Ye Xinglan: You Were the One Meddling

Tang Wulin was taken aback upon hearing this, but after carefully considering Huo Yuhao's analysis, he realized it made a lot of sense.

He glanced at the chubby boy's neat attire, then at the bustling crowds of teachers and students from various colleges around him, and his initial impulse cooled considerably.

"You're right..."

He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, put the dried fish back in his hand, and wondered to himself why he had been so easily "overwhelmed with affection" just now.

They were standing among the students and faculty of the Eastsea Academy, surrounded by other students and Eastsea Academy.

Not far away, a tall girl who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old was also clearly moved by the chubby boy's pitiful appearance.

Tang Wulin and Huo Yuhao both knew this person. She was not only a student in the advanced department of the Eastsea Academy, but also the only daughter of Mu Chen, the president of the Donghai Blacksmiths Association, Mu Xi.

In a way, she could be considered Tang Wulin and Huo Yuhao's senior sister.

With a hint of kindness on her face, Mu Xi took out a few exquisitely packaged cream cookies from her Storage Soul Tool, quickly walked up to the chubby boy, and handed them over.

The chubby boy's eyes lit up when he saw the biscuits, as if he had seen a savior.

After thanking him repeatedly, he eagerly took it, tore open the packaging, and wolfed it down, as if he were truly starving.

While eating, he mumbled things like "Thank you, sister" and "Sister is so kind."

The slightly exaggerated expression of gratitude on his round face successfully made Mu Xi cover her mouth and chuckle, finding the chubby little boy endearing and quite cute.

Tang Wulin, who witnessed this scene, felt that Huo Yuhao's worries were completely unnecessary. He was thinking too badly of others. Nothing had happened!

However, just as Tang Wulin's thought arose, and before Mu Xi's smile had completely faded...

A clear, yet distinctly displeased and forceful female voice suddenly rang out. "Xu Lizhi!"

Following the sound, a girl who looked to be about the same age as the chubby boy, wearing the same green tracksuit, walked over.

She had long, dazzling golden hair styled in a ponytail, and her features were exquisite, but there was a hint of arrogance in her eyes.

Without any hesitation, she snatched the cookie from Xu Lizhi's hand, which he hadn't finished eating, and threw it on the ground without even looking at it.

Then, with a furrowed brow, she scolded the still somewhat bewildered chubby boy, "Xu Lizhi! How many times have I told you!"

"Don't accept anything from strangers when you're out! And definitely don't put anything in your mouth!"

"Who knows if any 'bad stuff' has been added to it!"

Upon seeing the Golden-Haired Girl, Xu Lizhi immediately shrank back and lowered his head like Haozi seeing a cat.

He even stopped chewing, with half a biscuit still in his mouth, and mumbled indistinctly, "Sister Xinglan, I... I was wrong."

However, Mu Xi, who was standing to the side, frowned deeply, and her face instantly turned rather ugly.

As the only daughter of Mu Chen, Eight-Star Saint Craftsman, and the apple of the eye of the president of the Donghai Blacksmiths Association, she was not spoiled into an arrogant and domineering personality, but she had been protected and cared for by everyone since childhood. When had she ever suffered such humiliation and doubt?

She acted out of pure kindness, seeing the chubby boy's pitiful state, and shared her snacks with him.

But this Golden-Haired Girl suddenly appeared not only showed no appreciation, snatched the cookie and threw it on the ground, but also subtly implied that the food she gave might have something bad in it?!

This is not just simple rudeness, it's downright slander against her character!

Mu Xi's anger flared up instantly.

She immediately stepped forward, staring directly at Ye Xinglan, her pretty face slightly flushed with anger, and her voice rose a few decibels as she demanded, "What do you mean by that?! Explain yourself clearly!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinglan merely glanced at her indifferently, her tone flat to the point of being cold. "It means exactly what it says."

"You... you...!"

Mu Xi was so angry at her appearance that her chest heaved. She pointed at Ye Xinglan but couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to suppress her anger, before speaking again, her voice trembling with rage.

"I... I saw he was hungry, so I kindly gave him some food!"

"How come in your mouth it's as if I've done something shameful?!"

Ye Xinglan's delicate yet Bingbing face remained completely expressionless, as if everyone owed her millions of Gold Soul Coin.

She didn't even bother to look at Mu Xi, whose face was flushed with anger. She just glanced coldly at Xu Lizhi, who was standing next to her and seemed about to say something, and let out a short, cold snort.

Nobody asked you for food.

She paused, her gaze returning to Mu Xi's face, and uttered each word clearly. "It was you... meddling in other people's business."

Because they weren't far apart, Tang Wulin overheard every word of Ye Xinglan and Mu Xi's argument.

He was also dumbfounded at this moment, his face filled with disbelief.

He never expected that a small act of kindness would actually cause such trouble, escalating into a tense standoff.

Tang Wulin couldn't help but glance at Huo Yuhao beside him. If Huo Yuhao hadn't pulled him back in time, he would probably be the one being scolded by that Golden-Haired Girl right now.

He also noticed that Huo Yuhao's face showed a clear hint of surprise.

Clearly, even someone as composed as Huo Yuhao hadn't anticipated things would develop this way.

They exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's meaning.

In any case, Mu Xi is their senior sister, so they can't just stand by and watch her be bullied by outsiders like this.

The two then walked a few steps forward side by side and came to Mu Xi's side.

Tang Wulin looked at Ye Xinglan and said in a fairly polite tone, "This is the venue for the Heaven Sea Alliance Tournament. The surrounding area is full of teachers and participating students from various academies. Everyone is here to compete. There are no bad people here. How could they possibly add anything to the food?"

"Young man, aren't you... being overly cautious?"

At this moment, Xu Lizhi, who had been keeping his neck hunched and not daring to speak loudly, cautiously raised his head and whispered, "Yes, Sister Xinglan... I think this sister is a very nice person."

"And with so many people here... I hope nothing will happen..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinglan raised her hand and lightly tapped Xu Lizhi on the head, making a soft "thump" sound.

She then admonished, "It's precisely because we're here that we need to be even more careful."

"Who knows if any of these teachers and students are jealous of our talent and want to sabotage us beforehand?"

"Whether on or off the field, always be careful. You can never be too careful! Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Wulin, Huo Yuhao, and Mu Xi were all speechless, even finding it somewhat absurd.

Huo Yuhao couldn't help but speak up, his voice filled with undisguised sarcasm. "What a joke! We don't even know who you are, let alone what 'amazing talent' you have."

"What makes you so sure that others would be jealous of you, and even resort to underhanded means to harm you?"

"Isn't he taking himself way too seriously?"

Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's rebuttal, Ye Xinglan slightly raised her delicate chin, her gaze carrying an almost self-righteous arrogance.

She glanced at the group of people in front of her and asked, "You don't recognize us? Don't you... recognize the clothes we're wearing?"