Lin An Was Certain: He Was Straight, But Tang Wulin...

The cafeteria, lunchtime.

Lin An and Gu Yue carried their trays over and sat down.

Their plates were piled high.

They had ordered almost every dish available at the Grade A Meal Window.

The rich aroma of Crystal Demon Kernel Porridge, Crimson Flame Python Steak, and Nine-Leaf Lingzhi Stewed Black Phoenix Wings drifted far and wide.

The students queuing nearby for Grade C steamed buns caught a whiff of the scent, and the coarse flour buns in their hands suddenly didn't seem so appetizing anymore.

Xie Xie walked into the cafeteria, his gaze habitually sweeping across the room.

The moment he saw Lin An and Gu Yue, his eyes lit up.

He trotted over eagerly.

The Grade A Meal Window was wafting fragrance.

Crystal Demon Kernel Porridge, Crimson Flame Python Steak, Nine-Leaf Lingzhi Stewed Black Phoenix Wings.

Just by the smell, he knew he could mooch another meal today.

Dignity?

Could dignity be eaten as a meal?

No.

But a Grade A meal could.

He had just reached the table and hadn't even managed to sit down when he caught a glimpse of someone standing at the cafeteria entrance out of the corner of his eye.

It was Tang Wulin.

He stood rooted at the door, looking toward them hesitantly.

His feet seemed nailed to the floor.

His honest face wore a look of timidity, his eyes darting away.

As the morning classes passed one by one, Gu Yue had stood like a wall between him and Lin An.

He hadn't even been able to get a word in.

He wasn't even sure now if he still counted as Lin An's friend.

Or rather, if he was still worthy.

Lin An looked up.

His gaze passed over Gu Yue's shoulder and landed on the hesitant figure at the door.

He smiled and beckoned to Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin froze for a moment.

He lowered his head and shuffled over slowly.

He clutched a bag of Grade C steamed buns in his hand.

That bag of buns sat on the table, looking painfully shabby compared to the vibrant, glistening Grade A meal surrounding it.

Xie Xie had already sat down and started eating.

Tang Wulin sat down across from Lin An.

His movements were so light, as if he were afraid of disturbing something.

He only perched on the edge of the chair.

Gu Yue's face turned cold in an instant.

The silver-haired girl set down her chopsticks.

She stared at Tang Wulin with an icy expression and spat out a few words coldly.

"Moocher."

Tang Wulin's shoulders shrank slightly.

Xie Xie's chopsticks paused in mid-air.

His mouth was stuffed with half a piece of steak, and he froze mid-chew.

Lin An turned his head and looked at Gu Yue, speechless.

"Isn't the one mooching off others actually you?"

Gu Yue's eyelid twitched.

She kept her chin held high.

"That's different."

"How is it different?"

"I'm mooching off my wife, which is only natural." Her voice was righteous. "He's mooching off someone else's wife, which is shameless."

Lin An took a deep breath and slapped his chopsticks onto the table.

Tang Wulin kept his head down, pushing the bag of Grade C Meal buns toward the corner of the table.

"I... I brought my own food."

His voice was very soft.

The cowlick on top of his head drooped down.

He looked like a puppy caught in the rain.

There were several red, swollen patches on his face, and the bruise at the corner of his mouth hadn't fully faded.

A piece of gauze was taped across the bridge of his nose.

With his eyelashes lowered, his beautiful, large eyes were filled with a thin layer of mist.

It looked like he had been beaten up quite a bit in private.

Lin An watched him in this state, his chopsticks pausing in mid-air.

He remained silent for two seconds.

An indescribable sense of guilt welled up inside him.

Tang Wulin hadn't actually done anything wrong.

If it weren't for him, Tang Wulin would have become friends with Gu Yue.

Now, instead, he was beaten black and blue, trembling even while trying to eat a meal.

When it came down to it, it was all because of that damn entry.

Lin An sighed.

"Alright, alright."

He set his chopsticks down, his tone softening a fraction.

"Gu Yue, you aren't allowed to bully Wulin anymore."

"We're all friends, there's no need for this."

