After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

The next three days were a true week of hell. Lei Mang used all the interrogation and stress-resistance techniques he used on enemy agents on this college student.

In the extreme combat arena, Zhu Xun Chuan possessed a foundation of basic physical enhancement, but lacked the killing skills and tactical coordination of a top-tier special forces soldier honed through countless battles. He was at a disadvantage.

He was thrown to the ground, choked, and kicked away.

But he didn't continue calling for system cheating. The bloodlust in his bones was completely ignited. Every time he was knocked down, he would get up again within three seconds, like a tireless wolf, his eyes red as he pounced once more.

Late the next night. Outside a makeshift cot.

Zhu Xun Chuan sat shirtless on the steps, wiping the bruises on his ribs with iodine.

A tall shadow blocked out the moonlight. The Dragon Fang vice-captain, a ruthless character missing an ear on his left cheek, plopped down next to him.

"Clatter".

The vice-captain tossed him a special-supply Honghe cigarette, lit one for himself, and exhaled a smoke ring: "You're a real man, kid. I've been in the army for fifteen years, and I've never seen any rich kid who could withstand the captain's mad dog tactics."

Zhu Xun Chuan took the cigarette, leaned over to borrow a light, and took a deep drag: "He hasn't killed me yet, how can I back down?"

The deputy captain grinned and patted his muscular shoulder. The rules in the military are simple: if you can take a beating and don't cry out in pain when you bleed, you're a brother.

Day Three. The Final Test. A simulated extreme escape through the Yanshan jungle.

Zhu Xunchuan was assigned to Lei Mang's squad, a group of six. The hypothetical enemy was an entire reinforced company of elite troops, equipped with helicopters and infrared thermal imaging.

The battle to break through the enemy lines reached its climax when a torrential downpour began.

While crossing a minefield, Lei Mang, in order to cover the new recruits, lost his footing and got his right foot stuck between two rocks, fracturing his ankle on the spot and swelling it up like a steamed bun.

The imaginary enemies from all sides closed in, with the nearest pursuers less than 300 meters away.

"Damn it!" Lei Mang, drenched in cold sweat from the pain, pulled out his training signal pistol from his waist. "You guys go! I'll stay behind and cover the retreat! This is a drill, not real combat. We can't let our entire army be wiped out because of me!"

The other four team members, with red eyes, prepared to retreat.

Zhu Xun Chuan snatched the signal gun from Lei Mang's hand and casually threw it into the bushes next to him.

"What the hell are you doing!" Lei Mang roared.

"I never abandon my teammates."

Zhu Xun Chuan turned around, grabbed Lei Mang's massive body weighing over 180 pounds, and with a sudden burst of strength from his waist and abdomen, hoisted the bald giant onto his shoulder.

"Attention everyone, three o'clock position, stay close to me!"

Torrential rain.

Zhu Xun Chuan carried the 180-pound strong man as he ran wildly through the muddy jungle. The potential of his initial physical enhancement was completely exhausted at this moment; his muscles were as taut as steel cables, and every step he took left deep dents in the mud.

The pursuers were dumbfounded. To carry a grown man through the mountainous jungle at such a speed—was he even human?

It forcibly tore open a gap.

Four hours later, Zhu Xun Chuan led his squad and kicked open the tent of the simulated enemy command post. He threw Lei Mang onto a cot, leaned against a doorpost, and gasped for breath.

The exercise has ended.

Inside the medical tent, a military doctor is setting Lei Mang's bones and applying a cast.

Zhu Xun Chuan sat on a small stool to the side, wiping the mud off his head with a towel.

"Whoosh—"

A small red bottle flew over. Zhu Xun Chuan caught it. It was safflower oil.

Lei Mang leaned against the pillow, looking at the young man who came in in a suit and came out covered in mud, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

After a long silence, he spoke in a gruff voice: "You've got guts, kid. From now on, if you come to Yanshan, the Dragon Fang Clan's door will be open for you anytime. If you need anything, just call the brothers."

A simple greeting to the brothers.

This group of top-tier assassins from the Great Xia Dynasty were completely subdued by Zhu Xun Chuan's unyielding spirit. This also meant that Zhu Xun Chuan now held a hidden and terrifying trump card of top-tier martial power.

5 PM. Jinmen Military Region Compound, Shen Family Villa.

Shen Yao sat in the armchair in his study, holding a briefing from the exercise command department.

