Volume 3: Dragons Soaring and Phoenixes Dancing, Chapter 48: The Praying Mantis Catches the Cicada

Since that basketball game, Chu Tianyu had experienced a moment of passion that was far from low-key. Being the center of attention and receiving cheers wasn’t as revealing of his abilities as he had imagined; instead, it gave him a unique sense of drive and release. Yet, despite the excitement, he was well aware of his own situation. Right after that match, on the same night, players numbered 8 and 10 approached him, inviting him to join their team, saying he had great potential and could play professionally.

Nonsense. To be honest, not only could he control his strength when shooting three-pointers, but he could even hold the ball and walk over the basket in mid-air to easily “drop” it in. There were countless practitioners with internal energy and skills in manipulating fate—he wasn’t the only one. After all, had any martial arts master ever played in the NBA?

Every field has its own rules, and practitioners also have their unspoken norms. Otherwise, the consequences would be either causing panic among the people or being treated as outsiders or lab rats…

Another thing that made Chu Tianyu happy was that he could finally practice swordsmanship freely! After joining the martial arts club, he could indeed choose his favorite weapon to practice with, though the cost of the weapon was deducted from his material fees.

Because of this, Bai Lei and the others mocked him for days, saying he didn’t practice knives or guns but instead chose the “inferior” sword! Those mischievous kids even specifically picked knives and guns, standing beside him constantly, and composed a jingle they sang to everyone: “I practice knives, he practices guns, while the one in the middle practices the ‘inferior’ sword!”

Chu Tianyu was so frustrated! He was just practicing normally, yet they managed to make a fuss out of it. It was really unbelievable! But fortunately, as compensation, whenever Chu Tianyu practiced swordsmanship in the early morning—often when it was still quite dark—he had an extra audience: Li Rou. At first, she just watched, but later she brought a drawing board and started copying and sketching what he did. Chu Tianyu was puzzled—what was she copying at such an early hour?

Not only did her constant watching and copying force him to slow down and merely gesture to convey the essence of his movements, but it was also a waste of his Longquan sword, which was worth 68 yuan.

Yet even so, Li Rou was in awe, declaring Chu Tianyu’s swordsmanship to be naturally graceful and absolutely beautiful! Delighted, she drew even faster, hoping to capture the elegance of his sword movements.

On the third day of Li Rou’s observation, Chu Tianyu gained another spectator: Bai Lei, a man carrying a large axe. According to him, he happened to be passing by and decided to do some morning exercise. He would often swing the axe a few times, performing difficult moves—either hitting his own face with the back of the axe or scraping his instep with the blade…

That morning, neither Chu Tianyu nor Li Rou had classes, so they agreed to go to Tsinghua University to borrow books, mainly so that Li Rou could find some materials, as Tsinghua’s architecture was the best in the country.

As soon as they reached the entrance, Chu Tianyu saw Zhou Yun from his class walking in with Wang Shengyi, both dressed stylishly. The four of them exchanged glances.

“Zhou Yun! You didn’t come back until now, did you?” Li Rou exclaimed in shock. Seeing Zhou Yun covered in alcohol, with heavy makeup and a tired look, Li Rou could hardly recognize her.

“Hehe, Xiao Rou! It’s nothing. I just went to a party with some friends!”

“Hey, isn’t that our class leader, Chu Tianyu? Hehe, what a coincidence! Oh, and there’s our beautiful Li Rou too. Where are you two off to on such an early morning?” Wang Shengyi said sarcastically.

Chu Tianyu didn’t say much, but Li Rou, upset, said, “Classmate Wang, please be more careful with what you say!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! How dare I speak carelessly about someone our beautiful Li Rou has taken a liking to!” Wang Shengyi continued to talk nonsense.

“You!?” Li Rou was furious.

“I really admire our beautiful Li Rou’s taste—she’d choose such a shabby, silly guy who turns red just by stepping onto a stage and can only say ‘I’ll definitely clean well’ when talking. What a unique choice! Haha…”

“Yes, Xiao Rou. I told you last time not to associate with him. I don’t even know much about him. His family runs a grocery store—nothing more than ordinary people. With your qualifications, you can find someone much better and more outstanding. I’ll ask Shengyi to introduce you to someone who’s not only handsome but also comes from a good family. We went to the same school—if I won’t help you, who will?” Zhou Yun added fuel to the fire.

