Silence is the Bridge of Sighs Tonight

Watching him, Gu Yue subconsciously reached out, wanting to wipe the grease from the tip of Xie Xie's nose.

Xie Xie caught a glimpse of that slender, fair hand reaching toward him out of the corner of his eye.

Before his brain could even process the movement, his body reacted first—

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't touch my Braised Beef Pot!"

With a howl, he pulled his arms in, clutching the pot and plate of Braised Beef Pot tightly to his chest. He shrank backward, glaring at Gu Yue with suspicion.

His cheeks were still stuffed full of meat, and he protested incoherently, "This pot is mine! I haven't had enough yet, don't even think about snatching it!"

Gu Yue: "..."

Bang—!

A fireball blasted straight at him, sending Xie Xie and his pot flying into the next seat.

Gu Yue clapped her hands and huffed indignantly, "Eat, eat, eat, just eat yourself to death then!"

As she spoke, the inexplicable flutter in her heart was washed away by this sudden farce.

Tang Wulin watched from the side, feeling both helpless and amused.

When the three of them left the Braised Beef Pot shop, Uncle Li looked at the refrigerator, which was nearly two-thirds empty, and fell into deep thought, "Are the kids these days... a bit too capable of eating?"

By the time the night grew dark, the three of them returned to Eastsea Academy amidst their bickering.

Gu Yue was the first to bid the two farewell, heading back to the girls' dormitory.

Tang Wulin was just about to pull Xie Xie toward the boys' dormitory.

"Wait, wait." Xie Xie stepped back, "Tang Wulin, you go ahead, I'll be there in a moment."

Tang Wulin paused, looking at Xie Xie's mysterious expression. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, the other had already scurried away, leaving behind only a hurried silhouette.

Inside the teacher's dormitory—

Wu Zhangkong sat cross-legged by the window, eyes slightly closed. Her aura was as steady as a deep, ancient pool, and she was concentrating on meditation.

However, her tightly furrowed brows indicated that this meditation was not going smoothly.

A lingering gloom entangled her mind, and icy memories surged like a tide—

The warm blood remaining on her fingertips, the shattered and dim martial soul, and that figure who fell into her arms and never opened their eyes again.

Long Bing...

As soon as this name surfaced, a dense and sharp pain pierced Wu Zhangkong's heart.

The air around her seemed to grow heavy and cold, the chill seeping into her clothes bit by bit.

Just as the inner demon was about to tighten its grip on her mind, a warm, mellow, and fragrant scent drifted into her nose without warning.

Wu Zhangkong opened her eyes abruptly.

Before her, a wisp of fragrance was quietly drifting in through the gap in the door.

Then, the scent slowly floated before her, condensing into an illusory human hand that beckoned to her with extreme temptation.

Wu Zhangkong rose slowly, her white clothes as pure as snow.

The chill around her had not yet faded, and the coldness disturbed by her inner demon still lingered in her brows and eyes.

She raised her hand slightly and casually swatted the large hand away.

"Come in," Wu Zhangkong said calmly.

Creak—

The dormitory door was pushed open a crack, and a furry head poked in, grinning at Wu Zhangkong, "Teacher Wu, you haven't slept yet?"

Wu Zhangkong raised her eyes to scan him, her cold, clear gaze landing on the cloth bag he was clutching tightly to his chest.

The fragrance from earlier was emanating from it.

"What is it?" Wu Zhangkong's tone was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Xie Xie was not intimidated in the slightest.

He walked into the room, sat down on a chair with great familiarity, and placed the ceramic pot from the cloth bag onto the table.

As Xie Xie flipped open the cotton cloth, heat surged out, and the aroma instantly dispelled the coldness of the room.

"Ta-da!"

Xie Xie introduced proudly, "Braised Beef Pot, soup version!"

"I know you like things light, Teacher Wu, so it's low salt, low oil, and no spice!"

