An Encounter with Imperial Dou Teammates

Just as Huo Wu was immersed in that strange "sweetness" and inner turmoil, a voice carrying a hint of chill and surprise rang out ahead.

"Huo Wu? Zhang Bufan?"

Hearing the voice, Huo Wu looked up, and an unnatural flicker crossed her face. Not far ahead stood two familiar figures—Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan from Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Yu Tianheng still wore that cold, stern expression, the pride of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Young Master etched into his bones. But as he looked at Zhang Bufan and Huo Wu walking side by side—especially at the tanghulu in Huo Wu's hand, so utterly at odds with her temperament—his brow furrowed slightly, his gaze carrying scrutiny and a barely perceptible... displeasure.

Dugu Yan, on the other hand, looked thoroughly entertained. Her bewitching green eyes swept back and forth between Zhang Bufan and Huo Wu before settling on Huo Wu's still slightly flushed cheeks and the tanghulu in her hand. A meaningful, teasing smile curled across her lips.

"Well, if it isn't our busy Captain Zhang. With the competition just around the corner, instead of training, you have the leisure to accompany Blazing Fire Academy's vice-captain... shopping?" Dugu Yan's voice carried its usual magnetic quality, her drawn-out tone full of teasing.

Huo Wu's face immediately burned again. Instinctively, she tried to hide the tanghulu behind her back, but halfway through, she realized that would only make things more suspicious. She could only freeze there and force herself to calmly greet them. "Captain Yu, Miss Dugu, what a coincidence."

Zhang Bufan, however, looked completely at ease, as though he had not caught the mockery in Dugu Yan's words at all. He even waved the ornate, bulging bag of snacks in his hand and replied with a smile, "Of course. Training requires work and rest in balance. Taking my girlfriend shopping and buying her some snacks—isn't that perfectly normal?"

He said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, his voice neither loud nor soft, just enough for the passersby around them to hear clearly.

"G-Girlfriend?!" Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan froze at the same time. Even Huo Wu abruptly turned her head and stared at Zhang Bufan in disbelief, her beautiful eyes wide with the words, "What nonsense are you talking about?!" written all over them.

This bastard! How could he just spout nonsense?! When had they ever made their relationship official?! Had she agreed to this?!

Yu Tianheng's expression immediately darkened. He had always held some appreciation for Huo Wu, though his status and personality had kept him from showing it. Now, hearing Zhang Bufan make such a "claim," an inexplicable irritation and anger surged within him. He looked coldly at Zhang Bufan. "Captain Zhang, you should not speak carelessly. Miss Huo Wu does not seem to have acknowledged it."

Zhang Bufan raised a brow as he met Yu Tianheng's hostile gaze, utterly unconcerned. Suddenly, he reached out and wrapped an arm around Huo Wu's shoulders with complete ease, pulling her into his embrace!

"Ah!" Caught off guard, Huo Wu crashed into his arms. Her nose instantly filled with his crisp, pleasant scent, along with... the faint sweetness of snacks. Her mind went blank, and her entire body stiffened. She even forgot to struggle.

With an arm around Huo Wu's slender yet resilient shoulders, Zhang Bufan felt the warmth beneath his palm and became even more pleased. Facing Yu Tianheng's ugly expression and Dugu Yan's astonished look, he flashed a dazzling smile and said in a slightly boastful tone:

"Does this need any special acknowledgment? Look, isn't Wu'er silently agreeing?" He lowered his head to glance at Huo Wu, who had gone stiff as a board in his arms. His tone was so affectionate it practically dripped honey. "Right, Wu'er?"

Only then did Huo Wu react. Humiliated and furious, her entire face turned scarlet, as though it might bleed. She struggled hard and drove her elbow fiercely into Zhang Bufan's side—though his muscles were too solid to budge him—while lowering her voice into an angry roar. "Zhang Bufan! Let go of me! Who's your girlfriend?! Who silently agreed?!"

She smacked at the hand wrapped around her shoulders, trying to break free from the embrace that had thrown her heartbeat into chaos and utterly ruined her dignity.

Zhang Bufan grimaced in pain—pretending—but his arm remained as immovable as an Iron Hoop. He leaned close to Huo Wu's ear and whispered, "Don't move. Give me some face, will you? Look at Yu Tianheng. His eyes are practically breathing fire. Isn't this fun?"