Li Rou’s face turned completely dark. After they finished their backhanded compliments, she coldly said, “Thank you for your concern, but I know myself who to befriend. I don’t need others to meddle. If you have nothing else to do, we’re leaving!” With that, she turned away without looking back, took Chu Tianyu by the hand, and walked away quickly.

Zhou Yun and Wang Shengyi were left staring at each other in confusion.

“Hmph, what’s so great about it? If you weren’t good at studying and didn’t look ugly, with your family’s status as street vendors, I wouldn’t even bother paying you attention! Who would have thought that in college, you’d be called the most innocent beauty? What innocence? You don’t even have 200 yuan worth of stuff on you—only fit to date someone like Chu Tianyu!” Zhou Yun spat these words at Li Rou’s back in anger.

Wang Shengyi stared intently at their backs, thinking to himself, “You brat, one day I’ll show you what I’m capable of. And that Chu Tianyu—I barely managed to get close to the class beauty, and you dare to be with the school beauty? The guys I hired last time were really amateurs; they hit the wrong person and ended up in jail. Damn it, I’ll find another chance—watch you ‘Four Pigs of Beifu’ suffer!”

……

This was the second time Chu Tianyu had held Li Rou’s hand. It was still warm, though slightly trembling. Judging from her pulse and the speed of her blood flow, she must be excited and angry right now.

“It’s not worth getting angry over such things!” Chu Tianyu tried to comfort her.

“They really went too far. What horrible things they said! Especially those about you…” Li Rou remained resentful.

“Hehe, whether a person is good or bad isn’t determined by what others say. And we can’t control what others say, so why worry about it?” Chu Tianyu said calmly.

“Hmm…” After a pause, Li Rou suddenly turned to look at Chu Tianyu closely. Chu Tianyu was puzzled by her gaze. After a long while, Li Rou spoke up, “You give off such a strange vibe! People say you’re honest and dull, but your agility in running and grace in swordsmanship—there’s no other word to describe it but ‘spiritual’. They say you’re weak, like just now, when they openly humiliated you yet you remained indifferent. Yet on the sports field, you show such determination and strategic wisdom. How can so many contradictions and contrasts coexist in one person? I really can’t figure it out…”

Chu Tianyu remained silent for a moment, then smiled at Li Rou and asked gently, “Context! Timing! Everyone should behave in the most appropriate way depending on the situation and timing, right? How can you argue or fight back with them? That would only lower yourself. Hehe, I’ve only heard of dogs barking at people—not people barking at dogs. Right?”

Chu Tianyu said those words, but in his heart he shook his head and thought, “Wang Shengyi, oh Wang Shengyi, I hope you’ll stop here. Otherwise…” Li Rou also smiled in relief upon hearing this and said, “Hehe, I find you quite sarcastic. You even avoid using vulgar words when cursing. I wonder if you really have the magnanimity of a man as you claim. Are you not just an Ah Q who pretends to be victorious with words alone? Hehe!” Hearing her playful remarks, Chu Tianyu didn’t argue and didn’t want to dwell on this issue any longer. He quickly changed the subject and asked, “Aren’t you and Zhou Yun good friends? I heard she said you were even classmates in high school.” “Mm, yes. Our high school was a key school with many wealthy students, and the other students also came from good families. My family wasn’t well-off; my parents didn’t even have urban residency. I’ve been attending school through special admissions based on my grades. Maybe I seem poor and old-fashioned. Apart from boys, most girls ignored me. Zhou Yun was quite active in high school. She was the only girl who wanted to be my friend, so I spent all my time with her. When other girls saw her with me, they stopped being cold or discriminatory toward me. Although it seems now that she was using me to check answers and get tutoring, I’m still very grateful for the happiness and support she gave me back then…” Li Rou, as if a floodgate of emotions had been opened by Chu Tianyu, spoke at length, her voice almost breaking into sobs by the end. Unexpecting that the seemingly gentle and cheerful Li Rou had such experiences, Chu Tianyu was deeply moved. Even he had faced hardships in elementary school, but back then he was young and had an older brother he could rely on, so his sense of loneliness and rejection from others was far less severe compared to Li Rou’s. For a while, both fell silent, their intertwined figures growing longer in the morning light. … The scene remained the same, but their hands clasped together appeared on a small photo. Ouyang Ziyi examined the photo and thought of the information she had just seen collected by Sister Xin, then chuckled lightly. “I never thought our third young master of the Chu family, who seems so silly, is actually a playboy! He has an unmarried girlfriend over there, and his hand is still holding that innocent school beauty. Hehe, I wonder what Miss Qin would think if she knew?”