"Single-handedly, carrying a wounded soldier weighing 180 pounds, forcibly broke through the enemy lines for two kilometers and took down the Red Army's command post?" Shen Yao stared at the text on the briefing and remained silent for a full minute.

Then, a burst of hearty laughter, so loud it made the windowpanes vibrate, came from the study.

"Good lad! I didn't misjudge him! I, Shen Yao, accept him as my son-in-law!"

Meanwhile, at the military region's guesthouse.

Zhu Xun Chuan had just finished a hot shower, washing away the gunpowder and dirt. He stood in front of the mirror, looking at the few new small scars on his body, and casually dried his wet hair with a towel.

The military region arranged for someone to deliver cleaned and ironed clothes. The 780,000 yuan haute couture suit was hung back on the hanger.

The phone vibrated at that moment.

Caller ID: Head Nurse.

Zhu Xun Chuan pressed the answer button. On the other end of the line, Shen Tianxi's tearful voice, thick with nasal congestion, immediately came through.

"Brother Chuan... I heard from Grandpa's bodyguard that that crazy Lei from Longya forced you to roll in the mud and made you carry him on your back along the mountain path. Are you hurt? Does it hurt?"

The little girl hid under the covers, her voice soft and sweet, filled with a sickly kind of heartache and self-blame, "If I had known, I shouldn't have let you go to Tianjin. I should have locked you in my room..."

Hearing that sickeningly sweet voice, Zhu Xun Chuan felt all the fatigue of the past few days vanish. He walked to the French windows and looked at the sky gradually darkening outside.

"I'm not seriously injured, just a little sore in my back," Zhu Xun Chuan said in a low voice, his tone carrying a hint of roguish teasing.

"Oh no? You hurt your back? Did that crazy Lei do this? I'm going to tell Grandpa to kill him!" Shen Tianxi exclaimed anxiously.

"It wasn't Lei Fengzi who hit me." Zhu Xun Chuan chuckled. "It was mainly because the night before I went to Longya, a certain head nurse was making rounds too vigorously, and the water pump was too powerful, which hurt my back."

The other end of the phone fell into dead silence.

A full five seconds passed before Shen Tianxi's embarrassed and indignant complaint rang out: "You jerk! I was heartbroken, and you're joking about something like this! I'm ignoring you!"

Although she said she wouldn't pay attention, the crying tone in her voice clearly turned into a sweet, coquettish plea.

"Alright, I'll change my clothes and get ready to go back to Peking University right away." Zhu Xunchuan glanced at the clock on the wall. "You stay in Tianjin with the leader for a couple of days. When you get back to school, bring that cat-eared girl outfit with you."

"Hmph, dream on. You should take care of your back first."

After hanging up the phone, Zhu Xun Chuan put on his sharp suit, regaining his ascetic demeanor as a refined scoundrel and a suit-wearing thug.

Outside the door, Shen Yao's personal bodyguard had already prepared a car to take him back to Beijing.

Just as Zhu Xunchuan was about to leave.

The phone he had casually tossed on the bed suddenly went berserk, unleashing a rapid and piercing barrage of calls.

Caller: Lin Yuan.

Zhu Xun Chuan frowned. This kid would never make such a life-threatening call unless it was something really important.

He swiped to answer the call.

"Brother Chuan! You finally answered the phone! Where are you?!" As soon as the call connected, Lin Yuan's pig-like screams made Zhu Xun Chuan's eardrums ache.

"What's the panic? Is the sky falling?" Zhu Xun Chuan said as he fastened his cufflinks and walked outside.

"My goodness! Why aren't you looking at your phone? The sky hasn't fallen, but the school is in chaos!" Lin Yuan's voice trembled with extreme excitement and shock. "That Grand Slam Best Actress Pei Yanyu, who retired from the entertainment industry two years ago! She just posted a Weibo post! And it immediately put you on the trending topics list across the entire internet!"

Zhu Xun Chuan paused, his fingers moving. "What did she send?"

She posted a photo of herself on the stage of our auditorium, with the caption: "I heard there's a number one heartthrob at Peking University? I've come to see what's going on."

Lin Yuan swallowed hard, panting, "Brother Chuan, the entire Weibo server crashed for several minutes! That's practically a direct ban on your name!"