Chapter 026: The Agreement with Tian Mengqian's Father

Tian Guoliang sat on the sofa, his face dark as the bottom of a pot.

Tian Mengqian had always been well-behaved and sensible growing up, with excellent grades. Ever since middle school, she had blossomed into a remarkably vibrant and beautiful young woman. Back then, Tian Guoliang had begun to worry whether his daughter might fall into early romance, and he had been quietly keeping an eye out — yet he had never found any signs of it.

Until today. Tian Guoliang had finally discovered that not only had his daughter fallen for someone, but things had already gone this far.

That little brat from the Lin Jingye household had been hiding it well.

"Old Liang," said Li Mingyue, sitting beside Tian Guoliang and nudging his arm gently, "don't go too far later. Leave some dignity for the girl and Xiao Feng."

"Hmph! I should leave them dignity? Did they leave me any?!"

"That's right, Uncle, Auntie — it must be Lin Feng who tricked and manipulated Qianqian with some underhanded scheme," Jiao Zhibin chimed in eagerly. "Someone like that doesn't deserve any consideration."

Outside in the living room, Lin Feng and Tian Mengqian could hear every word of the conversation.

Although Tian Mengqian felt embarrassed and flustered, she wasn't particularly afraid. For one thing, it was her own parents who had discovered them, and for another, she didn't feel she had done anything wrong.

Lin Feng, on the other hand, felt like his head was splitting in two. Still, he had a straightforward nature — what had happened had happened, and sooner or later it had to be faced. At worst, Tian Guoliang might beat him up, but with his Iron Shirt, he could take it.

Before long, Lin Feng and Tian Mengqian made their way to the living room. Not wanting to provoke Tian Guoliang further, Lin Feng didn't dare sit down and stood obediently in front of the couple.

"Xiao Feng, go on, call him uncle!" Li Mingyue said, quickly prompting Lin Feng to show some goodwill toward Tian Guoliang — in effect, already trying to protect Lin Feng.

The Lin family and Li family had shared the same courtyard for many years, and the two households were close — even more so than ordinary relatives. Lin Feng had grown up under Li Mingyue's watchful eye. Though he was mischievous and indifferent to studying, she knew he had no malice in him and was an upright person at heart.

In the past, Li Mingyue had hoped her daughter would one day marry into a good family, but now that things had come to this, she thought being with Lin Feng might not be so bad after all.

"Uncle," Lin Feng said, steeling himself.

"Well, I wouldn't have guessed," Tian Guoliang muttered grimly. "Looks like you've grown some nerve, kid."

Lin Feng didn't know what to say. He could only stand there and take whatever came his way.

Tian Mengqian, a girl who always looked outward, stepped forward when she saw Lin Feng being scolded. She moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with him and, gathering her courage, reached out and took his hand, their fingers intertwined.

Tian Guoliang's nose nearly twisted sideways with fury. He shot to his feet, shaking all over — wanting to shout but unable to bring himself to, wanting to strike but unable to raise his hand.

"Let go!" Jiao Zhibin stepped forward and forcibly pulled Tian Mengqian away.

Though Jiao Zhibin knew that blood relatives couldn't marry, in the battle between morality and desire, desire had won out. Tian Mengqian was far too beautiful. Ever since middle school, he had harbored covetous feelings toward her, and had even fantasized about her on more than one occasion. Seeing how close she and Lin Feng had become, the rage burning inside him had grown unreasonable.

Li Mingyue quickly stood up as well, took Tian Mengqian by the arm, and led her into the bedroom.

"Qianqian, what happened tonight — tell me everything," Li Mingyue said once they were in the room, her face still lined with worry over what Jiao Zhibin had mentioned. "Who grabbed you?"

Tian Mengqian didn't want to worry Li Mingyue, and she also knew that the incident was connected to Lin Feng. If she told the truth, it would only make things harder for her and Lin Feng to be together.

"They grabbed the wrong person and let me go," Tian Mengqian lied.

"Is that so?" Li Mingyue let out a breath of relief. In her mind, her own family had never had quarrels with others, so her daughter certainly wouldn't have either. When Jiao Zhibin first mentioned it, her immediate thought had been kidnappers or something worse. "Be more careful from now on, alright?"

Tian Mengqian nodded.

"Qianqian... when did you and Xiao Feng get together?"

Tian Mengqian lowered her head and said nothing.

"You're still in school, and your studies have to come first. I'm not saying you can't date, but it absolutely cannot affect your schoolwork."

"It won't."

"Qianqian, a girl has to know how to protect herself. You're both still young — when it comes to *that* sort of thing, you need to show some restraint."

"Mom, what are you even saying?!"

Inside the bedroom, mother and daughter conversed relatively smoothly. Out in the living room, the atmosphere was considerably more tense.

Tian Guoliang let out a low grunt. "What exactly is going on between you and Qianqian?"

"Uncle, this is a misunderstanding—"

"A misunderstanding? Do you think I, Tian Guoliang, can't read?" Tian Guoliang's anger flared. The two of them had been sleeping in the same bed, and this was a misunderstanding?

"No, Uncle, Qianqian and I haven't done anything, and there's nothing between us."

In the bedroom, Tian Mengqian's face went slightly pale when she heard those words. She understood Lin Feng was trying to explain himself, but hearing him deny their relationship still hurt her deeply.

"What?!" Tian Guoliang shook with rage. They had been in the same bed together, and Tian Mengqian had just publicly taken Lin Feng's hand to make her stance clear — yet this boy was claiming there was nothing between them. "Are you saying my Qianqian isn't good enough for you?! You'd better make yourself crystal clear today, boy, or I'll break your legs."

