Chapter Three: A Small Misunderstanding

Shen Xiaoqing gazed at Qin Tian with an expression of adoration, which made Qin Tian feel a bit embarrassed; it was the first time a girl had looked at him that way.

"Little brother, are you actually blushing?" Shen Xiaoqing laughed.

"Young Master Jiang, well? You lost, didn't you?" she then looked at Jiang Feng with a playful smile.

"Hmph! He was just lucky, that's all!" Jiang Feng snorted coldly.

"Yes, that's right, I was just lucky. So, Young Master Jiang, shall we have another bet? This time, twenty million. If you win, you'll get back everything, plus interest," Qin Tian said with a beaming smile.

"Young Master Jiang, don't bet with this kid, there's something off about him," the jockey warned Jiang Feng.

"I'm not an idiot! I don't need you to remind me!" Jiang Feng glared at the jockey, who immediately shut his mouth, not daring to make another sound.

"Right, you're not an idiot. You're not an idiot, yet you don't even know what breed your own horses are. You're not an idiot, but you lost twenty million to me," Qin Tian nodded in agreement.

"So if you were a bit more foolish, would you lose two hundred million to me?" Qin Tian looked at Jiang Feng as if he'd just had an epiphany.

"Kid! Just you wait!" Jiang Feng spat out before turning and leaving.

"Don't forget my twenty million, Young Master Jiang!" Qin Tian called after him.

"Don't worry, he's very proud—he won't shortchange you," Shen Xiaoqing said to Qin Tian, linking arms with Jiang Yingying.

"Alright, let's go back," Jiang Yingying said, then headed with Shen Xiaoqing to the parking lot and got into the car.

"What about me?" Qin Tian asked.

"You can just take a cab," Jiang Yingying replied, pulling out three hundred yuan and tossing it to Qin Tian.

Qin Tian shrugged—another hundred in profit; nothing to complain about.

Three hours later, night had fallen, and Qin Tian returned to Jiang Yingying's home.

"What took you so long?" Jiang Yingying frowned.

"Come on, let's eat. We've been waiting for you," Jiang Tianxiang said with a different tone. He'd already heard from Jiang Yingying about Qin Tian's impressive display at the stables.

Jiang Tianxiang was grateful he had sought out the old man from his dream; otherwise, he feared the crisis looming in half a month would remain unsolved.

"Qin Tian, the east-facing room on the second floor has been tidied up for you. That's your room from now on," Jiang Tianxiang announced during dinner.

"Dad! You put him in the room next to mine?" Jiang Yingying spat out her rice, staring in disbelief.

"So what? It's not like you're sharing a room," Jiang Tianxiang replied, but then realized he'd misspoken.

"Dad! You—I..." Jiang Yingying, fuming, put down her chopsticks and stormed upstairs to her room in a huff.

"Don't mind her, let's keep eating," Jiang Tianxiang shook his head and said to Qin Tian with a smile.

Qin Tian glanced upstairs, then continued eating—it was the most sumptuous meal he'd had in months.

After dinner, Qin Tian went straight to the room Jiang Tianxiang had prepared for him. He stood at the door for a moment, glanced at Jiang Yingying's door, then entered his own room.

He took out the book he carried with him; its title was simply "The Book." He decided to read it, feeling a touch of excitement since he would be able to start cultivating in three days.

Cultivators truly existed in this world. Some called them martial masters from ancient times. In the distant past, nearly everyone could practice cultivation, but now, the world's conditions no longer allowed it, and cultivators had become exceedingly rare.

Opening "The Book," Qin Tian browsed the table of contents and found chapters titled "God of War," "God of Medicine," "God of the Army," "God of Literature," and a miscellaneous section.

In the miscellaneous section, there was a method for communicating with animals—the technique Master Kong had taught him came from here!

It seemed this really was an extraordinary book.

Qin Tian casually flipped through a few chapters. Just reading the descriptions made his hands itch to try, but he had to wait three more days.

Master Kong had sternly warned him not to study any of it before turning eighteen!

However, the miscellaneous section seemed to be an exception.

Qin Tian put the book away. On a whim, he indulged in a bit of mischief—pressing his ear to the wall to listen for any sounds from Jiang Yingying's room.

To his surprise, he overheard something he probably shouldn't have...

Jiang Yingying was lying on her bed, fresh from a shower, with a video call open on her phone. On the other end was her best friend, Shen Xiaoqing.

"Yingying, are you a virgin?" Shen Xiaoqing asked.

Because the call was on speaker, Qin Tian, with his ear to the wall, heard everything clearly. Instantly, he perked up, his curiosity burning fiercely.

"No, I'm not. What about you?" Jiang Yingying replied, sounding utterly nonchalant.

"Of course I am!" Shen Xiaoqing responded.

Qin Tian was so startled he stumbled back and sat on his bed. Good heavens, Jiang Yingying wasn't a virgin?

This crowd really is wild, he thought. Judging by Jiang Yingying's age, she could only have just turned eighteen!

The next day, Shen Xiaoqing arrived at the Jiang house with three circus tickets, insisting on taking Qin Tian and Jiang Yingying to see the show.

Jiang Yingying didn't want to go, but couldn't resist Shen Xiaoqing's persuasion, so the three of them drove off to the circus together.

This time, they used a five-seater car. Qin Tian's status seemed to have improved slightly—they were finally treating him as a person...

The Royal Circus enjoyed quite a reputation in Wu City. It was the country's top indoor circus, drawing people from around the world every year, some even flying in just to attend.

A single VIP ticket here cost as much as an average person's monthly wage.

And Shen Xiaoqing had managed to get three VIP tickets. Qin Tian couldn't help but give her a long look—this was no ordinary woman.

"Hey, something seems off about you today," Shen Xiaoqing said, taking the chance to chat with Qin Tian as they entered the venue.

"Off? How so?" Qin Tian asked.

"The way you look at Jiang Yingying—do you like her? No, wait, it's more like... confusion?" Shen Xiaoqing frowned, unable to read the look in his eyes.

When he saw Jiang Yingying walking ahead alone, Qin Tian lowered his voice and asked, "Is it true Jiang Yingying isn't a virgin?"

He was nervous asking this, since Shen Xiaoqing was her best friend and a girl to boot—she might explode on the spot.

"She's not a Virgo, what's the problem?" Shen Xiaoqing replied as if it were obvious, surprising Qin Tian.

"She's really not a Virgo!" Qin Tian exclaimed in shock.

"Of course not. She was born on April 10th, so she's clearly an Aries," Shen Xiaoqing said, looking at Qin Tian strangely.

Qin Tian's eyes nearly popped out. So last night's conversation had been about zodiac signs?

"What's wrong?" Shen Xiaoqing asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all. Just a little misunderstanding. Let's hurry in, or we'll miss the start of the show," Qin Tian quickly changed the subject.