"You bastard! What does your face have to do with me?!" Huo Wu was beside herself with anger and lifted her foot to stomp on him.

But Zhang Bufan seemed to have anticipated it. With a slight shift of his feet, he dodged her attack, still holding her tightly as he smiled at Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan. "See? She's embarrassed."

Watching the two of them interact in such an obvious flirtatious manner—especially seeing that although Huo Wu struggled, there was no real disgust in her eyes, only more embarrassment and anger—Yu Tianheng's heart sank completely. His face turned ashen. He snorted coldly, stopped looking at them, and turned to leave. Staying any longer would only humiliate himself.

Dugu Yan watched with great interest. Covering her lips, she chuckled softly, her gaze shifting between Zhang Bufan and Huo Wu. She looked at Zhang Bufan a few more times in particular, a glimmer of interest flashing through her eyes. This Zhang Bufan's strength was unfathomable, and his way of doing things was even more... unconstrained. Interesting. Truly interesting.

"Captain Zhang really is no ordinary man," Dugu Yan said meaningfully. Then she smiled at Huo Wu. "Little Sister Huo Wu, congratulations." With that, she turned and swayed gracefully after Yu Tianheng.

Congratulations? Congratulations for what?! Huo Wu was practically going mad with anger!

Once the two had gone far away and vanished around the street corner, Huo Wu immediately used all her strength to break free from Zhang Bufan's embrace. She leaped aside like an enraged cat, every hair on her body standing on end.

"Zhang! Bufan!" she said through gritted teeth, each word distinct, fire blazing in her beautiful eyes. "If you ever dare spout nonsense again or put your hands on me again, I... I won't let you off!"

Zhang Bufan rubbed the spot where Huo Wu had elbowed him. It neither hurt nor itched, but he still cooperatively put on a pained grimace. "Wow, so fierce. Wasn't I just helping you ward off unnecessary admirers? That Yu Tianheng obviously likes you. I was declaring my claim and preventing trouble before it started."

"Who asked you to declare any claim?! Yu Tianheng and I are just ordinary friends!" Huo Wu's chest heaved with anger. "And what right do you have to decide for me?!"

"Because I like you." Zhang Bufan answered cleanly and directly, completely justified. "I like you, so I want everyone to know that you're mine. It's that simple."

His blunt, almost barbaric confession stunned Huo Wu again.

She opened her mouth, wanting to retort, only to find that every word seemed pale and powerless before this unreasonable kind of "liking." Fight him? She could not beat him. Scold him? His skin was thicker than city walls. Reason with him? He simply did not listen to that sort of thing!

Looking at the man before her, whose face clearly said, "I did nothing wrong, and I'd do it again next time," Huo Wu suddenly felt a deep sense of helplessness.

She glared fiercely at him for a long while. In the end, she could only stomp her foot in frustration and turn away. If she stayed around this guy any longer, she would sooner or later die of anger... or have her thoughts thrown into complete disarray by his sudden, nonsensical confessions!

Zhang Bufan watched her storming away, then leisurely followed behind with the bag of snacks in hand.

His inner monologue resurfaced:

"Tsk, tsundere girls really are the most troublesome and cutest creatures in the world."

"Still, she looks pretty good when she gets all worked up."

"Yu Tianheng? The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Young Master? Heh, a weakling with a combat power below five thinks he deserves to steal my woman?"

"Looks like I'll have to keep a closer eye on her from now on. My Wu'er is so outstanding that there must be plenty of people coveting her. Mm, next time I see them, I'll just declare my claim directly and save myself the trouble."

He did not realize in the slightest how much of a brute he was being. Instead, he found it perfectly natural. In his view, if he liked someone, he had to hold on tightly and announce it to the whole world. As for whether she was willing? There was no rush. He had plenty of time and patience—and plenty of shameless persistence.

After all that, Huo Wu had completely lost the mood to shop and only wanted to hurry back to the academy to calm down. Meanwhile, Zhang Bufan's "domineering declaration of ownership" would no doubt soon spread through Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan's mouths across the Imperial Fighting Team and even the upper circles of Heaven Dou City.

It was easy to foresee that, in the coming Final Tournament, aside from the fierce competition itself, there would likely be plenty more rumors and curious gazes surrounding him and Huo Wu.