The Wife I Raised From Childhood

The expression on Liu Yilin's face — the one they called the Ice Prince — could only be described as peculiar. On the surface, a stiff and frozen smile. Underneath, a storm of frustration that defied description.

*Why does Ye Xinxia have to have such an eccentric brother?* Never mind that he showed zero courtesy to girls — he had the nerve to actually say things like "sister complex" and "brother complex" out loud. The man was a complete disgrace.

"Nothing's going on, so stop being an eyesore. Go wherever you need to go." Mo Fan gave Xinxia a gentle push and steered her straight toward the academy gates.

Liu Yilin wasn't about to let that slide. Something about this man struck him as deeply unreliable. A girl like Xinxia was naturally soft and fragile — walking was already difficult for her — and now she was just being shoved along by this strange man? How could that possibly be acceptable?

So Liu Yilin kept his warm, genial manner and spoke up. "Since you're a friend of Xinxia's, you're a friend of mine. You look like you've come from quite far away — how about I treat everyone to a meal..."

"Give it a rest, will you? We're trying to find somewhere private for some lovey-dovey business that's not exactly child-appropriate. Stop flapping your mouth and get out of our way." Mo Fan's patience was already spent.

Xinxia's entire face flushed a deep, burning red.

*What did he mean, lovey-dovey and not child-appropriate? And he said it with such shameless confidence — was he actually trying to embarrass her to death?*

Liu Yilin's face cycled through several shades of green and white. This man clearly had dishonorable intentions toward Xinxia — and Xinxia was simply too good-natured and gentle to protest even a single word.

That wouldn't do. If Xinxia wouldn't speak up for herself, he absolutely could not stand by and let her fall into this wolf's jaws. Liu Yilin stepped forward with decisive purpose, his expression grave and earnest. "Friend, don't go too far. I've been by Xinxia's side for the past few months, and I know exactly how vulnerable she is. Don't use her gentle nature as license to say things that push boundaries and carry disrespect. The fact that she's not saying anything does not mean I, Liu Yilin, will allow you to do as you please!"

Xinxia was probably at the end of her rope — she looked ready to open her mouth and finally set the record straight.

In truth, she had explained the situation to Liu Yilin countless times over the past few months. But this man had a remarkable talent for existing entirely within his own version of reality.

She'd barely opened her mouth when Mo Fan cut her off. His eyes were half-lidded as he looked Liu Yilin up and down — impeccably dressed, poised in speech and manner, every detail projecting refinement. A lazy smile curled at the corners of Mo Fan's mouth. "Do you like her?"

"What exactly are you implying by that..." Liu Yilin said.

"If yes, then I'll consider this your business. If no, then what the hell are you sticking your nose in for?" Mo Fan said flatly.

Liu Yilin disliked crude language. His brow furrowed, and he cast a pointed glance at Xinxia.

Fine. Better to declare his intentions plainly today. If Xinxia truly got swept away by this hungry wolf and his pure, untainted woman was ruined, he'd have no one to blame but himself for holding back.

"Yes. And what of it!" Liu Yilin declared, his face set with absolute seriousness.

"*What of it?*" Mo Fan's easy smile began fading into something colder. "I already couldn't stand you when you were standing there putting on that self-important act while those women were gossiping. A real man walks straight up to them and shuts it down — why waste words? And now I ask you a direct question and you give me *what of it?*..."

"I was thinking of Xinxia's feelings," Liu Yilin shot back, his face going livid.

"Thinking of her feelings, my foot. Listen here — she is my little sister. She is also the wife I raised from the time she was a child. I'm the one who looks after her. You understand? If you keep buzzing around my little sister like a fly without a shred of shame, I will beat you until your own mother doesn't recognize you." Mo Fan delivered this with absolute, unshakeable conviction.

Standing there in that posture, he was a flawless embodiment of the sinister, overbearing CEO archetype that dominated a certain strain of modern fiction.

Xinxia had been planning to clear things up with Liu Yilin herself — to let him know her heart was already taken. But when she heard Mo Fan announce "the wife I raised from childhood," she desperately wanted to find a hole in the ground to disappear into. People were passing by in every direction — did he have to say it quite so loudly?

"Beat me until my own mother doesn't recognize me??" Liu Yilin's face went completely dark. The polished facade was well and truly shattered. Things had come to this — "You might want to ask around before making threats in this place. Inside Zhejiang Academy, when it comes to strength, not a single person has had the nerve to speak to me, Liu Yilin, with such arrogance!"

The tension between them snapped taut in an instant. Their auras collided, and Ice Element and Lightning Element flooded the long tree-lined corridor all at once.

The bystanders nearby quickly recognized that a fight was imminent. They backed away instinctively, forming a wide ring, faces bright with unabashed anticipation.

"Which blind country bumpkin has the gall to pick a fight with Ice Prince Liu Yilin?" one of Liu Yilin's followers muttered.

"See for yourself — the one in the dark shirt," said a student clearly well-versed in campus politics. "Liu Yilin has dropped plenty of hints that he should back off gracefully, but that guy just wouldn't take the easy way out. The girl named Xinxia — the Healing Element mage who was born unable to walk — she's had no shortage of admirers. The ones who weren't too scared to compete with the Ice Prince got quietly educated behind the scenes. This thick-headed fool is in for a world of pain."

"Who even is this guy? He doesn't look like one of ours from Zhejiang Academy."

"Definitely not. If he were, who'd dare go against the Ice Prince? Just look at him standing there so smug — he won't know what hit him." The follower laughed.

An unsettling gust swept through, sending leaves swirling down in disarray from the trees above.

The onlookers had the good sense to clear a wide space around the two of them, waiting with held breath for the first move.

Rules were rules, of course — but how many mages actually managed to keep their hands to themselves when the moment came?

"Xinxia, step aside," Liu Yilin said — ever the gentleman, even now. "Allow me to deal with this scoundrel properly. My Ice Element magic hits hard, and I wouldn't want you caught in the crossfire."

Mo Fan made no move to push Xinxia out of the way. His eyes had begun to shimmer with a deep violet-black electrical light — a clear sign that Lightning Element energy was already building within him.

"For people like you," he said, "I always enjoy a good lightning strike."

He stayed right where he was, beside Xinxia. Beneath his feet, a Lightning Element Star Chart traced itself with breathtaking speed — not a sound, not a wasted motion, completing itself as if by pure instinct.

"Despicable! If you insist on fighting with Xinxia standing right there beside you, then no matter how you come at me, I will not Release even a single spell in her direction!" Liu Yilin announced, every word radiating righteous conviction.

"It's not that complicated," Mo Fan said with a quiet smile.

In truth, there was no need for the onlookers to clear a wide arena. And no need for Mo Fan to push Xinxia out of harm's way.

Against an opponent like this, one move was all he needed.

"Qianjun!"

"Thunderbolt!"

"Yaksha!"

Mo Fan's speed with intermediate-tier magic was extraordinary. By the time the words "not that complicated" had left his lips, his finger was already angled toward the sky.

A savage streak of violet-black light tore through the peaceful afternoon sky. It split into jagged forks and came crashing down — **BOOM** — and the canopies of the trees lining both sides of the path were reduced to scorched black ash in the blink of an eye...