Green Eyes

Neither of them slept a wink that night; both stared fixedly at the ceiling, eyes wide open.

After a brief moment of absent-mindedness, Bai Fanhao turned off the light and lay down on his bed. As he lay there, he glanced up and noticed a pair of eyes on the ceiling, glowing green and staring right back at him.

At first, Bai Fanhao thought he was seeing things. He blinked hard, then opened his eyes again, only to find that the eyes were indeed there, unmistakably green.

In another room, Shen Yali sat on her bed, her expression troubled as she mulled over what she had just overheard. At first, she tried to convince herself it was nothing, simply an accident—she had heard only a brief scuffle. But then, how could she have not known that Xiaoxi practiced Taekwondo?

They had tried to keep their voices down, but in the stillness of the night and the emptiness of the house, how could anyone fail to overhear their conversation?

The more Shen Yali thought about it, the more her mind began to wander. She muttered under her breath, "This won't do. She learned martial arts and didn't tell me, and she's always by my side—when did she have time to study martial arts?"

If Mu Qingxi had known what her mother was thinking at that moment, she would have been at a total loss for words. How could she have had no time to learn Taekwondo? Every year during the holidays, she was never at home, and whenever her cousin was around, he never stayed home either. Did her mother really think she was just out having fun?

In truth, every holiday or break, she and her cousin would travel into S City to practice Taekwondo. Sometimes her younger brother, Mu Qingyang, would join them, but he preferred to travel and practiced much less. Still, if danger ever arose, her brother would surely know how to protect himself. No matter how much he wanted to travel, Mu Qingxi still cared about his safety and pushed him to study, too.

Mu Qingxi also lay in bed, gazing up at the two glowing green eyes on her own ceiling, but she felt no fear at all.

Because those weren’t eyes at all. The lights in her room were phosphorescent, and after being turned off for a while, a pair of greenish "eyes" would inevitably appear above.

She was still lost in thought over the events of the day. After she finished speaking earlier, she had noticed her mother’s bedroom door move slightly. She was certain her mother had heard her conversation with Bai Fanhao—it would have been a miracle if she hadn't.

She had thought that if she kept her voice low, no one would hear, but just now, she’d overheard her brother Mu Qingyang muttering from somewhere nearby, and she could make out every word she and Bai Fanhao had exchanged as well.

That made it clear that her mother had definitely heard everything they had said—especially about her martial arts training, self-defense, Taekwondo, and the like.

She could already foresee her days ahead would be anything but peaceful.

What a mess! Nothing had gone right—she’d managed only to beat up two people today, but accomplished nothing else.

First, there was the matter with Bai Fanhao. She had cut him off before he could finish his sentence, simply because their voices were low and there was no point in arguing. But what about next time? She couldn't guarantee she’d always be able to interrupt him in time.

And then there was her mother. She had almost earned her black belt in Taekwondo, yet her mother was just now finding out—and not because she told her, but because she overheard it.

Mu Qingxi was truly at a loss. What on earth was going on?

She pulled the covers over her head and let out muffled, ghostly wails beneath the quilt—quietly, though, not wanting her mother to come over asking questions. That, she knew, would be a disaster difficult to resolve.

Meanwhile, Bai Fanhao sat bolt upright in bed, cursing himself for being so foolish.

Later, when Mu Qingxi learned that Bai Fanhao had spent the night in such a state at her house, she was so shocked she remained speechless for quite some time.

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