The Fawning Couple at the Grilled Fish Stall, and Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao's Fateful Gaze

Business at the grilled fish stall was booming. More and more students were lining up nearby.

Huo Yuhao was so busy he barely had a moment to breathe. He packed five grilled fish into a paper bag and handed it over.

Dai Huabin took the bag. It was a little hot, so he handed one fish to Zhu Lu first.

"Careful, it's hot," Dai Huabin reminded her.

Zhu Lu took the grilled fish obediently and gently bit into the edge.

The crispy fish skin crackled.

"Huabin, it really tastes good. Try some." Zhu Lu held out the fish she had already bitten into, right to Dai Huabin's mouth.

Dai Huabin didn't stand on ceremony. He took a big bite of fish straight from Zhu Lu's hand.

It really did taste good.

The meat was tender and juicy, and the fish had been cooked just right. But to Dai Huabin, it was still just a street snack that barely passed muster.

The reason this grilled fish had won over so many genius girls was partly the protagonist's halo at work.

Cui Yajie saw the scene and deliberately shuddered.

"Oh, give me a break. The air reeks of love so badly, it's even stronger than the grilled fish. Could you two spare us single people a thought?"

Cui Yajie rolled her eyes.

Zhu Lu withdrew her hand, looking a little embarrassed.

Dai Huabin burst out laughing at her words and played along.

"If you can't stand it, hurry up and find someone. If all else fails, I suppose I could make do with you."

Cui Yajie laughed and lightly punched Dai Huabin on the shoulder, pouting.

"You're such a tease. You're joking like that right in front of Lulu. Aren't you afraid she'll get jealous?"

Zhu Lu smiled and leaned naturally toward Dai Huabin, her voice gentle. "I won't. As long as Huabin likes it."

Cui Yajie froze at that. Even Tang Ya, who had been preparing to sweet-talk someone, looked at Zhu Lu in disbelief.

But Zhu Lu felt perfectly at ease.

Among the top nobles of the Star Luo Empire, which powerful man didn't have three wives and four concubines?

The White Tiger Duke was no exception.

More importantly, ever since they had undergone that astonishing transformation of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the profound bond that joined their souls and bodies was undeniably real.

Zhu Lu could now feel Dai Huabin's affection for her with absolute clarity.

If Huabin's heart belonged to her, what did a few joking words matter?

As long as Huabin was happy, even if he really brought a few girls into the household, she, his officially betrothed fiancée, had enough magnanimity to accept them.

Meanwhile, Wang Dong'er had been staring at Huo Yuhao behind the grill. When she heard the commotion, she whipped around.

Her gaze darted between Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu as she muttered things like "pervert" and "lecher."

But her attention was soon drawn to the paper bag in Dai Huabin's hand.

The overpowering aroma of perilla and cumin wafted straight into her nose.

Dai Huabin took the three remaining grilled fish from the paper bag and handed them to Cui Yajie, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong'er.

Wang Dong'er stared at the grilled fish held out to her and hesitated for half a second.

She simply couldn't resist that aroma. She snatched it from him, then hurried to come up with an excuse.

"Hmph. I'll let you off for staring at people earlier, just because of this fish. That's more like it."

Dai Huabin didn't eat anything himself.

The five of them didn't keep blocking the front of the stall. Instead, they moved over to an open space nearby.

The snack street was full of people coming and going, and their little group quickly became a striking sight.

Wang Dong'er's long pink-and-blue hair and delicate, beautiful features were already enough to turn heads.

Add Zhu Lu's cool elegance, Cui Yajie's alluring charm, and Xiao Xiao's adorable, absent-minded look, with her twin ponytails.

With four beautiful girls, each with a completely different style, almost every student who passed by slowed down.

"Look over there! Are those this year's new students? They're ridiculously good-looking."

"The girl with the pink-and-blue hair is incredible! I bet she could compete for the title of prettiest girl in the Shrek Outer Court."

"And the black-haired one beside her has an amazing figure. Can an eleven- or twelve-year-old really be that well-developed?"

Low-voiced praise and gasps kept coming from all around them.

Wang Dong'er was quite pleased to hear it.

She raised her chin slightly, took a bite of the crispy grilled fish, and glanced smugly at Dai Huabin. Her expression clearly said, Hear that? Everyone's looking at me.

Dai Huabin simply turned away and pretended to inspect the candied hawthorn stand nearby, not bothering with her at all.

There was no point in humoring someone as hopelessly tsundere as Wang Dong'er.

The more he ignored her, the more she'd seethe.

Sure enough, when Wang Dong'er saw that Dai Huabin wouldn't even spare her a glance, she angrily took a huge bite of fish, crunching the bones between her teeth.

But the grilled fish really was delicious. She polished it off in no time, even licking the seasoning off her fingers.

When she turned around, Zhu Lu had only eaten half of hers.

Zhu Lu ate slowly, and every few bites, she tore off a small piece and fed it to Dai Huabin.

The way they shared a fish as if no one else were around made Wang Dong'er break out in goose bumps.

She rubbed her arms and left them alone.

She bickered with Dai Huabin all the time, but she actually thought quite well of Zhu Lu.

Wang Dong'er wiped her mouth. Still hungry, she simply turned and walked up to the grill.

"Hey, boss, give me two more!" Wang Dong'er cheerfully took out ten Copper Soul Coins and slapped them on the wooden table.

Huo Yuhao was busy looking down and tidying the seasonings on the wire grill. At the sound of her voice, he looked up.

Their eyes met.

Huo Yuhao's hands paused for a moment, for no apparent reason.

Looking at the stunning girl with pink-and-blue hair in front of him, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. A strange, intense flutter surged up from deep within him.

It was as if they knew each other.

Wang Dong'er felt the same.

She stared blankly into Huo Yuhao's ordinary eyes, and her mind buzzed.

What was going on?

How could I possibly feel like this about some commoner selling grilled fish? It's just an illusion. I must be imagining it because I'm hungry.

Wang Dong'er shook her head and forced her gaze away, urging him on.

"Hurry up and grill the fish."

She had no interest in getting to know some guy running a stall, especially when he'd even spoken to that annoying blond.

Huo Yuhao's deep-seated inferiority complex kept him from speaking to Wang Dong'er in the end.

He merely lowered his head, deftly turned the two fish on the grill, and sprinkled them with cumin and chili powder.

"Teacher Tang Ya, once these two are done, we'll have sold all the fish for today," Huo Yuhao said to Tang Ya beside him.

Tang Ya wasn't thinking about the grilled fish at all.

Her big eyes kept shifting between Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao.

Especially Xiao Xiao, the girl with twin ponytails. Dai Huabin had just said she was a rare bearer of Twin Martial Souls!