Gu Yue whipped her head around to look at Lin An.

Her purple eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Who is friends with him?"

Her voice rose by half a pitch, suppressing her anger.

She glared viciously at Tang Wulin, her pupils nearly narrowing into vertical slits.

The Dragon Queen had been bewitched again.

It was always like this.

Whenever Tang Wulin put on that pitiful act, the Dragon Queen would soften.

But she saw it clearly.

Standing behind Tang Wulin was Tang San, the human God King who had stolen the fortune of the Soul Beasts ten thousand years ago.

Being able to hold back from killing him right now was already something to be thankful for.

Furthermore, during their sparring session last night, she had sensed it—a powerful divine consciousness hidden within Tang Wulin's body.

Although that consciousness was dormant, its aura was ancient and profound.

It was definitely not something an ordinary person could possess.

Her suspicions grew more certain: this was a trap laid by Tang San.

Tang Wulin didn't speak.

The cowlick on his head drooped completely.

He silently took a bite of a Grade C Meal bun.

He was still young, and with his face covered in bruises, sitting in front of a spread of delicacies, he looked exceptionally pitiful.

Lin An watched him, and a string in his heart was gently plucked.

He glanced at his own tray, which was still mostly untouched, and pushed it over casually.

"Hey, if I eat any more, I'll get fat."

His tone was as casual as if he were commenting on the nice weather.

"Here's an extra meal for you."

The tray slid in front of Tang Wulin.

On it sat half a portion of Crystal Demon Kernel Porridge, two pieces of Crimson Flame Python Steak, and an almost intact Nine-Leaf Lingzhi Stewed Black Phoenix Wings.

All of it was untouched.

Tang Wulin froze.

He looked down at the dishes.

They were clean and tidy, clearly set aside on purpose and left untouched.

He knew Lin An had saved them for him intentionally.

He had even used the excuse of "needing to lose weight" to preserve his meager self-esteem.

A wave of warmth welled up in his throat, and his nose began to sting.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, only two words came out.

"Tha... thank you."

His voice was muffled and raspy.

"Lin An."

Gu Yue's voice suddenly rang out, dripping with sourness.

"Based on my observations over the last two days, you seem to be exceptionally good to Tang Wulin."

Lin An turned to look at her, his face full of confusion.

"Do I?"

As he spoke, he casually picked up a glistening chicken leg from his own bowl and placed it into Tang Wulin's.

"Eat more, it'll help you recover your strength."

Tang Wulin looked at the extra chicken leg in his bowl, the tips of his ears turning a quiet shade of red.

Watching this scene, the expression on Gu Yue's face looked as if she had been forced to drink a whole bottle of vinegar.

"Heh."

She let out two cold laughs.

"Based on my years of experience, when one man smiles and puts the chicken leg from his own bowl into another man's—there are only two possibilities."

She held up one finger.

"The first is that they are father and son."

She held up a second finger, the corners of her mouth curling into a meaningful arc.

"The second is... hehehe."

She didn't finish her sentence.

But the amount of information packed into that "hehe" was enough for everyone present to imagine an entire forbidden novel.

Lin An's hand, still holding his chopsticks, froze in mid-air.

He withdrew his chopsticks thoughtfully, his gaze lingering on Tang Wulin's face for a second.

The youth was looking down, his face as red as a boiled shrimp, the tips of his ears so crimson they looked like they might bleed.

He didn't dare look at him, his eyelashes fluttering wildly, his lips pressed tightly together.

His entire being radiated an aura of "I'm so shy but I'm so happy."

Lin An's expression solidified.

He was certain of it.

He was straight; that much was beyond doubt.

But Tang Wulin—this guy was definitely not straight.

In other words...

An equation surfaced in Lin An's mind that sent a chill down his spine: he was raising Tang Wulin like a son, but Tang Wulin was harboring ulterior motives toward him.

And the silly dragon beside him had been courting him like a female dragon from the very beginning, pondering every day how to make him lay little dragon eggs.

He raised a hand to cover his face.

What the hell kind of messy relationship was this?