Dragon Hermit

“What’s going on here?” Zhao Qiang asked doubtfully after he returned with a tray that had seven cans of pop on it and saw this scene where everyone was on tenterhooks. He looked towards Liu Mo and asserted firmly, “Do you need anything?”

Zhao Qiang and Liu Mo had a similar build, so the mood had become even tenser with two huge, muscular men facing each other. It seemed like a fight would break out at any moment.

“Zhao Qiang, they are here for me,” Xia Yan got up and pulled Zhao Qiang to the side.

Zhao Qiang revealed astonishment on his face as he felt a considerable force pull him aside, even though Xia Yan appeared to have done it pretty lightly. This made him wonder about how strong Xia Yan actually was.

“You’re finally acting like a man now. Letting a woman stand up for you first is pretty pathetic.” Liu Mo raised his chin and looked down from above. As he was taller than Xia Yan, he felt like he had the higher ground and hence adopted such an arrogant attitude.

“I’m just curious about your relationship with Xiao Yuan, that’s all. Did he not tell you anything at all?” Xia Yan couldn’t even summon a little bit of anger and instead asked with a sheepish smile on his face.

“Tell me what?” Xia Yan’s words had stunned Liu Mo as they had indeed made plans to have a meal with Xiao Yuan today, but he was running late.

“Since he hasn’t told you anything, it seems like all of you aren’t that close to him. Are you trying to do all this just to lick his boots?” Xia Yan chuckled.

“Fudge! How dare you try to sow discord among us!” Liu Mo shouted.

The other students had gathered in a circle by now and looked at the bustling scene in high spirits. After all, a fight for a woman wasn’t a common occurrence. One of them exclaimed suddenly, “I remember it now! I saw Xiao Yuan and this freshman at the north gate two days ago. The girl was also present there back then!”

“What did you see? Tell us quickly!”

“They were talking with each other. Although I couldn’t hear them, I saw Xiao Yuan suffer a loss in front of this freshman, and after that, a tall, handsome and rich guy arrived there. Xiao Yuan requested help from this guy, but he got slapped instead. The rich guy then went ahead to fawn on this freshman, and the two of them left the place in his car.”

“Is that really true? Was the development really so dramatic?” Someone expressed their doubt.

“It’s absolutely true! I swear on these 800 degrees’ spectacles of mine!”

“Doesn’t the story sound like a love-triangle?” Another person asked doubtfully.

These people weren’t whispering while they discussed this, so the entire crowd had heard their conversations. The girls gave a knowing smile as they looked at Xia Yan and Xiaoyu when they heard the word ‘love-triangle,’ and this instantly caused Xiaoyu’s face to blush once again.

“Don’t you think this freshman, Xiao Yuan, and that rich guy might actually have some secret relationship between them?” Someone else raised a very ridiculous guess, “Maybe the freshman and the rich guy are a couple, and Xiao Yuan is just the rich guy’s side piece. After the freshman took the fight to Xiao Yuan, the rich guy resolved himself to abandon him and confess to the freshman?”

“In my opinion, Xiao Yuan and the rich guy were a couple, and the freshman is the side piece who is leading in this race!”

“That’s also possible…”

[F•ck!] Xia Yan’s expression darkened as he was left speechless by their vivid imagination. The most important thing was that the people who discussed this were all girls!

(Silavin: Damnnn! My Stomach. Merci!)

BL enthusiasts were really too scary!

Even An Xiaoru and Anna were stunned by their words and thought that perhaps their mindset was still too pure. They thought the so-called ‘love-triangle’ was referring to Xia Yan, Xiaoyu, and Xiao Yuan, but never did they imagine that the discussion was about the three men from the very beginning…

There were no bottom lines or a sense of morality present in them.

Liu Mo’s expression also changed as he realized things weren’t looking good once he had learned of what happened.

[Fu•king shit! Xiao Yuan is indeed someone who racks his head about how to curry favor with the rich kids, and those he fawns on are all bigshots. Just who was the rich guy that slapped him? And why did that rich guy fawn on this freshman? Just who is he?]

Although Liu Mo and Xiao Yuan were friends, their friendship also had other elements like profit mixed into it. It wasn’t a relationship that was based on absolute sincerity and brotherhood. Hence, Liu Mo had to consider retreating just in case the rich guy who even Xiao Yuan didn’t dare to offend had a good relationship with the freshman.

