Chapter 32
Chapter 32: If Someone Can’t Stand You, Beat Them Until They Can
Jiang Tea Tea laughed so hard she nearly choked. “Jiang Yi Cheng, should I call you mysteriously confident—or just shameless?”
“You’re an S-rank water-element ability user. The water you control is good for rinsing mouths, washing feet, and making people’s clothes a little damp. What attack power do you actually have?”
“And with that, you’re telling me you’ll help me win the championship?”
She should’ve skipped dinner. Listening to him blow hot air was enough to make her full.
Jiang Yi Cheng’s eyes flickered with something ugly—vicious disgust he barely managed to bury. “My water-element ability isn’t strong offensively. But my other teammates are strong.”
“They’re from the Combat Department, the Command Department—”
“Wait.” Jiang Tea Tea lifted a hand and cut him off.
Jiang Yi Cheng jolted with hope. “You’re agreeing to team up with me?”
Jiang Tea Tea ignored him and turned to Huang Da Zhuang. “Huang Big Dog. If you had an ability, would you choose someone whose parents and sister committed crimes right in front of His Highness Chong Ming as a teammate you’d trust with your back?”
Huang Da Zhuang’s voice boomed loud enough to rattle the cafeteria walls. “Even without an ability, I wouldn’t choose him. Is my life not a life? Is my future not a future?”
“I’d be afraid he’d stab me in the middle of the night. I’d also be afraid he’d lose his mind like his sister and do something stupid again—and drag me down with him.”
Jiang Tea Tea looked back at Jiang Yi Cheng, whose face had gone dark and stiff. “Hear that? That’s normal thinking.”
His dad, mom, and sister committing crimes was already fact. They hadn’t been sentenced yet only because the investigation wasn’t finished.
Jiang Yi Cheng could still stay in school because the investigation found no connection to him. He’d only been hit with a major demerit as a warning.
If he kept his head down, he could survive the remaining two years at the academy. But after graduation? He’d never get into a legion or any official department.
Every cadet—male or female—dreamed of the legions. They wanted to protect the nation. Who in their right mind would team up with a walking firecracker that could ruin their record at any moment?
Jiang Yi Cheng clenched his fist against his thigh. His mask slipped completely. He glared at Jiang Tea Tea with raw hostility.
“You know no one will team up with me. The Jiang family raised you for over ten years—so you won’t help me even once? Help me place in the championship and change His Highness Chong Ming’s impression of me?”
His parents and sister had dragged him down. He needed a flashy result, a loud achievement—something that made people look at him differently.
Jiang Tea Tea let out a short laugh. “You’re asking someone with no ability to help you—how? Help you by letting you kill me on the championship field?”
Jiang Yi Cheng’s pupils tightened. “That’s not what I meant—”
“You know exactly what you meant,” Jiang Tea Tea said, standing. “If I were you, I wouldn’t be this desperate.”
Desperate to drag her into his mess. Desperate to use her as a stepping stone.
Jiang Tea Tea gave him a look that said, I know what you are, then turned and walked out of the cafeteria.
Huang Da Zhuang hurried after her. Outside, he let out a long breath. “Sister Tea… your bargain brother is seriously sick.”
Jiang Tea Tea snorted. “Don’t learn from him.”
Huang Da Zhuang patted his chest. “I’m sharp, okay?”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “Good. We’re full. Let’s go back and sleep.”
Huang Da Zhuang froze.
She ate enough to feed a platoon. Her belly didn’t bulge. She didn’t gain weight. And she could still sleep?
As expected of Sister Tea. Unbelievable. The championship needed her. He just had to cling to her thigh and live.
On the way back, Jiang Tea Tea didn’t take a hovercar. She strolled, soaking in the students’ youth—bright, reckless, loud—until she reached the dorm.
The moment she stepped inside, she froze.
Sui Xuan Chu stood in the common area in loose shorts, shirtless, hair damp, holding a cup of water while on a call.
The young male’s lean muscle lines were sharp and clean. Water droplets clung to his skin. A few black scales still hadn’t fully receded.
The Big Golden Dragon’s flesh contained energy. Sui Xuan Chu was a red-black dragon too—his should taste similar. She’d find an opportunity to sample it.
Jiang Tea Tea lifted a hand in a brief greeting, then went into her room and shut the door with a bang.
A low, flat voice came through Sui Xuan Chu’s earpiece. “Xuan Chu, as a male sharing a dorm with a female, dressing properly is the most basic respect and decency.”
Sui Xuan Chu took a swallow of water and answered evenly, “Understood. I’ll be careful next time.”
His roommate used to leave early and return late. In half a year, he could count how many times he’d seen her on one hand. They’d exchanged fewer than three sentences. The dorm had basically been his.
Sometimes he wandered around in shorts. Sometimes he wore even less and swung his dragon tail around. He never ran into her.
Today, she came back. They crossed paths. And his uncle saw it.
His uncle was the type who never tolerated disobedience.
The low voice continued. “If you understand, go back to your room and put on your clothes.”
Controlling as hell, Sui Xuan Chu thought. He didn’t dare say it out loud.
He went into his room and pulled on a navy T-shirt.
The low voice said, “There are several matters you need to handle. After we hang up, I’ll have the secretary send them to you. Before you leave school for the championship, handle them and send me the results.”
Sui Xuan Chu dragged a hand through his hair. “Can’t you handle them? I’m still a student.”
The low voice paused. “Mm. And? You won’t handle them?”
Sui Xuan Chu surrendered instantly. “I’ll handle them. I’ll handle them.”
“Be careful. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
The encrypted call ended. Every signal link between them was scrubbed clean, leaving no trace.
—
“Secretary Wen.”
In the Military Department office, Chong Ming pressed an internal line. “Forward the six urgent documents I reviewed to the Crown Prince. Remind him: before the championship begins, I need his results.”
Secretary Wen answered at once. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Chong Ming picked up the thick file on Jiang Tea Tea—the most detailed record from childhood to the present—slid it into a drawer, and returned to his work.
—
Sui Xuan Chu hung up and left his room almost immediately. He knocked on Jiang Tea Tea’s door.
“Roommate,” he asked, “for the championship… do you need a teammate?”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked. “You want to be my teammate?”
Sui Xuan Chu lifted a brow. “Why not?”
Jiang Tea Tea smiled. “Sure. We already have one teammate—Huang Da Zhuang.”
Sui Xuan Chu didn’t look surprised. “Anyone else?”
“No.”
He went quiet for a moment. “Fine. I’ll find a few more. We’ll form a team of six to eight.”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t care. “Up to you. But I’ll warn you now—my temper’s bad.”
Sui Xuan Chu flashed a grin, teeth bared, all arrogance. “Perfect. My temper’s bad too. If a teammate doesn’t like you or won’t get along, it’s simple.”
He leaned in slightly, eyes sharp.
“Beat them until they like you. Beat them until they learn to get along.”