"Nuannuan."
A familiar voice called out.
Xia Nuannuan's face lit up with joy, and her eager gaze immediately followed the sound.
The boy beside her frowned at the arrival and also looked over.
Qin Tian directly ignored the boy, his handsome face adorned with a refreshing smile, and walked unhurriedly towards Xia Nuannuan.
"How long have you been here?"
"About ten minutes!"
Xia Nuannuan replied with a sweet smile.
Then she suddenly remembered something, glanced at the boy beside her, and quickly opened her mouth as if to say something, but saw Qin Tian raise his hand to interrupt her.
"No need to say anything, let's go, we're continuing our run."
"Okay!"
Xia Nuannuan nodded obediently, her smile blooming like a flower, and quickly trotted in front of him.
This feeling of being completely trusted, with nothing to explain, filled her heart with indescribable happiness and satisfaction.
Completely treated as a background prop by the two of them, Liang Xing's expression turned quite unpleasant.
"Who the hell are you!"
Boys of this age often began by bringing up the other person's family.
Liang Xing was undoubtedly one of them.
This might have just been an outburst of anger and harsh words, not quite vulgar curses.
But Qin Tian wouldn't tolerate such a foolish person inexplicably talking tough to him.
The smile vanished from his face, and he looked over expressionlessly.
"My daddy!"
After a moment of silence, Qin Tian retorted in the dialect of the Qilu region.
This popular internet meme, which had gone viral on short video platforms in later generations, made both Liang Xing and Xia Nuannuan freeze for a moment, their eyes looking confused.
After a few seconds of thought, Liang Xing finally understood.
His face filled with rage, he roared at Qin Tian:
"You dare to curse me."
"You're the one who asked who I was, and I question if you actually understood?"
Qin Tian shrugged, looking at him as if he were an idiot.
The contemptuous gaze, coupled with an attitude that had never taken him seriously from beginning to end, completely ignited Liang Xing's hot-blooded nature.
"Damn!"
With red eyes, he let out a curse, clenched his fists, and strode towards Qin Tian, about to make a move.
"What are you doing..."
Xia Nuannuan cried out in alarm, instinctively moving to shield Qin Tian.
Qin Tian directly reached out and pressed her shoulder. Seeing her confused gaze, he said seriously, "Have you forgotten what happened after we went to the internet cafe last time so quickly?"
Xia Nuannuan was startled by his words. She immediately recalled Qin Tian's powerful and handsome figure as he single-handedly took down that group of street youths.
"Step back!"
"Okay!"
Xia Nuannuan, like an obedient wife, obediently took a step back and then anxiously reminded him,
"Qin Tian, this is a school, you can't fight!"
"Don't worry, I've got this!"
Qin Tian smiled calmly, his playful gaze fixed on Liang Xing, who had now approached him.
"What the hell are you pretending to be!"
Liang Xing felt insulted by his gaze again. In a fit of rage, he threw a punch directly at Qin Tian's face without holding back.
"Be careful!"
Xia Nuannuan cried out.
The next second, she saw Liang Xing's fist being effortlessly caught by Qin Tian.
Liang Xing also froze for a moment and tried to pull his clenched right fist back with force.
However, he felt as if his fist was trapped in a vise, completely unmoving.
"Haven't had dinner yet, not enough strength!"
Qin Tian slightly lowered his right hand, which was holding his fist, and revealed a harmless smile.
This smile, however, sent an inexplicable shiver down Liang Xing's spine.
"Damn, if you have the guts, let me go!"
Liang Xing, while maintaining a facade of composure, continued to bluster.
"Let you go? Alright, here you go!"
Qin Tian grinned and pushed his right hand forward with force.
Before Liang Xing could react, he felt a tremendous pushing force transmitted from his arm.
His expression changed drastically, and he staggered backward with a surprised cry.
In the astonished eyes of Xia Nuannuan and the surrounding onlookers, Liang Xing, like a rambunctious child who accidentally bumped into a strong man's leg, fell backward onto his behind.
Liang Xing was also stunned.
His backside made intimate contact with the plastic track, but it didn't hurt much.
However, at this moment, the damage to his spirit was severe.
It was akin to a rookie entering the martial world in a movie, furiously throwing a flurry of unskilled punches at a true master.
The master wouldn't dodge, just stand there quietly, watching the rookie's futile attempts that couldn't break his defense, and then, with a yawn, casually swat him into the wall, making him impossible to retrieve.
The power levels were simply not on the same plane!
"Nuannuan, this doesn't count as fighting, does it?"
Qin Tian asked Xia Nuannuan with a smile.
Xia Nuannuan nodded blankly, and then, as if struck by a sudden bout of amusement, let out a giggle.
This bell-like laughter brought Liang Xing back from his shock.
His slightly immature face was flushed red with shame and anger. He nimbly got up from the ground, glaring at Qin Tian:
"You wait, I'm not done with you. If you have the guts, don't leave the school gate."
After uttering this common threat, he turned and fled as if pursued.
He had realized the gap in their abilities and knew he couldn't defeat this guy in a one-on-one fight.
Moreover, many people had already stopped to watch, which was incredibly embarrassing.
A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him; it's best to retreat for now.
Qin Tian didn't take his threat to heart at all. He smiled at Xia Nuannuan and said, "Let's go, we're continuing our run!"
"Yes, yes!"
Xia Nuannuan nodded, her eyes curved into crescents.
After that, the two of them continued their usual slow jog before evening self-study, simultaneously practicing their English vocabulary.
No, at this point, it was almost exclusively Qin Tian testing Xia Nuannuan.
During their practice sessions over this period, Qin Tian had almost always won, and Xia Nuannuan had never managed to stump him.
Therefore, she had simply given up and let Qin Tian pose the questions, to which she would then spell out or translate.
Her English level was among the top in the class, and Qin Tian's questions were all within the high school curriculum, so they had previously been able to answer smoothly.
But today, Xia Nuannuan seemed somewhat distracted, making quite a few mistakes.
"Nuannuan, is there something you want to tell me?"
Qin Tian, noticing her preoccupied state, initiated the conversation.
Xia Nuannuan looked at him in surprise, then a blush crept up her pretty face, and she nodded slightly.
"Then tell me!"
Qin Tian said with a knowing smile, displaying an expression of "I knew it."
Xia Nuannuan pondered for a moment before slowly began to speak, recounting her conversation with her parents during dinner at home.
"So that's how it is!"
After listening, Qin Tian chuckled and nodded.
It seemed that this future father-in-law was indeed not easy to deal with.
But fortunately, his future mother-in-law seemed to be on their side.
Three against one, how could they lose?
"Hmph, my dad doesn't believe you scored so high, or that my grades improved so much because of you. He said he'd call the homeroom teacher himself to inquire. I suspect he's not just concerned about grades."
Xia Nuannuan said indignantly.
She thought she understood her father perfectly.