Before Jiang Nannan could finish speaking, Ling Luochеn interrupted her.
Never mind that the two of them already had a good relationship. Just for the sake of the bond between "sisters," there was no way she could see something like this and not "step in."
"Sis Luochеn, you've misunderstood Brother Jiang Yang. He's not that kind of person. There must be some misunderstanding."
Before Jiang Yang could say anything,
Jiang Nannan had already walked over to his side.
That immediately left Ling Luochеn both amused and exasperated.
In front of outsiders, she was always the image of an icy beauty. She'd never gotten angry over a man before.
She'd finally stood up for her sister, only to find that her sister was still so devoted to that "scumbag."
"Forget it. As long as you're happy. Just don't come crying to me later."
"I'm sorry, Sis Luochеn. I didn't mean—"
"Enough. I've found the person you were looking for. You two can deal with the rest. I need to hurry back and get some sleep."
After saying that, Ling Luochеn immediately activated her Flying Soul Tool and left without looking back.
"Did Dean Yan say something to you?"
After Ling Luochеn left, Jiang Yang walked outside into the cool evening breeze.
Jiang Yang strolled ahead at an unhurried, lazy pace.
Jiang Nannan followed quietly beside him, keeping half a step behind—neither too close nor too far.
"Mm-hmm—"
"Dean Yan also gave Wang Dong and me some compensation, and told us not to let anyone know about this."
Before Jiang Yang could ask what the compensation was,
she obediently told him everything Yan Shaozhe had said to her, along with all the compensation he'd given her and Wang Dong.
Jiang Yang was taken aback.
By rights, Yan Shaozhe should have given each of them a Soul Ascension Pill and told them to keep quiet.
He hadn't expected so many things to change.
"So, did you rush over because you were worried Yan Shaozhe had designs on me, or because you were worried I'd be tempted by his offer?"
"I was worried about both..."
Jiang Yang asked bluntly.
Jiang Nannan answered just as readily.
The next moment,
Jiang Yang laughed.
Jiang Nannan was startled at first, then laughed along with him, her smile bright and happy.
"If Yan Shaozhe is willing to pay such a high price, then we don't need to stand on ceremony."
"In a few days, let's visit the Treasure Appreciation Pavilion. You should be close to level forty by now, right?"
"Then you can buy some Soul Bones. For your fourth Soul Ring, try to absorb one that's at least five thousand years old. It'd be best if you could absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring."
"That way, the road ahead will be easier for you."
"Mm-hmm! I'll do whatever you say, Brother Jiang Yang!"
Creak—
"Hm?"
"Jiang Yang? You're finally back!"
"I thought you'd gotten so wrapped up in the sweet little paradise Dean Yan prepared for you that you weren't coming back."
Jiang Yang had just opened the dormitory door when he saw Wang Dong sitting cross-legged on her bed, meditating.
As soon as she saw him return, she immediately came out of her meditation.
"I almost didn't come back—"
"I'm going to cultivate. You can get back to whatever you were doing."
Jiang Yang replied, then ignored her and climbed straight into bed.
"Hey—"
"Don't rush off! I still have something to tell you!"
Hearing Wang Dong say that,
Jiang Yang became a little interested.
He did want to see what Wang Dong, who usually wasn't much of a talker, had to say.
"Do you know who we saw after we all passed out and woke up?"
As Wang Dong began speaking,
Jiang Yang had already guessed what she was about to tell him, but he was still somewhat surprised.
It made sense that Jiang Nannan had told him. The two of them were practically childhood friends, and they were close.
But why had Wang Dong also told him something that could get them expelled from Shrek Academy if it got out?
It couldn't be that they'd become friends after fighting, could it?
"Hey—"
"Why aren't you reacting?"
"This is serious! We could get expelled from the academy! I told you all that, and you don't even react? Hmph! Jiang Yang, you're not planning to tell on us, are you?"
Wang Dong folded her arms and glared at Jiang Yang, clearly dissatisfied.
"If you're afraid I'll tell, why did you tell me?"
"You—!"
"Before I got back, Nannan had already told me."
"Oh! Tch~ I never would've guessed you two were so close."
"Not bad."
"What does 'not bad' mean?"
"..."
Jiang Yang didn't answer.
He fell silent again. It was a pointless question, and there was no need to answer it.
"Silent again!"
"We've at least got the bond of battle and the friendship of comrades, right? When Skin-Peeler Zhou was beating you, I was the first to rush in!"
"I'm only asking you something, not trying to rob or kill you, and you still keep dodging the question. You don't have a shred of honor!"
Wang Dong was getting a little angry.
She thought she and Jiang Yang were on pretty good terms. How could he not even let her ask about something like this?
What was the point of being friends, then?
"We're childhood friends. When I was in trouble, she and her family helped me."
The moment Wang Dong heard Jiang Yang was willing to humor her, her anger immediately faded.
Still,
to keep up appearances, she deliberately said, "You don't look like the kind of person who ever gets into trouble."
"..."
"Silent again! But from what I saw, it seemed like she respected you a lot... or maybe couldn't bear to be apart from you. Anyway, it looked more like you'd helped her, not the other way around."
"Of course I helped her too."
"Then why does she—?"
"Maybe she thinks what I did for her mattered more than what she did for me."
"Do you... think so too?"
Wang Dong asked without thinking.
But
the moment the words left her mouth, she realized she'd let her guard down.
She shouldn't have asked something like that. It really crossed a line.
But after her initial panic, she thought it over.
Jiang Yang usually stayed silent when a question was hard to answer. She could simply stop pressing him once he did.
"I don't."
Wang Dong had already braced herself for Jiang Yang not to answer. When she suddenly heard his reply, she froze.
"Why?"
The question slipped out of her mouth again.
"What's sweet to another is poison to me; what's sweet to me is poison to you."
After saying that, Jiang Yang stopped paying Wang Dong any attention and closed his eyes to meditate.
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"Why are you like this?!"
"Hey! Hey!!"
Wang Dong was speechless.
After a while, she finally gave up. She stopped shouting and began meditating cross-legged on her own.
If she hadn't been so lax about cultivation, with her talent she wouldn't be only a newly advanced Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster at her age.
She'd never found anyone her age who was both more talented and more diligent than her. On top of that, the two people from the Clear Sky Sect had doted on her.
That was why, among the ranks of top geniuses, Wang Dong's cultivation had become utterly ordinary.
But with Jiang Yang as an example, her unwillingness to lose had finally started to stir.
In the past, she'd hardly ever used meditation to replace sleep.
Now, she couldn't even remember what it felt like to sleep.
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