Letting Go Is Sometimes Part of Being a Man, Xiaosan

He wondered if the voice pack had done it on purpose.

The moment Ning Wen had thought of stealing Xiao Wu away, the critical-hit reward had given him some of her mother's fur.

Otherwise, he never would have been so confident.

For Xiao Wu, it was the one thing she could not resist.

Xiao Wu took the pink scarf with trembling hands.

The familiar scent reached her nose, instantly stirring her longing for her mother.

For a moment, she stood frozen, emotions churning as tears glimmered in her eyes.

"Well? Is that proof enough?" Ning Wen asked with a smile.

"You... you really are my fiancé?"

Xiao Wu looked up at the smiling Ning Wen through misty eyes, her voice trembling with confusion, apprehension, and disbelief.

"Of course. How else would I have this?"

Ning Wen nodded solemnly.

Nearby, Yu Xiaogang's face had gone livid. He instinctively glanced at his disciple, Tang San.

He didn't care whether Xiao Wu had a fiancé. He wouldn't even care if she left right now.

As long as it didn't affect Tang San, none of it mattered to him.

Truth be told, Yu Xiaogang regretted his decision.

He shouldn't have been so greedy. He should have had Tang San move in with him long ago.

Tang San stood rooted to the spot, his body taut, his chest heaving as his breathing turned ragged.

He wanted to rush forward and pull Xiao Wu away from Ning Wen.

But he couldn't. He had no right.

Ning Wen was Xiao Wu's rightful fiancé.

And he was only a brother with no blood relation to her.

All his frustration lodged in his throat, leaving him in a bitter silence.

Tang San had a strange feeling that if he did nothing now, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"Xiaosan, as a man, you must sometimes learn to let go."

Just then, Yu Xiaogang sighed, stepped forward, and gently patted Tang San on the head.

"Teacher, isn't that just running away?"

Tang San looked up at Yu Xiaogang, frustration and agitation surging in his eyes. His throat felt painfully dry.

Yu Xiaogang went rigid.

Then, in an instant!

All the warmth vanished from his eyes, replaced by a cold glare.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly lashed out without warning!

Smack!

A sharp, resounding slap cracked through the school gates!

"Disgraceful disciple!"

Yu Xiaogang's palm struck Tang San squarely across the face!

The crowd fell so silent a pin could have dropped.

Even Ning Wen was startled by the slap.

What had gotten into Yu Xiaogang this time?

Still, seeing Tang San slapped gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.

He hadn't expected the exalted Buddha Tang to get slapped in public, of all things.

[Hahaha, this is killing me! Serves him right! That felt great!]

[Who would've thought, Tang San? Your day finally came!]

[That's what you get for taking a fraud as your teacher!]

[Yu Xiaogang, Yu Xiaogang. Sparing your life really was the right call!]

[Once I get my hands on those opportunities, Tang San will never rise again under your guidance!]

[Heh heh heh...]

The voice pack gloated.

Xiao Wu's heart stirred.

Brother San's teacher, Yu Xiaogang, was a fraud?

Under his guidance, Brother San would never rise again!

She parted her lips, glanced at the smiling Ning Wen beside her, then closed her mouth.

Compared to the fiancé her mother had chosen for her, Tang San was undoubtedly the outsider.

A wife followed her husband through thick and thin. Xiao Wu understood that much.

And she had seen how much Tang San respected his teacher.

If she got involved and spoke ill of Yu Xiaogang, she would only end up looking like the villain.

By now, the slap had left Tang San utterly stunned.

Half his face burned with pain. His mind went blank, and he stood frozen, bewilderment written all over his face.

"Teacher? You... you hit me?"

Tang San felt no anger or resentment. He wasn't even questioning Yu Xiaogang. He was simply confused.

Why had his teacher hit him?

What had he done to make his teacher so angry?

"I hit you to make you face reality!"

The gloom had not lifted from Yu Xiaogang's face. He slapped Tang San's other cheek.

"Xiao Wu is already engaged. If you keep pestering her, you'll only make a fool of yourself!"

"I'll say it again: this is called letting go, not running away."

"Do you understand?"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes blazed with fury.

Tang San's question—"Isn't that just running away?"—had struck an old wound.

Hadn't he chosen to let go of both Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong back then?

With that single question, Tang San had torn through the story he told himself for comfort.

And Yu Xiaogang would never allow Tang San, whom he had poured everything into raising, to repeat his mistakes!

More than that, Yu Xiaogang couldn't bear the thought of Tang San slipping beyond his control.

"Tang San! You've disappointed me!"

"Do you know how much effort I've put into you?"

"Everything I've done has been for your own good!"

"You don't understand how much thought I've put into this, and you still question me?"

"I taught you to cultivate and find your place in the Soul Master world, not to lose yourself in romance and stubbornly throw your future away until you've achieved nothing and become a laughingstock!"

"If that's how it is, then we should go our separate ways as teacher and disciple!"

Every word sounded like a rebuke aimed at Tang San. In truth, Yu Xiaogang was desperately trying to convince himself, shouting to drown out a lifetime of cowardice and failure.

[Hahaha, that hit a nerve! Yu Xiaogang completely lost it!]

[This is hilarious. He spent his whole life running away, and now he's trying to brainwash his disciple into doing the same!]

[Yu Xiaogang really is the worst of the worst! His own life was miserable, so he has to twist his disciple's values too!]

Ning Wen nearly burst out laughing.

He could tell Yu Xiaogang had been struck where it hurt.

To be fair, Yu Xiaogang had a remarkable talent for twisting the truth. He dressed up his cowardice as life wisdom, then lashed out when embarrassment got the better of him.

And he still put on that everything I do is for your own good, so why can't you understand me? act.

Yu Xiaogang was a born expert at training dogs.

No, an expert at training Tang San.

Ning Wen was beginning to understand how Yu Xiaogang had managed to lead two lovestruck women like Liu Erlong and Bibi Dong around by the nose.

If he was right, this tactic would work even better on Tang San, with his devotion to his teacher, than it had on those two foolish women.

Hold it in. I have to hold it in!

I can't ruin the mood!

Ning Wen was eager to see what happened next.

If he'd had a camera, he would have recorded the whole thing.