Clear Thinking

Rubbing her nose, Tang Wulin said with a bit of embarrassment, "It's like this: I take my father's surname, and my brother takes our mother's surname."

Tang Wulin takes her father's surname, and Wang Dong takes their mother's surname—could there be a more ridiculous excuse than that?

Does Xiao Wu even have a surname? And to be Wang, of all things.

Even someone as composed as Xia Linyuan, who had weathered countless storms, was stunned by this reasoning.

To ease the awkwardness, Tang Wulin hurriedly introduced, "This is Huo Yuhao, my brother's roommate."

A friendly smile appeared on Xia Linyuan's face. "Hello, I'm Xia Linyuan, Wulin's future roommate. This is Gu Yuena, a friend of mine."

The group nodded to each other, considering it a brief introduction.

"Linyuan, where are you heading?" Tang Wulin asked.

Xia Linyuan replied, "I've been busy all morning and I'm hungry. We were just planning to head to the cafeteria for lunch. Would you like to join us?"

Hearing the word "lunch," Tang Wulin's eyes lit up immediately. "Sure!"

Wang Dong looked at Tang Wulin with a helpless expression; his troublesome sister had been excited about food since she was a child.

What was originally a walk for two turned into a group of five due to Xia Linyuan's politeness, and they were split into three distinct little cliques.

Partners Xia Linyuan and Gu Yuena, Sea God Tang San's sent-off daughter Tang Wulin and Wang Dong, and the abandoned son of the Duke's Mansion, Huo Yuhao—it was simply perfect!

Suddenly, Xia Linyuan felt a nudge on his arm. He turned his head to see Gu Yuena. "What's wrong?"

Gu Yuena gestured toward Huo Yuhao with her eyes and whispered, "Have you noticed? That Huo Yuhao has been secretly looking at you since just now. Do you know each other?"

"Sort of, but not really."

Gu Yuena was taken aback. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Xia Linyuan explained calmly, "I know him because I know he is the illegitimate son of the White Tiger Duke. However, the funny thing is, the White Tiger Duke hasn't known he had such a son for the past twelve years."

"I say he knows me because my father arranged a marriage contract between me and an illegitimate daughter of the White Tiger Duke six years ago. That incident caused quite a stir in the White Tiger Duke Mansion, so it's unlikely anyone wouldn't know about it. That's why we count as knowing each other, yet not really."

Gu Yuena looked at him with a playful, knowing smile. "So that's it. I was wondering why you could be so heartlessly indifferent; it turns out you already have a fiancée."

Xia Linyuan glanced at her. "No, to be precise, it's a fiancée who is a concubine."

Hearing this, Gu Yuena slowly projected a look of confusion. "I've only ever heard of a fiancée; this is the first time I've heard of a 'fiancée-concubine.' To marry off a girl even as a concubine—how much hatred must there be?"

"That person really knows how to calculate. They can insult and eliminate this eyesore while binding the Azure Dragon Duke Mansion to themselves. Such a beautiful scheme—even I'm envious."

"So that day, I couldn't help but return a portion of the losses I suffered to the White Tiger Duchess and her son. As for the rest, I'll return it slowly later. No rush."

Gu Yuena shook her head helplessly. "You really are someone who refuses to suffer even the slightest loss."

"That's right. I'm a person who holds grudges. Usually, I repay them on the spot. If I don't, it's because I'm planning an even greater revenge." Xia Linyuan looked at her with a faint smile. "So, never provoke me. The consequences are very serious."

Shrek Academy's cafeteria is located behind the dormitory area, and each grade has its own exclusive dining hall.

When Xia Linyuan and the others arrived at the freshman cafeteria, there weren't many people around.

Although it wasn't crowded, the atmosphere in the cafeteria grew noticeably warmer with their arrival.

The gazes of both men and women wandered over the four people, excluding Huo Yuhao.

Aside from Huo Yuhao, who looked delicate and cute, were Xia Linyuan, Gu Yuena, Wang Dong, and Tang Wulin—who among them didn't possess god-like beauty?

Especially as the "only" girl among the five, everyone's gaze lingered on Gu Yuena for much longer.

Except for Huo Yuhao, the other four walked toward the only window that charged in Gold Soul Coins without the slightest hesitation.

Huo Yuhao also walked toward the cheapest window without any hesitation.

Envy was envy, but he knew his own circumstances; he couldn't ruin his future just because of a momentary urge to keep up with others.

Watching Huo Yuhao eat his stir-fried greens and white rice with relish, Xia Linyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, though he took no actual action.

Soon, a shocking scene unfolded in the Shrek Academy freshman cafeteria.

Gu Yuena and Tang Wulin went back and forth between the serving window and their table no less than ten times.

Looking at their flat stomachs, everyone whispered to themselves, wondering how they managed to stuff all that food inside.

At Gu Yuena's level, she no longer needed to eat to maintain her bodily functions; she ate simply to satisfy her own cravings.

As for Tang Wulin, she was simply hungry and loved to eat.

According to the Tang family's ancestral teaching of "born but not raised," Tang Wulin, who should have started in the Heavenly Lake in the Legend of the Dragon King, was born early. Instead of a Heavenly Lake start, she had a "Heavenly Hu" (perfect) start.

The Tang family had always believed in raising boys in poverty and girls in wealth. Therefore, as a girl, Tang Wulin no longer needed to worry about money or the spiritual herbs required to unseal the Golden Dragon King bloodline, as she did in the era of the Legend of the Dragon King.

Although she didn't follow the ancestral teaching of "men inherit the Blue Silver Grass, women inherit the Clear Sky Hammer," it didn't prevent the Tang family's female self-defense weapon, the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, from being replaced by the Golden Dragon King bloodline.

As she ate, Tang Wulin discovered a problem: standing while eating seemed to allow her to eat more than sitting down.

Due to the presence of these two big eaters, the three innocent people—Xia Linyuan, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong—were surrounded by layers of curious freshmen.

At that moment, Xia Linyuan realized that coming to eat with either Gu Yuena or Tang Wulin was just asking for trouble.

Having eaten more than half of the freshman cafeteria's supplies, Gu Yuena and Tang Wulin finally walked out, satisfied, leaving behind a crowd of people whose jaws had hit the floor.

Upon returning to the dormitory, Tang Wulin suddenly remembered that if she didn't talk to her sister about changing rooms, the two of them would be living with a male classmate they had known for less than half a day. She immediately rushed toward Dorm 108, where Wang Dong lived.

Although people on the Douluo Continent are generally precocious, to Xia Linyuan, who couldn't even remember how long he had lived, there was nothing wrong with living with the "same-aged" Tang Wulin.

After all, in his perception, Tang Wulin = 11 years old = a child = rounded down = a newborn brat.

Hmm... the logic was very clear.