Chapter 21: Mutual Confessions

“Dressed up so beautifully, are you going to meet someone you like?” Xu Gang guessed with a furrowed brow. Standing there silently for a moment, he let out a soft sigh, then picked up his phone to call one of his men.
“Investigate my sister’s recent whereabouts for me.”

...

“What’s wrong? You seem a bit down,” Luo Feng asked curiously inside the beverage shop, looking at Xu Xin sitting opposite him, dressed in a pure white dress that made her appear fresh and beautiful.
“Did something happen?” Luo Feng recalled Xu Xin mentioning earlier that she had some issues and would be late, so he couldn’t help but wonder.
“Yeah, something did come up... sigh,” Xu Xin put down her drink, rested her chin on her hands, and looked steadily at Luo Feng, her tone faint and melancholic.
“But it’s not a big deal...” she didn’t want to burden Luo Feng with too much pressure, so she had no intention of revealing her true identity just yet. She planned to wait until Luo Feng had gained some strength before telling him. Quickly changing the subject, she smiled warmly at Luo Feng and said,
“Luo Feng, now that you’re officially a martial artist, how are you planning to celebrate this afternoon? Didn’t you say you earned quite a bit from hunting monsters before? That means you owe me a treat, right?”
Seeing Xu Xin’s change of topic, Luo Feng didn’t push her to talk about the earlier matter and instead smiled in response, “What do you want to eat?”
“Let me think... I heard there’s a new upscale restaurant on this street with some highly praised desserts. How about we go there?”
“Sounds good to me,” Luo Feng nodded.

The two rose from their seats, left the beverage shop, and chatted happily as they walked toward the nearby restaurant. Occasionally, they touched on interesting topics, their faces bright with smiles.

“Hm? Are we being followed?” As Luo Feng listened to Xu Xin talking beside him, he suddenly sensed two pairs of eyes constantly watching them. A strange feeling stirred in his heart.
“I don’t usually have contact with many people, so why would anyone be tailing me?” Luo Feng felt uneasy. He had no enemies; the biggest conflict he’d ever had was a minor clash with a wealthy second-generation kid named Zhang Haobai back in high school. But such a petty issue wouldn’t warrant someone following him, would it?
Having ruled out other possibilities, Luo Feng turned his gaze to Xu Xin beside him.
If it wasn’t him, then it must be her side causing the trouble.

After a moment’s thought, Luo Feng decided it was best to ask directly. Leaning toward Xu Xin’s ear, he whispered, “Xu Xin, we’re being followed.”

Feeling the warmth of his breath near her ear, Xu Xin’s cheeks tinged with a faint blush. But when she heard his words clearly, her expression hardened, and a flash of anger crossed her mind.
No need to guess—this had to be her brother Xu Gang’s doing.

...

“I must have let my emotions slip just now; that’s how my brother caught on,” Xu Xin realized. If it had been her before, she wouldn’t have made such a careless mistake. But recently... it seemed like her intelligence had dulled a bit, and sometimes she found herself smiling foolishly without realizing it.
With Luo Feng’s situation already exposed to her brother, there was no point in hiding it anymore. She looked at Luo Feng, and after a few seconds of silence as their eyes met, she spoke softly,
“Luo Feng, have you ever heard of the Xu family?”
“The Xu family?” Luo Feng shook his head. “Uh, not really.”
He had never paid much attention to such things. His life was simple—outside of training, he spent time either with family or chatting with Xu Xin, leaving no room to learn about any clans.
“...The Xu family is...” Xu Xin was not surprised by his reaction and began to gently reveal her true identity.

Ten minutes later...
Having understood everything, Luo Feng met Xu Xin’s gaze.
They stopped on the street, looking at each other.
Facing Luo Feng’s deep eyes, Xu Xin’s heart grew uneasy. Could it be that Luo Feng would back down?
Surely not...

And Luo Feng?
He had wanted to say it was no problem at all, but when his eyes fell on Xu Xin’s soft pink lips, his heart skipped a beat. Without hesitating, he bent down and kissed her.

“Mmm~” Xu Xin’s eyes widened as she stared at Luo Feng, stunned.
After a long moment, she came to her senses and shyly pushed him away, a mix of embarrassment and indignation in her voice.
“How could you just kiss me all of a sudden? That’s not like you at all!”
Luo Feng chuckled, his pounding heart slowing a bit. Seeing that Xu Xin was shy but not angry, he was finally certain—
Xu Xin liked him too.

No matter how much Luo Feng thought she liked him, until that invisible barrier was broken, he could never feel truly at ease.
Now, his heart was calm. He looked down at the still-shy Xu Xin and said earnestly,
“Don’t worry, Xu Xin. We will definitely be together. No one can stop us!”

...

“You’re all talk!” Xu Xin teased, lightly tapping his arm, her heart brimming with sweetness.
“I’m serious,” Luo Feng replied sincerely. After some thought, now that he had passed the martial artist assessment and planned to reveal his strength soon to collaborate with the Extreme Martial Arts Pavilion, it didn’t matter if he disclosed it earlier.
He had kept it hidden before only because his power was weak. Luo Feng felt he possessed not only the gift of a Spirit Mentalist but also the great opportunity of the ‘White’—so caution was necessary.
Now that his Spirit Mentalist power had reached the level of a junior War God, he barely had the strength to face risks.
Thinking this through, Luo Feng no longer hesitated and told Xu Xin about the power he currently wielded.

After hearing his explanation, Xu Xin’s eyes widened.
“...Did you say you’re a War God? Or a Spirit Mentalist?”
If she didn’t know Luo Feng’s character well, she would have thought he was joking.
“Look,” Luo Feng said, understanding how shocking this was—a newly minted martial artist at eighteen being a War God was a strange notion. That’s why he had planned to reveal it later, fearing others might suspect he had some miraculous opportunity and try to spy on him.
Xu Xin watched as a silver light quietly appeared in Luo Feng’s hand, spinning and hovering in midair. She instantly knew Luo Feng wasn’t lying.
Only the power of a Spirit Mentalist could manipulate metal to fly.
So, Luo Feng really did possess War God-level power? A War God??
For a moment, Xu Xin felt as if she were dreaming. She instinctively squeezed Luo Feng’s arm hard.
“What’s wrong?” Luo Feng asked with amusement at her stunned expression.
“A War God’s muscles must be really hard...” Xu Xin said without thinking.
“Hard, huh?” Luo Feng tried to hold back a laugh.
“...Hard,” Xu Xin blushed deeply as she pinched the soft flesh of Luo Feng’s waist.
“You’re asking for it.”