Three Women Make a Show

The four of them left the academy together. Tang Ya linked arms with Jiang Nannan, her eyes brimming with curiosity as she looked at Huo Yuhao one moment and Jiang Nannan the next.

"Little Yuhao, so you're the one who captured our Nannan's heart! When Nannan told me she liked someone before, I never believed her. Who would've thought it was you, brat!"

Hearing Xiao Ya reveal the feelings she had always kept hidden right in front of Huo Yuhao, Jiang Nannan's Jade Face instantly flushed crimson. She hurriedly tickled Tang Ya, stopping her from sharing any more private girl talk between them. Her moist eyes quietly drifted to Huo Yuhao's face, and when she saw the young man watching her with a smile, she immediately turned back to Tang Ya with a reproachful look.

"Come on, hurry up! Tell me about you and Nannan already—I want to hear it."

Tang Ya grinned as she changed the subject, easing her best friend's embarrassment.

Wang Dong followed beside Huo Yuhao, coldly watching the interaction between the three. She was the only one who seemed completely unrelated, unable to fit into their little circle. There were clearly four people here, so why was she the only one without a single line?

Wang Dong felt even more upset and sour inside. These were the familiar streets of Shrek City. Yesterday, Huo Yuhao had been wandering them with just her, but today there were two more people beside him. Yesterday, he had called her Dong'er this and Dong'er that. Today, a new love had replaced the old—no, an old love had replaced the new. He did not even spare her a glance.

It felt as though something had clogged her nose. Wang Dong could only feel tears welling up in her eyes. She turned her head and pretended to admire the scenery along the street, forcing the tears back little by little.

She could not cry. There was only the saying that one heard new lovers laugh but never old lovers weep. It made no sense for it to reverse when it came to her, becoming a case of hearing old lovers laugh but never new lovers cry.

Wang Dong forcibly held back her tears, yet quietly pricked up her ears, preparing to listen to the story between Huo Yuhao and that vixen, Jiang Nannan. She decided to first learn more about her opponent, then find an opportunity to expose Huo Yuhao as the scumbag he was so that Jiang Nannan would not be deceived by him.

Even if she was a vixen, Wang Dong felt that, as someone intelligent and upright, she had an obligation to save her from that bastard's clutches—absolutely not for any other reason! Absolutely not! For real!

Huo Yuhao slightly turned his head and watched Wang Dong, who had unknowingly fallen half a step behind, out of the corner of his eye. He saw her looking pitiful with tears in her eyes, occasionally shooting him an indignant glare. Yet her footsteps honestly followed right beside him, while her two fair, pink-tipped ears twitched slightly, clearly listening closely to their conversation.

Huo Yuhao found Wang Dong like this rather adorable as well.

"I still remember that spring morning. While searching everywhere for a way to save my mother, I met Nan Nan-jie, who was doing everything she could to treat her own mother. At that very moment, the gears of fate began to turn..."

As Huo Yuhao recounted some events from the past, he reached out and grasped Wang Dong's forearm through her clothes, pulling her to his side.

Wang Dong discovered that Huo Yuhao had tightly grabbed her forearm and pulled her right up against him. She angrily shook her arm, wanting to break free from his strong, burning palm, but it was completely futile.

Wang Dong puffed out her cheeks in anger and turned her head away, refusing to look at Huo Yuhao. Yet the sourness in her eyes and the distance in her heart unconsciously faded by more than half.

As Tang Ya listened to Huo Yuhao's account, she secretly watched and memorized their interactions. A sense of alarm immediately rose in her heart. The two of them looked exactly like a couple having a quarrel.

Little Yuhao, you fool!

How could you like a boy?

Where would that leave Nannan? Where would that leave me? Where would that leave Bei Bei... uh, that one did not count.

In any case, Tang Ya felt she ought to have Nannan bring Little Yuhao back onto the right path as soon as possible. If there was truly no other way, she... she was not unwilling to make a little sacrifice herself, as repayment for Little Yuhao pointing her toward the right choice for her Soul Ring.

