Tang San: Why Did His Heart Always Hurt?

"Bedding?" Chen Ming's interruption meant Tang San did not notice that. He merely accepted it in confusion. "Does this place not provide bedding?"

"Hehe..." Mo Hen gave an awkward laugh. Instead of answering Tang San's question, he turned and left.

Seeing that "mysterious" pose, Tang San's brows furrowed slightly. Though he did not immediately think of killing him, a trace of displeasure rose within him.

"We're all Work-Study Students attending school for free. Why would the academy provide us with bedding?" Wang Sheng said, looking somewhat enviously at the new bedding in Tang San's arms.

"Huh?" Xiao Wu tilted her head in disbelief. "Then... then what am I supposed to sleep on?"

"Sister Xiao Wu, why don't you use mine first?" One of the Work-Study Students pointed at his own bed.

"No, it's too old." Xiao Wu glanced at it and spoke disdainfully. Then she turned to Tang San, her eyes shifting as she looked at the new bedding in his arms. "Since I'm the boss here, I should have the right to use new bedding."

"But if you use it, what will I use?" Tang San retorted instinctively. Before Xiao Wu could speak, Chen Ming came up behind Tang San and patted him on the shoulder.

"Little San, don't worry. I prepared bedding for you before I came. It isn't new, but it hasn't been used for long, and it's clean. Since she wants it, just give it to her."

"This..." Tang San frowned, feeling incomparably conflicted.

Logically, he did not want to give it to her. Yet looking at Xiao Wu, he also wanted to. But when he thought about having to sleep under old bedding himself, Tang San felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

It was not that he disliked old bedding. After all, he had undergone assassin training in the Tang Sect in his previous life, and Tang Hao had beaten him badly enough in this life. He could sleep soundly even on an iron plate.

He just felt... as though something was wrong. As though doing this would make him lose something...

Clearly, whether he refused or agreed was logical, yet Tang San had no idea why it felt so unbearably awkward.

But seeing Tang San's expression, Xiao Wu became angry instead. She puffed out her cheeks and said, "Fine, Little San. Sleep with your new bedding. Hey, didn't you have extra? Lend it to me first. Sister Xiao Wu will return you a new set someday!"

"Fine, fine." Chen Ming shrugged and indifferently handed the other set of bedding to Xiao Wu.

Just as Chen Ming had said, this set of bedding was not new, but it had been cleaned thoroughly. Even the stuffing inside was solid. Its condition was not particularly good, and it could not compare to the new bedding in Tang San's arms, but it was still decent. Since it had been aired out in the sun yesterday, it carried a warm scent.

Xiao Wu looked it over, then found an empty bed and casually spread the bedding over it before flopping facedown onto the bed.

Seeing this, Tang San felt as though a piece of his heart had been carved away, yet he did not know how to explain it. He could only find a bed near Xiao Wu and lay out his own bedding. But seeing this, Xiao Wu became unhappy instead and immediately jumped up, clutching her bedding.

Dorm Seven was not large, and there were only a few beds left. The older students often piled other things beside their beds, so Xiao Wu had no desire to squeeze in near them. In the end, she found a bed beside Chen Ming and tossed her bedding onto it.

Feeling Chen Ming's gaze, Xiao Wu raised her head and bared her teeth. "What, are you afraid I'll get up in the middle of the night and rape you or something?"

"Uh, I don't mind." Chen Ming shrugged, cursing the Hooligan Rabbit in his heart.

Watching this scene, Tang San felt an indescribable sense of grievance, yet he had no idea what he was aggrieved about. In the end, he looked at Xiao Wu and Chen Ming and decided to mark down a debt against Chen Ming.

Though he did not understand why he was holding it against Chen Ming, whenever he looked at Xiao Wu, he felt utterly unable to put this debt on her head. So he could only choose Chen Ming.

On the roof nearby, Tang Hao, who had concealed himself, shook his head and lamented inwardly that his child had no emotional intelligence.

"If it were me, I definitely would have given her the bedding. Could a mere set of bedding compare to the favor of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Spirit Beast like this?"

"But forget it. Little San doesn't know that Xiao Wu is a Transformed Spirit Beast. It's normal for him to be reluctant."

The moment Xiao Wu entered the room, Tang Hao had seen through her true form.

Although he had once promised Ah Yin that he would never attack Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and would absolutely not slaughter Spirit Beasts unless he needed a Spirit Ring, Tang Hao admitted that the instant he saw Xiao Wu, his heart had stirred.

If such a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could become his son Tang San's Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone, the help it would provide for his child's future would be immense.

Although this was somewhat unfair to Ah Yin, whenever Tang Hao thought of the scene of Ah Yin sacrificing herself to him while being pursued, he understood that he still could not let go of this obsession.

Since he had already wronged Ah Yin, then doing this for the sake of avenging her was worth it.

If Ah Yin could see this scene, see that he had made such a choice for their child, she would understand his actions, right?

Tang Hao actually knew full well what he was doing, yet he still numbed himself with excuses. Just as he had numbed himself with alcohol every day in Holy Soul Village and beaten Tang San.

"I'm a little hungry. Do you have anything to eat?" Xiao Wu lay sprawled across Chen Ming's old bedding, breathing in the scent of sunshine as she spoke lazily.

"I have some vegetables I picked this morning, along with dried radish and dried sweet potatoes. Oh, and mushrooms and wild vegetables I pickled myself. As for staples, I brought some hard flatbread from home." Chen Ming opened his luggage and took out a box.

The moment Xiao Wu heard Chen Ming's words, she immediately jumped up and eagerly came to his side, rubbing her hands together.

"That's great! I love eating those things. But if I eat them, won't you have nothing left?"

If it were the Xiao Wu from the original story, spoiled by Tang San, she would not care whether Chen Ming had anything left to eat after she was done. But Xiao Wu had only just entered human society now, so she was clearly not that overbearing yet. She still cared somewhat about such things.

"It's about time for lunch. Sister Xiao Wu, how about we go together?" Wang Sheng spoke up from the side.

"Food? Sure, sure. What are we eating?" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded.

"What good food could us Work-Study Students possibly eat? We'll just eat whatever we can to get by." Wang Sheng smiled bitterly.

"Eating... requires Soul Coins or something, right?" Xiao Wu stiffened, then recalled this bit of common sense from the human world.