Jiang Family Siblings! A Sky Full of Fate!

"Oh? Is that so?"

Jiang Nannan gazed at him, her voice carrying a hint of reproach.

"Then why did you sell the house? I thought you'd run off with some girl!"

Her tone was scolding, but a trace of lingering fear flickered in her eyes.

When she'd returned home from Shrek for the break and found that Jiang Yi had even sold the house, she'd thought someone had forced him into it.

Fortunately, it had turned out to be a false alarm. But she still couldn't quite relax when she couldn't find him.

"Heh heh, Nannan, you know how it is. My Martial Soul is special, and that little glutton Xiao Lan eats so much..."

Jiang Yi spread his hands helplessly, looking utterly innocent.

He'd spent a fortune to improve the Gale Thunder Falcon's strength, buying it several portions of beast blood to refine its bloodline and speed up its cultivation.

As for the house, he'd been on his own anyway, and he was planning to apply to Shrek Academy. There was no point in keeping it.

Even if he went home now and then, he could always stay at Jiang Nannan's place.

"Hmph! Don't let it happen again!"

Jiang Nannan glared at him and reached out to twist his ear. She didn't use much force, but the gesture was unmistakably warning.

"Did you hear me?"

Although they weren't siblings by blood, they'd grown up together, and she thought of Jiang Yi as her own little brother.

Besides, thanks to that strange folk remedy of his—who knew where he'd found it?—their mother's health had been getting better over the years.

She cared for and felt grateful to this little brother of hers.

It was good that he'd come to Shrek Academy. At least they could look out for each other.

"I heard you, Nannan! I promise I'll even let you know before I go to the bathroom next time!"

Jiang Yi nodded repeatedly and gave an awkward grin.

The original story was one thing, but after all these years on the Douluo Continent, he'd long since settled into life here.

To him, the Jiang Nannan before him wasn't the one from the original story. She was his own big sister.

This time, he wouldn't let his sister be abused by Xu Sanshi like in the original story, while Xu Sanshi pretended to be deeply in love with her.

"You and your smart mouth! Who wants to go to the bathroom with you..."

Jiang Nannan couldn't help laughing at his teasing. She let go of his ear and gave him an amused, exasperated look.

That fool was always sweet-talking her. She wondered how many girls would be fooled by that mouth of his in the future.

Even so, her clear, bright eyes brimmed with laughter, and her girlish charm was utterly captivating.

"Oh, right. You haven't registered as a Soul Master with the academy yet, have you?"

Jiang Nannan suddenly clapped her hands. The cool beauty transformed into a little money-grubber, counting on her fingers.

"With your cultivation, you should be able to get six Gold Soul Coins a month..."

"I haven't had time to register yet."

Jiang Yi shook his head. There'd been a lot to do with the start of the semester these past few days.

After Spirit Hall was gone, the major empires hadn't established a dedicated agency. Instead, they'd delegated the registration of Soul Masters to the local academies.

Soul Master stipends still existed, but you had to enroll first. If you didn't get in, there was nothing you could do.

And with the growing number of Soul Masters, the subsidies had shrunk quite a bit.

"Then I'll take you to register. It's almost the end of the month, so in a few days we can collect another payment..."

Whenever Jiang Nannan talked about money, she became a different person. Her eyes sparkled, and she seemed to have boundless energy.

"Oh, and now that you're at Shrek, come to me if anything happens! No one gets to bully someone from the Jiang family."

"Got it, Nannan!"

"..."

Hand in hand, the two disappeared into the crowd filling the street.

In the distance, the setting sun sank below the horizon. Their shadows overlapped, like a warm silhouette.

Meanwhile, two other figures were still wrestling on the rooftop.

"Let go of me! They're leaving!"

"No!"

"Bei Bei, you're no human!"

"...I'm sorry."

"Does saying sorry help?! Let go!!!"

"No."

"..."

A breeze swept by, scattering the last of the commotion.

In the attic, only heavy panting remained, along with the shattered hearts of two young men scattered across the floor.

Bei Bei clung to Xu Sanshi for dear life. By now, the two of them were completely tangled together, their legs hooked and their hands locked.

He looked at the utterly exhausted Xu Sanshi. He was gasping for breath himself, but a smile appeared on his face.

Xiao Ya, I did everything I could!

At a side gate of Shrek Outer Court, two figures stepped out.

"Thank you, Teacher Yang!"

Jiang Nannan thanked the teacher on duty. They'd nearly missed the registration office before it closed.

Then she turned to Jiang Yi and, as if worried he wouldn't listen, reminded him, "Spend what you need to. Don't scrimp. You're still growing, and if you run short of money, come to me."

As she spoke, she took a purse from her clothes, put the few Gold Soul Coins she'd just collected inside, and pressed it into his palm.

The purse was a little worn, with a tiny orchid embroidered in the corner. The stitches were neat and close; she'd sewn it herself.

"Nannan..."

Jiang Yi took the purse and opened it to look inside.

There wasn't much money in it. Most of it was even Copper Soul Coins, with only a few lonely Gold Soul Coins.

But his palm felt warm.

Everything at Shrek was expensive, and Jiang Nannan wasn't well-off herself. The two of them were both practically broke.

"Take it. You've just arrived at the academy, and you'll need money for everything. I have other ways to earn some, and I'll be getting my stipend again soon."

Jiang Nannan pushed the purse firmly into his hand and patted her chest with an air of swagger, as if to say, "Your big sister's loaded."

Apart from what she sent home, she'd saved all that money by scrimping and saving. She also took on commissions now and then to make ends meet.

"Okay."

Jiang Yi didn't refuse again. He only nodded quietly.

Given their relationship, refusing would only hurt Jiang Nannan's feelings.

"That's more like it!"

Jiang Nannan smiled in satisfaction, her eyes curving.

She reached out and ruffled Jiang Yi's hair. It was such a natural gesture that she gave him a thorough tousling before finally waving goodbye.

"Your big sister's heading off, then! I still have some homework to do."

"Okay, Nannan! See you!"

Jiang Yi waved too, watching the young woman's figure gradually melt into the distant sunset.

"Ah...!"

Once Jiang Nannan had disappeared, Jiang Yi turned his gaze away and weighed the purse in his hand. He felt both helpless and touched.

That silly big sister...

The truth was, he had money! Along the way, he'd run into plenty of bandits and robbers and made a small fortune.

Besides, Bei Bei had given him a generous reward to thank him for stepping in. Even the Storage Soul Tool he was carrying now had been a gift from Bei Bei.

Ahem...

Jiang Yi gave a quiet cough to himself.

Looking at it that way, it seemed a little immoral to cuckold Bei Bei, but one thing had nothing to do with the other.

He was the one being pursued.

Besides, he hadn't agreed to Tang Ya's offer yet. Joining the Tang Sect was still up in the air, but if Tang Ya offered herself to him, he figured he wouldn't be able to resist.

Jiang Yi never overestimated his self-control. It was hard to keep his hands to himself when a beautiful young woman came right to his door.

"Forget it. I'll let things take their course."

Jiang Yi shook his head and stopped dwelling on such trivial matters.

Romance was just seasoning, in the end. As long as he was strong enough, he could even snatch Xiao Wu, and Tang San could play his flute outside the door.

He put the purse away and turned to head off in one direction. He still had to buy Xiao Lan some snacks.

Getting stronger was what mattered!