Chapter 31

As Su Xiaoxiao thought about finally getting to meet the idol she admired, she could not help feeling a little excited.

She suddenly felt like she was about to meet an online boyfriend. She finally understood that complicated feeling of wanting to meet someone yet not daring to.

What if he was ugly? What if he was some gross, burly guy?

"No, no, we're not that kind of relationship. What am I worried about?!"

Su Xiaoxiao gave herself a mental warning in advance, hoping it would improve her tolerance and resistance.

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 as an idol, she had become very down-to-earth.

At the street food stall, Aunt Zhou warmly greeted Su Xiaoxiao when she saw her.

The burly men at several nearby tables stared straight at Su Xiaoxiao. They had never seen such a gorgeous girl in their lives. She was absolutely stunning!

"Auntie, I made plans to meet 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, Aunt Zhou beamed and pointed at the young man seated off to the side.

When she saw that figure from behind, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly froze.

Why did he look a little familiar?

Ling Feng was looking down at his phone. Ling Xiaoyu had just told him to go home early tonight, or their parents would return without seeing him.

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 supposedly outstanding qualities.

As long as he could have a stable job and life, that was enough. There was no need to wear himself out until life lost all meaning.

But things rarely went as one wished. Heaven seemed to enjoy 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 Su Xiaoxiao seemed to recognize him too. She walked over and sat across from him.

At once, more than half the people present turned their attention toward them.

Ling Feng felt like he could not take it anymore. Why did he become the center of attention everywhere 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 large 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 nearby tables were equally dumbfounded and anguished when they saw Su Xiaoxiao like this!

"Damn, this young guy."

"Are young people these days really this open?"

Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath. Seemingly having calmed down, she smiled shyly at Ling Feng.

"Um, are you the great Duskfall?"

"Uh..." Ling Feng thought of something and suddenly understood. "So you're that fan?"

"Mhm, mhm."

During the conversation that followed, Ling Feng more or less understood the situation.

Su Xiaoxiao had been following him for a long time, and she had even prepared quite a few things for this meeting.

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, just call me by my name. I can't handle being called 'great' every other sentence. Order whatever you want to eat," Ling Feng said with a smile.

"Okay." Su Xiaoxiao did not stand on ceremony.

She then ordered a table full of food: dozens of grilled lamb kidneys, lamb skewers, beef skewers, crayfish, crab... and several bottles of beer.

Ling Feng had not expected this little girl to have such an enormous appetite. It was honestly shocking.

Could she even finish all that?

Seeing so much food, Ling Feng's heart bled. But as a guy, he naturally could not show it, so he quickly suppressed the pain.

Several months' worth of living expenses! Ling Feng silently mourned for three seconds.

"Eat slowly. No one's going to fight you for it."

"Mmm, it's so good! Ling Feng, hurry and eat too... mmm... eat already! Why aren't you eating?!"

Su Xiaoxiao spoke to Ling Feng while gnawing on skewers, completely unafraid of choking herself to death.

At that moment, Aunt Zhou came over again carrying several 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 instantly turned red as she hurriedly explained herself.

"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 understand, I understand. Aunt Zhou will get back to work first. When Xiaoting and the others come over later, you can get to know each other," Aunt Zhou said with a smile before leaving with the plates.

Ling Feng was speechless.

What did you understand?

You understood nothing!

All Under Heaven

Elsewhere, Bai Chuting received a message from her mother telling her to bring her classmate along for a meal.

Only then did she reluctantly come out of her room.

At first, she had found it a little annoying. It would have been fine to eat lunch later, so why did they have to be so punctual?

Besides, she still had things to do. But the moment she heard Ling Feng was there, Bai Chuting came out immediately.

And she came out fast.

Even Lin Ruoxi was stunned. She had thought Bai Chuting had something important to do.

"Is she really an Astral Mark Girl?" Bai Chuting was still incredibly excited.

"Mhm, mhm. She even took me home that night," Lin Ruoxi said 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 amazing if I could have that kind of magical power too."

"You should focus on studying first instead of thinking about this stuff all day."

Lin Ruoxi looked helpless. Her friend had always liked these strange things.

Perhaps she could no longer call them strange, because Lin Ruoxi herself was already obsessed.

That holy figure beneath the moonlight had deeply imprinted herself in Lin Ruoxi's mind. She had looked so sacred and beautiful!

"Huh? Xiaoxi, why are you drooling?" Bai Chuting asked strangely.

"Cough... ptooey, ptooey! I'm not! Don't talk nonsense!"

Lin Ruoxi turned her face away and hurriedly pulled out a tissue to wipe herself.

At that moment, Lin Ruoxi realized something was wrong.

Did I really drool? Impossible! I'm not that kind of person!

By the time Bai Chuting arrived, Ling Feng and the others had more or less finished.

No, more accurately, Su Xiaoxiao had finished. Ling Feng himself had barely eaten anything.

"Xiaoting, why are you so slow? What were you tinkering with at home again?" Aunt Zhou said irritably when she saw Bai Chuting.

Lin Ruoxi spoke up for her a little, then spotted Ling Feng seated at one of the tables. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Since they all happened to know one another, Aunt Zhou had them sit at Ling Feng's table too. She told them to order whatever they wanted, and she would make it.

In the end, three girls and one boy sat around a square table.

Ling Feng could not have felt more awkward. He felt like the way everyone looked at him had changed, especially the people at the two neighboring tables.

"Damn it, why is heaven so unfair to me? Do girls these days only like pretty boys? Bro, what do you think of my looks?"

"No, you're not handsome, but you're not ugly either. You look pretty funny, though. Such an upright face!"

"Exactly! Then why can't I still find a girlfriend?"

While several people questioned their lives, a little boy at another table also glanced at Ling Feng's table.

The boy's face was expressionless, and there were still traces of grease at the corners 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, lightly clasped his hands 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? You want blessings? Eat your food properly! You failed this exam again, so don't even think about getting a New Year's red envelope! When we get home, get your ass to your homework immediately! 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 some more, the boy jumped down from his chair.

"Waaah!"

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Never look down on a poor young man!"

After shouting that, the little boy took off running, leaving Ling Feng utterly stunned.

Ling Feng quickly turned his head away and pretended he had not seen anything.

But in the distance, the little boy kept shouting, nearly driving his father mad.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Never look down on a poor young man! Never look down on a poor middle-aged man! Never look down on a poor old man!"

Ling Feng:

Forget it. That was not the important part. Bai Chuting and Lin Ruoxi had already started talking about how they each got to know Ling Feng, and even Su Xiaoxiao joined in.

The girls chatted happily, seemingly having plenty in common. Thankfully, Lin Ruoxi had already promised Ling Feng to keep his identity as an Astral Mark Girl secret, or things might have become troublesome.

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.

"Big Brother Ling Feng hasn't come to see me in so long. Did you forget about me?" Bai Chuting looked at Ling Feng and blinked her watery eyes.

"Don't we run into each other all the time at school?" Ling Feng casually replied.

"That's different," Bai Chuting said coquettishly.

Lin Ruoxi's eyes, meanwhile, were filled with stars, much like the way Su Xiaoxiao had looked when she first saw Ling Feng.

As if a fan had met her idol?

Was that... admiration?

Ling Feng did not mind. This was fine. As long as everyone was happy.

Mundane Chatter

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 carry them by herself? Later, she saw Ling Feng passing by and went straight to him for help.