[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon/First Cute Bunny: Uploaded a video file <Rose Hotel · Recording of a Spoiled Brat Forcing His Way into a Room.avi>]
[First Cute Bunny: @No Petting Cats, you missed quite a show while you were out!]
Zhu Zhuqing's reply was as concise as ever.
[No Petting Cats: I saw it.]
The moment the video appeared, the group chat erupted with activity.
[I Am Not Swallow: That guy's so obnoxious. He's not bad-looking, though—just way too greasy. Affection: −50. Back to zero!]
[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon: @I Am Not Swallow, you nailed it, sis! Greasy and full of himself. Absolutely unbelievable!]
[First Cute Bunny: He's just a useless bully who relies on his family's power.]
[Begonia Blossoms: Yanyan~, look at the way that man's staring. It's so gross.]
[I Am Not Yanzi: Lingling~, totally. He's like a peacock in heat, practically sticking his tail up to the sky.]
The two were roommates as well as best friends, and they had long since learned each other's identities in the group chat.
The group was in the middle of a heated discussion when a message from Pope Bibi Dong made everyone fall silent in an instant.
[Most Beautiful Pope: White Tiger Martial Soul. This person is a prince of the Dai Family, part of the Star Luo Imperial Family.]
In the hotel lobby, Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu exchanged shocked glances.
The Star Luo Imperial Family?!
The group chat erupted, too.
[I Am Not Yanzi: Holy crap! Are all members of the Star Luo Imperial Family like that?]
[Heavenly King Covers Earth Fox: ... (trembling, too scared to speak; my teacher's right beside me)]
[No Petting Cats: Yes.]
Zhu Zhuqing's two words confirmed Bibi Dong's assessment, and the discussion in the group immediately veered off course.
[First Cute Bunny: Scumbag! He's definitely a scumbag!]
[6G Sky Wing: The Star Luo Imperial Family? Hmph. As far as I know, they're nothing but monkeys dressed in crowns. Bloodlines don't make anyone noble; they only breed arrogance and stupidity.]
Qian Renxue's cutting summary brought the discussion to a close.
As the chatter died down, Zhu Zhuqing finally emerged from the shadows and entered the hotel lobby.
Three girls from different places, with vastly different personalities, had now come together in person for the first time.
The atmosphere was a little delicate.
Xiao Wu eventually went over to Tang San and supported him.
It wasn't because she still cared about their old friendship. She had remembered the group owner's warning and didn't want to make her feelings too obvious, lest she put herself in danger.
"Brother, are you all right?"
Tang San shook his head. His injuries weren't serious, but his mood was a little low.
"Xiao Wu, I'll go upstairs and drop off my luggage first. You can chat with your new friends."
Tang San saw Xiao Wu standing with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. Both girls were Soul Masters around Xiao Wu's age, and he seemed to recall hearing that they were also going to Shrek Academy, so he relaxed a little.
After Tang San went upstairs alone, the three girls found a quiet corner and sat down.
"Just now... thank you," Zhu Zhuqing said first. Her voice was cool, but sincere.
"What are you thanking us for?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled.
Zhu Zhuqing fell silent for a moment, then decided to come clean.
She briefly explained her engagement to Dai Mubai and how she had fled all the way from the Star Luo Empire to escape her family's pursuit.
"So when I saw him acting like that outside just now, I didn't want to come in."
Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu were both stunned when they heard her story.
They hadn't expected this cool-looking girl to have such a tragic fate.
At that moment, their disgust for Dai Mubai reached its peak.
A common enemy was the fastest catalyst for friendship.
"That's awful! How could he do that? How is he any different from Yu Xiaogang, the one the group owner told us about?" Ning Rongrong said, her face flushed with anger.
"Zhuqing, don't worry. You're one of us now. We'll protect you!" Xiao Wu promised, thumping her chest.
As Zhu Zhuqing looked at her two new friends standing up for her, a trace of warmth flowed through her frozen heart.
Once they had grown closer, Xiao Wu hesitated for a long while before deciding to reveal her secret.
She lowered her voice and leaned in close to the other two.
"Actually... I'm not human."
??
"I'm a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form."
!!
"And two days ago, the group owner messaged me privately. Tang San's father, Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao, has been hiding in the shadows all this time. He knows what I am, and he's planning to... keep me penned up until I mature, then turn me into a Soul Ring for Tang San."
!!!
The secret was almost more shocking than Zhu Zhuqing's story.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's mouths gaped wide enough to fit an egg, their eyes filled with disbelief.
They were shocked by Xiao Wu's true identity and dangerous predicament, but even more astonished by the mysterious group owner, "Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero."
He could even know a secret like that?
No wonder he'd exposed Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong's past!
In that moment, based on their shared hatred of scumbags, their shared circumstances as women in this world, their common awareness of the group owner's extraordinary abilities, and their future status as fellow students, an alliance quickly formed between the three girls.
They agreed to help one another at Shrek Academy and share all the information they had.
At the same time, they eagerly awaited the arrival of "Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero," who seemed to know almost everything.
Perhaps he was the key to changing each of their fates.
Meanwhile, at Aedes Elysiae.
Ye Qiong was looking at the total Emotion Point count on his Soul Tool's screen.
[Total Emotion Points: 14514]
He furrowed his brow and fanned the air in front of his nose in disgust.
"Ugh, what a stinky number. No, I'd better use it quickly."
Just as he was about to open the shop and exchange for a few Soul Rings to stack their ages, a private message request popped up.
[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon: @Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero, esteemed group owner, are you there? Are you there?]
It was Ning Rongrong.
Ye Qiong wondered why the girl was looking for him.
He casually opened the group chat history and quickly skimmed through it. Then he understood.
"Oh, so we've reached this part of the story."
He decided to answer Ning Rongrong's question, but he wasn't going to do it for free.
He'd forgotten to charge Bibi Dong, Liu Erlong, and Xiao Wu when he'd messaged them privately before. What a huge loss.
This time, he'd have to make up for it—and then some.
[Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: I'm here. What is it?]
[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon: Group owner, you're so amazing. Can you tell my fortune and see what my future holds? I ran away from home because I want to escape the constraints of my sect and make my own way in the world! Can you tell me if I'll succeed?]
[Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: I can tell fortunes, but there are conditions.]
[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon: What conditions? Money? I have plenty! Just tell me how much!]
Ning Rongrong replied with great swagger.
Seeing that, Ye Qiong broke into a conniving merchant's grin.
[Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: Three thousand Gold Soul Coins.]
[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon: ...Why don't you just rob me?!]
Ning Rongrong was dumbfounded. Three thousand Gold Soul Coins would be enough to buy a decent Soul Tool.
[Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: This isn't ordinary fortune-telling. Peering into the secrets of heaven means bearing a huge karmic burden, and the price is steep. Three thousand Gold Soul Coins, final offer. Take it or leave it.]
Ning Rongrong agonized over it for quite some time on the other end of the screen.
She was just too curious.
"Judging by what he's done before, this should be worth the money, right?"
[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon: ...Fine! Deal! I'll send you a red packet right away!]
Soon, Ye Qiong received a red packet containing three thousand Gold Soul Coins.
[Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero: OK! Payment received. Boss, please allow your humble servant to cast a fortune for you~]
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