Chapter 7 Tracking

Lin Fei had a headache.

Facing a star figure with a strong family background, powerful influence at school, and high popularity, typically, with his personality, he preferred to avoid them. Currently, he was just an average Joe with no background or strength, and he hadn't reached the level where he could ignore school rules.

So when Xu Ke stared at him with a 'you are shameless' expression, Lin Fei was somewhat at a loss.

Hurried footsteps approached from a distance, and Xu Dong and his group were angrily running towards them.

It looked like, unless something unexpected happened, it would end up with a group of people beating him up. Although he wasn't scared, he didn't want to gain fame in school this way.

Lin Fei looked down at Xu Ke; the girl once again grabbed his sleeve and smiled triumphantly.

"I advise you to let go. Don't push me too hard!" Lin Fei said with a smile in a whisper, loud enough for only Xu Ke and himself to hear.

"I want to push you hard, hehe, what can you do to me? Would you dare do anything?" the little witch gloated even more, her mouth curving like a crescent moon.

Lin Fei looked around and saw that there was no one left nearby. Clearly, they had retreated far away due to Xu Dong's aura.

"Then don't regret it!" a trace of something indescribable flashed across Lin Fei's face. He was annoyed by such unreasonable people who didn't know when to stop. Sometimes, when it was time to act, one must act decisively and not hesitate.

"Regret? There's no such word in this lady's dictionary!" Xu Ke said, raising her eyebrows and placing a hand on her hip.

"Hurry up! Who dares to bully my sister? I'll fight him with my life!"

The echoing shouts of Xu Dong and his group, who were members of the basketball team, grew louder as they approached. The guys, who often exercised, were brimming with energy and had nowhere to channel it; they loved following Xu Dong around looking for trouble, and now that there seemed to be a fight, they were rubbing their hands together in excitement.

Lin Fei looked at the approaching Xu Dong, then at Xu Ke in front of him. A smirk suddenly appeared on his lips.

He took a deep breath. All of a sudden,

"Xu Ke!!! I like you!! Will you be my girlfriend!!"

This was practically a shout.

In an instant, everyone was stunned.

Xu Dong and his group froze, their faces blank and their mouths agape.

Some students who had been watching from a distance also fell silent. The area quieted down, and you could hear a pin drop.

Xu Ke too looked shocked, with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open, probably completely confused in her mind and not knowing how to react.

A few girls who had just walked out of school gawked. Their faces turned red as they looked over, whispered something, and quickly walked away.

Xu Dong was the first to recover, feeling a surge of admiration and respect for the boy standing next to his sister.

Since they were young, it had always been his sister, Xu Ke, who bullied him. If there was something tasty, she got it first; if there was something fun, she got it first.

Not to mention being a free shopping laborer, free fighter, free errand runner, free chauffeur, free purse... He had always fantasized about some dark horse prince rescuing him from his sister's tyranny. Now it seemed...

Xu Dong's sharp gaze swept over the hand that Xu Ke used to grab Lin Fei's sleeve, and a knowing smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Ah! Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! My brother-in-law is just playing with my sister! Everyone back to training!! Training!" Xu Dong waved his hand broadly, and the group burst into laughter, turning and walking back.

Xu Ke finally reacted, her face turning as red as a tomato. Realizing her actions might have led her brother to misunderstand, she hurriedly let go of Lin Fei's sleeve. Watching Xu Dong and the others walk away, she became anxious.

"Xu Dong!! Stop! It's not what you think!!"

"Ah?" Xu Dong turned around, pausing for a moment.

Lin Fei's mouth curved into a smile.

"Well then, I'll be leaving now."

"You dare!!" Xu Ke, fearing that this scoundrel who embarrassed her to this extent might slip away, immediately grabbed Lin Fei's sleeve again without a second thought.

From a distance, Xu Dong saw this clearly and smirked suggestively.

"Go, go, go! My sister is shy! Training! To training!"

"Captain! Congratulations!!"

"Congrats all around!!"

"Captain's little tiger finally found her heart!"

"The weather is nice today! After training, I'll treat everyone to celebrate!"

"Ohhh~~~"

"Long live the captain!!"

A continuous laughter and scolding from a basketball team echoed in the background.