“Oi, just what do you want to do in the end? Let’s settle it all for once. If you wish to fight, let’s go to the drill ground, but if you’re here just to preach, forgive me for not accompanying you then. I have a beauty waiting for me here,” Xia Yan stated as he tapped the table impatiently after noticing the blank look on Liu Mo’s face.

An Xiaoru and Anna glared at him but decided to give him some face in the end and ignored his final words.

However, these words gave a different impression to Liu Mo and the crowd. At present, it really seemed like Xia Yan was defending Xiaoyu, and the girls of their dorm room were all behind him on this too.

[This freshman isn’t that simple!]

Many from the crowd felt this way.

Liu Mo couldn’t come to a decision immediately. If they decided to fight, his side had three muscular sports students, while Xia Yan’s side only had Zhao Qiang, who looked strong. Xia Yan’s build was smaller than theirs, and there was no need to even mention Qin Jian as it would only take a few minutes for them to handle him.

The problem, however, was about the conclusion.

Fights occurred to reach a conclusion, and while most students fought for their passions, a friend of Xiao Yuan wasn’t someone that superficial. Hence, Liu Mo wouldn’t fight unless there were benefits involved in it. Besides, there was also a chance it might even cause harm to him instead.

However, if they left after Xia Yan had said his piece, they would appear no better than losers who ran with their tails tucked between their legs. If that happened, Liu Mo and his friends would become the laughingstock of Sihe University.

Even the crowd could make out Liu Mo’s hesitation, so they immediately began discussing it spiritedly, and a good number of them even mocked Liu Mo and his friends. This made Liu Mo feel very uncomfortable. [I can’t let this freshman scare me since he might just be putting up a show. Anyways, let’s just think about it after the fight ends!]

“All right. Let’s go to the drill ground…” Liu Mo had just begun speaking when someone broke through the crowd to enter inside. It was none other than Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan had his head lowered with a gloomy look on his face. It was clear that he wasn’t in a good mood. When he broke through the crowd and saw the scene before him, his eyes opened wide, his gaze traveling between Xia Yan and Liu Mo. He also gave Xiaoyu a few glances in passing as well.

Any normal person could make out what was going on, and Xiao Yuan was no fool, so he had guessed that Liu Mo and his friends had picked a fight with Xia Yan. Moreover, from Liu Mo’s words, it seemed like this matter was related to him too.

[Liu Mo, you motherfu•ker! You are digging my grave here! Things are over between us now; I don’t know you from now on!]

Xiao Yuan screamed internally. He really didn’t dare to repeatedly offend someone who even Dong Quan treated deferentially and wished he could turn invisible right now so the two of them couldn’t see him.

“Xiao Yuan, you have come at the right time!” But it was already too late now. As Liu Mo was worried about finding a way out of this situation, he immediately called out to Xiao Yuan after seeing him.

Xiao Yuan squeezed out a smile with much difficulty and stepped forward while covering in fear. He didn’t even speak to Liu Mo and instead greeted Xia Yan first, “Hey, Xia Yan. What a coincidence it is to see you here, haha!”

“Are we that close?” Xia Yan shot him a glance and replied indifferently.

[What’s going on?]

Liu Mo and his two friends were stunned by this development. Xiao Yuan had ignored them, his ‘good brothers,’ and instead greeted Xia Yan first. Moreover, he didn’t even get a proper response.

Although Xiao Yuan acted subservient in front of Dong Quan, in the eyes of average university students like Liu Mo, he was someone who mingled with people from the high society. He was respected by a lot of people and was considered an influential figure on the campus. However, such a person had got ignored.

Therefore, Liu Mo and his friends, and even a lot of students from the crowd who recognized Xiao Yuan were feeling astonished right now.

Xiao Yuan’s face flushed up in embarrassment, and even though he felt angry, he didn’t dare to reveal it on his face. He could only smile humbly and look towards Xiaoyu, who, in response, turned her head away and refused to even meet his gaze. Anna, An Xiaoru, and Wang Yi also glared at him together.

