Old Friends in the New Semester

"It's always a good thing to learn another skill," Si Ming casually comforted him.

For some reason, talking to Liu Qingqing always felt like having a casual chat, giving him an inexplicable sense of relaxation.

Feeling like he was back home, Si Ming took out his key, opened the door, and as soon as he entered, a pair of hands covered his face. Since the owner of the hands didn't seem hostile, he didn't bother to dodge.

"Sister Yao, what are you trying to do? Play a guessing game with me? Not only is this game completely inappropriate for your age, but you're also coming from the wrong direction. I'm not blind, how could I not see who's in front of me?"

Yao Bilian wasn't angry. She smiled smugly and said, "Hmph, the same game can have different ways of playing. Children have their way of playing, and adults have their way of playing. This is a special welcome prepared for you. Come on, guess my color?"

"Color? What are you talking about?"

"Of course, I'm talking about my underwear. Here's a hint: my top and bottom are the same color today; I'm wearing a set."

Si Ming replied uninterestedly, "No interest. Even if you gave me that kind of hint, I wouldn't understand, and I didn't intend to guess correctly anyway."

"But you're still interested in the color of my underwear, aren't you?"

"No, not at all! Even if I knew what color your underwear was, I wouldn't be happy about it."

"Oh ho, after two months of training, you've really grown a lot. At your current level, you've become only interested in the taste!"

"Am I going out to improve my level of perversion?!" Si Ming knew that continuing the argument would be a waste of time, so he just guessed an answer, "I think I saw a black thing when I opened the door, so let's guess black."

"Pfft, wrong answer!"

Yao Bilian withdrew her hand from Si Ming's eyes, and with a slight flick of her other hand, opened a black paper fan, covering half of her face. In a seductive tone, she said, "The correct answer is—I wore underwear that only those with beautiful hearts can see."

Oh, the King's New Underwear!

Si Ming was speechless. He was given such a "warm" welcome as soon as he got home, which gave him a headache.

Yao Bilian noticed the bald head and laughed, "What's with your new hairstyle? Are you planning to play the 'small head or big head' game in the future? Hahaha, that's really creative. I'll play along with you in the future."

What troubled him even more was that after hearing Yao Bilian's dirty jokes, he inexplicably felt, "This is what it feels like to be home," and "Something's definitely missing without dirty jokes." Had dirty jokes become an indispensable part of his daily life in the past?

"... Suddenly, I have this urge to go out and gain more experience. Home doesn't seem as warm and welcoming as I've always imagined."

"But in terms of the emotions associated with colors, yellow represents warmth and comfort."

It was Hongdou who spoke; she was standing right behind Yao Bilian.

"Is everything black inside a natural airhead? Please don't add insult to injury!" Si Ming felt he had no strength left to speak, and his shoulders slumped down.

Suddenly, he smelled a very fragrant aroma and couldn't help but sniff. Following the scent, he arrived at the kitchen and saw Lu Mao, wearing an apron, tossing the wok. He tossed it up and down with great force, lifting the food in the wok into the air. It looked like stir-fried vegetables on the street, with flames shooting up half a meter high, creating a strong visual impact.

"Oh, Lu Mao, you're back from your hometown?"

"Yes, I returned here a week ago. This summer, I went back to the Su Kingdom to participate in the chef level assessment and obtained the title of senior chef. The cooking skills I learned at Xianglan High School are still very useful and have helped me a lot. Next, I plan to pass the special chef assessment within three years."

Lu Mao flipped the wok to the side, and the vegetables inside fell perfectly into the bowl next to him without spilling a single drop of oil.

"Come, try my new dish: twice-cooked pork with stir-fried turtle."

"... I know you wanted to imply 'coming home,' but this dish name sounds like something out of a horror movie." Si Ming glanced at the turtle lying lifeless on the bowl and added, "It looks like something out of a horror movie too."

Lu Mao said seriously, "How could it be a culinary disaster? A culinary disaster has the power to control people's minds; even if I wanted to, I couldn't make it."

