Once everything had been explained, everyone was left laughing and crying at the same time.
Ye Lingling was astonished that her purely healing Martial Soul had suddenly gained a special kind of "attack power"!
The world was truly vast, with no shortage of wonders!
It had all been a misunderstanding, and the four of them quickly relaxed. The mood became harmonious again.
Chu Men suggested, "The river's just up ahead. Let's go sit over there, catch a breeze, and rest our feet."
No one objected.
The four of them walked to the riverbank and found a clean stretch of stone steps to sit side by side.
The evening breeze swept the river's moisture toward them, bringing waves of refreshing coolness that dispelled the heat and clamor of the night market behind them.
Chu Men took out the remaining fruit smoothie, scooped up a big spoonful, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The three girls followed suit.
Xiao Wu held her box and picked out the biggest, reddest strawberry. She offered it to Chu Men's lips, her eyes sparkling.
"Uncle Weird, say ah—"
Chu Men smiled and opened his mouth. The strawberry's sweet fragrance spread across his tongue.
It felt as if he'd spent the whole evening being fed by Xiao Wu.
I fed the rabbit, and the rabbit fed me?
Chu Men ruffled Xiao Wu's hair. The little girl immediately lifted her chin proudly, like a little rabbit showing off its spoils.
Dugu Yan sat beside them, stabbing the mango chunks in her spoon until they were a mush.
She secretly looked up at Chu Men and Xiao Wu's affectionate scene, her little mouth pursed.
After hesitating for a long while, she finally popped the mango chunks into her own mouth. The sourness made her frown.
Ye Lingling sat quietly at the far end, eating her smoothie in small bites and glancing at Chu Men's profile every so often.
But whenever she met his gaze, she immediately lowered her head like a startled fawn, the tips of her ears red enough to bleed.
The misunderstanding earlier, when she had accidentally "nursed Chu Men until he bled," had left her feeling both guilty and flustered. And yet, she couldn't help wanting to sneak another look.
She wanted to ask about the Inversion Pen's ingenious uses, but with Dugu Yan between them, she found it hard to bring up.
The shimmer of the river reflected across the three girls' faces. It was a refreshing summer night, yet a subtle something hung in the air.
Chu Men pretended to chew his strawberry slowly as he discreetly sized up the three distinctive girls beside him, sighing inwardly.
He'd only meant to take Xiao Wu to the night market for a little relaxation and, while he was at it, fulfill the promise he'd made on yesterday's livestream.
Somehow, it had turned into an outing for four, with the three girls laughing and chatting, their eyes sparkling as they looked around.
This was only the beginning. If Qian Renxue, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others joined them later, wouldn't it all turn into a complete mess?
Chu Men shook his head, then thought with lofty confidence:
What's there to be afraid of? If other people can do it, why can't I?
With so many beautiful girls, I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I let them slip away!
What's a harem, anyway? I, Chu Men, am going to establish the Soul Guidance Empire and become its emperor!
With that thought, his gaze grew resolute!
The evening breeze blew gently, and ripples spread across the river.
The four of them sat on the stone steps by the river like that. None of them spoke, yet a wonderful, warm feeling drifted through the air.
Chu Men looked at the countless lights reflected on the river and smiled.
Today had turned out pretty great!
[Ahhh! What kind of divine scene is this?!]
[One on each arm—what a winner!]
[I wish time would just stop right here! I want to know what happens tomorrow, but I don't—so conflicted!]
[Streamer, streamer! We've toured the night market. What about the promised lucky draw?]
[That's right! Streamer! Streamer! Draw! Draw!] ×999
The bullet comments began flooding the screen in unison, as orderly as soldiers on parade.
Xiaoyu's Xiaoxiang Pavilion.
Lin Xiaoyu twisted her handkerchief around her fingertips, her eyes rippling as she gazed at the young man on the screen with a girl on each arm. She spoke with a sour note in her voice:
"Teacher Chu certainly is a lucky man. And here I thought you'd remember us poor souls.
"You've spent the whole evening wandering around the night market with three delicate young ladies by your side. I'm sure you've forgotten all about us.
"Only now have you remembered us. We've been waiting such a long time~"
The bullet comments went wild:
[Ah, it's Lin Daiyu!]
[So full of Lin Daiyu's airs—is she jealous?]
[Hahaha, the Yu-Men Faction is the one true way!]
Chu Men laughed, then drew in a little of the cool summer-night air before opening the Douluo App's livestream panel.
"Livestream: The Truman Show" "Followers: 15.256 million" "Online Viewers: 36.524 million" "Livestream Points: 2.891 million (settlement ongoing)" "Guest on Call: Lin Xiaoyu"
Good grief, his follower count had gone up by a whole order of magnitude!
Although tonight's night-market livestream was nearing its end, with him taking the occasional bite of smoothie, the number of people watching was still slowly rising.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were still chatting quietly nearby, now and then letting out a surprised cry or a sweet laugh.
Xiao Wu swung her legs as she gazed into the distance.
So Chu Men didn't interact with the livestream directly. Instead, he pulled up the gift list on the livestream panel.
As expected, gift boxes of processed Soul Beast products and Douluo specialties took up most of the list.
Lotus seedpods, dough figurines, sugar paintings, and the like also had a place on it.
There was even a limited-edition shadow-puppet set from the Light and Shadow Theater, all handmade and accompanied by a small soul-guidance projection lamp.
Chu Men projected the whole list onto the livestream screen, letting tens of millions of viewers vote for whatever they wanted.
The result was a complete surprise to him.
Chu Men had thought limited-edition shadow puppets and flying brooms would get more votes. He hadn't expected the top choice to be—
Candied hawthorn!
The Three-Color Candied Hawthorn Set had received more than eighteen million votes, accounting for 49 percent of the total and taking first place!
Blue Silver Fruit, White Spirit Fruit, and Green Bamboo Fruit weren't rare foods, and the system had priced them at just 10 points per set.
That meant he'd be able to give away a huge number of them!
Chu Men did a quick calculation. With so many viewers, he'd spent the entire evening watching them eat, so he couldn't exactly be stingy.
Especially when the three girls beside him occasionally looked at him with faint admiration. That made him feel quite pleased with himself!
Seventy thousand prizes amounted to only two out of every thousand viewers at the current numbers.
But it was still a sweet gift from Chu Men to the viewers in the real world—a little sweetness for a summer night!
The winning IDs poured down the screen like a waterfall. The system's private messages, like the dandelion seeds that had filled the sky earlier, floated into the phones of the lucky viewers.
Seventy thousand people, including quite a few foreigners, activated their Douluo App receiving functions almost simultaneously.
One beautifully packaged gift box after another was transported beneath the camera.
[I won!] ×999
[Darn it, I was so close! I want to taste the candied hawthorn from another world too! Name your price!]
[So sweet! No wonder Sister Xiao Wu likes it so much!]
[I tried one. It tastes amazing, and it makes you feel refreshed. Unfortunately, my mom took the rest to have them tested. Sob~]
[Oh my God!!]
In Room 302 of a building at Modu Normal University, four girls huddled in front of a computer.
Su Wan clutched her phone tightly. Her heart pounded as if it might burst out of her chest, and her thin clothes could barely conceal the rise and fall of her chest.
The instant the golden winner notification popped up, she shrieked and sprang out of her chair, almost flipping the laptop off the desk!
"I won again! That's amazing! Candied hawthorn from the Douluo World!"
Before you continue