That night, after the redness and swelling on Meng Tao’s chin faded, it turned blue and purple instead, greatly ruining his handsome face. He had no choice but to turn down the training invitation and stay curled up in the dorm under a therapy lamp.

His terminal vibrated. When he saw it was his father, Meng Zai, Meng Tao was startled and immediately answered.

“Father?”

At Saint Ya’s military academy, he could be monitored at any time, so Meng Tao had assumed his family would not contact him during this period.

Meng Zai stood in a corner of the smoking area, a cigarette butt nearly burned to the end between the fingers of his right hand.

“I heard you’ve been getting very close to him lately?”

He didn’t say the name outright, but Meng Tao instantly understood who “him” referred to.

Although Li Xiao had stolen his spotlight during the practical assessment, being chased around and praised by a prince didn’t feel bad. Meng Tao snorted lightly.

“He was the one who kept coming up to me. I didn’t pay him any attention.”

“I think you’ve lost your mind!” Meng Zai barked. “What did I tell you before you left? You knew perfectly well His Majesty rejects him, and yet you still insisted on associating with him?!”

Meng Tao was rarely scolded, so he was startled and unconsciously sat up straighter, feeling aggrieved.

“I already said it—he was the one who kept coming over! Zheng Lin and the others can testify!”

Rage gathered in Meng Zai’s eyes.

“I just learned through a reliable channel that because His Majesty is dissatisfied with how closely you’ve been associating with him, he rejected my transfer application. Do you know what that means?”

Meng Tao’s pupils contracted sharply as he sprang to his feet.

“How could this happen?!”

“I don’t have time to lecture you right now. From now on, stay far away from him.”

Meng Zai exhaled a stream of white smoke and crushed out the cigarette so hard that his fingertips turned white.

“It would be best if things proceed smoothly. Otherwise…”

Meng Tao shrank back, his face turning deathly pale.

“I’ll be careful!”

Danse Royal Palace.

Meng Jian had come to the palace for three straight days without seeing Li Ji, and he was beyond irritated.

“Old Meng?”

The moment Meng Jian heard that voice, he was already annoyed. When he turned around, it was indeed that old bastard Yi Yongning, with Li Ji—who had refused to see him this whole time—right beside him.

Though both were among the five great generals, Yi Yongning was currently in charge of the Tianjiang Constellation, which made him effectively rank half a level above the other four.

Meng Jian saluted respectfully, but inwardly he felt uneasy.

His Majesty refusing to see him while keeping close contact with Yi Yongning was absolutely not a good sign.

Li Ji’s expression was cold. He gestured for Yi Yongning to leave first, then strode into the administrative hall.

Watching Yi Yongning leave with a smile, Meng Jian entered the office with a dark face.

“Your Majesty, I heard there was a problem with Meng Zai’s transfer. I—”

“And you still have the nerve to bring it up?” Li Ji flung the file in his hand onto the desk and glared at Meng Jian. “So impatient, hm? You haven’t even transferred back to Tianjiang yet, and you’re already getting this close to my cheap younger brother. Do you think I’m dead?”

“Your Majesty! You’ve misunderstood completely!”

Meng Jian stepped forward two paces and stood before the broad desk, his tone urgent.

“The omega who gave birth to the Second Prince was a traitor from the Bique tribe! How could I possibly be on good terms with the Second Prince?”

“I didn’t even ask you, and yet you came to question me first?”

Li Ji’s voice was not loud, but it carried enormous weight.

“Meng Jian, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Meng Jian’s expression turned solemn.

“My stance has always been firm. It has never wavered!”

“Has it?” Li Ji said faintly. “I’ve given you so many years, yet the rebel remnants in Nanming still haven’t been dealt with, and you dare talk to me about stance?”

Meng Jian fell silent for a moment, then met Li Ji’s scrutinizing gaze again.

“The reason the rebel remnants can never be completely eradicated—you understand it better than anyone, don’t you?”

Li Ji frowned tightly, and the warmth in his eyes dropped rapidly.

“Because they still have hope,” Meng Jian continued on his own. “If you had listened to my suggestion back then and secretly executed the Second Prince, the situation today would definitely be very different.”

“Shut up!” Li Ji shouted angrily. “Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?”

Meng Jian lowered his head respectfully.