“Yes, I never expected your classmate Qin Nianran to be engaged even before starting school. And the person she’s engaged to is none other than that interesting guy we met at the tea house—the third grandson of Chu Fangshan, the chairman of Chuye Group. It’s said they were engaged before they were even born, and the ceremony we saw recently was just another one.” Sister Xin added from beside her.
“Hehe, I just checked some information. That Chu Tianyu is also a kind of legend! He was struck by lightning at birth and became stupid. Hehe, I wonder what sins he committed in his past life to deserve such punishment from heaven!” Ouyang Ziyi said with a hint of schadenfreude.
“Well, we haven’t been able to gather much information about this guy. All we know comes from external sources—some say his illness was cured by a monk, but he still has some aftereffects and isn’t very smart…”
“Not very smart? He better not be too smart. He acts humble, but from the moment we saw him in the car, he was pretending to be weak while actually playing tricks on me and Lan Yue. No wonder he acted so righteous on the road, but in the restaurant, he pretended to faint and act foolish when kicked. So he’s actually from a wealthy family and can’t afford any mistakes! What a coward!” Ouyang Ziyi said angrily.
If Chu Tianyu could hear these words, he would surely feel aggrieved to death. He was just sitting in a car or walking—what had he done to deserve this?
“But Ziyi, to be honest, after our secret investigation over these past few days, we found that Chu Tianyu has many admirable qualities. He’s not some spoiled brat. In fact, his attitude and actions show great perseverance and diligence, even a bit of nobility. You know, it would be easy for him to just give some money to help that pancake vendor, but he chooses to go and help twice a week personally. What does that say?” Sister Xin asked.
Ouyang Ziyi lowered her head and looked again at a photo of Chu Tianyu jumping to shoot on the basketball court. Seeing his confident and determined expression, her tone softened, and she repeated, “What does that say?”

“According to my estimate, there are only two possibilities. One is that it shows he has a strong will; perhaps for certain reasons, he is tempering himself. The other is that it shows he is kind-hearted and principled—he might think it’s more meaningful to help others with his own abilities rather than relying on external factors that come without effort. Moreover, look at his daily routine—‘regular’ is the word that describes it, and his lifestyle is ‘frugal.’ His academic performance is average, but for someone who spends every day studying hard in the library, such grades mean little. Besides, given his background, there’s no need for him to focus on scores or diplomas. In short, he’s not ordinary! In my opinion, someone with his background either indulges himself to the extreme or controls himself strictly. Obviously, he belongs to the latter category,” Sister Xin said with great certainty.

“Tch, what’s there to control? I don’t see any obvious skills in him! And isn’t it about expressing oneself and unleashing passion in today’s society?” Ouyang Ziyi said dismissively.

“That’s something you’d have to ask him! But among all the people I’ve seen, Chu Tianyu is really the first to give me this impression!”

Ouyang Ziyi remained silent for a while before suddenly raising her head with a sly smile and saying, “Sister Xin, why are you so interested in this? It seems like you really admire that kid.”

“Go away, you little girl! Always full of nonsense. I’m not even talking about you. You don’t study properly and have gathered a whole group of so-called bodyguards. Watch me tell your father!” Sister Xin scolded.

“There’s no such thing! They came to me on their own. I just entertain them when I’m bored—nothing serious! I certainly don’t want to be like that Qin Nianran, always acting superior and cold, unbearable!” Ouyang Ziyi whined.

“Well, I have confidence in your ability to know your limits. Otherwise, if your father handed you over to me, I really wouldn’t let you act so recklessly! Actually, at first I didn’t pay much attention to Chu Tianyu, but the more I investigated, the more interested I became. The number of investigators I sent increased from one to five. He’s quite bold. According to our investigations, he doesn’t have any secret bodyguards around him. The Chu family really trusts him!” Sister Xin brought the conversation back on track.

