After admiring his sister’s athletic figure, Lin Lue was satisfied.
She had both strength and speed—double A’s, you could say.
She shouldn’t have to worry about school bullying.
Lin Lue no longer had a reason to linger.
He let Yuexue lead him by the hand to… another school playground?
It was empty and quiet.
The playground was large, with only the two of them.
Stepping onto the sun-drenched running track, Yuexue suddenly stopped and released her tight grip on his wrist.
Lin Lue glanced at his wrist.
The finger marks were clear.
‘A witch’s physical prowess is truly formidable.’
‘She could probably lift me with one hand, pin me against a wall, and even… well, do whatever she wanted, and I wouldn’t be able to resist.’
Lin Lue looked around, not quite understanding.
“Miss Yuexue, what are you…”
Seeing his confusion, Yuexue’s eyes flickered.
She raised a hand to her impressive chest.
“Watch me closely.”
Lin Lue’s confusion deepened.
He watched as Yuexue slowly bent over and reached down to remove the beautiful red high heels from her feet.
Her fair, jade-like soles touched the sun-warmed asphalt of the track.
Golden light fell upon her exquisitely beautiful face, softening her striking features, making her exceptionally captivating.
A playful breeze tugged at her form-fitting red cheongsam, outlining her graceful, alluring figure even more distinctly.
Every curve was perfectly beautiful.
She bent over, placed her hands on the grass, and looked toward the high jump bar ahead.
Lin Lue seemed to understand something.
The next second, she shot forward like an arrow from a bow, leaving a trail of red and gold.
With force, she leaped.
Without any magic enhancement, relying solely on her physical strength, she flew over the high jump bar—a full five meters high—as effortlessly as a fluttering butterfly.
Lin Lue’s expression turned odd.
This Great Witch seemed to be… competing with someone.
Yuexue didn’t land on the soft mat below.
Instead, she elegantly flipped several times in the air, landing as lightly and silently as a feather.
Her toes touched the mat.
Standing gracefully, she smoothed a few stray strands of hair and walked step by step to stand before Lin Lue.
She looked at him quietly, twirling a lock of hair by her ear, her tone flat.
“Well?”
Lin Lue detected the expectation in her voice.
This aloof Great Witch before him, who seemed indifferent, had eyes that sparkled brightly.
She was clearly waiting for his… praise.
Lin Lue laughed inwardly.
‘Wait, Lin Xue’er is my sister. Yuexue is a guest. So… why is she getting competitive?’
Lin Lue kept his smile on the surface, raising his hands to clap, offering sincere praise.
“Very impressive. The way you cleared the bar just now was so beautiful it left me speechless, Miss Yuexue.”
Lin Lue lavished her with praise, giving her plenty of emotional validation.
Yuexue’s face still showed no obvious expression.
She gave a slight nod.
“Naturally.”
But Lin Lue clearly caught it—the tiny upward curve at the corner of her lips, and her chest puffing out just a little.
Like a proud cat receiving praise.
Lin Lue smiled warmly and continued praising.
Even the proudest cat would become soft and meow under his professional grooming techniques.
Yuexue then proceeded to do the fifty-meter dash, the eight-hundred-meter run, shot put, and other sports.
Everything Lin Xue’er had done, she did them all.
Better.
More excellent.
After all, the physical prowess of a Great Witch made these activities a complete mismatch.
The wind from her serious running could probably knock Lin Lue over.
Lin Lue kept smiling on the outside, but inside he wept with sorrow.
‘I’m too weak. Those jade-like legs of hers could probably break my waist if she hooked them around me.’
After all the exercise, Yuexue hadn’t broken a sweat.
Her breathing hadn’t changed at all.
She didn’t need water handed to her by others, nor did she need irrelevant admiration.
She looked at Lin Lue’s focused gaze, his eyes full of only her.
This was what she wanted.
Was she… more excellent than Lin Xue’er?
Of course.
After all, she was a Great Witch—powerful, athletically gifted.
The two opposing magical elements of ice and fire surged and intertwined behind her.
They coalesced into an Ice Throne, with inner flames burning, perfectly fused, breathtakingly beautiful.
