Flender Shed Bitter Tears

As Lin Yuan and Xiao Wu stepped down from the arena, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong finished their match and came down too.

Ning Rongrong stretched, looking completely at ease. "All done. Two wins in a row."

Zhu Zhuqing stood beside her, her expression calm. She merely nodded.

Xiao Wu ran over and eagerly told them how she and Lin Yuan had beaten the Soul Elder team. Ning Rongrong listened, enthralled, and Zhu Zhuqing turned her head slightly toward Xiao Wu too.

Lin Yuan stood nearby. The Gugas had already gathered around him.

"Guga!" Guga suddenly cried, pointing a stubby little finger toward the corner of the hall.

They all looked where Guga pointed.

Flender was crouched in the corner with his back to everyone, his shoulders shaking. He clutched a bulging money pouch and poured all the Gold Soul Coins into his palm, counting them one by one.

When he finished, he scooped them up, poured them back into his palm, and counted them again.

Then he poured them out and counted them a third time.

Flender grinned from ear to ear, his smile growing wider and wider.

The Gugas watched with their heads tilted for a moment.

Guga turned and glanced at the others.

Dark Gold Guga nodded.

Starry Guga said nothing, but vines were already creeping silently across the floor.

Flender was on his third count, muttering to himself. Just as he counted the last coin—

Vines sprang from the floor, instantly wrapping around his ankles, wrists, and waist.

Flender froze.

"Wha—"

Before he could finish, Guga pounced and wrapped both stubby arms tightly around Flender's left leg. Dark Gold Guga lunged in from the right and grabbed his other leg. Little Moon used Teleportation to appear behind Flender, climbed onto his shoulders, and covered his face with two little hands.

Xuanwu Guga was a step too slow. With no room left, Xuanwu Guga stood to the side, tilted its head, then plopped down on Flender's foot.

With five Gugas clinging to him, Flender was bound tight and couldn't move.

"You—you little rascals! What do you want?"

Guga looked up, utterly serious. "Dinner, Guga!"

Dark Gold Guga nodded. "Dinner, Guga."

Starry Guga spoke gently, though the vines did not loosen in the slightest. "The headmaster's treating us, Guga."

Perched on Flender's shoulders, Little Moon added with a giggle, "No getting away this time, Guga~"

Flender's face fell.

He looked down at himself, pinned in place by five Gugas, then up at Lin Yuan approaching from across the hall. His lips trembled.

"You—you all—"

Guga hugged his leg tighter. "You promised last time that if we won, you'd buy us dinner, Guga. Then you ran away, Guga!"

"When did I ever say—"

"You ran away once. You can't do it again, Guga," Dark Gold Guga said in a muffled voice.

Starry Guga added with a smile, "The headmaster flew away last time. This time we caught him, Guga."

Flender opened his mouth, then closed it. He glanced at the money pouch in his hand, its coins still warm from his grasp, then at five expectant little faces. His cheek twitched.

"D-dinner."

The Gugas cheered in unison. "Dinner, Guga!"

Suotuo City. The restaurant the Gugas had visited last time.

The owner was doing his accounts behind the counter. Hearing the door open, he looked up out of habit and said with a smile, "Welco—"

His voice cut off.

Five little figures had walked in, with several people following behind them.

The owner's smile froze.

He whipped around and shouted toward the kitchen, "Level-one alert! Everyone, level-one alert!"

Pots and pans clattered in the kitchen. Several cooks stuck their heads through the serving window, and their faces changed as soon as they spotted the familiar figures at the door.

"Quick, quick! Cook five extra buckets of rice!"

"Meat! Cut more meat! Last time wasn't enough!"

"Fire up every stove! Don't wait!"

The owner came out from behind the counter himself, wearing a broad smile with a trace of bitterness beneath it. "You... are back."

Guga poked its head out from behind Lin Yuan and waved a stubby little hand at him. "We're back, Guga!"

The owner's smile grew even more bitter.

Everyone sat down, and the dishes soon arrived. Sweet-and-sour pork, braised pork belly, sweet-and-sour fish, braised pork knuckle, candied sweet potatoes—a whole table piled high.

All five Gugas looked up at once.

"Yummy food, Guga!"

Their little hands shot out together, and the plates emptied before their eyes.

Ning Rongrong picked up a piece of candied sweet potato and held it out to Xuanwu Guga. Xuanwu Guga, busy gnawing on a piece of braised pork knuckle, looked up blankly.

Ning Rongrong smiled at Xuanwu Guga and waved her chopsticks in front of its eyes.

"I'm so nice to you, and you still chant 'Nian Sirong Fist' with the others?"

Xuanwu Guga's cheeks bulged. "Won't chant it anymore, Guga..." came its muffled reply.

Ning Rongrong popped the candied sweet potato into Xuanwu Guga's mouth, then picked up a piece of braised pork belly and offered that too.

"That's more like it."

Xuanwu Guga took the meat in its mouth, held it with both little hands, and lowered its head to chew obediently.

The cooks worked up a sweat in the kitchen. Spatulas flew and flames roared. One cook's hands shook as he sliced meat, while another nearly tripped rushing out with a plate.

"Table three, ten plates of braised pork belly!"

"Coming, coming!"

"And five more buckets of rice!"

"R-right away!"

Flender sat in the corner, watching plate after plate go out full and come back empty. Every empty plate made his face twitch. He looked down at the money pouch in his hand, then up at the five Gugas feasting away. His eyes began to sting.

Ning Rongrong picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour fish and ate it at her leisure. Then she turned to Lin Yuan with a teasing smile.

"Lin Yuan, you teamed up with Xiao Wu as the Zero-Five Combination and with me as the Zero-Zero Combination. Zhu Zhuqing hasn't teamed up with you yet. Shouldn't you take her into a match next time?"

Zhu Zhuqing was picking up a piece of braised pork belly. Her chopsticks paused.

She did not look up. She put the meat in her mouth and chewed slowly. The tips of her ears reddened a little.

Beside her, Xiao Wu gnawed on a carrot. "That's right," she said through a mouthful. "You've had Zero-Zero and Zero-Five. Is Zero-Seven next?"

"What's Zero-Seven?" Ning Rongrong laughed. "Her name's Zhu Zhuqing. It should be the Lin-Qing Combination."

"Lin-Qing sounds good too." Xiao Wu nodded.

Zhu Zhuqing set down her chopsticks, picked up her cup, and took a sip of water. Her expression did not change, but the tips of her ears turned even redder.

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Sure. I'll team up with Zhu Zhuqing for a match next time."

Zhu Zhuqing put down her cup and gave a soft "Mm."

Ning Rongrong blinked and smiled knowingly, but said nothing more.

Xiao Wu went on gnawing her carrot, noticing nothing amiss.

At the table, the five Gugas ate with their heads down and their cheeks bulging, spoons and forks flying. One moment Little Moon appeared beside one plate; the next, she used Teleportation to reach another. Xuanwu Guga held a piece of candied sweet potato in its mouth. A long strand of sugar stretched from it; Xuanwu Guga looked down at the strand blankly, then kept chewing.

Guga swallowed a mouthful of meat and raised a stubby little hand. "Ten more plates of sweet-and-sour pork, Guga!"

Behind the counter, the owner covered his face.

Thank you to IBelieve, Dream Departure, Years of Grace, F1 Racing Game King, Reader 20231114259645, and Hermasion for your tips!

Thank you all~ I'm so touched ˶>ᗜ<˶