“Your Majesty, the Meng family will forever be your most loyal dog. Please do not be misled and give certain people an opening to exploit.”

Outside the office, the special assistant had been standing guard for over half an hour when the tightly shut door finally opened from the inside and Meng Jian walked out.

“General Meng,” the assistant greeted respectfully.

Meng Jian said quietly, “His Majesty is still young. Sometimes you need to persuade him a little—he shouldn’t act on impulse alone.”

The assistant acknowledged him and watched Meng Jian leave before carrying tea into the office.

Behind the desk, Li Ji supported his chin with one hand, staring blankly out at the garden through the window.

The assistant set down the teacup and silently stood by.

After a long while, Li Ji said in a low voice, “Notify the military department and have them draft another transfer application for Meng Zai.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Holy Ya Empire, Central Military Academy.

Meng Tao had been avoiding Li Xiao for three days straight. Li Xiao didn’t need to guess to know that someone from the Meng family had tipped him off.

But Meng Jian would definitely go to the palace and whisper in Li Ji’s ear. There was a good chance his brother would change his mind, so Li Xiao still needed to push a little harder.

Thursday afternoon, after everyone finished training, they were dismissed on the spot.

Li Xiao walked up to Meng Tao.

“I still haven’t apologized for what happened last time. Let’s have dinner together tonight?”

“I’m not eating with you.” Meng Tao impatiently tried to go around him, only to have Li Xiao block his path again.

After going back and forth a few times, Meng Tao’s patience finally snapped.

Ever since being scolded by his father, he had been in a terrible mood, and now he had to stay on guard every day in case Li Xiao approached him. The mental exhaustion had become severe, yet the culprit, Li Xiao, behaved as if nothing had happened.

It clearly wasn’t his fault, so why should he be the one to bear the consequences?

Meng Tao finally exploded. He glared at Li Xiao and cursed, “Who the hell wants to eat with you? Who do you think you are? I really hate you! Stop bothering me in the future! Get lost!”

His harsh voice echoed through the empty training hall.

All the students stopped and turned to look at once.

“What got into him? He’s yelling at Li Xiao?”
“He usually seems pretty emotionally stable.”
“What the hell? Even if he doesn’t want to eat, that’s no reason to act like this.”

Da Bei immediately got angry. “Who are you telling to get lost?! Where are your manners?!”

Meng Tao shot back, “Is there any place for you to speak here?!”

In the rest area, Song Jin had just finished washing his face. Hearing the shouting, he strolled over slowly to watch the show.

Li Xiao looked calmly at Meng Tao, whose face was red and neck flushed, looking like he was one step away from stomping his feet on the spot.

“Did someone bully you? Being angry won’t solve anything. If you say it out loud, maybe I can help.”

Meng Tao had just unleashed a fierce barrage, only to feel like he’d punched cotton. He was so angry he nearly had a heart attack, and threw a punch straight at Li Xiao.

Since His Majesty already disliked Li Xiao, he might as well completely fall out with him and make his stance clear. Maybe that would make His Majesty change his mind.

“Careful!” Da Bei cried out.

Jiang Hao had been about to make a move, but from the corner of his eye he noticed Li Xiao’s movement and forcibly held himself back.

The punch came straight at his face. Li Xiao neither dodged nor moved away. At the last second, he caught Meng Tao’s wrist.

“Calm down.”

“I don’t need you to管!” Meng Tao yanked hard, only to find he couldn’t break free no matter what. His reason, burned away by rage, left him unable to think. He immediately kicked out.

Li Xiao leaned back slightly and twisted Meng Tao’s wrist behind him.

Before Meng Tao’s toes could even touch Li Xiao, he lost his balance and crashed to the ground in an undignified heap.

In just a split second of exchange, Meng Tao was utterly defeated.

The students watching all around gasped in surprise.

“So strong!”
“That was so cool!”
“Li Xiao really has been hiding his skills!”

When Song Jin saw them start fighting, he got a little excited, thinking he would finally get to observe Li Xiao’s combat skills. He hadn’t expected it to end in an instant.

“Tsk.”

Qian Can glanced at him. “Boss, you sound pretty unhappy.”

Song Jin said, “If I don’t tear off his disguise, I’ll change my surname to Li.”

