A-Si and Little Kitten

Tang San!

"Uh..." Hearing those two words, Lan Si's mouth twitched. Had he just brought this on himself? Zhu Zhuqing continued, "Earlier, I heard you say you were a student at Shrek Academy, so I assume you know who I am. Was Dai Mubai the one who sent you to meet me, just as my sister said?"

As soon as she said it, Zhu Zhuqing regretted it.

It was impossible to say she had feelings for Dai Mubai. They had grown up under the shadow of their childhoods and had seen each other only a handful of times, with almost no interaction. Even if she stood in front of Dai Mubai right now, he probably wouldn't recognize her.

The only thing connecting them was that mocking, laughable engagement—a burden so heavy it left them gasping for breath.

Three years ago, Dai Mubai had left her behind and gone far away on his own.

Zhu Zhuqing had been on the verge of despair. Her sister had grown increasingly bold and brazen, and facing Zhu Zhuyun's ceaseless attempts on her life, she had no idea whether she would live to see tomorrow.

That was why she had kept striving to cultivate: so that when her sister turned twenty-four, she could defeat her and win the right to live.

But as she grew older, she realized it was almost impossible.

Her sister's talent was no less than hers, and she was five or six years older. That meant she had five or six more years of cultivation behind her. No amount of hard work alone could make up the difference.

Later, by chance, Zhu Zhuqing learned that Dai Mubai was at a strange academy called Shrek.

What made her angry was that after leaving, he hadn't worked hard and pushed himself to improve. Instead, he had lost himself among women and given up on himself—along with her last hope of surviving.

But no matter how angry she was, she knew this was her only hope. Only by joining forces could the two of them have even the slightest chance of defeating her sister, Zhu Zhuyun, and Dai Mubai's older brother, Dai Weisi.

So she had set out for Shrek Academy without hesitation.

On the way from the Star Luo Empire to Shrek Academy,

she had, unsurprisingly, been hunted by Zhu Zhuyun once again.

In that desperate situation, she had met the boy before her, who claimed his name was Tang San. And so, she had blurted out that question she now regretted.

At that moment, her heart was in turmoil. She hoped Dai Mubai would turn over a new leaf and face their hardships with her. Yet, for no clear reason, she also hoped this boy had nothing to do with Dai Mubai—that he had simply stepped in to help someone in trouble.

Torn by these conflicting feelings, Zhu Zhuqing watched Lan Si in trepidation, waiting quietly for his answer.

Lan Si had no idea that Zhu Zhuqing's mind had already churned through a storm of thoughts in that short time. Keeping in mind that someone should act their age, he pretended not to understand and said, "Um, who are you, anyway? And who's Dai Mubai? All I heard was that woman in black call you her younger sister. I don't know anything else."

Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing felt a rush of relief, but couldn't help asking, "Tang San, aren't you a student at Shrek Academy?"

"I'm not a student at Shrek Academy, and my name isn't Tang San, either. When you're away from home, especially when you're caught up in this sort of vendetta, only someone tired of living would announce their name."

Lan Si shook his head, then launched into a complaint.

"Besides, who would join a scam academy like Shrek? Its admission requirements are absurd: you have to be under thirteen, with Soul Power at level twenty or even twenty-five, just to qualify. You couldn't find another place like it on the entire Douluo Continent."

"And yet it can't even provide proper educational resources. There's no simulated cultivation environment, and it doesn't have enough teachers. The accommodations, food, and clothing are all a mess. They take in a bunch of the continent's top geniuses and leave them to fend for themselves. If they succeed, the academy takes the credit; if they don't, it's their own fault for not measuring up."

"And the graduation requirement is to reach level forty in Soul Power before turning twenty."

"Since Shrek Academy was founded, it's admitted a total of sixty-two students. Every one of them was a top genius on the Douluo Continent, and those who met the admission requirements had at least seven or eight levels of Innate Soul Power. Yet only fourteen graduated. Where did the other forty-eight go? They were left without proper instruction and faded into obscurity."

"What's most disgusting is that they're not ashamed of it; they're proud of it. While sneering at the other forty-eight for being losers, they loudly boast about the fourteen graduates, claiming the strongest among them became the youngest elder in Spirit Hall, with authority second only to the Pope. I have no idea where they get the nerve."

"To become an elder in Spirit Hall, you need to be at least a Titled Douluo. Shrek's only been around for twenty years. Even if someone was in its first batch of students, they'd be barely over thirty now. Do you believe a Titled Douluo could be in their thirties?"

By the end, Lan Si's mouth was dry. He took a water flask from his Soul Tool and gulped down a mouthful before letting out a long breath.

Zhu Zhuqing was staring at him, dumbfounded by his long tirade, her little mouth hanging open as she struggled to find words.

After a long moment, the usually solemn Zhu Zhuqing burst out laughing. Smiling, she said, "No wonder you chose to claim you were from Shrek Academy. It seems you've got quite a grudge against it."

Lan Si shook his head. "No, no. It's not so much a grudge against Shrek Academy as it is against a hypocrite who's both insecure and arrogant, spends all day bragging about his theories, and keeps trying to sell me on Shrek Academy."

"Then what's this about Tang San? Did you just make him up?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, puzzled.

"Not quite." Lan Si took a bite of rabbit meat and answered, "He's that hypocrite's disciple. The kind of person who takes a bowl of rice to eat, then sets it down and curses the one who gave it to him—give someone an inch, and they'll take a mile. That hypocrite's led him completely astray. I reckon he'll join Shrek Academy in about a month. Oh, and if you go there, be careful of the rabbit by his side. It bites."

"You really are quite the prankster." Zhu Zhuqing smiled and shook her head. She delicately tore off a small bite of rabbit meat, blew on it, then brought it to her mouth with refined manners.

Perhaps even she hadn't noticed that this was the day she had smiled more than ever before.

"We've talked so much, but I still don't know your name. I'm Lan Si—Lan as in blue, Si as in the hour of the snake. People who know me well call me A-Si." Lan Si took two cups from his Soul Tool and poured Zhu Zhuqing a cup of water.

Zhu Zhuqing took the cup. After a moment's thought, she decided not to lie. "Zhuqing. My name is Zhu Zhuqing."

After saying this, Zhu Zhuqing paid special attention to Lan Si's expression. When she saw that he showed no obvious reaction, she couldn't help feeling relieved.

Lan Si gave an "Oh" and said, "Zhuqing. Zhu Zhuqing. That's a lovely name. We're friends now, Zhuqing."

As he spoke, Lan Si held out his right hand.