Cramming at the Last Minute

Just as Dugu Yan stood there stunned, a strange sword radiating a chilling sword intent stopped three inches from her throat.

"Stop!"

The two guards were terrified. They hurriedly called out to stop him, but didn't dare approach, afraid of provoking Ye Guchen. All they could do was fret and jump around on the sidelines.

"You lost!"

Ye Guchen withdrew Shark Tooth, and only then did Dugu Yan come back to her senses. She instinctively touched her neck.

But she still couldn't accept her defeat, and she didn't understand how the person before her could have such astonishing talent.

"You..."

After struggling to find the words, she managed only a single one.

Seeing this, Ye Guchen didn't linger. He gave a slight fist-and-palm salute and walked away from Dugu Yan.

Only when Ye Guchen was no longer in sight did she whip around, but all she saw was his retreating figure.

"Ugh!"

Her outstretched hand froze in midair, and she could only mutter under her breath.

"How could he do that?"

Then she picked up the pastries from the ground and stormed into the manor.

The two guards didn't even dare breathe loudly. They could only stand off to the side and pretend they were invisible.

Dugu Yan sat down in the garden. Looking at the pastries before her, she suddenly didn't find them appetizing at all. Her mind was filled with nothing but the fleeting image of that young man.

"So what if his Soul Power is higher than mine... No, no, I just wasn't ready!"

The more Dugu Yan thought about it, the more agitated she became.

"Hmph! If we were at the same level and I'd had time to react, he wouldn't have stood a chance!"

But even she didn't believe what she'd just said.

Her favorite pastries suddenly seemed like an eyesore.

Dugu Yan swept them off the table with one hand.

The guards beside her could only bow their heads frantically, trying to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible.

"What are you two hiding for? Get over here!"

"We're done for..."

The two men sensed that something terrible was about to happen. Heads lowered, they went over to Dugu Yan.

"Tell me, what's that man's name? What's his background?"

At her question, the two answered honestly, and even handed over the business card Ye Guchen had left behind to the little princess before them.

"That's all we know."

The two men just wanted to get out of there and return to their posts. They were truly afraid of the young lady before them.

"Fine, fine. Go!"

Holding the business card and the pill, Dugu Yan impatiently shooed them away.

She looked at the card and quietly repeated his name.

"Ye Guchen..."

After making his initial contact with Dugu Manor, his Dou II body didn't sit idle either. Ye Guchen went to the library, gathered a big stack of books on all kinds of poisons, and prepared to cram at the last minute, hoping to make up for his lack of knowledge before Dugu Bo showed up.

Fortunately, the books in Douluo Continent were concise. They didn't start with the definition of poison, or Dugu Bo might have arrived before Ye Guchen had learned about even a few kinds.

"Brother Guchen!?"

Ye Guchen looked up and saw Huo Yuhao in the library too.

"Little Yuhao, come sit down."

Ye Guchen beckoned him to take the seat opposite. "But I'm busy studying poisons right now, so I'm afraid I won't have time for you."

"That's okay, Brother Guchen. Go ahead and do your thing."

Huo Yuhao carried a book on the fundamentals of Soul Tools and obediently sat down across from Ye Guchen.

"I've never seen Brother Guchen look this serious before."

Huo Yuhao watched Ye Guchen read intently, his gaze complicated.

"His talent is already so outstanding, and he still works this hard. How can you afford to slack off, Huo Yuhao?"

Then Huo Yuhao lowered his head and returned to his book. After reading a few pages, something suddenly occurred to him. "Poison! The Tang Sect specializes in poison, doesn't it? Maybe I can help Brother Guchen."

"But I've only just joined the Tang Sect. I'll have to ask Teacher Xiaoya about it."

Huo Yuhao quietly pushed back his chair, carefully returned the book to the shelf, and tiptoed away, afraid even the slightest sound might disturb Ye Guchen.

Not long after Huo Yuhao left, a beautiful woman with a tall figure, a pair of rabbit ears atop her head, and a little white tiger cradled against her chest took the seat opposite Ye Guchen. Her snow-white legs were clad in a pair of height-boosting shoes.

