Do You Have Money?

When Yun Jingheng grabbed Shen Yi Jingheng and pushed him away, he was completely dazed.

Taking advantage of his dazed state, Shen Yi increased the force in his hand and pushed him out of the school gate.

"Bang."

The gates of the Shrek Academy closed behind him, shut tight.

Yun Jingheng stood outside the door, looked down at his empty pockets, then looked up at the tightly closed door. His expression changed from bewilderment to disbelief, and finally settled on a subtle look that was somewhere between grievance and rage.

"... I hate you all."

His voice wasn't loud, but the senior students on guard duty inside the gate heard it clearly. Their lips twitched, but they didn't dare to reply.

Xie Xie peeked out from behind him and chuckled gloatingly, "Dude, how much did you bring?"

"Shut up."

"I'm just curious, how do you manage to stuff so much stuff in your pocket—um!"

Yun Jingheng elbowed him in the ribs, and Xie Xie's last sentence turned into a muffled groan as he bent over and retreated to the side.

Tang Wulin hesitated for a moment, but still kindly said, "Um... Teacher Cai said she'll pay you back after the exam."

Yun Jingheng glanced at him, his gaze as if he were looking at an innocent and ignorant child.

"That's what she said last time too."

Tang Wulin: "..."

"And then?" Xu Xiaoyan leaned closer, blinking.

"Then my things were in her office for two months, and she said she couldn't find them."

Everyone fell silent.

"She pocketed it?" Gu Yue asked with a smile.

Yun Jingheng rolled his eyes at him. "Isn't that obvious?"

Ye Xinglan glanced at the gate guards, then took two steps closer to Yun Jingheng.

Do you... have any more?

Upon hearing this, Yun Jingheng's lips curled up slightly. "Wrapped?"

Where did you hide it?

"You'll find out soon enough, I'm off now."

An inconspicuous alley in Shrek City.

Xie Xie peeked out, looked around, then turned to the five people. "Nobody's here."

Yun Jingheng nodded, then squatted down to take off his shoes.

Tang Wulin, mimicking his movements, couldn't help but exclaim, "What a brilliant idea!"

Yun Jingheng casually put the soul-guiding storage bracelet on his wrist. "That's..."

"What's inside your clothes?" Xu Xiaoyan tugged at her collar, clearly finding the new outfit a bit uncomfortable.

There are so many good things.

"Do you have money?"

Yun Jingheng paused, his fingers hovering in mid-air, still in the position after putting on the bracelet.

The alleyway fell silent.

A gust of wind blew by, swirling a withered leaf from the ground past his feet.

Xu Xiaoyan blinked, "... No way?"

Yun Jingheng's lips twitched, and he slowly turned his head, a rare hint of guilt appearing on his face.

I forgot.

"Forgot?" Xie Xie's voice rose eight octaves.

"I brought compressed biscuits, energy bars, water, bandages, antidote, signal flares, ninety-seven Soul Guidance Bomb, five third-generation soul-guided shields, and a set of level five fixed-equipment soul-guided 'troublemakers'—"

Yun Jingheng counted on his fingers, his voice growing softer with each count, "... I really didn't bring any money."

"Can those things be used as money?!"

Xie Xie felt like he was about to take off. "Do you buy a bottle of water in Shrek City and they give you compressed biscuits instead? What the hell is a Level 5 fixed-position soul-guided missile?"

"Energy bars are quite expensive," Yun Jingheng muttered in defense.

"What's the use of being expensive?!"

Tang Wulin squatted against the wall, his hands covering his face, his shoulders heaving, it was hard to tell whether he was crying or laughing.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't panic. She started rummaging through her bracelet, muttering to herself, "Where's my money... I don't think I put it in... Ah, this is candy... This is candy too... Why is it all candy..."

Xie Xie looked at her in despair. "How much candy did you bring?"

"About... three jin?"

What can you do with three pounds of sugar?!

"Replenish blood sugar?" Xu Xiaoyan said matter-of-factly.

Xie Xie a deep breath and turned to the others, "What about you? Who brought any money?"

After inspecting the bracelet, Ye Xinglan looked at him expressionlessly and slowly shook her head.

Tang Wulin removed his hand from his face, his expression blank. "I thought Yun Jingheng would bring it."

Everyone looked at Yun Jingheng at the same time.

Yun Jingheng: "... I thought Gu Yue would bring it."

Everyone looked at Gu Yue at the same time.

Gu Yue leaned against the alley wall, tied her shoelaces, and didn't say a word from beginning to end. She just quietly watched the group of people passing the buck to each other.

"Why are you looking at me?" Her voice was soft and gentle, with a slight upward inflection at the end, carrying just the right amount of innocence.

Xie Xie's voice trembled. "Sister Gu Yue, do you have any money with you?"

"I told you not to bring money!"

Gu Yue tilted her head. "Teacher Wu said no money allowed, did you guys forget?"

Silence fell over the alley again.

Xie Xie's voice suddenly became very calm, so calm it was unlike his usual self. "So we spent fifteen days, over a thousand kilometers, ten cities, and sixty opponents five levels higher than us—and ended up penniless."

"Yes." Yun Jingheng nodded.

"No soul guidance devices whatsoever?"

"Yes, it's in my bracelet." Yun Jingheng shook his wrist.

"But there's no money."

"No."

Xie Xie was silent for three seconds, then suddenly turned around, covered his head with his hands, pressed his forehead against the alley wall, and let out a muffled wail. "Why didn't I wear the bracelet--Why did I believe Teacher Cai's nonsense--Why should I be an honest person--!"

Yun Jingheng walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "It's okay, I'll take care of you."

Xie Xie turned his face away from the wall, a hint of tears glistening in the corner of his eye. "How will you support me? With compressed biscuits?"

"Energy bars are quite expensive," Yun Jingheng repeated.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

When Xie Xie lunged at him, Yun Jingheng sidestepped him.

"Alright, you've had enough of this, now listen to me."

She pulled a neatly folded piece of paper from her sleeve, unfolded it, and revealed it to be a map.

Yun Jingheng frowned. "Wasn't your soul guide bracelet in your hand? Where did you pull this out? Where did you hide it?"

Gu Yue looked at him and waved.

Yun Jingheng leaned over and listened.

Gu Yue grabbed it tightly and whispered, "Where else could you hide it besides your underwear?"

Yun Jingheng's ears turned visibly red, burning from the earlobe all the way to the tip, like rice paper that had been scorched by fire.

"Okay, okay, I understand--"

He turned his head to try to dodge, but Gu Yue's fingers were clenched tightly, like a small pair of pliers, and he couldn't break free.

"What do you know?"

Gu Yue's voice was still low, but her smile was so wide it couldn't be hidden. "Are you blushing?"

"You're not embarrassed!"

"Your ears are very hot?"

"It's hot!"

It's only seven in the morning.

Yun Jingheng gritted his teeth and finally reached out to pry Gu Yue's hand off his ear.

Gu Yue didn't struggle, letting him pry her open, her fingertips gently gliding across his earlobe.

Ye Xinglan stood at the very edge, her expression obscured, only her tightly pressed lips visible.

"So, where should we go first?"

Gu Yue followed up on Xu Xiaoyan's question, "Tiandou."

Yun Jingheng looked at the shops in the distance. "No, we'll leave tonight."