When Xu Xiaoyan stood on tiptoe and her lips touched his, she was stunned for a moment, but then she didn't seem so nervous anymore.
Xiao Mu's eyelids twitched, but he didn't open them.
After a moment, her lips finally parted. Her toes touched the ground again, her fingers still clutching his shirt, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
She lowered her head, her breathing was a little unsteady, her ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed, but the corners of her mouth were turned up.
"It feels pretty good."
Xiao Mu opened his eyes. He looked at the girl in front of him, who was clutching his clothes and whose forehead was almost pressed against his chest, and remained silent for a moment.
" Xu Xiaoyan, give me one more kiss."
Xu Xiaoyan suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide open, "No, this is a reward."
She released her grip on his collar, placed her palm against his chest, and felt his heartbeat. It was a little faster, a little steadyer than she had imagined.
The sea breeze blew in again, blowing her skirt and hair.
The door was suddenly pushed open. Na'er stood in the doorway, wearing a short silver-white dress with tiny sequins adorning the hem, shimmering under the lights.
She glanced at Xu Xiaoyan, who was still clutching Xiao Mu's clothes, then looked at Xiao Mu and clicked her tongue. "I knew you two would be here. Sneaking around like that."
"What, are you jealous?" Xu Xiaoyan asked.
"No way!" Na'er pouted, saying one thing but meaning another.
She raised her eyebrows, her gaze lingering for a moment on Xu Xiaoyan's bright red ear tips.
"Let's go, there's plenty of food in the banquet hall. If we're late, it'll all be gone."
Xiao Mu smiled, took Xu Xiaoyan's hand, and followed Na'er out of the room.
In the corridor, Gu Yue was already waiting. She leaned against the railing of the ship's gunwale, wearing a deep purple long dress that reached her ankles. There were no extra decorations except for a thin silver chain around her waist with a small crescent-shaped pendant hanging from it.
Her hair was down for once, her black hair hanging over her shoulders, a few strands gently blowing in the sea breeze.
She heard the door open, turned around, her gaze lingered briefly on Xiao Mu and Xu Xiaoyan's clasped hands, then looked away.
"So slow."
"It's better to go slow. Mom said a man shouldn't be too fast," Xiao Mu said with a grin.
Xu Xiaoyan blushed, giggled, let go of Xiao Mu's hand, stepped forward and took Gu Yue's arm, "Sister Gu Yue, you look so beautiful today, you should dress like this more often."
"Troublesome." Gu Yue said this, but the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, so slightly that only Xu Xiaoyan, who was holding her arm, could feel it.
Na'er had already reached the top of the stairs and turned back to urge them, "Hurry up, I can already smell the desserts!"
The four of them walked along the corridor toward the banquet hall. The sea breeze blew from the ship's side, causing the skirts of the three girls to flutter slightly.
The starry sky overhead filled the entire dome, overlapping with the lights on the ship, and in the distance came the melody of the first opening song after the band finished tuning.
The banquet hall doors were opened by a waiter, and lights and music burst forth.
The moment the four people walked into the hall side by side, the people at the door fell silent.
Then the silence spread outwards in concentric circles, like ripples on the surface of water.
The Star Luo Empire students near the door put down their wine glasses, the members of the Federation delegation at the long table turned around, and even the violinist in the band who was fixing a string went off-key.
Xiao Mu walked in the middle, his black suit accentuating the clean lines of his shoulders and back, and his dark silver cufflinks gleaming coldly under the crystal chandelier.
Xu Xiaoyan linked arms with his left arm, her moon-white starry dress swaying gently with her steps, the silver specks on the hem shimmering like scattered stars.
Na'er walked half a step behind Xiao Mu on his right. Her silver-white short skirt looked lively and playful on her, like a silver fish swimming into the banquet hall.
Gu Yue walked on the far right, her deep purple dress trailing on the ground, the crescent pendant at her waist occasionally reflecting a faint light under the lamp.
The four people walked together, radiating confidence and joy.
"It's the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy."
Luo Qinghan stood in the center of the hall, slightly to the left, holding a wine glass. His gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Xiao Mu. He put down his glass, straightened his collar, and whispered something to his teammate beside him.
Bai Shan and Qin Mo exchanged a glance and simultaneously put down their half-eaten plates.
Lin Yuhan stood next to Changgong Yan, holding a glass of champagne she hadn't drunk much of. Her gaze lingered on Xiao Mu's suit for a moment, then shifted to Xu Xiaoyan Xiaoyan's arm linked with his. A slight smile played on her lips as she lowered her head and took a sip of her drink.
Changgong Yan glanced at her sideways, but said nothing. It was obvious that there was no possibility between the two of them.
Luo Qinghan walked through the crowd. Today he was wearing a dark blue suit, and the Star Luo Royal Academy badge on his collar was polished to a shine.
Luo Qinghan walked through the crowd, carrying two glasses of champagne. He handed one to Xiao Mu with a natural, almost rehearsed gesture. Xiao Mu took the glass, and the two clinked it together, the crisp sound of the glass being drowned out by the orchestra's strings.
"This dress looks better than the Battle Armor," Luo Qinghan said.
"You're questioning my aesthetic sense regarding Battle Armor. Sure enough, it should have been changed to yellow and purple." Xiao Mu's tone was direct.
"Actually, your Battle Armor looks pretty good," Luo Qinghan suddenly said, feeling that her aesthetic sense was quite good.
Xiao Mu took a sip of wine and remained silent. The two stood side by side at the edge of the banquet hall, facing the dance floor and with their backs to the wall.
"Once you arrive in the Star Luo Empire, you will meet people from the Monster Academy," Luo Qinghan suddenly said.
" Monster Academy?"
" Star Luo Royal Academy is considered one of his subordinate academies. Like Shrek Academy, they only accept monsters, not ordinary people." Luo Qinghan swirled his wine glass, the ice cubes making a soft clinking sound in the amber liquid. "There are eight people inside, known outside as the Eight Heavenly Kings. Each of them is at the level to compete in an exchange tournament on their own."
He glanced at Xiao Mu sideways. "The captain's name is Long Yue, Martial Soul is the Mountain Dragon King. His defense ranks first among the younger generation of the Star Luo Empire. The vice-captain Dai Yueyan, Martial Soul is the Evil Eye White Tiger. He takes a strong offensive approach. He has a younger sister Dai Yun'er, who is also among the Eight Heavenly Kings. Her martial Martial Soul is the Hell Spirit Cat."
"Very interesting." Xiao Mu's lips paused on the rim of the glass.
" The Star Luo Imperial Family's surname is Dai. Dai Yueyan and Dai Yun'er are direct descendants." Luo Qinghan spoke softly, but the meaning was clear—those two were not just students, but also princes and princesses.
Xiao Mu went through these names in his mind and nodded.
Luo Qinghan turned to face him, her tone more serious than before. "You won the exchange match against the Star Luo Royal Academy, and Monster Academy took it very seriously after the news was sent back."
"It's alright, ordinary physical methods can't hurt me." Xiao Mu was extremely confident about this.