"If you don't like this, I have more!" As he spoke, Xie Xie began to pull more food from his Soul Guidance Storage Bracelet.

"These Sugar-Roasted Chestnuts, low sugar."

"And this Poria Cake, handmade."

"And this, Taro Ball in clear soup!"

Wu Zhangkong's gaze fell upon the small mountain of food piling up on the table, and a trace of faint astonishment flashed across her elegant brows and eyes.

Xie Xie was like a little squirrel, excitedly pulling out the food he had stashed away.

Everything was light and mild in flavor, clearly hand-picked along the way.

Wu Zhangkong lowered her eyes, staring at the Braised Beef Pot that was still steaming slightly, remaining silent for a long time.

"How is it? How is it?"

Xie Xie's cheerful voice rang out again.

Wu Zhangkong lifted her gaze slightly to see the youth sitting opposite her, looking at her with eager eyes like a puppy waiting for praise, its tail wagging furiously behind it.

She looked at the pure enthusiasm in the youth's eyes.

Unconsciously, her heart, which had been frozen and silent for so long, gave a gentle tremor at this moment.

"...Good."

As the words fell, Wu Zhangkong herself was the first to be stunned.

But Xie Xie didn't care about that; he immediately pushed his luck and climbed up the pole.

"I knew it! Come, come, it wasn't for nothing, I guarantee this trip of mine today wasn't for nothing!"

He slapped his thigh in excitement, no longer bothering to maintain his composure in front of Wu Zhangkong, and grabbed the Braised Beef Pot, pulling the clay pot directly in front of himself.

Despite all that talk, in reality, Xie Xie just wanted to eat it himself.

Because the Braised Beef Pot was truly delicious!

He had only managed three or four bowls at the shop earlier, and most of that had been devoured by Tang Wulin, while he couldn't even snatch any from Gu Yue—and most importantly, he didn't dare to protest.

(In reality, he had been hit by a fireball after protesting.)

Xie Xie picked up a spoon and served a bowl for Wu Zhangkong first, then served one for himself.

After finishing, he couldn't wait to lick a spoonful of the piping hot beef, only to be scalded until he was grimacing, yet he couldn't bear to spit it out, so he could only shout vaguely:

"Mmm... hot, hot, hot, but it's amazing!"

Wu Zhangkong looked at the mountain of beef in Xie Xie's bowl, then looked at the bland soup in her own bowl, which only contained a few small pieces of beef.

Wu Zhangkong: "..."

In the end, she sighed helplessly.

Xie Xie's cheeks were bulging from the heat, and while he puffed out small breaths, he savored the meat with satisfaction, his eyes squinting into slits of happiness, completely unaware of Wu Zhangkong's gaze from across the table.

Because he was so engrossed in eating, a thin layer of sweat had already beaded on the tip of his nose.

After the light sigh, Wu Zhangkong finally scooped up a spoonful of the warm, clear soup and brought it to her lips.

The warm broth slid down her throat, carrying a faint meaty aroma that slowly dispelled the lingering chill in her heart.

She raised her eyes, looking at Xie Xie, who was eating with such delight, and a curve quietly tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Wu Zhangkong lifted her chopsticks, picked up one of the few pieces of beef in her bowl, and placed it into Xie Xie's bowl.

The movement was natural, carrying a sense of indulgence she hadn't even noticed herself.

Xie Xie finally looked up, his mouth still stuffed with meat, and blinked vaguely: "Wu, Teacher Wu?"

Wu Zhangkong withdrew her chopsticks, her expression remaining cold and indifferent, "I..."

"Oh, Teacher Wu, if you don't like beef, you should have said so earlier! I love it!"

Xie Xie stood up immediately and, without any hesitation, scraped all the beef from Wu Zhangkong's bowl into his own, stuffing it into his mouth in large bites.

Wu Zhangkong looked at her bowl, which was now left with nothing but clear soup.

Wu Zhangkong: "..."