Xiao Wu: Where Did This Scrawny Dark Monkey Come From? He Can't Hold a Candle to Jiang Hao!

Jiang Hao watched her put on that affected expression, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Go on. Keep pretending.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, playing the poor little thing?

"All right, all right. Drop the act. I'll take you."

Jiang Hao sighed. She had pestered him into surrender.

"Really?"

Xiao Wu's expression changed in an instant. Her eyes lit up, without a trace of that pitiful look left. "Then let's go!"

"..."

Great. I fell for it.

Resigned, Jiang Hao turned and headed toward the Working Student Dormitory.

Xiao Wu grinned and trotted after him.

They crossed the field, went around the teaching building, and took several turns into a secluded alley.

The farther they went, the worse their surroundings became.

The ground was riddled with potholes, moss covered the walls, and a strange, hard-to-place smell hung in the air.

Xiao Wu covered her nose and frowned. "What is this place? Why does it stink so much?"

"The Working Student Dormitory."

"Huh?"

Xiao Wu stared at the shabby two-story building before her, her face turning green.

Several cracks ran through the walls. Half the windowpanes were broken, with boards nailed over them.

Clutter filled the downstairs corridor, and the floor was filthy. It hardly looked fit for anyone to live in.

Jiang Hao looked at Xiao Wu's conflicted little face and couldn't help smiling.

"Come on, stop staring. It won't turn into a Luxury Single Room no matter how long you look."

Xiao Wu pouted, lowered the hand covering her nose, and gave the rundown building a disdainful once-over.

"People live here? The walls are cracked, the windows are broken, and it's worse than the rabbit burrow I used to live in."

"You used to live in a rabbit burrow?" Jiang Hao raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... I mean, I kept rabbits when I was little. Even their burrow was better than this."

Jiang Hao glanced at her and was about to speak when something caught his eye.

A scrawny, dark-skinned boy with a worn cloth bag on his back was walking into the dormitory, his head lowered.

He was small and thin, dressed in coarse clothes washed pale, and looked as though he had just been dug out of the mud.

Who else could it be but Tang San?

Xiao Wu noticed him too. After looking him up and down, she muttered, "The academy even takes scrawny dark monkeys like that?"

She hadn't spoken loudly, but Tang San's hearing was sharp enough to catch every word.

Tang San stopped, his shoulders visibly stiffening.

He slowly turned his head toward Xiao Wu's delicate face, his gaze appraising and displeased.

"Who are you calling a scrawny dark monkey?"

Xiao Wu blinked her big eyes and gestured innocently around them. "Is there another one nearby?"

Tang San: "..."

He took a deep breath, forced down his irritation, and said in a low voice, "My name is Tang San, not scrawny dark monkey."

"Oh, Tang San."

Xiao Wu nodded, then tilted her head and added, "Still a scrawny dark monkey, though."

A vein throbbed at Tang San's temple.

Jiang Hao stood to the side, watching with a faint smile.

Interesting.

These two had barely met and were already at each other's throats.

"All right, Xiao Wu. Stop picking on the poor guy."

Jiang Hao stepped in at just the right moment. "You're Tang San, right? I'm Jiang Hao. We're all classmates now, so don't take what she says to heart."

Tang San felt a little better and was about to offer a polite reply.

Then Jiang Hao added, "She just has a sharp tongue and likes telling the truth. She doesn't mean any harm. You'll get used to it."

Tang San: "..."

Was he trying to smooth things over or make them worse?

Xiao Wu didn't mind. She sidled up to Jiang Hao with a grin. "Are you sticking up for me or insulting me?"

"What do you think?" Jiang Hao glanced at her.

"I think you're insulting me."

Xiao Wu pouted. "But fine. Big Sister Xiao Wu is generous, so I won't hold it against you."

Tang San watched how close they were, and an inexplicable discomfort settled in his chest.

He remembered the task Yu Xiaogang had given him.

He was to find the two Working Students with Innate Full Soul Power and bring them to meet Yu Xiaogang.

The Jiang Hao before him was the person his father had mentioned, and one of the people his teacher wanted to meet.

Then this sharp-tongued girl...

"You're a Working Student too?" Tang San asked Xiao Wu, his tone softening.

"Yeah. What about it?"

Xiao Wu puffed out her chest. "Got a problem?"

Tang San shook his head. "No. My teacher just wants to meet you both."

"Teacher?" Xiao Wu blinked. "What teacher?"

"Grandmaster. Yu Xiaogang."

Tang San spoke the name with a note of pride. "He's the foremost authority on theory today. It's an honor for you both that he wants to meet you."

"The foremost authority on theory?"

Xiao Wu tilted her head in thought, then looked at Jiang Hao. "Have you heard of him?"

Jiang Hao shrugged. "A little. I've heard he's quite famous."

His expression stayed calm, but inwardly he sneered.

Yu Xiaogang?

He wants to take me as his disciple?

In his dreams.

Seeing their lukewarm reaction, Tang San frowned. "Don't you want to meet Grandmaster? He's—"

"Hold it right there."

Xiao Wu waved him off. "Grandmaster or not, Big Sister Xiao Wu just wants somewhere to sleep. If that's all, stop blocking the way."

With that, she tugged at Jiang Hao's sleeve. "Classmate Jiang Hao, take me to see that Luxury Single Room of yours."

"What for? Haven't you heard boys and girls should keep their distance?"

"How old are we? Keep our distance, my foot!"

Xiao Wu pouted. "Besides, I'm not trying to take advantage of you. I just want to stay there for a bit."

Jiang Hao rolled his eyes. "Until graduation, you mean?"

"Hehe. You guessed it."

Tang San stood there, watching them trade playful looks, his expression rigid.

He didn't know why, but seeing Jiang Hao and Xiao Wu together made him uncomfortable.

Yet he had no grounds to object. He could only stand there like a helpless bystander, wanting to join them but finding no place for himself.

Tang San took a deep breath, suppressed that inexplicable irritation, and said in a low voice:

"Grandmaster said he wants to meet you both. It's an honor."

"An honor?"

Xiao Wu frowned. "Then why don't you go?"

Tang San drew himself up. "I'm already Grandmaster's disciple."

At that, a flash of disdain crossed Xiao Wu's face. "If this Grandmaster takes a scrawny dark monkey like you as his disciple, he can't be all that impressive."

Tang San's face darkened. "My name is Tang San, not scrawny dark monkey."

"And you can say what you want about me, but I won't let you insult my teacher!"

"Sure, sure. Your teacher is Grandmaster. Nobody's allowed to say a word against him."

Xiao Wu couldn't be bothered to argue with Tang San anymore. She turned and hooked her arm through Jiang Hao's. "Classmate Jiang Hao, take me to see your dorm room."

Jiang Hao glanced at Tang San, then nodded. "All right. I'll show you."

With that, he turned and left with Xiao Wu.

Tang San stood where he was, watching them walk away, his fists clenching without him realizing it.

He took a deep breath, pushed down the inexplicable irritation in his chest, and headed toward the teaching building.

Yu Xiaogang's office was at the far end of the third floor.

When Tang San knocked and entered, Yu Xiaogang was holding a yellowed notebook and making a show of reading it.