The thought of finally getting to meet the idol in her heart made Su Xiaoxiao somewhat excited.
She suddenly felt like she was about to meet someone she had met through an online romance. She had finally experienced that complicated feeling of wanting to meet them but not daring to.
What if they were ugly? What if they were some gross old guy?
"No, no, we're not in that kind of relationship. What am I worried about?"
Su Xiaoxiao gave herself a mental warning in advance, so she could better withstand whatever came and build up her immunity.
Don't be nervous, don't be nervous.
Given Su Xiaoxiao's family background, she normally would never have come to a place like this. But after several years of being an idol, she had become very down-to-earth.
At the food stall, Aunt Zhou warmly greeted Su Xiaoxiao when she saw her.
The burly men at several nearby tables all stared wide-eyed when they saw Su Xiaoxiao. They had never seen such a gorgeous girl in their lives. What a knockout!
"Auntie, I'm meeting a friend here," Su Xiaoxiao replied.
"A friend?"
Aunt Zhou immediately thought of Ling Feng. Thinking that this pretty, lively little girl had come to see him, she beamed and pointed toward the young man seated off to the side.
Seeing that back, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly froze.
Why did it feel a little familiar?
Ling Feng was currently looking down at his phone. Ling Xiaoyu had just told him to come home early tonight, or their parents would be back and not find anyone home.
His final exam results were about the same as usual, placing him somewhere in the middle of the class.
Ling Feng himself did not feel much about it. Everyone had their own pursuits.
He did not need that so-called vanity or any of those supposedly admirable qualities.
As long as he could have a stable job and life, that was enough. There was no need to exhaust himself so much that life lost all meaning.
But things never went as one wished. It seemed Heaven itself loved opposing him.
When he came back to his senses, Ling Feng noticed Su Xiaoxiao as well.
Huh? Wasn't this the girl who had been with Miss Luo before? Why was she here?
Ling Feng recognized Su Xiaoxiao at once, and she seemed to recognize him too. She walked over and sat across from him.
Now, more than half the people present had their eyes on the two of them.
Ling Feng felt like he could not take it anymore. Why did he become the center of attention wherever he went?
It was just ridiculous.
Ling Feng had just wanted to say hello when Su Xiaoxiao blushed shyly and stared straight at him with her big eyes, making his scalp tingle.
What was going on? Why did she look like she had just seen the love of her life?
The customers at several nearby tables were equally dumbfounded and utterly heartbroken when they saw Su Xiaoxiao like this!
"Holy shit, this young man."
"Are young people these days really this open?"
Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, seemingly calming herself down, then gave Ling Feng a bashful smile.
"Um, are you Duskfall?"
"Uh..." Ling Feng thought of something and suddenly understood. "So you're that fan?"
"Mhm, mhm."
Over the conversation that followed, Ling Feng got a rough idea of things.
Su Xiaoxiao had been following him for a long time, and she had even prepared quite a few things for this visit.
But Ling Feng did not ask about them. He planned to tell Zhao Ping and the others first, then they could practice together in the afternoon~
"Oh, right. Just call me by my name. I can't handle being called 'master' every other sentence. Order whatever you want to eat," Ling Feng said with a smile.
"Okay." Su Xiaoxiao did not stand on ceremony.
Next, she ordered a table full of food: dozens of skewers of kidneys, lamb skewers, beef skewers, crayfish, crab... and several bottles of beer.
Ling Feng had not expected this little girl to have such a huge appetite. It was downright shocking.
Can you even finish all that?
Looking at all the dishes, Ling Feng's heart bled. But as a guy, he naturally could not show it, and he quickly suppressed his feelings.
Several months' worth of living expenses! Ling Feng silently mourned for three seconds.
"Eat slowly. No one's going to steal it from you~"
"Mmm, it's so good! Ling Feng, you should eat too... mmm... Hurry up and eat. Why aren't you eating?!"
Su Xiaoxiao talked to Ling Feng while wolfing down skewers, completely unafraid of choking herself to death.
At that moment, Aunt Zhou came over again carrying large and small plates. Seeing the two of them, she chuckled.
"Xiaofeng, your little girlfriend is so pretty. You have to treat her well."
"Pfft!"
"A... Auntie, we're not..."
Su Xiaoxiao could not hold it in and spat out a mouthful. Her face immediately turned red as she hurriedly explained.
"Aunt Zhou, we're just friends," Ling Feng hurriedly explained as well.
But Aunt Zhou clearly did not believe them and continued smiling brightly.
"Ah, I get it, I get it. I'll get back to work first, then. When Xiaoting and the others come over later, you can get to know each other." Aunt Zhou laughed as she carried the dishes away.
Ling Feng was speechless.
What did you get?
You got nothing, damn it.
All Under Heaven
Elsewhere, Bai Chuting received word from her mother telling her to bring her classmates out for a meal.
Only then did she reluctantly leave her room.