Though it really was a misunderstanding, Lin Feng also realized that at this point, insisting it was one would not only enrage Tian Guoliang further but would also be deeply unfair to Tian Mengqian.

Should he admit to a relationship between them?

Lin Feng knew Tian Mengqian was wonderful. But he also knew that with the Peach Blossom Manual in his possession, he was likely to walk a far from ordinary path in life. On top of that, he still needed to find his other half from his nine past lives — and Bai Yichen was one of them. If Tian Mengqian learned the full truth, would she still accept him?

And yet, regardless of all that — as a man, he had to take responsibility right now.

Lin Feng made up his mind: he would admit to the relationship first and figure out the rest later. Whatever the outcome, he would do everything in his power to minimize any hurt Tian Mengqian might suffer.

"Uncle, I like Qianqian," Lin Feng said, raising his head and meeting Tian Guoliang's gaze directly.

Once he had made that decision, the heaviness and hesitation that had been weighing on his heart vanished entirely, replaced by a deep sense of fullness.

Lin Feng was mildly startled — had Tian Mengqian quietly found a place in his heart without him even realizing it?

"Keep dreaming!" Before Tian Guoliang could speak, Jiao Zhibin burst out furiously. "Qianqian is beautiful and brilliant. And you? What do you have? No money, terrible grades — I don't know what gives you the right to pursue her, and I don't see how you could ever give her a happy life."

Lin Feng ignored Jiao Zhibin and looked directly at Tian Guoliang. "Uncle, don't worry. Whatever university Qianqian can get into, I can get into too."

Jiao Zhibin had long since viewed Lin Feng as his rival and had quietly investigated him. He knew Lin Feng's grades were utterly abysmal.

Hearing Lin Feng's declaration, Jiao Zhibin let out a string of cold laughs. "Uncle, don't believe his nonsense. He's never once passed a test — how could he possibly get into the same university as Qianqian? Lin Feng, Qianqian's grades are in the top ten of the entire year. The monthly exam is in half a month. Why don't you show us a top five hundred ranking, if you're so confident?"

Qinglan Middle School's senior year had over a thousand students. Aside from a handful of privileged scions, the rest were truly Heaven's Favored — the brightest minds around.

Ranking in the top five hundred was generally enough to get into an ordinary university.

Lin Feng currently held a stable position in the bottom ten of the entire year.

When Lin Feng had claimed he could get into the same university as Tian Mengqian, Jiao Zhibin hadn't believed a word of it. He saw it as a delaying tactic.

With nearly a year until the College Entrance Examination, setting the deadline that far out would give Lin Feng another year to spend with Tian Mengqian — and a year was a long time for things to happen.

Naturally, Jiao Zhibin wasn't about to let Lin Feng's scheme succeed. He deliberately set the deadline at the upcoming monthly exam, just half a month away. Not just top five hundred — even top one thousand was beyond Lin Feng in Jiao Zhibin's estimation.

Without the Peach Blossom Manual, Lin Feng truly would have had no hope.

But with the Manual in hand, anything was possible.

Lin Feng looked at Tian Guoliang without a trace of guilt. "I will make it into the top five hundred this monthly exam. And I will get into the same university as Qianqian."

"Don't talk so far ahead," Jiao Zhibin sneered dismissively. "Getting into university is still a long way off. Let's focus on this monthly exam first. Since you're so confident, if you don't place in the top five hundred for the year, you cut off all contact with Qianqian. Do you dare?"

Lin Feng paid Jiao Zhibin no attention.

Tian Guoliang kept his expression dark and said nothing.

Lin Feng understood — Tian Guoliang was nowhere near mentally prepared to play the role of future father-in-law. He was furious, of course, but the fury was over the situation, not at Lin Feng himself as a person.

In truth, Tian Guoliang was in a difficult position. Agreeing outright was unlikely; refusing outright risked hurting both his daughter and Lin Feng.

Lin Feng figured that if he actually placed in the top five hundred, Tian Guoliang would find it hard to say anything. But if he failed, then the man would certainly use it as grounds to intervene.

Seeing that Tian Guoliang had no intention of responding to him, Lin Feng gave an awkward smile and made a quiet exit.

The moment he stepped out of the Tian family home, Lin Feng pulled out the Peach Blossom Manual and checked it.

Sure enough, the chain of side missions had been completed in full. Across Grade-A, Grade-B, and Grade-C missions combined, Lin Feng had earned a total of 17 Peach Blossom Points.

Without hesitation, Lin Feng flipped the Peach Blossom Manual to the page bearing the Iron Shirt technique and pressed his palm against it, spending 15 Peach Blossom Points to master the second half of the Iron Shirt.

Two Peach Blossom Points remained.

In Lin Feng's region, the College Entrance Examination consisted of Chinese, Mathematics, and English — each worth 150 points — plus an integrated subject worth 300 points, for a total of 750 points. Qinglan Middle School's monthly exam followed the same format of four subjects.

At this point, Lin Feng had completely mastered all mathematics up through high school level, meaning a full score was well within reach. And with just 1 Peach Blossom Point, he could fully master high-school-level Chinese or English. With 2 points remaining, he could in principle learn both.

Mastering them meant true proficiency.

If Lin Feng were fully proficient in high-school Chinese, Mathematics, and English, then even guessing randomly on the integrated subject would be more than enough to place him in the top five hundred at the monthly exam — no problem at all.

Still, Lin Feng didn't want to spend those 2 Peach Blossom Points just yet. With half a month until the exam, Peach Blossom Points were hard-won and might serve a more important purpose down the line.