What a Truly Exhilarating Battle of Wits

"Alright, I... I'll just have the garlic grilled fish."

Tang Wulin picked up the menu and took a glance, eventually ordering the grilled fish as a symbolic gesture. Chen Ming didn't mind, immediately ordering over a dozen dishes to whet his appetite.

"This, this, and this—bring ten servings of each."

Watching the other person order so much, he looked at Chen Ming's petite figure. There was no way he could finish all that, right?

"That's so much... can you actually finish it?"

"This is just an appetizer. I have a huge appetite."

Chen Ming waved his hand, signaling that there was no need to worry about him. The other party didn't try to stop him, and after a moment of silence, the food began to arrive one by one.

He was very curious if the restaurant was serving pre-made meals since they were so fast... but he soon stopped caring and started eating.

Tang Wulin watched in a daze as the other person finished bowl after bowl of rice. He felt a strange sense of familiarity...

It was as if there had once been a silver-haired, purple-eyed figure who was also an incredibly big eater. The feeling was very endearing.

"Uh... if it's not enough, you can have mine too..."

Tang Wulin looked at the stack of plates and pushed his own garlic grilled fish over. Chen Ming waved his hand and said:

"It's fine, you eat it. I've had enough. I can't let you come all this way for nothing. Also, are you sure you don't want to order more?"

"No need, I already ate before I came."

"Fair enough."

Chen Ming didn't press the issue. After dinner, he went to the front desk to pay. Tang Wulin had originally wanted to pay first, but he realized that after being picked up by his manager, Le Qingling, he didn't have any money on him...

In other words, he hadn't brought any cash. It was awkward, and he could only stare blankly at the receptionist until Chen Ming stepped in to save the day.

"I'll walk you back. It's so late, it's not safe for a girl like you to go home alone."

After leaving the restaurant, Tang Wulin offered to walk Chen Ming home. Upon hearing this, he stiffened, glanced at the other person, and corrected him:

"I'm a boy..."

"A... a boy?!"

Hearing this, he immediately wore an expression of disbelief and began to re-examine the figure in front of him.

The person before him was petite and delicate, standing about 1.2 meters tall, with long silver-white hair tied into a single ponytail, bright purple eyes, and exquisite features.

Tang Wulin finally realized that the person was wearing a male school uniform and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry... you look so cute that I mistook you for a girl..."

"...This is the form I take when using my martial soul. I usually only use it when no one is around. Who knew you'd suddenly pop up?"

Thinking about this, Chen Ming didn't know what to say. Although it was cool to be able to switch between two forms at will, there were always people who didn't like it, viewing him as an anomaly or insulting him.

But none of that mattered; it was just a hassle. The other person understood what he meant and nodded immediately:

"I understand. I won't tell anyone else."

"That's good. Alright, I'm heading back. Don't worry, there are security patrols on this road, so there's no need to worry about accidents. See ya."

Chen Ming waved his hand, said goodbye, and headed toward Tiantou Technology Academy. By the time he returned to the academy, it had already grown dark.

He went to the side of the academy's artificial lake, took advantage of the fact that no one was around to climb over the railing, and landed directly on the surface of the water, standing atop it.

Over the past month, Chen Ming had become familiar with the way of controlling soul power to walk on water. Since there was still some time before bed, he decided to practice his spear techniques.

The next day, Chen Ming and the others were in the middle of a physical education class on the field. After completing the tasks assigned by the teacher, Huo Tian held up his phone and waved at the group:

"Guys, come over here! There's a really interesting post on our campus wall."

"What is it?"

"What post?"

Feng Rulang, Lei Yuan, and Chen Ming all curiously crowded around. He hadn't even joined the campus wall group yet.

"Look, someone caught a photo last night of a beautiful girl practicing with a spear on our campus artificial lake. She seems even prettier than Lan Mengqin and Dong Qianqiu from our freshman class."

Huo Tian showed the photo to the group. The three of them saw a proud, solitary figure with long silver-white hair, wielding a silver dragon spear under the moonlight.

Chen Ming's eyelid twitched. Are you kidding me, man?! I practice my spear and you take pictures! Then he looked down and saw everyone trying to find out who it was.

"She really is beautiful."

"When did such a pretty girl join our academy?"

Feng Rulang and Lei Yuan were also amazed. It made Chen Ming feel completely uncomfortable, so he immediately interjected:

"Are you sure that person isn't a boy? Look at the school uniform he's wearing—it's the male version..."

Hearing this, the three of them looked over. Feng Rulang immediately revealed a lecherous smile and said:

"A boy? Oh~~ then I really have to get to know him!"

Hearing this, Huo Tian, Lei Yuan, and Chen Ming all shuddered. The three of them moved away from Feng Rulang as if they had teleported.

"Old Feng! I'm warning you! Stay away from me from now on!"

"I was wondering why you ended up on my bed last night! Disgusting! Get lost!"

Huo Tian and Lei Yuan immediately burst into a string of curses, while Chen Ming remained silent, merely drawing his legendary-grade golden sword, ready to slice the other person at a moment's notice. Damn it! To think that a pervert was actually in our dorm.

"It's not like that! You guys listen to my explanation! Last night, I was just messing around with Lei Yuan like normal!"

Feng Rulang immediately began to explain in a panic. Hearing this, Huo Tian frowned and pressed him further.

"Then what about the day before yesterday when you slapped my butt?"

As these words fell, the atmosphere turned silent once again. Huo Tian and Lei Yuan summoned their Martial Souls, already prepared to throw a punch.

"That was also just some playful banter between classmates!"

"...Then why were you drooling while staring at my feet five days ago?"

Hearing this, Chen Ming recalled the scene from five days ago where Feng Rulang had been staring blankly at his feet resting on the bed before saliva suddenly dripped down, and he felt a sudden chill.

"I... I was just zoning out, and then I lost focus and made a fool of myself!"

Feng Rulang immediately used another lame excuse to explain, but the three of them didn't believe him at all and silently moved away from him.

The excitement on the other guy's face when he heard Chen Ming suggest it might be a boy couldn't have been faked.

"Do you think we'll believe your nonsense?"

Huo Tian was poised for action, Lei Yuan watched him vigilantly, and Chen Ming also felt his skin crawl; it seemed he couldn't sleep in the dorm anymore in the future.

If he were to dream of an endless piece of poop while sleeping and someone tried to crawl into it, that would be the end of him, or he might even dream of an unchewable sausage.

"No! I'm really not! You guys listen to me, I was just pretending!"

Feng Rulang was on the verge of tears; he had only been pretending, but the result was being ostracized.

However, Chen Ming and the others wouldn't listen to a word of it. What a truly hearty and satisfying battle of wits this was.

Nighttime.

In the male dormitory.

Huo Tian used duct tape to strap an iron basin to his butt and covered his mouth, while Lei Yuan spent some money to buy a pair of iron underwear to wear.

Chen Ming took out some obsidian to seal off his bed, then entered Minecraft to go mine for diamonds; the three of them each displayed their own unique methods.

ps: The fifth update for February 22nd, totaling ten thousand words.