That Kind of Relationship? What Kind of Relationship?

"No!"

Dong'er shouted almost without thinking, stepping directly between Huo Yuhao and Ning Tian and Wu Feng.

Clearly, neither Wu Feng nor Ning Tian had expected Dong'er to react so strongly. They actually took two steps back.

"Classmate Dong'er, there's no need to worry. Feng and I mean no harm. We just want to try the class monitor's cooking."

"To be honest, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, but my family was very strict. I've never eaten food like grilled fish before, and I was so curious about the taste that I came over to ask." Ning Tian quickly recovered and began explaining to Dong'er in what she thought was a gentle voice.

In her eyes, the relationship between Dong'er and Huo Yuhao was unusual, but she assumed they had simply been close in their previous class.

Huo Yuhao and Dong'er had only just arrived, and Wu Feng had already caused trouble for them. Ning Tian felt it was only natural that Dong'er wouldn't take kindly to her. Still, she believed that if she showed the right attitude, joining them shouldn't be difficult.

She tugged at Wu Feng's sleeve. Wu Feng caught on, too, and bowed slightly in Dong'er's direction.

"I'm completely convinced by the class monitor now. But it really wasn't right of me to question him in front of so many people. I apologize."

"Please let Ning Tian and me join you for dinner!"

After hearing them out, Dong'er remained in her original pose, arms spread wide.

She wasn't unreasonable. Though she had been angry at first when Wu Feng questioned Huo Yuhao, after watching their entire battle, Dong'er understood that Wu Feng was different from her past life. She had no issue with Huo Yuhao himself. At heart, she was simply a girl who loved fighting and tended to take Ning Tian's side.

She didn't have any issue with Wu Feng or Ning Tian, either. But this was the first time in this life that she was eating grilled fish with Huo Yuhao...

Back when she had been disguised as a boy in her previous life, it was one thing to spend time with Huo Yuhao as friends and brothers. But this time, from the very first moment she'd met him, she had been a girl through and through.

She might not be entirely sure yet that he was the same person, but so many people had already turned out different. Of course she could accept a Huo Yuhao who had changed, too.

That was exactly why she felt a little selfish. She didn't want anyone else bringing their own selfish motives to the first time she and Huo Yuhao ate grilled fish together...

"It's... it's fine, but just this once, please. Next time—next time I'll definitely bring you along. All right?" Dong'er said haltingly.

Wu Feng and Ning Tian exchanged a glance, then looked back and forth between Huo Yuhao and Dong'er. Then, as if she had suddenly realized something, Wu Feng hurriedly stopped Ning Tian just as she was about to say more.

"Ah... um, we won't disturb you, then. But a promise is a promise, so remember to bring us next time."

Dong'er looked at Wu Feng in confusion, clearly surprised by how suddenly her attitude had changed.

Did she... understand what I meant? Though she wasn't quite sure, Dong'er still gave Wu Feng a grateful look.

Wu Feng hurriedly dragged Ning Tian out of the classroom. Now only Dong'er and Huo Yuhao remained inside.

"Feng, what are you doing?" After they had gone a good distance from the classroom, Ning Tian panted and asked Wu Feng to slow down.

"I'm terribly sorry, Young Mistress... I didn't consider your stamina..." Wu Feng said guiltily, reaching out to help Ning Tian up.

Ning Tian waved her off. After a few deep breaths, she had recovered.

"Answer my question first, Feng. Why did you suddenly give up?" Ning Tian clearly still hadn't caught on. Or, to put it another way, she didn't have the knowledge to think in that direction.

"Young Mistress, you still haven't noticed the relationship between Dong'er and Huo Yuhao?" Wu Feng leaned close to Ning Tian's ear and whispered.

"Their relationship? Aren't they just very close classmates?" Ning Tian asked, puzzled. Wasn't that obvious? Or was there something else going on that she hadn't noticed?

"Oh, no, not that kind of relationship. A boy and a girl, and the girl turns down the other girls so she can be alone with the boy..." Wu Feng explained excitedly, bringing her fists together and tapping the tips of her thumbs against each other.

"That's what you call that kind of relationship!" Wu Feng blurted out, drawing the eyes of the other students around them.

"Sorry, sorry, it's nothing." Wu Feng hurriedly covered her mouth. The others paid no mind to the sudden outburst and soon went back to what they had been doing.

"That kind of relationship... What kind of relationship?"

Ning Tian's answer left Wu Feng utterly despairing. She helplessly covered her forehead. Having such juicy gossip right in front of her, yet not having anyone understand what she was talking about, was infuriating. It felt as if a rock were lodged in her chest.

She really wanted to spell it out, but she knew that if Ning Tian couldn't even understand a hint this obvious, a direct explanation would only make her brain shut down.

"Feng, if it's too hard to explain, then forget it." Ning Tian cut off Wu Feng's internal struggle over whether she should tell the truth, then continued:

"Although I don't quite understand, I can guess that our request clearly wasn't appropriate—at least, not to Classmate Dong'er."

"But that's all right. We'll have a chance to invite Huo Yuhao another time."

"A chance to invite Huo Yuhao... Young Mistress, are you thinking of just...?"

"Mm... Huo Yuhao might be from Spirit Hall, but nobody says we can't poach him."

Meanwhile, following the markings on the map, Dong'er and Huo Yuhao left the teaching building in the opposite direction from Ning Tian and Wu Feng.

"According to the map... there's an artificial inland sea nearby, prepared for students who awakened Sea Soul Master Martial Souls. It's supervised whenever there aren't any cultivation classes. As long as we pay a deposit, we can go in and fish!"

Huo Yuhao pointed to a vast blue area on the map. To be honest, he really hadn't expected there to be a place specifically meant for fishing, let alone one so close to the teaching building.

"But, Yuhao... would a Mimicry Cultivation Environment specially prepared for Sea Soul Masters really have fish in it?" Dong'er asked doubtfully. If it was fundamentally a Mimicry Cultivation Environment, wouldn't unnecessary fish interfere with cultivation?

Huo Yuhao shook his head. "No. Research into Martial Soul studies has shown that Mimicry Cultivation requires the participation of Soul Beasts and ordinary living creatures suited to the environment. Mimicry Cultivation environments with only the environment and none of the corresponding plants or animals were outdated thousands of years ago."

Dong'er nodded, only half understanding. Before long, the two of them found the destination marked on the map: a vast expanse of deep-blue water whose far shore even Huo Yuhao couldn't see.

There were far more people here than Huo Yuhao had expected. The area specifically set aside for fishing was nearly packed with anglers clutching fishing rods.

Among them, Huo Yuhao even spotted a familiar figure whose shining bald head reflected the light.

The figure seemed to notice Huo Yuhao's gaze and looked in their direction.