"Brother, what are you doing?" Shen Yanran exclaimed in dissatisfaction.
"Sister, I'm doing this for your own good. Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can be your boyfriend. Our Shen family is, after all, a martial arts family," Shen Yanran's brother said loudly.
At this moment, the onlookers who were about to leave suddenly turned back.
"Hey, isn't that Shen Yanran's brother, Shen Dongyang?"
"Yes, why is he here? I heard he's quite famous at the Martial Cultivation Academy and recently made it onto the Top Ten Genius List."
"Mm-hmm, he's my idol. A while ago, after advancing another level in martial cultivation, he was rated as the tenth genius at the Martial Cultivation Academy."
Many people, upon seeing Shen Yanran's brother, seemed to recognize him immediately. Although many hadn't met him in person, talented figures like him from the Martial Cultivation Academy had been widely discussed on the Jinzhou University forums. Moreover, Shen Yanran's brother had recently been ranked the tenth genius at the Martial Cultivation Academy after breaking through a cultivation realm, causing a stir on the forums. This was why everyone recognized him at a glance.
Zhou Hong looked at the man before him and couldn't help but sneer.
"Are you Shen Yanran's brother?" Zhou Hong asked indifferently.
"That's right. You're Zhou Hong, aren't you? You want to be my sister's boyfriend? That won't be easy. My sister has low standards, but unfortunately, I, as her brother, will never lower mine. I heard you just defeated some 'Fourth Madman.' Heh, you think that's enough to impress me?"
"Is that so? Then tell me, what kind of person would you approve of?" Zhou Hong asked with disdain.
"Someone like you, for starters, I wouldn't approve of. Forget the Fourth Madman, even the first, second, or third madmen are trash in my eyes. You might have achieved some level of martial cultivation, but so what? You all rely on money to get by; you're worthless." Shen Yanran's brother had a look of utter contempt.
"Haha, I think you're the madman, with such arrogant talk," Zhou Hong sneered.
"Shut up! Don't pin that 'madman' title on me; I find it disgusting." Shen Yanran's brother, Shen Dongyang, was visibly annoyed that Zhou Hong called him a madman. Little did Zhou Hong know, in Shen Dongyang's eyes, the so-called Four Madmen of Jinzhou University were nothing but trash. Moreover, having been recognized as one of the Top Ten Geniuses, his status was naturally elevated. Even an ordinary martial cultivation student from the Martial Cultivation Academy would likely look down upon the Four Madmen.
Zhou Hong was about to throw a punch, as Shen Yanran's brother's arrogance was making him furious.
"What? You're still unconvinced? If you truly had martial cultivation talent, you would have entered the Martial Cultivation Academy long ago instead of being a regular university student. Do you think you're really impressive just by being one of the feared campus madmen? Do you know that someone at your level could be easily defeated by any ordinary martial cultivation student from our academy? It's just that those ordinary martial cultivation students don't have the family background you madmen do, so they don't dare provoke you."
After speaking, Shen Dongyang ignored Zhou Hong and turned to his sister, saying, "Sister, don't worry, I will find you a boyfriend who suits you perfectly and is worthy of you. There are plenty of good men at our Martial Cultivation Academy. Any martial cultivation student we find would be a thousand times better than these ordinary university students."
"Brother, you don't need to interfere in my affairs. Who I like is my freedom," Shen Yanran said, extremely frustrated.
"Sister, I'm only doing this for your own good. You have to trust me. We can grab any martial cultivation student from the academy, and they'd be a thousand times better than this 'madman.' These so-called madmen, they might sound powerful with their cultivation levels, but they're useless. They aren't truly talented; frankly, they've just bought their way up."
"Brother, please leave. My affairs are none of your business," Shen Yanran said, a hint of anger in her voice.
"Sister...!"
"Leave!" Shen Yanran shouted.
Shen Dongyang said no more. He glanced at Zhou Hong and warned, "Friend, stop pursuing my sister."
With that, Shen Dongyang quickly departed.
Zhou Hong had initially considered breaking Shen Dongyang's legs, but on second thought, for Shen Yanran's sake, he let it go. After all, Shen Dongyang hadn't attacked him, and Zhou Hong wasn't actively pursuing his sister. For now, he'd let him off the hook.
"Zhou Hong, don't listen to what my brother is saying," Shen Yanran quickly said to Zhou Hong, seemingly worried about him being affected.
"Heh, I'm not pursuing you in the first place, so what's there to be affected by?" Zhou Hong smiled.
"See, see? You say you're not affected, yet you're speaking out of anger." Shen Yanran pouted, thinking Zhou Hong was angry and that's why he denied pursuing her.
"Shen Yanran, I'm really not pursuing you. Alright, there's nothing else, I'm leaving too." Zhou Hong turned to leave the sports field.
"Zhou Hong, as a man, if you like someone, be bold. I'm a girl, and I've already been this proactive. What more do you want from me? Even though my brother doesn't support us, dating is between us, not with my brother. Why care about his attitude? As long as I like you, that's all that matters. Zhou Hong, I like you. In the future, let's play music together, sing together, and do... anything you like, okay?" Shen Yanran said to Zhou Hong with great longing.
Zhou Hong looked at Shen Yanran, and this time he understood clearly. It was Shen Yanran who liked him.
"Are you pursuing me?" Zhou Hong asked with a wry smile.
"It doesn't matter who's pursuing whom. If you really want to save face, then I'll pursue you. I want to be your girlfriend," Shen Yanran said with sincere eyes.
"Shen Yanran, we've only known each other for a few days," Zhou Hong said with a helpless smile. Since Shen Yanran liked him, Zhou Hong couldn't be too dismissive. Su Dan Novel Network.
"It doesn't matter how long we've known each other. The moment I saw you play the piano, my heartstrings were plucked. You're the first one in my life."
"Alas, Shen Yanran, I'm sorry, but I can't accept it for now. Besides, I have an important reason which I cannot tell you yet." Zhou Hong refused with a bitter smile. The important reason, of course, was that he was currently engaged to Qiao Xiaoyu, though it hadn't been announced yet, and he didn't want to reveal it.
"Zhou Hong, is my brother's attitude really that important?" Seeing Zhou Hong's rejection, Shen Yanran felt a pang of disappointment, thinking it was her brother's influence.
"Alright, it has nothing to do with your brother; I don't even care about him. If you don't mind, we can be friends first. We can still play music together as friends, what do you think?" Zhou Hong asked with a smile.