A Guest

"So this is your home, Shu Hua."

Hu Liena was also stunned by the luxurious villa before her.

After all, Hu Liena knew Shu Hua's family background—her parents had passed away when she was young, and her brother had worked hard to raise her.

Plus, Shu Hua rarely talked about her family at the academy, so Hu Liena assumed that with only one brother, Shu Hua must have had a tough life.

She hadn't expected Shu Hua's home to be this nice.

But Hu Liena didn't show too much surprise, because the entire Spirit Hall was hers. Once she inherited the Pope's position, the whole Spirit Hall would belong to her.

So Hu Liena was only surprised by Shu Hua's family's financial situation, not by the villa itself.

"Come on, come on, Sister Na Na, I'll take you all inside!"

Shu Hua, acting like she owned the place, led the three of them home.

She unlocked the door with her key, and as soon as it swung open, she said energetically, "I'm home!"

Shu Hua tossed whatever she was holding onto the sofa with full vitality, then stood there waiting.

"Welcome home, Shu Hua..."

Tian Dao's face lit up with a smile as he prepared to greet her. When he saw Shu Hua, his smile was radiant. When he saw Hu Liena, he realized she was Shu Hua's senior and kept the smile going.

When he saw Xie Yue, the smile vanished completely. When he saw Yan...

Yan watched as the other man stared at him intently. He could even feel the restraint from the bulging veins on the man's clenched fists.

But Yan didn't care. After all, he was just an Ordinary Person—what could he do? He was only a little bit better-looking, that's all.

"Brother, let me introduce you."

Shu Hua grabbed one of Tian Dao's arms, and his restraint loosened. His smile returned as he looked at the "guests" Shu Hua had brought.

"This is Sister Na Na. She often looks after me at the academy."

"Thank you for taking care of my Shu Hua. If you ever need anything, feel free to come to me!"

Tian Dao knew this was the senior sister Na Na that his sister often mentioned, the one who helped her out at the academy. So he treated her with the highest courtesy.

"Ah, no need, no need. Shu Hua is very popular at the academy. I just help her out occasionally."

Hu Liena returned the modesty.

"This is Senior Xie Yue, Sister Na Na's brother."

"But let me tell you a secret, brother—I think you're better than Sister Na Na's brother!"

Shu Hua whispered quietly in Tian Dao's ear, turning his smile from a rainbow into a blazing sun.

But Tian Dao and Xie Yue's greeting was just a mutual nod.

When it came to Yan, "This is Senior Yan. Um... Senior Yan is very strong!"

When it was Yan's turn, Shu Hua didn't know how to describe him, so she introduced him like that.

Yan wanted to imitate Xie Yue's usual aloof demeanor, so after seeing Xie Yue and Tian Dao nod at each other, he also nodded at Tian Dao.

But what Yan didn't expect was that he, the self-proclaimed leader of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, nodded at a commoner with no soul power, and the guy didn't even look at him—just walked off chatting and laughing with Shu Hua.

That pissed Yan off. He wanted to go over and teach the guy a lesson, make him understand that might makes right.

But halfway there, Hu Liena turned back and shot him a look that shut him down.

So Yan could only quietly trail at the back of the group.

"Come, please, have a seat!"

Tian Dao thoughtfully pulled out a chair for Hu Liena to sit, then returned to the head of the table.

Xie Yue and Tian Dao tacitly agreed not to mention what had happened. Xie Yue pulled out his own chair and sat down.

And Yan, with no sense of tact, saw no one paying him any attention, so he sheepishly found a spot and sat down.

Tian Dao's home had a long rectangular table, so two people sat on each long side, while Tian Dao sat at the head.

Hu Liena and Shu Hua sat together, while Yan reluctantly sat with Xie Yue.

"Wow, brother, the food you made today is so lavish too!"

Shu Hua's eyes sparkled at the table full of rich dishes.

"Mm, eat as much as you like, but don't forget to serve your senior sister some too."

Tian Dao naturally picked up some food and placed it in Shu Hua's bowl.

"Roger that, Brother Commander!"

Shu Hua put her hand to her temple in a mock salute, then cheerfully picked up food and put it in Hu Liena's bowl.

"Sister Na Na, try it! My brother's cooking is amazing!"

Seeing Shu Hua's lively, innocent smile, Hu Liena didn't refuse.

Actually, Hu Liena had noticed this table of delicious, aromatic food from the start, but she wasn't exactly a die-hard foodie.

So her gaze had simply been fixed on Shu Hua instead.

Now that Shu Hua picked up her chopsticks and placed food into her own bowl, Hu Liena decided to follow suit and eagerly prepared to taste the delightful meal.

Hu Liena carefully pinched a bit with her chopsticks and gently placed it into her mouth.

The moment it entered her mouth, she felt as if she had picked up a pool of water—it melted instantly on her tongue.

Then, Hu Liena closed her small eyes, and her entire tongue felt like a vast ocean, teeming with fish and shrimp swimming everywhere.

At that moment, she even felt as if she had traveled to the great sea her teacher Bibi Dong had once described.

She imagined herself barefoot on the sandy beach, building sandcastles and picking up seashells.

"How is it, Sister Na Na?"

Shu Hua looked at Hu Liena with anticipation.

"Mm, this is probably the best thing I've ever eaten!"

Hu Liena didn't hold back her praise.

Hu Liena then turned her gaze to the creator of this meal—the person whom Yan considered to be nothing but good-looking.

Meanwhile, Yan and Xie Yue were also slowly savoring the delicacies.

"Shu Hua, this is a gift for you, to celebrate your perfect full marks and first place this semester."

With that, Tian Dao pulled out a huge gift box from behind his back.

"Mm, thank you, big brother! I love you the most!"

Shu Hua looked at the gift box, ran up to hug Tian Dao, and left tiny kisses of thanks on his cheek.

"But don't get too cocky..."

Before Tian Dao could even finish that sentence—he had intended to warn Shu Hua not to be too proud—she completely broke his composure.

Silent, Tian Dao didn't dare to touch that spot with his hand, just sat there alone as if lost in thought, though a faint, elusive smile on his face betrayed his happiness.

"Shu Hua, this is for you."

Hu Liena seemed to remember something and took out an item from her Storage Ring, handing it to Shu Hua.

"This was given to me by my teacher back then. Now I'm giving it to you. With it, you can go places you couldn't before."

What Hu Liena gave Shu Hua was a Spirit Hall Token. With this token, Shu Hua could enter the Spirit Hall's exclusive Soul Hunting Forest to obtain her spirit soul after her spirit awakening.

She could also access the restricted areas of the Spirit Hall's library.

"Ah, thank you, Sister Na Na!"

Shu Hua immediately hugged Hu Liena, rubbing her cute, smiling face against Hu Liena's.

Hu Liena laughed happily, but she kept feeling a pair of eyes staring straight at her ever since Shu Hua had embraced her.

Still, Hu Liena didn't think much of it.