There really are bizarre dishes in this world, Si Ming thought, feeling his worldview being challenged once again. Moreover, it didn't seem to be just a synonym for "bad food," but rather something akin to evil or Devil Cultivation Method arts.

He looked around and realized someone was missing. "Where's Ying Zhou? Where did he go?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Bilian gave an Anomalies smile and said, "Judging by the time, this kid should be with his girlfriend."

Si Ming nodded. "Oh, so you're with your girlfriend..."

His eyes widened suddenly, and he exclaimed in shock, "What!"

Chapter 128 New Semester, Old Friends

Although Si Ming was very curious about how Ying Zhou had quietly hooked up with a girl, since it was a recent event and Ying Zhou had kept it a secret very well, everyone only knew that such a thing happened, but no one had seen True Person.

Si Ming couldn't imagine Ying Zhou being in love at all. Rather, this guy always had a grumpy face that said, "Everyone in the world owes me money," radiating a gloomy aura and emanating an intimidating presence. Anyone who got within three meters of him would automatically lose three points in their mood. How could any girl like him? Was it a case of a masochist falling in love at first sight with a tyrant?

"This world is getting more and more incomprehensible. When he first appeared, he seemed to be full of bitterness and hatred, treated differently by his teachers, had tense relationships with his classmates, and even had a history of abusing small animals. By all accounts, he was a standard villain with a dark childhood coming to be. But then I was told that this villainous character actually started having a puppy love! This script is not right. Did the author change the character design? Or did they hire a female writer to write the script, and is this going to turn into a melodrama?"

Si Ming felt like he was watching a superhero movie and then discovered halfway through that it was actually an urban romantic comedy – a truly frustrating experience.

"Are you still unable to let go of what happened to Ying Zhou?" Liu Qingqing, who was walking beside Si Ming, noticed his worries and asked.

The two are currently on their way to school. Although Si Ming bought a train ticket home immediately after defeating the demon tide and didn't even do the mission with the Sunlight Beast, he still missed the start of school because he had been cultivating on the snow mountain for too long. School has already been in session for two days.

Fortunately, Mohist Knight Guard stepped in to ask the school for leave, so it didn't cause too much of a commotion. However, Si Ming had to face the trouble of missing the first day of introducing himself to his classmates, which would be inconvenient for making friends in the future. It was like rushing to the world map before finishing the tutorial in a game.

Fortunately, if one's skills are lacking, one can ask others for help. According to Liu Qingqing, Si Ming, she, and Murong Qing are all in the same class, so at least on the first day, there won't be a situation where one feels "alone and helpless." And given Si Ming's personality, it won't be too difficult for him to integrate into the group in the future.

Liu Qingqing said, "Actually, the fact that Ying Zhou has changed so much proves that your education of him has been very successful, doesn't it?"

"That's true, but I didn't expect things to change so much. It feels like I've stepped into the wrong timeline... This kid's only in middle school, is it really okay for him to be dating so early?"

Although Ying Zhou's violent tendencies have greatly improved since he started playing music, this does not mean that his nature has changed. It simply means that he has an outlet for his emotions, which has prevented him from accumulating stress.

Si Ming was worried that if something unexpected happened one day, he might not have time to release the pressure, which could lead him back to the wrong path, such as breaking up, experiencing heartbreak, saying things like "we're not compatible" or "you're too young."

Liu Qingqing noticed Si Ming's worry and comforted him, "From what I've heard, it seems the girl took the initiative to confess, which happened on the first day of school. It caused quite a stir on campus. Ying Zhou got annoyed by her persistent advances and had no choice but to agree. Since he doesn't care about this relationship, I think even if they break up, it won't be a big deal, at least not initially."

In the beginning, feelings are not deep, so the hurt from breaking up is naturally less. But once the relationship goes on for a long time, the future is hard to predict. Feelings are something that "grow over time." On campus, you can see each other every day, and you don't have to consider family factors or economic conditions. You can date simply for the sake of dating, which is much easier than dating after entering the workforce.

However, it's all in the future, and the outcome is uncertain. There's no need to worry about the worst-case scenario now.