Friends

Finding Oscar took far less time than Le Bai had expected.

After asking around, he learned that Oscar, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun had been watching from the stands. When they saw Le Bai covered in blood, they hurried over.

Once he learned that Le Bai only looked frightening and was actually fine, Oscar rushed off to find Tang San and Xiao Wu.

According to Le Bai, he had had no room to hold back if he wanted to ensure his victory. At worst, Tang San and Xiao Wu might have broken several bones.

In the end, whether Le Bai had overestimated himself or underestimated Tang San and Xiao Wu's physical toughness, neither of them had suffered any broken bones. After two sausages from Oscar, they were basically fine.

The seven of them walked out of the Great Soul Arena together and found Zhu Zhuqing waiting at the entrance.

With nothing else to do, the eight of them prepared to return directly to the Academy.

On the way, Tang San said that he had simply been outmatched and did not blame Le Bai for hitting too hard. Xiao Wu, however, was very unhappy and declared that she would definitely get revenge if she had the chance. Even Tang San could not talk her out of it.

Le Bai felt he was in the wrong and could not say much. He could only try his best not to give Xiao Wu any opportunities.

Ning Rongrong remained silent the entire time, her gaze shifting back and forth between Le Bai, Oscar, Tang San, and Xiao Wu. No one could guess what she was thinking.

After returning to the Academy, everyone except Ning Rongrong headed toward their own Dormitories.

Le Bai pushed open his door but did not go inside. He noticed that the person behind him had not left and even seemed ready to follow him in. Helplessly, he turned around and asked, "Miss Ning, I'm already home. If you have something to say, can't it wait until tomorrow?"

The moonlight was bright tonight, allowing Le Bai to clearly see Ning Rongrong's unexpectedly calm expression. "I've come all this way. Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?"

"No, no, no, no, no!"

Le Bai shook his head repeatedly. "Don't joke about something so terrifying! If I dared let you in, do you believe the people your father assigned to protect you in secret could summon every Title Douluo in your family here before long?"

"Hmph, so now you know how to be afraid!"

Though Ning Rongrong snorted coldly, her tone was not cold, nor did she sound angry. "Back at the Soto Great Soul Arena, weren't you very happy to lecture me?!"

"The nature of it is different."

Le Bai shook his head helplessly and walked over to the self-made Training Ground beside his room, where he had placed wooden tables and chairs specifically for resting. "Since you insist on making me explain, then come sit and we'll talk slowly."

Ning Rongrong walked over and sat down. "Then tell me, how is it different?"

"Back at the Soto Great Soul Arena, I dared to scold you because Sect Master Ning probably wanted the same thing—don't misunderstand, I've never met your father. But since he allowed you to leave the sect, he must have been worried that you were too spoiled there and would develop the bad habit of becoming arrogant because of favoritism."

Le Bai added, "By the way, back in my hometown, this sort of problem was called 'Princess Syndrome.' Those afflicted believe the whole world revolves around them, that everyone should obey them and naturally pamper and cherish them."

"Is that so?"

Ning Rongrong showed little expression and reacted indifferently. "What does that have to do with letting me into your room?"

"I'm a man, you're a woman, and it's nighttime. If we go inside, we'll be a man and a woman alone together in a relatively enclosed space—that's something only men and women with an intimate relationship would do. As for the relationship between you and me, I think it's even more strained than your relationships with the others. Even if I stretched things as far as possible, we wouldn't be at that point."

Le Bai consciously kept his distance. "Your father might hope that you find someone close to you sooner rather than later, but that definitely shouldn't happen now. If the people protecting you in secret misunderstand the relationship between you and me, the elders in your sect who adore you will definitely come looking for trouble with me."

"You mention Sect Master Ning on one side and my father on the other. Anyone who didn't know better would think you understood him very well."

Ning Rongrong sensed the distance in Le Bai's attitude and felt somewhat uncomfortable. "I don't even want to enter the room of a Training Ground fanatic like you. It's probably full of the stench of sweat anyway."

"Even if you slander me like that, I still won't say something like, 'No, it isn't. Go in and see for yourself if you don't believe me.'"

Le Bai remained on guard. "Also, it's really late now. You should rest. The blood on me has already clotted, and I want to take a proper bath, change clothes, and sleep early."

"Who told you to fight so desperately..."

Ning Rongrong muttered softly, then immediately raised her voice back to normal. "I just wanted to ask you something. When the Two-on-Two Soul Fight ended, you said you didn't dislike me, and that most men would like me. Was that true?"

"It was."

Le Bai wore a serious expression with a hint of disdain. "Although your personality is rather terrible, it hasn't reached the point of being utterly vile. And you really are very beautiful. Your talent and family background are both among the very best on the continent. With your qualities, any normal man would like you."

"You said before that although you looked down on me, you didn't dislike me."

Ning Rongrong looked at Le Bai. "So that means you're also a normal man who likes me?"

"If I absolutely had to choose between liking and disliking you, then I like you."

Le Bai returned to his calm demeanor. "But that's only the kind of liking people have for things that look beautiful, not the kind of feelings shared between a man and a woman."

"I never said it was that kind."

Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes. "Fine, I've already figured out what I wanted to know. Now hurry up and get back into your room. I'm going back to the dormitory to sleep too."

"Yes, yes, yes~"

Le Bai stood up and returned to his little room.

Just as he opened the door and half his body entered the room, Ning Rongrong's voice suddenly came from behind him. "Le Bai! Can you be my friend?"

"We'll talk after you produce results impressive enough to amaze me."

With his back to Ning Rongrong, Le Bai waved a hand, closed the door, let out a breath of relief, and muttered to himself, "What a troublesome young lady. Why bring up friends at a time like this... If I didn't consider you a friend, why would I have said so much?"

"Hm-hm~ So that's how it is!"

Ning Rongrong suddenly pushed open the door, narrowing her eyes with a grin like a fox that had stolen a chicken.

Le Bai's face was expressionless. "Didn't you leave?"

"No~ You only thought I had left, then closed the door on your own. I heard your door wasn't locked. Looks like it's true."

"...I really need to rest now. Go back already!"

"Okay~ Good night, my fri~end!"

"Shut up! Don't say that in that tone! Some terrible memories are about to surface!"

A little later, the people secretly protecting Ning Rongrong began discussing the matter.

"How should we report what happened between Le Bai and Miss Ning to the Sect Master?"

"How else? Just report that Miss Ning made her first opposite-sex friend her own age."

"Heh!" Someone sneered. "You believe there can be pure friendship between a man and a woman!?"

"Miss Ning and he are both children."

"That Le Bai is fourteen this year, and Miss Ning is twelve. They're Soul Masters too, so they're not that young. It wouldn't be impossible for them to make a baby!"

"If something like that really happened, the Sect Master would make a baby too."

"So isn't that why I'm asking you how we should report it?"

"You want to stir up trouble?"

"No!"

"Then report it as friendship."

"Fine..."