“Hmph, with his constant act of putting on an act, even if there were robbers, they’d have automatically dismissed him. Sister Xin keeps saying how great he is, but from the way he behaves, he’s just a playboy. He already has a fiancée yet is still flirting with another!” Ouyang Ziyi said dismissively.
“Hehe, Ziyi, it seems you have quite a prejudice against him!”
“Of course I do. Am I not telling the truth?”
“On the surface, yes. But from what I can tell, his engagement to Qin Nianran seems more about business cooperation between their families. As for the campus beauty he knows now, it seems they share common interests—both love reading and exercising in the morning, which is why they spend more time together. And that girl doesn’t even know his true identity, so your claim that he’s a playboy seducing younger girls doesn’t hold up!” Sister Xin analyzed.
After hearing Sister Xin’s words, Ouyang Ziyi didn’t immediately argue. Instead, she shook the photo of Chu Tianyu shooting basketball and murmured to herself, “Chu Tianyu! The third young master of the Chu family! Look at your pathetic look—getting angry at the slightest provocation. Now, hehe, it seems quite amusing. Seeing you living such a carefree life… Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for me to make my move. Hmph…”
……
With a “snap,” Qin Nianran put down the documents in her hand. Looking at Ouyang Ziyi’s beaming smile in the photo and those light blue eyes full of temptation, she couldn’t believe she actually had a quarter French blood.
“They’ve really started investigating me. Hehe, let them investigate. There’s nothing I can’t tell them. I wasn’t planning to hide anything from them. But that guy’s secrets probably won’t last long. It’s none of my business. If he wants to act ordinary and low-key, that’s his problem. Besides, I already warned him last time—I’ve done my duty.”

“Ouyang Ziyi, the daughter of the current chairman of Oulijiabao Group, is outgoing by nature, inheriting the French enthusiasm, openness, and romantic flair. She is bold in her actions and unafraid of consequences, skilled in racing and extreme sports. She holds numerous titles and honors, having represented Hong Kong in the national shooting championships where she won second place, as well as winning the women’s championship in national martial arts competitions. As the top student at Peking University’s Law School, her academic achievements go without saying. Her father’s Oulijiabao Group, headquartered in Hong Kong, is highly powerful with a wide range of business interests, though its main areas are finance, real estate, and information technology. It is said to have deep connections and cooperative relationships with several major overseas conglomerates. Back then, in order to break free from Chu Ye’s influence and expand the market, our own Fudu Industrial Group also considered investing in Hong Kong as a stepping stone to enter overseas markets, only to find that Oulijiabao Group had already monopolized the situation, making it difficult to break in.” Qin Nianran slowly processed the information she had just read.

“And that beautiful young woman? It turns out to be Yu Xin, the president of Oulijiabao Group’s Beijing branch. She’s 36 years old and still unmarried. She can be considered a business genius, skilled in social interactions, with a talent for identifying business opportunities that others miss and turning them into her own successes. She always acts one step ahead of others. She is now a senior shareholder holding 5% of Oulijiabao Group.” Qin Nianran continued to think with her eyes closed.

After a while of deep thought, Qin Nianran finally opened her eyes, took out her phone, dialed a number, and said, “Uncle Li? Hello, it’s Nianran. It’s about Ouyang Ziyi and their Oulijiabao Group that I asked you to look into last time. I hope you can continue to send people to keep an eye on them, and if possible, expand the scope of the investigation. Also, check on the land we invested in Beijing to see if Oulijiabao Group also bid on it. Oh, and investigate in detail all their investment activities…”

After hanging up the phone, Qin Nianran finally felt at ease. For some reason, she had a strong intuition: “With Ouyang Ziyi’s personality, she will definitely take action, in one way or another. It’s never a bad idea to be prepared in advance! As for that guy, I wonder if he took my words to heart. I don’t want him to expose his past secrets later and be exploited by others. After all, he’s my fiancé. And when investigating him, I didn’t hear that the Chu family sent anyone to protect him secretly. Do they really think staying low-key means no danger? How naive! Maybe I should send some people over…” The moment she thought this, Qin Nianran was shocked—how could she end up thinking about that guy? There wasn’t a single good person in their Chu family. Why was she even considering sending bodyguards for him?

Qin Nianran quickly dismissed this idea and forced herself to focus again on the photo of Ouyang Ziyi in her hands. As she looked at it, she thought to herself, “A decent opponent, a solid background. Coming to university was a good choice. Meeting such an opponent might really keep me from feeling lonely for now. Hehe, Ouyang Ziyi, I’m really looking forward to it. I hope you won’t disappoint me…”