49: I hope my younger brother and Su Chen can become close friends and not be so distant.

"I'm taking off my coat, wait for me a moment."

Su Chen turned to head out, while simultaneously taking ten bottles of temporary defense-boosting potions from the System space and drinking them.

The defense boost lasts for one hour and can be stacked.

The effect stacks up to ten bottles. After drinking them, he felt it wasn't enough, so he drank another bottle of slow stamina recovery potion.

With two types of potions in his stomach, he went back inside.

Don't say I'm cheating; you never said I couldn't drink potions.

Su Chen entered the room and started warming up.

"Don't say I'm bullying the young; I'll let you have three free punches first."

"Fine!"

Thump!

Xia Xiaokai struck out with all his might. Seeing that Su Chen didn't dodge at all, he felt a bit of admiration.

After throwing the punch, he didn't immediately follow up.

His right hand was hidden behind his back, trembling.

He couldn't help it—it hurt!

That punch felt like it hit a steel plate, the shock making his hand ache! Is this what an Ability User is like?

It feels like even if he just stands there and lets me hit him, I'll be the one who falls in the end.

No, I can't wimp out now; this is for my sister's sake.

This is an opportunity. I have to see if this guy is a spineless coward. If he starts crying for his parents after a couple of hits, I definitely won't feel safe letting my sister be with him.

Thump! Thump!

After recovering, Xia Xiaokai threw two more punches, which again left his palms numb from the shock.

"My turn."

Su Chen shook his fists and struck out. If he held back too much, Xia Xiaokai would definitely lose Face.

It was obviously impossible to strike with a heavy hand. After all, Xia Xiaokai hadn't undergone Awakening yet and was Xia Weiyu's brother; if he broke him, things wouldn't go well for him either.

He would just play along for a while to give him some peace of mind, so he wouldn't have to worry about Xia Weiyu anymore... Half an hour later, in the kitchen, Xia Weiyu's right eyelid kept twitching, making her feel like something bad was happening.

Could Xiao Kai be talking back to Su Chen?

It was very likely.

They were still strangers having just met. As the intermediary, it felt a bit inappropriate for her to come straight to the kitchen to cook.

After some deliberation, she felt it would be better to go check on them. Maybe they could play cards or something to get familiar. It really wasn't right to keep her brother shut in his room.

She really hoped her brother and Su Chen could get along well and not be so distant.

She went to the living room.

Su Chen wasn't there; only Xiao Qian was curled up by the stove, sleeping lazily.

Slight noises occasionally drifted from her brother's bedroom.

"Xiao Kai, have you seen your Brother Su Chen?"

"Wait, stop hitting! My sister is coming, stop, stop!"

Thump!

Xia Xiaokai's words were a beat too slow, and Su Chen's fist still landed.

Ignoring his injuries, Xia Xiaokai rushed over to block the door, keeping his sister outside as she was about to enter.

"Xiao Kai!

What happened to your Face? Why is it all black and blue?"

"It's nothing, nothing, you saw wrong. I'm changing my clothes, wait a bit before you come in."

"Su Chen, where's that healing potion you mentioned? Give it to me, quick!"

Xia Xiaokai whispered urgently. They had originally agreed to hit the body, but because of his height...

It was inconvenient for Su Chen to hit there, so he ended up punching his Face.

If Su Chen hadn't said he had a healing potion that could provide instant recovery, he never would have agreed to this.

Taking the healing potion, he didn't stand on ceremony and downed it in one go.

A warm current surged through his body, and the pain lessened.

Looking at his Face in the mirror, he felt relieved as the bruises visibly disappeared before his eyes.

Good, Su Chen didn't lie.

At the same time, he secretly resented how well Su Chen could fight! After fighting for so long, Su Chen was perfectly fine, his clothes not even ruffled.

And also!

To his sister who was a liability to her brother—did she know what she had turned him into by barging in just now?

A total loser!

All those cool, tough words he said before were ruined because she barged in!

After confirming there were no marks left on his body, Xia Xiaokai finally felt at ease.

