The new skill was quite interesting, called "Tugging," Level 1.
This thing was akin to flirting, but it wasn’t the same as flirting.
Its range of use was far superior to mere flirtation.
True tugging could be applied to all kinds of interactions with others, hiding oneself while probing the other person.
Bluffing + Tugging + Acting = ???
Han Lie hadn’t figured it out yet. Maybe it was equivalent to Jia Yueting?! Or perhaps half a Jack Ma?!
In any case, it was very powerful.
Seeing that he had about 180,000 experience points left, Han Lie decisively upgraded Tugging to Level 3 (0/200,000).
It cost a total of 11,000 experience points—an extremely high cost-performance ratio.
Adding points to a skill didn’t create new memories, so Han Lie didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary.
However, when he turned back to look at Xi Luting, his inner old rogue suddenly felt an urge.
That tsundere little expression... too good not to tease...
Han Lie’s sudden question didn’t raise Xi Luting’s guard.
"Quite tasty, the milk flavor is strong. It must be fresh milk," she replied seriously.
The sly man then dropped another bombshell, "Really? No other flavor?"
"What else could there be..."
Mid-question, she froze.
Her eyes gradually widened, and her cheeks turned slightly red.
"Bastard! You wanna die?!"
Han Lie hurriedly dodged her slap, chuckling and playfully defending himself, "Don’t hit, don’t hit! What I meant was, did you taste the flavor of love!"
Xi Luting really lost it. After throwing her cone into the trash bin, she chased and kicked Han Lie several times.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t get this close to any boy.
But this was not a usual situation; it was a special state of being furious yet not entirely displeased.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! A few kicks landed, both relieving her stress and venting her anger. Her mood finally improved.
As for Han Lie, he dodged a couple of times just for show, then began to be mesmerized by those long legs.
Despite his bragging about how legs that were too skinny were unattractive, when her long legs swayed right before his eyes, Han Lie was completely entranced.
SLURP... So intoxicating!
Staring too intently, he was, of course, caught by Xi Luting.
"What are you looking at?"
Xi Luting felt a bit shy but covered it up well, glaring fiercely as she said, "Go back and take your crap!"
If it were any other guy, he would have been terrified by now.
But Han Lie was different; he was grinning, not bothered at all.
When Xi Luting was truly angry, she squinted her eyes.
And she was concise, without any nonsense.
These three catchphrases represented three levels of impatience.
Han Lie knew them all too well.
He leaned lazily against the chair back and drawled, "Aren’t you showing off your legs for people to see? As for that crap... you already kicked it back into me."
She couldn’t hold it in again and quickly covered her mouth.
That perverted little cucumber... he really lives up to his reputation, she thought.
To get along well with her, a barrage of crude jokes about crap, piss, and farts was all it took, Han Lie mused.
Of course, while her sense of humor was bizarre, getting her to open up wasn’t that simple.
Luckily, Han Lie wasn’t in a hurry. After all, my ace is still up my sleeve...
After a while, she finally laughed enough and sat down next to Han Lie, murmuring her complaints.
"Why are the students in our class so difficult to manage? The high school I attended was bad enough—one of the worst-ranked in the city, filled with oddballs—but it was never as troublesome as our class.
"Both the boys and the girls are completely unruly, acting like tyrants among themselves, and they constantly come to me to bicker about trivial matters!
"They say the School of International Studies is hard to manage, but the other class leaders have it much easier than me. The class leader of the all-English finance class, also a girl, hardly ever encounters a single issue in a week! I’m really fed up!"
Being able to say these things meant she was truly beginning to build trust with Han Lie.
In his previous life, even in his junior year when they worked together in the student union, Han Lie was still a nobody in her eyes; he had never heard her complain once.
Such a good opportunity! Of course, I have to seize it, Han Lie thought.
"Actually, you haven’t understood one thing," Han Lie said.
Xi Luting’s curiosity was immediately piqued. Her foxy eyes stared intently at Han Lie, her expression filled with anticipation. "What?"
"Human energy is limited but also cheap, you get it?"
Han Lie’s first statement set a high tone, leaving Xi Luting utterly confused.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Han Lie spread his hands and slowly began to analyze it for her. "Limited energy means we can only do so much each day. But when we have nothing important to do, we can’t exhaust our energy, so it becomes extremely cheap and only good for squandering.
"Why is it easier to manage the students of the School of International Studies, who are all rich second-generation kids? Because they’re wealthy. They can live it up in the vast Magic Capital, and their limited energy is always insufficient.
"Whereas our classmates can only stifle themselves within the confines of our small school, at most playing with computers or mobile phones, their energy always has nowhere to be vented. They are like a pack of well-fed lions that will hardly provoke an equally strong opponent. We, on the other hand, are like hungry calves, restless at every moment. Isn’t it obvious which is easier to manage?
"However, the problem is, once lions are provoked, they definitely cause big trouble. Although the calves butt heads every day, their destructiveness isn’t strong. You have to understand correctly the difference between the School of International Studies and our class. Then use the right methods to manage them scientifically."
Xi Luting’s eyes gradually widened; she felt that Han Lie’s description was simply brilliant.
"So, our class often has some nasty little conflicts, but they never cause serious trouble. While the School of International Studies is usually quiet, if something happens, it’s definitely a big scene?"
Han Lie nodded with a smile. "Exactly!"
In fact, students of the School of International Studies were hardly seen after their sophomore year. They were always out enjoying themselves and then often made headlines with sensational news that shocked the whole school.
She mulled it over silently for a moment and then nodded in agreement.
"That’s right, Han Lie! Your insight is incredible. Awesome!"
Han Lie, beaming with pride from the compliment, barely kept himself from floating on air.
Xi Luting blinked her beautiful large eyes and humbly asked for advice, "Then how can I manage the class well?"
Han Lie shook his head.
"You can’t suppress it. Abundant energy is an inevitable result of youth. And you can neither force them to study hard nor can you drive them off-campus to vent their energy. To make matters worse, our campus is so small, which only exacerbates conflicts. So, there’s no way."
"Really no way at all?"
Xi Luting looked disappointed.
Wow, that’s rare, Han Lie thought. He had never imagined that she would be so responsible at this moment.
He couldn’t help but chuckle.
"You... you’re just too idle, with nowhere to spend your energy. Get busy! Do more meaningful things. Fretting over people like Duan Xiaoyi and Chen Ping isn’t worth it."
Xi Luting paused, staring into Han Lie’s eyes for a good while before slowly nodding her head.
"I finally understand why you bury yourself in grinding practice problems every day... You’ve never seen us as your equals. Including Yu Yun, Fang Feifei, and even me, right? It’s a bit cold, but you’ve awakened me. I should focus more on myself. Mm-hmm, I’ll learn from you."
Han Lie smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.
In my heart, Xi Luting is indeed special, but not so special that I couldn’t do without her, he thought. So, let her think whatever she wants. In the end, all of you will have to look up to me. It makes no difference.
Han Lie’s carefree smile sent ripples through Xi Luting’s heart.
She finally saw this boy’s pride clearly but could not criticize him for being arrogant.
Pride without strength is arrogance, but what about pride with strength? It’s confidence, vision, and spirit.
In any case, not only was Xi Luting not repulsed by it, but she even admired it somewhat.
Han Lie’s self-discipline and perseverance were genuine and beyond any doubt.
I myself have the spirit but lack Han Lie’s mindset. Indeed, I’m far behind...
Suddenly, the idea of "teaching" Han Lie a lesson vanished from her mind, replaced by an impulse to compete with him.
I certainly won’t lose to you! We’ll see about that!