Qian Can: “…”

Meng Tao was stunned. He could not believe he had no room to fight back against Li Xiao. Furious and humiliated, he scrambled back up and charged at Li Xiao again.

“You’re a jinx! Anyone who gets close to you ends up unlucky! And you still have the nerve to come back!”

Li Xiao kept retreating and dodging as he said, “Do you know saying things like that really hurts people?”

Meng Tao sneered. “Did I say anything wrong? Flirting around with alphas too—how disgusting.”

Qian Can, who had been watching with great interest, rolled his eyes when he heard that.

Fine, this idiot could insult Li Xiao, but why drag His Highness into it too? Was he not dying fast enough already?

From the corner of his eye, he saw Song Jin walking past him and muttered a curse under his breath before hurrying after him.

Oh no. This was going to get ugly.

The military academy students watching all wore strange expressions, because they also felt insulted by that remark.

Their interactions with Li Xiao were just normal classmate exchanges. How did that become flirting?

Li Xiao found an opening in Meng Tao’s chaotic offense and kicked him three meters away.

“I think you should go back and rest early. You’re already talking nonsense.”

“You bas—mmph!”

Meng Tao gritted his teeth and staggered to his feet. Before he could finish speaking, a huge force lifted him and flung him away. He crashed heavily into the steps and rolled down them.

The world spun around him. When his vision steadied, he saw a pair of long legs in black military boots in front of him. The next moment, pain shot through his scalp as someone grabbed his hair and yanked him up.

Song Jin forced him to meet his eyes.

“Who exactly did you call disgusting?”

Meng Tao had never been beaten like this before. His temper flared. He grabbed Song Jin’s wrist and threw a punch toward his stomach.

“Mind your own business and get lost!”

Song Jin locked his wrist, kicked him in the knee, and when Meng Tao lost his balance, yanked him forward and drove his knee upward.

“Ugh! Cough—cough—!”

Meng Tao clutched his stomach, his legs going weak, but because his hair was still being held, he was forced to stay bent at the knees.

Song Jin’s two attacks were far heavier than Li Xiao’s earlier moves. Meng Tao was in so much pain he couldn’t speak at all.

The students watching looked at each other, but no one dared step in. If they did, they might become collateral damage.

Qian Can bared his teeth, watching Song Jin use Meng Tao like a punching bag, hesitating over whether he should go stop the fight.

If this kept going, the guy might actually die. And this was an international student, after all.

Just as Qian Can braced himself to intervene, Li Xiao walked past him and caught Song Jin’s raised fist.

“That’s enough.” Li Xiao looked at Song Jin. “Why bother arguing with someone who’s not in his right mind?”

Song Jin replied, “If a dog bites me, I’ll still chase it down and bite it back—let alone a person.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Even dogs would turn around and run if they saw you.

“But for your sake, I’ll let it go this time.” Song Jin let go, kicked Meng Tao away, and said to Qian Can at the side, “Tell Qin Le to arrange a few classes for these international friends. Properly teach them what etiquette is.”

Qian Can hurriedly agreed. “I’ll notify him right away!”

Li Xiao felt a little strange hearing that.

Qin Le was the student council president and held enormous power on campus, yet Song Jin sounded even more commanding than the president himself.

Surname Song, from Imperial Capital Star, with blond hair and amber eyes, and a face strongly resembling Song Yu—all the clues pointed toward one possibility.

Perhaps if he figured out the little golden lion’s identity, the deadlock in front of him would resolve itself.

When Qin Le received the message, he was dumbfounded.

“You mean the boss beat an exchange student unconscious?!”

Qian Can replied, “Yep. Boss also said to have a few etiquette classes arranged for them while you’re at it. That’s all. Bye.”

Qin Le: “…………”

Was it still possible for him to resign now?

Danse Royal Palace.

Meng Zai’s transfer application was quickly resubmitted. Although Li Ji was displeased, he still had to sign it for the sake of the bigger picture.

Noticing the special assistant looking at his terminal with the expression of someone who had just eaten something rotten, Li Ji seemed to think of something and beckoned him over.

The assistant hesitated for a long time, then reluctantly projected the message into the air.

[Meng Tao publicly insulted the Second Prince and even started a fight, enraging the Holy Ya military academy students. He was severely beaten and sent to the infirmary.]