"First of all, that didn't count just now. I only said that because of an emergency."

"Don't worry! I've already forgotten it, I definitely won't mention it!"

[Ding! Gained favorability from Xia Xiaokai, lottery ticket +50.]

Such a naive youth. You believe whatever I say and even thank me so sincerely. I feel like if I tricked you a bit more, you'd help me count the money after I sold you.

"Don't mention what happened just now later. If my sister asks, just say we were chatting."

...Outside, the anxious Xia Weiyu was pacing in circles. She had definitely seen her brother's Face covered in bruises just now, his eyes looking like a panda's.

But he looked fine just a moment ago. Could he have made Su Chen angry and gotten beaten up?

That shouldn't be. Although they'd only known each other for a few days, Su Chen wasn't a bad person. How could he beat up her brother?

After waiting for a long time, she hurriedly approached as the bedroom door opened.

She checked carefully and saw that her brother's Face was perfectly fine. She was relieved but also confused.

"That's not right. I saw bruises all over your Face just now."

"No way!

Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. How could I be beaten into a pig's head? Besides, I've been in here the whole time, who could have hit me?"

Su Chen also came over and chimed in.

"You might have seen wrong. Perhaps you've been too tired lately? If you don't rest well, there's a high probability of having hallucinations. You need to take care of your body."

"Maybe. Then I'll go to bed early tonight."

Xia Xiaokai asked, "Did you need me for something?"

"Nothing."

"If it's nothing, why are you looking for me! Go back to the kitchen and cook!"

Xia Weiyu was quite displeased and didn't let go of Xia Xiaokai's ear.

"Your temper has grown after not seeing you for a few days. You dare to talk back to your sister now, huh?"

"Ow, it hurts, stop pulling."

After a few more words, Xia Weiyu remembered the pot was still heating on the fire and hurriedly ran out... Su Chen patted Xia Xiaokai's head. "Not bad. I thought you'd cry and complain that I hit you."

"Are you kidding? What do you take me, Xia Xiaokai, for!"

"Continue?"

Xia Xiaokai's mouth twitched. Although he hadn't had enough, he didn't want to continue.

For no other reason than he couldn't win yet!

One punch and his own hand was throbbing with pain. What kind of person was he hitting?

Although he had no injuries and no pain at all after drinking that healing potion,

The sensation of pain during the fight was very real.

"The timing isn't right. It'll be hard to explain if my sister barged in again. I'll let you off for today."

"So, are you satisfied with my strength?"

"I acknowledge your backbone. As for strength... it's barely passing.

But as for your character, I need to observe more. It's still under review."

[Ding! Gained favorability from Xia Xiaokai, lottery ticket +50.]

Xia Xiaokai looked at Su Chen and said again:

"I still feel like you have some ulterior motive for getting close to my sister."

"Ulterior motive."

Su Chen spread his hands innocently. "What do you think I could possibly be after?"

With that one question, Xia Xiaokai was somewhat speechless because his sister really didn't have any advantages.

Her family was poor, she had a physical disability, she was thin and didn't dress up; standing next to other girls, she was simply incomparable.

If her talent had been great during the Awakening, it might have made sense, but her talent was at the very bottom—the lowest tier of E-rank.

Speaking of ulterior motives, even he didn't know what there was to be after.

If he himself had three million, he would definitely look for someone in better condition rather than seeking out someone like Xia Weiyu first.

Even if he thought she had a good figure, he would probably get to know her first instead of paying off her debts immediately.

After all, once that money was paid, it would be hard to get it back.

But his intuition told him that Su Chen wanted to get something from his sister.

What could it be? Love?

It seemed that was the only thing left. Perhaps this was what love was like.

[Ding! Gained favorability from Xia Xiaokai, lottery ticket +50.]

"Anyway! You still need to be tested!

I'm still annoyed by you anyway. If you want to marry my sister, you have to get past me first!"

Su Chen patted Xia Xiaokai's head. What a kid who says one thing but feels another—giving so much favorability while saying he's not satisfied?

"Don't touch my head, I won't grow tall!"