Looking at Dai Mubai Like He Was a Damp, Slimy Bug

Flender said she was sitting around and eating through her fortune.

But she was clearly rising higher.

Ning Rongrong folded her arms, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

"Hey."

Oscar cautiously edged closer. His peach-blossom eyes were full of hesitation, as if he wanted to speak but could not bring himself to. He rubbed his hands together and spent a long while choosing his words before finally forcing out a sentence.

"Rongrong, are you okay? Don't take what the Dean said to heart. That's just his temper. He treats the rest of us the same way—his mouth is merciless, but he really means well for everyone."

He secretly studied Ning Rongrong's expression, fully prepared to launch into a whole routine of comforting her.

Then he realized none of it was needed.

Ning Rongrong glanced back at him. There was no grievance on her face, no sulking, not even displeasure. She was simply calm, with a trace of perfectly natural composure.

"Upset?" She tilted her head. "Why would I be upset?"

Oscar froze.

"Everything I said earlier was the truth." Ning Rongrong spoke as casually as if she were discussing dinner. "I really am stronger than most of them, so what is there to be upset about? Dean Flender thinks I'm no good because there's something wrong with his judgment, not because there's something wrong with me."

Oscar opened his mouth.

He did not agree with her. Flender had raised him since childhood and carried immense weight in his heart. But when the twelve-year-old girl before him looked at him with those unwaveringly certain eyes, the rebuttal lodged in his throat simply would not come out.

That confidence was not an act.

Nor was it stubborn bravado.

It was an innate certainty that had grown from her very bones.

Oscar scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh. "I see."

The moment the words left his mouth, even he felt pathetic. But what else could he do? On one side was the Dean he had respected since childhood; on the other was the girl who had stolen his heart at first sight. Caught between them, all he could do was stand there uselessly.

"So, are you still planning to stay at the Academy?" Oscar's voice carried a trace of nervousness. "Or are you going to find that teacher of yours?"

Ning Rongrong raised a brow.

To be honest, when Flender had told her to leave if she could not figure it out, the thought had indeed crossed her mind. Fine, she would leave. She could return to Suotuo City, find that swindler teacher, and make him teach her the rest of her soul skills. She could still grow stronger.

But that thought lasted only a second.

She thought of the contempt in Dai Mubai's evil eyes when he looked at her. She thought of Flender's expression that said, "You're not worthy." She thought of Tang San's outwardly gentle yet inwardly utterly arrogant manner.

What gave these people the right to look down on her?

When had Ning Rongrong ever slunk away in defeat?

Besides, she had told her father, Sword Grandpa, Bone Grandpa, and that swindler teacher that she was enrolling at Shrek Academy. And now she was supposed to tuck her tail between her legs and go back? She could not afford to lose that much face.

There were also Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing. Two geniuses, two potential resources. She had spent an entire day cultivating those connections; she could not let it go to waste. What if that swindler teacher needed new disciples someday? With this bond in place, things would be much easier.

No matter how she calculated it, she would not lose out.

"Leave?" Ning Rongrong lifted her chin, her eyes carrying a hint of mockery. "Why would I leave? This place is so entertaining, and I've only been here for one day."

Oscar's eyes lit up.

"As for that sleazy Dean," Ning Rongrong continued, the curve of her lips turning beautiful, "I'll prove it to him with my actions. I'll make him understand that every word he said today was complete bullshit."

Oscar's expression stiffened.

That was the Dean he had revered since childhood.

And a twelve-year-old girl had just called him full of bullshit right in front of Oscar.

He wanted to argue. He really did. But Ning Rongrong's exquisite face looked far too beautiful beneath the moonlight, and the unrestrained, unapologetic arrogance in her voice made his heart race even faster than the gentle, dignified mask she had worn during the day.

Oscar stood there frozen, his face flushed bright red. His lips moved three times, but not a single word came out.

Ning Rongrong glanced at him.

She was far too familiar with that kind of gaze. Back in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, eight out of every ten boys her age looked at her like that. The other two did not dare look at her at all.

"Enough." She waved a hand, sounding as casual as if she were shooing away a clingy pest. "I'm going to practice the Wind Empress Qimen my teacher passed down to me. Go wherever you want, but don't follow me."

With that, her white skirt swayed as she walked away with light steps, never once looking back.

Her figure cast a slender shadow in the moonlight and quickly vanished at the end of the Academy's tree-lined path.

Oscar stood where he was.

His right foot lifted slightly, wanting to chase after her. One arm rose as well, wanting to call out to her.

In the end, both fell back down.

That retreating figure was too decisive. So decisive that he understood Ning Rongrong did not need him at all in that moment.

Oscar sighed, squatted on a rock beside the training field, and stared blankly at the moon alone.

Who knew how much time passed.

Scattered footsteps and low voices came from the distance. Flender's group had finished training, though Flender himself was not among them.

The moonlight was at its brightest.

Tang San walked at the front, his light-blue training clothes stained with plenty of dirt and grass clippings. Xiao Wu followed half a step behind him, her scorpion braid swinging back and forth, her face flushed from the exercise.

Dai Mubai came third, his golden hair loose around his shoulders, the chill in his evil eyes even heavier than it had been during the day. Zhu Zhuqing walked silently at the very back like a shadow. As she passed the area where Ning Rongrong and Oscar had been, her gaze swept around it without drawing notice.

Oscar was still sitting on the rock. When he saw them return, he stood up.

"Oscar." Tang San nodded to him, his tone gentle. "Why are you still here? It's late. Aren't you going back to the dorm?"

