Notting City, private residence.
After several days away, the mansion once bought to "keep a rabbit in a golden house" still stood in the city's most prosperous district.
A luxurious carriage bearing the emblem of the Heaven Dou Empire (which Su Yun had forged himself, but no one would dare investigate anyway) slowly came to a stop at the gate.
Su Yun had just jumped down from the carriage and hadn't even had time to tidy his windblown hair when a pink whirlwind burst out of the courtyard.
"Brother Su Yun!!!"
Accompanied by a crisp, lively cheer, Su Yun felt a weight slam into his chest. The next moment, a pair of slender arms clamped tightly around his neck.
The impact sent him stumbling back two steps.
Looking down, he saw a tiny, doll-like girl with rabbit ears clinging to him like a koala, her long legs swinging happily in the air.
It was Xiao Wu.
"Ow, my little darling, take it easy. You're going to break my back."
Su Yun complained, but his hands honestly supported Xiao Wu beneath her knees. He took the opportunity to ruffle her signature scorpion braid.
"What? Missed me?"
"I did! I missed you so much!"
Xiao Wu buried her face against the crook of Su Yun's neck and nuzzled him. Her voice was soft and sweet, yet laced with grievance:
"You were gone for days, and there was no one to take me out for good food or do my hair for me..."
"Most importantly, that annoying guy called Tang San is such a pain!"
At Tang San's name, Su Yun raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling into an amused smile.
"Oh? That kid still hasn't given up?"
"He hasn't given up? That's putting it mildly!"
Xiao Wu let go and hopped down from Su Yun, planting her hands on her hips as she fumed:
"He's like a fly! He hangs around the academy gates every day, and the moment he sees me, he comes buzzing over."
"One minute he's saying, 'I'm your older brother, it's my responsibility to protect you,' and the next he's saying, 'Xiao Wu, I made this porridge for you. It's good for your stomach.'"
"Pah!"
Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue in disgust:
"Who wants to drink his plain rice porridge? It's so bland it could make a bird disappear! I want meat stewed with carrots! I want spicy rabbit heads... Ahem, spicy duck heads!"
Watching Xiao Wu's indignant expression, Su Yun couldn't help laughing.
Tang San, oh, Tang San.
You thought you were a gentle, caring guy?
In that girl's eyes, you were just a simp who only knew how to bring her plain porridge.
And a broke simp who couldn't even afford to add meat.
"All right, all right, don't be mad."
Su Yun reached out and pinched Xiao Wu's puffed-up cheek. It felt wonderful:
"Your big brother's back now, isn't he?"
"I came back this time to take you with me."
"We'll go somewhere else—a more fun place, with even better food and no flies."
"Really?!"
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up in an instant, her rabbit ears standing straight up:
"Where? Where are we going?"
"Suotuo City."
Su Yun gave her a mysterious smile, then pulled the familiar little black notebook from his clothes.
"But before we go, I need to settle an account."
Xiao Wu leaned over curiously:
"Brother Su Yun, are you writing in that diary again? Who writes diaries, anyway?"
Although she was long used to it, she still couldn't resist teasing him.
Su Yun glanced at her:
"What do you know? It's called making a ritual of everyday life. Go on, go pack your things. Bring all those carrots of yours."
After sending Xiao Wu away, Su Yun found a comfortable spot to lean against the carriage and began writing briskly.
[X year, X month, X day, Notting City, sunny.]
[I've returned to Notting City and picked up my adorable Rogue Rabbit.]
[I have to say, a short separation makes reunion sweeter (crossed out). This little rabbit is getting clingier by the day. She greeted me with a face full of kisses the moment we met. Who could resist that?]
[I heard from Xiao Wu that while I was away, that kid Tang San tried to steal her away again?]
[Heh, plain porridge? Playing the devoted sweetheart?]
[Tang San, oh, Tang San, do you not know that girls these days aren't falling for that anymore? Love without material security is like a plate of loose sand. It doesn't even need the wind to blow; take two steps and it falls apart.]
[Besides, you're dealing with a rabbit whose tastes I've spoiled.]
[With my little rabbit picked up, our next stop is Suotuo City.]
[If my calculations are right, that great swindler Yu Xiaogang should have been thoroughly blacklisted by Spirit Hall by now, with nowhere left to go, and taken Tang San to seek refuge with his old buddy Flender, right?]
[Shrek Academy? Monster Academy?]
[In the original story, that was where Tang San took off and made his name.]
[But in my version...]
[This time, I'm turning Shrek Academy into my own back garden!]
[Whether it's Zhu Zhuqing, the Hell Spirit Cat, or the little demoness Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, or even Shrek Academy's original opportunities...]
[I want it all!]
[Tang San, you can just wait in Suotuo City and keep playing the nobody. Oh, no—maybe you won't even qualify as a nobody. You'll just be a backdrop, watching me and the girls chat and laugh.]
[Just thinking about it gets me a little excited.]
After writing the final stroke, Su Yun closed the diary, feeling great.
At the same time.
Far away in Heaven Dou City, Qian Renxue looked at the words appearing in the Diary Copy in her hand, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.
"Face full of kisses? What does that mean?"
Although she didn't understand the phrase, she could guess from the context that it definitely wasn't anything proper.
"This lecher goes to such lengths for a rabbit..."
"But Shrek Academy..."
A glint flashed in Qian Renxue's eyes.
"If flowers are going to be grown in the back garden, shouldn't I, the 'official wife' (though that title was self-appointed by that bastard), go take a look?"
At the gate of the private residence in Notting City.
Xiao Wu had a small bundle slung over her back (though her things were actually packed in the Soul Tool Su Yun had given her) and happily hopped into the carriage.
"Brother Su Yun, let's go!"
"I want to try Suotuo City's rose pastries!"
"Sure. I'll buy you some."
Su Yun answered indulgently, then turned to look toward the academy, amusement in his eyes.
"Let's go."
"Time to prepare a little welcome gift for our Young Master Tang."
The coachman raised his whip.
"Hyah—"
The luxurious carriage kicked up a cloud of dust as it sped south toward Suotuo City, carrying a man and a woman.
Not far behind them.
At the gates of Notting Academy.
A boy with a shabby pack on his back and a haggard look stood staring blankly at the carriage as it disappeared into the distance.
It was Su Yun's carriage.
He recognized it.
And just now, he'd seen a familiar flash of pink beside the carriage window.
"Xiao Wu..."
Tang San clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.
"You went with him too?"
"Why... why did all of you choose him instead of me?"
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!"
"Su Yun! Once I get to Suotuo City, I'll prove that I, Tang San, am the true genius! I'll take back every last bit of the dignity I've lost!"
Achoo!
Inside the carriage, Su Yun sneezed.
"Who's cursing me?"
Xiao Wu, munching on a carrot, mumbled indistinctly:
"It's definitely that unlucky Tang San."
Su Yun rubbed his nose and smiled.
"Let him curse. While he can still open his mouth, he might as well get a few more in."
"Once we reach Suotuo City, I'll let you find out what a good thrashing from society feels like!"
Before you continue