Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling

Jiang Lan poked his finger into the ink pad, then pressed a round little red fingerprint onto the registration form.

At that moment, two young women were sitting on a sofa in the lounge area on the other side of the hall, drinking tea.

One of them had short, dark-purple hair and looked remarkably valiant. She could not be called breathtakingly beautiful, but she possessed a strangely alluring charm.

Her green eyes were particularly unusual, carrying a hint of eeriness.

The other looked to be in her early twenties. She was slim and slender, dressed entirely in black, with a layer of black gauze veiling her face. Her waterfall-like blue hair cascaded down her back.

She had an exceptionally beautiful pair of large eyes, the same color as her hair. Her gaze was crystal-clear, without the slightest impurity.

"Lingling, look over there." Dugu Yan held her teacup and tipped her chin toward the front desk. A mischievous glint flashed through her dark-green eyes. "Did that child come to the wrong place? This isn't a kindergarten."

Ye Lingling followed her gaze and saw a little boy in a penguin onesie standing on tiptoe against the front counter, struggling to press down his fingerprint.

A white little ball was sprawled across his shoulder, its cheeks puffed up as it was clearly eating something.

Ye Lingling set down her teacup, curiosity flickering in her jade-green eyes.

"He seems to be registering for the solo competition." Ye Lingling's voice was soft, with a trace of uncertainty, as though she herself could hardly believe what she was saying.

Dugu Yan raised an eyebrow and sat up straighter.

She had only been casually watching, but when the child placed his Soul Arena badge on the counter, the hand holding her teacup paused.

"I'll go take a look." Dugu Yan put down her cup and rose to her feet, a meaningful curve lifting the corners of her lips.

By the time Dugu Yan approached, Jiang Lan had just retrieved his bronze Soul Arena badge from the counter.

With some effort, he stuffed the metal badge into the pocket on the belly of his penguin suit. He patted it to make sure it was secure before turning around.

The moment he turned, he came face-to-face with a pair of dark-green eyes.

Dugu Yan bent over with both hands braced on her knees, tilting her head as she studied him with a half-smile.

"Little penguin, how old are you?"

Jiang Lan looked up at her, blinked, then seriously held out one hand and showed six fingers.

Dugu Yan straightened up, crossing her arms over her chest as she glanced back at Ye Lingling.

Ye Lingling had already walked over as well. She stood half a step away, with only her eyes visible above the black veil, filled with the same confusion.

Scratching his head in puzzlement, Jiang Lan asked Dugu Yan, "Auntie, do you need something?"

The smile on Dugu Yan's lips instantly froze.

Auntie?

She was only in her early twenties, in the prime of her youth. The boys at Heaven Dou Royal Academy who secretly admired her could line up from the school gates all the way to the Soul Arena, yet in this little runt's mouth, she had become an auntie?

Ye Lingling's shoulders trembled gently behind her. She was laughing.

Although her expression could not be seen beneath the black veil, her jade-green eyes had curved into shallow crescents. Anyone could tell that she was desperately holding back laughter.

"What did you just call me?" Dugu Yan bent down, her dark-green eyes narrowing into two dangerous slits as she stared at the little ball of flesh who barely reached above her knees. "Say that again."

Jiang Lan looked up at her as the hood of his penguin suit slid to the back of his head, revealing a mess of sleep-tousled black hair.

Jiang Lan gave Dugu Yan a serious once-over, then said even more seriously, "Then... big sister? But when you were laughing at me just now, you looked like an auntie. My Mama Bo Saixi said that anyone who likes making fun of children is an auntie."

Dugu Yan's expression completely fell apart at that moment.

The corner of her mouth twitched, and the veins at her temple throbbed at a visibly rapid rate.

First he called her auntie, then he stabbed her again by explaining why he had called her auntie, and even dragged out some unknown elder to support his argument.

Who had taught this little brat how to talk?

He really knew how to stab people right in the heart.

Ye Lingling finally could not hold it in any longer and let out a soft laugh.

Her laugh was quiet, yet it was especially clear in the silent hall.

Dugu Yan abruptly turned and glared at her. Ye Lingling immediately shifted her gaze to the ceiling, pretending to study the shape of the chandelier.

Jiang Lan looked at Ye Lingling in confusion and asked, "Auntie, what's wrong?"

Ye Lingling's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

She lowered her head and looked at the innocent little figure in the penguin suit before her. Her eyes blinked twice, and her gaze shifted from confusion to disbelief, then from disbelief to an extraordinarily subtle sense of hurt.

"You... what did you call me?"

"Auntie." Jiang Lan looked up at her and repeated it as though it were only natural. Then he tilted his head and drove the knife in deeper. "Aren't you two together? She's an auntie, so you must be an auntie too."

Dugu Yan had still been angry, but upon hearing that, her expression instantly changed from fury to gloating delight.

She straightened up and crossed her arms, that half-smile returning to her lips as she looked at Ye Lingling with the gaze of someone welcoming a new member into the victims' club.

Ye Lingling had never been called auntie in her entire life.

Though she kept her face covered by black gauze year-round and rarely showed her full appearance, those jade-green eyes and her cool, ethereal bearing made her the center of attention wherever she went.

At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the boys wanting to strike up a conversation with her could line up from the school gates all the way to the Soul Arena. The number of love letters she received was even beyond counting.

And now, a six-year-old child had shattered all twenty years of her pride with a single word: auntie.

"I'm not an auntie." Ye Lingling crouched down until she was level with Jiang Lan's eyes. Her voice remained soft, but every word was enunciated with exceptional clarity. "My name is Ye Lingling. You can call me Sister Lingling."

Jiang Lan looked into her eyes and thought seriously for several seconds before shaking his head. "But your face is covered. You look just like those aunties who wear veils when they go buy groceries."

Dugu Yan turned away, her shoulders shaking wildly.

She had to turn away because her expression was completely out of control.

Ye Lingling fell silent for a moment. Her hand slowly rose to the back of her ear, where she untied the black veil's fastening.

The black gauze drifted gently down, revealing a face so exquisite it hardly seemed mortal.

Her skin was as fair as congealed cream, her nose bridge straight, and her lips a pale cherry-blossom pink. Paired with those jade-green eyes, she looked like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting.

When Dugu Yan saw Ye Lingling remove her veil, her laughter caught in her throat.

After knowing Lingling for so many years, Dugu Yan knew that Ye Lingling would only willingly remove her veil in their dorm room. At any other time, anyone who tried to take it off would have to answer to her.

Yet because a six-year-old child had called her auntie, she had actually taken off her veil herself?