On the other side of Shrek Square, unlike Class Nine's relaxed atmosphere, Class One was much more tense.
"A bunch of good-for-nothings!"
A gray-haired old woman stood before dozens of students, glaring at them as she berated them. Spit nearly flew into the faces of those in the front row.
"You look like this after running a hundred laps? What kind of monsters are you?"
"Tang Shan, Xiao Wu, Yu Xiaogang... you three, step forward!"
At Zhou Yi's cold command, several students timidly stepped out. Their faces were deathly pale, like eggplants struck by frost.
"You can get lost!"
Zhou Yi sneered.
The students opened their mouths, wanting to defend themselves.
But the next moment, six Soul Rings rose from Zhou Yi, and her overwhelming aura forced the words back down their throats.
"Don't think no one noticed the laps you secretly skipped. Shrek doesn't accept cheaters!"
Under Zhou Yi's intimidating aura, the students were furious but didn't dare speak up. They could only slink away dejectedly.
The rest of Class One looked equally grim and didn't dare so much as breathe too loudly.
That old hag was far too strict... At this rate, how many people would be left in the class?
"This is what happens when you don't follow my rules!"
Looking at the students' expressions, Zhou Yi nodded with satisfaction. A trace of smugness flashed in her murky old eyes.
Then she waved her hand and announced:
"Next class, I'll eliminate three more students! Dismissed!"
With that, Zhou Yi left without looking back, completely unconcerned by the hateful stares from behind.
The students of Class One dispersed, and three girls with very different styles headed together toward the statue in the square.
"Ugh, I really can't take this anymore—"
Tang Wutong stomped along at the front, her pink-and-blue hair whipping back and forth like a pufferfish about to explode.
She was the daughter of a God King and an original shareholder of Shrek. When had anyone ever dared to berate her like that?
"Forget it, Sister Wutong!"
Xiao Xiao tugged at Tang Wutong's arm and gave it a little shake, softly trying to comfort her.
"Just put up with it. We'll be reassigned to different classes in a year."
Under Zhou Yi's oppressive policies, the two girls had naturally grown close after finding someone who shared their grievances.
As for Huo Yutong, it was purely Tang Wutong's money power that had made her realize just how deep the sisters' bond was.
The three girls had temporarily formed a little group in Class One. Whether it was a real friendship or just for show... well, that remained to be seen.
Anyway, Tang Wutong was quite pleased. She'd finally become the big sister. The Divine Realm had never been this much fun.
"Let's hurry. We shouldn't keep Jiang Yi waiting over there too long."
Huo Yutong reminded them.
They had arranged to have lunch with Jiang Yi. Zhou Yi had kept them late, so Jiang Yi had probably been waiting for quite a while.
"Fine~"
Tang Wutong sighed and followed the other two.
She secretly consoled herself: everyone at Shrek was a freak. Maybe things were even worse for Jiang Yi?
Her own frustration was certainly unpleasant, but Jiang Yi's suffering was delightful.
Thinking about it that way, she inexplicably felt much better.
When the three arrived, Tang Wutong spotted someone from afar, lazily leaning against her mother's foot.
"Jiang Yi!"
Xiao Xiao ran up with delight. He was the first friend she'd made at Shrek Academy.
"Xiao Xiao, you're here!"
Jiang Yi waved.
He hadn't planned to meet up with them, but Xiao Xiao had pestered him so much that he couldn't bring himself to turn her down.
In keeping with the Chinese tradition of respecting the old and cherishing the young, he'd always been powerless to resist little girls.
He liked them best when they had the face of a child and the hair of an old woman.
"Sorry, our teacher kept us late. We're late."
Huo Yutong came over and looked at Jiang Yi apologetically.
Beside her, Tang Wutong glanced at Jiang Yi and parted her lips, but then, as if she'd thought of something, she huffed and turned away.
Why should she be the one to speak first?
That would be so beneath her!
Little Jiang had to greet her first!
She crossed her arms, lifted her chin high, and stared at the sky with her pink-and-blue eyes, wearing an air that said, "I'm too good to talk to you."
But every now and then, she stole a glance at Jiang Yi, like a kitten waiting to be fed.
However—
Jiang Yi merely gave her a cursory glance, then acted as if he hadn't seen her and went straight to Xiao Xiao and Huo Yutong.
"It's fine. Let's go."
He chuckled, took Xiao Xiao's little hand, and beckoned to Huo Yutong as they headed toward the cafeteria in the distance.
The three figures gradually disappeared into the distance.
Tang Wutong was left alone beneath the statue. The breeze stirred her skirt and long hair, making her look like an abandoned peacock with its tail spread.
All alone, and a little ridiculous!
