Love Is a Ray of Light, Green Enough to Make You Panic

A faintly teasing smile curled at Chen An's lips, and she answered with the same joke she had used during the day.

"Because you were glowing. I could see you perfectly clearly."

The corny joke caught Xie Xie off guard at first, but then he could not hold it in and burst out laughing. The gloom in his heart from having his feelings exposed dissipated somewhat.

He turned to Tang Wulin, who stood nearby with a gentle smile, reined in his amusement, and gave a polite nod as he introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Xie Xie, a student from Class One. Come to think of it, Chen An never mentioned that she had an older sister."

Tang Wulin pouted. "She's introverted. She's much better now, but there are still many things she won't take the initiative to tell others."

Introverted—at those words, Xie Xie shook his head inwardly.

In his mind, Chen An was far more than simply introverted.

Other than the strongest few in class, she did not bother with any of the other students at all.

That was clearly the aloof arrogance brought about by strength.

Before different people and the reshuffled content blocks of the Roulette Roulette, Chen An behaved differently. Both of them assumed the other understood Chen An's personality.

When the little restaurant was mentioned, Xie Xie's gaze softened. His fingertips gently rubbed against the edge of the warm wooden table.

"You probably don't know this, but this place—this restaurant—is irreplaceable to me."

Pretending to know nothing, Chen An asked curiously, "Oh? Why is that?"

Xie Xie waved a hand and kept them in suspense. "You'll understand once you try it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Uncle Li, the owner, came over carrying three steaming clay pots. The instant their lids were lifted, a rich, heady aroma of meat rushed toward them.

Looking at the three half-grown children before him, Uncle Li had secretly added extra beef to every serving. After setting down the clay pots, he folded his arms and waited expectantly to see their reactions after tasting it.

The beef in the pots had been stewed until tender, the broth glistening with oil as steam blurred the windowsill.

In the shadows along the street outside the restaurant, Gu Yue stood silently.

Through the pane of glass, she quietly watched the scene inside.

She watched Chen An and Tang Wulin lavishly praise the stewed beef, watched the long-unseen ease appear on Xie Xie's face, and watched the three of them chat and laugh in harmony.

She raised a hand, holding a candied hawthorn skewer she had bought by the roadside.

Try to understand humans, Gu Yue. Then you'll understand.

After a moment of silence, Gu Yue lightly bit into it, and the sweet-and-sour flavor spread across her tongue.

"I see..."

There were considerably more spectators in the training ground stands today than there had been on the first day.

Some had heard that Class Five had sent only two contestants, one of whom possessed a Ten-Year Soul Ring, and that they had instantly defeated three students from Class Four. They had come specifically to watch out of curiosity.

Chen An stood among the spectators below the stage, calm and composed as she watched the arena.

"Chen An!"

A shout came from behind her. Xie Xie quickly squeezed through the crowd to her side, clearly having come specifically to watch Tang Wulin's match as well.

"I didn't expect to run into you here," Chen An said.

Xie Xie put on a wounded expression.

"What, did you never consider me a friend? You beat me up for three months. There had to be some feelings between us by now, right?"

Chen An turned her head, using her usual slightly teasing tone. "I suppose, barely."

"What do you mean, barely?"

On the arena, Class Three's contestants all appeared. Their faces looked exactly alike, and only their hairstyles distinguished them. They were clearly triplets.

As their Soul Rings lit up, all three revealed flying-type martial souls. Their bodies rose into the air and circled high above the arena.

Chen An felt that the ability to fly was indeed an advantage at this stage, but later on, everyone would be able to soar through the sky and burrow underground with ease, not to mention possessing large-area attack skills. Flying would no longer matter at all.

At the sight, Xie Xie's brows drew tightly together as he sighed under his breath.

"Opponents like these are the most troublesome. It doesn't matter how strong they are—you can't hit them at all."

Before he had even finished speaking, Gu Yue looked up on the arena and gathered Soul Power in both hands. Pale cyan wind elements suddenly swept across the entire stage.

A violent force of suction formed out of nowhere, forcibly dragging all three circling triplets down onto the arena floor.

The next instant, earth-yellow elements surged, and a heavy force directly lifted Tang Wulin upward.

Borrowing that momentum, Tang Wulin launched herself into the air. Three sharp booms rang out—one punch each—and the three Class Three students were sent flying off the stage in succession.

The entire battle still had not lasted ten seconds.

Xie Xie stood frozen in place, his pupils shrinking slightly. The scene before him somehow overlapped with his memories of being blasted away by Chen An's fists again and again, leaving him momentarily dazed.

Chen An raised a hand and gently patted Xie Xie on the shoulder, offering a little comfort.

"You'll get used to it."

The outcome on the arena had already been decided. Tang Wulin leaped down from the high platform and immediately spotted Chen An below. Her eyes lit up as she hurried over.

"Little An!"

Overjoyed, the girl stepped forward and fiercely hugged Chen An. Yet as her arms tightened around her, she paused slightly.

"Huh? Why does it feel like you've grown a little taller since the last time I hugged you?"

She murmured to herself, then quickly accepted it.

"That makes sense. Boys just develop more slowly. It's about time you started growing taller."

"I can't breathe..." Chen An's chest was being squeezed, and she struggled to remind her.

Only then did Tang Wulin realize she had used too much force. She hurriedly released her, looking a little embarrassed.

Chen An took two deep breaths, then sincerely praised her. "That match was really amazing."

As she spoke, her sharp peripheral vision caught a gaze. Gu Yue stood not far away, looking in their direction.

Recalling what had just happened in the match, Tang Wulin sighed sincerely.

"Luckily, Gu Yue held them in check just now. Otherwise, with my style of attack, opponents with flying martial souls would have been truly troublesome."

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Yue slowly walked up to the two of them.

Tang Wulin immediately thanked her earnestly. "Thank you so much for just now."

Chen An followed up by praising her control over the elements.

Hearing such direct praise, the sharp, aggressive chill surrounding Gu Yue quietly faded a little.

Chen An had thought Gu Yue had come to pick a fight again, but Gu Yue's gaze swept over the two of them as though she were considering something. Then she simply uttered three words.

"I'm hungry."

Night fell.

Gu Yue led the two of them to the night market. Today seemed somewhat similar to yesterday, except there was one more person.

Voices rose and fell throughout the restaurant.

Tang Wulin warmly invited Gu Yue to sit beside her, but Gu Yue walked right past her and chose to sit next to Chen An instead.

Chen An had no idea what was wrong with Gu Yue. The hostility was obvious.

Chen An shot the girl beside her a sidelong glance, helplessness in her eyes.

Gu Yue refused to back down and glared sharply back at her in silent warning.

Tang Wulin had her head lowered as she ate with gusto, her plate piled high with food. Completely absorbed in her meal, she failed to notice the brief, silent confrontation between the two of them.