“Damn it all!” Li Ji burst out cursing, tore up Meng Zai’s transfer application in one motion, and flung it away. “Go tell Meng Jian that I won’t approve any of Meng Zai’s transfer applications for the next eight years. If he can’t even discipline his own people, then he doesn’t need to return to Tianjiang either!”

The assistant glanced at the torn-up file on the floor and respectfully acknowledged the order.

Torn up again.

What exactly was the Meng family doing?

The assistant bent down to pick up the shredded paper. Just as he was about to leave, Li Ji called him back.

“Do you have any other instructions, Your Majesty?”

Li Ji kept a dark face. After a long moment, he spoke impatiently.

“You should at least ask whether he was hurt. Do I really have to remind you of that too?”

The assistant immediately sent a message over.

A reply came back very quickly.

The assistant reported, “No. The Second Prince won.”

“Hmph.”

Li Ji strode out of the office and went to take a walk in the garden.

The assistant: “…?”

Why did he seem a little happy?

–

Meng Tao was beaten badly enough to end up in the school infirmary. Overnight, Song Jin’s ruthless style spread wildly across the military academy forum, sparking intense arguments.

Because of the special nature of a military academy, students fought often, but usually they stopped at the right point. It served both as emotional release and training, killing two birds with one stone, so the school and the student council typically turned a blind eye.

But beating someone badly enough to send them to the hospital was almost unheard of.

Zheng Lin, Qi Ge, and several other exchange students went to the student council office and demanded strict punishment for Song Jin.

Qin Le felt like he had two heads from the stress.

If this was treated as a major issue, it would involve international relations, and the one who had gone too far was Fourth Prince Song Jin. It was far too troublesome.

He truly had no idea how to handle it, so he called for backup.

Ten minutes later, first-year dean Zhao Qiqi was pacing around with his hands behind his back, equally unsure how to resolve the matter.

If the punishment was too severe and Song Jin got angry, he might go beat up the exchange students all over again.

Completely out of options, Qin Le sent another message asking Qian Can for help.

Qian Can hurried to the training room and told Song Jin, “Boss, Zheng Lin and the others are causing trouble at Le Le’s place!”

Song Jin took off his boxing gloves and casually wiped away some sweat.

“They still have the nerve to make trouble?”

Qian Can said, “What do we do? Le Le can’t handle it.”

Song Jin picked up a towel and started walking out while wiping his sweat.

“Let’s go have a look.”

The student council office was noisy as a marketplace.

Zheng Lin slammed the desk and demanded an explanation. “If you don’t give us a reasonable solution, then we can only resolve this through diplomatic channels!”

“I’ve already said this many times—we’re not refusing to deal with it.” Qin Le sat behind the desk, his face serious. “The incident investigation needs time. Whoever is found to be at fault in the end will be dealt with according to school regulations.”

“Excuses!” Qi Ge snorted coldly. “You’re covering for your own student!”

Just then, the office door opened. Song Jin walked in wearing athletic clothes, his sharp aura still fully exposed after physical training, making him look even more dangerous than usual.

The arguing instantly died down by more than half.

Song Jin’s gaze swept over Zheng Lin and Qi Ge before turning to Qin Le.

“That day, I really did use excessive force in self-defense.”

Neither Qin Le nor Zhao Qiqi had expected him to admit fault the moment he walked in. They exchanged a glance and relaxed a little.

“Even so, we still need to investigate,” Qin Le said.

With his hands in his pockets, Song Jin strolled farther inside.

“I truly didn’t expect people from Danse to be so weak. They couldn’t even take two light punches.”

The tone carried a smile, but it was clearly a provocation.

The expressions of Zheng Lin and the others, which had only just improved slightly, immediately darkened again, and a new round of shouting broke out.

The moment Qian Can saw there was another chance to argue, he rolled up his sleeves and charged in too.

Not long after, the office door opened again.

Song Jin turned his head and found, to his surprise, that it was Li Xiao.

Li Xiao swept his gaze over everyone present, walked to Song Jin’s side, and said to Qin Le, “That day, Little Song only beat Meng Tao because he was standing up for me. If anyone should be punished, punish me instead.”

Song Jin looked at him with a strange expression.

“Who was standing up for—”

Halfway through the sentence, he suddenly felt pressure on the top of his foot. He lowered his head and saw that Li Xiao was stepping on it.