Beef Clay-Pot Stew

Xie Xie's behavior, in particular, had been a little too obvious.

So Wu Zhangkong did not hold back and gave him a thorough beating.

By the time his face was swollen and bruised, Xie Xie was sprawled on the ground, looking utterly dead inside.

That evening's special training passed quickly.

After about half an hour, everyone had finished their battles.

Only after Wu Zhangkong went over the experience he had summarized and analyzed each person's weaknesses did he let them leave.

It was just seven in the evening. Although most of them had eaten dinner, none of them were quite full, especially Xie Xie, who had been punished terribly.

Watching everyone walk out together, Xie Xie swallowed and swept his gaze over them. "Anyone want to grab a late-night snack? I know a place that makes really good beef clay-pot stew."

"If anyone wants to go, we can go together."

Xie Xie wore a smile. Tang Wulin and Yun Xiao both readily raised their hands in agreement, clearly having been there before.

Meanwhile, Wang Jinxi, Wei Xiaofeng, and Zhang Yangzi simply waved their hands and declined.

All three came from well-off families, so they naturally had no interest in so-called beef clay-pot stew.

Gu Yue stood there without saying a word. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and her eyes seemed to carry a hint of helplessness.

Seeing everyone refuse him, Xie Xie gave an awkward laugh.

Just as he was about to leave with Yun Xiao and Tang Wulin, Chen Ye came over to them.

"I'll go with you too. You mean beef clay-pot stew, right? I've never tried it before. Take me with you."

There was a faint smile on Chen Ye's face. Xie Xie glanced at him. The conflict between the two classes had been intense before, especially after they had fought.

Although they had now become one class, the conflict between them had not been resolved. They were still full of hostility toward one another.

Xie Xie's invitation this time was clearly intended to ease that hostility.

But it had turned out that the others would not give him the time of day, so he truly had not expected Chen Ye to come over.

"Sure, Chen Ye. Come with us," Xie Xie said, smiling politely.

Wang Jinxi and the others fell silent when they saw this. They said nothing, merely turned around and left.

"Come on, Gu Yue. Join us." Chen Ye glanced at Wang Jinxi and the others before waving to Gu Yue.

The complexity in Gu Yue's eyes was impossible to hide. Chen Ye had not been following her, so he did not know what had happened.

But clearly, something had happened that she did not want, yet could do nothing about.

Gu Yue looked at Chen Ye, fell silent for a moment, then nodded gently.

"Sure, count me in. But... can you wait five minutes? I need to go back and change."

Gu Yue paused halfway through, directly replacing what she had originally wanted to say with something else.

The others did not notice.

Hearing Gu Yue's words, Xie Xie waved his hand.

"Then everyone go change. Don't wear school uniforms when we go out to eat."

No one objected to Xie Xie's suggestion, though Tang Wulin and Yun Xiao did not look too pleased.

Tang Wulin especially had kept his head lowered ever since Gu Yue said she wanted to come along.

Gu Yue had originally intended to join Class Five, but after sensing Chen Ye, she had gone straight to Class One instead.

That had dealt Tang Wulin a heavy blow.

So when he heard that Gu Yue was coming too, Tang Wulin said nothing.

Chen Ye glanced at Gu Yue, not understanding why she wanted to delay things by five minutes, but he likewise remained silent.

When he returned to the dormitory, he found his three idiot roommates sitting there.

Perhaps they had been frightened by what happened earlier, but this time they did not talk about him. They merely changed clothes in silence.

When Chen Ye returned, Wang Jinxi bared his teeth. He had not wanted to say anything, but this time he could not hold it in.

"Come on, Brother Chen. Agreeing to go with them is basically slapping us in the face."

Wang Jinxi's words came rather abruptly. Not just Chen Ye—even Zhang Yangzi and Wei Xiaofeng looked at him.

"What do you mean? We're all in the same class now. What's wrong with me going out for a meal?"

"You three think beef clay-pot stew is beneath you, but you can't restrict me, can you?"

Chen Ye smiled at Wang Jinxi, his face maintaining that gentle smile.

But they had lived together for over a month, so the three of them could naturally sense the change in Chen Ye's tone.

Sensing the cold hardness in Chen Ye's voice, Wang Jinxi lowered his head and clenched his fists, feeling that Chen Ye was slapping them in the face.

After all, they had not been in the same class before. They had even been rival classes.

And without Chen Ye in this competition, they would have lost.

As geniuses who had reached two rings while still in their teens, they felt strong resentment toward Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Yun Xiao.

So seeing that Chen Ye did not care at all made the three of them feel awful—or rather, deeply unsettled.

On one hand, they could not accept that supposedly gifted geniuses like themselves were actually inferior to those grassroots opponents.

On the other hand, they felt that Chen Ye had betrayed them.

But seeing the trace of coldness in Chen Ye's eyes, Wang Jinxi ultimately fell silent and did not dare say another word.

"Idiot," Chen Ye cursed calmly, his voice not particularly quiet.

Wang Jinxi clenched his fists, but did not dare retort.

Chen Ye changed directly into a long white outfit, then turned and left the dormitory.

If this had happened in another dormitory, Chen Ye would definitely have been ostracized.

But in their dormitory, where everything revolved around Chen Ye, the others could at most mutter a few complaints. They truly did not dare say much.

Chen Ye was the last to come out. By the time he emerged, everyone had arrived.

Xie Xie wore a cap that made him look somewhat like an artist, giving off the air of a young hipster. Tang Wulin and Yun Xiao, meanwhile, were dressed rather simply.

Gu Yue wore jeans and flat shoes. Her eyes were calm, though they also held helplessness.

Chen Ye's gaze lingered on Gu Yue for an instant. Then his figure quietly vanished, and another Chen Ye appeared, silently following behind the group.

The three ahead chatted and laughed. Of course, Xie Xie did most of the talking, Tang Wulin occasionally chimed in, while Yun Xiao kept secretly looking at Chen Ye.

As Yun Xiao looked at Chen Ye, his eyes held passion, fighting spirit, and something indescribable.

It gave Chen Ye goosebumps, but he could not exactly say anything.

After leaving the school gates, before they could continue forward, they saw a girl about their age standing there.

The girl stood with her hands on her hips, glaring toward the school entrance, her face filled with anger.

When the two groups ran into each other, everyone froze for a moment.

Xie Xie's face instantly turned red.

The little girl before them was dressed simply, but her long silver hair drifted gently in the air. Her beautiful eyes were full of childish innocence, and her little face was as exquisite as a porcelain doll.

Looking at this incomparably delicate little girl, Xie Xie opened his mouth. But before he could speak, Tang Wulin's voice came from beside him.

"Na'er! You... why are you here?"