“Xia Yuan, it’s good that you are here now. Zhang Xiaoyu is two-timing on you with this guy!” Liu Mo called out to Xiao Yuan and pointed towards Xia Yan. As things had already reached this stage, he had to grit his teeth and continue down this path, or else, his reputation would be in shambles.

“Who’s Zhang Xiaoyu? I don’t know such a person!” Xiao Yuan glared at Liu Mo in anger and wished he could give a good hard kick to him.

“Zhang Xiaoyu, she’s your girlfriend!” Liu Mo and his friends were all stupefied. [What do you mean? Weren’t you bragging to us that Zhang Xiaoyu will be in your hands just a few days ago? How come you’re refusing to even recognize her now?]

“I don’t have a girlfriend!” Xiao Yuan stated decisively.

[F•ck you, Liu Mo. Since you dug a grave for me just now, I’ll just do the same to you.]

“But didn’t you say before that…” Liu Mo had already realized that situation had taken the worst turn possible.

“I never told you anything!” Xiao Yuan interrupted him and said firmly, “Excuse me now since I have something to do, so I’ll be leaving first!”

Saying so, he showed no hesitation to break through the crowd and leave the dining hall.

[Awesome!]

The series of developments had really thrilled the crowd. It was a really complicated episode with plenty of plot twists. It didn’t just have a love-triangle and bromance but also depicted the end of a friendship and a brother’s betrayal. It was as good as watching a feature-length movie.

The students already had their smartphones up right now. Some of them were filming the scene while some were taking pictures, and there was also someone who was broadcasting it live to the forum.

Liu Mo’s heart filled with grief and anger as the situation was totally out of his control now. Even he was at a loss about how to end things.

“Hey, are we going to the drill ground or not?” Xia Yan wasn’t planning to let this vulgar-mouthed guy go that easily.

“We are!” Liu Mo had no way out of this as it was impossible for him to act scared in front of so many people.

Once the group started to move, the onlookers acted as well. Calling whoever they knew to watch a wonderful show.

“Hey, rush to the drill ground right now. Someone’s going to duel there!”

“Dear, come see a duel with me… You aren’t interested? What if I told you it’s for a woman? Yep, at the ground. Make it there fast!”

☠☠☠

The students took out their phones to call their friends and lovers excitedly. A duel was an exciting event that couldn’t be missed at all costs.

In a moment, several threads had appeared on Sihe University’s forum. They were all similar ones that disseminated this news to the public. Many users were already paying attention to the trending live broadcast thread. After the information about the duel appeared on the forums, it caused a stir among the students who were wasting time idly. A lot of them rushed out of their dorms and gathered at the ground.

Both Xia Yan and Liu Mo were shocked by the scene before their eyes when they appeared at the ground. Hundreds of students had gathered up here with lively, gloating looks on their faces. Even though the summer heat was still going strong, a few of them had arrived with packs of melon seeds and water bottles in hand to look at the duel.

“Fudge! This is too savage!” Zhao Qiang and Qin Jian were dumbstruck too.

At this time, An Xiaoru pulled Xia Yan’s arm lightly and whispered to him, “Xia Yan, you must not fight. The military training is still ongoing, so there’s a chance that this matter will blow up, and you might end up receiving a demerit and get punished!”

“Yeah. There are too many people here, so you absolutely must not fight, or else, the administration will punish you pretty harshly once they learn of it!” Anna also added in.

“Cousin…” Xiaoyu looked at Xia Yan with worry.

Xia Yan also knew that things didn’t look good right now. He supposed that the administration would make an example out of him if he did fight here, so it would be hard for him to escape with a lenient punishment.

But if he didn’t fight, the moniker of ‘scaredy-cat’ would get stuck with him for four years, and he would become the target of ridicule on the campus.

“Let’s fight, or else that brat will think we are afraid of him!” Zhao Qiang shouted. Qin Jian, on the other hand, hesitated a bit. It wasn’t a good thing to become the subject of disciplinary action as that would be recorded on file.

On the other end, Liu Mo and his friends were also panicking right now as even they had guessed the consequences of fighting here. They were all in their third year, so having a disciplinary remark against them would affect them pretty severely.

[I can’t let such a guy sully my records with disciplinary remarks!] Xia Yan began chanting a spell in a low voice, [Might as well give the moniker of ‘scaredy-cat’ to this Liu Mo then.]