Li Fengyuan didn't wait for their reply as he had already jumped the gun, walking beside Xiao Mei and looking over the swarm of bracelets.
Li Fengyuan didn't bother waiting for permission. With a flick of his wrist, he plucked a bracelet from the stall—a slim band of dark jade veined with faint golden threads.
It gleamed faintly, understated yet elegant.
"Not this one," he said, brushing past Shen Yuyan's hand as she reached for another. "This one suits you better."
Shen Yuyan froze, her brows knitting together.
"And why is that?"
Li Fengyuan smiled, unbothered by her glare.
"Because it contrasts you. Most bracelets here try to complement your beauty—jade, silver, light stones. But that only dulls your presence. Dark jade, though…"
He leaned closer, his voice smooth and steady, "…it makes your skin glow brighter, and the gold threads draw the eye to your every movement. That's what truly stands out."
Xiao Mei blinked, startled by the confidence in his tone.
For a moment, even Shen Yuyan's lips parted as though she had no immediate retort.
She turned her wrist slightly, testing the bracelet against her skin despite herself. It did look striking. Annoyingly so.
Before she could remove it, Li Fengyuan had already turned to Xiao Mei.
"And you," he said lightly, picking up a silver bracelet with tiny lotus-shaped charms.
He slipped it across his palm, weighing it before holding it out.
"Lotus for purity, silver for grace. It's delicate, but it has spirit—it matches you perfectly. Try it!"
Xiao Mei hesitated, not knowing what Li Fengyuan was planning.
Normally, she would be ignored and even treated as a third wheel by Li Fengyuan.
Despite being from a Great Clan, Li Fengyuan had never shown her respect before and often wanted her out of sight.
Well, apart from Shen Yuyan, it was like he didn't care about anyone else.
She wasn't looking for a bracelet but tried it anyway.
Her eyes widened.
"…It really does suit me."
Li Fengyuan's grin deepened.
"Of course it does. A pretty girl like you could pull off almost any style."
He complimented.
Xiao Mei blushed a bit before brushing it off.
"Looks like you've practiced your flirting skills. Though you're aiming at the wrong target!"
Xiao Mei said.
Li Fengyuan just smiled and said nothing.
With casual ease, he reached into his sleeve, producing a small pouch of coins. He tossed it to the merchant, whose eyes lit up instantly at the heavy clink of gold.
"Wrap them both," Li Fengyuan instructed.
Then, without waiting for thanks or protest, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked past the girls, Zhao Dazhu hurrying after him.
Shen Yuyan stared at his retreating figure, irritation burning hot in her chest—yet beneath it lingered something harder to name.
"Shameless," she muttered under her breath, though her gaze unconsciously lingered on the dark jade bracelet still circling her wrist.
Xiao Mei touched her silver lotus band lightly, her expression complicated.
***
"Way to go, man!"
Zhao Dazhu said, his eyes full of admiration as soon as they were out of earshot.
He could barely contain his excitement.
"The way you handled that? Smooth. Real smooth. You even flirted with Xiao Mei and she didn't glare or walk away! Normally, both of them would look at you like you're some annoying bug, but just now? They weren't disgusted at all."
Li Fengyuan's lips curved into his usual lazy smile.
"Oh? Is that how it looked?"
"Don't play dumb!"
Zhao Dazhu slapped his shoulder, grinning.
"And then, buying both bracelets without even giving them a chance to argue—that was too cool!"
He shook his head in disbelief.
"Honestly, Young Master Li, you might have just turned things around today."
But then, Zhao Dazhu's grin faltered slightly as a thought hit him. His eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"You're not actually going to pursue Xiao Mei now, are you? Not Shen Yuyan?"
Li Fengyuan glanced at him sidelong.
"I already told you earlier," he said casually, "I love Xiao Mei. She's mine."
Zhao Dazhu stopped in his tracks, staring at him. "…You're serious."
Li Fengyuan didn't answer. He didn't need to.
The confidence in his tone had been enough.
Zhao Dazhu rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly uneasy.
"Brother, listen to me. I know you've got guts, I'll give you that. But Xiao Mei isn't someone you can just claim like that."
His voice dropped lower, more cautious.
"First of all, she's from Xiao Clan, one of the Great Clan. Pursuing her isn't going to be easy—there's a huge difference in status. Even with your background, that kind of match is… complicated."
He hesitated, then added more seriously, "And secondly, you won't be the only one after her. Plenty of people admire Xiao Mei—not just because of her beauty, but because of her clan ties. You've got steep competition."
Li Fengyuan's smirk deepened.
(It isn't like I don't know that!)
But Zhao Dazhu's tone grew sharper, almost warning.
"No, you don't get it. There's one person in particular who's also after her. Someone dangerous. If you're not careful, Fengyuan… going after Xiao Mei might put you in real danger."
Zhao Dazhu warned.
Li Fengyuan was intrigued and asked, "Who?"
"Han Zixuan!"
The classmate who claimed he would reach the Sage Stage.
The only reason not many annoying bugs like Li Fengyuan were buzzing around Xiao Mei was because of Han Zixuan.
No one except someone from another Great Clan would dare to offend Han Zixuan.
Just like how people feared Li Fengyuan and didn't dare chase after Shen Yuyan.
"Oh, that kid?"
Li Fengyuan, however, dismissed Han Zixuan as just a brat who would amount to nothing.
If his rival was only Han Zixuan, then Li Fengyuan had nothing to fear.
Not to mention, he had already won Xiao Mei's favor once before—and he was confident he could do it again.