Chapter 340: Competition

“I was the one who entered this room first, so why should I give it up to you?”

Ma Chulan’s angry dispute drifted through several rooms and into the living room where Su Yan and the others were located.

Ma Chulong was the first to stand up; while away from home, he would absolutely not allow his sister to be bullied.

Su Yan and Zhou Li followed closely behind.

In the eastern room, Ma Chulan sat upon the bed with an extremely assertive posture, while Kong Yueqing stood before her, seemingly trying to engage in a confrontation.

“These four guest rooms are all connected, and the other three also belong to people from our Kong family. Why is someone from the Ma family trying to join in our business?” Kong Yueqing retorted as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

After all, there was no rule stating that whoever entered a room first owned it.

Ma Chulan let out a cold snort. She had long since realized that Kong Yueqing was intentionally competing with her for the room. If it had been anyone else, she certainly would have been reasonable and yielded the room.

“I don't care whose rooms are next to mine, but I laid eyes on this room first, and I intend to sleep here tonight.”

Kong Yueqing’s expression turned hideous, a flash of hostility rising in her eyes. “Ma Chulan, don't force me to fight you!”

After saying this, she actually pulled out a talisman.

Instead of backing down, Ma Chulan looked even more eager to try. “Kong Yueqing, do you think I'm afraid of you?”

The conflict between the two was on the verge of exploding.

“Little Sister, what are you doing?”

Ma Chulong strode quickly to Ma Chulan’s side, his first priority being to check if his sister was being bullied.

Seeing her backer arrive, Ma Chulan became even more imposing.

“Brother, I clearly entered this room first, but Kong Yueqing insists on fighting me for it!”

Seeing the siblings together—while she only had one sibling—Kong Yueqing’s right hand, clutching the talisman, turned white at the knuckles.

If they truly came to blows, she certainly wouldn't be a match for the two of them.

At this moment, Zhou Li and Su Yan also walked into the room.

The moment she saw Zhou Li, Kong Yueqing instantly switched to a look of grievance.

“Young Master Zhou, please judge this fairly. The rooms to the left and right of this one belong to our Kong family. I tried to discuss it with her politely, asking her to move to the Ma family's side, but she not only refused but also insulted me with her words. Does she think our Kong family is easy to bully?”

She wasn't entirely without backing.

Seeing it was Kong Yueqing gave Zhou Li a bit of a headache, though he didn't show it in the slightest.

“Senior Sister Kong, please don't be anxious. In truth, the rooms here are all the same; it doesn't matter where one stays. Since Senior Sister Kong wants to be adjacent to the others, why doesn't Senior Sister Ma just yield the room to her?”

It was originally a very minor matter. Compared to the unreasonable Kong Yueqing, he felt Ma Chulan would be easier to communicate with.

Ma Chulan naturally didn't want to admit defeat, but since Zhou Li was the one mediating, she couldn't very well snub him.

“I truly don't care where I stay; the issue is her attitude. Young Master Zhou said the rooms are all the same, so why should she get to stay wherever she wants? It's not impossible for me to give up the room, provided she says 'I'm sorry' to me. If she does, I'll leave right now.”

Zhou Li frowned slightly, feeling that matters between girls were truly too troublesome.

It sounded as if everyone had a point, yet no one would listen to reason.

“Senior Sister Kong, what do you think?”

Kong Yueqing was fuming with rage; asking her to apologize was out of the question!

“I did nothing wrong, so why should I apologize?”

“If you won't apologize, then don't even dream of me giving up this room,” Ma Chulan’s attitude turned instantly aggressive.

No matter how mature Zhou Li acted, he was still only an eighteen-year-old youth. Unable to handle the two of them, he could only cast a pleading look toward Ma Chulong.

Ma Chulong took a deep breath. In truth, he was also very displeased with Kong Yueqing’s repeated provocations, but compared to Ma Chulan, he had to prioritize the bigger picture.

“Little Sister, it's just a room. Give it to her.”

Ma Chulan hadn't expected him to say that, and her lip curled upward.

“I just can't stand her arrogant attitude! Why don't we settle it based on our actual abilities!”

Ma Chulong hadn't expected her to suddenly blurt that out. Just as he was about to continue persuading her, Ma Chulan winked at him, clearly brimming with confidence.

Kong Yueqing, of course, did not want Zhou Li to look down on her, so she immediately agreed. “Fine, then let's settle it with our personal skills. Shall we do it here or go outside?”

“Outside!” After Ma Chulan spoke, she held her head high and strode out with large steps.

Ma Chulong looked helpless. He lowered his voice and asked Su Yan, “Will there be a problem if Lanlan does this?”

Compared to winning or losing, Ma Chulan's safety was, of course, more important.

If Su Yan said it was a bad idea, he would immediately stop what was about to happen.

Su Yan’s expression, however, appeared quite relaxed. “Since neither of them will yield to the other, there is nothing wrong with a little competition.” After saying this, she didn't forget to look at Zhou Li. “Besides, Junior Brother Zhou is here; they just need to know when to stop.”

Hearing her say this, Ma Chulong’s heart immediately settled, and Zhou Li nodded in agreement.

A contest between the Ma family and the Kong family certainly sounded quite interesting.

Originally, there were only five of them, but someone must have noticed the state of Kong Yueqing and Ma Chulan and realized they were going to compete, immediately notifying the others.

A moment later, almost everyone had arrived.

Kong Nian and Kong Xiang were naturally stirred by the commotion, but by the time they came out, it was too late to change the situation.

Looking at Kong Yueqing, a trace of dissatisfaction flickered deep in Kong Xiang's eyes.

They were brought here to work, not to constantly cause trouble for the family.

This girl was so impetuous and lacked a sense of priority; sooner or later, she would bring disaster to the clan.

“Uncle Kong, Kong Yueqing has gone too far this time.” Kong Nian shared his thoughts.

If Kong Yueqing won, they would naturally be delighted. But if she lost, it would be nothing short of a disgrace to the Kong family.

Kong Xiang said nothing, but he had already made up his mind.

Aside from the members of the Kong and Ma families, the rest of the crowd wore excited faces, seemingly hoping for chaos.

They had never seen Ma Chulan fight, nor had they seen Kong Yueqing fight, so it was truly unpredictable which of the two was more powerful.

However, these were the elites of two great families; being able to witness their confrontation was worth the trip.

Kong Yueqing’s peripheral vision constantly swept over the crowd.

This situation was exactly what she wanted, yet it also made her incredibly nervous.

Whether she could make a name for herself in a single battle depended on this very moment.

“Ma Chulan, tonight I will step over your Ma family and let everyone see my strength!”

This sentence was a declaration of war against Ma Chulan, and also a reminder to herself.

Ma Chulan was equally dismissive of her. “Hmph! Do you think I was raised on scares? We'll see who's truly capable once we're in the thick of it!”

(End of Chapter)