Chapter 26: The First Meeting (2)

As one of Z Nation's four metropolises, A City had always been favored by many large scale event organizers. Since it was a national competition, city hall attached great importance to the martial arts competition this time around. All aspects of the competition, such as publicity and so on, were executed in a grand manner.

Which is why when the three of them alighted, they caught sight of an LED screen at the main entrance that was broadcasting information on competitions from the previous years. And, as luck would have it, it just so happened to be broadcasting Shen Jingbin's very first competition.

The national youth martial arts competition was pretty respectable in Z Nation, and it was Old Master Shen's long standing desire for Shen Jingbin to participate in it.

However, apart from martial arts exhibitions, there were duels as well.

Although Shen Jingbin and Shen Jingchen's parents didn't have the time to look after their children, they still loved them dearly. They couldn't bear to see their adorable little girl fight in a competition. So, whenever Old Master Shen brought the matter up, the two of them used her young age that was easily susceptible to injuries as an excuse for her to not participate.

It was an arduous wait for her to reach the age of eighteen. But when she did, her Grandfather wordlessly registered her in an extremely unyielding manner.

In the past, the two of you used her age as an excuse. Now, she's all grown up. She isn't a child any longer.

By the time her Mother received information from the organizer, the die was cast and there was no going back. She was so furious that she had stomped her foot in anger.

At that time, the calm display of skills she showed off in the exhibition matches allowed her to nab first place without a hitch. However, she had the misfortune of going up against a changquan ¹ practitioner who was pegged as the crowd favorite for that year.

Although Shen Jingbin wasn't weak and had obtained many trophies throughout her many years of practice, exhibition matches and duels were two different things. Duels consisted of actual battle, which she hadn't participated in up till this point. Her opponent, on the other hand, just so happened to be the complete opposite of her. They didn't amount to much in the exhibition matches, but were a formidable contender when it came to duels.

Many people lamented her unfortunate fate, and even more people felt sorry for her: This was their first time seeing such a beautiful maiden, and she was as beautiful as an angel! But who would've thought that before they even had their fill of her, they would bear witness to the little angel being handily beaten to the point where she looked like a pig's head!

However, when the time came, contrary to everyone's expectations, an astonishing power burst forth from within Shen Jingbin's tiny body, allowing her to lead the tempo of the fight within just ten minutes of the match's commencement.

In a contest between experts, one's level of skill was no longer held the most important. What mattered the most was grasping the tempo of the fight. Her winning was only natural after taking control of the battle's tempo, resulting in her becoming the most popular candidate to win.

In the end, her match ended up becoming essential marketing material for the organizing committees of every subsequent year.

Under Shen Jingchen's exaggerated explanation, Zhao Chengning stopped in front of the screen out of interest and watched Shen Jingbin's match.

Although she wasn't all that different from how she was now, both her personality and the aura she exuded were practically that of a different person's once she stepped onto the stage. After the match was over, apart from Old Master Shen and Shen Jingchen, no one else could speak to her without any difficulty. Even her parents had received a fright from watching her match.

Shen Jingbin calmly looked at him and nodded her head.

"You weren't able to tell, right? Let me tell you, this fella is a damn pervert. It'll be the misfortune of anyone who marries her. There'll definitely be domestic violence, or the person might be tortured to death instead!" Shen Jingchen would never relinquish the chance to besmirch her name, "Just look at me. I may be her big bro, but I'm mistreated by her everyday when we're at home. I have no human rights at all. I'm practically living in an abyss of suffering!"

Zhao Chengning replied, "That's alright, her martial prowess is worthy of her beauty. A beautiful lady that's capable of protecting herself is a good thing."

His words were clearly well received, causing Shen Jingbin's favorability towards him to slowly rise as she happily said, "I love speaking with people who are wise and have foresight. I bore of crushing a certain someone in both IQ and strength. Let's go, I'll bring you in to take a look."

After saying that, she led Zhao Chengning into the stadium, leaving Shen Jingchen to gnash his teeth in their wake.

As the second day was the start of the competition, there were many people within the stadium at present. There were participants who came to scope out the situation, and residents who came to have a peek at things in advance.

Shen Jingbin was unexpectedly popular. She was faced with an unending stream of people who greeted her along the way. There were even a few who ran up to her to ask for group photos or autographs.

Zhao Chengning and Shen Jingchen stood at the side and looked at the young lady who seemed a little uncomfortable as she took group photos with others.

Shen Jingbin was an absolute beauty. Regardless of how harsh a judge they were, anyone who saw her would willingly sing her praises. Her Father had once brought her to attend a banquet. When it ended, she received various invitations from many famous management companies. A famous singer's manager even told her bluntly that she'd definitely become a nightmare for many celebrities if she ever decided to join the entertainment world,

The warm sunlight penetrated through the clouds and spilled onto her delicate white skin, seeming to cast a halo over her features. Due to the angle being just right, he could even see the fine hair on her face.

She was soft and warm.

Truly a nice looking young lady.

Zhao Chengning suddenly thought of a completely different face, and his eyes couldn't help but light up in amusement.

Almost as if she'd sensed his gaze, Shen Jingbin suddenly turned to face him. Their eyes met, and the atmosphere around them changed slightly.

He coughed and thought of saying something, but shifted his gaze away upon seeing her unperturbed expression.

Shen Jingchen suddenly acted as if he'd found the New World and exclaimed, "Eh, little Jingjing, why are your ears red?"

In response to what he said, Zhao Chengning subconsciously shifted his gaze and looked at her ears.

Sure enough, her small and exquisite ears had turned red from her earlobes. Even the tips of her ears were slightly red.

"You must have made a mistake, moron." Shen Jingbin really felt like throttling this pig like party member beside her.

Do you really have to be so upright and call out everything you see!? Didn't you notice the number of people looking at us!?

Was there truly no cure for stupidity?!

"Definitely not, they're clearly red! I have 20/20 vision! Zhao Chengning, take a look and see if her ears are really red!" After being labeled a moron, Shen Jingchen became very indignant and immediately started looking for alliances.

"Nope, you made a mistake." Zhao Chengning didn't know why he did it, but he blurted out that it was untrue.

At this point, Shen Jingchen was a little stunned. He turned at looked at his little sister once again.

Shen Jingbin covered her ears and glared at him.

With her ears hidden, Shen Jingchen could only drop the subject.

However, he still felt that it was a little strange. He whispered to himself, "That shouldn't be the case, her ears were clearly red…"

"…"

Can anyone tell her why she was feeling even hotter now?

PS: We’re accepting fanart! Ya'll can send in your artwork

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changquan ↩