Xu Ke's face was so red, it almost dripped blood. In a hurry, he released Lin Fei's sleeve, pointed at him, and trembled all over with rage.

"You... you...!!" She couldn't speak for a long time, just kept gulping for air.

Lin Fei watched her with a smiling gaze.

"I warned you not to regret this. Look at what's happened."

Xu Ke trembled even more vigorously.

"You... you just wait!!" She finally managed to catch her breath.

"Why bother? I already told you I had to go," Lin Fei estimated the time internally, thinking that if he hurried, he could still catch up. If something had indeed gone wrong, he'd immediately call the police without a problem.

As long as he was careful, he could save a girl's life, which would be a good deed.

Even if something unexpected occurred, he was not without means to defend himself, a perfect chance to test the results of his recent cultivation.

"I'm heading off then," Lin Fei said, a slight smug smile appearing as he turned towards the direction of the snack street.

Behind him, Xu Ke didn't dare to hold him back this time. She could only watch helplessly as he arrogantly hurried away.

**************

Snack Street, as the name implies, was a street filled with snack vendors. Situated between two middle schools, most of its patrons were students.

The closely packed carts and stalls formed two straight lines, with students bustling about in the middle, most holding skewered meats, grilled squid, stinky tofu, and other foods.

Some couples, who didn't dare display affection openly in school, fed each other unabashedly here.

Loud calls from the stall owners and occasional beeps of bicycle horns mingled with other noises created a somewhat cacophonous atmosphere.

The afternoon sun no longer held much warmth, and the evening breeze, carrying with it mixed aromas of various snacks, cooled every passerby.

Lin Fei entered Snack Street, scanned around, and didn't see Xie Shishi. The street was crowded, bustling with people, making it difficult to find her swiftly amidst the throng.

"If I can't find her, so be it. I'll just stroll around. If I come across her, good; if not, it's her own bad luck," Lin Fei thought to himself. He casually joined the flow of people and moved forward.

Everyone's life has its own trajectory, and they should consider the potential consequences before taking action. If one can't handle them, they shouldn't proceed.

This was Lin Fei's principle in handling matters.

He had come after her more out of pity than anything, and he wouldn't exert too much effort specifically for Xie Shishi, not with his values.

Wandering aimlessly on Snack Street, the scent of barbecue persistently invaded his nostrils. Suddenly, his stomach growled.

"Ah, hungry." Lin Fei glanced over at a nearby stir-fried potato stall as the hand in his pocket moved slightly.

"Not enough money. Only fifty cents left for pocket money, and that's not enough..." Lin Fei reluctantly shifted his gaze away.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of a short middle-aged man, sinister-looking, dressed inappropriately in a mousy gray jacket despite the heat of May, clutching something tightly, bulging suspiciously. Additionally, Lin Fei noted the man tried to avoid any contact with others.

"This man is suspicious." He noticed that part of the jacket wrapped around something exposed a corner, a slightly familiar black backpack peeking out.

As the man was about to walk past Lin Fei, Lin Fei pretended to keep looking at the snacks around, subtly moving towards the man's direction.

"Bang!"

The two collided harshly.

"Oh!" Lin Fei cried out in pretense.

In the moment the middle-aged man was struck, Lin Fei saw clearly what was in his arms—a somewhat worn-out black backpack. A faint feminine aura penetrated Lin Fei's nostrils.

"It's Xie Shishi's backpack. I actually stumbled upon it," Lin Fei shook his head slightly, marveling at his own luck.

The middle-aged man glared at Lin Fei fiercely, wrapped the backpack tightly, scanned around to check if anyone had noticed him, and then quickly left, blending into the crowd.

"Who takes Xie Shishi's backpack out like that? Stolen? Or does he intend to kidnap her?" Lin Fei followed the short man in silence.

"If it's kidnapping, Xie Shishi's attire doesn't exactly scream wealthy, could it be for revenge? This just got interesting." Lin Fei carefully followed the short man.

Snack Street was long, and the two men turned into a dark alleyway.

The alley was somewhat gloomy, the ground wet, obviously because the residents casually dumped water here.

Following the twists and turns of the alley, the short man suddenly looked around.

Lin Fei quickly retreated to hide at the corner, holding his breath. After a while, when he cautiously peeked out again, the short figure had vanished without a trace.