Food Comes First for the People

Gu Yue might have questioned him aloud, but her body was far more honest.

Watching her chew her food unhurriedly and elegantly wipe the corner of her mouth, Chen An secretly found it amusing.

He had noticed it the last time they had gone out to eat together. This lofty Lord Gu Yue, who appeared aloof and free of desire, was actually quite the glutton at heart.

The Gu Yue before him and Na'er had completely different appearances and temperaments—one cold, one gentle, like two entirely different people.

Yet when it came down to their true natures, they were exactly alike.

They kept saying they wanted to experience the many facets of the human world and understand mortal human society, but in the end, they were probably just craving all the delicious foods humanity had to offer.

Still, perhaps that was for the best. Chen An sighed softly to himself.

At least during this peaceful stretch of time, he did not have to agonize over the opposing positions of soul beasts and humans. It was fairly tranquil.

Just as he was lost in thought, a cold gaze landed directly on him.

Gu Yue spoke as if she had seen through him. "What kind of expression is that?"

"Nothing." Chen An immediately came back to his senses and hurriedly lowered his head, pretending to focus on his food to conceal the thoughts in his eyes.

He grumbled helplessly to himself.

Back in the arena, she had deliberately aimed a sneak attack at his head. She was clearly settling a personal score under the guise of official business.

But their statuses had never been equal. She was his superior and he was her subordinate, so in the end, he could only let her have her way.

As Gu Yue slowly ate her skewers, she held him accountable without any haste. Her voice was calm, yet filled with pressure.

"You were deliberately suppressing your soul power, weren't you?"

She had struck right at the heart of the matter.

His little trick of deliberately controlling his soul power output and concealing his true cultivation had ultimately still been noticed by her.

Chen An had expected this long ago and did not panic in the slightest. Mixing truth with falsehood, he slowly gave the explanation he had already prepared.

"My bloodline naturally has an affinity for the water element. A few days ago, when a typhoon passed through Eastsea City, I secretly cultivated amid the torrential rain,

and after accidentally swallowing your Dragon Scale before, I absorbed some dragon energy. My soul power naturally broke through to Rank 19,

as for the Millennium Soul Ring, I obtained it through this Bloodline Evolution."

The explanation was half true and half false, but it was logical and well-supported.

Hearing this, Gu Yue lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze dark. She clearly did not fully believe him, yet she could not find even the slightest flaw in his words.

Back when Chen An had still been in his pure soul beast form, she, Di Tian, and the other ferocious beasts had all clearly sensed an unprecedented resonance from the Dragonkind Bloodline within him.

It was already unusual enough that Chen An was not suppressed by dragon bloodlines.

But ever since she had arranged for Chen An to bring back Na'er, who had slipped out of the forest on her own, his aura had become increasingly obscure and elusive, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, impossible to read.

At first, she had thought it was because he had swallowed her Dragon Scale.

But now, three years later, after three months of observation, Chen An's aura had become even stranger in his daily life.

The Dragon Scale inside him seemed to have lost contact with her, yet it still reacted whenever he drew near her, as though Chen An had unilaterally shielded himself from her.

Only when he released his martial soul could she sense the Dragon Scale from Chen An again.

Gu Yue was certain that Chen An still had things he had not told her.

But among the soul beast faction, which was now nearing extinction, he was one of the few core combat forces to have reached the hundred-thousand-year level.

Forcing him with the attitude of a superior would hurt their relationship too much, and he was not some heinous beast that was difficult to control.

She could only hope that he would not cause any troublesome incidents.

After pondering for a moment, Gu Yue raised her eyes, her tone much gentler than before.

"As long as it does not disrupt the original plan, if you tell me about the changes in yourself, I can still help you at critical moments."

"Understood. I'll remember that."

Chen An nodded frankly, without the slightest objection.

She said she could help, but if he told her that getting close to her could promote his evolution, would he not end up taking a couple hits from Old Wu's Earthshaking Palm before being called a pervert?

Seeing how obedient he appeared, Gu Yue still did not lower her guard and warned him blandly.

"You had better remember it. If I discover that you have deliberately concealed something and done things you should not be doing, then next time, a few skewers of food will not be enough to dismiss me so easily."

This sort of harsh threat meant to intimidate underlings had no effect on Chen An. He only needed to agree that his leader was right.

After eating the last bite of her skewer, she instantly shed her relaxed posture. Crossing her arms over her chest and lifting her chin slightly, she assumed the authority of a superior, cold and noble with an imposing presence.

After two seconds of silence, she casually asked, "What are these foods called?"

Chen An answered honestly, "The ones on short sticks are oden, and the ones on long sticks are barbecue."

After saying that, he stood up to pay the bill.

After spending a few seconds counting the Federal Credits he had brought with him, he turned around to find no one at his side.

"Where did she go?"

Chen An froze slightly, then quickly looked around. Only then did he discover that Gu Yue was already standing at the entrance of the shop next door, tilting her head as she curiously examined the colorful sign posted outside.

He hurried over, followed her gaze, and softly explained.

"This is an advertisement for a hot pot restaurant."

Gu Yue blinked, her eyes filled with innocent curiosity. "What is hot pot?"

"You put all kinds of ingredients into a pot and eat them while they cook."

The moment he finished speaking, Gu Yue pushed the door open and walked in, her tone decisive. "I want to try it."

Chen An reached out, just about to stop her. "Wait, it's very spicy. You might not... Forget it."

He gave up halfway through his sentence.

As long as he could keep this ancestor's mouth occupied and stop her from holding his weaknesses over him, spending a little more was worth it.

After a hot pot meal, the balance in his account shrank once again, and Chen An could only silently accept his misfortune.

By the time the two of them finished eating and walked out onto the street, the sky had completely darkened, and night had enveloped the entire academy.

As they walked side by side back to Eastsea Academy, Chen An's gaze suddenly sharpened when they passed the outer perimeter of the cafeteria.

A slender girl sat quietly alone on the distant steps. It was Tang Wuling.

She had clearly been waiting for a long time, her gaze fixed in the direction they had returned from.

Chen An glanced at Gu Yue beside him.

They were already inside the academy, so he no longer needed to regard her as his superior. He immediately strode forward.

Tang Wuling sat on the steps with her arms wrapped around her legs, her chin resting on her knees. She was still holding a blade of grass, absentmindedly waving it around.

When she saw that it was Chen An, a bright smile instantly lit up her eyes. Her eyes curved with delight as she happily rose to greet him.

But after taking only two steps, she seemed to suddenly recall the awkward farce in the lounge earlier that day, and her excited posture abruptly restrained itself.

She raised a hand to gently tuck the loose strands by her ear back, deliberately putting on a composed and steady manner. After lightly coughing twice, she tried to suppress the panic in her heart, slowed her tone, and greeted him.

"L-Little An."

Her deliberately reserved and calm appearance left Chen An unsure how to respond for a moment.

"Sister Wuling," he called softly.

Tang Wuling softly answered, "Mm," her cheeks slightly warm as though she wanted to say something but hesitated.

For a time, the two stood quietly facing each other. The atmosphere was so subtly awkward that neither could force out a single word for quite a while.

Just as Chen An was about to speak and break the awkwardness, Gu Yue followed over as though she had sensed something.