The conversation in the office ended. After saying goodbye to Wang Yan, everyone left.
Xiao Xiao lowered her head and hurried along, wanting to get away as quickly as possible.
She still hadn't figured out how to face Cao Longyan.
"Xiao Xiao, wait a moment."
Cao Longyan's voice came from behind her.
Xiao Xiao stopped, but didn't turn around.
"Let's go to the cafeteria for lunch together. Did you forget what you said yesterday at noon? Just let me treat you to the meal you were going to treat me to. And also... about what happened last night..."
Cao Longyan's tone carried a trace of insistence.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao chimed in to help.
"Yeah, Xiao Xiao, come with us. Longyan's already asked."
No need to say more... A good brother lived in your heart.
Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she nodded.
She wanted to clear things up about what had happened yesterday, too.
Outside the cafeteria
Cao Longyan, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao had just arrived when they spotted five familiar figures.
Bei Bei, Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, and Hu Meier.
The five were standing there, seemingly waiting for someone.
Cao Longyan's gaze swept over them. Seeing Xu Sanshi standing with Jiang Nannan and the others, looking perfectly at ease, he knew Xu Sanshi had already apologized to Jiang Nannan.
Cao Longyan didn't dislike Xu Sanshi.
Among the people of the Mysterious Underworld Sect who preyed on the common folk and bullied the weak, Xu Sanshi was practically a breath of fresh air.
He let go of his earlier coldness and gave Xu Sanshi a slight nod.
The moment Xu Sanshi saw Cao Longyan, he hurried over and bowed deeply.
"Junior Cao Longyan, thank you for showing mercy yesterday."
Then he turned to Huo Yuhao and offered him a solemn apology.
"Junior Huo Yuhao, I was in the wrong yesterday. I shouldn't have taken your grilled fish, let alone nearly smashed your stall. I'm sorry."
Huo Yuhao felt a little embarrassed and quickly waved his hands.
"It's all right, Senior Xu Sanshi. My grilled fish stall wasn't damaged much."
This was the first time he had ever received such a solemn apology from a fifth-year senior.
Xu Sanshi's gaze then fell on Xiao Xiao.
He looked at Xiao Xiao's petite figure, then at Cao Longyan standing close beside her. His true nature came out, and he teased, "Not bad, Junior Cao Longyan. Is this your girlfriend? You've got great taste. She's so cute, I'm jealous. You just got here and you've already found yourself a girl. You've got the makings of your senior here!"
Cao Longyan waved his hands repeatedly, quickly denying it.
"Senior Xu Sanshi, don't say things like that. We're just classmates for now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Sanshi felt a chill run down his spine.
He mechanically turned around, only to meet Hu Meier's gaze.
Hu Meier kept clasping and unclasping her hands in front of her. Her face was dark, yet she wore a stiff smile.
"Sanshi, are you saying I'm no good?"
"And you're flirting with girls behind my back?"
Xu Sanshi's face turned deathly pale. With a thud, he dropped to his knees and slid right up to Hu Meier, wrapping his arms around her legs as he wailed, "Mei'er, that's not what I meant! My Mei'er is the best! The best in the whole world!"
"Mei'er, I haven't! I've been framed! My love for you is as clear as the sun and moon, as certain as heaven and earth! How could I ever fall for someone else?"
Everyone watched the scene with a shudder. They were practically sick to their stomachs as they shot Xu Sanshi looks of surprise and disdain.
Some thought the sight of Xu Sanshi was so disgusting that it hurt their eyes, and immediately looked away.
Xu Sanshi didn't care in the slightest. His skin was as thick as his turtle shell.
As long as he could appease Hu Meier, his pride didn't matter.
In his eyes, pride was the most worthless thing in the world.
After hearing his words, Hu Meier's face flushed with embarrassment, and her attitude immediately softened.
The farce made the awkwardness in Xiao Xiao's heart vanish in an instant.
