All have been trained.

In truth, even Mu Qingxi herself didn’t know when she had become so quick to anger, and only towards Bai Fanhao at that. She couldn’t say exactly what she was angry about—was it because they had been driven away from her own home, or because Bai Fanhao had told her to go to bed, or perhaps something else entirely.

All she knew was that she was extremely unhappy.

Mu Qingxi stood in the room, fuming, her eyes fixed on the spot where Bai Fanhao had just been lying. Bai Fanhao, seeing her lost in a daze, waved his hand vigorously in front of her eyes and called out, “Hey, Mumu, what’s wrong? Mumu?”

Startled, Mu Qingxi snapped back to herself and looked at Bai Fanhao, whose hand was still raised, with some confusion. “What are you doing, Bai Fanhao? Go to bed. I’m going back to my room.”

She turned to leave, almost as if fleeing, but just as she reached the doorway, Bai Fanhao called her back. “Mumu, I want you to give me an answer.”

She knew exactly what he wanted to know—whether there was a possibility between them, whether she could give him a chance. But she didn’t know what she herself felt; she had never considered anything between her and Bai Fanhao.

She stopped in her tracks, not turning around, and simply said, “Fanhao, right now we’re just friends.”

Bai Fanhao forced a smile. “Mumu.”

Mu Qingxi hurried to end the conversation. “Alright, Fanhao, we have class tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

Though his lips still held a smile at her words, the stiffness in his expression betrayed his disappointment. He was just putting on a brave face.

He wasn’t defeated yet, but since it was such a rare opportunity to spend time together, he didn’t want Mu Qingxi to leave so soon. So he abruptly changed the subject: “Mumu, you know martial arts.”

It was a simple statement, but he still needed confirmation. He wanted to hear it from her own mouth, to know her better.

Mu Qingxi met his gaze. “Yes, I’ve practiced taekwondo since I was a child. I’ll be testing for my black belt in May.”

“Black belt? That’s impressive,” Bai Fanhao exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.

Mu Qingxi’s spirits lifted at once. “Not yet, but there’s only a few months to go before the exam. I noticed you practice as well—was it grappling and combat?”

Bai Fanhao smiled. “Yes, I trained for a year, but I’m not very good. In an emergency, I couldn’t even protect myself, let alone the people I want to protect. It seems I need to train harder.”

For some reason, seeing Bai Fanhao’s self-deprecating smile made Mu Qingxi feel a pang of sadness. She offered words of comfort. “It wasn’t like that. Today, that guy called San’er hid himself too well, and we were in such a hurry we didn’t pay attention to our surroundings—our guard was down. It won’t happen again.”

Bai Fanhao knew she was trying to reassure both him and herself, but what she said made sense. If they hadn’t been in such a rush, they wouldn’t have fallen for it.

“You’re right. Normally, nobody would be a match for the two of us!” Bai Fanhao laughed heartily.

Mu Qingxi burst out laughing as well. “Look at you, making jokes now! I guess you really are alright—not hurt at all.”

She noticed Bai Fanhao pause at her words, then break into another laugh. The two of them laughed freely, without restraint.

Just as their laughter echoed through the house, a voice sounded at the doorway, “Sis, what are you two doing up in the middle of the night? If Mom hears you, she’ll come out and finish you off!”

At the sound, Mu Qingxi and Bai Fanhao abruptly stopped laughing and turned to see Mu Qingyang standing at the door. Exchanging glances, they both thought, “He’s right. Laughing like this in the middle of the night is pretty unsettling.”

They both nodded in unison and turned away.