Dugu Yan

"Xiao Wu!" Tang San had been watching her closely, and the moment he saw the fury on her face, he knew she was about to pick a fight again.

He hurriedly grabbed her wrist and lowered his voice to persuade her. "Don't forget, Dean Flender told us not to cause trouble here."

"Brother! Let go of me!" Xiao Wu struggled, growling indignantly. "Dean Flender also said before that people who blindly obey rules can never become strong!"

"Stop causing trouble." At some point, Qian Ren Shuang had already walked over to the two of them. He raised a hand and gave Xiao Wu a light knock on the head. "Your brother might not hit you, but that doesn't mean I won't."

"Wah..." Xiao Wu covered the spot where she had been hit, blinking her big eyes as she looked pitifully at Tang San. Her voice was as aggrieved as a kitten's meow. "Brother... it hurts... rub it for me..."

Seeing Xiao Wu's tearful expression, Tang San's heart twisted painfully. His hands rose of their own accord and gently rubbed the spot on the top of her head.

His fingertips kneaded softly through Xiao Wu's hair, but he did not dare say a word—Tang Hao's instructions to build a good relationship with Qian Ren Shuang still rang in his ears, and he did not dare fall out with him.

He dared hit Xiao Wu... I'll remember this grudge. Tang San could only silently add another mark against Qian Ren Shuang.

Before long, the group was seated by a window under the waiter's arrangements and began their meal.

Ning Rongrong still ordered like a rich tycoon without even looking at the menu—she waved her little hand. "Bring one of everything."

Once the dishes arrived, everyone took a bite. As expected of Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire—the food was far beyond anything a small place like Suotuo City could compare to.

Whether it was the heat, seasoning, or freshness of the ingredients, everything had risen to another level. Guilmon buried his head in his food, eating furiously, nearly plunging his whole head into the plate.

It was worth mentioning that some nobles in Heaven Dou City liked to keep living spirit beasts by their side as pets. Thus, when Guilmon entered the restaurant, the others merely mistook him for a spirit beast raised by some noble, and no commotion broke out. This misunderstanding even shortened the originally long wait for the food—the waiters were afraid of neglecting a "noble's pet," so the dishes came out nearly twice as fast as usual.

Halfway through the meal, the seven members of the Heaven Dou Royal Second Team—the Heaven Dou Royal First Team in the original text—walked out of a private room.

They seemed to have just finished a small gathering. Yu Tianheng walked at the front, with Dugu Yan nestled against his side. The other five team members followed behind them, chatting and laughing as they headed toward the entrance.

Ma Hongjun's gaze seemed drawn by a magnet, locking tightly onto Dugu Yan. His eyes slid down the curve of her back and stopped at the slender waist outlined in exquisite detail by her tight leather skirt.

"Wow." Ma Hongjun slurped at the corner of his mouth. His voice was neither loud nor soft, but it was clear enough in the quiet restaurant hall. "That waist is really something. In bed, she could probably pull off plenty of difficult positions."

Like her grandfather Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan was someone who loved and hated boldly. Hearing Ma Hongjun's nakedly insulting words, her expression instantly turned cold. She turned on her heel and walked straight toward Shrek's table.

"Fatty, keep your voice down." Oscar lowered his voice and pointed at the approaching Dugu Yan. "Groups of seven are most likely spirit master teams. Look, they're coming over now." He had the desire but not the courage, so he only dared offer a quiet warning.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Dai Mubai shrugged arrogantly. "We're a spirit master team too. If it really comes to a fight, we might not necessarily lose."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" With Dai Mubai backing him up, Ma Hongjun became even more arrogant. "Besides, Boss Dai said it before—'Women are just resources, not people.' I only took a couple of looks at their resources. If they come over to fight us over that, then they're way too petty."

The moment he said that, Zhu Zhuqing's expression visibly darkened.

"Hey!" Seeing that the image he had painstakingly built in front of Zhu Zhuqing recently was about to be completely ruined by Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai hurriedly covered Ma Hongjun's mouth. "Fatty, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want!"

"No wonder you can't win Zhuqing over." Ning Rongrong shot Dai Mubai a disdainful glance. "Stinky loser."

Xiao Wu promptly offered her own classic remark. "Of course. Only my brother is the pure and immaculate Young Master Tang San."

Dai Mubai could no longer save face. Rage rose in his heart, and malice followed close behind. He slammed his palm on the table and stood up. "Others may fear your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but I, Dai Mubai, don't! If you anger me, be careful or I'll fry you first, then kill you, then—"

Before he could finish, the pair of chopsticks in Qian Ren Shuang's hand had already been shoved precisely into his mouth. The movement was so fast that no one could see it clearly. Dai Mubai only felt a powerful force strike into his mouth as the two chopsticks pressed straight against his throat.

"Mm—urk—" Dai Mubai was jabbed hard enough that tears sprang into his eyes. He covered his mouth with both hands, bent over, and dry-heaved repeatedly, unable to spare any attention for arguing back.

Qian Ren Shuang slowly withdrew his hand, his tone calm and indifferent. "My first identity is bodyguard. My second identity is your leader. Get the order straight."

As he said this, he glanced at Ning Rongrong from the corner of his eye, confirming her intentions with his gaze. Had Qian Renxue been sitting there, Qian Ren Shuang's impulse would have overwhelmed his reason, and he would have ignored the other party's wishes and killed Dai Mubai outright. But the one here was Ning Rongrong—after all, they were not family yet. If he really killed Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong later said, "We were only classmates arguing. Why did you kill someone?" then he would be in the wrong from every angle.

So Qian Ren Shuang still showed restraint. He had merely used chopsticks to jab Dai Mubai's mouth shut.

"Waiter," he called out to the server, "bring me another pair of chopsticks!"

"A stinky loser is still a stinky loser. You can't even read the situation," Ning Rongrong continued to mock him gleefully after seeing her backer settle the matter. "No wonder everyone hates you."

Dai Mubai was still bent over dry-heaving, his thoughts churning wildly. I'm the third prince of the Star Luo Empire. Usually, I'm the one getting oral from others, yet today I got oral from a pair of chopsticks. This is the greatest humiliation of my life!

This scene made Dugu Yan, who had already approached them, pause in surprise.

She had come over aggressively to demand an explanation, only to be left somewhat bewildered by the sight of "a teammate shoving chopsticks into another teammate's mouth."

A thought even flashed through her mind: What kind of uncoordinated amateur troupe was this? Their infighting was fiercer than their hostility toward enemies.

But surprised or not, Dugu Yan had not forgotten why she was here.