Xu Tianzhen immediately grinned and ducked behind Xiao Hongchen, nimbly hiding from view. She still stuck her head out to fan the flames:
"I'm helping you face reality, Sister Meng."
Xiao Hongchen slowly picked up the thread:
"This is a good thing."
"Lucky I told you in advance. With your face-loving ways, if you found out later that she was actually a girl pretending to be a boy, your Dao heart might've shattered."
He patted Meng Hongchen on the head and said with a straight face:
"Remember what your big brother says: with no man in your heart, cultivation comes naturally. Stop thinking about all that nonsense and focus on your training."
Meng Hongchen puffed out her cheeks and stuck out her tongue at him.
Surprisingly, this time she didn't argue back.
After returning to her seat, she quieted down on the surface, but inside, her thoughts were still churning like a storm-tossed sea.
She'd finally let herself fall for someone, only to discover the other person was a girl. She'd lost so completely.
"...Fuck."
And Xiao Hongchen had called her out right in front of everyone. It was practically a public execution.
The more Meng Hongchen thought about it, the more miserable she felt.
Xiao Hongchen, meanwhile, had already turned his attention back to the arena.
He hoped his little sister would pull herself together soon. Having a walking cloud of gloom beside him all the time would be a nuisance even to him.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the arena changed abruptly.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were locked in a tight embrace.
Blue, purple, and gold light intertwined wildly, forming a blazing pillar in the center of the arena.
The Light Goddess Butterfly phantom behind Wang Dong burst into fierce flames the instant it neared the