The Overbearing Spoiling

On the busiest street in Heaven Dou City, a peculiar sight appeared.

A handsome young man with an exceptional bearing carried a straw target over his shoulder, utterly at odds with his appearance, with dozens of candied hawthorn skewers stuck into it. At his side followed a breathtakingly beautiful girl dressed in Blazing Fire Academy's red combat uniform, her face flushed red and her hands at a loss. She held half a finished Tanghulu skewer in one hand, along with several paper packets of snacks she had just "raided."

The pair drew frequent glances from passersby, accompanied by endless whispers and stifled laughter.

Huo Wu felt as though her cheeks were hot enough to fry an egg. She had never been this "famous" in her life! She secretly tugged at Zhang Bufan's sleeve, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Hey... c-can you put that thing away? It's... it's too conspicuous!"

Zhang Bufan was enthusiastically searching for his next "raid" target. At her words, he turned back with an innocent expression. "Conspicuous? I think it's great. One look and everyone knows we're here to buy Tanghulu... oh, no, to eat Tanghulu." He gave the straw target on his shoulder a shake, causing the bright red skewers to sway gently and draw even more children's eyes.

"You..." Huo Wu choked on her anger, wanting nothing more than to jab the unfinished Tanghulu in her hand into his face. This guy was definitely doing it on purpose!

"Look, look, it's them!"

"Wow, that handsome guy treats his girlfriend so well! He bought her so many Tanghulu!"

"I'm so jealous. If only my boyfriend were that handsome and that generous..."

"Generous, sure, but he does seem... kind of silly. Hahaha!"

The surrounding chatter reached Huo Wu's ears loud and clear. She wanted to bury her head in her chest. Silly? That was right, this guy was a complete idiot! Who courted a girl like this?!

Yet Zhang Bufan was deaf to the comments around him—or rather, he simply did not care. Seeing that Huo Wu's hands were full and that she seemed inconvenienced, he stopped.

With a thought, the eye-catching Tanghulu target on his shoulder vanished into his Storage Soul Tool. Then, beneath Huo Wu's puzzled gaze, he took the several oil-paper packets from her hands and stored them away as well.

"You..." Huo Wu froze.

Zhang Bufan said nothing. Instead, he took out an enormous silk storage pouch from his Soul Tool. It was exquisitely crafted, even set with several tiny gemstones. It was clearly worth a fortune and far from ordinary, forming a stark contrast to his earlier behavior of "wholesaling" snacks.

Then, under the curious gazes of Huo Wu and the surrounding passersby, Zhang Bufan began performing what looked like a magic trick. From his seemingly bottomless Soul Tool, he took out all the snacks he had bought earlier, as well as those he had just purchased—Tanghulu, grilled meat skewers, Crystal Cake, Milk Crisp, candied fruit, mille-feuille pastries... all sorts of things, enough to form a small mountain that gave off an enticing fragrance—and carefully stuffed them all into that gorgeous oversized storage pouch.

His movements were focused and serious, as though he were completing an immensely important work of art. The surrounding crowd was dumbfounded, unable to understand what he was doing now.

Only after he had completely packed that "mountain of snacks" into the luxurious storage pouch and tied its opening shut did Zhang Bufan clap his hands in satisfaction. He turned around, held the heavy, bulging pouch—which was utterly mismatched with its elegant exterior—in both hands, and presented it to Huo Wu.

Sunlight fell upon his smiling face. His gaze was clear and direct, devoid of the slightest hint of jest.

"This is for you." His voice was not loud, but it reached Huo Wu's ears clearly. "From now on, eat whenever you want. You don't need to look around, wait, or feel embarrassed."

Huo Wu stared blankly at the priceless pouch stuffed full of snacks before her, then looked up at Zhang Bufan. The matter-of-fact expression on his face was as natural as if he were saying, "The weather is nice today."

"I..." Huo Wu opened her mouth, her throat feeling dry. What was this supposed to be? A token of love? Who used a bag of snacks as a token of love?! But why... was her heart beating so fast?

When Zhang Bufan saw that she would not take it, he simply stepped forward and stuffed the heavy pouch directly into her arms. Huo Wu instinctively hugged it. Its weight made her arms sink, and her heart gave a heavy thump along with it.

The warmth of the pouch and the mingled aroma of food wafting from within strangely dispersed all her embarrassment and unease, leaving behind only a steady sensation of being filled to the brim.

Watching her stand there in a daze with the pouch in her arms, Zhang Bufan found her utterly adorable. He bent slightly closer to her ear and spoke softly in a tone only the two of them could hear, carrying an unquestionable dominance.

"From now on, I'll cover your snacks."

"And I'll take care of you too."

Boom—!

The words exploded in Huo Wu's mind like thunder! She abruptly looked up and met Zhang Bufan's smiling eyes, which held an incomparable seriousness and possessiveness.

"W-who wants you to take care of me?!" The words nearly flew from her mouth. Her voice trembled slightly with agitation, her cheeks crimson like the evening clouds, and even her earlobes had turned pink. She tried to glare at him fiercely, but her flickering eyes and trembling lashes gave away the panic in her heart.

This bastard! Pervert! How could he say something so... so shameless?!

Yet deep inside, an unfamiliar, sweet warmth surged uncontrollably through her body, making all four of her limbs feel weak. Hugging the "snack empire" in her arms and feeling the heavy weight of that "dominance," she discovered that she could not summon even a trace of genuine anger.

She quickly lowered her head, not daring to meet his scorching gaze again, and muttered in a low voice. It sounded less like a rebuttal and more like a coy complaint. "I can support myself... I don't need you..."

Yet at the moment she lowered her head, the corners of her mouth betrayed her will, secretly curving upward into a small, sweet smile that even she did not notice.

Though the surrounding crowd could not hear what Zhang Bufan had said at the end, his domineering posture and Huo Wu's endlessly bashful reaction allowed them to guess most of it. At once, envious exclamations and good-natured laughter rose one after another.

"Say yes! Say yes!" Some onlooker who loved stirring up trouble shouted, immediately drawing a chorus of agreement.

Huo Wu felt even more mortified. Hugging that "heavy" gift, she turned and tried to flee from this place where her heart had spiraled out of control.

Seeing her adorable appearance—embarrassed and annoyed, yet unwilling to throw away the pouch—Zhang Bufan's mood soared. He laughed heartily and quickly followed her, naturally walking at her side and shielding her from the crowded stream of people.

Looking at her flushed profile, his inner monologue stirred once more:

Heh, just as expected. Girls in any world can't resist the ultimate critical hit of "I'll take care of you"! Of course, the prerequisite is being as handsome, powerful, and rich as I am—especially rich!

But... that shy look of hers is truly never enough to see. Mm, I can say it more often in the future. After all, I'm only telling the truth.

The sunlight stretched their shadows long: one girl in front, hugging her pouch as she "fled in panic," and one young man behind her, strolling leisurely with a smile at the corner of his lips. The air itself seemed to fill with a cloying sweetness belonging to youth and budding love.

That day, the story of "Nine Cauldrons Douluo" Zhang Bufan spending lavishly on a beauty and making the domineering declaration, "I'll take care of you," right on the street became yet another legendary tale eagerly discussed by the people of Heaven Dou City after meals, accompanied by that conspicuous Tanghulu target and the luxurious snack pouch.

As for Huo Wu, caught between "mortified beyond death" and "secretly delighted," she hugged the first—and most special—"weighty gift" she had ever received and began an afternoon that was destined to be anything but peaceful.