She made no sound as she sat down. Then she propped her cheeks in her hands, her dark eyes lowered as she gazed tenderly at Ye Guchen reading.

Jiang Nannan watched Ye Guchen quietly, as if time had stopped in that moment.

She noticed how intently he read, how he occasionally furrowed his brow in thought or nodded slightly. Even the rhythm of his fingers tapping the pages had a unique cadence.

"He really is so serious..."

Jiang Nannan murmured softly, her voice so low that only she could hear it.

She couldn't help remembering the time Ye Guchen had spent a fortune to hire a healing-type Soul Saint to treat her mother. From that moment on, she had begun to feel something special for him.

The white tiger in her arms sensed its master's presence. It immediately broke free, bounded into Ye Guchen's arms, and rubbed against his clothes.

"Had your fill of staring?"

Ye Guchen's voice rang out without warning. Jiang Nannan froze, only then realizing that he had looked up. His deep eyes were watching her with an amused smile.

"Guchen, what a coincidence, running into you here. Actually, this works out perfectly. This is the Soul Beast meat I've been buying up lately."

Jiang Nannan wasn't embarrassed at being caught. Instead, she took out a Storage Soul Tool Ring and placed it in front of Ye Guchen.

"Didn't I tell you that you could send it straight to me through Xiao Bai? You still insisted on bringing it yourself."

Ye Guchen took the ring. There was no reproach in his voice, only concern.

At that, Jiang Nannan lowered her head and muttered, "If I didn't, it'd be hard even to see you once."

Of course, Ye Guchen heard her. He set Xiao Bai on the table and smoothed its fur.

"I really have been busy these past few days, and didn't have time to come see you. My fault, my fault."

Jiang Nannan glanced at the books piled on the table and picked one up.

"I can help you."

"Sure."

Ye Guchen happened to need someone to help organize his notes.

"Then help me sort through the notes I take this afternoon."

So the two sat side by side, one reading through the books and the other organizing and summarizing. Now and then they exchanged a few words, and occasionally they debated a point about poison.

At some point, Xiao Bai fell asleep on the table, curled up into a fluffy white ball and letting out the faintest snores.

Time slipped by unnoticed, and the sunlight outside shifted from gold to orange-red.

Without realizing it, Jiang Nannan had edged closer and closer to Ye Guchen. Just as she finally worked up the courage to rest her head on his shoulder—

"Brother Guchen, I brought Teacher Xiaoya..." Huo Yuhao's voice came from the doorway, then abruptly cut off.

Jiang Nannan immediately sat up straight, her face bright red.

Huo Yuhao froze at the library entrance, with Beibei and Tang Ya beside him.

The three of them stared at Ye Guchen and Jiang Nannan sitting shoulder to shoulder, their heads nearly touching, in the reading room. For a moment, none of them knew whether to go in or retreat.

Beibei was the first to react. The corner of his mouth curled into a knowing smile as he patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. "Yuhao, I just remembered I've got something to take care of. How about we come back another day?"

Xiao Ya also turned around and said, "I've got something to do too. Let's come back tomorrow."

"Huh? But Brother Guchen..." Huo Yuhao looked completely bewildered.

"He's busy." Beibei put extra emphasis on "busy," then pulled Huo Yuhao toward the door. Before leaving, he called back, "Senior Guchen, Nannan, carry on. We won't disturb you!"

"Wait—" Ye Guchen had just started to call after them, but they were already gone.

Jiang Nannan's face had turned bright red all the way to her neck. Embarrassed, she buried her head in the pile of books.

After everyone had left, she finally peeked out from the books. After that interruption, she couldn't bring herself to stay any longer.

"I-I'll be going first!" She scrambled to her feet, nearly twisting her ankle in her height-boosting shoes.

"Hey, take Xiao Bai with you." Ye Guchen nudged Xiao Bai on the table, signaling for it to follow her.

"I'll come help you again tomorrow!" Jiang Nannan blurted, then fled the library as if her life depended on it.

Xiao Bai quickly caught up and leapt onto her shoulder.

Ye Guchen watched her hurry away, her rabbit ears trembling slightly in the sunset like two startled rabbits.

He chuckled softly, lowered his head, and continued reading the books on the table.