"Cheapskate?"
"Where's the cheapskate?"
Dugu Yan looked left and right but didn't spot anyone. Puzzled, she turned around.
She hadn't noticed that Ye Lingling's cheeks had instantly turned bright red. Flustered and embarrassed, she protested in a crisp voice, "I'm not a cheapskate!"
Her wrist moved slightly, and a faint glow flashed from her Soul Tool. She pulled out a gleaming white Gold Soul Card and slapped it into Poseinan's palm as if in a huff.
"There are a thousand Gold Soul Coins on this. Don't call me a cheapskate again!"
As she spoke, her exquisite, lively eyes widened until they were round as saucers. They glistened with moisture, as if the moment Poseinan refused, she'd burst into tears.
Poseinan lowered his head and glanced at the White Soul Card in his hand. The denomination was clearly engraved on its face: exactly one thousand Gold Soul Coins.
He let out an exaggerated gasp. "Wow! So you're a little rich girl hiding your wealth!"
"Hmph..."
At his words, Ye Lingling gave a soft snort through her nose. Her tense little face relaxed a little, and she instinctively lifted her chin with an air of haughty pride.
Seeing this, Poseinan deliberately pursed his lips and spoke in feigned annoyance. "Hey! Just because you're pretty doesn't mean you can look down your nose at people!"
The corners of Ye Lingling's mouth curved into a faint smile. Instead of restraining herself, she lifted her chin even higher, as if it were only right.
Poseinan raised an eyebrow, deliberately teasing her. "Hmph, so you're as beautiful as a fairy, naturally gorgeous. What of it? If you're so capable, give me a little more! This much is barely enough to toss to a beggar!"
That completely roused Ye Lingling's competitive spirit.
She spun around and glared at him, cheeks puffed in anger and flushed a rosy pink. "Fine, I'll give you more! This young lady isn't short on money!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she quickly took another card from her Soul Tool—a Platinum Soul Card—and shoved it straight into Poseinan's hand.
Poseinan clutched the card and remained relentless, whining as if he'd been wronged. "Hey, don't think you can humiliate me just because you're pretty and rich! If you've got the nerve, treat me to a meal too!"
"Hmph, fine! Who's afraid of who?"
Ye Lingling held her head high, refusing to back down in the slightest.
"Don't think that..."
And so, the two went back and forth.
Poseinan kept coming up with new ways to tease her, while Ye Lingling repeatedly pulled out Gold Soul Cards in a huff. The cycle went on several times.
By the time Poseinan looked down at the thick stack of more than a dozen Platinum Soul Cards in his hand, he could no longer hold back his smile. The corners of his mouth kept rising until there was no hiding it.
At that moment, the corners of his mouth were harder to suppress than an AK.
Sure enough, living off a rich girl was a man's greatest motivation to forge ahead.
From now on, Poseinan could brag that he'd gotten a woman to spend ten grand on him with just a few words!
Then he immediately composed himself, made up an excuse, and said briskly, "Little rich girl, no need to get me a meal. My mom's calling me home for dinner. I'm off! Yan Yan, let's go!"
Before Ye Lingling could react, Poseinan grabbed Dugu Yan, who'd been watching the show nearby, and turned to stride away, leaving no room for argument.
Ye Lingling was left all alone.
She stood there, staring blankly for several seconds. She rubbed her head without thinking, still unable to make sense of what had just happened.
A good while later, she habitually reached for the Soul Tool on her wrist. When her fingertips touched the empty storage space—
Only then did she snap back to her senses, her expression changing in an instant.
"Oh no! My money!"
Ye Lingling belatedly stamped her foot, clenched a fist, and shook it at the air as she grumbled furiously, "You wicked little thief! Next time I see you, I'll teach you a proper lesson!"
But even as she complained in anger,
the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile without her realizing it. There wasn't the slightest trace of real anger in her eyes and brows—instead, they were full of unconcealed delight.
On the way back, Dugu Yan blinked curiously. "Brother Nan, do you know Lingling?"
Poseinan replied casually, "We've only met once before, in the Star Dou Forest."
Dugu Yan covered her mouth, as if she'd discovered some earth-shattering secret. "Oh... Brother Nan, so you're the bad guy Lingling was talking about!"
Poseinan reached over and tapped her on the head. "What bad guy? Is that any way to talk?"
"Ow... that hurts!"
Dugu Yan covered her forehead, her eyes brimming with tears from the pain.
Poseinan rolled his eyes at her and said crossly, "All right, quit acting. I barely even touched you."
Who would've thought the little girl was such a drama queen?
That split-second tearful performance could've gone straight into the Beijing Film Academy's textbooks.
If she'd been in his previous life, she'd easily have been an award-winning actress.
Dugu Yan smiled sheepishly when she saw that he'd caught her, then tugged on Poseinan's clothes and pouted. "Brother Nan, tell me how you and Lingling met, okay?"
She was a little unhappy that she hadn't been the first to meet Poseinan!
"Come on, let's talk while we walk. I'll take you to get something to eat."
Poseinan was now flush with cash, so he waved his hand generously.
They had to go to the best place for food: the Seven Treasures Restaurant.
As they walked, Poseinan told her the whole story of how he'd met Ye Lingling and scared her into tears.
After listening, Dugu Yan secretly rejoiced to herself.
"Hehe, I knew it! I was the first to become friends with Brother Nan!"
When she sneaked a glance at Poseinan, she felt a little shy.
She didn't know why.
The moment she'd learned that Ye Lingling knew Poseinan, she'd suddenly cared a lot about her and worried that Ye Lingling might steal Poseinan away.
Perhaps even Poseinan himself didn't realize it.
That General Yu Flying Kick just now had shaken the little girl's heart to its core.
The Seven Treasures Restaurant.
The two sat down by a window and ordered a whole table of food. Poseinan had done most of the ordering, of course. He was growing, after all, and had a big appetite.
Two children ordering a whole table of food naturally drew plenty of attention.
In a private room on the second floor, two figures watched Poseinan and Dugu Yan quietly through the window.
The refined-looking man smiled and asked the old man beside him, "Uncle Sword, what do you think of those two little ones?"
The old man beside him, whose figure was as straight as a sword, gave his honest assessment. "That little girl with purple hair is from the Dugu Family, right?"
"That's right." The refined-looking man nodded.
"The little girl's talent is average, but the little fellow beside her, with blue hair..."
"Hm?"
The old man suddenly gave a startled exclamation.
"Uncle Sword, what's wrong?" the refined-looking man asked in surprise.
The old man's gaze was sharp as a sword as he stared straight at Poseinan, studying him carefully.
"Strange! Very strange!"
"I can't see through his cultivation at all!"
The old man shook his head with a baffled expression, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"What? Uncle Sword, you can't see through him?"
The man before him was none other than Sword Douluo Chen Xin!
The warm smile on Ning Fengzhi's face instantly froze. He instinctively lowered his voice.
"Uncle Sword, you're a Titled Douluo at rank ninety-five. Across the entire continent, there are only a handful whose cultivation you can't see through..."
"Could it be some kind of concealment Soul Skill?"
Chen Xin's gaze remained fixed on the blue-haired boy by the window downstairs. His brows furrowed slightly, and his fingers rubbed together unconsciously.
"No. It's definitely not as simple as the concealment Soul Skills Soul Masters commonly use."