"..."
Damn it.
He actually dared to ignore her!
She clenched her fists and stared furiously at Jiang Yi's back, wishing she could bite the back of his head.
But after thinking it over, she hurried after them.
You think you can ditch me? Dream on!
She'd worked so hard to pick up two followers at Shrek Academy. She couldn't let anyone steal them away.
A small restaurant in Shrek City.
They found a table near the corner and sat down. Xiao Xiao turned into a chatty little introvert, chattering nonstop.
"How's Class Nine? We ran a hundred laps today and nearly died... That teacher's not even human~"
Sitting opposite Jiang Yi, Xiao Xiao chewed on a spicy rabbit head as she grumbled about the day's lessons.
Beside her, Huo Yutong buried herself in her food, eating with sauce all over her mouth and not the least bit like a proper young lady.
With Tang Wutong, their rich girl, around, she ate to her heart's content. It was the best meal she'd had in over a decade.
"It was all right. Our teacher only made us run twenty laps, then ended class early..."
Jiang Yi shrugged.
All three girls were glistening with sweat. Xiao Xiao, who was sitting closest to him, even had a bit of a smell.
It was kind of intoxicating...
"Only twenty laps?"
Tang Wutong sat one seat away, secretly listening with her ears perked up. But when she heard that, she couldn't hold back any longer.
They were all at Shrek. How could their treatment be so different?
The guy hadn't even broken a sweat, while she was drenched and had been chewed out on top of it.
"Yeah! The running drills are just a way of paying tribute to the Sea God and the others from back in the day... You didn't know that?"
Jiang Yi blinked, wearing a thoroughly surprised expression.
"Did you think running a few laps could really train our bodies?"
At Shrek Academy, running drills were mostly a show, meant to bring everyone together under the spirit of Shrek.
Aside from Zhou Yi making trouble on her own, the running drills in other classes were really just a pretext for telling little stories about the Sea God.
"..."
Tang Wutong said nothing, just stabbing the fish on her plate over and over with her fork.
The fish was mangled, and juice splattered everywhere. It was a sorry sight.
She'd genuinely believed Zhou Yi when the old hag told her that her father had gone through the same thing back in the day. So she'd obediently let herself be worked like a pack mule.
Damn it!
So that old hag had been using my dad's name as a banner to wave around?
The more Tang Wutong thought about it, the darker her expression became.
I swear on the road to Shu!
Next class, this old hag and I are going to blow each other up!
"Heh..."
Jiang Yi watched Miss Tang's darkening expression and chuckled inwardly as he picked up a piece of grilled meat and put it in his mouth.
It took a bad person to deal with a bad person.
The bigger the commotion, the better. He wanted to see whether Tang Wutong had any safeguards left by Tang San, so he'd know how to act.
"Whoa—it's her!"
"She's so beautiful... No wonder she's the Outer Academy's number-one beauty!"
"Those legs... Tsk—"
A commotion suddenly rose at the entrance, and countless gazes turned toward it in unison.
A stunning girl of fourteen or fifteen stood there, her wavy golden hair gleaming like a cascading waterfall and her skin white as snow.
Most eye-catching of all were her shapely long legs, tightly wrapped in white stockings. They showed a hint of pink, making people want to hold them in their hands and take their time admiring them.
She carried a tray and walked calmly, like an elegant white swan gliding among a flock of ducks.
"Nothing special."
Tang Wutong pursed her lips and forced herself to look away.
She wasn't as pretty as her.
She was the daughter of a God King, with noble blood and an innate perfection. How could a bunch of mortals compare to her?
"True. Compared to Sister Wutong's Martial Soul, she still falls a little short."
Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement.
After seeing Tang Wutong's Light Goddess Butterfly, she still couldn't forget how breathtaking it had been—flawless, like a real goddess had descended.
"But why does it look like she's coming over here?"
Huo Yutong stopped chewing and took a quick glance up.
Amid the crowd's dazzled stares, the girl carried her tray toward their table in the corner.
"..."
Jiang Yi said nothing and just kept eating.
The girl walked up to the table and stopped.
She looked down at Jiang Yi, who was wolfing down his food as if he couldn't hear a thing. Her lovely eyes narrowed slightly.
She put down her tray, picked up a spoon, and lightly tapped the tabletop.
Clink, clink, clink—!!!
Three crisp taps.
Then she bent down and brought her face close to Jiang Yi's. Golden strands of hair fell forward, almost brushing his shoulder.
A faint, delicate fragrance wafted into his nose.
"You came to Shrek."
She looked at Jiang Yi with a smile. Her voice was gentle and her expression kind, yet somehow she sent a chill down the spine.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
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