Oscar rubbed his face and barely forced out a smile. "I was waiting for you all."

Xiao Wu's gaze swept around the surroundings. When she did not see that familiar white-clad figure, she bit her lip.

Earlier that day, Ning Rongrong had brought three large bags of food to find her and Zhu Zhuqing. Xiao Wu could still remember the taste of the honey walnut pastries and osmanthus cakes. To be honest, when Flender had scolded Ning Rongrong on the training field, Xiao Wu had actually wanted to say a few things.

If Ning Rongrong's Wind Empress Qimen could truly do everything she claimed, then running drills really were pointless. As a hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit that had taken human form, Xiao Wu understood one principle better than anyone.

Whether Soul Beast or Soul Master, specializing in one field was the strongest path to growth. Ning Rongrong had the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's supreme support abilities, along with the Wind Empress Qimen's offensive and survival methods. It would be enough to train those two things to perfection.

But she had not spoken up for Ning Rongrong. Neither Third Brother Tang San nor the Dean had taken Ning Rongrong's side, so Xiao Wu had found it difficult to open her mouth.

Now that she did not see Ning Rongrong anywhere, Xiao Wu's heart skipped a beat.

She didn't really leave, did she?

Then who would bring her tasty food from now on?

The thought was admittedly a little shameless, but it was indeed the loudest voice in her mind at that moment.

"Where's Rongrong?" Xiao Wu grabbed Oscar's sleeve, obvious anxiety in her voice. "Did she go back to the dorm to rest first?"

Oscar opened his mouth.

He had not yet had time to answer.

"She left."

Dai Mubai's voice cut in from the side. Cold, hard, disdainful, and filled with contempt.

He folded his arms across his chest, his evil eyes half-lidded, a mocking curve hanging from his lips.

"A spoiled little miss couldn't take a few words from the Dean, so she ran back to her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect with her tail between her legs to call for reinforcements."

He tilted his head slightly. Golden hair slipped down from his shoulder, exposing the hard lines of his profile.

"Good riddance. Someone like her would only be a nuisance if she stayed at the Academy. Throwing around money and family backing all day, with no real strength whatsoever—she's only good with that mouth of hers. In a real fight, she wouldn't even last a single exchange."

A cold gleam flickered in his evil eyes.

"Otherwise, I really can't guarantee I'd restrain myself from teaching her a lesson."

The instant his words fell—

"Oh?"

A crisp female voice drifted out from the darkness behind Oscar.

Everyone turned toward the sound at once.

Under the moonlight, a graceful figure stepped out from the shadows of the tree-lined path. Her white dress was clean and neat, her ear-length short hair stirring lightly in the night breeze, and her almond-shaped eyes shone with startling brightness beneath the moon.

Ning Rongrong folded her arms and tilted her head at Dai Mubai. The curve of her lips was neither too large nor too small—just enough to drive someone mad.

"You've got some nerve calling me spoiled." Her voice was not loud, but every word landed with perfect precision. "Aren't you a spoiled young master yourself? You wear that rotten expression every day like the entire world owes you money. What gives you the right to talk about me?"

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and the breath she had been holding finally eased.

"Rongrong! You didn't leave!"

Beneath Tang San's calm expression, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. He had thought Ning Rongrong would not appear again tonight.

Zhu Zhuqing stood at the back, her cold gaze resting on Ning Rongrong for two seconds. No one knew what she was thinking.

Dai Mubai's face darkened instantly.

The chill in his evil eyes grew so thick it seemed almost tangible. His expression was like someone had force-fed him something indescribable—fishy, foul, and impossible to spit out.

"You didn't leave?"

His voice lowered, filled with gritted-teeth fury.

"You figured it out? You're staying at the Academy?" He gave a cold snort, his golden hair swaying faintly in the night wind. "Fine, stay if you want. But watch your mouth around me. I'm not Oscar, and I'm not some good-tempered person like Tang San. Talk to me like that again, and don't blame me for getting rough."

A fierce light surged in his evil eyes.

"I, Dai Mubai, won't go easy on women."

Ning Rongrong giggled, showing no awareness whatsoever of having been threatened.

"Of course I'm staying. How could I leave such an entertaining place just like that?"

She tilted her head at Dai Mubai's gloomy face and deliberately stretched her smile even wider.

"What kind of expression is that? Are you a zombie? Did Zhu Qing shut you down, so you came here to vent your anger on me?"

She covered her mouth and laughed.

"Haha, and Oscar said you were some master-level romantic. You can't even win over a little girl."

She turned slightly, shooting Dai Mubai a provocative glance.

"You said you'd get rough with me? Come on, then. Show me exactly how rough you're going to get."

After those words, everyone present changed expression.

Xiao Wu's mouth formed an O. She wanted to pull Ning Rongrong away but did not dare move.

Oscar's peach-blossom eyes were filled with the words, "It's over, it's over."

Tang San's brows drew together slightly, his gaze moving back and forth between Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai.

A crack finally appeared in Zhu Zhuqing's icy expression. When Ning Rongrong mentioned her name, those catlike pupils contracted for an instant.

The cold light in Dai Mubai's evil eyes blazed fiercely.

"Ning Rongrong. Don't test my patience."

He spoke one word at a time, as though forcing them out through clenched teeth.

"This is Shrek Academy. Not your home. Others may fear your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but I, Dai Mubai, do not. Piss me off, and be careful I don't rape you first, kill you after, then rape you again and kill you again."

The instant his words fell, Ning Rongrong's expression visibly darkened. At that moment, she looked at Dai Mubai as if he were a damp, slimy bug.