She figured it out: she had never been Cao Longyan's girlfriend, so why had she gotten so jealous yesterday?
She'd just been getting ahead of herself... What she needed to do was work hard to improve herself and make this unrequited love bear fruit.
With that thought, a smile returned to her face. She quietly leaned close to Cao Longyan's ear and whispered, "Longyan, I'm sorry about last night."
Cao Longyan smiled and shook his head.
"It's all right. It's in the past."
Jiang Nannan saw the two whispering intimately from a short distance away.
Her heart clenched, as if a fine needle had stabbed it hard.
A bitterness and ache unlike anything she'd ever felt spread through her body in an instant.
She put on a calm front and looked away, but her thoughts were in turmoil.
The nine of them sat together for lunch, chatting and laughing.
As they talked, they gradually got to know one another.
Xiao Xiao finally learned that Cao Longyan and Jiang Nannan had only met as children when they'd gone out to play together. They weren't what she'd imagined.
The last trace of gloom in her heart completely vanished.
That afternoon, all the students in Freshman Class One except Cao Longyan followed the physical training plan Wang Yan had laid out that morning.
Cao Longyan had asked Teacher Wang Yan for leave and stayed in the dormitory to consolidate his cultivation. He also thought about his plans for what came next.
He was about to reach level forty and obtain his fourth Soul Ring for his Ice Dragon King Martial Soul. So he spent the entire afternoon in his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness, discussing the Soul Ring with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Empress.
The afternoon passed in a flash.
Dormitory 107
After finishing their afternoon training, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong returned to the dormitory, exhausted. They happened to run into Cao Longyan, who had just finished meditating.
Fortunately, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the others had warned him in time. He stopped circulating the Soul Suppressing Art, narrowly avoiding being caught by them.
They could sense that Cao Longyan's Soul Power had improved again.
Longyan really was a monster. His Soul Power had gone up again so quickly... As for them, they hadn't even caught a glimpse of an increase.
After resting for half an hour, Huo Yuhao changed his clothes, picked up his tools, and headed to the spot where he'd sold grilled fish the day before.
Cao Longyan and Wang Dong went with him, just as they had yesterday.
This time, though, Xiao Xiao joined them too.
She'd heard about their grilled fish plans at noon and volunteered to come along.
When the four of them arrived at the stall, they found Tang Ya, Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, and Hu Meier already waiting there.
Huo Yuhao felt a little embarrassed. He hurriedly lit the fire and grilled fish, making one for each of the five, as well as Cao Longyan, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao.
Though Huo Yuhao insisted that they didn't need to pay, everyone still wordlessly left Soul Coins in the stall's payment box.
The grilled fish had sold like hotcakes the day before and earned everyone's praise.
There were clearly several times more people buying grilled fish today than there had been yesterday.
Even though Huo Yuhao had doubled the number of fish he grilled, they still couldn't keep up with demand.
Just then, a disheveled figure slowly approached, drawn by the smell.
He was an elderly man with a head of white hair, wearing a worn-out white robe. His hair was a mess, and his face was smudged with grime. He looked like an ordinary old beggar you might see anywhere.
The old man darted past Cao Longyan, snatched the grilled fish he'd just gotten and hadn't yet had a chance to eat, then took a big bite and mumbled through his food, "Longyan, you've got good food and didn't call me? I'll take this grilled fish off your hands. Delicious!"
Cao Longyan looked at the white-haired old prankster in front of him, shook his head helplessly, and sighed.
"Xuan Zi, quit fooling around... My friend made these grilled fish. If you want barbecue, just tell me."
"That's just what I've been waiting to hear!"
Xuan Zi's eyes lit up.
"Right now, then. I can't wait!"
Cao Longyan: "..."
He'd been played by the old man again. That doddering old geezer really was rotten to the core!
Everyone present except Bei Bei stared at the white-haired old man in shock.
Xuan Zi? Barbecue?
Who exactly was this disheveled old man?
Why did Cao Longyan know him?
Before you continue