Yuexue lazily took her seat, crossing her long legs elegantly.
The tip of her foot swayed gently, once, twice, as if unintentionally, slowly coming to rest on Lin Lue’s knee.
“I’m a little tired, Lin Lue.”
Yuexue didn’t say more, but her hand went to her chest and pulled out another thick stack of bills.
Yuexue looked at him seriously.
“Lin Lue, I have money. Lots and lots of money.”
And he needed money.
So, humor her, accompany her.
“Lin Lue, you… eek!”
Before she could finish, Lin Lue had already understood.
‘This is too twisted. She wants sincerity, but she’s afraid he won’t be sincere, so she uses money to buy sincerity…’
‘This Yuexue is even more twisted than Molly.’
But Lin Lue liked it.
If the money was right, forget sincerity—he’d even wash her underwear for her.
Money was waving at him.
Lin Lue never let it down.
So, without the slightest hesitation, he went down on one knee.
The motion was natural, as if he’d done it a thousand times before.
He raised a hand, and as if by magic, a pair of red high heels appeared in his arms—the very ones Yuexue had worn earlier.
He took Yuexue’s slender, pale ankle in his hand.
His touch was gentle, careful, as if handling the world’s most precious treasure, slowly sliding her foot into the shoe.
Her sole… was so hot…
The warmth of his palm felt, to her, even more intense than the sun-baked track.
It made her legs feel weak and limp.
Yuexue looked down, staring blankly at the man kneeling on one knee before her, his expression so focused.
An alluring blush spread rapidly from her cheeks down to her neck.
She instinctively thought of her partner, Molly.
Molly’s gentle, moving face appeared clearly in her mind.
But in just an instant, Molly’s image began to blur.
Replaced by Lin Lue’s focused face before her.
He was staring at her foot.
Very, very intently.
A strange sense of shyness rose in her heart.
Her toes subconsciously curled.
It wasn’t that Molly wasn’t good enough.
It was just that, in this moment, she clearly realized that this person before her seemed to make her heart flutter more easily.
Yuexue shook her head violently.
‘No, what am I thinking?’
‘She couldn’t. She mustn’t betray Molly.’
Yuexue looked again at the money in her hand…
Right, that was it.
She was just using money to buy his service.
There was no emotional exchange involved.
“…”
After Lin Lue finished putting on her high heels, Yuexue didn’t pull him away.
Instead…
She repeated the whole process from before.
Continuously demonstrating her physical prowess.
Short run, long run, shot put…
And each time before she started, she would proactively take off her high heels.
After finishing, she would stand quietly in place, waiting for Lin Lue to personally put them back on for her.
Lin Lue was numb.
But fortunately, Yuexue paid well.
Yuexue used the Spending Money Tactic!
Lin Lue:
‘What a masterful move!’
‘Extremely effective!’
And also…
[Ice Affinity +3]
[Fire Affinity +3]
[Magic Power Points +20]
Lin Lue sighed.
A win-win.
He won twice.
Yuexue seemed to have had enough fun.
Once again, she tightly grasped Lin Lue’s hand and left the school.
They walked down the street.
Looking at the strong, proactive Yuexue, so flamboyant and proud, Lin Lue felt her aura was completely out of place in the Lower District.
It was too obvious.
The dirty, chaotic Lower District could hardly nurture such a beautiful flower.
Beautiful things always attracted the gaze of those lurking in the shadows.
Lin Lue could sense several greedy gazes from the shadows of the alleyways converging on them—more accurately, on Yuexue.
Clearly, they wanted to pull off a big score.
Yuexue must have noticed too. After all, she was a Great Witch.
There was no reason she wouldn’t sense such malice.
But she didn’t say anything.
What did it mean?
Lin Lue suddenly noticed the slight upward curve of Yuexue’s lips and a certain anticipation, a readiness for action, in her eyes…
Lin Lue understood.
She hoped some clueless fools would pick a fight, so she could put on a show of force in front of him.
The hero saving the beauty might be an old trope, but it always worked well.
‘So she’s trying to flip it and raise my Affection Level, huh?’
‘How oddly childish.’