No wonder Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy, a top-tier school in the Sun Moon Empire, could produce more successful graduates despite having far fewer applicants than other schools of its level. You were in a league of your own!
With the grit and perseverance to get up at four in the morning and wage a life-or-death battle against breakfast in the cafeteria, you people could succeed at anything.
At that moment, Xu Yan completely gave up on trying to get Qian Yuhan to change his application.
He had only one thought now: Under no circumstances could Qian Yuhan come to Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy!
What if this future Guardian Douluo ate himself to death in a cafeteria that looked like a construction-materials market?
Wouldn't Xu Yan become the greatest sinner in the Sun Moon Empire's history?
The old emperor would have him cast as a metal statue and made to kneel in the ancestral temple courtyard, where the imperial clan's descendants would take turns slapping him!
Li Huaimin, too, might never forget the sight he'd witnessed in the cafeteria that day:
After the steamed bun—hard as concrete—touched the gruel and let out a sizzling sound, two lines of hot tears rolled down from the corners of Xu Yan's melancholy, peach-blossom eyes.
He thought he might never forget Xu Yan's melancholy eyes...
But then again, sure, Xu Yan was crying—but why was he stuffing buns into his pockets?
Couldn't finish them, so he'd take them home?
Were they renovating his house and bringing this stuff home as building materials?
"Don't worry. I'll do my best to help you solve the problem!"
As soon as he said this, Xu Yan bolted as if afraid Li Huaimin would make him finish his food before leaving. He left Li Huaimin sitting there, dumbfounded and lost in a storm of thoughts:
What problem was he going to help us solve?
Was he going to ask His Majesty for funds to renovate the academy and overhaul the cafeteria?
The funding would be great, sure, but the most important thing for us right now is making absolutely sure that little princess Xu Tianzhen and that bunch of second-generation heirs don't come to our school and ruin the atmosphere!
The Marquis of Xiyang's estate.
Qian Yuhan, whose daily routine was disciplined to an extreme, had finished his evening cultivation. He stood alone in the courtyard of Xu Yan's residence, practicing his sword. Not far away, by the pond,
the Rakshasa Phantom had cobbled together a bargain-bin fishing rod from scrap it had scavenged from some unknown corner. It was sneaking around, trying to catch the fat koi in Xu Yan's pond—the ones so plump they barely looked like fish anymore.
"Hoo—"
Qian Yuhan softly exhaled a breath of stale air, put away the practice sword made of heavy metal and possessing a truly impressive weight, then looked up at the open balcony doors of Xu Yan's house. He seemed curious as to why Xu Yan had suddenly started playing at being mysteriously absent.
'Finished practicing?' The Rakshasa Phantom glanced sideways at Qian Yuhan, then turned its eyes back to the motionless float on the water and muttered, 'What the hell? The fish in this pond are even craftier than the ones in the wild ponds. They just won't bite!'
Qian Yuhan walked over to the Rakshasa Phantom and said in a deep voice, "There's an automatic feeder beside the pond. Do you think those fish will care about the half an earthworm on your hook after they've eaten their fill?"
'Tch, what a bore! Since you're free now, I'm going to take a rest.' The Rakshasa Phantom rolled its eyes, brushed nonexistent dust off its backside, and vanished into the shadow beneath Qian Yuhan's feet.
Taking the fishing rod the Rakshasa Phantom had handed him, Qian Yuhan sighed helplessly. He'd just started to put it away when a shrill cry suddenly rang out behind him:
"Good grief!! What are you doing?! I keep koi in my pond, not fish to eat! Koi are for looking at, not fishing!"
Xu Yan, who loved fish more than life itself, rushed over like a tornado. He was just about to say something when he looked down and saw the empty fish basket at Qian Yuhan's feet.
Well, I'll be! With the density of the koi in my pond, you still couldn't catch a single one. So you've been keeping a low profile, but you're actually a veteran fishless fisherman?
What can I even say!
Go ahead and fish if you want!
You won't catch anything anyway. Hahahahaha!
Xu Yan had finally found one of the few flaws in the peerless genius Qian Yuhan, and felt inexplicably more at ease. He'd only been enjoying the moment in his heart for a little while when, the next second, he saw Qian Yuhan flick his hook out of the water, dragging Xu Yan's favorite fat fish straight into his arms.
Yes, not fishing—it was more like he'd just flung the hook at the fish, yanked it out of the water, and tossed it at Xu Yan.
"Hmph!" Qian Yuhan gave a soft snort, put away the fishing rod, then raised an eyebrow and made a face that said, "Speak up, haters."
Qian Yuhan: "?" You lot should've seen me fishing by the sea with the First Generation Sea God back in the day. Your ancestors were probably still playing in the mud somewhere!
Nooo! My Huahua!
Heartbroken, Xu Yan returned his beloved koi to the water. He resisted the urge to beat someone with the bun in his pocket—theoretically hard enough to smash a Soul Beast's skull—and gritted his teeth as he said:
"You probably haven't had breakfast yet, right? Come on, I'll take you out to eat."
"Sure."
Guided by the Rakshasa Phantom's teaching to "never make the first move, never refuse," Qian Yuhan nodded in agreement, even though he wasn't hungry.
On the way, Xu Yan mourned his beloved koi while discussing the day's itinerary with Qian Yuhan, hoping to make everyone happy.
"After breakfast, I'll take you to tour the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy this morning so you can get familiar with the place. This afternoon, we'll go to the Princess Mansion."
"Sure."
As if afraid Qian Yuhan wouldn't catch on, Xu Yan very considerately added:
"I'd originally planned to take you to the Princess Mansion this morning and tour the academy this afternoon, but my princess usually sleeps until noon."
At that moment, Xu Yan had transformed into a gambler and was going all in!
His bet was that Qian Yuhan's precocious personality would make him ask some question out of habit. Then Xu Yan could use his brilliant wits to steer the conversation off course, get Qian Yuhan to persuade Xu Tianzhen on his behalf, and help the little princess mend her ways—preferably by changing her school application too.
Meanwhile, a question mark slowly appeared over Qian Yuhan's head: "?"
Why are you telling me this? Do I look like the kind of person who's so bored he cares about other people's daily routines?
But then again, if we tour the academy in the morning and visit that princess in the afternoon, won't we have to spend half the afternoon accompanying her on another tour of the academy?
At this thought, Qian Yuhan finally fell into the verbal trap Xu Yan had laid long ago. He said, "Does that mean I have to tour the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy again this afternoon?!"
Aha! You asked! You asked!
Hahahaha, you finally fell for it (Huang Bo as Sun Wukong stroking his hair meme.jpg)!
Suppressing his glee, Xu Yan laughed wildly to himself. But on the surface, he still looked as calm as ever. He shook his head and said:
"Not so, not so. The place we're visiting this afternoon isn't the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. It's Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy!"
Before you continue