You're Not Bad Either-You Look Pretty Undateable

You Chen couldn't figure out why, but since he could sign a contract, there was no way he would refuse. Generally speaking, only people with exceptional skill or high status could sign with a world-class publication like Kaiba Magazine. The requirements were extremely strict.

The other kind was those who had already become famous without signing a contract, but they were even rarer.

Yet You Chen's paper was an exception. It had become popular before he even signed a contract, which was rather strange.

Even he himself felt that its sudden popularity made no sense.

What he didn't know was that someone had been pushing things behind the scenes.

After looking over the basic contract and benefits, You Chen signed it online.

This was only extra income. You Chen did not expect to become rich from it; being able to make ends meet was enough. Becoming famous or anything like that felt far too fantastical.

Once everything was settled, he put away his phone.

You Chen took a moment to process everything he had learned about this world over the past few days, along with the news he had just read.

It was obvious that the human world and the Spirit World had gradually begun to merge.

After all, the Spirit World existed within secret realms, yet its inhabitants could appear in the human world. That meant those secret realms could rupture under certain circumstances, releasing Card Spirits.

The human side would naturally be affected as well.

One thing worth mentioning was that—

This world was not like those old-fashioned high-martial-arts stories.

There was no nonsense about the Dragon Nation always being weak and oppressed before the protagonist appeared.

There was no story about other countries developing first a thousand years ago and leaving the Dragon Nation behind.

This world was more like a microcosm of Earth.

Although the Dragon Nation's dueling strength was not at the very top, it still ranked among the top five.

Of course, every citizen understood how much padding there was in those national dueling rankings.

The Dragon Nation had always followed a policy of quietly building strength. It would not appear too powerful, but it could not appear too weak either, maintaining a balanced position at all times.

No one could afford to provoke it, yet no one would see it as a threat.

Therefore, You Chen believed that the Dragon Nation's true strength should be within the top three. As for exactly which rank, that was hard to say.

In terms of dueling, Little Japan and Korea truly were strong, though not in every regard.

Korea might not be good at war, but in competitive events, its schemes never ended and its methods were numerous.

Little Japan possessed an incredibly strong dueling spirit. Their discipline was cultivated from childhood, so it was only natural for their dueling strength to be formidable. After all, they would commit seppuku over the slightest disagreement. How many people in the Dragon Nation could do that?

The Dragon Nation's real strength lay in its endless variations of tactics and its vast military wisdom!

Things like that.

"Am I thinking too far ahead? I haven't even entered an academy or competed in the domestic KC Cup Tournament, and I'm already thinking about international duels?"

You Chen muttered to himself after giving it some thought.

Suddenly, he heard a wave of startled cries.

When he looked up, he discovered that the second duel had already ended.

It had ended quickly. High School One's Chen Mo had faced High School Nine's Chen Jianming!

Chen Jianming had not even possessed the slightest ability to resist before the duel was over.

At that moment, Chen Jianming's mentality had completely collapsed.

The light had vanished from his eyes.

You Chen shook his head. How could a duelist like that possibly reach a larger stage? His mentality was simply too weak.

If he encountered Tearlaments Deck or Labrynth Deck, would he just start throwing hands?

The first three duels had all involved High School Nine.

The third match was Hua Ningning against a heavily made-up girl from High School Five, dressed head to toe in heavy-metal rock attire.

Hua Ningning used an Amazoness Deck against her opponent's Harpie Lady Deck!

Well, well, both of them were Mai Valentine's decks.

Were they competing to see who was Mai Valentine's number-one fan?

For these two decks, it really depended on whose Rare Cards were more complete. It was hard to say who would win.

However, in some respects, certain advantages of the Amazoness Deck did not exist against Harpie Lady.

For example, the Queen that could not be destroyed by battle could simply be bounced back to the hand by Harpie Lady.

And the Field Spell could continuously blow up the back row.

If one had to say there was an advantage, Harpie Lady had a slight edge, but not by much.

Sure enough, throughout the duel, Hua Ningning had been quite passive from the start. She did not dare Set Cards, and the only cards she set were ones that would trigger other effects after being destroyed.

That worked well for a short while, but as time passed, she realized her deck's endurance could not compare to the Harpie Lady Deck.

In the end, she lost by a narrow margin.

But it had not been an ugly loss. Their strength was nearly equal.

When Hua Ningning returned, she did not look particularly upset. It seemed she already understood her own bottleneck well enough.

"Come on, let's build a deck."

As soon as Hua Ningning returned, she slung on her bag and spoke calmly.

You Chen tactfully said nothing.

The two of them left the preparation room.

Since their match was not until the afternoon, they were in no rush. This time, they did not go to the underground Dream Duel Mall.

Instead, they went to a nearby card shop.

Well, it looked rather rundown.

Hua Ningning's eyes were filled with confusion. She could not understand what You Chen was thinking, bringing her here to buy cards.

"Why did we come here?"

Hua Ningning could not help asking.

"Don't underestimate this place. I pulled my Monster Reborn and Pot of Greed here."

"So congratulations, you've discovered a treasure trove."

That was what You Chen said.

That was right. This was the card shop run by his older sister.

On one hand, it could bring more business to his sister. Why not?

On the other hand, he was telling the truth.

He really had pulled those cards here.

"But isn't pulling cards too unreliable?"

"Since we're going to play doubles later, how much would it cost to pull a suitable deck? Wouldn't it be better to just buy a complete deck?"

Hua Ningning frowned, still unable to understand.

"Of course, there are singles here too, but I suggest you test your luck today first. Maybe you'll end up thanking me."

You Chen did not say anything more.

He led Hua Ningning toward the card shop.

Ever since last time, business here had improved quite a bit. Customers could often be seen selecting cards in front of the shop.

"Welco—"

You Wushuang reflexively began her usual greeting. When she looked up, she saw a pretty girl with a heroic air between her brows.

What surprised her most was that the girl standing beside her was actually her younger brother, You Chen!

"Boss, give me ten packs from the newest set. Also, where are your singles? I want to pick some too."

Hua Ningning did not notice any of that. Her attention was entirely focused on the card packs on the counter.

"Alright, please wait a moment."

Only then did You Wushuang understand. Had he brought a classmate over to support her business?

No, she could not be sure that they were only classmates.

Then You Wushuang said with a smile, "Miss, you're really pretty, but your boyfriend looks like a proper little rascal."

You Chen nearly bit his tongue when he heard that.

Was "proper little rascal" supposed to be a compliment?

Was she getting back at him in secret?

What a brat!

You Wushuang, just keep being a brat.

Wait, she had called him Hua Ningning's boyfriend. Why was he taking that personally?

But there was no doubt about it—You Wushuang was insulting him!

Hua Ningning found it amusing. It was the first time she had seen someone compliment another person like that.

"Boss, you really know how to compliment people. Say more," Hua Ningning said, finding it rather entertaining since it was not directed at her.

Alright, alright. In the end, he was the only one getting hurt?

You Chen was no pushover. He immediately replied with a smile, "Boss, you're not bad either. You look pretty undateable."

Hua Ningning raised her eyes and looked at the two of them suspiciously. Why did this conversation sound less and less like one between strangers?

What strangers talked like this? She was not stupid.

"You two..."

Only then did Hua Ningning hesitate as she spoke.

"Alright, she's my crazy older sister."

"And this is my classmate."

You Chen was not trying to trick Hua Ningning, so there was nothing he could not say. It was simply that there had been no need to introduce them before.

"Huh? She's not your girlfriend?" A trace of surprise appeared on You Wushuang's pretty face, and one brow rose.

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