At first, she found it rather annoying. It would have been fine to eat lunch a little later. Was there really any need to be so punctual?
Besides, she had things to do. But the moment she heard Ling Feng was there, Bai Chuting came right out.
Just like that.
Lin Ruoxi was stunned by how quickly she moved. She had thought Bai Chuting had something urgent to do.
"Was it really an Astral Mark Girl?" Bai Chuting was still incredibly excited.
"Mhm, mhm. She even walked me home that night." Lin Ruoxi spoke with a hint of pride.
"I'm so jealous. I've only ever seen Astral Mark Girls and Magical Girls on TV and online. It would be great if I could have that kind of magical power too."
"You should focus on studying first. Stop thinking about this stuff all day long."
Lin Ruoxi looked helpless. Her friend had always liked these strange things.
Perhaps she could no longer call them strange now, because Lin Ruoxi herself had already become obsessed.
That holy figure beneath the moonlight had been deeply imprinted in her mind. She had looked so sacred and beautiful!
"Huh? Xiaoxi, why are you drooling?" Bai Chuting asked curiously.
"Ahem... Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo! I'm not! Don't talk nonsense!"
Lin Ruoxi turned her face away and hurriedly took out a tissue to wipe herself.
At that moment, Lin Ruoxi realized something was wrong.
Was I really drooling? Impossible! I'm not that kind of person!
By the time Bai Chuting arrived, Ling Feng and the others were almost done.
No, more accurately, Su Xiaoxiao was done. Ling Feng himself had barely eaten anything.
"Xiaoting, why are you so slow? What have you been fiddling with at home again?" Aunt Zhou asked Bai Chuting, somewhat irritated.
Lin Ruoxi spoke up for her, then spotted Ling Feng sitting at one of the tables. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Since they all happened to know each other, Aunt Zhou had them sit at Ling Feng's table too. She said she would make them whatever they wanted to eat.
In the end, three girls and one boy sat around a square table.
Ling Feng could not have felt more awkward. He felt that the way people looked at him had changed, especially the people at the two tables beside them.
"Damn it, why is Heaven so unfair to me? Do girls these days only like pretty boys like that? Bro, what do you think of my looks?"
"No, you may not be handsome, but you're not ugly either. You look pretty funny, and you've got an honest face!"
"Exactly! Then why can't I still find a girlfriend?"
Several of them were questioning their lives when a little boy at another table glanced toward Ling Feng's table as well.
The little boy's face was expressionless, with some grease still on the corner of his mouth, proving that he had just been eating.
Turning back around, he pulled out a tissue and slowly wiped his mouth. Then he closed his eyes, pressed his fingertips together, and muttered.
"Sigh, may the God of Wind bless me~"
Smack! A man beside him slapped the little boy on the head.
"Bless what? Bless you? Eat your food properly! You failed your exam again, so forget about getting a New Year's red envelope! When we get home, get your ass to your homework right away! Do you hear me?!"
"Waaah~ I want a red envelope~" The moment he heard there would be no red envelope, the little boy burst into tears.
Smack! The man slapped the little boy on the head again. Just as he was about to scold him further, the boy jumped down from his chair.
"Waaah~"
"Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi! Don't look down on a poor young man!"
After shouting that, the little boy took off running, leaving Ling Feng utterly dumbfounded.
Ling Feng quickly turned away, pretending he had not seen anything.
But not far away, the little boy continued shouting, nearly driving his father mad.
"Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi! Don't look down on a poor young man! Don't look down on a poor middle-aged man! Don't look down on a poor old man!"
Ling Feng:
Forget it, that was not the point. Bai Chuting and Lin Ruoxi had already begun talking about how each of them had met Ling Feng, and even Su Xiaoxiao joined in.
The girls chatted happily, seemingly finding plenty of common topics. Luckily, Lin Ruoxi had already promised Ling Feng that she would keep his identity as an Astral Mark Girl secret, or things might have gone horribly wrong.
After learning a little more, Ling Feng felt that the way these girls looked at him had changed.
"I didn't expect you to be so popular," Su Xiaoxiao teased.
"Ling Feng, you haven't come to see me in so long. You haven't forgotten about me, have you?" Bai Chuting looked at Ling Feng and blinked her watery eyes.
"Don't we run into each other at school all the time?" Ling Feng said casually.
"That's different." Bai Chuting acted coyly.
Lin Ruoxi, meanwhile, had stars in her eyes, much like the way Su Xiaoxiao had looked when she first saw Ling Feng.
It was as if a fan had met their idol?
Was that... admiration?
Ling Feng did not care. Fine, let it be this way. As long as everyone was happy.
Casual Chats of the Mortal World
Ling Feng and Bai Chuting had met at a school sports meet before.
At the time, Bai Chuting needed to carry several cases of water to the field for the athletes, but how could a girl like her move them alone? Later, she spotted Ling Feng passing by and went straight up to ask for help.
Before you continue