Huo Yuhao continued his story.

"While traveling around, I visited many renowned physicians I could find. I accompanied Nan Nan-jie and her mother to seek out those truly skilled doctors. After curing Auntie's illness, I left. Once her mother's condition improved, Nan Nan-jie caught up with me, wanting to protect me along the way to repay my kindness. I remember that when she found me, I happened to be getting robbed. Nan Nan-jie appeared in time and saved my life."

Jiang Nannan quietly listened to Huo Yuhao's story, occasionally recalling details from that time as a happy smile appeared on her face.

"...We spent nearly a year together, on and off. Finally, after I found a way to save my mother, we said goodbye to each other. Nan Nan-jie told me then that she was coming to Shrek Academy, so I came here to find her."

After finishing, Huo Yuhao let out a soft breath. Having revealed a little of what lay in his heart, he felt much lighter. Looking at Jiang Nannan, who had quietly listened to him, he asked, "Nan Nan-jie, how is Auntie doing now? I haven't visited her in the past two years. When break comes, let's go see Auntie together."

"Ever since Mother recovered, her health has improved greatly. And now that I've enrolled at Shrek Academy, the neighbors back home look after her when I'm away. Yuhao, how is Aunt Huo? Did she recover?"

Jiang Nannan asked with concern. Ever since Huo Yuhao had found a treatment, he had never contacted her again, so she did not know what had happened to his mother.

Hearing Jiang Nannan's question, Tang Ya suddenly recalled Huo Yuhao saying in the Star Dou Great Forest last time that he was the only one left in his family.

Could it be that Little Yuhao's mother had not been cured in the end? He had spent two or three years running around for this, and he had only been eight or nine years old at the time. A look of heartache flashed through Tang Ya's eyes. Just as Little Yuhao had said, the two of them truly were fellow wanderers at the ends of the world. They were both orphans now.

"My mother passed away. Not because of illness, but for other reasons." Huo Yuhao spoke calmly, without the slightest ripple in his tranquil eyes. He did not want to tell others much about his mother's death. He did not want to borrow another's hand for that hatred. He only wanted to personally make every person in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion repay blood for blood, inch by inch.

"Yuhao!" Jiang Nannan looked at the young man, whose eyes seemed like an abyss, with worry and heartache. Familiar with Huo Yuhao's past, she could sense the repression and hatred in his heart. She hoped Huo Yuhao would rely on her a little more. She was willing to help him, and she hoped she could truly be of help to him.

Tang Ya felt that she understood Huo Yuhao. She too carried the hatred of her parents' murder, yet she did not want this understanding. They truly were fellow wanderers at the ends of the world! It turned out that she and Little Yuhao were not merely both orphans—their parents had both been murdered, and both of them bore blood-deep grudges that needed avenging.

The darkness in Tang Ya's eyes flashed and vanished. Why did wicked people live better and better, while she and Little Yuhao could only struggle desperately? Why did they have to give everything they had, regardless of the cost, just to make their enemies repay blood with blood?

Wang Dong quietly hooked her other arm around Huo Yuhao's arm, hoping to offer him some comfort. She had not expected Huo Yuhao to have such a past. Compared with him, she truly had been far too fortunate.

Mm, from now on, I'll treat him a little better. Even if he wants to see me dressed as a girl, as long as he asks a few more times, I'll indulge him once in a while!

Each with their own thoughts, the group fell silent and wandered aimlessly toward the center of Shrek City.

Huo Yuhao was the first to break the silence.

A smile returned to his face. "Why has everyone gone quiet? Xiao Ya-jie, did you forget why we came out today? If you don't lead me around, I'm unfamiliar with Shrek City and might get scammed."

Tang Ya shot Huo Yuhao a sidelong glance and livened up the atmosphere. "You're as crafty as they come. You're the only one who scams others—when has anyone ever scammed you?"

Huo Yuhao put on an innocent expression. "Xiao Ya-jie, don't slander me. I've never scammed anyone."

Wang Dong: ???