighting back. In the end, their daughter, who’d once been lively and outgoing, was forced to become a fiery little pepper, standing up for her parents when she could bear it no longer.

“With your fighting spirit, I’d say a bit of idle gossip is nothing you can’t handle!” Kang Ge declared confidently.

“Oh, you know all about my fighting spirit?” Yan Xue teased. She did have quite a reputation in the team, but Kang Ge had only recently transferred back and they’d barely interacted before. Unless someone had spilled the beans… “Did Xia Qing tell you something about me?”

“Who needs to hear it from anyone else? I witnessed it with my own eyes!” Kang Ge held up two fingers, gesturing from his eyes to Yan Xue’s face. “You probably don’t realize, but before we ever officially met, I’d already seen your fighting spirit in action!

“I remember—it was at a restaurant. It looked like you were on a blind date, and things weren’t going well. In fact, it looked like things were going very badly, so you taught the guy a lesson. Am I right?”

Yan Xue rubbed her forehead. She remembered the incident well—it was the only blind date she’d been dragged to in ages, and just as Kang Ge described, it ended with her fuming and walking out.

The match had been arranged by one of her aunts, whom Yan Xue had never liked. That aunt was the type who’d pluck the wings off any fly that buzzed past, lest she miss out on some advantage. So whatever suitor she’d lined up couldn’t possibly have been chosen for Yan Xue’s sake, only for her own benefit.

Living in W City, Yan Xue had managed to dodge a few setups, claiming she was busy with work, which was true. But her parents had no way to fend off her aunt’s relentless pressure and emotional manipulations, so in the end, they could only urge Yan Xue to go along for the sake of peace. Knowing her parents couldn’t withstand such an onslaught, Yan Xue reluctantly agreed.

She thought she’d just go through the motions, politely express her lack of interest, and everyone could part ways with their dignity intact. But, as it turned out, a suitor chosen by someone so unlikable could only be equally unlikable.

Yan Xue discovered immediately that her aunt had lied about his age—he was a full decade older than her. His looks were unremarkable, which was no big deal, but what really grated was his inexplicable sense of superiority and his warped way of thinking.

Despite holding an ordinary job, being utterly forgettable in a crowd, and lacking any remarkable talents or skills, his tongue was sharp and he completely ignored Yan Xue’s coldness, maintaining an air of lofty condescension.

He opened with a grand speech about “the traditional virtues of women,” extolling the virtues of domesticity and singing the praises of women who supported their husbands and raised children. Then he launched into a critique of modern women, claiming that those who were too ambitious or demanded too much status created instability in families and society. Women, he argued, were less competitive than men in every way and should return to the home.

Yan Xue resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Normally, she’d have walked out on such a ridiculous person without a second thought. But her aunt had her parents over a barrel, and she wanted to secure a “mutually uninterested, amicable” outcome. So she gritted her teeth, enduring his drivel while planning how best to respond.

When the man finally finished expounding his views on marriage, Yan Xue calmly explained her own philosophy, hoping he’d realize just how incompatible they were.

But her date, with his overblown sense of competition and chauvinism, instantly transformed from “potential match” to “debate opponent.” He criticized her “erroneous views” with great righteousness, then listed how his ex-girlfriends were all paragons of virtue—yet, even they were not good enough for him, so the relationships didn’t last.

To top it off, he declared that if the matchmaker hadn’t told him Yan Xue’s parents were honest, well-off, and she was an only child with no burdens, he’d never have wasted his time on a female police officer—a woman with such a rough job, incapable of managing a household.

If Yan Xue had managed to hold her tongue before, this was the last straw. If she’d stayed silent any longer, she’d have betrayed all the years she’d spent honing her sharp wit and temper among eccentric relatives.

She slammed her hand on the table, startling her loquacious date into silence. He stared at her, speechless, his words caught in his throat.

In the hush that followed, the man never got another chance to speak. Yan Xue, having held back for so long, let loose with an unflinching barrage. Her tone was severe, her words swift and sharp. Though she didn’t use a single curse or personal insult, every sentence struck home, puncturing his arrogant male pride until he went from flushed red to pale, and finally to a furious purple.

Yan Xue’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, but the restaurant wasn’t big, and there were no walls or even curtains between tables. Judging by the faces around them, the nearby diners had already heard enough during his endless monologue, and clearly didn’t agree with his opinions. Now, as Yan Xue put him in his place with righteous eloquence, applause and stifled laughter broke out from a neighboring booth.

This only drove her date into a rage. He glared at her, grinding his teeth, and hinted darkly that she’d better show him some respect. After all, they both lived in W City—if things turned sour, it wouldn’t be good for anyone, especially her. If her reputation suffered, she’d have only herself to blame.

Yan Xue remembered she’d just laughed and told him, with that mouth of his, it wouldn’t be surprising if one day a woman gave him a black eye—and in his chauvinist circles, that would be the end of him.

Of course, she’d never really lay a finger on someone like that. Aside from professional discipline, she simply didn’t care enough. Encountering such a person was like stepping in dog dirt on the street—you’d wrinkle your nose and move on, not poke at it with a stick just because it was offensive. Why make yourself suffer further?

Still, she wasn’t about to back down. If she didn’t stand up to him after being threatened, it wouldn’t be true to her character.

That ill-fated blind date ended with her suitor storming out, face like thunder, not even offering to split the bill. Yan Xue was left with nothing but an hour wasted and the cost of a meal, simmering with frustration. Later, when her aunt called to scold her for her poor performance, the conversation ended just as badly.

After that, the matter was never mentioned again. In fact, thanks to her feisty response—widely exaggerated by her aunt among the relatives—she finally gained the peace she’d hoped for. No one dared set her up on another blind date.

So Yan Xue never imagined that such a trivial episode would have come to Kang Ge’s attention.