# 1546
Chapter 1542: What They Call a Heartthrob
Cao Yuan stared at Lu Menglei's expression, which practically had "bashful" written all over it. He was momentarily stunned, and his own face flushed a bit.
He awkwardly cleared his throat twice, pretended to think for a moment, then tentatively asked:
"Then... shall we go?"
"Good!" Lu Menglei responded enthusiastically, then seemed to realize she was being too obvious. She coolly brushed her hair back. "I'll go change clothes first. Wait for me, okay?"
"Sure."
After Cao Yuan nodded, Lu Menglei quickly dashed into the training ground's locker room to change her clothes in a hurry.
Cao Yuan happened to be walking around the training ground alone, searching everywhere but finding nothing unusual. When he turned back, Lu Menglei was already standing at the locker room door, wearing a light purple long dress.
Every time Cao Yuan had seen Lu Menglei before, she was always in loose kendo attire. When he saw her walk out in a dress with his own eyes, Cao Yuan froze completely.
The long dress perfectly outlined Lu Menglei's graceful figure. With such full, mature curves, she was nowhere near what a student could compare to. The light purple fabric clung to her fair skin, lively yet extremely charming. Even under the dim night sky, she was enough to catch anyone's eye.
Cao Yuan stared at Lu Menglei in a daze, unable to help swallowing hard.
"Is it not pretty?" Seeing Cao Yuan's lack of reaction, Lu Menglei asked with concern.
"It's pretty!" Cao Yuan nodded vigorously. "It's really, really pretty!"
"That's good then..."
The blush on Lu Menglei's cheeks deepened.
This dress was something she had specially prepared in the locker room for tonight's evening party. She had originally thought Cao Yuan wouldn't come tonight and all her preparation would go to waste. She never expected there would be such a twist.
"The evening party is about to start. Shall we go?" Lu Menglei was about to half-insert her bamboo sword into her bag and carry it on her back when Cao Yuan picked it up instead.
Cao Yuan held the bag in one hand and smiled slightly. "The bag's too heavy. I'll carry it."
A hint of blush crossed Lu Menglei's cheeks.
"Then... what about me?"
"I'll carry you too."
Cao Yuan extended his other hand and grabbed Lu Menglei's palm. The latter's hand trembled slightly as if she'd been electrocuted, but she didn't pull away. She let him lead her out of the training ground. Under the dim night sky, her face had turned as red as an apple.
...
"Seems like it's about to start."
Lin Qiye glanced back at the noisy evening party venue with blaring music. After hesitating for a moment, he still walked toward it.
Just as he was about to step into the venue, a voice suddenly came from behind:
"Captain Lin."
"Chen Han?" Lin Qiye turned to look and, seeing who it was, spoke in surprise.
It was Chen Han in casual clothes, bringing along Xu Liao, a member of Squad 006, walking toward him with a smile from the direction of Shangjing University's gate.
"Why are you guys here?"
"We just finished searching the nearby streets. We heard there was something fun happening here, so we came to relax." Chen Han glanced at the many LED lights flickering inside the venue and exclaimed in amazement, "What a spectacle... No wonder it's Shangjing University."
"Let's go together then. I was heading there anyway."
Lin Qiye brought the two into the venue. He didn't squeeze toward the front rows but stood at the very back of the crowd, gazing at the fiery stage from afar. Compared to the enthusiastic waving glow sticks and cheers filling the venue, the two of them standing in the dim shadows seemed rather out of place.
"Oh right, I have something to give you." Chen Han seemed to remember something, took out two small black boxes from his chest, and handed them to Lin Qiye.
"What's this?"
"Night Watch merit. We've been busy these past few days holding memorial services for the fallen Night Watch members. It wasn't until now that headquarters could get around to awarding them. One is the collective Starlight Medal of 【Nightfall】, commending your entire squad's excellent performance in the Battle of Chennan Pass. The other is an individual Starlight Medal... please pass it on to An Qingyu."
"An Qingyu's personal medal?" Lin Qiye nodded, not surprised by this. "No problem."
With the performance of Squad 【Nightfall】 in the Battle of Chennan Pass, a Starlight Medal was well deserved. As for An Qingyu, he had single-handedly saved all of Great Xia—he absolutely deserved an individual Starlight Medal.
Lin Qiye pocketed the two medals and continued watching the welcome party's performances. To be honest, this evening party was definitely the most grand-scale one Lin Qiye had seen on campus. Just the speakers, LED screens, and projection lights alone were on par with music festival standards.
The performances were basically all given by current students or outstanding alumni skilled in singing and dancing. Some had become professional singers, others had established their own dance studios. It was truly like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their own special abilities.
Just as Lin Qiye was focused on watching the performances, at the entrance to one side, Cao Yuan walked in from outside, holding Lu Menglei's hand.
Seeing this, Lin Qiye's eyebrows raised, and his expression instantly became quite interesting.
What they call a heartthrob, huh?
Cao Yuan was usually so slow-witted... Looks like he spent all his intelligence points on emotional quotient when it comes to dealing with mature women?
"These past few days, your team members seem to have integrated quite well." Chen Han also noticed Cao Yuan and couldn't help but chuckle softly. "This vacation has been quite fulfilling."
"That's a good thing. They deserve a rest."
"They did rest, but... what about you?" Chen Han turned to look at Lin Qiye. "After you came to Shangjing University, you only enjoyed a day or two of college life, then you've been running around with us non-stop. Aren't you tired?"
"Of course I'm tired. But some things always need someone to do them." Lin Qiye shrugged. "I'm the captain of 【Nightfall】. I naturally have to bear more."
Lin Qiye looked at Cao Yuan, An Qingyu, and Jiang Er in the crowd. His eyes were somewhat complex:
"Our squad went from seven people at the very beginning to just us few now... No one has mentioned it, but I know clearly that the feeling of teammates leaving one by one has been like a heavy stone pressing down on everyone's hearts, almost suffocating us.
This trip to Shangjing University wasn't just for An Qingyu—it's so that everyone else can have a chance to catch their breath too.
As long as they can relax for a while, what does it matter if their captain gets a little more tired?"
Chen Han glanced at Lin Qiye and let out a long sigh.
"Say, if there were no foreign gods, no war, no 'Mysteries'... what you're experiencing now would be the life you should all be living at your age."
"Maybe." Lin Qiye gazed complexly at An Qingyu in the crowd. His thumb gently rubbed against his palm, and the chalk used for searching turned to powder, drifting in the wind.
He spoke slowly:
"Unfortunately, there's no 'if' in this world."